Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has excellent words of advice for the handful of ignorant loudmouths who either shut down or made a spectacle of Congressional and other "town hall" healthcare meetings held throughout the August recess. Those words are "behave," "respect the rights of others," "open debate" and "dialog."

The Joint Chiefs, in coordination with the Defense Department's public affairs unit, yesterday announced plans for a "virtual town hall" meeting via YouTube to hear out opponents. Military personnel and the general public are invited to submit video questions to Mullen. The deadline for questions is Aug. 31.

There is a chance that DOD might "cherry pick" questions, opting for softballs. That, however, would expose the town hall as a propaganda sham, killing its credibility. This blogger believes the Pentagon PA people are too media-savvy to let that happen.

Mullen, according to the Pentagon’s statement, "intends to use social media to expand two-way conversations with service members and the public. Mullen expects his conversations to be interactive, similar to the all-hands meetings he conducts in person at bases all over the world."

The push for openness and dialog comes as American casualties jump in Afghanistan and calls arise for the need for more troops. Mullen acknowledged Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that the U.S. situation in Afghanistan is "deteriorating" and that the "Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated in their tactics." He told the American Legion's conference in Louisville yesterday that a majority of Americans don’t support U.S. policies in Afghanistan. "Let's have a debate," he said.

The admiral is a breath of fresh air, a sharp contrast to the healthcare reform opponents who shouted down congressmen and denied others their First Amendment rights to speak their piece. Those rabble-rousers say the last thing they want is a U.S. government-run "public option" to the healthcare system. They raise the Post Office as an example of a government-run operation run amok. Those same people forget that the U.S. government also runs the military, which is a pretty well-oiled operation, thanks to guys like Mullen.

Members of Congress would be pretty smart to adopt Mullen's virtual town hall strategy the next time they want to hear from constituents. The Admiral does have a few restrictions on his virtual town hall. He will ban "overly graphic, disturbing or offensive material."

It's a safe bet Mullen would tell healthcare reform crazies to leave their shameful anti-Barack Obama posters at home, especially the ones that characterize the U.S. President as the second coming of Adolph Hitler.