Remember the Potomac crash right at the beginning of Trump’s 2nd term? Sixty-seven people dead, including children coming home from a figure skating event, bodies still being pulled from the water, and Trump was already at the podium blaming DEI hiring at the FAA. A reporter asked how he could possibly know that so soon and he said, “Because I have common sense, OK, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.” Hegseth (whose previous employer needed to change its alcohol policy because of him, and whose own mother says he can’t be trusted with any women) was right there next to him declaring “the era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department.” Vance piled on too. They wasted no time turning a mass casualty event into a campaign rally before the families had even been notified.
But we all knew what was coming, right? The NTSB spent a year investigating and put out their final report in February, long after the news cycle had moved on from Trump’s wildly incompetent accusations of incompetence. Turns out the causes were systemic FAA failures: a helicopter route running right beneath an active approach corridor, controllers doing the work of two positions at once, chronic staffing shortages, and constant near-collisions in that same airspace over the prior years. The pilots were qualified, rested, and cleared. DEI had absolutely nothing to do with the accident. It was the kind of institutional neglect that competent, experienced leaders are supposed to catch before 67 people die.
And it goes beyond Trump just picking unqualified people. Senators who publicly leaned toward opposing nominees like Hegseth were met with threats to their careers until they caved. The confirmation process was supposed to be a system in which competence was required, but has become one where competence is routinely dismissed as something to be skeptical of. There’s actually a word for it, which I learned from another Preamble reader a while back: kakistocracy, government by the least qualified. Kind of hard to claim you’re restoring standards while destroying the one mechanism designed to enforce them.
That’s what makes “merit” such a useful word politically. It gives you a scapegoat for every failure and a shield for every unqualified loyalist you install. And the bar for it to land with supporters is almost nonexistent: if there’s a woman or a person of color anywhere in the chain of authority, that’s all the evidence they need. Their presence alone becomes proof that standards were lowered. The anti-DEI campaign just redefines who gets the presumption of competence and who doesn’t. But they are actively making the world a less safe place by putting idiots in charge.
But these idiots are Americans , Timothy , who have been voted into office by hook or crook. We need to be damned sure this does not ever happen again, ever!
What I find completely frustrating about all of this is the lack of discussion (anywhere) about the fact that they purpose of DEI is to ensure merit/qualification is considered first and foremost about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. Does it occasionally swing too far in the opposite direction of focusing on minority races, gender, etc.? Probably. But in a country that has considered white men to be pretty much the only people with any merit since its inception, I'll take swinging a little too far away from that demographic for a while as a way to balance things out and have a hope of perhaps -- eventually -- balancing out by finally realizing that race, gender, etc. have very little to do with a person's qualifications for most things.
It's sad that only in hindsight through historical writings will all of the awfulness of this administration see the light of day for America. For now, those of us reading substacks like this one or watching news that isn't run by DJT loyalists know facts and what's real, while so many others stew in the relentless lies and disinformation. I know the saying that hindsight is the better vision, but in the meantime the country and the world are suffering from the sanctioned ignorance!
He was voted in legally and our democracy has given us what we are living with now. The way we have been manipulated through the media has been horrific and has resulted in so many people being suckered into voting this maniac into office .
Keeping people informed with the truth is paramount to our future elections .
The lack of experience in this so called administration is not a joke but it is like a joke. He really has no idea the breakage and damage that has ensued as a result of picking people who can flatter him and have zero knowledge of their jobs AND how it has affected Americans. If he did know, he would not care. His blaming of DEI is SO misplaced and wrong on every level. Thank you for covering these topics. You can't make this stuff up (the waffle house teleportation for one)....
So, basically, Trump was voted into office legally ,based on misinformation and false [promises and his motley crew was appointed thereafter.
Democracy in action ,right?
The key going forward is to boot these yahoos out of office and replace them with ,hopefully, "good" people who want to keep our democracy strong and the hope of a better life for all Americans foremost in thought and deed.
Unfortunately, “fake it ‘til you make it” doesn’t work when the fate of a nation depends upon your decisions.
