Obama-era FAA hiring rules place diversity ahead of airline safety, attorney tells Tucker Carlson

Activists inside the federal government decided that air traffic controllers weren't diverse enough and in recent years and in the first step of the hiring process, used a 'biographical questionnaire' to screen potential employees. One man is suing the FAA for its updated hiring practice. #Tucker
The safety of America's airline passengers is being compromised for the sake of diversity in hiring air traffic controllers, an attorney suing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host Tucker Carlson on Friday.
During the Obama administration, the FAA replaced the previous hiring standards with rules designed to increase diversity among air traffic controllers, attorney Michael Pearson said.
“A group within the FAA, including the human resources function within the FAA -- the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees -- determined that the workforce was too white,” Pearson told Carlson. “They had a concerted effort through the Department of Transportation in the Obama administration to change that.”

"A group within the FAA ... determined that the workforce was too white. They had a concerted effort ... in the Obama administration to change that."

Pearson said there’s no data to support that increasing diversity in the ranks of air traffic controllers would make the flying public safer. Thus, Pearson said, he is suing the FAA for its revised hiring practices.
“It’s the safety of the national airspace that’s at risk here,” Pearson said.
Pearson, who said he was an air traffic controller in four of the nation's busiest facilities for nearly 27 years, asserted that much of the problem lies with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NACTA), the union that controls a large political action committee.
"They fund a lot of politicians,” Pearson told Carlson.
“Nothing will get passed in aviation unless they get blessing of the controller’s union,” he said, referring to legislation proposed in Congress. “Their position radically changed when the Obama administration came in.
“This is social engineering at its finest,” he added.
The FAA declined to send a representative to appear on the program, Carlson said.

Obama to headline pricey LA fundraiser for Democrats later this month

Back again to stir up more trouble for America.

Democrats hoping to see former President Barack Obama at a fundraiser in Los Angeles later this month might want to start setting aside some cash now.
General admission for the Democratic National Committee event, scheduled for June 28, starts at $2,700 and other admission options run as high as $100,000, the Hill reported.
The pricier tickets include such perks as premium seating, photos ops, and membership in the DNC’s National Finance Committee, the report said.
Obama has kept a relative low profile since leaving the White House in January 2017 -- although he has appeared at events related to the planned $500 million Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
In California, he has thrown his weight behind Democratic candidates and causes, including the re-election bid of longtome U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, which begins with Tuesday's California primary election.
In May, Obama was scheduled to appear at a Beverly Hills fundraising event for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who's seeking a third term this year.
Meanwhile, Obama and former first lady Michele Obama last week announced a multiyear production deal with Netflix. The streaming service will serve as a platform for their production company, "Higher Ground Productions."
The June 28 Los Angeles fundraiser coincides with a concerted effort by Democrats to retake Congress in the 2018 midterm elections in November.
Obama, for his part, is expected to intensify his fundraising efforts on behalf of the Democrats, including raising money for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Politico reported.

Clinton's 'a**-covering' speech on bin Laden raid made Biden furious, book claims

Hillary Clinton’s campaign claim in 2016 -- that she fully supported President Barack Obama’s decision to order the Navy SEAL raid that would eliminate Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden -- made Vice President Joe Biden furious, a new book says.
Biden, whom the book characterizes as willing to “fall on his sword” for Obama’s success, begrudged Clinton for misrepresenting her position on the decision, the book asserts.
“The a** covering, opportunistic version really rattled him,” an anonymous aide told Kate Andersen Brower, author of “First in Line: Presidents, Vice Presidents, and the Pursuit of Power.” An excerpt appeared this week in the Hill.

“The a** covering, opportunistic version really rattled him.”

Brower covered the White House for Bloomberg News during Obama's first term, and has written for several other news organizations, including Fox News.
During a Situation Room meeting with top Obama officials on whether to strike the compound believed to be holding bin Laden, Biden wasn’t the only one who voiced reservations about the plan, the excerpt says.
“My sense is that [Clinton] was not sold on the idea either,” says David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to Obama, in the excerpt.

