As Dan McLaughlin pointed out at National Review, people are already blaming Trump administration Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for the disaster just outside of Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. However, McLaughlin also noted “that Trump has actually moved to fix a problem with how we hire air-traffic controllers, in order to reorient it toward hiring the best people in order to make air-traffic control safer.” The question raises itself: We weren’t hiring air-traffic controllers, some of the most critical positions in civilian government employ, simply on the basis of merit? Fact check: Accurate, unfortunately. And not only that, we’ve been doing that since Barack Obama’s administration, allowing for those with intellectual, psychiatric, and physical disabilities to receive what we’d now call DEI protections. Let’s start from an archived 2013 version of the Federal Aviation Administration’s website and its “diversity and inclusion” page. “Diversity is integral to achieving FAA’s mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel across our nation and beyond,” the page read. “Because diversity is so critical, FAA actively supports and engages in a variety of associations, programs, coalitions and initiatives to support and accommodate employees from diverse communities and backgrounds. Our people are our strength, and we take great care in investing in and valuing them as such.” Part of this included hiring those with “targeted disabilities”: “Targeted disabilities are those disabilities that the Federal government, as a matter of policy, has identified for special emphasis in recruitment and hiring. They include hearing, vision, missing extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, psychiatric disability... In an archived page from December 2024, the FAA touted “‘On-the-spot’ special appointment authority” to hire individuals via a “non-competitive hiring method,” one of which involved “hiring people with severe physical disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.” “More than ten years ago, the Obama Administration scrapped 1000 qualified candidates. The administration’s justification was that the pool of applicants was not diverse enough, so they would be purged from consideration. Instead of hiring candidates with the most competency, individuals were elevated for hiring consideration based on their race. “Despite their intent to expand the air traffic control hiring pool via DEI, the FAA has recently admitted they are woefully understaffed and that current air traffic controllers are severely overworked. One report found that only 3 of the 313 air traffic facilities around the nation met the FAA targets last year. This has forced the agency to admit safety could be jeopardized..." Meaningless DEI initiatives are infuriating enough on their own accord when they prioritize identity over merit in non-critical positions. When the results can be deadly, however, infuriating turns to chilling. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/fact-check-yes-obama-biden-faa-hire-people/ Sorry for the html stuff in that post. It won't let me edit. Stay at home and don’t bother to come into the office. That was the message to staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Monday who were instructed to stay out of the agency’s Washington headquarters. The advice came via a notice distributed to the career bureaucrats, AP reports, after Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut the agency down. Musk, Trump and some Republican lawmakers have targeted USAID, which oversees humanitarian, development and security programs in some 120 countries, accusing it of losing its way. USAID, whose website vanished Saturday without explanation, has been one of the federal agencies most targeted by the Trump administration as it tackles waste within the federal government and many of its programs. Musk attacked the agency by calling it a “criminal organization” on Sunday as Trump decried it as “run by radical lunatics” and said he was considering its future. Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, offered a foreign perspective. He said on social media “Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up. “While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements. “At best, maybe 10% of the money reaches real projects that help people in need (there are such cases), but the rest is used to fuel dissent, finance protests, and undermine administrations that refuse to align with the globalist agenda.” Spending for USAID is determined by Congress. Its budget for the 2023 fiscal year was about $40bn, according to a report last month from the Congressional Research Service. As of 2016, USAID reported it had 10,235 employees on its U.S. taxpayer-funded payroll. President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he is suspending all U.S. aid to South Africa after the latter passed a law on land expropriation, which many fear could lead to Zimbabwe-style seizures of land owned by white citizens. The president made the surprise announcement on Truth Social, his own social media platform, on Sunday evening. South Africa received $273 million from the U.S. in 2023, according to ForeignAssistance.gov. (Reuters puts the sum at $440 million.) That includes funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). South Africa also has key trade deals with the U.S. The issue of expropriation has been simmering for decades in South Africa, given the unequal distribution of land, most of which is owned by the white minority as a result of colonialism and apartheid. But until now, South Africa has been reluctant to follow the example of Zimbabwe, which seized land from white farmers in 2000 and plunged the country into starvation, as few black farmers were successful and many farms were stolen by the ruling party. However, radical black nationalist and communist politicians continue to demand that the government seize the property of white farmers. Though few black South Africans want to farm, the issue remains an emotive one. The new Expropriation Act allows the government to take private land for a “public purpose,” and also allows it to do so without paying any compensation. Opposition parties have pushed back against the bill. Many white South Africans also believe that the high level of rural crime, including the murders of white farmers, is politically motivated. Trump spoke out against the phenomenon in 2018, and highlighted the expropriation issue. In addition, South Africa also acts contrary to U.S. interests and alliances on the world stage, notably by cozying up to rival powers such as China and Russia, and also by backing Palestinian terror against Israel in international forums. In a pro-America move, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will no longer officially recognize "Identity Months," such as Black History Month and Pride Month, in a bid to bring normalcy back to the United States after a disastrous last four years. Hegseth, a vocal critic of what he perceives as excessive political correctness in the military, applauded the Pentagon’s stance, calling it a victory for those who believe the armed forces should prioritize national defense over social and cultural agendas. Hegseth said that the Pentagon would no longer celebrate Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and National Hispanic Heritage Month, among other months. The new guidance will take effect immediately. “No exceptions, name-changes, or delays,” he said. Instead, Hegseth said the Pentagon would celebrate the “valor and success of military heroes of all races, genders, and backgrounds.” https://townhall.com/tipsheet/saraharnold/2025/02/02/pete-hegseth-no-more-identity-months-n2651521 
Fact Check: Yes, Obama and Biden Had FAA Hire People with Intellectual, Psychiatric, Severe Physical Disabilities:
USAID Staffers Told to Stay Home After Musk Said Trump Agreed to Shutter It:
Trump Cuts Off Funding to South Africa over Racial Land Confiscation:
South Africa, like the United States, already allows the government to seize land under an authority similar to eminent domain, though the preference is for a “willing buyer, willing seller” transaction at fair market prices.
Pete Hegseth: 'No More Identity Months':