The Charlie Kirk Show - How Long Until DEI Causes a Plane Crash?

00:00:00.000 Hey everybody, it's in the Charlie Kirk show.

00:00:01.000 We went viral recently for some of our comments regarding the FAA and who is hiring the pilots and air traffic controllers.

00:00:10.000 We have an amazing guest, Michael Pearson, who is suing the FAA.

00:00:13.000 He's a pilot.

00:00:14.000 He was an air traffic control.

00:00:15.000 He's a lawyer.

00:00:16.000 He's a professor.

00:00:18.000 Very, very qualified.

00:00:20.000 And you're going to learn a lot about how DEI and wokeism has infiltrated the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration, and more.

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00:00:54.000 Here we go.

00:00:55.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:57.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

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00:01:53.000 Joining us is Michael Pearson.

00:01:55.000 Michael, welcome to the program.

00:01:56.000 Thanks, Charlie.

00:01:57.000 Glad to be here.

00:01:58.000 You are, you're a former air traffic control, right?

00:02:00.000 Yes, sir.

00:02:01.000 You're also a lawyer, and you teach at Arizona State University.

00:02:04.000 I do.

00:02:04.000 And so you're, a lot I want to cover with you.

00:02:07.000 You're involved in a class action lawsuit that's still ongoing with the FAA.

00:02:11.000 And I want you to tell us about that, but I do want to kind of speak more broadly because we had a conversation recently that went viral where we talked about how the FAA and some of these airlines are beginning to prioritize diversity over merit and excellence.

00:02:27.000 And I think you have something to share regarding those statements.

00:02:32.000 Well, certainly from the air traffic control side, the FAA for years, along with obviously other government agencies, but the FAA is more critical because it's a safety-related occupation.

00:02:43.000 And they've engaged in what I believe to be a form of social engineering for years, but it got fairly blatant and bad in 2012, 2013 period, where they took the best source of controller applicants, the pipeline for air traffic controllers.

00:03:01.000 There's 36 universities across the country.

00:03:04.000 And in a midnight raid, so to speak, literally in late December of 2013, they just notified all these students who paid tuition and who had gone through two to four year programs investing their life's work and becoming an air traffic controller.

00:03:19.000 They eliminated them from a preferential hiring list.

00:03:22.000 And the reason was because they were the wrong color.

00:03:25.000 And a lot of those young folks who were on that list, by the way, it was a very diverse list.

00:03:30.000 Males, females, Hispanics, African Americans. 0.94

00:03:36.000 And to be very straightforward, your race or your gender has nothing to do with your ability as a controller.

00:03:41.000 That's right.

00:03:41.000 I've trained hundreds of them.

00:03:43.000 And so I know that for a fact.

00:03:44.000 It's really more your motivation and your ability to persevere through a tough training program.

00:03:52.000 And so literally, this was from an organization called the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees who felt there were too many white privileged controllers on the list.

00:04:04.000 They went to the Rainbow Push Coalition.

00:04:07.000 It was Jesse Jackson at the time.

00:04:09.000 And the DOT and eliminated the program overnight.

00:04:14.000 And it was race-based. 0.63

00:04:15.000 There's absolutely no doubt.

00:04:16.000 And that's what we're litigating the case for, and that's what we're going to prove, to bring justice to these kids who lost not only their tuition, but their life dream, simply because they were the victims of identity politics.

00:04:32.000 So then post-2013, that's 10 years ago, how has ATC air traffic control changed since then?

00:04:40.000 Well, I will also definitely one of the things that happened, one of the causal effects, where now the FAA has facilities that lack adequate staffing.

00:04:53.000 A lot of the delays you hear about are actually because they shut down airspace, not because of the weather, because of airlines.

00:04:59.000 They literally shut down sectors because they don't have enough folks to work.

00:05:02.000 Most controllers at major facilities now are working six-day weeks, a day of overtime per week, which is exceedingly costly.

00:05:09.000 Air traffic controllers make a very good wage.

