It was another of the many “last straws” in the Trump era. Kyle Murphy, a senior analyst in the US Defense Intelligence Agency, went public with his resignation, appearing on tv news shows and

publishing an op-ed on the highly regarded Just Security site. Murphy said that what he saw in the Trump administration had “grave similarities between events in our country and the processes by which autocratic leaders have brought their countries to the brink of civil conflict and beyond. Each day, Trump’s approach looks more like the autocrats I warned about as an analyst.”

Here is the full text of his powerful op-ed:

I recently resigned as a senior analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency after experiencing firsthand the actions of U.S. government leaders to suppress nonviolent dissent during the recent nationwide protests for racial justice.

I have seen up close the president’s disdain for democratic values, and recent events should be put in the context of a continuous slide toward authoritarianism. In 2015, I was detailed to the White House as an apolitical civil servant on the National Security Council (NSC) staff. My term was set to conclude in January 2017, but I agreed to extend for two months at the request of NSC leaders to support an orderly transition between administrations. I briefed President Donald Trump before several introductory calls to foreign heads of state, and as is customary, I listened in and prepared the official transcripts. I was appalled by the ways he actively undermined the democratic principles we have long aspired to model and to advance globally.

In my years analyzing foreign political and military decision-making for senior policymakers, part of my job was to observe whether foreign governments protected their national security services from politicization and whether they committed abuses against their own populations. These are critical measures of the health of a democracy, and failures not only disqualify countries from U.S. partnership but also can be a warning sign that a country may play a destabilizing role in the world. Our laws enshrine a fundamental belief that a nation’s security forces should defend, not undermine, the core principles of democracy, and that they are not a leader’s personal tool to silence critics and retain power. Respect for this principle is one of the starkest lines dividing democratic and authoritarian leaders, and I see grave similarities between events in our country and the processes by which autocratic leaders have brought their countries to the brink of civil conflict and beyond.

Each day, Trump’s approach looks more like the autocrats I warned about as an analyst. I am alarmed by the decision to send federal forces to Portland and additional cities, over local objections, as well as the abusive approach of those forces to protesters in operations well beyond their normal jurisdiction. The use of intelligence elements to monitor citizens engaging in constitutionally-protected activity is deeply disturbing and strikingly similar to illegal domestic spying that prompted the Church Committee in 1975 and resulted in our modern intelligence oversight structure. Set against the backdrop of the dereliction and callous disregard for the more than 160,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19, I fear the president and his allies may choose further escalation in an attempt to avoid the personal consequences of defeat in November.

I saw several patterns repeated in the behavior of foreign leaders who lacked majority support and refused to respect their constitutions and constituents. They ignored or manipulated facts, rejected legitimate criticism, sought to disenfranchise opposition voters, invited foreign interference, and planted seeds of doubt about their own institutions and electoral processes. They also identified security elements willing to spy on their own citizens and to use force to put down protests calling for the leader to step down. Sadly, the similarities to current events in the United States are striking.

I have seen up close the president’s disdain for democratic values, and recent events should be put in the context of a continuous slide toward authoritarianism.

But some of the same situations I watched overseas give me reasons to be hopeful. I have seen several authoritarian leaders attempt but ultimately fail to subdue populations deeply committed to advancing democratic values – including Yahya Jammeh in The Gambia and Blaise Compaore in Burkina Faso. In these cases, massive turnout for elections and non-violent protest as part of disciplined and enduring social movements were vital to resetting the course of countries on our current trajectory.

These basic acts of civic participation, undertaken by millions, help rebuild the foundations of democracy and bolster governing institutions against efforts to tear them apart. It is up to all of us to ensure historic and safe participation in this election, and to be prepared to peacefully reject any efforts to subvert the will of the people.

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Mick Mulvaney, Donald Trump’s appointee to head up [translation:destroy] the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau comes in for devastating criticism in a letter of resignation submitted by Seth Frotman, a seven-year veteran of the Bureau who served as its Student Loan Ombudsman.

In his letter, as published by NPR, Frotman describes the ways in which Mulvaney has undermined and essentially reversed the original mission of the CFPB in general, and the office of the student loan ombudsman in particular.

“…After 10 months under your leadership, it has become clear that consumers no longer have a strong, independent Consumer Bureau on their side,” writes Frotman…” Unfortunately, under your leadership, the Bureau has abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting. Instead, you have used the Bureau to serve the wishes of the most powerful financial companies in America.”

From his letter, you can tell that Frotman liked his job and was passionate about helping student-loan borrowers get fair treatment from lenders. When Mulvaney took over as interim director, he quickly began turning the CFPB on its head, Frotman implies. Frotman charges Mulvaney with undermining the bureau’s mission, undercutting enforcement, and switching the focus from protecting consumers to “going above and beyond” to protect lenders’ interests.

