Last night, an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided mid-air with an American Airlines commercial flight, killing all 67 souls. As I write this, search and recovery efforts are under way to find all human remains, as well as the critical black boxes and other debris from the planes.
As with all tragedies of this magnitude, the nation is in mourning. We have no definitive information that tells us what happened or who was at fault, so all we can do right now is share the grief for those lost.
One might think that a president of the United States would model the nation’s response and would offer only care, hope, comfort, and stability to people otherwise uncertain, frightened, and grieving. One might, but in these days of nearly constant hate and dwindling compassion, the head of this country has failed yet again.
To his credit, Mr. Trump gave a press conference this morning, reading a speech–clearly written for him–raising up those whose lives were lost and offering comfort and support to their families. Unfortunately, he then did what he does so well–he went off-script and began a speculative blame game, filled with blatant falsehoods, suppositions, and…well, bullshit.
You can watch the news conference here to judge for yourself (I was screaming and throwing things about 23 minutes into this video–and 4 minutes into his speech–so watch at your own risk) :
The primary focus of this diatribe was policies surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Trump has, by executive order, slashed many of the DEI programs at the government level. He spoke with great concern about a statement (which I had a very hard time finding because it is now archived) on the FAA website that indicates the importance of recruiting people with disabilities:
“People with Disabilities
Individuals with targeted or “severe” disabilities are the most under-represented segment of the Federal workforce. The People with Disabilities Program (PWD) ensures that people with disabilities have equal Federal employment opportunities. The FAA actively recruits, hires, promotes, retains, develops and advances people with disabilities.”
https://archive.ph/uhYgm#selection-2119.0-2127.185
He seems to imply that folks with all sorts of disabilities, including blindness and epilepsy, would be hired as air traffic controllers specifically. You and I know that is ridiculous, and that his repeated targeting of DEI is merely another attempt to put out false information to gain support from the people who actually believe him.
The FAA, in fact, hires thousands of people in a variety of positions, including (from the FAA website):
- Air Traffic Controllers
- Aviation Safety Inspectors
- Airways Transportation Systems Specialists
- Community Planners
- Security Inspectors
- Engineers
- Program Managers
- Acquisition Specialists
- Contract Specialists
- Human Resources Professionals
- Technicians
They also hire wildlife biologists, writers, editors, and a whole slew of others who don’t need to meet the same rigorous physical and mental requirements that a pilot or ATC needs. Among the many requirements for ATC, though, are:
- Pass medical and security clearance, including:
- Drug testing
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI2)
- Medical Exam/Physical
- Fingerprinting
- Federal background check
I dare Donald Trump to take the MMPI. Or release his medical records to the public. Then we can talk about who is unqualified and unable to manage the position for which they were hired.
Many of the charges he made were laughable (“I have common sense”), and the notion that anyone with a psychological issue shouldn’t be in a federal or responsible position only made me wonder how the heck this felon who is openly deteriorating cognitively could be in charge of this country. Because nearly half of voters chose him, believing his false and dangerous rhetoric, and because the majority of the people in the administration bend to his every wish no matter how crazy, I have lost all hope for this country.
We are being run into the ground by a hateful, divisive, impaired, and incompetent felon who, like a cult leader, has captured the attention and loyalty of a bevy of ignorant and gullible followers.
The Grey Zone 
[…] https://debaumer.com/2025/01/30/incompetence-in-the-midst-of-tragedy/ […]