Flotsam and Jetsam - Air Disasters Updates, Trump Storms Washington DC

While the tragedy value of the recent plane crashes has not diminished in any way, the news value has decreased sharply as the NTSB begins the agonizingly slow process of attempting to put together all the pieces (literally and figuratively) to figure out why they occurred. Meanwhile, at TownHall, Matt Vespa reveals that the Army Releases Name of the Female Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot in Reagan Air Disaster. Matt Margolis at PJM, Female Pilot on Doomed Black Hawk ID'd, Was Former Biden White House Aide, "Lobach also served as a White House social aide during the Biden administration, Brown said. Just last month, she escorted Ralph Lauren through the White House when he was among those awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Joe Biden." Not going to say it. Althouse, "'I was so distraught when I heard this news last night,' said Senator Tim Kaine... who for years has opposed adding flights at Reagan..." ""... and warned of the dangers posed by overcrowding the D.C. airspace. 'I will not be able to rewatch the speech I gave on the Senate floor about it because it would make me too upset.'" . . . From "Congress Approved More Flights at Reagan Despite Warnings of Danger/Lawmakers repeatedly added flights despite fears of delays and accidents" (NYT)(Congress has repeatedly voted to increase the number of daily flights at Reagan National Airport, adding departures that made life more convenient for lawmakers...)." He doesn't have to fly home after sessions of Congress. Insurrection Barbie @DefiyantlyFree, "1 year ago 11 Republican Attorneys General wrote a letter to the Biden administration, expressing their frustration with the new DEI practices affecting the Federal Aviation Administration. Nothing was ever done about their concerns by the Biden administration." TNP, Defense Sec Hegseth Backs Trump on DEI Following D.C. Air Disaster. RedState's Nick Arama sees Bill Maher Come to Trump's Defense on DCA Crash, Decimates Biden on Border, and How Broken Our Gov't Is and Sister Toldja remembers How Patty Murray Accidentally Helped Expose the Dangers of DEI Within the FAA Back in 2014. And, of course, Sarah Arnold at TownHall hears a Far-Left Squad Member Blames Trump for DC Plane Crash. And a totally bizarre one from the Philadelphia crash at Crankers, Chilling audio reveals Air Traffic Control trying to reach plane before Philadelphia crash, listen closely at 56 seconds.

At the Annapolis Cap Gaz, Federal workers have less than a week left to take Trump’s buyout. Maryland leaders are warning against it. "U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, went a step further during a speech on the Senate floor. “Don’t be fooled. He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer,” Kaine said, referring to longtime reports that Trump sometimes refused to pay contractors who worked for his real estate company. “If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors. He doesn’t have any authority to do this.”" But ET reports Large Number of Federal Workers Taking Buyout Offer, White House Official Says "Millions of federal workers received deferred resignation offers in a memorandum distributed on Jan. 28." Capt. K's Corner, Census Director Abruptly Resigns: 3 Reasons Why This is Massive News. Remember, the census recently undercounted Red States, resulting in about a 12-13 swing in the House of Reps and Electoral College. 'Bonchie' at RedState, Trump-Subverting GSA Surrenders, and You Won't Believe Some of the Insane Stuff Being Deleted. At WUWT, “Draining the Swamp of Climate Hysteria: Trump’s USDA Scrubs Climate Change from Public Websites”. Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck "USAID essentially functions as one of many money laundering machines for Democrats in DC. Here’s how it works: • Activists create obscure NGO • Dems fund it lavishly • NGO does bare minimum (or actively hurts the United States) • Activists get paid and donate to Dems . . . That’s why Democrats are freaking out about the possibility that USAID’s being shut down by President Trump. It needs to be done." Latin Times, DHS Ends Funding Of NGOs Aiding Migrants, Says They 'Abused' Grants To 'Facilitate Illegal Immigration', ""We are not spending another dime to help the destruction of the U.S.," said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during an appearance on Fox News." Ward Clark at RedState, Pro-Illegal Alien Legal Aid Groups Sue After the Trump Admin. Ends Federal Gravy Train. Insty, "Actually, as many NGO flunkies and government bureaucrats lose their jobs in the coming months, it’s wise to remember Eric Hoffer’s words: “Nothing is so unsettling to a social order as the presence of a mass of scribes without suitable employment and an acknowledged status.” There needs to be a plan, as their response is likely to be drastic, and possibly dangerous." Maybe Homan can leave some room at Gitmo? Thomas Massie@RepThomasMassie, "I just reintroduced H.R. 899, a one sentence bill to TERMINATE the federal department of education and return power back to teachers and parents. This is it, the entire bill:" Short and to the point. Stephen Moore at Hat Hair has A Smart Way to Pay for the Trump Tax Cut: Auction Federal Assets. Buildings, land, old furniture and office equipment. I once visited the government surplus warehouse in Springfield VA. It's like the warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones I where they stuck the Ark of the Covenant. 