Remember the Potomac crash right at the beginning of Trump’s 2nd term? Sixty-seven people dead, including children coming home from a figure skating event, bodies still being pulled from the water, and Trump was already at the podium blaming DEI hiring at the FAA. A reporter asked how he could possibly know that so soon and he said, “Because I have common sense, OK, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t.” Hegseth (whose previous employer needed to change its alcohol policy because of him, and whose own mother says he can’t be trusted with any women) was right there next to him declaring “the era of DEI is gone at the Defense Department.” Vance piled on too. They wasted no time turning a mass casualty event into a campaign rally before the families had even been notified.
But we all knew what was coming, right? The NTSB spent a year investigating and put out their final report in February, long after the news cycle had moved on from Trump’s wildly incompetent accusations of incompetence. Turns out the causes were systemic FAA failures: a helicopter route running right beneath an active approach corridor, controllers doing the work of two positions at once, chronic staffing shortages, and constant near-collisions in that same airspace over the prior years. The pilots were qualified, rested, and cleared. DEI had absolutely nothing to do with the accident. It was the kind of institutional neglect that competent, experienced leaders are supposed to catch before 67 people die.
And it goes beyond Trump just picking unqualified people. Senators who publicly leaned toward opposing nominees like Hegseth were met with threats to their careers until they caved. The confirmation process was supposed to be a system in which competence was required, but has become one where competence is routinely dismissed as something to be skeptical of. There’s actually a word for it, which I learned from another Preamble reader a while back: kakistocracy, government by the least qualified. Kind of hard to claim you’re restoring standards while destroying the one mechanism designed to enforce them.
That’s what makes “merit” such a useful word politically. It gives you a scapegoat for every failure and a shield for every unqualified loyalist you install. And the bar for it to land with supporters is almost nonexistent: if there’s a woman or a person of color anywhere in the chain of authority, that’s all the evidence they need. Their presence alone becomes proof that standards were lowered. The anti-DEI campaign just redefines who gets the presumption of competence and who doesn’t. But they are actively making the world a less safe place by putting idiots in charge.
But these idiots are Americans , Timothy , who have been voted into office by hook or crook. We need to be damned sure this does not ever happen again, ever!
This administration will be detailed by historians and journalists for decades. I wonder what this time period will be named.
Backword.
What I find completely frustrating about all of this is the lack of discussion (anywhere) about the fact that they purpose of DEI is to ensure merit/qualification is considered first and foremost about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc. Does it occasionally swing too far in the opposite direction of focusing on minority races, gender, etc.? Probably. But in a country that has considered white men to be pretty much the only people with any merit since its inception, I'll take swinging a little too far away from that demographic for a while as a way to balance things out and have a hope of perhaps -- eventually -- balancing out by finally realizing that race, gender, etc. have very little to do with a person's qualifications for most things.
It's sad that only in hindsight through historical writings will all of the awfulness of this administration see the light of day for America. For now, those of us reading substacks like this one or watching news that isn't run by DJT loyalists know facts and what's real, while so many others stew in the relentless lies and disinformation. I know the saying that hindsight is the better vision, but in the meantime the country and the world are suffering from the sanctioned ignorance!
He was voted in legally and our democracy has given us what we are living with now. The way we have been manipulated through the media has been horrific and has resulted in so many people being suckered into voting this maniac into office .
Keeping people informed with the truth is paramount to our future elections .
The lack of experience in this so called administration is not a joke but it is like a joke. He really has no idea the breakage and damage that has ensued as a result of picking people who can flatter him and have zero knowledge of their jobs AND how it has affected Americans. If he did know, he would not care. His blaming of DEI is SO misplaced and wrong on every level. Thank you for covering these topics. You can't make this stuff up (the waffle house teleportation for one)....
What a group of clowns, except it isn’t funny.
So, basically, Trump was voted into office legally ,based on misinformation and false [promises and his motley crew was appointed thereafter.
Democracy in action ,right?
The key going forward is to boot these yahoos out of office and replace them with ,hopefully, "good" people who want to keep our democracy strong and the hope of a better life for all Americans foremost in thought and deed.