Politicos Who Attacked Tuberville’s Abortion Protest Over ‘Military Readiness’ Are MIA On Defense Sec’s Secret Leave

Quote:The same figures who used phony “military readiness” claims to attack Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., for protesting the Pentagon’s unlawful abortion policy are MIA on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s failure to inform leading administration officials of his hospitalization.

Last year, Tuberville began using his position on the Senate Armed Services Committee to slow-walk votes on President Biden’s military nominees in protest of the Pentagon’s use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to pay for service members’ abortion-related travel expenses. Rather than allow the committee to confirm a large number of military nominations “en masse,” the GOP senator’s protest forced the body to vote on each nomination one at a time.

Throughout his fight for the unborn, Tuberville faced vicious and dishonest attacks from Democrats and Biden military officials such as Austin, who regularly and baselessly claimed the Alabama senator’s protest harmed “military readiness” and “national security.” If that wasn’t bad enough, several GOP senators, led by Alaska’s Dan Sullivan, joined Democrats in piling on Tuberville and regurgitating unsubstantiated “military readiness” claims.

Tuberville was ultimately forced to abandon his holds last month after Sullivan and other Republicans threatened to side with Democrats to change Senate rules to skirt his protest.

Yet for all their supposed concern about “military readiness” and “national security,” many of the politicos and officials who attacked Tuberville’s defense of life have remained mum on Austin’s failure to notify the president and leading administration officials about his hospitalization. The Pentagon revealed on Friday that Austin — whose military authority is second only to the president — was hospitalized with an undisclosed medical issue on Jan. 1, with the department later confirming the admission came as a result of “complications following a recent elective medical procedure.”

The American public and members of Congress didn’t know about the matter until Friday, but even President Biden and high-ranking administration officials reportedly weren’t briefed on Austin’s absence until Thursday, meaning the White House was unaware for three days that Austin was MIA. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks — whom Austin transferred his responsibilities to and was vacationing in Puerto Rico at the time — was also reportedly unaware of the situation until Thursday.

Despite baselessly asserting Tuberville’s holds would “weaken our national security,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has yet to issue a statement, as of publishing time, criticizing Austin for his negligence. Rhode Island Democrat Sen. Jack Reed — who once hyperbolically claimed Tuberville’s actions “achieved something that Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin could have only dreamed of” — issued a milquetoast statement by comparison about how he’s “concerned” but is glad Austin is “taking responsibility for the situation.”

Meanwhile, Sullivan and Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney — all of whom sided with Democrats in attacking Tuberville — have also neglected to release statements condemning Austin’s misconduct as of this article’s publication.

For all their supposed concern about “military readiness,” many of these same officials don’t seem bothered that the second-highest-ranking military official in the country was gone for days and didn’t bother to tell the public, let alone the president. As I previously wrote in these pages, Austin’s secret medical episode, in conjunction with Biden’s mental decline, unveils a frightening reality in which Americans are left to depend on unknown, feckless bureaucrats to respond to the country’s biggest international crises.

If only their representatives showed as much concern about actual national security issues rather than ginning up unfounded attacks on a single senator for his lawful and just defense of life.

(this site) do a search on Tubby ... you'll laugh how many and who thought he wasn't the real deal...

they all get paid underneath ... however, some actually have the ability to reason by positioning with, "hey, dipshites, here's wtf is really goin' on!"

maybe one day, the 'electorate' (I'm not certain that qualifies as a descriptor today) will figgle out what really needs to change before it's too late (oops, pretty dayum certain it already is)

if there's one thingy washtubbytonnage wholly despises, it's those that follow thru on their campaign promises....

Biden blames Defense Sec Lloyd Austin for 'lack of judgement' over going AWOL, secret hospital visit

Quote:President Joe Biden offered sharp criticism of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday over his decision not to notify the administration about his recent hospitalization for complications surrounding prostate cancer surgery as a "lack of judgment."

During a visit to Allentown, Pennsylvania, Biden was asked by a reporter, according to the Daily Mail, if he had confidence in Austin after the hospitalization was revealed.

"I do," Biden responded.

Pressed further, Biden was asked if he believed Austin not informing the White House or other Pentagon officials about his absence was a "lack of judgment."

Biden responded, "Yes."

On Friday, the Pentagon reported that Austin is in "good condition" at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he is "actively engaged" in supervising and directing the US military's involvement in strikes against Houthi targets and has maintained communication with senior staff.