00:05:14.000 And what happens is when these controllers work six-day weeks, after a while, they start sicking out.

00:05:20.000 So you can imagine if you do the math, it's an exponential cost to the system.

00:05:23.000 Not only are the controllers tired, the attrition rate is high, and a lot of folks are leaving the profession.

00:05:31.000 So here's what we have.

00:05:32.000 It's a situation where you have less qualified people working more airplanes.

00:05:38.000 And it's not a good situation.

00:05:41.000 I'm not a table pounder.

00:05:42.000 I'm not a person that predicts dire consequences.

00:05:45.000 There's a lot of technologies and automation that help air traffic controllers separate airplanes now.

00:05:51.000 But the deficit in the system has been hidden from certainly the flying public.

00:05:58.000 The airlines have got it figured out.

00:06:00.000 They've been able to fly through weather for years, and they've been able to do certain things for a long time.

00:06:08.000 So when the FA shuts down sectors and causes reroutes or eliminates flights, that's also a causal effect of eliminating the controller pipeline.

00:06:18.000 According to the New York Times, there's more and more near-misses at airports.

00:06:21.000 They're way up.

00:06:23.000 Is this related to this?

00:06:24.000 And are you afraid of a ticking time bomb?

00:06:27.000 I am.

00:06:27.000 And I'll tell you why.

00:06:28.000 After a while, controllers get tired.

00:06:30.000 They work at most of your major facilities.

00:06:33.000 The bigger facilities that handle most of the air carrier traffic, which is airline traffic.

00:06:37.000 Most controllers work six-day work weeks when they're supposed to work five-day work weeks.

00:06:41.000 And again, that's the domino effect I told you about.

00:06:44.000 What ends up happening is controllers work, they work this overtime, and then to get a day off, they take sick leave.

00:06:49.000 So the financial costs are high, but the human toll is high also.

00:06:53.000 And so it's very difficult when you're tired.

00:06:56.000 And your sleep cycles are controllers, but they're called your circadian cycles, because of the nature of the way air traffic controllers work.

00:07:02.000 They work two nights, two mornings, and work at midnight.

00:07:05.000 It's not good for your body.

00:07:07.000 It's not good for your awareness.

00:07:09.000 And so there's a lot of factors involved, but cutting the pipeline and eliminating folks that would have been fantastic certified air traffic controllers working the system now has led to a lot of safety issues.

00:07:21.000 But the thing that the public doesn't know is that the air traffic controllers about 15, 20 years ago were given immunity for close calls.

00:07:30.000 So it used to be if an air traffic controller had an operational error, controllers call them deals, an operational error simply means that two airplanes got less too close, less than standard required separation, that those controllers could be pulled off the boards and given retraining.

00:07:47.000 It's not so anymore.

00:07:48.000 In fact, in order to get retraining for a controller, the managers of the facility have to go through extraordinary measures, and usually they're overruled.

00:07:57.000 So what you have is a system which wasn't meant to be deterrent.

00:08:02.000 It was meant to provide training to controllers to bring them back up to speed if they kept having repetitive error, where they kept having deals, operational errors.

00:08:09.000 It's non-existent now.

00:08:11.000 Do you know of any examples without citing them, but just curious, of people that have been pushed through the system as pilots or air traffic controllers that might not have been as qualified as they should be?

00:08:22.000 Yeah, absolutely.

00:08:24.000 And I'm not.

00:08:24.000 Hundreds of them.

00:08:25.000 Hundreds.

00:08:26.000 Hundreds of them.

00:08:27.000 And would these people be in the, let's say, the diversity box?

00:08:31.000 Certainly a percentage, I believe, are.

00:08:34.000 Usually when I look at that or when folks are still in the FA, I still have a lot of contacts that work in the field in the FA, and I get lots of communications.

00:08:43.000 And of course, they can't become, or they can't speak out themselves because they will be retaliated against.

00:08:48.000 The FAA has gone full wokeness, full DEI.

