Don't panic on my account...

Just want to assure my loyal Upper Lefties to have no fear. I'm not suffering from the dreaded Blogger Burnout. Things are just a bit slow this weekend because I'm trying to fit blogging between other writing assignments - some actually renumerative!

There are a few stories popping up I want to take quick note of, though, such as this update on a story that first hit the Upper Left Scandal Scorecard back in March. You'll remember that National Parks Service Police Chief Teresa Chambers was suspended after granting an interview with the Washington Post in which she stated, quite accurately, that the ability of her department to provide adequate protection to the public was being injured by budget constraints. She's been fighting the Interior Department's retaliatory action since December, and last Friday was a watershed date in her struggle. Chambers filed a request filed a request with an administrative judge under Merit System Protection Board regulations, expecting a ruling on her petition within ten working days.

While the courts work through their process, the Administration' trigger finger is a lot faster.

She was fired Friday, just two and half hours after her attorneys filed a demand for immediate reinstatement through the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency that ensures federal employees are protected from management abuses.

"It wasn't the reaction we expected," she said. "But we weren't surprised.

"But it's not about me," she added. "I'm a player in it. It's got far-reaching implications.

"The American people should be afraid of this kind of silencing of professionals in any field," she said. "We should be very concerned as American citizens that people who are experts in their field either can't speak up, or, as we're seeing now in the parks service, won't speak up."

Kicking Ass, the DNC blog, compares her case to the fate of Paul O'Neill, Larry Lindsey and anyone else that tries to tell the truth from within the Bush administration. Adam Moredecai at Change for America has picked up the story, too.

Everybody should be all over this one.

You can get the full story, blow by blow, at Chamber's website, HonestChief.com.