Frotman cites several instances that demonstrate Mulvaney’s intent to wreck the CFPB from within—something that Republicans have wanted to do since Day 1 of the bureau conceived and promoted by Senator Elizabeth Warren [D-MA].

“For example” writes Frotman, “Late last year [2017], when new evidence came to light showing that the nation’s largest banks were ripping off students on campuses across the country by saddling them with legally dubious account fees, Bureau leadership suppressed the publication of a report prepared by Bureau staff. When pressed by Congress about this, you chose to leave students vulnerable to predatory practices and deny any responsibility to bring this information to light.”

Frotman also calls some actions by the bureau, under Mulvaney’s leadership, as “unprecedented,” “illegal,” and designed to “shield the biggest financial institutions from accountability.”

“The current leadership of the Bureau has made its priorities clear—it will protect the misguided goals of the Trump Administration to the detriment of student loan borrowers,” writes Frotman. “…American families need an independent Consumer Bureau to look out for them when lenders push products they know cannot be repaid, when banks and debt collectors conspire to abuse the courts and force families out of their homes, and when student loan companies are allowed to drive millions of Americans to financial ruin with impunity.”

Frotman cannot be accused of making this stuff up. For a bit of context, it should be noted that when Mulvaney was in Congress, he sponsored legislation to abolish the CFPB. In June 2018, after being appointed acting director of the bureau by Trump, Mulvaney fired the agency’s consumer advisory council, which according to NPR,” is designed to help consumer groups work with the CFPB to identify problems facing Americans who are treated unfairly by financial firms.”

Frotman’s decision to resign with a bang echoes that of an ever-growing cadre of career government employees—dedicated to and passionate about the good things that good government can do—who have quit the Trump Administration on principle. His experience with Mulvaney also parallels what well-intentioned federal employees have encountered in other Trump-run agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency.

You have to wonder how many others, perhaps not as articulate as Frotman, in agencies whose missions are similarly threatened under Trump, are suffering in silence, keeping their heads down, trying to continue the mission they thought they were supporting, hoping that this is just an Orwellian nightmare from which America will wake up before it’s too late.

Here’s the full text of Frotman’s resignation letter, as published by NPR.

August 27, 2018

…

Acting Director Mulvaney:

It is with great regret that I tender my resignation as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman. It has been the honor of a lifetime to spend the past seven years working to protect American consumers; first under Holly Petraeus as the Bureau defended America’s military families from predatory lenders, for-profit colleges, and other unscrupulous businesses; and most recently leading the Bureau’s work on behalf of the 44 million Americans struggling with student loan debt. However, after 10 months under your leadership, it has become clear that consumers no longer have a strong, independent Consumer Bureau on their side.

Each year, tens of millions of student loan borrowers struggle to stay afloat. For many, the CFPB has served as a lifeline—cutting through red tape, demanding systematic reforms when borrowers are harmed, and serving as the primary financial regulator tasked with holding student loan companies accountable when they break the law.

The hard work and commitment of the immensely talented Bureau staff has had a tremendous impact on students and families. Together, we returned more than $750 million to harmed student loan borrowers in communities across the country and halted predatory practices that targeted millions of people in pursuit of the American Dream.

The challenges of student debt affect borrowers young and old, urban and rural, in professions ranging from infantrymen to clergymen.  Tackling these challenges should know no ideology or political persuasion. I had hoped to continue this critical work in partnership with you and your staff by using our authority under law to stand up for student loand borrowers trapped in a broken system. Unfortunately, under your leadership, the Bureau has abandoned the very consumers it is tasked by Congress with protecting. Instead, you have used the Bureau to serve the wishes of the most powerful financial companies in America.

As the Bureau official charged by Congress with overseeing the student loan market, I have seen how the current actions being taken by Bureau leadership are hurting families. In recent months, the Bureau has made sweeping changes, including:

Undercutting enforcement of the law. It is clear that the current leadership of the Bureau has abandoned its duty to fairly and robustly enforce the law. The Bureau’s new political leadership has repeatedly undercut and undermined career CFPB staff working to secure relief for consumers. These actions will affect millions of student loan borrowers, including those harmed by the company that dominates this market. In addition, when the Education Department unilaterally shut the door to routine CFPB oversight of the largest student loan companies, the Bureau’s current leadership folded to political pressure. By undermining the Bureau’s own authority to oversee the student loan market, the Bureau has failed borrowers who depend on independent oversight to halt bad practices and bring accountability to the student loan industry.