00:08:52.000 And certainly with the management over the last few years in the air traffic branch, they're more worried about diversity than they are near misses.

00:08:59.000 I'll give you a real quick story.

00:09:01.000 Please do.

00:09:01.000 Yeah, and then I want you to repeat that, but please do.

00:09:03.000 Yeah, I'll give you a real quick story.

00:09:04.000 I had a manager from a major facility contact me who's been in the FA for decades and tell me that during one of their management meetings that was supposed to be about how do we reduce or eliminate these operational errors, lack of standard separation, people getting airplanes getting too close.

00:09:25.000 And the whole time the meeting was going on, the person in D.C. holding the meeting, all he wanted to do was talk about diversity, equity, and things of that nature.

00:09:33.000 And literally the managers themselves across the country were communicating in text, instant messaging, offline about what a waste of time it was, and they were exceedingly disappointed.

00:09:44.000 The people in the field are not the people I'm complaining about.

00:09:47.000 No, they're the heroes.

00:09:49.000 They're the heroes.

00:09:50.000 They eliminated interviews for air traffic controller applicants.

00:09:52.000 It used to be that before you could become a controller, you would have to go to a facility and talk to somebody.

00:09:58.000 And that was to make sure you understood English and you could basically communicate.

00:10:01.000 They eliminated that because that was a barrier to people that could not understand English.

00:10:05.000 Well, the language of air traffic control is English.

00:10:09.000 Yes, it's even English in almost every country.

00:10:11.000 It is IKO.

00:10:12.000 Yeah, it's worldwide.

00:10:15.000 I mean, if you go to Japan, you're going to communicate in English if you land.

00:10:19.000 If you fly over any country and you're part of an air crew, the language is English.

00:10:23.000 Do you know of current controllers that are not as well versed in the language?

00:10:29.000 I don't know of any personally because I've been out of the field.

00:10:33.000 I haven't worked as a controller in over 10 years, but I have stories from other controllers training people that I trained where they're exasperated or they're having a difficult time because they will be dealing with someone and their language capabilities aren't up to par.

00:10:51.000 So I've heard stories.

00:10:52.000 Yeah, there is this clip I think we'll get of an air traffic controller, a woman who was arguing with the pilot.

00:10:59.000 Yes. 0.84

00:11:00.000 And I've had tons of pilots say that woman was totally wrong. 0.99

00:11:03.000 She was.

00:11:03.000 I know the clip you're talking about.

00:11:04.000 It's totally inappropriate.

00:11:06.000 And I would venture to say that that person, I don't know this to be a fact, so this is pure speculation.

00:11:12.000 And the current makeup of the FA and managers are not allowed to effectively discipline air traffic controllers.

00:11:18.000 Not only do they get a pass on operational errors through this air traffic immunity program that's been put in place, but air traffic managers who try to do the right thing are oftentimes retaliated and their careers suffer.

00:11:32.000 So I would be shocked because of the nature of the power the air traffic controllers union has if in fact that controller suffered any consequences at all.

00:11:42.000 It was embarrassing to the system, and I'm also a pilot.

00:11:45.000 So I can tell you, she was, and I was also a quality assurance specialist for the FA, so I happen to know the rules and regulations fairly well.

00:11:52.000 She was wrong.

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00:13:03.000 So, Michael, there, part of the problem is also the airlines.

00:13:06.000 I know this is something that you just know probably adjacently.

00:13:08.000 Can you speak to that?

00:13:11.000 Anytime you sacrifice safety at the altar of political correctness or wokeness, you're risking people's lives.

00:13:16.000 It doesn't matter if it's air traffic control, it doesn't matter if it's the flight side.

00:13:20.000 I think most people in this audience and most people, when it actually comes down to brass tacks regarding regardless of which side they're on, would want the best surgeon operating on their child.

00:13:29.000 Yes. 0.98

00:13:30.000 If my child has an issue and I need a pediatric neurosurgeon, I'm going to get the best neurosurgeon possible, regardless of their race, ethnicity, color, sexual preference, all the other garbage that people deal with.

