[LI] Air Force Colonel Ben Jonsson’s promotion to brigadier (one-star) general on hold after his racist screed attacking "white" Air Force officers
Last August, I reported on a U.S. Air Force colonel whose promotion to brigadier (one-star) general was being held up due to his support of "woke" military policies: Air Force Colonel, Selected for Promotion to Brigadier General, Pushes DEI, CRT, and Racist Dogma:
[F]rom the Daily Signal...comes a disturbing report about an Air Force Colonel who seems to believe it is his place to lecture his fellow colonels about how racist they are: Air Force Colonel in Line for Promotion Preaches DEI Agenda, Endorses CRT Book
In the weeks following George Floyd’s death in 2020, a U.S. Air Force officer...accused his fellow "white colonels" of being the "biggest barriers" to addressing "racial injustice" in the military and being "blind to institutional racism."
Col. Ben Jonsson’s 825-word commentary in the Air Force Times on July 1, 2020, recounts several examples of what he describes as "white defensiveness" in the aftermath of Floyd’s death. Jonsson concludes with an endorsement of critical race theory promoter Robin DiAngelo’s controversial book, "White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism."
"Dear white colonel, it is time to give a damn. Aim High," Jonsson wrote.
After this thorough demonization of "white colonels," sure to engender fissures in an already race-imbued military culture, and his embrace of divisive, now-greatly discredited CRT-based propaganda, you would think he would be next in line to be invited to retire after 20+ years of mostly honorable service.
But you would be wrong, as President Biden has nominated Jonsson for promotion to Brigadier (One-Star) General.
Fortunately, and thank God, Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., used a Senate procedure requiring a roll-call vote, rather than "unanimous consent," to hold up Jonsson’s and many other officers’ promotions, thereby allowing further investigation into the military’s descent into CRT/DEI hell.
And, although Tuberville has since relented, and most of those officers’ promotions have now gone through, Johnsson’s is still on hold.
From military.com: Nomination of Air Force Officer at Center of GOP’s Fight Against ’Woke’ Military Extended to 2025:
An Air Force officer whose promotion to brigadier general has been stalled by a Republican senator fighting against diversity initiatives in the military has been granted another year to try to win Senate confirmation.
Col. Ben Jonsson’s nomination to become a one-star general was set to expire May 1 under a law that says military officer promotions that require Senate confirmation must be approved within 18 months after they are first nominated.
But the law also allows nominations to be extended for another 12 months, if the president chooses to do so. Jonsson was granted that extension, making the new deadline for his confirmation May 1, 2025, a Defense Department official told Military.com.
* * *
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., has used a procedural tactic known as a hold to block Jonsson’s confirmation....When Tuberville ended his blanket hold on all senior military officer promotions in December, Schmitt announced he was placing a hold on a few officers as part of a fight to "eradicate" diversity, equity and inclusion programs he labeled "divisive." Schmitt has since dropped his hold on every officer but Jonsson.
Military.com then points out something that I referred to in my initial post on Jonsson – Tuberville’s, and now Schmitt’s, “hold” is not really a hold; it simply requires a roll-call vote for Jonsson, but democrat senators are too scared to put their names on anything supporting Jonsson, so they refuse to do so:
While Jonsson has now been given an extra year to win Senate confirmation before his career would effectively be ended, it’s unclear whether the extra time will help as Schmitt continues to keep his hold.
Please take the time to review Jonsson’s holier-than-thou screed against white officers who aren’t as enlightened, i.e., racist, as him.
Also, of note, as the Daily Signal reported, subordinates who served under Jonsson at MacDill Air Force Base were not impressed and said so in a DOD survey of those serving under Jonsson from 2020-2022:
“I trust [squadron and group] commanders, but not Col. Jonsson. He has bias in [equal opportunity] and [judge advocate] matters especially if someone is white,” one respondent stated. “He wants anyone white to feel ashamed.”
Survey respondents also said skin color was a factor in opportunities for promotion.
“Wing hiring practices are not based on [the] most qualified person, but focus solely on perception of diversity,” one comment states.
Another adds: “The core of promotion, advancement and opportunities must be performance based … period [but] that is not what we do at MacDill.”
The Pentagon’s climate assessment concludes with a recommendation addressing those concerns: “Review the Recognition program/promotions for fairness and equity to ensure it is rooted in merit and achievement (and not other factors like race/gender or personal favorites).”
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2024 10:55 ||
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#1
...I have said for many, many years now that if you want to see change in the military...make ONE 06 hurt. That is the point (from my experience, at least, YMMV) that the true delusions of Godhood tend to set in and they start to think that their actions are infallible.
I guarantee that Colonel Jonsson is hurting. And I absolutely guarantee that every other 06 in the USAF is quietly taking note.
And it has occurred to me - if SEN Schmitt can hold onto this until there's a change in the Presidency, Colonel Jonsson might just decide to call it a day and retire with the honors he's earned.
And believe me, that would go a very long way towards resetting things.
[NYPOST] House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik is calling for an ethics investigation into special counsel Jack Smith, accusing him of meddling in the 2024 presidential election.
On Tuesday, Stefanik (R-NY) sent a letter to the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, demanding it conduct a review of Smith’s handling of the election subversion case revolving around former President
"It’s obvious to any reasonable observer that Jack Smith is trying to interfere with the 2024 election and stop the American people from electing >Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...... ," Stefanik said in a statement.
Stefanik, widely seen as a contender to be Trump’s running mate, rattled off a litany of grievances, accusing Smith of improperly seeking to expedite a trial and issuing court filings in the 2020 election subversion case while it was on stay.
#2
Will the DOJ complete a probe? No
Will students and/or protesters be deported? No
Congress could complete a probe or defund Smith. They won’t. This is a chasing of wind.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/01/2024 10:21 Comments ||
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#3
The Ed Meese/Mukasy brief is the way to go. Smith was appointed illegally - a private citizen already shown to be a hack partisan in the former VA Gov. conviction
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2024 10:31 Comments ||
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#4
I would think that Canon might entertain a motion to disqualify.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
05/01/2024 11:58 Comments ||
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#8
"Euthanasia-free" sbelters... and free abortion on demand, mandated provision thereof. Welcome to California. Though I suppose those shelters render their clients fetusfrei as a matter of course, so it's not that inconsistent.
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