Defense to Bush holdovers: Sign ethics pledge, or leave

[lanlady]

Source: Government Executive

Bush administration political appointees at the Defense Department have until the end of the week to sign President Barack Obama's ethics pledge, or they will be asked to resign, according to internal correspondence.

In an April 7 e-mail, Robert Rangel, special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, gave all Bush holdovers until the close of business on Friday to sign the agreement, which puts restrictions on post-government employment.

Politicos who refuse to comply will be required to leave their position by the end of April.

"Those who choose not to sign the ethics pledge and leave before April 30, 2009 (or those who choose to sign the pledge and are replaced after April 30, 2009), will be asked to submit their resignations, and the department will treat their separations as involuntary," Rangel wrote.

Read more: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0409/040909rb1.htm

[redqueen]

1. Something tells me that though they had no problems with loyalty oaths,

they'll balk at signing anything with the word 'ethics' anywhere near it.

[0xDEADBEEF]

7. Ethics?

"It burns! It burns! Get it off me! Gaaaa!"

[Winterblues]

8. If they have no ethics which I believe they don't then why should they care?

They will sign and then do whatever they please anyway, just as the pirates did yesterday. They say they will do one thing and then not do it. A Republican virtue I believe...

[kiranon]

11. Agree especially if they are religious fundamentalists who do not recognize

ethics as part of "God"'s plan (can't use the word "laws" either because they do not respect them either). Ethics are for liberals and are considered not something they need follow. Read "The Family - the secret fundamentalism at the heart of American power" by Jeff Sharlet. There are probably some good employees among them but how to tell? Not by their signing an ethics pledge but what by what they do and who they report to. See if there is a chain of hold overs which would allow them to protect each other.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TaranAlvein]

15. You're dead-wrong.

How dare you rail against intolerance in such an intolerant post? It'd be one thing if you were merely angry at those Christians who were "weak minded intolerant" savages. But to so vehemently "paint all Christians that way" is equally closed-minded and intolerant as the people you rail against. Not all Christians are as you say. I am not. I know many others who are not like this. Christianity is not "weak minded Bronze Age BullShit", as you so "eloquently" put it. It is a valid religious faith. You do not have to agree with it. You do not have to be a Christian. But I would ask that you not post flame-bait just because you apparently take Christianity as an affront to your very being.

You should know by now that the people you so fiercely decry are the extremely vocal minority. Those of us who are actually sane are actually rather agreeable. The thing is, you don't see so much of us because we see no reason to stand around on street corners holding signs that proclaim "We are Christians who think homosexuality is A-OK!" or "We are Christians who think that women should have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion!" This is because we prefer not to act the part of the false zealot who stands upon a soapbox in the middle of town all day so he can make more money pretending to be a Christian on his televangelist show. Instead, we work by more subtle means, such as speaking with friends and family members about the issues, and by petitioning the government directly instead of playing and preying on the fears and prejudices of the populace.

I don't know what religion you profess to be a part of, but even if you were an atheist I would still respect your choice. How about showing some respect for those of us who have chosen to maintain our faith as Christians, even with all of the bad things Christians have done throughout history, and even with all of these bad things that have been occurring in the world that would try anybody's faith in any religion?

[Posteritatis]

18. Nice thing about something signed with your name on it...

It's a lot easier for the sky to fall on you if you obviously lied about what you promised you'd do.

[tomm2thumbs]

2. have them all sign it - and THEN fire 'em

or is that completely cruel and silly - <g> I am only talking about the ones that Bush/Cheney 'embedded' before they left to try and sway policy

[Bette Noir]

3. Another strongly worded memo?

I had hoped the ethics involved would have something to do with the prosecution of their duties, not merely a pledge to avoid turning their government contacts into a lobbying paycheck for a couple of years.

[tclambert]

4. Bush holdover says:

"I worked for the Bush administration loyally for years. I have no knowledge of this 'ethics' substance which you mentioned. Could someone explain it to me, please? Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, thanks. Bwa-ha-ha-ha. I'm sorry, it's just so--bwa-ha-ha-HA! Oh, that's so funnee! Seriously, you just made that concept up, didn't you?"

[JDPriestly]

5. I would like to see Obama do something similar with all attorneys

working for any department in his administration. That's where the real ethics problems lie.

[santamargarita]

6. They'll never live up to it - kick the fascist pigs out now!

:puke:

[Ian David]

9. Burrowing Bushies have to go. n/t

[Mr. Sparkle]

10. I'm so impressed right now.

I was unsure on how the Obama administration would deal with these left overs (republican spies, leaks specialists). Genius, this should flush a few of them out or open them up to firings in the near future.

I'm impressed. :toast:

[bluedigger]

12. Involuntary separation, eh?

Well, that makes them eligible for unemployment, at least, which judging by that incompetant dolt Gonzales, they will need. Don't let the door hit ya on the way out, boys!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. all the "holdovers" in every department should be ferreted out

dismissed at ounce...it should have been done in January

[DCKit]

19. Jeebus. Read a couple of GinaMarie's posts detailing what the Obama Admin. does each week...

and tell me they're not moving fast enough. The Republic's heads are spinning to the point they don't know what to complain about from one minute to the next.

Sure, I'd like to see the burrowers all frog-marched out of the Pentagram and all the alphabet agencies (with investigations and trials to follow), but it takes time to formulate strategy and to set them up properly for termination. The borrowers are a definite problem, but they're under the microscope now. I am confident that further machinations will be treated severely under the new Administration.

For those who refuse to leave on their own, I expect not only scrutiny, but also a review of qualifications. The maladministration hires were based on ideology and loyalty, not competence, qualifications or experience - especially at the DOJ. However, as with all the other cesspools of incompetence and malice the new Administration has got to deal with, it's going to take time to clean up, and they've got to get it right the first time.

If nothing else, relate this situation to the President's comment last week about wanting to know what he's talking about before he begins shooting his mouth off. We had enough of that between 2001 and 2009.

[lamp_shade]

20. Her wkly posts are required reading in this household. She should be paid for

all the work she puts into them. She's an amazing DUer.

[EFerrari]

16. Because criminals would never perjure themselves. n/t

[barbtries]

17. somehow or other

i don't see them having a problem with simply LYING about it.

[lamp_shade]

21. Cheney's "stay behinds"... as reported several days ago. n/t