A PLEA — WHILE THER IS STILL TIME

Let me preface this by stating that I have been a transportation reporter and aviation enthusiast since childhood, and took that passion skyward when I joined the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. 

That said, let me be blunt: Trump — once again — is using a tragedy for his own racist benefit while ignoring facts. He blames diversity initiatives for the fatal Washington crash, pointing to control tower personnel as being unintelligent and of “low aptitude” because of diversity initiatives. 

Utter racist rubbish.

The reality is that for years, the passenger and cargo airline industries have castigated federal officials for the chronic shortage of air traffic controllers. The shortage is costly, and has contributed to chronic delays, cancellations, prolonged flight times and extended taxi periods.

Here’s an earlier bit of American aviation history: The FAA has been chronically understaffed since President Ronald Reagan fired all of the striking controllers in the 1980s. I covered that event.  (And I could never understand why they named Washington National Airport after him following that nasty, egotistic act.)

Fast forward 30 years and tens of thousands of controllers have retired or are now retiring because they have reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. Burnout also remains high. So, today there remains a chronic shortage of ATCs. 

Meanwhile, the standards for hiring and training remain high. But controllers are saddled with an antiquated nationwide air traffic system in need of expensive and critical 21st Century hardware and software upgrades.

At the time of the Washington crash, reports say that there was one controller in the DCA tower handling two positions, which some say is not unusual. But Trump, with no facts, is blaming the loss of 67 Americans aboard the two aircraft on diversity and equity initiatives in the control tower. How utterly ungodly and shameless.

But give him credit. Trump has hit a trifecta: 

• An undereducated and misinformed populace. 
• MAGA gone wild. 
• And a hollowed-out news media too cowardly to challenge the wannabe oligarch. (And don’t forget that he’s making millions in the White House with his cryptocurrency stakes, etc.)

Fundamentally, it is time for us citizens to take back the news and not be distracted by this Trump racist and rhetorical nonsense.

On the DEI front, many of my Facebook friends are solid journalists, present and past, who happen to be Black and Brown folks. I have followed your careers and reveled — in your bylines, live shots and constant achievements.

And if you don’t happen to be a journalist, that’s also great because you are leaders in your own fields and magnum force is needed at this crucial moment.

I think about the legends who helped me along the way: Arthur M. Carter of The Washington Afro-American; Mal Goode, the first TV network correspondent; Pulitzer winners Leon Dash, Acel Moore and Les Payne; and, Dorothy Gilliam of The Washington Post and Maynard Institute.

I wonder what they would say, what they would do to fight this patently vindictive civil rights rollback that’s creating seismic schisms in our society.

Thus, I know that we must do something to protect The Village. As journalists, we must do what we’ve always done: Speak truth to power.

That’s what Art, Acel, Leon, Les and Dorothy would do — and we are their legacy.

The Village, once again, is in peril. Let’s form a consortium or create strategies to harness our energy talents, and belief in a democratic future — while there is still time.

Rich Man, Poor Us

There is a depression over the land, and it grows with each passing day under this new Trump administration. Instead of inspiring, he is taking us down his own dark path of American madness. 

Speaking to retired federal employees, I know what is happening in Washington, DC. They know what’s happening in the hinterland with the federal programs they used to administer. Their programs were built to protect the old, the young, the sick, the poor — and every one of them is in jeopardy. The people who administer these programs at the grassroots — such as Medicare and food stamps — are now in limbo as well. Their staffs are being put on notice that they may not have jobs in coming days. 

This burgeoning nationwide mental health crisis also heavily touches the career civil service workforce, people who have given their entire existence to careers that benefit the public. Many of these federal employees are now depressed, not knowing which way to turn with Trump’s recent buyout offer. These are people with families. These are people with mortgages and children to care for, and aging parents to watch over. These are people with bills. These are people. 

Donald Trump does not care about people, only his entitled cabal of wannabe oligarchs. 

Now, Google is renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” Indeed, America has a growing gulf of insecurity bordering on insanity. The Gulf of America is now aptly named because we are in uncharted waters. 

Better yet, uncaring waters, Dear America.