Marcus Bachmann

[Alferd_Packer]

Yes, I know that I have been focusing on the Bacmanns lately. Frankly they fascinate me. It's like turning over a log.

Anyway.

There are a number of issues with Michele Bachmann's husband that, if they were associated with the spouse of a democratic candidate would be splashed all over Fox news 24/7.

The Farm. The Bachmanns have been involved with the family dairy farm for many years now and have been the owners since Marcus’s father died a few years back. Needless to say, there have been a number of questions regarding the receipt of government subsidies and the apparent hypocrisy that that might suggest. To give them the benefit of the doubt, they could simply claim that the use of government subsidies is a necessary cost of business in a competitive marketplace. Instead, however, they have attempted to deny any involvement in the decision to obtain the subsidies.

The Clinic. Like the farm, the clinic also was the recipient of government subsidies. Also, like the farm, the most reasonable course fro the Bachmanns would be simply to claim that the subsidies were a necessary evil, required to remain competitive etc. They haven’t really done that, instead they are ignoring any calls to explain themselves on the matter. The other issue is the discreditied “pray away the gay” therapy that the clinic apparently uses. I don’t think that this will hurt Michele with her core supporters, but I do think that it will not sit well with the more educated, independents out there. One other side issue related to both of the above is that, as I understand it, some of the grant money that the clinic received was issued with specific restrictions on the types of therapies that it could be used for. In other words, the money could NOT be used for “pray the gay” therapy. This is a potential legal issue the extent to which it touches the Bachmanns will probably be dictated by the extent to which Marcus involved himself with the day to day operation of the clinic and to what degree he oversaw the work of his employees.

The Degree. Finally there is the matter of Marcus’s educational degree. He claims to have a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The problem is, there are some reasonable questions as to the validity of that claim.

The school he claims he got the degree from no longer exists, and it apparently did not offer doctorate degrees in that field at the time that he apparently claimed to have received his.

If this plays out, I think it will be the most damaging of the above as this speaks directly to the ethics and integrity of the both Michele and Marcus.

 

[A Laughing Baby]

But is there a recording of him saying "kill whitey?" This is very important.

 

[Dessi]

Scarily enough, Marcus Bachman's anti-gay reparative therapy clinic is an accredited organization which Licensed Educational Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Clinical Social Workers can receive credits toward license renewal, see here:

I was wondering if you could help me raise awareness about in issue. I am a Licensed Educational Psychologist here in Los Angeles. The California Board of Behavioral Sciences is responsible for licensing LEPs, MFTs, and LCSWs here in California. I was recently looking at BBS website in order to determine which organizations I could obtain my continuing education credits from in order to renew my license. Much to my shock and sadness, the BBS accepts CEUs from NARTH. I am absolutely appalled. No therapist in California should be able to renew their license by obtaining CEUs from this hateful organization. "Homosexual conversion therapy" is not supported by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, or the American Counselors Association. I have written the the BBS with my concerns, but I have not heard back. Could you help me bring attention to this issue? We need to get them removed from this list ASAP.

Here's an indepth article on exactly what happens at that clinic, Truth Wins Out Infiltrates Marcus Bachmann's Clinic:

At the start of our second session I went straight to the point: what could I do? Would I ever be able to be completely rid of homosexuality, or merely learn to cope with and manage it? Wiertzema’s response was that it’s situational. Some people have been able to get rid of it completely over a long time period, others over a shorter time period. Still others are able to get it to “subside,” down to a “manageable” level, but it’s still there in the background. He asked me, “Are you okay with knowing that it might take awhile, and that it might not… maybe not happen at all? …Obviously, it’s not okay, in a way, but…” I said that I wanted to give it a go, that it was better to try than to not try.

Interestingly, this exchange was the only time during all of my sessions at Bachmann & Associates that Wiertzema or anyone else ever brought up the risk of this treatment failing. In later sessions he would say that he “…think it’s possible to be totally free of [same-sex attraction]. For sure.” and that “It’s happened! It really has happened to people.” I was never told that every professional medical and mental health association rejects “ex-gay” therapy including the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and the American Counseling Association, or that the treatment I was seeking was totally unsupported by research. I was never informed about possible alternative treatment options such as gay-affirmative therapy. Nobody ever told me about the potential for harmful side effects like depression and suicidal thoughts. And although I was asked to sign a treatment plan outlining my problem, desired outcome, and treatment strategy, I was never given nor asked to sign any kind of informed consent document that disclosed the above information about “ex-gay” therapy. As such, I believe Bachmann & Associates to be practicing unethically, even by the standards of the American Association of Christian Counselors. This is particularly disconcerting given the fact that Marcus Bachmann’s clinic has received significant funding from the State of Minnesota and the federal government.

 

[leftysergeant]

That a clinic like Bachmann's can get a penny from the government should be one of the issues addressed in any plan to cut waste and abuse from federal medical programs.
He's a QUACK.]

 

[Alferd_Packer]

But is there a recording of him saying "kill whitey?" This is very important.

No, but there is a pencil sketch of him dancing in his underwear and singing Ethyl Merman songs, does that count?

 

[hgc]

Oof. Marcus. This story reminds me just a little too much of that Michigan Asst AG who really, really, really doesn't like teh gay. Reminds me of him in more ways than one.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/28/michigan.justice.blog/index.html?hpt=C1

 

[Bri]

No, but there is a pencil sketch of him dancing in his underwear and singing Ethyl Merman songs, does that count?

Well, he's not in his underwear, but...



-Bri

 

[I Am The Scum]

But is there a recording of him saying "kill whitey?" This is very important.

Yes. I have the video. I shall release it next Tuesday. Just you wait.

 

[Complexity]

The Bachmans are evil.