Undermining the Bureau’s independence. The current leadership of the Bureau has make its priorities clear—it will protect the misguided goals of the Trump Administration to the detriment of student loan borrowers. For nearly seven years, I was proud to be part of an agency that served no party and no administration; the Consumer Bureau focused solely on doing what was right for American consumers. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Recently, senior leadership at the Bureau blocked efforts to call attention to the ways in which the actions of this administration will hurt families ripped off by predatory for-profit schools. Similarly, senior leadership also blocked attempts to alert the Department of Education to the far-reaching harm borrowers will face due to the Department’s unprecedented and illegal attempts to preempt state consumer laws and shield student loan companies from accountability for widespread abuses. At every turn, your political appointees have silenced warnings by those of us tasked with standing up for servicemembers and students.

Shielding bad actors from scrutiny. The current leadership of the Bureau has turned its back on young people and their financial futures. Where we once found efficient and innovative ways to collaborate across government to protect consumers, the Bureau is now content doing the bare minimum for them while simultaneously going above and beyond to protect the interests of the biggest financial companies in America. For example, late last year, when new evidence came to light showing that the nation’s largest banks were reipping off students on campuses across the country by saddling them with legally dubious account fees. Bureau leadership suppressed the publication of a report prepared by Bureau staff. When pressed by Congress about this, you chose to leave students vulnerable to predatory practices and deny any responsibility to bring this information to light.

American families need an independent Consumer Bureau to look out for them when lenders push products they know cannot be repaid, when banks and debt collectors conspire to abuse the courts and force families out of their homes, and when student loan companies are allowed to drive millions of Americans to financial ruin with impunity.

In my time at the Bureau I have traveled across the country, meeting with consumers in over three dozen states, and with military families from over 100 military units. I have met with dozens of state law enforcement officials and, more importantly, I have heard directly from tens of thousands of individual student loan borrowers.

A common thread ties these experiences together—the American Dream under siege, told through the hear wrenching stories of individuals caught in a system rigged to favor the most powerful financial interests. For seven years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fought to ensure these families received a fair shake as they strived for the American Dream.

For these reasons, I resign effective September 1, 2018. Although I will no longer be Student Loan Ombudsman, I remain committed to fighting on behalf of borrowers who are trapped in a broken student loan system.

 

Sincerely,

Seth Frotman

Assistant Director & Student Loan Ombudsman

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The post Student Loan Watchdog Quits Trump Administration with scorching resignation letter appeared first on Occasional Planet.

The state of Missouri has inaugurated a new governor and, to paraphrase President Ford, our long nightmare is indeed over. Governor Eric Greitens finally relented in the face of almost certain impeachment by the General Assembly as well as an uphill legal battle regarding his abuse of charity records for political fundraising. Then of course there is the allegation that was the impetus for the immolation of Greitens’ political career, that he had engaged in a non-consensual relationship with his hairdresser and took explicit photos of her to use as potential blackmail. The Greitens administration was plagued with scandals and was a shining example of what “bad government” looks like. The state of Missouri will be better off, at least from the outside looking in (more on that later), without Greitens. But, Greitens’ unethical, ill-thought, and possibly illegal actions were not unpredictable.  As a matter of fact, dozens of my colleagues and I were making the argument against Greitens for the better part of a year in 2016.

Often,  it didn’t seem necessary for us to possess opposition research, because it seemed so clearly evident to us that our opponent was not fit to hold office. That is to say we didn’t just believe that Greitens shouldn’t be governor because of differences on policy, but rather we believed that he simply did not have the requisite knowledge or temperament to even be governor. Whether it was his ads that depicted him firing heavy artillery into a lake with his thousand-yard stare, personal anecdotes from people that described him as hollow and lacking substance, or the cartoonishly angry phone call he had with John Brunner… we felt that the voters just would pick up on what we had known for months. Of course, we were wrong, and we lost.

Ultimately in a campaign,  there are two parties generally considered responsible for the outcome of an election, the candidate and voters. The candidate delivers their message and the voters decide whether to accept or reject. But there’s a third pillar, that I would argue is almost equally as important as the candidate, and that’s the campaign staff. 2.8 million people voted for governor in Missouri, and neither Chris Koster nor Eric Greitens were going to be able to shake every hand or meet every voter. That is true in every election: Television ads, radio ads, and mail can only achieve so much voter persuasion. Elections are won and lost because of field programs, which can end up talking to hundreds of thousands of voters. There’s even a phrase in political campaigns called the field margin, which represents the 3% to 7% bump a candidate can expect to receive relative to the effectiveness of their field program.