Scott Adams@ScottAdamsSays "We are entering the "WTF" discovery phase of DOGE." Quote Elon Musk@elonmusk, "The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career . . ." Off The Press @OffThePress1, "JUST IN: The federal government has saved over $1 BILLION by ending DEI-related contracts, according to a new breakdown released by @DOGE. That includes a staggering $228 million at USAID and $110 million at the Department of Agriculture." Da Wire, ‘Triggered’ No More: Federal Tech Arm Deletes ‘Inclusion Bot’ After Musk Takeover. "Federal office overrun by "they/thems" surrenders after resisting in Trump's first term." Luke Rosiak@lukerosiak, "DELETED: GSA's tech arm, a far-left agency that viciously subverted Trump during his first term, surrendered after an @elonmusk deputy took over. It deleted huge swaths of code dedicated to virtue-signaling rather than mission, such as its "inclusion bot" that lectured staff." Twitchy, DOGE Locks Out OPM Officials by Changing Their Passwords Ian Miles Cheong@stillgray "Incredible. DOGE has take command of the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and changed all the passwords of every employee who has been working from home. These employees have lost all access to personnel databases and are no longer in control. This is the reckoning." Department of Government Efficiency@DOGE "This is the split of administrators vs. teaching staff at the top 25 endowed universities. We are investing in bureaucracy over actual education. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacent" At Althouse, "Mr. Musk, who has been given wide latitude by President Trump to find ways to slash government spending, has recently fixated..." ""... on Treasury’s payment processes, criticizing the department in a social media post on Saturday for not rejecting more payments as fraudulent or improper. It is not clear whether the team led by Mr. Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, has blocked any payments since gaining access to the system." From "Elon Musk’s team has gotten access to the Treasury Department’s payments system" (NYT). This continues the story discussed earlier today in "What the DOGE team discovered."" At ET, Replace the Income Tax With Tariffs? "No matter how you do the math, there is simply no way that the tariff can make up the difference. The only solution, then, is massive cuts in government spending, which people like Elon Musk have promised but we are waiting to see the plans." 

Hat Hai cites DoD, 'Identity Months Dead at the DoD' "Going forward, DoD Components and Military Departments will not use official resources, to include man-hours, to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months, including National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month. Service members and civilians remain permitted to attend these events in an unofficial capacity outside of duty hours." From WokeSpy, Trump Reinstates Military Personnel Who Refused COVID Vax. Steve Hayward at Power Line, Trump and the First Rule of Politics "Trump never plays defense. Yesterday he issued a proclamation of Black History Month, and note who he singles out for recognition . . ." Twitchy, DEI Obsessed Lefty Political Activist Tells the Whole World She Has NO IDEA What the ADA Is or Does: Olivia Julianna@0liviajulianna "The man is literally disabled and in a wheelchair. DEI is literally the reason the Capitol building is accessible to him." Quote Eric Daugherty @EricLDaugh, " JUST IN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs order to ensure DEI is nowhere to be found in all state agencies." NYPo, Trump administration removes transgender references from federal government websites. Jeff Charles at TownHall, Hospitals Are Pausing 'Gender-Affirming Care' for Minors After Trump Executive Order. Misty Severi at JTN reports Trump foreign aid freeze pulls over $1 million in funding for LGBT programs in Ireland, Serbia, "The revelations additionally come after the Trump administration found the USAID earmarked $15 million for contraceptives and condoms last year for Afghanistan." At Real Clear Markets, Stefan Padfield believes The Excuses For DEI Programs Get Worse and Worse.

At TCW, Robert F Kennedy Jr’s magnificent fight back against the demented Democrats. At Fox, GOP senator faces intraparty criticism after saying he is 'struggling' with RFK Jr's confirmation. "'RFK is going to run HHS whether you like it or not,' says GOP Rep Clay Higgins." Sara Arnold at TownHall, Why This Billionaire Is Putting Far-Left Sen. Warnock on Notice “Man do I regret ever helping you,” Shanahan said. “The only reason you’re in that seat is because I sent massive financial support to Shirley Sherrod’s c4 to mobilize rural Georgia during the 2020 runoff. I’ll be correcting that massive mistake asap. You’re awful.” Althouse, "I mean, when you talk to these Republican lawmakers privately, they all understand a vote against something that Donald Trump really cares about is a vote to end your career." "Said Jonathan Swan, on yesterday's episode of the NYT's "Daily" podcast, "Trump 2.0 Arrives in Force."" cold@coldhealing, "chevron using the term "gulf of america" repeatedly in their earnings press release is the equivalent of bank of america putting up their pride month flag profile picture but for our new antiwoke overlords."