 

[maxpower1227]

The Daily Show just had a pretty good skit about "Dr." Bachmann last night. He forgot to add scare quotes when talking about his "PhD" though.

 

[pgwenthold]

The Degree. Finally there is the matter of Marcus’s educational degree. He claims to have a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. The problem is, there are some reasonable questions as to the validity of that claim.

The school he claims he got the degree from no longer exists, and it apparently did not offer doctorate degrees in that field at the time that he apparently claimed to have received his.

Marcus David Bachmann got a PhD in 1995 in the area of Preschool education, Social psychology, Developmental psychology. The title of his thesis is "Security attachment of children 48 to 60 months of age enrolled in institutionalized day care for the first time from home care" and it is deposited properly at Dissertations Abstracts.

Quibbling over whether the university technically gave "Clinical Psychology" is BS (I tell people I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry all the time, despite my diploma only says "Chemistry.")

I have no love for the Bachmann's, but he has a legimate PhD.

 

[A Laughing Baby]

Yes. I have the video. I shall release it next Tuesday. Just you wait.

But only if I donate 10,000 dollars to your investigative journalism website.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Marcus David Bachmann got a PhD in 1995 in the area of Preschool education, Social psychology, Developmental psychology. The title of his thesis is "Security attachment of children 48 to 60 months of age enrolled in institutionalized day care for the first time from home care" and it is deposited properly at Dissertations Abstracts.

Quibbling over whether the university technically gave "Clinical Psychology" is BS (I tell people I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry all the time, despite my diploma only says "Chemistry.")

I have no love for the Bachmann's, but he has a legimate PhD.

Well. . .depending on what you mean by "legitimate". In your case, a PhD in Chemistry is a legit degree, and quibbling over calling it a PhD in Organic Chemistry is not a big deal. He did not earn a PhD in Psychology, which would be analogous to your situation. His degree was a fluffy inter-disciplinary degree (not a PhD in Psychology), from an institution that subsequently lost its accreditation--that is, was put on probation-- because of a history of low academic standards.

Later, that institution restructured its PhD program and did offer a PhD in Clinical Psychology. So yes, Bachmann's claim to have a PhD in Clinical Psychology is far more problematic than your claim to holding a PhD in Organic Chemistry.

 

[coalesce]

No, but there is a pencil sketch of him dancing in his underwear and singing Ethyl Merman songs, does that count?

It certainly does!

Michael

 

[Arisia]

Marcus David Bachmann got a PhD in 1995 in the area of Preschool education, Social psychology, Developmental psychology. The title of his thesis is "Security attachment of children 48 to 60 months of age enrolled in institutionalized day care for the first time from home care" and it is deposited properly at Dissertations Abstracts.

Quibbling over whether the university technically gave "Clinical Psychology" is BS (I tell people I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry all the time, despite my diploma only says "Chemistry.")

I have no love for the Bachmann's, but he has a legimate PhD.

He has a PhD in 'Arts and Sciences' from a school that no longer exists, apparently.

 

[pgwenthold]

Well. . .depending on what you mean by "legitimate". In your case, a PhD in Chemistry is a legit degree, and quibbling over calling it a PhD in Organic Chemistry is not a big deal. He did not earn a PhD in Psychology, which would be analogous to your situation. His degree was a fluffy inter-disciplinary degree (not a PhD in Psychology), from an institution that subsequently lost its accreditation--that is, was put on probation-- because of a history of low academic standards.

Later, that institution restructured its PhD program and did offer a PhD in Clinical Psychology. So yes, Bachmann's claim to have a PhD in Clinical Psychology is far more problematic than your claim to holding a PhD in Organic Chemistry.

It's idiocy.

The subjects of his PhD studies, as I listed, included preschool education, social psychology, and developmental psychology, which does not appear to exclude clinical psychology at all.

It would be like if someone said my degree was in Experimental Science. Sure, I wouldn't disagree, and no pissing about whether my institution offered an Experimental Science or not would matter.

Focus on people with REAL false degrees, like Kent Hovind. Questioning the legitimacy of his PhD or not because you don't like the quality of the institution is like questioning the legitimacy of John Kerry's purple hearts - it's petty nonsense.

 

[johnny karate]

delete

 

[Arisia]

Clearly his degree was from an institution that did not have as rigorous a program as most folks would expect from a doctorate-granting institution.

 

[Alferd_Packer]

I have no love for the Bachmann's, but he has a legimate PhD.

From a school that for all intents and purposes was little more than a fancy, "distance-learning" (mail order) diploma mill.

Here is an interesting thread from 2004 that indicates that Marcus's claim that he has a PhD in Clinical Pshycology might not, in fact, be wrong,

http://www.degreeinfo.com/distance-learning-discussions/15520-union-degree-titles-obr.html

however, it clearly points out that the school had some major quality issues about the time that Marcus graduated.

For instance It appears that they allowed "self-designed" doctoral programs.
http://www.degreeinfo.com/distance-...084-union-institute-university.html#post99249


which has been described as: "students were allowed to make up their own courses and the number of credits and award themselves a grade."

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/union-institute-and-university-phd-c324477.html

In any case, he does nat have a Psy.D degree, which is what you want if you are going to practice in psychology. Nor was Union ever APA certified.

 

[pgwenthold]

He has a PhD in 'Arts and Sciences' from a school that no longer exists, apparently.

The Union Institute and University was granting PhDs as recently as 2011. There are at least 6 PhD theses from that school in dissertations abstracts this year.

Apparently, your information is wrong.

And I honestly don't care what the hell division of the school or the degree was called when he got his degree. His area of study was psychology, and I see no reason to think that it was not in the area of clinical psychology.

There is no basis for this petty criticism.