This Should Not Be Controversial

But I'm sure it will be.

 Flying: FAA Orders Merit-Based Hiring at Airlines

In what it framed as a reversal of Biden-era policies, the FAA on Friday said it will require commercial airlines to commit to “merit-based hiring” for pilots.

The directive comes in the form of an “operations specification.” To comply, Part 121 carriers must certify that their hiring process for pilots is exclusively based on merit, as demonstrated by experience, technical aptitude, and other factors. The operations specification takes effect 30 days from February 13.

That merit was not the only and sole consideration the entire time is a sad commentary on the progressives woke-addled DEI-craziness that has been badly affecting safety.

Given some recent major aircraft accidents had DEI-oriented practices as a factor, such a return to only merit-based hiring is rather refreshing and indeed there should never have been a departure from a purely merit-based approach.

More On California's High-Speed Train Corruption

Not only is the corruption and over-spending in the California high speed rail project bad enough that it is at 135 Billion dollars in spending with no tangible results -- from a budget that was supposed to be 10 billion dollars total for the project when it was announced in 2009 with no end in sight.

It's now bad enough that the Democrats in California are pushing a law to make the  news of how corrupt the high-speed rail project has been, and continues to be, a secret from Californians.

Daniel Greenfield:  California Politicians Propose Law Hiding Corruption from the Public

 You could say the California Democrats are running a train on the residents of California, and you wouldn't be wrong.

Oh, and if you're not reading Daniel Greenfield on a regular basis you are missing out.

What Is It About Democrats And Choo-Choo Trains?

I suspect it is mainly about the opportunity for grift, massive government spending, control, and land speculation not to mention lots of make-work jobs for their supporters.

Our current Secretary of State and Democrat candidate for governor Jocelyn Benson is jumping on the train bandwagon.

 Bridge Michigan: Jocelyn Benson wants to bring high-speed rail to Michigan. What would it take?'

Democrats' high-speed rail programs have led to utter failure and the lack of real results. 

The massive spending as can been seen with high-speed trains to nowhere in California with over 17 billion spent without accountability, and not a track even laid in years, and a budget that has already gone over by 200% has been a massive failure - except that failure has been a boon for Democrat bureaucrats and grifters.

 It sure looks like Michigan Democrats want a similar failure here so they can get a piece of that high-speed massive wasteful spending pie.

Yet Another S-Hole Country That Needs Sorting Out

Hopefully, someone turns President Trump's attention to two pilots currently being improperly jailed in Guinea.

AVweb: U.S. Pilots Detained In Guinea During Fuel Stop

New York Post:  US pilots jailed in Guinea during fuel stop now asking Trump to step in: ‘Very scary’ 

Two American pilots have been imprisoned in the Republic of Guinea for six weeks — after authorities said they violated the country’s airspace for a simple fuel stop, The Post has learned.

Fabio Nicolas Espinal Nunez, 33, of Ewing, New Jersey and Bradley Scott Schlenker, 63, of Chicago are now asking the Trump administration to step in to secure their release as they remain locked up since Dec. 29 in a prison in Conakry, Guinea’s capital city.

Perhaps one of the aircraft carriers on their way to the Gulf could make a brief stop. 

The ATC tapes show they were cleared to land, but they've been jailed anyways on ridiculous charges without much action being done to free them from their captivity.

That should change. 

Two Months In, And He's Already Running Out Of Other People's Money

 Mamdani's grandiose plan of spending an additional 11 billion dollars to New York City's already grossly inflated budget is running into a brush with reality.

He can't fund it without raising taxes, and he'd prefer that other people do the tax raisin' and get other people's money to pay for it.

New York Post: Zohran Mamdani unveils record $127B budget — fueled by proposed NYC property tax hike

So, in searching for other people's money to fund this insane spending spree, he demanded that the New York governor increase everyone's taxes to pay it, which is going as well as can be expected:  IJR: Tax War Erupts Between Mamdani And Hochul.

With this budget, NYC will spend $127 Billion for the government of a single city.

The government for the entire State of Michigan by contrast, has a Budget of $88.1 Billion, even after the budget has been bloated over 50% by Governor Whitmer's increases over the course of her governorship.

Of course, the proposed speeding is chock-full of DEI and make-work jobs for his supporters, while defunding the police, even as the budget grows by 11 Billion.  Fox News: Mamdani plan pours millions into ‘racial equity’ offices and six-figure diversity jobs, cuts 5,000 NYPD jobs

New Yorkers are about to get what they wanted, good and hard. 