From NewsMax, Venezuela Frees 6 Americans After Trump Envoy Visits, Ric Grenell. Breitbart sees Trump Double Down on U.S. Retaking Panama Canal: ‘They’ve Totally Violated the Agreement’. Hat Hair cites the AP, Quelle Surprise: Arab Nations Are a 'HELL, NO' on Accepting Palestinians From Gaza. Beege Welborn snarks "BWAHAhahahaha! I will lay a big, fat donut on the bet that Trump just threw that out there to prove the point that there ain't NOBODY wantin' these homicidal psychopaths anywhere near them. And now that we've established they're absolutely incorrigible, untrustworthy savages, plans can move forward from here how to deal with them." Rebeccah Heinrichs at NYPo, Trump is killing terrorists again and cleaning up Biden’s disastrous mistakes — it’s glorious. Althouse, "This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia." ""These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies. The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians. Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that 'WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!'" Writes President Trump, at X, just now." Tom Knighton at TAW thinks Trump's strength highlights Biden's weakness.

Tom Knighton at Bearing Arms Brandon Herrera Has Interesting Take on What ATF Should Do. "In short, instead of making the ATF continue along the current track of pushing unconstitutional laws just to justify its existence, use the ATF to dismantle the gun regulatory scheme. He figures that it can be accomplished in a couple of years."

Susan Crabtree@susancrabtree, "Important Clarification: 88 is the number of FBI agents and top managers who ACTUALLY were walked out of their offices today, including those at the Washington Field Office, Palm Beach, and Miami FBI offices. That number also includes special agents in charge of various field offices around the country." At TNP, Trump’s FBI Cleans House, At Least 20 Senior Officials Dismissed. Bob Hoge at RedState, Friday Night Smackdown at the DOJ—Dozens of J6 Prosecutors Sent Packing. WaPoo whines the new D.C. U.S. attorney fires Jan. 6 prosecutors, launches new probes, "Ed Martin has fired Jan. 6 prosecutors, launched investigations of Capitol riot prosecutions and threatened the nation’s top elected Democrat with an inquiry." When you strike at a king . . . Beth Brelje at Da Fed sees the irony that Dems Worry Kash Patel Could Weaponize FBI Against Political Enemies Like They Did. At the 4th Rail, Former FBI Director Sucked at His Job, Now We're Vulnerable.

Matt Margolis is pleased This Top Senate Democrat Is Now Under Federal Investigation, Schumer. Roger Kimball at Am Great, Schumer Under Investigation While Trump Reshapes Washington. "Schumer faces scrutiny over past threats to justices, while Trump dismantles DEI, deports migrants, and strikes ISIS, signaling a shift in Washington’s priorities." Twitchy, 'The Hits Just Keep on Coming!' DOJ Hints About Probe of Chuck Schumer Over SCOTUS Threats. US Homeland Security News @defense_civil25, "Update: Senator Chuck Schumer is now officially under investigation by the Department of Justice for making threats against conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices!" TMK @TheMagaKing2_0 ""I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard." – Donald J. Trump "We're going to fight it in the streets." – Hakeem Jeffries See the difference?"

At NewsMax, Ill. Gov. Pritzker Bars Jan. 6 Pardonees From State Jobs. Fox, Anthony Fauci may be deposed as GOP intensifies COVID investigations in new Congress. "'There are still questions to be answered,' Sen. Rand Paul said after announcing his plan to subpoena 14 agencies" Jonathan Turley @JonathanTurley "Sen. Paul appears ready to take on Biden' s preemptive pardons with new demands for the deposition of Anthony Fauci. https://foxnews.com/politics/anthony-fauci-deposed-gop-covid-investigations-congress… As noted earlier, the pardon will not protect Fauci from new claims of false statements. Indeed, the pardon could make it more difficult to claim the privilege against self-incrimination."

