"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Saturday, April 04, 2020

Today in Petty Vindictiveness: Two Firings

Trump likes to fire people. We knew that when he first made his mark (such as it was) as a reality TV star. This one was a long time coming:

U.S. President Donald Trump notified Congress on Friday that he is firing the inspector general of the U.S. intelligence community who was involved in triggering an impeachment probe of the president last year.

In a letter to key lawmakers, Trump said he planned to remove the official, Michael Atkinson, in 30 days, saying, “it is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general.”

“This is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general,” he said.

"Fullest confidence", of course, means a reliable sycophant. Atkinson's big sin, of course, was that he did his job and reported the Ukraine whistleblower's complaint to Congress. Besides, Trump doesn't like the intelligence community anyway.

For the second firing, he used a surrogate:

[Capt. Brett] was removed from duty after a letter he wrote pleading for help for those onboard his ship who are infected with the coronavirus leaked to the media.

The Navy announced his removal on Thursday. According to acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, whether Crozier intentionally leaked the letter or not, he "did not take care" to ensure it was not leaked.

As of Thursday, 114 sailors on board the Roosevelt had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Crozier's letter to Navy officials, which leaked on Tuesday, warned that the tight quarters onboard the ship did not allow for the safety of the crew. He asked leadership to offload most of the sailors on the ship in order to allow for social distancing and sanitizing the ship.

So, try to take care of the service members under your care and you get fired.

And the surrogate is madly trying to cover his ass:

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said Friday that his firing of the captain who raised the alarm about a coronavirus outbreak onboard a U.S. aircraft carrier was the "hardest thing that I've ever had to do."

But he did it anyway, because:

"I know that he loves this crew. I know that the crew loves and respects him. But that's not an excuse for exercising the judgment that he did," Modly said.

If anyone displayed poor judgment in this, it's the" Acting" Secretary of the Navy.

All via Joe.My.God.


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