Seditious Bureaucrats

This was in  National Review and I find it interesting:

Striking against the Federal Government Is a Felony

Al-Monitor reports that “federal employees across nearly two dozen agencies plan to walk off the job Tuesday to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war.” They have organized a group called “Feds United for Peace” and are coordinating the walkout to occur on the 100th day since Israel began its operations in Gaza. “One of the walkout organizers said that rather than quit, they felt ‘a moral obligation and a patriotic duty’ to influence change from inside,” the story says...

From the original story:

US government employees plan walkout over Biden’s Gaza policies

Organizers of the effort told Al-Monitor they expect hundreds to join in their walkout after securing commitments from individuals at 22 federal agencies.

WASHINGTON — US federal employees across nearly two dozen agencies plan to walk off the job Tuesday to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the Gaza war, according to organizers of the dissent effort who spoke to Al-Monitor. 

The group — calling itself Feds United for Peace — consists of dozens of government employees who will be observing a “Day of Mourning” to mark 100 days of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The organizers, who are choosing to remain anonymous, say they expect “easily hundreds” of others to join in their walkout after securing commitments from individuals at 22 federal agencies. 

According to a list obtained by Al-Monitor, those include the Executive Office of the President, the National Security Agency, the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs as well as US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Naval Research Laboratory. 

Others expected to join in the protest work for agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, the National Park Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and Environmental Protection Agency. 

The planned walkout reflects mounting anger among US officials over the Biden administration’s refusal to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where health officials in the Hamas-run territory say more than 23,000 people have died in three months, most of them civilians. The United Nations estimates that around 85% of the population — some 1.9 million Palestinians — have been displaced. 

One of the walkout organizers told Al-Monitor their initiative “grew out of a collective desire to do what we could to influence the Biden administration’s policy on this issue…” 

Now one of the facts people, particularly regressive on the left is they are filled with Anti-Semites. They want an immediate cease fire that will leave Hamas still functional, not held to account for their actions in the attack, and still a threat to Israel. Exaggeration? Again, from Al-Monitor: 

Two US officials, including one working in the State Department bureau that oversees arms transfers, have publicly resigned in protest. Josh Paul, who served as the director of congressional and public affairs for the department's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, cited the administration’s “blind support for one side” as being among his reasons for leaving.

One of the walkout organizers said that rather than quit, they felt “a moral obligation and a patriotic duty” to influence change from inside. They blamed the White House for policy decisions they lament, including the obstruction of cease-fire resolutions at the United Nations and weapons sales to Israel that have bypassed Congress… 

…Asked if they tried to address their concerns internally, they said, “Unequivocally, the answer is yes…”  

Two points I would like to make from these “concerned staffers.” One, their strike is illegal. from National Review:

5 U.S.C. § 7311 makes it illegal for federal workers to go on strike: “An individual may not accept or hold a position in the Government of the United States . . . if he . . . participates in a strike, or asserts the right to strike, against the Government of the United States.”

18 U.S.C. § 1918  proscribes the penalty: “Whoever violates the provision of section 7311 . . . shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year and a day, or both.”

So yes, they are breaking the law. Not that they will have any worry about loosing their job or pay. With President O’Biden in the White House, they will not face  any serious consequences. Now I was an officer of the United States for 23 years, and if I went on strike, it would be a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The specific terms are Mutiny and Sedition. The penalty is a bit stricter than  18 U.S.C. § 1918. From Article 84 UCMJ Mutiny or Sedition:

(a)Any person subject to this chapter who—

 

(1) with intent to usurp or override lawful military authority, refuses, in concert with any other person, to obey orders or otherwise do his duty or creates any violence or disturbance is guilty of mutiny;

 

(2) with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of lawful civil authority, creates, in concert with any other person, revolt, violence, or other disturbance against that authority is guilty of sedition;

 

(3) fails to do his utmost to prevent and suppress a mutiny or sedition being committed in his presence, or fails to take all reasonable means to inform his superior commissioned officer or commanding officer of a mutiny or sedition which he knows or has reason to believe is taking place, is guilty of a failure to suppress or report a mutiny or sedition.

 

(b) A person who is found guilty of attempted mutiny, mutiny, sedition, or failure to suppress or report a mutiny or sedition shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.

Weakness invites more disruption. If we had a president in the White House right now, he would handle this quickly. He should tell every one of these idiots they are not going to be paid for this event, you have until 900am Eastern time to return to your post, or you will be terminated, and banned from future federal employment. See Reagan with the Air Traffic Controller strike in 1981.

 

Another point that must be made. These minor bureaucrats do not make government policy. They are there to execute the policy set by the Executive and Legislative branches. They can raise their concerns as allowed, but they cannot go on strike against it. A point made to the man who swore me into the Army, “At some point you may have an order you cannot, in good conscious, obey. Your choice, either obey the order, or resign.” So “Feds United for Peace,” actually seditious bureaucrats, make your choice. Follow your lawful government policy or resign.