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.

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.

No TDSers, The Helicopter - Jet Collision Is Not Trump's Fault

 The collision between a Blackhawk Helicopter and an American Airlines (flown by PSA Airlines) Regional Jet has brought all the anti-Trumpers out of the woodwork.

Those with severe Trump Derangement Syndrome are already blaming Trump for the accident - without any evidence. In some case ridiculously claiming it is due to chaos caused by Trump or his announcement ending DEI policies in government. This from many who should know better and are typically rational - except when it comes to Trump.

The NTSB will fully investigate and we will get answers in time. 

The DC area airspace is very congested and busy.  In fact a similar collision was narrowly averted the day before between a helicopter and a passenger jet.

So far, it appears to be likely the Blackhawk pilot was both flying above the appropriate corridor for helicopter traffic and the pilot identified the wrong aircraft.  The pilot apparently saw the departing one when the Tower Controller asked the pilot if the pilot had the traffic visually rather than the landing jet that was involved in the crash. Now,  the pilot responded they did have visual o the aircraft, which makes traffic separation primarily the pilot's responsibility at that point. Unfortunately, at night it appears the pilot identified the wrong aircraft and apparently did not have a visual on the PSA jet. 

The Tower controller meanwhile did not pick up on the fact that the Blackhawk was 200 feet above the 200 foot ceiling for helicopters in the area that put it in the flight path of the landing jet, nor did the helicopter pilot.

So were DEI policies to blame?  At this point it is quite simply too early to tell if those policies were a factor.

Indeed it is unknown if the controller or Blackhawk pilot were DEI-hires.  If they were there's going to be plenty of blame to go around. The Tower controller did not pick up on the fact that the Blackhawk was reportedly 200 feet outside of the appropriate flight path and in the flight path of the jet, and the helicopter pilot also seems to have made a series of mistakes leading to the incident.

Now, the Tower at Reagan is understaffed and apparently one controller was doing two jobs at the time of the incident which can lead to important things being overlooked and open the opportunity for accidents. Not hiring qualified white applicants to continue to try and find non-white DEI-scoring applicants may be a partial factor in the shortage of controllers.

In short, the full cause of the incident is not fully known and will not definitively be known until the NTSB completes its investigation. So no it cannot be definitively said what the cause was or if DEI was a factor in the crash but human factors certainly are the primary factor in this incident and DEI hiring doesn't enhance safety in aviation.

DEI has been reducing safety in aviation in a quest to hire a diverse workforce, reducing merit and aptitude as the key factor in hiring and repalcing it with diversity.

Did Biden and Obama adopt hiring polices based on DEI/Affirmative Action rather than merit and ability?  Yes, yes they did.

Did their administrations act in a way to hire unqualified controllers, including feeding Black applicants answers to the controller entrance exam to make sure they can pass the test and get hired?  Yes, yes they did.

Did the FAA even refuse to hire qualified applicants because they were white, while at the same time musing in presentations as to how much of a change in job performance is acceptable in performing diversity goals? Yes, yes they did.

In case you're wondering the answer to that question is that no change in job performance is acceptable  - you either can do the job competently or you cannot regardless of your race or background.  There are plenty of Black and female controllers that are more than fully capable and stand on their own merits and ability as controllers. That they were accepting lower performance in their quest to hire a DEI-workforce and get their ratios up is at the very least shameful and at worst horrific in reducing safety in a quest for DEI-compliance.

Time spent in DEI-sensitivity training could certainly be better spent on piloting skill improvement or aircraft controlling training.

So no, the collision is not President Trump's fault, and we don't know yet if or how much DEI hiring and focus was a factor in the incident.

When The Process Is The Punishment

Daniel Penny was found not guilty of manslaughter in a case that should never have been brought against him.

NBC New York: Daniel Penny found not guilty in Jordan Neely subway chokehold death

The jury appropriately found him not guilty. 

Note that neither of the two men assisting Penny in restraining the attacking Jordan Neely, who had been threading to kill passengers on the subway car, were charged in his death. The fact that one was Black and the other Hispanic clearly had no bearing on there not being charged by the progressive DA Alvin Bragg in this matter. Surely not.