00:13:44.000 Anytime you're in a merit-based occupation, you cannot afford to do that.

00:13:48.000 It's my personal belief.

00:13:49.000 And I think most folks in the industry would agree with that.

00:13:53.000 There's enough examples of shining stars of every race, ethnicity, and creed to fill these positions.

00:13:59.000 However, what we're doing is we're weakening the fabric in the system as a whole by not requiring air traffic controllers to have a certain level of expertise or qualifications prior to being checked out and certified.

00:14:16.000 I want to play Cut86, and you're going to kind of tell us what's going on here because it's a lot of lingo going on here.

00:14:22.000 Play syntax.

00:14:23.000 Yeah, play Cut 86, please.

00:14:25.000 For a short approach, if you're going to do a Power Off 180, that's my point.

00:14:29.000 I will remember that from now on.

00:14:29.000 Well, okay.

00:14:31.000 No problem.

00:14:32.000 Yeah, when you ask for a short approach, I expect you to turn your base abeam the numbers.

00:14:36.000 That's incorrect.

00:14:38.000 I just want to be a full stop for 6'5 Charlie.

00:14:41.000 And maybe we need to talk about that some more because you're the first controller in 15 years that's ever said that.

00:14:46.000 Well, I'm just, you know, if you ask for a short approach, a short approach is when you turn your base above the numbers.

00:14:54.000 If I know you're a student asking for a short approach, I know you're out there practicing and you probably will extend.

00:15:01.000 But if you're doing something other than a short approach, don't ask for a short approach.

00:15:07.000 Well, I will definitely look up the definition of short approach because I've never seen where it says you turn base abeam the numbers because I don't see how you could possibly do that.

00:15:15.000 Well, I googled it, actually.

00:15:17.000 I googled short approach, and it said to turn your base abeam or before the numbers, and you will land probably touchdown around this field.

00:15:25.000 Your response. 0.88

00:15:26.000 That's a ludicrous response.

00:15:28.000 The air traffic controller rules are in a document.

00:15:31.000 It's a government order called the 7110.65.

00:15:35.000 There's nowhere in there that you'll find, or the aim, the airman's information manual that pilots you use, will you find that definition of a short approach?

00:15:43.000 It's ludicrous to expect that.

00:15:44.000 It really depends on the type of airplane, the weather conditions, everything else.

00:15:48.000 But I've never, and I've flown, I've never heard of that definition of a short approach.

00:15:55.000 And I've worked millions of airplanes over my career.

00:15:57.000 And actually, this very clip was passed amongst air traffic controllers.

00:16:04.000 I happen to be on the list. 0.96

00:16:07.000 And her position is untenable. 0.77

00:16:11.000 There's nowhere in the regulations. 0.99

00:16:12.000 In fact, as soon as she said I Googled it, most folks should realize that that person should not be working airplanes. 0.98

00:16:22.000 Do you think she would be fired?

00:16:23.000 No, I think, as I stated before, I doubt very seriously if anything happened to her at all.

00:16:28.000 It's embarrassing to the system.

00:16:30.000 She might have got a letter or a counseling session with the supervisor, but I can guarantee, well, I can't guarantee you.

00:16:37.000 It's my sincere belief that that person didn't suffer any time off, was not retrained because they can't retrain them without the managers getting discipline themselves from folks in D.C. or worried about DEI issues.

00:16:50.000 And she's a female, so there's a quota. 0.82

00:16:52.000 Well, she's protected class.

00:16:53.000 And the only people that aren't protected class, being very straightforward, it might not be politically correct, but I could care less, are white males. 0.94

00:17:01.000 They were the problem.

00:17:02.000 All those safe landscapes for 40 years.

00:17:04.000 Yeah, and safe air traffic controller operations. 0.99

00:17:06.000 How racist of us to want to land airplanes.

00:17:08.000 There's an FAA document from 2013.

00:17:10.000 This is during the same period of time.