On Sunday, it was revealed that the nation's most senior military official, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, was hospitalized for multiple days and never informed President Biden, or other high-ranking senior officials, including those in the Pentagon. Biden learned about Austin's hospitalization the same day as the American public.

Austin, 70, was admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 after suffering "complications following a recent elective medical procedure," the Pentagon said, the Associated Press reports.

Austin went AWOL for multiple days despite heightened international tensions and an increase in demands of the Dept. of Defense. Austin's duties require him to be available at a moment's call.

The lack of disclosure, which goes against established practice, raised questions about the severity of the military leader's illness, why he did not inform other senior officials, and whether or not the Pentagon had a plan in place for his absence.

Republicans in Congress have expressed significant outrage, claiming that the DoD "deliberately" withheld Austin's medical condition in a "shocking defiance of the law."

The Department of Defense said on Saturday that they did not make Austin's condition public due to medical privacy. The Pentagon also stated that Kathleen Hicks, the Deputy Defense Secretary, is available to stand in for Austin "at all times." However, reports indicated that Hicks was on vacation in Puerto Rico during Austin's hospitalization, according to CNN.

As concerned as I am about possible implications of this situation, I have to say that given the quality of leadership at the top for all our armed services, I'm not sure his being AWOL for a few days actually hurt national security and defense in any tangible way.

NSC's John Kirby Tries, Fails to Defuse Lloyd Austin Saga

Quote:With the ongoing Israel-Hamas war raging in the Middle East threatening to spread, the Ukraine-Russia conflict still in full swing, North Korea continuing to saber rattle and launch missiles into the waters off the Korean peninsula, and China threatening to invade Taiwan, it's more than a little concerning to find out that the nation's secretary of defense went missing for several days and nobody seemed to notice.

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Turns out he was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments, but nobody in the nation's most important defense office thought to tell Congress or the president.

UPDATE: Congress Not Told SecDef Austin Was in the ICU and His Deputy on Vacation for the Last Week

SecDef is an enormously important job, after all; their website will tell you so:

Secretary of Defense
The secretary of defense oversees the Defense Department and acts as the principal defense policymaker and adviser.

John Kirby, he of the immensely long title "United States National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications," appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday to try to calm down the furor, but his explanations will do little to soothe the concerns of those who wonder how it's not a national security issue when the SecDef disappears.

Speaking with host Margaret Brennan, Kirby tried to downplay the situation:

MARGARET BRENNAN: So, you used to work very closely with the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin.

JOHN KIRBY: Yes.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And as we were just talking about, everyone is hoping he pulls through with this battle with cancer healthy and strong. But why is he still in the hospital? If he's able to work, why does he still need to be at Walter Reed? [Good questions, Margaret.]

JOHN KIRBY: Well, again, I'm not - I'm not his physician, so I want to be careful. But my understanding is that his - his – he's following his doctor's orders and in consultation with their views in terms of what kind of additional care he needs. And we'll - we'll see, you know, when he can get released. But, obviously, they still feel like he - he may need some additional care. I understand that part of that is just physical therapy.

Now I certainly sympathize with Austin's cancer, and hope he makes a full recovery, but it doesn't make sense to me that our defense secretary is working from a hospital bed. Hand over the reins of power until you're better.

Kirby went on to state that "There's routine regular communications between the president and the secretary of defense, as well - as well with the secretary of state." Why then did Biden not know for days that his SecDef was hospitalized?

The next exchange was truly interesting, though, where Kirby claimed that cabinet officials don't actually need to talk that much:

JOHN KIRBY: And - and normally - like, for instance, the – some of the strikes we took on Christmas Day – Christmas night and then a few days later were preapproved. Secretary Austin was part of that discussion. He was part of the discussion from his hospital room when we took these sites against these Houthis sites just a couple of nights ago. I mean he's actively involved and engaged. And I think it's important for people to remember that the cabinet officials don't have to sit and talk every single day to make every decision. A lot of the work that gets done in national security is done at the staff level. [Emphasis mine.]

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. But there is a chain of command here.

JOHN KIRBY: Of course there is.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And the commander in chief didn't know that his defense secretary was this ill. [Margaret! A network reporter actually showing some grit -- surprising.]

