Posted on 10/14/2013 12:18:43 PM PDT by John Semmens
The Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is asserting authority to block the publication of whistle blower John Dodson’s book The Unarmed Truth: My Fight to Blow the Whistle and Expose Fast and Furious. The book ban was issued by Deputy Ethics Official Greg Serres on the grounds that supervisors can deny outside employment “for any reason.” Dodson writing a book on his own time is considered “outside employment.”
“Dodson is seeking to profit from knowledge he gained while being employed by the ATF,” Serres said. “It is the agency’s contention that all knowledge gained on the job belongs to the agency. It has an absolute right to control how it is used.”
A significant aspect of this issue according to Serres is that “the book would focus unwanted scrutiny on mistakes made by the agency. It would hurt morale, not to mention threaten the careers of agency leadership and possibly future budget allocations if these mistakes were more widely publicized—a not unforeseeable outcome of the publication of this proposed book.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the book’s suppression. “That a so-called ‘ethics’ officer would support this censorship is shameful,” ACLU spokesman Bertram Petty contended. “To boldly claim such an expansive authority to conceal damaging information is indicative of a rot more extensive than we can imagine.”
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://azconservative.org/2013/10/12/journalisturges-wall-street-to-aid-president/
PRINT IT ANYWAY!
I read about two lines, looked up at the author and KNEW it was John, you old fisherman, you. Jesus, if you were on my tuna boat every time, we’d get more than a barge. Let me get the grill out.
John, I usually “get” you, but you got me that time!!!
I will pass along a complement that that I recently received on one of my efforts:
This is truth disguised as satire!
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