{"id":6893,"date":"2024-01-07T08:45:39","date_gmt":"2024-01-07T13:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6893"},"modified":"2024-01-07T08:45:42","modified_gmt":"2024-01-07T13:45:42","slug":"privacy-v-transparency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/","title":{"rendered":"Privacy v Transparency"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Routine Procedure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Secretary of Defense and retired Four Star General Lloyd Austin had a \u201croutine medical procedure\u201d last Monday.  Something obviously went wrong, and he ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed military hospital.  The White House wasn\u2019t notified until Thursday, in fact, even the Pentagon wasn\u2019t aware that their commander was out of commission.  Rumor was that he was \u201con vacation\u201d.   And Congress wasn\u2019t told until Friday, when Austin resumed his duties. He was still in a hospital bed.  Adding it all up, for three days, a key member of the United States nuclear command and control was out of the loop, and no one else knew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, not quite no one else.\u00a0\u00a0The next-in-line, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, was aware and kept up to speed.\u00a0\u00a0But she was in Puerto Rico, with a whole communications net established to keep her informed.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, the President of the United States was not informed that part of his command decision team, sixth in line for the Presidency itself, was unavailable, hospitalized in the ICU, for days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let\u2019s start with this.  Who has a \u201croutine medical procedure\u201d on New Year\u2019s Day?  There are only two possible reasons.  One, it was an emergency \u201croutine medical procedure\u201d, one that couldn\u2019t wait for a \u201cregular\u201d medical day.  Or two, it was a secret, done on a holiday, while reporters and many staff members are home watching parades and football games.  The goal may have been, slip Austin into Walter Reed and then back home before any noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Secretary Austin surely has a right to some privacy.  We, the public, don\u2019t need to know whether this was a colonoscopy that went wrong or an emergency cardiac catheterization that turned into a heart bypass.   But the President of the United States should.  In fact, General Austin (or his staff) showed grave disrespect for the office of the Presidency by not informing him.  We don\u2019t know which, whether it was the Secretary himself, or whether his incapacity left it to a staff decision.  But someone made a clear \u201ccall\u201d:  don\u2019t tell the press, the Pentagon, or the White House.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heads need to roll:\u00a0\u00a0not a medical procedure, but as a career consequence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States is long past the time that President Woodrow Wilson could have a stroke, and disappear into the White House for months.  First Lady Edith Wilson made command decisions, leaving her disabled husband out of the process and acting in his name.  That wasn\u2019t good in 1920, when the United States was deeply involved in debating whether to join the League of Nations or not.  But in today\u2019s world, with affairs moving at breakneck speed in the Middle East, Ukraine, potentially Taiwan and everywhere else around the world; Americans need to have confidence in our command decision process.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there\u2019s nothing that can shake that confidence more, than a key member being hospitalized and unable to perform his duties without notifying the President.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sure it\u2019s a political football.  Republicans in the Senate are already calling for action:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Secretary of Defense is the key link in the chain of command between the president and the uniformed military, including the nuclear chain of command, when the weightiest of decisions must be made in minutes,\u201d said (<\/em>Senator Tom) Cotton in a statement, adding that if Austin didn\u2019t immediately tell the White House, \u201cthere must be consequences for this shocking breakdown\u201d<\/em> (AP<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And certainly this marked disrespect for the President will become part of the fabric of the 2024 Presidential race:\u00a0\u00a0even his own Cabinet members don\u2019t honor him, why should the uniformed military?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consequences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s more important than just politics.\u00a0\u00a0I can\u2019t tell you any other issue where Senator Cotton and I agree, but here\u2019s one.\u00a0\u00a0It only required one phone call, to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.\u00a0\u00a0The President, and the command structure, needs to know who\u2019s in charge; and who\u2019s available for emergency consultation.\u00a0\u00a0There are lots of scenarios where the President says, \u201cGet me the Secretary of Defense\u201d, and the entire process is temporarily derailed as the Deputy has to take the call.\u00a0\u00a0Tom Cotton is right, it\u2019s unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s likely that we will soon learn a lot about Kelly Magsamen, General Austin\u2019s Chief of Staff.\u00a0\u00a0If there\u2019s a head to be sacrificed, it\u2019s hers that\u2019s most likely to be the first.\u00a0\u00a0Everyone has the right to medical privacy.\u00a0\u00a0But assuming high responsibilities in government requires acceptance of some loss of that privilege, in return for the trust of the American people.\u00a0\u00a0They can have privacy, but Americans still need transparency.\u00a0\u00a0We need to know that those in charge, are actually there.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s the only way to keep the conspiracy nuts at bay, and more importantly, to keep the Nation\u2019s trust.