It's one thing to say that maybe Biden and the secretary of labor don't necessarily need to chat every single day of the week, but it's an entirely different ballgame when it's revealed that the commander-in-chief doesn't appear to even check in regularly with what is supposed to be his "principal defense policymaker and adviser."

\Kirby wrapped up the segment by admitting that the fiasco was "a problem" and that "the president has spoken to that." But once again, it appears that there are no consequences in the Biden administration.

Our enemies are watching.

Pentagon's Lame Excuse for Why Biden Didn't Know Austin Was Hospitalized Is LOL Ridiculous

Quote:It's been clear from day one of this disastrous administration: Team Biden thinks you're stupid, America.

Let me clarify that. As the late George Carlin said, never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. That said, the Biden administration — along with congressional Democrats — knows that rank-and-file Democrat voters tend to believe, without question, everything they're fed by Democrat politicians.

On Friday's episode of CNN's "The Lead," Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh all but proved the assertion with her responses to host Jake Tapper's questions about why Joe Biden was initially uninformed that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was MIA — and hospitalized in intensive care due to complications from prostate cancer surgery.

Tapper asked:

Is it not common practice for the President to speak with the Secretary of Defense daily, while two consequential wars rage?

Of course, it's beyond common; it's critical. Yet, here's Singh's incredulous response (emphasis, mine):

They do speak quite often. Again, we’re coming off of a holiday period. They are in touch frequently. Our staffs, I can tell you, are in touch almost on an hourly basis. Again, there was no lapse in command of [sic] control. Our national security was never at risk, and I would, again, reiterate the fact that the Secretary did, not only apologize but take responsibility for not notifying the White House of his own procedure that did occur.

Hang on. Setting aside the absurdity of the "holiday period" excuse, I have several questions.

How did Singh know that there was no lapse in command and control? How did she know the nation's security was never at risk? And, what difference does it make that Austin apologized — and took responsibility? I mean, this wasn't like a grade-school kid stealing his buddy's candy bar and getting caught.

Singh then tried to paper over the potentially disastrous breakdown in command.

Again — and also, I’ll stress that we are doing a 30-day review to examine our own processes here, to examine what worked and what did not work. And when we have those results, of course, we will be previewing those as well.

In other words, "We're trying our best to do damage control."

Even Tapper was far from assured:

It just seems odd to me, I just have to say, this is not the director of the Bureau of Weights and Measurements. This is the Secretary of Defense, and there are two major wars that the U.S. is involved in, one way or another in Ukraine and Gaza with Israel, and President Biden and Secretary Austin don’t talk every day?

Singh re-babbled:

Again, they do have frequent communications. I will tell you and I can reassure you, our staffs, our teams are in constant communication with each other, and the Secretary is — you will not meet someone that works harder than the Secretary of Defense.

Uh-huh. Except while "coming off a holiday period." She continued:

Again, he has had a short, 40 years [of] service here in the military. He prides himself on the fact that he has been able to serve his country. He is in touch with his team here at the Pentagon, with the White House, monitoring everything that’s going on around the world, and, right now, he’s focused on getting better, focused on returning to work, but is able to keep in touch with the White House, just like we saw last night.

I'm sorry, Ms. Singh, the only thing you're interested in now is saving Austin's job.

The Bottom Line
If DefSec Lloyd Austin truly works as hard as Sabrina Singh claims — and is just as diligent — why wasn't his very first thought, before he even underwent prostate cancer surgery, to notify his commander in chief?

There was zero excuse for Austin to keep his hospitalization on the down low — and there is zero excuse now to try to minimize it.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Released From Hospital Amid Secrecy Scandal

Quote:Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, underwent a recommended procedure in December, and suffered an unexpected complication and within two weeks was readmitted to a hospital, and placed in intensive care for several days.

The New York Post reported that Austin was “rushed” to Walter Reed National Military Hospital on Jan. 1 “in severe pain from a urinary tract infection” connected to the “prostatectomy he had…on Dec. 22.”

Austin has come under fire, not for his diagnosis or treatment, but for not disclosing his hospitalization—to congress, the White House, or to his undersecretary.

On Monday, after two weeks after his readmission to Walter Reed Medical Center, the embattled Secretary of Defense has returned home.

Some members of Congress, who have been angry with Austin regarding his handling of Afghanistan, Iran, and southern border issues, have been quick to criticize the Secretary’s failure to properly communicate his health status.

