Posted on 01/20/2021 8:17:06 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The office of Surgeon General is a non-political military role that is normally considered to be outside of regime change protocols. It has been decades since a Surgeon General stepped down during a presidential transition when Vice Admiral Julius B. Richmond stepped down on President Ronald Reagan’s first Inauguration Day. In that scenario, he was not pushed out but asked to stay on. He declined.
Joe Biden’s administration pushed former Surgeon General Jerome Adams out the door before the new president was officially inaugurated.
I've been asked by the Biden team to step down as Surgeon General. Its been the honor of my life to serve this Nation, and I will do all I can to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve and maintain health. See my full statement at: https://t.co/pCkbpealt8
— U.S. Surgeon General (@Surgeon_General) January 20, 2021
There are many roles in the president’s cabinet that make sense to immediately replace with an incoming administration. The office of Surgeon General is not one of them. In fact, the office is generally considered to be stable enough to allow for other contentious transitions to take place before tackling the non-political Surgeon General role.
Biden apparently felt differently. The administration’s desires to “cleanse” the White House of anything that had President Trump’s stamp on it has prompted the first Black man to lose his job under a Biden administration, and it technically happened before Biden was even President. Nevertheless, Adams left with class. In a Facebook post, he highlighted his achievements and promoted a patriotic stance towards America:
Thank you for the opportunity to serve this great Nation, as this has been the honor of my life. Three years and five months ago, I was confirmed as just the 20th United States Surgeon General – and only the second ever African American male to serve in that role.
My tenure started with three category 5 hurricanes barreling down on our citizens. I immediately deployed to witness the devastation first hand, and to lead our Public Health Service Officers as we helped with the response. I saw the best of our Nation coming together in the worse of times, to help those who’d lost everything.
I then turned my attention to the opioid epidemic, encouraging more people to carry Naloxone by issuing the first Surgeon General’s advisory in over a decade. Working across government and with amazing advocacy organizations on the ground- many led by parents who had lost their own children to opioid overdose- we were able to increase Naloxone availability nationwide by over 400%, and save countless lives. This is perhaps my proudest achievement, as my family has been personally impacted my substance misuse, and I firmly believe stigma remains one of our biggest killers and barriers to health.
Being a parent of school age children myself, I saw the need to issue subsequent advisories warning of the dangers of youth e-cigarette and youth marijuana use- a combination which merged into the deadly EVALI outbreak our Nation faced. Despite any opinions about adult use of these products, I hope Americans can agree that we must all work together to prevent youth initiation and use.
In 2019, I issued the first Surgeon Generals report in over 30 years on smoking cessation, highlighting the groups still most impacted by smoking, and the science behind what we know works to help them quit. We have made tremendous progress, but far too many- including those with mental health issues, our tribal citizens, and the LGBTQ community, haven’t shared equally in cessation successes.
And of course there was COVID19. In the face of a once in a century pandemic, I sought to communicate the rapidly evolving science on this deadly adversary, and arm people with the knowledge and tools they needed to stay safe. I wasn’t always right- because no one was, and this virus continues to humble all of us- but I was always sincere in my efforts to speak to every day Americans, and address the terrible health inequities this virus exposed.
My team also put out historic Surgeon General’s Calls to Action on Hypertension Control, Maternal Health, and Suicide Prevention. We did this because even in midst of a deadly pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people are killed by these other health risks every year. For example, more people died from uncontrolled high blood pressure in 2020 than from Covid-19. We mustn’t forget about all the other harms Americans face every day, or the many opportunities we have to improve health, and build more resilient communities. And we mustn’t forget that diseases and health risks rarely impact all communities equally.
That’s why these Calls to Action specifically mention the groups disparately impacted, and talk about the need to study and address aggravating factors like bias.
Finally, I released a completely novel type of Surgeon Generals report- a report on Community Health and Economic Prosperity. It emphasizes the links between the health of our communities and the health of our economies. It is unique in that it makes the business case for why we all should care about and invest in the vital conditions that create opportunities and healthier communities.
During my tenure I have visited with people from all across America. And despite all that you may read on social media or see on tv, I can assure you that from Alaska to Alabama, from Maine to Montana, and from California to the Carolinas, Americans mostly want the same thing. They want a fair shot at being their best and healthiest self, and to be able to support the health and well being of their families.
And speaking of families, I want to thank those of you who supported me and my family- my wife who is undergoing cancer treatment, my brother who is struggling to overcome addiction, my mother who suffered a stroke earlier this year, and my kids who sacrificed time with their dad so that he could serve this Nation. And thanks to those of you who have become part of my family- the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, my dedicated support staff in the Office of the Surgeon General, the amazing colleagues and friends I’ve met across government, and the many people across this great Nation who constantly pray for my wife and kids, and ask about my dog Bella.