I worked in field, and I must’ve talked to well over 2,000 voters. So, when we lost, I took that very personally, because it not only felt like a rejection of my candidate but of myself. Because the election was so close, it’s hard to know what we could’ve done differently and if it ultimately would’ve mattered. Regardless, we had a responsibility to the voters to save them from Eric Greitens and his distorted view of politics as well as his obsession with power. We failed them, not because we didn’t work hard enough but perhaps because we underestimated him. Of course, we believe that we were dragged down somewhat by the top of the ticket [Claire McCaskill], even though we were able to outperform her by double digits. But that alone doesn’t explain our shortcomings, because Montana and West Virginia were somehow able to overcome the Clinton malaise. In the postmortem in the media, some blame has been put on our candidate and his shortcomings. But again, Chris Koster had been elected in a landslide just four years earlier and had the endorsements of liberal and conservative groups alike and should’ve been the strongest gubernatorial candidate since Mel Carnahan. I only mention these things, to circle back to how, even nearly two years later, we campaign workers still feel the great burden responsibility of for this loss.

It is difficult to see what has become of our state because of our failure to get our candidate across the finish line. We became America’s 28th right-to-work state, which thankfully is something voters have the opportunity to challenge this August by voting no on Proposition A. We slashed our already diminutive higher education budget, which will undoubtedly leave a generation of young Missourians less prepared for the workforce then their parents. We have continued to see the closure of independent emergency rooms and rural hospitals as a direct result of Greitens’ refusal to expand Medicaid, and Missourians have died and will continue to die. Programs specifically designed to improve economic mobility among the poorest of us, have been ignored or completely eliminated. Our government is limping, because Greitens with his ineptitudes failed to fill several boards with qualified candidates. Women, now unlike any time in recent memory are under attack as their right to make personal medical decisions has been curtailed. The human suffering not just among our supporters but among all people in my state is something that keeps me up at night. Our reality was not inevitable, it was a part of my job to prevent it.

The resignation of the governor gave me no joy, it was just another reminder of the consequences of elections. Somethings can be fixed by future administration, but somethings can’t. It’s not possible to put people’s lives together again after a loved one has died of a preventable illness because we couldn’t secure them healthcare. It’s not possible to give an opportunity back to a child who is denied a college education because the funding just wasn’t there. Furthermore, by his leaving office and the ascension Governor Mike Parson, we’ve essentially allowed a person with the same politics but a more agreeable personality into office. Mike Parson will be an effective governor and that is to the detriment of all people living in Missouri who have suffered because of Greitens’ policies. Gov. Parson is well-liked in the General Assembly and will be able to take our state further backwards than Greitens could’ve because he lacked the political will. The silver lining is that perhaps we can now finally make a return to normalcy and rediscover respect for the institutions that make our state work. Eric Greitens was a dangerous individual not just because of what he was able to accomplish, but what he might’ve been able to accomplish if he were allowed to build a national profile. His resignation has saved not just Missouri, but maybe the entire country from further degradation. However, all the same, his resignation does not even begin to lift the great veil of shame that has been cast over our state because of his personal indiscretions and unethical leadership. We are not Illinois, New York, or any other state infamous for a long history of corrupt politics. Missouri gave us Tom Eagleton, John Danforth, Dick Gephardt, Mel Carnahan, Harry Truman and other great Americans who exemplify what it means to be a servant of the people. We’ve worked hard to create a legacy of public service and standing up for American values, and it’s distressing that Eric Greitens’ may change that.

The post The Greitens Resignation: A View from a Chris Koster intern appeared first on Occasional Planet.

If I have counted correctly, at least 31 legislators in 24 states resigned in disgrace [or should have] in 2017. This development is shocking, but it is hardly new. Many state representatives and state senators were shamed into calling it quits in recent years as well. It’s just that this year, I decided to do a news-search to survey the landscape and to explore the scope of this phenomenon. What follows are the results of my non-scientific, state-by-state search.

I have included only state legislators reported to have resigned as a result of one form of misbehavior or another. I’m not including US Congressional representatives or Senators. I’m not including state legislators who quit to pursue higher office, or because of health/family issues, or to assume an appointed administrative position or take a job as a lobbyist. I’m also not listing those who simply decided not to run for office again after many years in a legislature.

The only people in this roundup are state legislators and party officials, plus one governor, who resigned from their offices or party leadership positions because of behavior deemed to be socially, morally or ethically shameful, or because of misdeeds that resulted in criminal investigations and/or charges.  In addition, there are several more who, according to public sentiment or party leadership, should resign, but haven’t done so.

Unfortunately, even with those exclusions, there are too many state legislators who fit into the ignominious category in 2017. I don’t pretend that this list is comprehensive: I probably have missed some. Still, even if it’s incomplete, it is dismayingly lengthy, so this promises to be a long post. And, sorry, but most of them happen to be Republicans. That’s how the chips fell.