00:17:12.000 And are you part of your lawsuit?

00:17:15.000 I'm not sure.

00:17:16.000 If I saw the document, I could tell you.

00:17:18.000 I'm very familiar.

00:17:19.000 Oh, yes.

00:17:20.000 Yeah, okay.

00:17:20.000 You know what I'm saying?

00:17:21.000 Yeah, there's hundreds of thousands of documents regarding our lawsuit, hundreds of thousands.

00:17:27.000 So I want to just read this.

00:17:28.000 This is from the FAA in 2013.

00:17:30.000 They say key questions for leadership.

00:17:33.000 So who do they mean by leadership, the FAA, when they say this?

00:17:36.000 The folks in Lafont Plaza, which is where the FAA, the Department of Transportation is the DOT and the FAA headquarters are right next to each other.

00:17:43.000 Get off of Metro State.

00:17:44.000 Wasn't that Darren LaHood at the time or something, or under Obama?

00:17:48.000 The DOT?

00:17:49.000 Yeah.

00:17:49.000 Something Ray LaHood or something?

00:17:51.000 It was Ray, but then it was someone else.

00:17:53.000 He was Rodney Slater, I think.

00:17:54.000 Yeah, okay.

00:17:55.000 And then, yes.

00:17:56.000 Now it's Mr. Buddha Judge, super qualified.

00:17:59.000 Yeah.

00:17:59.000 So different story.

00:18:00.000 Yeah, another DEI one.

00:18:02.000 So this is: what are the relative values of diversity and the prediction of performance outcomes?

00:18:07.000 And so what's amazing is that the FAA admits in their documents that there's a trade-off if you embrace diversity.

00:18:14.000 Yes.

00:18:15.000 The FAA understands and knows that the risks are going to be higher because, and really, it's not faced or directed toward any race.

00:18:24.000 It's more of a competency issue.

00:18:26.000 As I stated before, I've known air traffic controllers that are African Americans, Asians, Filipinos, certain female air traffic controllers, some of the best people I've ever worked with to let you know, just to be very straightforward.

00:18:37.000 100%.

00:18:38.000 But to focus on identity politics, it forces it where it's not.

00:18:42.000 Merit should be the only thing we care about.

00:18:44.000 And there's plenty of people out there of all creeds and colors that have different races that could easily do these jobs.

00:18:52.000 But trying to put everyone and paint everyone in a broad brush, no pun intended, with a broad brush, and say, okay, you can become an air traffic controller, whether they have the competency levels or not, is creating an intentional hazard to flight safety.

00:19:07.000 And they've been doing it for over a decade.

00:19:09.000 So I want to reiterate this.

00:19:14.000 The part of your lawsuit, you've discovered these quiz questions.

00:19:18.000 Yes.

00:19:19.000 What's going on with this?

00:19:20.000 Once the FAA wiped out the air traffic CTI program, or attempted to, but Congress, thank goodness, has reinstated it.

00:19:28.000 But back in 2013, the FAA literally wiped out lists of qualified folks, again, of all races, creeds, and colors, who could be air traffic controllers because the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees, NBC FAA, decided it was too white.

00:19:42.000 And they used their political power and lobbying power to get that done.

00:19:47.000 So that was the inception.

00:19:49.000 That's what started.

00:19:51.000 Our lawsuit is about that and about these folks being struck off the record due to characteristics that are allegedly protected by the Constitution and lots of laws.

00:20:03.000 And you would not think that the United States government would actually be the ones to violate the constitutional provisions and laws, but they have.

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00:21:22.000 So in the test, there were certain things that if you said you weren't good at science, you actually got extra points.

00:21:31.000 Well, yeah, I'll jump to that.

00:21:32.000 What happened was prior to 2013, there was a peer-reviewed employment test called the ATSA.

00:21:41.000 It was a test that controllers had to take to qualify.

00:21:44.000 And it had been reviewed and modified many times to take out any form of bias.

