Has the FAA Changed Standards During Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations?

 As far as I can tell, there have been two major updates to FAA standards during the Obama, Trump, Biden administrations.

1.      2016- replace Practical Test Standards (PTS) With Airmen Certification Standards (ACS).  Airman Certification Standards.  Please note this is not called Airpersons Certification Standards.

2.      2024 – Mandated that air traffic controllers increase their mandatory minimum rest hours to 10 hours before they can work again.  That is, it was increased to 10 hours between shifts.

 

The differences between the PTS and the replacement ACS are: Under PTS, pilots could pass by performing mechanical maneuvers.  With ACS, pilots also have to pass scenarios with risk to see how well they apply the aviation theory they also have to know.  So it is not just mechanical movements, but scenario-based testing to see how pilots handle potentially dangerous situations.  The other main difference is that pilots were memorizing answers probably on internet dumps with PTS, so ACS integrates flying with the written exams.  I dealt with the same issue with IT.  It was also felt the PTS hadn’t been updated in years so did not reflect modern aircraft.  In 2024, the ACS was updated further to make sure the tests remained in line with modern aircraft.

 

It should be noted that at no time during Trump’s first administration did he demand a reversion back to PTS.  Trump did not uplift the ACS standards.  Trump did not mandate increased rest hours between shifts.  Trump did not issue any new qualitative standards.  Trump claims he raised standards that Obama lowered and if he did what he claims, then he would have made changes to the ACS.

 

The move to ACS happened under Obama.  The increase in rest hours happened under Biden.

 

  

The Exodus Story is a Story About Migrants and Native Backlash

 I want to add to Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s extraordinary appeal for mercy to President Trump by reminding Christians about the book of Exodus.  You see, the Exodus story is a story of immigrants.  At the end of Genesis, we learn why Israel migrated.  It was because of climate change.  OK, I’m being a little cheeky as famines were fairly common in Canaan.  But Israel was faced with a choice:  migrate or die.  Ironically, many migrants from Central America’s Northern Triangle migrate for exactly the same reason.  According to Genesis, one foreigner (Joseph) gained considerable power and influence in Egypt and introduced taxation.  While Joseph’s taxation might have been popular during the time of the famine, it no doubt declined in popularity if Egyptians hate taxes like everyone else does. :-)  We also learn from Genesis that the Israelites did work the Egyptians considered abhorrent.  In Genesis 46:34, Joseph advises his brothers to be honest with Pharaoh and tell him all they know is the life of livestock nomads.  Genesis tells us this was an abomination to the Egyptians.  I believe this is because the Egyptians were agriculturalists and may have viewed nomadic pastoralists as beneath them.

 

This resulted in the Israelites being given the land of Goshen which was suitable for grazing.  Archaeology tells us clearly that the Hebrews were not the sole migrants.  There were many others, and the migrants began to integrate into Egyptian society and prosper.  Ezekiel 20 tells us that Israelites forgot many of their ancestral traditions and customs but did retain some cultural identity.

 

The book of Exodus opens with a nativist Egyptian backlash against the migrants that archaeologists tell us poured over Egypt’s northern border.  The Egyptian Pharaoh of Exodus decided he needed to secure his northern border and deployed the military to do just that.  He also enslaved the Israelites.  The Israelites still owned cattle and sheep, however, and the Egyptians permitted this presumably because they liked pastoral products.  The Egyptians used an argument I have often heard by white people that goes something like this.  “These <insert migrants’ or ‘Muslims’> breed like rabbits.  If we’re not careful, they will outnumber us and displace us.”  If you think I’m kidding, read Exodus 1 for yourselves.  The Egyptian nativists became more and more oppressive, and their propaganda said that the Israelites were now so numerous, they represented a threat to national security.  They declared a national emergency and even went so far as to order all male Israelite babies be killed by the midwives.

 

It should be noted that when the midwives refused and were confronted by Pharaoh, they lied to his face and were commended by God for doing so.  We then have the dramatic birth of Moses, followed by the rest of the Exodus story which tells of the migrants returning to their homeland which is no longer their homeland and which they have to fight to possess.  This is why the Law of Moses contains many passages like Exodus 22:21

 

You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (New Revised Standard Version).

 

Like the extraordinary Bishop Budde, I too understand America needs an immigration policy that works.  But I am frankly appalled and ashamed that so many of my fellow Christian brothers and sisters have so much hatred and vitriol toward not only resident aliens but undocumented aliens as well.  If people understand that one of the greatest stories in the Bible is one about migrants and native backlash against migrants, perhaps it will be easier for them to find the mercy Bishop Budde so respectfully asked for and remember that most of our ancestors were also migrants.

 

The True Value of tikTok

 In case any of you are still wondering why tiktok has not been sold yet, Uncle Marc, the IT professional, will fill you in.

The problem can be summarized with one word: algorithms. You see, if ByteDance (a fantastic company name by the way) sells Tiktok, they have to sell the algorithms that run its engine. That means an American company will have that intellectual property, which is generally considered one of the most prized IT possessions. ByteDance's algorithms are generally considered superior to any social media algorithms we have.

Byte Dance does not want to sell those algorithms and there is no way in hell China wants ByteDance to sell them either. What they actually want is for King Trump to sweep away the congressional law so they continue to own tikTok and make some sort of sham agreement to make us think the national security problems have been solved. If the US government owns half of tikTok the only way ByteDance and China will agree to this is if it does not have access to the algorithms.

When Trump says we create their value he is full of shit. The value of tiktok lies in its algorithms and TikTok makes money all around the world. the law says that the banning can be delayed if there is evidence that a deal is likely. We are about 0% to a deal which means congress is letting Trump walk all over them. He is breaking the law.

Europe's VAT is not a Tariff

 Today while discussing Tariffs, Trump said Europe imposes tariffs on us in the form of VAT (Value Added Tax) so we should do the same to them. And the press sat their like statues saying nothing to the liar. VAT is a consumption tax. Here is how it works. Suppose I am French and I have a company that sells cars. I buy some parts from Hungary. I pay VAT tax which goes to the Hungarian government. Now I sell my car to someone in France. The car buyer pays me VAT tax which goes to the French government. But because I paid VAT tax to Hungary for the car parts, I can deduct what I pay the French government. So if I charge 100000 Euros for my car and pay 15000 of VAT, but I paid 5000 for the car parts, I only pay 10000 to the French government.

American companies DO NOT pay VAT. If a Mercedes dealership buys Mercedes cars for sale in the US, the VAT does not apply. Only tariffs are paid. Mercedes has to show to the German government the cars are for export and no VAT applies. VAT applies within Europe’s borders while tariffs apply across borders.

Thus, Trump either has no idea what he is talking about, or is outright lying. And the White House press corps said nothing. Australia also has a consumption tax called GST (goods and services tax) which works exactly the same way as VAT with the above. Since I have a business, I need to know all about GST so if Facebook had fact-checkers, they would have no issue with what I have said. When an American beef importer buys Australian beef, they DO NOT pay Australia’s GST which is 10% because like VAT, the tax does not apply to exports.

In short, VAT has nothing whatsoever in common with tariffs.