That is a photo of the flight tracker provided by United Airlines to the entertainment system screens. At first glance, it seems fine, except that was on a flight from London to Newark. And the same thing happened two months before on a flight going in the opposite direction.

Is it important? Probably not, unless the data are being pulled from the same systems the pilots use, and processed the same way. My guess is that most commercial pilots, even some of the DEI hires, know the difference between east and west, and know that eastbound London to Newark is a very long and expensive flight, and probably not the best choice.

But the anomaly is still significant, because it is a mistake. Something isn't working correctly, and for at least two months, nobody at United Airlines cared enough to fix it. Or maybe that is a Boeing problem, but it really doesn't matter. A system is not working correctly, and the lack of interest in making things right may be indicative of much larger issues. If they don't care about this seemingly trivial problem, then how do they feel about one that is slightly less trivial?

Our country, led by government, has shifted over the last generation to a culture in which feelings and thoughts are paramount, and the actual results of the efforts (or lack thereof) of people have become secondary. Sure, it's a punchline, but "participation trophies" are also a real thing. A diverse workplace is a more important goal than one filled with the best people, regardless of their melanin content or who or what they slept with last night? Metrics like "how valued do you feel" overwhelm the stuff that used to be important, like objective measures of quality and efficiency.

But the reelection of Donald Trump, and his choices for cabinet and other high-level positions within his administration is sending a strong signal that simple competence is now important. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), as personified by Elon Musk is asking straightforward questions, like: "What do you do here?" "What did you do last week?" "Do you come to work?" "Is your job necessary?"

Shocking...isn't it!

For many reasons, most of which are linked to graft and subverting our traditional political philosophy, the federal government has become a vast make-work program designed to funnel unimaginable sums of money to favored groups, regardless of any connection to what is needed by the citizens of The United States of America!

Is that about to change?

The glimpse into the labyrinth of the federal government that DOGE and Trump's cabinet has allowed us is at least as important as the savings ($55 billion and counting)! That glimpse has shown America that the screeching and wailing that we hear whenever any mention of slowing the expansion of government is simply nonsense, and there is a huge amount of waste, rather than a Potemkin Village of earnest, hard working, dedicated public servants.

The goal of course is to cut waste, and shift toward actual needed functions, performed by minimally competent employees. As obvious as that sounds, that will be a tremendous change in the federal government, and it will lead the way in returning America to a more rational view of employment.

Go to work every day and do your job well. That's not so complicated!

If all goes as planned, the federal government will be a smaller, more nimble, more efficient, and less expensive thing. Which is vastly amusing, because Donald Trump is being accused of being a fascist and a dictator, but how many fascists and dictators shrink government?

All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.