Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Democracy cannot function without a free press.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

New McCarthy, same old McCarthyism.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

Second rate reporter says what?

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Damn right I heard that as a threat.

So very ready.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

A fool as well as an oath-breaker.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Republicans: The threats are dire, but my tickets are non-refundable!

That meeting sounds like a shotgun wedding between a shitshow and a clusterfuck.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

The way to stop violence is to stop manufacturing the hatred that fuels it.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

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Reader Interactions

16Comments

  1. 1.

    Vlad

    Not sure I agree with the rule, but given that it IS the rule, it’s nice to see it being enforced up and down the line.

    If only such standards were used in the prison abuse cases…

  2. 2.

    Mr.Ortiz

    The Army has been hurt over the past year by detainee-abuse cases and has been accused of not going after top officers allegedly involved in such abuse. Army officials said relieving Byrnes was meant to show the public that the service takes issues of integrity seriously.

    “Sorry we let that rabid dog get away. To make it up to you, we’ve murdered this fluffy kitten.”

  3. 3.

    bs23

    Mr.Ortiz pretty much sums it all up. Rather than this being a case where “it’s nice to see [rules] being enforced”, enforcing this rule and not dismissing some higher-ups in prison abuse cases just undermines the whole idea of having standards in the first place.

  4. 4.

    Jim Allen

    Re: “Sorry we let that rabid dog get away. To make it up to you, we’ve murdered this fluffy kitten.”

    Fortunately, I had already swallowed that mouthful of coffee before I read that, or I’d be grabbing for the paper towels.

  5. 5.

    Clever

    Ortiz, wonderfully put, although I would have gone with “tomcat”.

    Next on the chopping block, that notorious Lt. Colonel thats been taking office pens home with him. Scandalous! [And please keep paying no attention to those officers involved in detainee abuse. That was all “rogue” privates…]

  6. 6.

    db

    Article says he’s been separated from his wife since May 2004. It doesn’t specify when the alleged affair occurred.

    This is a questionable move given the way I have seen some in the private sector behavior (and, no, I am not condoning extra-marital affairs). If it is found that he had the affair after separating from his wife, then JC ought to move this classification to “General Stupidity” (hey, that’s funny – a general behaves stupidly by having an affair… get it? get it?).

  8. 8.

    Stephen Benson

    It made me wax nostalgic for a leader like Lincoln who, when hearing reports of Grant’s drinking said “Find out what he drinks and send all the other generals a case.” This guy will be missed and for no good reason.

  9. 9.

    Vlad

    If it’s a rule, it should be enforced. If it’s a bad rule, they should change it, but until they do, it should be enforced.

  10. 10.

    wilson

    Conduct unbecoming of an officer or violation of a lawful regulation were probably the technical charges. I suspect there was more to it, such as fraternization or lying when asked about it. Fraternization rules make sense, as do rules about saying the truth (or nothing at all). Otherwise, Army has bigger fish to fry.

  11. 11.

    Phillip J. Birmingham

    I just finished reading Eric Alterman’s colum, where Major Bateman explains why the Army comes down so hard on adulterers:

    To understand why we would destroy a part of ourselves, the very real 30+ years of training and millions of dollars of education the Army invested in a four-star general, one need only juxtapose these two items. Nothing, but nothing, can destroy the moral of individuals, and entire units, faster and more completely. Soldiers, deployed far from home, in a foreign land with people trying in earnest to kill them, will spend their days mooning about events half a planet away. It is illogical, it is also eminently human. The possibility that it is another soldier, back at the home-station, who is the proximate cause…

    msnbc.msn.com/id/8871244/#050810

    I don’t know if he was screwing around with another soldier’s wife, but if so, I think Major Bateman is right.

  12. 12.

    croatoan

    So people don’t get fired for failing to prevent 9/11, not tracking down the anthrax terrorist, not securing Iraq weapons dumps, not preventing their soldiers from abusing prisoners, or disclosing the identity of a CIAa agent, but they do get fired for adultry? Got it.

  13. 13.

    ppGaz

    but they do get fired for adultry

    It’s in the Hell Hath No Fury clause of the Uniform Code.

  14. 14.

    db

    I’ve been wondering all day why JC posted this story. And it just dawned on me.

    This guy was in charge of the rules/training involved in the detainment of suspected terrorists in Gitmo, Afghan, and Iraq. Clearly, the fact that he was engaging in immoral behavior is indicative of his condoning all other immoral behavior below him. His own personal life created a culture of immorality within the ranks. And that is why prisoners were beaten and tortured. And that is why we must now ask for his adulterous balls to be served to us on a silver platter…..

    Ahhhh, I see now. Man, this John Cole guy is one clever, clever guy to see it all. He sees it in a minute and it takes me all day to figure this out.

  15. 15.

    Mustang 23

    I know this for a fact, as I have taught Army classes on appropriate relationships, this relationship may not be a sexual one.

    There are more than one type of inappropriate relationship. For example:

    This relationship could be with a defense contractor that was gaining favor from the General, by giving gift or bribes, therefore making the General’s ability to be un-biased toward all contractors.

    I am not saying this is the case, but it cannot be ruled out.

  16. 16.

    Skippy-san

    The investigation said he did not take advantage of his position. So it has to be that he was (God forbid) dating after moving out on his now ex wife. I guess on the Army’s rule, they just expect a man to stay celibate in the nearly year and 1 1/2 it takes a person to get through a contested divorce.That’s crazy.

    I used to be in the service and I know I did not wait that long after moving out on the shrew…….I slept with the first girl that said yes.

    And I did not feel guilty about it. Neither should the General.

    Unless there is something more to this case than has been revealed……..

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