Here’s what I found, listed by the type of misbehavior.

Sexual misconduct

These are some of the ickiest behaviors that turned up in my search. In calling for the resignation of a one state legislator who engaged in sexual misbehavior, one state majority leader reportedly said that this conduct “does not rise to the standards of behavior that we expect of elected officials.” But judging from how many state legislators across the country have engaged in—and gotten away with– these inappropriate acts, you have to wonder whether sexual misconduct itself is, indeed, the standard. And you have to ask yourself how much more of this is going unreported.

Examples from 2017:

In South Dakota, State representative Matthew Wollman [R] resigned in January, after admitting to having sexual relationships with interns during the past two legislative sessions.

In Louisiana, State Senator Tony Brown [D] resigned in February rather than face expulsion by the State Senate. According to the Times-Picayune, he had pleaded no contest twice in four months to misdemeanor charges related to domestic abuse—one charge lodged by his wife, and another by a woman who called herself his “side friend.”

Also in February, Tennessee House Representative Mark Lovell [R], in his first year in the house, resigned amid allegations that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a woman. He denied wrongdoing but resigned anyway. Lovell’s other job is listed as a “fair and carnival operator.”

Two Oklahoma state Senators resigned in disgrace in 2017: Oklahoma state Senator Ralph Shortey [R} resigned in March after facing felony child prostitution charges for soliciting sex from a 17-year-old boy.

Oklahoma’s Bryce Marlatt [R] resigned in September after being charged with sexual battery. He was named as a suspect in an assault on an Uber driver, in which he allegedly grabbed the driver forcefully and kissed her on the neck while she was driving.

In Nevada,  State Senator Mark Menendo {D], accused of sexual harassment in May, stepped down as chairman of Nevada’s Senate Committee on Transportation.

In October, Ohio State Senator Cliff Hite [R] resigned, citing “failing health” and “a mistaken judgment.” He admitted to “inappropriate conversations with a state employee, sometimes “asking her for hugs.” The female state employee said she rejected Hite’s advances more than a dozen times over two months, according to a state document. [In response, Ohio’s Senate president announced implementation of sexual harassment training.]

In the subcategory of “probably should have resigned, but didn’t” we have:

Iowa State Senator Bill Dix, the GOP majority leader, who settled a sexual harassment case lodged by a former GOP caucus staff member to the tune of $1.75 million in July, and California State Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra [D], about whom it was revealed in November that, eight years ago, when he was a top legislative aide, he was disciplined after being accused of groping another staffer.

In Kentucky, a quartet: Speaker of the House Jeff Hoover [R], resigned as speaker in November—but did not give up his elected seat—after admitting to secretly settling a sexual harassment claim, to which three other state legislators are also signatories: State Rep. Brian Linder [R], Michael Meredith [R] and Jim DeCesare [R].  Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has called for the resignation of any elected official who settles a sexual harassment claim.

And in Minnesota, State Senator Dan Schoen [D], has been accused of sexual harassment by several women, who describe behavior by Schoen that ranges from persistent and unwanted invitations to meet to physically grabbing a woman from behind. One woman, who asked to not be identified, said he sent her a photo of male genitalia via Snapchat. Schoen denies engaging in any inappropriate behavior.

Inappropriate and offensive statements

In Nebraska, State Senator Bill Kintner [R}—who had previously been fined for having cybersex using a state computer—resigned in January after re-tweeting a message that implied that participants in the post-Inaugural Women’s March were “too unattractive to be victims of sexual assault.”  Kintner did not apologize for his comments.

In New Hampshire, State Representative Robert Fisher [R], resigned in May, saying it was “out of concern for the safety of himself, his girlfriend and his family.” The issue was his creation of an incendiary forum on Reddit, known as The Red Pill, in which rape was described as “not an absolute bad.” His comments on women included these words: “I don’t hate women. I just understand what use they are to me…stimulating conversation is not one of them.”  Fisher faced no sanctions, according to a New Hampshire legislative committee, because his online behavior took place before he was elected in 2016.

In Rhode Island, Joseph De Lorenzo—not an elected official, but 2^nd vice president of the Democratic State Committee—quit the party, under pressure, after making dismissive comments about a Democratic state representative’s sexual harassment claims against a fellow—unnamed—lawmaker. Similarly, in New Mexico, a county Republican Party chairman was forced to resign in August, after posting social media comments about “violent, leftist protesters.

As for others who said offensive things and did not lose their jobs, we have:

Virgil Peck [R], a state representative from Kansas, who, in March, publicly stated,” Looks like to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem,”, according to The Wichita Eagle.