00:21:50.000 And the records are there, and it was done by the Civil Aeronautical Medical Institute, CAMI.

00:21:53.000 Well, in 2013, the FA hired an outside vendor called APT Metrics for the first time in history to do an outside analysis and outside review and develop a new test.

00:22:07.000 And the new test was called Biographical Assessment, our biographical questionnaire.

00:22:12.000 They changed the name midway through.

00:22:14.000 And in this test, things such as what was your worst grade in high school?

00:22:19.000 What was your favorite sport?

00:22:21.000 Do you like math?

00:22:24.000 And if you had any aviation experience, well, ironically, that test, when you grade it out, if your worst grade was science, you got 15 points.

00:22:32.000 If your best grade was science, you got less.

00:22:35.000 If you had any aviation or military experience at all or were a pilot, you got no credit for it.

00:22:40.000 What they did.

00:22:41.000 No, no, no.

00:22:41.000 Credit for it.

00:22:42.000 No credit.

00:22:43.000 Basically, you got three points in one question, the other, you got zero credit, even though there's a high correlation with having some experience in something and being good.

00:22:52.000 If you know which end of the knife cuts, you're going to be a better butcher.

00:22:55.000 Right?

00:22:56.000 And that's basically what the FAA decided was that's not true.

00:23:00.000 And the FAA in their infinite wisdom used this test, and they decided that they could take anyone and turn them into an air traffic controller.

00:23:07.000 It's equivalent to the Veterans Administration hiring people off the street and teaching them how to be doctors as they butcher people in the hospitals or having your taxes overlooked and audited by someone who's not a CP or has no financial acumen at all.

00:23:20.000 The government and at least the FAA decided that it was more important to put people in based upon select identity characteristics and competency.

00:23:30.000 And those questions are, most people see them and they laugh.

00:23:34.000 They can't believe that this was done.

00:23:36.000 It was done.

00:23:36.000 So, Michael, United Airlines announced, and they reiterated in an Axios interview about a year and a half ago, that in their hiring class, so as far as their trainees, that they want 50% to be female or black.

00:23:51.000 Currently, less than 3 to 4% of all pilots are black.

00:23:55.000 And I think maybe 8% to 10% are female.

00:23:59.000 So let's just take those.

00:24:00.000 How could you even find the people to hit that target?

00:24:06.000 It's an insane goal.

00:24:08.000 You can't.

00:24:08.000 And along with the FAA, it ties into what we're talking about.

00:24:14.000 The Department of Labor statistics have statistics in every occupation.

00:24:18.000 It's really interesting when you dig into it.

00:24:19.000 I wish the FAA would have done it more.

00:24:22.000 But if you look at those statistics, what they have are qualified individuals that can do jobs.

00:24:26.000 They might be too old.

00:24:28.000 They might have a disability.

00:24:30.000 And it's based upon race.

00:24:31.000 For instance, air traffic controllers who are qualified to be air traffic controllers back when the FAA wiped out the CTI list.

00:24:38.000 I forget what it was.

00:24:39.000 I put it in the pleadings because I took it off the government statistics.

00:24:42.000 It was somewhere between 9 and 12% of the black population could be air traffic controllers simply because they might be too old.

00:24:50.000 They might have health issues.

00:24:51.000 There might not be enough of them.

00:24:52.000 Well, it's the same, and I haven't looked at the exact statistic with pilots.

00:24:57.000 There's a relevant workforce population that can do the job.

00:25:00.000 And the Department of Labor keeps track of that simply because of the basic qualifications.

00:25:05.000 So when United Airlines or any airlines artificially sets a limit and says we're going to do 50% of a flight class, it's already difficult enough to get folks.

00:25:12.000 They have to have a minimum of 1,500 hours to work for, by the way, they lie a lot now.

00:25:17.000 Well, it's more than that.

00:25:19.000 They go through a system where they have to work very low wages for a lot of years to qualify to get those 59 hours training people.

00:25:25.000 And a lot of people can't afford to do it or they don't want to do it.

