Thanks to the efforts of a veteran pilot, the Air Force reversed a misguided effort to ban online criticism of its policies by members of the public. Justice Department lawyers have agreed that Air Force websites and pages won’t remove posts or ban users based on their point of view.



Richard Rynearson, a retired Air Force command pilot and field-grade officer, was banned from an official Air Force Facebook page because he criticized a post by Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Joanne Bass. Mr. Rynearson believed that Air Force leadership was prioritizing cultural sensitivity issues to such a degree, it was corrupting the strength and character of the Air Force, and that our military leaders had become hostile to critics of these policy directions.

In November 2020, Sgt. Bass published a post on her official Facebook page encouraging readers to reflect on the things for which they were thankful. Mr. Rynearson replied that he was thankful that other branches of the military were concentrating on conducting warfare so that the Air Force could concentrate on “making sure we all feel good about ourselves” and that “nobody is offended or feels like a victim.”

Sgt. Bass objected to Mr. Rynearson’s comment and within hours deleted all his comments from the page and banned him from commenting further there. Mr. Rynearson tried to contact her office to have the ban rescinded. He alerted Sgt. Bass that blocking him from an official government Facebook page violated the First Amendment, but she didn’t respond. After repeated attempts to resolve the issue, Mr. Rynearson decided to pursue legal action.



The Center for Individual Rights filed a federal lawsuit in August 2021, challenging the ban as an unlawful restriction of Mr. Rynearson’s right to free speech. Courts have consistently ruled that official government social-media pages are public forums, which means that the government may not deny anyone access for expressing a viewpoint.

We recall when President Trump attempted to block certain people from posting critical comments about him on his Twitter feed. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that the “interactive space” in the Trump Twitter account is a public forum and that blocking people from it was unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.

Justice Department attorneys agreed this week to a settlement that restores Mr. Rynearson’s access to the chief master sergeant’s Facebook page. The Air Force also agreed to alter its policy to reflect that no one shall be denied access to its social-media content based on their viewpoint.

The court-approved settlement will allow Mr. Rynearson and any other veteran or civilian to express their opinions, even critical ones, on a government-sponsored social-media page without fear of retaliation.

Social media has become an important way for citizens to engage in free and open discussion with government officials. As new social-media platforms emerge and others gain audience and influence, it will be vital for the courts to reaffirm the rights of individuals, regardless of their point of view, to engage freely on government-run web pages.

LINK: https://www.wsj.com/articles/s..._opin_pos_2#cxrecs_s

Well, at least the Chief Master Sergeant isn’t a petty officer.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

Well, at least the Chief Master Sergeant isn’t a petty officer.

Well, she does seem to be petty.

Yes sir, she does. I would think it would be an embarrassing trait for an E-9, but not having served, what would I know?

This says volumes


Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne S. Bass was selected June 19, 2000, to become the 19th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, becoming the first woman in history to serve as the highest ranking noncommissioned member of a U.S. military service.

In selecting Bass, incoming Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown said Bass brings skills, temperament and experience that the job requires and an outlook on leadership that meshes with his own.

So, is it pronounced "Bass" or "Bass?"

That's sort of an Air Force 'inside joke' about her name. In that, is her name pronounced like the fish or the musical instrument?

She gets a LOT of crap about that on social media; often by junior enlisted folks who try to troll her. She has put at least one Staff Sergeant in his place, in a VERY public Facebook interchange (rightfully so, IMO) for his act of disrespect towards a senior leader. Her point being, you would not speak to that to a senior leader in person, so it should also not be done over social media, ESPECIALLY since the guy had his first and last name, as well as service affiliation (SSGT, USAF) clearly identified in his profile.

HOWEVER, I'm glad she got smacked down on this one. It's not just because she's a woman - I really have no idea how good of a CMSAF she really is. I HOPE she has more to do than to chase around the internet playing whack-a-mole with people who disagree with her. . .

While I would not have been surprised if she was a three-fer, it appears CMSAF JoAnne S. Bass is just a two-fer: female and Asian-American (Korean mother).

Disagreeing with the Left, their policies or their minions make you a violent insurrectionist, domestic terrorist, racist-sexist-homophobic-transphobic extremist.

I knew Rynearson, was in the same squadron with him for maybe 2 years. Frankly, the guy was kind of a prick back then, one of those guys who is always poking at someone trying to get a reaction. Sounds like he really hasn't changed much.

Of course, that does not mean that he is not right in this case.