In Missouri, State Representative Warren Love [R], stated on his Facebook page that, “people who vandalized a Confederate monument should be found and hung from a tall tree with a long rope.”

Elsewhere in Missouri, State Senator Maria Chapelle-Nadal [D], in a Facebook comment, suggested that Donald Trump be assassinated.

Campaign finance violations/malfeasance in office

In January, State Representative Micha Neal [R] of Arkansas resigned after pleading guilty in a scheme in which he took $38,000 in kickbacks from $600,000 in state grants to two nonprofit entities in Northwest Arkansas. Another Arkansas State Representative—Jake Files [R]—has been under investigation for wire fraud and pocketing $25,000 in taxpayer General Improvement Funds. To date, Files has not resigned.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley [R] resigned from office in April, after it was determined that he failed to file a major campaign contribution report, knowingly converted campaign contributions to personal use, and—by the way—covered up his extra-marital relationship with an aide.

Also in April, Oklahoma State Representative Kyle Loveless [R] resigned when it was announced that he was under criminal investigation for embezzling campaign donations.

State Senator Andre Cushing [R] of Maine resigned as assistant majority leader in October, after he was fined $9,000 for violating the state’s campaign finance laws.

In Arizona, State Representative Jesus Rubalcava [D] resigned in July after a random audit from the Citizens Clean Elections Commission found problems with his accounting. A follow-up audit identified $9,200 in expenditures that could not clearly be determined to be related to his campaign.

In South Carolina, State Representative Jim Merrill [R] resigned in August. A grand jury indicted him in December 2016 on two counts of misconduct in office and 28 counts of ethics violations. He is accused of illegally profiting from his position. Merrill is one of three legislators suspended by a state probe into statehouse corruption.

In Maryland, State Delegate Michael L. Vaughn [D] resigned in January, just minutes before the 2017 session convened. He was not charged with a crime, but is rumored to have been a possible informant in a case involving bribery of two former state lawmakers and two county liquor board officials.

State Representative Brandon Hixon [R], of Idaho, resigned in October, when it was revealed that he was involved in an active criminal investigation that had begun two weeks previously. No charges were filed at the time of his resignation, and no details were available.

And in Michigan, State Representative Brian Banks [R] resigned in February, as he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of filing false financial statements. He faced four criminal charges, for falsifying documents to obtain a $3,000 loan from a credit union. He also faked employment records in 2016, stating that he worked at a company where he had never been employed.

And the year is not over.

The post 31 State lawmakers who resigned in shame in 2017 [or should have] appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Joel Clement,  a scientist at the Department of the Interior, has just joined the legions of people quitting the Trump administration and leaving toughly worded letters of resignation as they exit.

Clement has worked at Interior for seven years. In his courageous letter of resignation, he cites three reasons for leaving: poor leadership—alluding to possibly illegal retaliation against whistleblowers, and to reassignment of employees to jobs where their expertise is irrelevant; waste of taxpayer dollars—a not-too-subtle reference to Zinke’s [and other Trump appointees’] use of privately chartered airplanes; and  climate-change denial—calling Zinke, Trump and others “shackled to special interests such as oil, gas and mining,” and therefore not to be trusted with the nation’s natural resources.

“Secretary Zinke, your agenda profoundly undermines the Interior Department’s mission and betrays the American people,” Clement wrote. “You have disrespected the career staff of the Department by questioning their loyalty and you have played fast and loose with government regulations to score ponts with your political base at the expense of American health and safety.”

[Zinke, a former Congressman from Montana, famously made a grand entrance on his first day on the job, riding a horse several blocks through Washington DC to his new office.]

Here is the full text of his letter of resignation as published by Scribd:

Dear Secretary Zinke, I hereby resign my position as Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).

The career men and women of DOI serve because they believe in DOI’s mission to protect our nation’s natural and cultural resources and they believe that service to this country is a responsibility and an honor. I’m proud to have served at DOI alongside such devoted public servants, and I share their dedication to the mission and country, so it is with a heavy heart that I am resigning as a senior official at the Department. I have three reasons for my resignation:

Poor Leadership. I blew the whistle on the Trump administration because I believe you unlawfully retaliated against me for disclosing the perilous impacts of climate change upon Alaska Native communities and for working to help get them out of harm’s way. The investigations into my whistleblower complaints are ongoing and I hope to prevail.