Some Representatives are calling for his resignation, asserting that his quietly transferring limited authority to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks on January 2, who was vacationing in Puerto Rico at the time, and not notifying the White House or Congressional officials of his status, represented a dereliction of duty.

The Pentagon announced that Austin had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit on the evening of Jan. 5, days after the fact.

In a statement, doctors said the 70-year-old Austin was released, would work remotely “for a period of time.”

Austin, who has apologized for not following proper communication protocols stated: “I’m grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for their professionalism and superb support.”

“I also am thankful and appreciative for all the well wishes I received for a speedy recovery,” Austin continued. “Now, as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, I’m eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon.”

President Biden chided Austin for the breach in protocol, but expressed support for the Secretary. When a Pennsylvanian reporter asked if he still had confidence in Austin, Biden replied, “I do.”

Last Friday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC: “We’re all going to learn from this event…the defense secretary’s going to stay in office.”

Why does anyone really ask these stupid people questions when everyone know that they'll be lying or trying to douse the flames with rhetoric. It's obvious they're not gonna say, "yeah, Austin sucks and should quit or be fired". They want to portray themselves as competent when the reverse is true. Remember, satan tells half truths and so does the Demonic Party. They are experts at it and like an article said, Demonic voters will believe all the Schiff their superiors will tell them.

I just want to know the mental capacity of those 31 percenters who think Old Foggy is doing a good job.

NEW: 911 Call From Defense Secretary's Residence Shows Intent to Keep Hospitalization a Secret

Quote:As of Tuesday, January 16, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has been either hospitalized or "working from home" for the entire year, despite the increasing hostilities in the Middle East. According to aides and White House spokespeople, Austin has approved and overseen numerous military operations during that time from wherever he's been, without skipping a beat, and without any type of secure comms compromise, just as if he was in his office at the Pentagon, with all of the advanced technology available there. For the first five days or so of Austin's stay at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, nobody outside of Austin's immediate circle of aides -- well, in the United States government, at least -- even knew that anything unusual was happening or that Austin was actually in the intensive care unit.

Once it was learned that Austin had been taken by ambulance from his residence to Walter Reed on New Year's Day, folks on the conservative side of the aisle wondered how all of this could have happened without somebody in Washington - usually a very gossipy town, especially when it comes to administration officials - mentioning something to a reporter. How could an ambulance roll up to the Secretary of Defense's home and whisk him away without a single person noticing? (The location of his home isn't secret; PETA activists, among others, have protested outside his home in the past.)

Well, now we know that Austin's aides did everything they could to make sure news of their boss's condition and location went unnoticed. The Daily Beast obtained a recording of the 911 call through a FOIA request to the State of Virginia, which revealed that Austin's staff asked that the ambulance show up without lights and sirens because "we're trying to remain a little subtle."

“Can I ask—can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said...

The dispatcher responded that the ambulance could do that, noting that “usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they'll turn them off.” She added that the ambulance is required by law to run the sirens and lights on main streets, such as Georgetown Pike and Leesburg Pike.

The Daily Beast said that it's not clear on the recording whether the aide was told to make that request or was instructed by another member of Austin's staff.

The audio of the 911 call also reveals some new information about the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition at the time.

The Secretary of Defense was not reporting any chest pain at the time, the aide said on the call. He also confirmed that Austin has not passed out and did not feel like he was going to pass out. When asked, the aide confirmed the Defense Secretary was alert and not confused.

If that's all true, given the transportation options Austin had access to, why did he need to wait for an ambulance instead of having his staff immediately take him to Walter Reed? Especially if they were concerned about remaining subtle? According to a 2021 Task and Purpose article (along with a little help from Google image search), Austin's residence is just off Leesburg Pike, near Reston Parkway. That is a bit of a drive to Walter Reed in Bethesda, but undoubtedly his official vehicles could get through it much faster than a civilian could.

More from The Daily Beast:

The identity of the caller has been redacted to protect personal information, according to the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications. The department redacted other personal and health information from the call as well.

Austin’s name and title are redacted on the call, but based on the timing and location—the secretary of defense’s residence—the call can reasonably be assessed to be about his complications.

Austin was released Monday from Walter Reed, and his staff claim he has full access to needed secure communications capabilities to be able to perform his duties remotely while he continues to recuperate from complications of prostate cancer surgery. Since nobody's heard directly from Austin, we'll have to take his staff's word for it, whatever that's worth.