“My sense is that [Clinton] was not sold on the idea either.”
- David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama

Yet in January 2016, Clinton was touting her role in the bin Laden raid in a stump speech that, Politico wrote, left audiences "riveted."
“I was one of those who recommended the president launch what was a very risky raid ... because if all we had done was launch a missile and dropped a bomb, we never would have known [if bin Laden was dead],” Clinton told a crowd in Ames, Iowa, Politico reported.
“It was one of the most tense days of my life sitting there. For some of it we had the video but once they were inside we had no video, just an audio connection. ... And some of you who have followed this may know one of the helicopters hit the tail going into the courtyard and got disabled ... [but] because of the incredibly careful planning we didn’t leave anybody behind.”

"I was one of those who recommended the president launch what was a very risky raid."
- Hillary Clinton, on the campaign trail in Iowa, January 2016

Clinton has been the subject of other recent books dealing with the former U.S. secretary of state and U.S. senator's 2016 campaign loss.
Ben Rhodes, a former adviser to Obama, details in his memoir, “The World as It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House,” that they’d run against Clinton in 2008 with the same message that Republican candidate Donald Trump would use eight years later.
That message: “She’s part of a corrupt establishment that can’t be trusted to bring change,” Rhodes writes in a preview featured in the New York Times.
Another memoir, “Chasing Hillary,” by Times reporter Amy Chozick, who followed Clinton on the campaign trail, writes of the Democratic nominee’s reaction the moment she learned of her defeat to Trump.
“’I knew it. I knew this would happen to me,’ she said, ... They were never going to let me be president,’” an excerpt in the New York Times reads.
But who was Clinton referring to as "they"? The former candidate has gone on to blame various groups for her election defeat -- including Democratic socialists, the "vast right-wing conspiracy," James Comey, white men and the press.

Liberal ABC Cartoons

Roseanne says she 'begged' ABC, 'like 40 motherf-----s,' to let her 'make amends' before show was axed

Following days of heavy backlash for a string of controversial tweets, Roseanne Barr on Thursday said she “begged” ABC to give her a chance to “apologize & make amends.”
“I begged Ben Sherwood at ABC 2 let me apologize & make amends,” the embattled TV star tweeted about the ABC president. “I begged them not to cancel the show. I told them I was willing to do anything & asked 4 help in making things right. I'd worked doing publicity4 them 4free for weeks, traveling, thru bronchitis. I begged4 ppls jobs.”
She went on to apparently recall a conversation during which she claimed she “begged 4 my crew jobs.”
“He said: what were you thinking when you did this? I said: I thought she was white, she looks like my family! He scoffed & said: "what u have done is egregious, and unforgivable.' I begged 4 my crews jobs. Will I ever recover from this pain? Omg”
"I also told Ben Sherman that I would go in hospital to check my meds, bc the stress had made them less effective. I begged like 40 motherf-----s," she later wrote. "Done now."
ABC CANCELS ‘ROSEANNE’ AFTER BARR’S RACIST TWEET
The tweets followed a series of others, in which Barr spoke of God and religion, and appeared to specifically want to make amends to a few individuals who were the focus of her provocative tweets.
“Attempting to also get phone numbers for Jarrett, Michelle and GS to personally apologize to them tho I disagree with their politics,” Barr tweeted. “I was still wrong 2 dehumanize them-they r not my enemy, harboring hate & anger is my enemy. I can speak respectfully 2 those w whom I disagree.”
The tweet appeared to be in reference to former President Obama’s aide, Valerie Jarrett, as well as former first lady Michelle Obama and liberal donor George Soros.
Earlier this week, Barr tweeted that Jarrett, who is African-American and born in Iran, is like the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby.” She also sent a politically charged tweet linking Chelsea Clinton to Soros.
The comments elicited wide criticism against the star, ultimately leading to the next season for the reboot of her namesake show being canceled and her talent agency, ICM Partners, deciding to drop her.
ROSEANNE BARR SAYS SHE MAY FIGHT ABC FIRING, RETWEETS CLAIM MICHELLE OBAMA WAS BEHIND OUSTER
Amid the ongoing fallback for her comments, Barr returned to Twitter and retweeted an unproved claim posted by a right-wing activist, which accused ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey of consulting the former first lady before canceling the reboot.
Barr tweeted Thursday that she asked “God2 help me use this bad experience 2 move in2 a better place where I can be more useful to help suffering people who are homeless battered & hopeless in this world, everywhere.”
She continued on to say she is “so flawed” and thanked her followers for their “loving support.”
Barr also said she "intended to bring ppl together" and said it was "a joyous experience" to get "to work on the Roseanne show again."