00:25:28.000 They lose interest.

00:25:29.000 And there's other lucrative opportunities elsewhere.

00:25:31.000 There's an opportunity cost issue there.

00:25:34.000 But at the end of the day, this social engineering is creating hazards to the flying public.

00:25:41.000 And the bad part about this is that the government and these folks engaging us have immunity.

00:25:47.000 One of the things that needs to be changed, quite frankly, is the Federal Torque Claims Act.

00:25:51.000 There's some other things that need to be modified because we have too many bureaucrats, specifically in the FAA, who are making life-altering decisions, unelected bureaucrats, by the way, unelected bureaucrats, that are making life-altering decisions with no consequences to them.

00:26:07.000 Now, I will tell everybody the same thing I told folks in Congress when we lobbied to get these laws changed where the CTI went back.

00:26:12.000 I talked to many members of the House and Senate, and it became real to them because it's in their backyard.

00:26:17.000 They all fly back and forth.

00:26:19.000 Yeah, seriously.

00:26:20.000 So this is not an issue that you can sweep under the rug because the reason the FAA was created in 1958, by the way, was because of a collision, a couple of mid-air collisions.

00:26:29.000 There were a couple of high-profile individuals, including congressmen, on board the airplanes.

00:26:32.000 Well, that's when they really started regulating the system itself.

00:26:35.000 Well, unless they grab a hold of this problem and they eliminate DEI, wokeness, whatever term you want to say, political correctness, from the hiring decisions, there's going to be blood on people's hands.

00:26:45.000 The problem of it is, is when you're trying to isolate and hold them responsible, they're going to have immunity, and there's no one to hold responsible for these policies.

00:26:53.000 Two questions in two minutes.

00:26:54.000 Number one, some people still say the FAA is the greatest in the world, greatest standards.

00:27:00.000 Are we at risk of losing that in its current trajectory?

00:27:03.000 Of course.

00:27:03.000 Anytime you derogate or reduce merit for other reasons in a safety-related occupation, you can't be at the forefront.

00:27:14.000 Anyone else that is trying to develop professionals that are best in the system, they don't worry about gender, race, ethnicity.

00:27:23.000 They just want the quality outcome.

00:27:24.000 And in the private sector, by the way, the reason business works is because it's competitive and you can't afford to do that.

00:27:31.000 That's right.

00:27:32.000 Last question here, you said that the question is that there's too many, it's against white men. 0.50

00:27:36.000 Where does that come from?

00:27:38.000 And just, is it that explicit?

00:27:41.000 No, it's not that explicit, but basically the way the test was designed was to eliminate or to give preference to African-American applicants, the biographical assessment specifically.

00:27:50.000 And that can be shown statistically.

00:27:52.000 The National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees actually had the test prior, at least it's our allegations.

00:28:01.000 The DOT inspector general investigated, but they, of course, whitewashed it, no pun intended.

00:28:07.000 But they actually had keywords and they had at least a version of the test from what their representative said at the time.

00:28:14.000 There's a tape recording of them out there saying that, to give preference to African-American applicants.

00:28:19.000 So, no, they didn't come out in a policy and say there's too many white folks applying and we want to wipe the list out.

00:28:26.000 But every bit of evidence and people you talk to behind the scenes, including some very straightforward African-American applicants, have told me that was what they basically said.

00:28:35.000 Michael, thank you so much.

00:28:36.000 You're welcome, Charlie.

00:28:37.000 Pleasure.

00:28:37.000 Appreciate it.

00:28:38.000 Pleasure.

00:28:38.000 Thank you.

00:28:39.000 Thanks so much for listening, everybody.

00:28:40.000 Email us as alwaysfreedom at charliekirk.com.

00:28:43.000 Thanks so much for listening and God bless.

00:28:47.000 For more on many of these stories and news you can trust, go to CharlieKirk.com.

The Charlie Kirk Show - February 02, 2024

How Long Until DEI Causes a Plane Crash?

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