Hat Hair reports The ICEman's Reach Is Long - Immigrant Arrests in Guam. Bill Melugin @BillMelugin_ "ICE and HSI even arresting criminal aliens in Guam" Quote HSI Honolulu @HSIHonolulu, "In Guam on Jan. 30 HSI, ERO, and USMS Deputy Marshals conducted a joint operation to protect the community by apprehending immigrants with outstanding criminal warrants. @HSI_HQ." Breitbart has more ICE: Fentanyl-Dealing Tren de Aragua Gang Members Arrested in South Carolina.

Althouse, The Democrats have elected their party chair. See my discussion of the race for the chair, earlier today, here. ADDED: Here's the NYT article on the subject, "Democrats Elect Ken Martin, a Party Insider, to Lead the D.N.C./The Democratic National Committee chose Mr. Martin, the leader of the Minnesota Democrats, to help oversee a demoralized national party split over its future and its response to President Trump." Mr. Martin defeated seven other candidates, including his top rival, Ben Wikler, the energetic chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Mr. Wikler’s base of support came from the party’s biggest donors and institutional players in Washington.... There's a lot of room between starting over and denying that you've got anything wrong with you. Defending former Vice President Kamala Harris’s performance as a candidate reminds me of a big flaw in her performance: defending Joe Biden's performance as President." Buck Sexton@BuckSexton "Whenever you think Democrats have screwed up so badly, they’ll finally learn their lesson- they dig in and find a way to make it worse." At RVN, Kamala Was ‘Traumatized’ By Joe Rogan Interviewing Donald Trump: Report. “Trump spent three hours with Rogan in an interview that instantly went viral. The contrast amounted to a ‘traumatic event,’ said one Harris aide, ‘that I will never forget,’” Allen and Parnes wrote." WUWT sees a ‘Revolving Door’: Biden’s Ocean Energy Chief Went To Work For Major Offshore Wind Company After Admin Boosted Industry.

George@BehizyTweets, "BREAKING: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth just kicked The New York Times, NBC, NPR, and Politico out of their Pentagon press offices to give space to the New York Post, Breitbart, OANN, and HuffPost. Hegseth must be attempting to set the world record for the most transformational changes made in a single month. WOW!" At Da Caller, Defense Department Orders ‘Unique’ Move Against Media Establishment Entrenched In Halls Of Pentagon.

From the Free Bacon, Contrarians, Assemble: Chuck Todd's Exit From NBC Fuels Speculation of Resistance 'Dream Team.' "Gonna take misinformation down to zero." At Da Fed, Elle Purnell lists The 12 Worst Fails Of Media Propagandist And Toilet Paper Bandit Chuck Todd’s Career. Phil Kerpen @kerpen, "Harwood is a known moron, but there is an interesting insight here. The left thinks it's fascism when their unelected permanent bureaucracy is placed under the control of the people's elected chief executive." Quote John Harwood@JohnJHarwood, "Trump is plunging the United States into fascism x.com/brianschatz/st…" At Twitchy, Mollie Hemingway & Others Point and Laugh at Defense of Continued Funding for 'Unbiased' NPR. Shashi Bellamkonda @shashib "NPR is a crucial resource for listeners of all economic groups and ages because it provides unbiased news, fosters thoughtful discussion, and covers important stories that might otherwise be overlooked. Its coverage of remote American communities and global issues is essential Show more" Mollie @MZHemingway, "You meant to say "spews daily propaganda, shuts down thoughtful debate, and censors important stories."" Jon Levine at NYPo is pretty happy that CBS agrees to hand over ’60 Minutes’ Harris interview transcripts to FCC. Matt Taibbi at Racket, About Those Onesies "A brief note to Senator Bernie Sanders." "Regarding your “Are you supportive of these onesies?” questioning: the organization that makes those products, Children’s Health Defense, does indeed list Kennedy as a founder and former CEO. It’s also one of the most censored organizations in the world, a distinction the group shares with Kennedy, one of the most censored individuals. You and Mr. Kennedy were both cited by one of the leading government-partnered “anti-disinformation” groups during the pandemic, the Stanford-based “Virality Project.”"

At the College Fix, Professor says monuments to American pioneers ‘reinforce white supremacy. Toni Airakinsen, finds a STUDY: Objectivity and Rationalism Now Signs of "White Supremacy." The Victory Girls sees Columbia: Ivy League Communist Fangirls Strike Again. 

John Sexton at Hat Hair enjoys his schadenfreude as The First Trans Person Nominated for an Oscar is Being Canceled Over Tweets.

The Wombat has FMJRA 2.0: Return to Mediocrity up and running at The Other McCain.

er/mastervariablelist.aspx?stepId=2&sid=783e04e6-59bc-44fc-ab6e-e5d3b6dcd6d5&rtid=1