Kamala Harris, mute on 2020 ambitions, slams Trump's 'immoral' policies, seeks ban on 'weapons of war'

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., a rumored 2020 candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, speaks in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., Aug. 22, 2017.  (Associated Press)

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., remained mute about her 2020 ambitions Thursday during a town hall meeting in her home state, but attacked the Trump administration’s immigration policies as “immoral” and said she supports a ban on “weapons of war.”
“This administration, as far as I’m concerned, has put a target on California’s back and we’re going to need to fight this,” Harris told a crowd of more than 1,000 people in the San Fernando Valley, many of whom were young students, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

“This administration, as far as I’m concerned, has put a target on California’s back and we’re going to need to fight this.”

She criticized the administration's zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration, which has led to at least 1,300 children being separated from parents who attempted to cross the border illegally.
“It’s immoral,” she said. “And let’s be clear, government should be in the business of keeping families together, not tearing them apart.”
Harris received praise from progressives after her heated confrontation with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen last month, in which she took the Trump administration official to task over the issue.
But Nielsen denied the administration is intentionally splitting the families, explaining to Harris that parents who attempted to enter the country illegally may lose their children if they face charges or jail time, as according to the existing U.S. laws that precede the election of Trump.
Harris, California's junior U.S. senator, isn’t facing re-election this year, but her town hall was held just days before Tuesday’s primary election in the state -- which Democrats hope will help solidify their domination in California and eventually flip seats in the U.S. Congress.
But holding a town hall while not facing an election merely fueled speculation that Harris may run for president in 2020. Rather than dismiss the rumors about it, Harris told reporters that she had “no announcements to make.”
During the event, Harris outlined some of her policy wishes, including banning “weapons of war” and introducing mandatory background checks.
“It’s a false choice to suggest you either support the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” she told the audience. “That is ridiculous.”

“It’s a false choice to suggest you either support the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away. That is ridiculous.”
- U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

She also spoke about a bipartisan bill she’s working on with U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would reform the court’s bail system.
Harris wrapped up her appearance by saying that although Trump poses challenges to people, she doesn’t believe the country is divided.
“I reject that premise. I do not believe we are divided. I believe that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us, and I know that to be true,” she said.

Samantha Bee apologizes for 'unfiltered' slam on Ivanka Trump while accepting 'social change' award