Retaliating against civil servants for raising health and safety concerns is unlawful, but there are many more items to add to your resume of failure: You and President Trump have waged an all-out assault on the civil service by muzzling scientists and policy experts like myself; you conducted an arbitrary and sloppy review of our treasured National Monuments to score political  points; your team has compromised tribal sovereignty by limiting programs meant to serve Indians and Alaska Natives; you are undercutting important work to protect the western sage grouse and its habitat; you eliminated a rule that prevented oil and gas interests from cheating taxpayers on royalty payments; you cancelled the moratorium on a failed coal leasing program that was also shortchanging taxpayers; and you even cancelled a study into the health risks of people living near mountaintop removal coal mines after rescinding a rule that would have  protected their health.

You have disrespected the career staff of the Department by questioning their loyalty and you have played fast and loose with government regulations to score points with your political base at the expense of American health and safety. Secretary Zinke, your agenda profoundly undermines the DOI mission and betrays the American people.

Waste of Taxpayer Dollars. My background is in science, policy, and climate change. You reassigned me to the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. My new colleagues were as surprised as I was by the involuntary reassignment to a job title with no duties in an office that specializes in auditing and dispersing fossil fuel royalty income. They acted in good faith to find a role for me, and I deeply appreciate their efforts. In the end, however, reassigning and training me as an auditor when I have no background in that field will involve an exorbitant amount of time and effort on the part of my colleagues, incur significant taxpayer expense, and create a situation in which these talented specialists are being led by someone without experience in their field. I choose to save them the trouble, save taxpayer dollars, and honor the organization by stepping away to find a role more suited to my skills. Secretary Zinke, you and your fellow high-flying Cabinet officials have demonstrated over and over that you are willing to waste taxpayer dollars, but I’m not.

Climate Change Is Real and It’s Dangerous. I have highlighted the Alaska Native communities on the brink in the Arctic, but many other Americans are facing climate impacts head-on. Families in the path of devastating hurricanes, businesses in coastal communities experiencing frequent and severe flooding, fishermen pulling up empty nets due to warming seas, medical  professionals working to understand new disease vectors, farming communities hit by floods of  biblical proportions, and owners of forestlands laid waste by invasive insects. These are just a few of the impacts Americans face. If the Trump administration continues to try to silence experts in science, health and other fields, many more Americans, and the natural ecosystems upon which they depend, will be put at risk.

The solutions and adaptations to these impacts will be complex, but exponentially less difficult and expensive than waiting until tragedy strikes – as we have seen with Houston, Florida, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico – and there is no time to waste. We must act quickly to limit climate change while also preparing for its impacts.

Secretary Zinke: It is well known that you, Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, and President Trump are shackled to special interests such as oil, gas, and mining. You are unwilling to lead on climate change, and cannot be trusted with our nation’s natural resources.

So for those three compelling reasons – poor leadership, waste, and your failures on climate change, I tender my resignation. The best use of my skills is to join with the majority of Americans who understand what’s at stake, working to find ways to innovate and thrive despite the many hurdles ahead. You have not silenced me; I will continue to be an outspoken advocate for action, and my voice will be part of the American chorus calling for your resignation so that someone loyal to the interests of all Americans, not just special interests, can take your job.

My thoughts and wishes are with the career women and men who remain at DOI. I encourage them to persist when possible, resist when necessary, and speak truth to power so the institution may recover and thrive on

The post Why he quit: Dept. of Interior scientist blasts Zinke in resignation letter appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Daniel Kammen couldn’t take it any more, so he quit. An expert in renewable energy, he was appointed by President Obama in 2016 as a science envoy to the State Department. That position was probably a good job under Obama. But when the anti-science, anti-knowledge, fact-averse Trump administration took over, it’s easy to conjecture that he found himself working in an inhospitable environment. Still, he persisted. Until this week.

On August 23, 2017, in the aftermath of the Charlottesville white-supremacy, neo-Nazi riot, Kammen

submitted a scathing letter of resignation, specifically citing Donald Trump’s “attacks on the core values of the United States.”  He also directly calls out Trump for actions that have “harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet.”  Kammen’s full letter of resignation is worth reading, first for its courage and bluntness, and second, for its hidden message, “I-M-P-E-A-C-H,” cleverly embedded as the first letter of each paragraph.

Sharply worded protest statements and letters of resignation like this one are becoming a trend for the Trump administration, as frustration and moral outrage grow among government employees, industry leaders and knowledge experts spurned by the know-nothing attitude of this regime. We can only hope that others, staying on to try to contribute their energy and knowledge for the greater good, then finding themselves mired in a hopeless situation, will be as courageous, direct and honest in expressing what has driven them out.