DEI Means Failing Upwards

So he went from being one of the reasons for the Flint. Michigan water crisis to heading what is now potentially the largest wastewater spill in United states history - in Washington DC.

Because of DEI and he's a Democrat and a favored minority both.

DEI: Why did Washington DC hire David Gadis after he lied to Flint residents that their water was safe to drink despite knowing it was contaminated with lead? Diversity, plain and simple. When he got to DC Water he fired all of the white male executives and replaced them with… pic.twitter.com/YTofhsO6MK

— @amuse (@amuse) February 18, 2026

So after failing and misleading the community in Flint about the lead contamination, he was then appointed to head DC's water system. He then systematically removed experienced white executives to replace them with minorities to ensure the executives looked like the people they served.

That all worked out just great: Daily Caller: DC Water’s CEO Oversaw $520 Million In DEI Contracts — And The Biggest Sewage Spill In US History.

Detroit Police Chief To Police: If You Don't Ignore Crime, You'll Be Fired

Traffic stops often catch criminals goign about their criminal business

For most people, traffic stops that help prevent crime and catch criminals is a good thing. 

In these two cases, it caught illegal immigrants, one with a felony warrant who apparently did not (or decided not) to speak English.

The officers contacted border patrol to communicate with them and indeed detain them as illegals. 

For this the Detroit police chef is going to fire them. 

The Detroit News: Detroit police chief plans to fire officers who used border agents at traffic stops

This won't make Detroit safer, indeed it will result in the opposite, but it will make the progressives feel good about themselves.

What other ongoing law violations, pray tell, are supposed to be ignored by police officers in Detroit?

Yet Another One

And yet another mentally ill Trans (kinda repetitive, that) did a mass killing, this time killing his own family and a family friend in a hockey arena.

Certainly it is a disturbing but unfortunately not an unexpected trend, and trans individuals are now quite disproportionately represented in mass killings.

The New York Post: Transgender father Robert Dorgan ID’d as RI hockey shooter who gunned down family as sick posts are revealed

In a less progressively enlightened age, we used to consider someone who wanted to cut off their genitals to be a danger to themselves.

Those who are diagnosed as a threat to themselves or others are typically are prohibited from buying and possessing  firearms, which seems more and more like a good idea, doesn't it?

This guy was indeed both a danger to himself and others, but instead of being declared mentally ill and treated for his psychosis he likely got celebrated and got some hormone treatments to make him even crazier and unstable to boot.  

Instead of treating mentally ill people as mentally ill, we just put them on opposing-gender hormones, and watch them go off and kill people. The left then gets more up in arms when the killers are "mis-gendered" than with the fact that they killed a bunch of people.  Oh, and the left instead of addressing the problem of feting the mentally ill will instead call for generalized gun bans against those who are not mentally ill and not a danger to themselves or others.

Maybe that approach and failed trendy belief system should change.

Hypocrisy And Double Standards Are A Progressives' Stock-In-Trade

Billie Elish made quite a show at the Grammys, stunningly and bravely declaring a progressive bromide that "No one is illegal on Stolen Land" to an approving left-wing audience.

That she doesn't appear to actually believe beyond the progressive required virtue signalling this is demonstrated by two separate incidents:

 1.  Her mansion sits on land, that if you buy her "stolen land" argument is thus not hers and instead is belonging to the Tongva tribe, and she has yet to give back her "stolen land".

2.  She has cetianly not come out in support of the Australian performative artist who was refused entry to the USA after announcing he was taking her up on her stolen land argument by announcing he was coming to occupy her stolen mansion:

Blast: Billie Eilish 'Got' Activist 'Deported From U.S.' After Her Mansion Was Targeted

An Australian activist’s viral stunt has come to an abrupt end at LAX. Drew Pavlou says he was deported from the United States after attempting to enter the country on what he describes as a “performance art” mission targeting Billie Eilish’s California mansion. The activist had publicly announced plans to camp outside the singer’s property following her controversial Grammy speech criticizing ICE. Instead of pitching a tent in Glendale, Pavlou found himself detained by immigration authorities for more than 30 hours before being sent back home.

So much for no one is illegal on stolen land. I didn't realize there was an exception for Australians.

Who knows, maybe she'll write a song about it.

Oh, and Billie, it was conquered, not stolen,  There's quite a difference.