Meanwhile, Mr. Perry’s suffered  legal expenses for his excellent defense by his attorneys, and his life and liberty were put in jeopardy by the two-tiered legal system instituted under the progressive DA's office under Bragg, where viewing crime through a racial lens and "equity" is more important than justice. Under Bragg, actual criminals are given a pass, and law-abiding citizens defending themselves and defending others, as in the case of Penny are prosecuted.

 

Here, the process was the punishment along with a message being sent to other good people.

 

The message is to not intervene against a favored minority committing crimes -- even if someone's life is at stake -- or you'll be prosecuted by the same state that knowingly let the criminals walk free to commit their crimes. 

 

More Revolving Door Justice Leading To Murder

Progressives hate the idea of the criminal accused (and most especially the minority criminal accused)  having to post a bond and prefer them walking free. They have the wonderfully naive belief that said criminals will then not commit crimes while they're released on their own promise to be good and will then happily show up to their hearings.

Reality begs to differ with their quaint utopian dreams.

In the latest example on August 11th, a MSU student, a junior, at 20 years old is murdered by the 22-year-old estranged baby daddy of his lover at the lover's home.

The Detroit News:  22-year-old man charged in fatal shooting of MSU student

Unreported in the Detroit News article is that the 22 year old had been previously arrested on May 5 for 4 counts of domestic violence. He was released on a personal bond, meaning he didn't need to pay anything to be released.

Oh, and he was next apparently arrested (the story reporting this is rather badly written and it is hard to tell what happened exactly) again on August 1 on yet another charge of domestic violence and a felony home invasion and apparently let go yet again.

Said criminal clearly takes this really, really, seriously, as he then fails to even show up to his hearing on August 3.  The counts don;t take the failure to appear all that seriously and just a bench warrant gets issued for him then, after 5 domestic violence counts and a felony home invasion.

Then, on August 11 he finally kills someone, when as he's out on his bond for all these previously committed crimes and is not allowed to possess a weapon. Because after all, of course he'll follow the restrictions of his release, right?

You know, if someone got arrested for 5 counts of domestic violence and a home invasion - or even just arrested for 4 counts of domestic violence -  instead of giving them a personal recognizance bond, maybe requiring them to put up some serious coin or even better have the bond set high enough that they sit in jail and can't commit further crimes just might be useful.

It might just dissuade, or if kept in jail, completely prevent the criminal from going out and doing more domestic violence rather than the progressive approach of "Cheerio, off you go? ". 

Just a suggestion.

Grrl Power Burns

You really can't make this stuff up.   

When diversity is prized more than competence, unfortunately stuff like this happens. We've been told for years that gender doesn't matter in people being able to do a job. That is, until now, when we're told gender and diversity are the vital parts of doing a job.

The Western Standard: Female firefighters planned burn goes awry in Banff

To say it went "awry" is an understatement.

A prescribed burn highlighted on the agenda of a women’s firefighting conference, held to promote “diversity and inclusion” in a male-dominated field, didn’t go well.

Accidentally setting Banff National Park ablaze wasn’t part of the plan.

The prescribed burn was carried out in Compound Meadows, adjacent to the Banff townsite, by Parks Canada and participants in Canada’s first-ever Women-in-Fire Training Exchange (WTREX).

It raged out of control Wednesday forcing the temporary evacuation of horses from the Banff Light Horse Association and hundreds of area residents and tourists in the Rocky Mountain Resort. 

The conditions that day were actually against doing a prescribed burn, but it was on the agenda, and girl power over environmental conditions and the patriarchy, right?

They also had some non-binary firefighters there for more diversity, which was nice. 

The May 1-12 conference attracted certified firefighters from Canada, the US, Bolivia, and Ecuador to, among other things, combat adversity in a male-dominated profession.

Instead of a nice gender-affirming and adversity-combating controlled prescribed burn, they got a wildfire burning out of control in a National Park.

Even worse, men had to be called in to help put it out:

The calvary was called in to help fight the blaze.

Five helicopters raining down buckets of water, firefighters from both Banff and Canmore, Alberta Wildlife, and RCMP were needed to help Parks Canada and WTREX participants stop the fire from spreading further, control the traffic situation, and help with evacuation efforts.

To make matters even worse than that, when concerned residents saw the smoke and called the Women-in-Fire Training Exchange to ask what was wrong they were told:  

"Nothing, it's fine.", and then silence.