Here’s the full text of Kammen’s letter, as published in the Washington Post:

Mr. President:

I am resigning from my position as Science Envoy for the Department of State of the United States. Since 1996, I have served the Departments of Energy, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the state Department in a number of roles. Working closely with the talented teams at State Department Headquarters and at U.S. embassies abroad, we have built significant partnerships in North and East Africa, and in the Middle East, around shared visions of national security, job creation in the U.S. and sustainable energy.

My decision to resign is in response to your attacks on core values of the United States. Your failure to condemn white supremacists and neo-Nazis has domestic and international ramifications. On this issue, I stand with the unequivocal and authoritative statements of Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signor, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator John McCain, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtenin, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Dr. Cornel West, Linda Sarsour, the Palestinian-American activist and one of the organizers of the Women’s March, and many others.

Particularly troubling to me is how your response to Charlottesville is consistent with a broader pattern of behavior that enables sexism and racism, and disregards the welfare of all Americans, the global community and the planet.

Examples of this destructive pattern have consequences on my duties as Science Envoy. Your decision to abdicate the leadership opportunities and the job creation benefits of the Paris Climate Accord, and to undermine energy and environmental research are not acceptable to me.

Acts and words matter. To continue in my role in your administration would be inconsistent with the principles of the United States Oath of Allegiance to which I adhere.

Acts and words matter. To continue in my role in your administration would be inconsistent with the principles of the United States Oath of Allegiance to which I adhere.

Character is vital in leadership. I find particularly wise the admonition of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who cautioned that, “A people [or person] that values its privileges above principles soon loses both.”

Herein, with regret, I resign. I deeply respect and value the work of the many fine people I have encountered in our federal agencies and will miss the opportunity to work with and support them. Your actions to date have, sadly, harmed the quality of life in the United States, our standing abroad, and the sustainability of the planet.

The post Why he quit: Scientist resigns from Trump’s State Dept. with a biting message appeared first on Occasional Planet.

Donald Trump’s embrace of neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups has alienated yet another of his showpiece “advisory” councils. All 17 members of the President’s Council on the  Arts & Humanities [PCAH] resigned on August 18, 2017, leaving a harshly worded break-up note. Their letter of resignation is the latest in an accumulating file of written protests by knowledge experts,  industry luminaries and military leaders, whose moral compasses are guiding them away from a president whose policies and actions they feel they can no longer implicitly endorse.

Below is the full text of their letter. It’s worth noting that the Honorary Chairperson of this group is none other than Melania Trump, who must be mightily embarrassed by this move [and by having been suckered into putting her name on the letterhead]. Also, sharp observers have noticed that the first letters of each paragraph combine to spell the hidden message, “RESIST.”

Dear Mr. President:

Reproach and censure in the strongest possible terms are necessary following your support of the hate groups and terrorists who killed and injured fellow Americans in Charlottesville. The false equivalencies you push cannot stand. The Administration’s refusal to quickly and unequivocally condemn the cancer of hatred only further emboldens those who wish America ill. We cannot sit idly by, the way that your West Wing advisors have, without speaking out against your words and actions. We are members of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH). The Committee was created in 1982under President Reagan to advise the White House on cultural issues. We were hopeful that continuing to serve in the PCAH would allow us to focus on the important work the committee does with your federal partners and the private sector to address, initiate, and support key policies and programs in the arts and humanities for all Americans. Effective immediately, please accept our resignation from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Elevating any group that threatens and discriminates on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, orientation, background, or identity is un-American. We have fought slavery, segregation, and internment. We must learn from our rich and often painful history. The unified fabric of America is made by patriotic individuals from backgrounds as vast as the nation is strong. In our service to the American people, we have experienced this first-hand as we traveled and built the Turnaround Arts education program, now in many urban and rural schools across the country from Florida to Wisconsin.

Speaking truth to power is never easy, Mr. President. But it is our role as commissioners on the PCAH to do so. Art is about inclusion. The Humanities include a vibrant free press. You have attacked both. You released a budget which eliminates arts and culture agencies. You have threatened nuclear war while gutting diplomacy funding. The Administration pulled out of the Paris agreement, filed an amicus brief undermining the Civil Rights Act, and attacked our brave trans service members. You have subverted equal protections, and are committed to banning Muslims and refugee women & children from our great country. This does not unify the nation we all love. We know the importance of open and free dialogue through our work in the cultural diplomacy realm, most recently with the first-ever US Government arts and culture delegation to Cuba, a country without the same First Amendment protections we enjoy here. Your words and actions push us all further away from the freedoms we are guaranteed.

Ignoring your hateful rhetoric would have made us complicit in your words and actions. We took a patriotic oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic

Supremacy, discrimination, and vitriol are not American values. Your values are not American values. We must be better than this. We are better than this. If this is not clear to you, then we call on you to resign your office, too.

Thank you.

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