Newly notorious comedian Samantha Bee told a crowd in Los Angeles on Thursday that the media focus should shift from the “one bad word” she uttered to describe Ivanka Trump to the nation's treatment of immigrant children and families, a report said.
Press access was revoked hours before the Television Academy event, which honored Bee’s show, "Full Frontal," and six other programs as platforms for advancing social change, but IndieWire was able to report Bee’s speech.
“We spent the day wrestling with the repercussions of one bad word, when we all should have spent the day incensed that as a nation we are wrenching children from their parents and treating people legally seeking asylum as criminals,” Bee said at NeueHouse Hollywood. “If we are OK with that then really, who are we?”
Bee, 48, a former member of comedian Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" troupe on Comedy Central, was honored on the same day she apologized for calling Ivanka Trump a “feckless c---” during the opening monologue of her Wednesday show, Deadline reported.
Ivanka Trump was criticized for a photo she shared, showing her hugging her son, amid reports that the Office of Refugee Resettlement had lost track of 1,500 immigrant children in the last three months of 2017.
Bee admitted that while her show strives to view the world through an “unfiltered” lens, there are times when she “should probably have a filter.”
“You know, the thing is, our show is steeped in passion,” Bee told the audience. “Every week I strive to show the world as I see it, unfiltered. Sometimes I should probably have a filter. I accept that. I take it seriously when I get it right and I do take responsibility when I get it wrong.
“There is power in saying what you feel without apology,” Bee said. “OK, and sometimes you also have to apologize.”
The media was denied access to Thursday's ceremony itself, but reporters and photographers had access to the red carpet preceding the event. Bee, however, was a no-show, Entertainment Weekly reported.
An apparently sudden increase in the number of press attending the event forced the Television Academy “to limit access to tonight’s activities” just hours before the red carpet.
An academy rep told the Hollywood Reporter late Thursday afternoon that the press was no longer allowed into the reception “as a result of today’s events involving Samantha B.”
TBS, the network that airs “Full Frontal,” also issued an apology after Bee’s tweet: "Samantha Bee has taken the right action in apologizing for the vile and inappropriate language she used about Ivanka Trump last night. Those words should not have been aired.  It was our mistake too, and we regret it."
The segment has since been removed from the show's YouTube page.
At least two advertisers so far have pulled sponsorship from Bee’s program.
The other shows honored Thursday were “Andi Mack,” “Daughters of Destiny,” “Forbidden: Undocumented & Queer in Rural America,” “LA 92,” “One Day at a Time” and “13 Reasons Why.”

Facebook Cartoons

Clinton says she would like to run Facebook

Hillary Clinton didn't win the presidency in 2016, so is there another job she would like to have? The former Democratic Party nominee considered the question Friday at Harvard University and said she would like to run Facebook.
During an event at which she received the prestigious Radcliffe Medal for “transformative impact on society,” Clinton was asked which company she would like to lead as CEO.
Without any hesitation, Clinton named Facebook, noting that the social media giant has vast power and controls the flow of information.
“It’s the biggest news platform in the world … but most people in our country get their news, true or not, from Facebook,” she said.
The response drew mixed reactions on social media, though the attempt to put her name on the table may not be so out of the ordinary. Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg openly endorsed Clinton’s candidacy while a co-founder of the social media giant, Dustin Moskovitz, led a nearly $30 million effort to defeat now-President Donald Trump.
Other Facebook employees contributed more money to Clinton's campaign -- some $114,000 -- than to those of any other candidate, according to Federal Election Commission data that takes into account only donations over $200, the Hill reported.
But the former U.S. secretary of state’s openness to run Facebook came at the time when the tech company is coping with a number of scandals, including alleged misuse of user data that allowed political campaigns, including possibly Clinton’s, to target potential voters after acquiring the data of millions of people.
Just this week, Facebook was accused of deceptive tactics to pressure people to accept its privacy policy. According to a complaint filed by the European Center for Digital Rights on behalf of an anonymous individual, the platform blocked users who didn’t consent to the new privacy policies and used “tricks” – including fake message notifications – to pressure them into agreeing with the policies.
“[Facebook] used additional ‘tricks’ to pressure the users: For example, the consent page included two fake red dots … that indicated that the user has new messages and notifications, which he/she cannot access without consenting — even if the user did not have such notifications or messages in reality,” the complaint reads, according to Australia's News.co.au.
But similar to Cambridge Analytica, the company that was forced to shut down amid the data misuse scandal, the Clinton campaign itself may have harvested the data of potentially millions of users to get an edge over Trump.
In the midst of the election, Clinton's campaign launched a mobile application called “Hillary 2016” that allowed every user to pair their friends list on Facebook with their phone contacts – and give the campaign permission to access that info.
People who didn’t download the application - or weren’t even Clinton supporters – weren’t given an option to prohibit their Facebook friends from pairing their phone numbers with Facebook accounts and indicate their likelihood of voting for the Democratic candidate.