I hope in 2021 and beyond, we can focus more on what unites us, and rise above what divides us. Because Americans working together can overcome any obstacle or adversary. I stand at the ready to help in our mutual quest for recovery, resilience, and health, and thank you from the bottom of my heart, for the opportunity to serve.
Your Humble Servant,
VADM Jerome Adams
20th U.S. Surgeon General
Surgeons General are almost never transitioned out immediately, but the Biden administration couldn’t wait to get rid of any remnant of Vice Admiral Jerome Adams. This wasn’t about merit. It’s about Biden’s bitterness.
Neither is Ms I slept my way to VP.
He did crack me up with those fold this Tshirt 27 times for a breathable mask PSAs.
Fauci is a Senior Executive Service employee. He ain’t going anywhere until he wants to.
I remember him telling the black community “do it for your Pop Pop” and then he was ridiculed but what do I know; I am white and what he was signaling to the black community might have been helpful.
I also remember him saying all kinds of flip flops about masks but then so did Fauci.
Basically he was in way over his head, just like every county health director. Some stepped up, some quit, some—like mine—just are in over their head and follow around what others do and are tyrannical behind their soft smiles.
SeekAndFind,
he was the earliest I recall of those who managed to destroy the nationwide credibility of our public health community last year when he emphatically insisted there was no benefit or reason for the public to mask in anyway at all. i haven’t seen anything saying that helped obviate the mad scramble for medical masks at the outset, and the subsequent unpersuasive backtracking (if public masks are now “known” to help based on supposedly new-and-better “science,” why wouldn’t better masks or PSA’s about better mask techniques help more?) further contributed towards the outcome (i think it was Taibbi that described it) where public masks became a totem of civic virtue for some, and symbol of oppression for others, and that insanity continues (how is 100 days of masks based in any kind of science - why isn’t 95 enough or 105 better?). I’m inclined to believe more science-based truth, coupled with more honesty about the need to use limited resources for maximum benefit, would have been better leadership and led to a better place (both for the credibility and for the actual health of the public), particularly since he couldn’t manage his outcome-oriented “spin” more subtly. (probably my longest post ever, but he really stood out for me at the time, particularly since Fauci and Birx were doing a much better job at appearing to be honest on the science, but also and quite obviously trying to manage public behavior towards an outcome that was in what they saw as the public/broadest interest).
It has been so strange. The Xiden team is so paranoid of every little thing, from debates, massive troop deployment in DC for a virtual inauguration, the some weird theory that the troops will harm Xiden, etc. now the surgeon general.
Honorable, pro-American minorities who served America as Trump’s picks are now the targets of a “racial cleanser”.
It used to be that the Irish, Italians and Jews were targeted by the Left for termination (because they couldn’t do the political extermination) but now it will be non-plantation blacks and Hispanics, esp. if they are Cubans/Cuban-Americans, military veterans, etc.
Hitler had his “Mein Kampf”. Lenin had his “Strategy and Tactics of the Proletarian Revolution”. Stalin had all of Lenin’s works plus Marx and Engels, Gramsci and Munzenberg.
Biden/Harris have Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” and the red Democrat-controlled teachers unions have “M.I. Kalinin on Communist Education” to guide them, as well as “V.I. Lenin on Youth”.
For some Democrats/leftists, there is always “The Little Red Book on the Thoughts of Mao” to start off the day. Just ask Van Jones and Anita Dunn for the best parts to read as they destroy America.
If you read these collective works of communism, you will know what Brain-damaged Biden and his Marxist VP Kamala Harris are using as their political guide books for America.
Me too.
A Communist Purge Is Underway & Nothing Is Being Done About It!
What we know/understand about Covid has certainly changed. My big complaint about the SG was his early statement that mask wouldn’t work. Remember at that time the wash hands/lives on surfaces line was believed to be correct. Even if a mask wouldn’t stop airborne viral particles from coming thru, they would help keep you from touching mouth/face and transferring it from touch (now it’s said that is possible to transfer by touch, but almost all transmission is from airborne droplets). I lost confidence in him at that time.
I think he made the statement because masks were the 1st thing we couldn’t get and maybe that was to help prevent panic.
Recently I heard him speak and he did a great job.
Since when? Trump inherited Obama's Surgeon General and fired him three months into his term. Obama inherited an acting Surgeon General and finally replaced him. Reagan replaced his on day one.
Every office appointed by the president is political in one way or another.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.