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Routine Procedure Secretary of Defense and retired Four Star General Lloyd Austin had a \u201croutine medical procedure\u201d last Monday.  Something obviously went wrong, and he ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed military hospital.  The White House wasn\u2019t notified until Thursday, in fact, even the Pentagon wasn\u2019t aware that their commander was out of … Continue reading “Privacy v Transparency”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPrivacy v Transparency : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Privacy v Transparency : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Routine Procedure Secretary of Defense and retired Four Star General Lloyd Austin had a \u201croutine medical procedure\u201d last Monday.  Something obviously went wrong, and he ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed military hospital.  The White House wasn\u2019t notified until Thursday, in fact, even the Pentagon wasn\u2019t aware that their commander was out of … Continue reading "Privacy v Transparency"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-07T13:45:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-07T13:45:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marty Dahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@martydahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@martydahlman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marty Dahlman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marty Dahlman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"headline\":\"Privacy v Transparency\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-07T13:45:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-07T13:45:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":876,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/\",\"name\":\"Privacy v Transparency : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-07T13:45:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-07T13:45:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/index.php\\\/2024\\\/01\\\/07\\\/privacy-v-transparency\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Privacy v Transparency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/\",\"name\":\"Trump World - Essays on Politics and the Trump Administration\",\"description\":\"Essays on Politics and Life in Our America\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dahlman.online\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c\",\"name\":\"Marty Dahlman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\",\"width\":480,\"height\":640,\"caption\":\"Marty Dahlman\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dahlman.online\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/03\\\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1\"},\"description\":\"I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.dahlman.online\",\"https:\\\/\\\/m.facebook.com\\\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/martydahlman\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Privacy v Transparency : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Privacy v Transparency : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","og_description":"Routine Procedure Secretary of Defense and retired Four Star General Lloyd Austin had a \u201croutine medical procedure\u201d last Monday.  Something obviously went wrong, and he ended up in the Intensive Care Unit at Walter Reed military hospital.  The White House wasn\u2019t notified until Thursday, in fact, even the Pentagon wasn\u2019t aware that their commander was out of … Continue reading \"Privacy v Transparency\"","og_url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/","og_site_name":"Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","article_publisher":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","article_author":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","article_published_time":"2024-01-07T13:45:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-07T13:45:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marty Dahlman","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@martydahlman","twitter_site":"@martydahlman","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marty Dahlman","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/"},"author":{"name":"Marty Dahlman","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"headline":"Privacy v Transparency","datePublished":"2024-01-07T13:45:39+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-07T13:45:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/"},"wordCount":876,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/","url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/","name":"Privacy v Transparency : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-01-07T13:45:39+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-07T13:45:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/01\/07\/privacy-v-transparency\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Privacy v Transparency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/","name":"Trump World - Essays on Politics and the Trump Administration","description":"Essays on Politics and Life in Our America","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/#\/schema\/person\/5fa8c1b0305cf5f1f3633225843e621c","name":"Marty Dahlman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1","width":480,"height":640,"caption":"Marty Dahlman"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dahlman.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_3564-e1488996194684.jpg?fit=480%2C640&ssl=1"},"description":"I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.dahlman.online","https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/Dahlmanonline-610417212502642\/","https:\/\/x.com\/martydahlman"]}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6893"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6897,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6893\/revisions\/6897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}