Roseanne blames Ambien, ABC, herself as Trump also hits the network

I think we can all agree it wasn’t the Ambien, that Roseanne Barr has a long history of spewing conspiracy theories and ugly attacks.
But her spectacular self-immolation has ignited a cultural debate in this country over race, online venom, cultural standards and — inevitably — President Trump.
Even as Barr, in a late-night tweestorm, blamed her racist slur against Valerie Jarrett on the sleep medication, and attacked some of her fellow cast members, she admitted that she was fully at fault:
“guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting -- it was memorial day too -- i went 2 far & do not want it defended -- it was egregious Indefensible.”
Fine. She’s right. There is no defense. What planet do you have to be on to talk about a black person and “Planet of the Apes”?
There is also no question that ABC knew exactly what it was getting, which is why network president Ben Sherwood told the New York Times back in March that “you can’t control Roseanne Barr. Many who have tried have failed.”
So obviously the network wasn’t unaware that Barr had a long history of tweeting ugly, unproven insults and wild conspiracy theories. And presumably she wasn’t on Ambien all those times.
Roseanne retweeted at one point that “ABC is allowing the Trump haters to control their station” — even though it was the network that provided the platform for her pro-Trump reboot in the first place.
The network gambled that she could revive her hit show — which she did, specifically tailored to appeal to Trump Country — and she did. But even as she was riding high, Roseanne couldn’t stay off the Twitter. And that cost her, the hundreds of people who worked on the show and the network that invested in her.
With so many pundits on the left blaming the Roseanne debacle on Trump — who, of course, had nothing to do with it besides enjoying the show’s success — it was only a matter of time before the president joined the fray.
It’s noteworthy that Trump made no comment on Barr’s racist tweet. Instead, he tweeted that Disney CEO Bob Iger “Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that ‘ABC does not tolerate comments like those’ made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?”
I’m sure unfair things have been said about Trump on ABC News and every other network. I’m just as sure that they didn’t fall into the category of likening him to an ape.
But HBO’s Bill Maher, five years ago, did jokingly compare Trump’s hair to an orangutan. And ABC’s lightning-quick dumping of “Roseanne” does raise questions about the media and cultural standards used when public personalities say offensive things.
No action was taken against Joy Behar, for instance, when the “View” co-host mocked Vice President Pence’s religion. She eventually apologized, first privately and then publicly.
MSNBC took no action against Joy Reid when a torrent of her homophobic tweets surfaced from a decade ago. She ludicrously claimed that her account had been hacked, but also apologized for her “dumb” and “hateful” postings.
And ESPN action took no action against former “Sports Center” co-host Jemele Hill for calling the president a “white supremacist” and “bigot.” But the network suspended her for suggestion a boycott of the Dallas Cowboys for cracking down on player protests.
On the other hand, CNN fired host Reza Aslan for tweeting that Trump was a “piece of s---” and “embarrassment to humankind.”
CNN also fired pro-Trump contributor Jeffrey Lord for tweeting the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil.”
Sarah Sanders weighed in Wednesday, saying:
“Where was Bob Iger‘s apology to the White House staff for Jemele Hill calling the president and anyone associated with him a white supremacist? To Christians around the world for Joy Behar calling Christianity a mental illness? Where was the apology for Kathy Griffin going on a profane rant against the president on ‘The View’ after a photo showed her holding President Trump’s decapitated head? And where was the apology from Bob Iger for ESPN hiring Keith Olbermann after his numerous expletive-laced tweets attacking the president as a Nazi and even expanding his role after that attack against the president’s family?”
Those are legitimate questions. In fairness, CNN dumped Griffin, and Olbermann, who made some extremely harsh anti-Trump videos for GQ, is being used by ESPN only on sports. But would the treatment have been different if the target wasn’t Trump?
The bottom line is that each media organization sets its own standards, depending on the gravity of the offense, the popularity of the performer and the person’s past record.
These problems were once far easier to sweep under the rug. But we all live in Twitter’s world now, where one ill-chosen phrase can end a career and online mobs can form at a moment’s notice.
Roseanne Barr woke up Tuesday morning with the most popular show on television. But hours later she was unemployed because she touched the third rail of racism, and ABC executives concluded she had crossed a very bright line.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author "Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press and the War Over the Truth." Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.