How might it possible not to trust such highly qualified individuals with oversight and direction of the 26 total core US agencies that they staff, lead and direct? [Peter Principle?]
Homeland Security. Markwayne Mullin (born July 26, 1977) attended Stilwell [OK] High School, Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship, and received an Associate in Applied Science in plumbing from the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in 2010. https://tinyurl.com/3fw5md3p
Transportation. Sean Patrick Duffy (born October 3, 1971) graduated from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota with a B.A degree in marketing, worked for Scheer's Lumberjack Shows in the summer and later graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law with a J.D. degree. He competed in the Great Outdoor Games's competitions for log rolling in 2000 and 2001 and for speed climbing from 2000 to 2002 and in 2005. https://tinyurl.com/mppdvw5b
Operational and Support Components that currently make up the Department of Homeland Security. https://tinyurl.com/mr37966b (Updated: 05/05/2026)
1. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
2. United States Coast Guard (USCG)
3. United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
4. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
5. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
6. Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)
7. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
8. United States Secret Service (USSS)
9. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
10. Management Directorate
11. Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
12. Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD)
13. Office of Intelligence and Analysis
14. Office of Homeland Security Situational Awareness (OSA)
Trump promised to stack his second Administration with loyalist, not qualified people. A weekend entertainment personality is the Secretary of Defense. A former heroine addict with no medical background is running HHS. Trump’s personal attorney runs the Department of Justice. Trump’s son-in-law and business partner negotiate on behalf of the USA, without security clearances. Twice, the American people have elected this reality television personality with a shocking criminal background and credible ties to Russia; and, the second election occurred after he encouraged his supporters to join a “fight like hell” march to the Capitol. Responsibility for this falls on the supporters of MAGA.
OMG…Duffy’s presser left me with my mouth hanging open…although I have permanent JDD…’Jaw Drop Disease’ from listening to Trump and the Trump sycophants during these type of events. For all our sakes, we’d better get to the bottom of this before speculation howls in every corner of this country and before something really terrible happens. As President Obama said, “These are unserious people.” A pox on all their houses!
I'm a retired professor of Cybersecurity and Information Technology at Georgia Southern University. I don't trust these guys as far as you can throw them. From what I've read, I don't think it's a cyber attack. But you don't install patches on a working system in the middle of the day. And if the routers are THAT old, how have they functioned THIS long. They should've been replaced since W's administration. TWICE.
Duffy and mullin are at least as unqualified for the hugely important agencies they "lead" as hegseth is at Defense. Occam's Razor tells us to look squarely at the most obvious answer to any question. The most pressing problem in all of government today is an entire staff of "leaders" demonstrating gross incompetence, corruption and subservience to a fascist grifter. Only when the entire trump regime is long gone can we expect a return to real, responsible government.
Even a quick glance through this (or the full transcript) confirms 100% incompetence and embarrassing (but not to them) groveling before King Lear 2.0:
Markwayne Mullin & Sean Duffy Brief Discuss the FAA Ground Stop
Markwayne Mullin:
This is what the leadership of President Trump looks like by the organization and the team he's put together.
So, right now things seem to be working, as we can say, in the right direction.
[We] are working to resolve the issue, and we hope to have operations up and going normal at some point.
And so, this is what happens when Congress kicks the can down the road.
[Question: And separately, a tanker riverboat crash today down in New Orleans ...]
Yeah, um, this looks like it was an engineer um, major engineering, uh, defect that took place during -- either they hit the bridge or something - something caused the ripple effect.
President Trump immediately had people in his office ...
And I just can't speak enough about President Trump's leadership. This is what President Trump does, he puts leaders in place, and he allows them to lead.
President Trump trusts his leadership and that's why we really lean in towards his leadership. And when Secretary Duffy said he's the greatest president we've had, you've never had a builder and a leader, like President Trump, lead this nation and have a vision and put the put the team together.
Sean Duffy:
Complete engagement by President Trump's team.
Now, I have already replaced some of those switches with President Trump.
Well, with President Trump and what we've done ...
President Trump is a builder; he's going to build this network and deliver for the American people.
And it takes a president's leadership, like President Trump ...
Well, you have -- you have a team with President Trump that actually is building it right now ...
This is an American issue, an American build with an American president that knows how to do it.
his is the greatest country, by the way, with the greatest president ...
Markwayne and I were in The Oval with him, which, by the way, I appreciate his leadership.
And what's unique about the president is he loves aviation, he loves the airspace, and which is why he has been so engaged on this.
And it takes a president's leadership, like President Trump ...
Have seen reports that the SMART system just coincidentally is linked financially to Duffy's fancy son in law. And $$ were exchanged prior to them getting the contract. the corruption is everywhere all the time. and it is dangerous.
In June 2026 the FAA awarded a 12-year contract worth about $875 million to Air Space Intelligence (ASI), a Boston-based startup, to build two systems: Flow Management Data and Services, which is meant to become the technology backbone of the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, and SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories). ASI won the contract over larger competitors Palantir and Thales.
SMART pulls together about 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing, and uses AI to predict congestion and potential conflicts. The FAA says SMART cannot replace air traffic controllers or take control of an aircraft, and that FAA staff and local facility leadership must review every recommendation before acting on it. The limited rollout began in the Washington, D.C. region on September 21, 2026. FedScoop reported that earlier in the week of the ground stop, the FAA announced it would expand SMART across the country. Wikipedia gives the expansion date as November 10, but that date had not been matched to an FAA announcement for this file. According to the Associated Press, SMART runs from one location near Washington, D.C. and only sends recommendations to the air traffic control centers.
On the day of the ground stop, ASI stated on X that the stop was "not based on or a result of the SMART system," any ASI product, or the company's integration with the FAA. That is the company's own statement.
Government officials have not closed the question. GeekWire reported that Mullin said a link to the AI tool could not yet be ruled out, and CNN reported that he said officials were looking into whether the new AI-supported system contributed to the communications failure. Wikipedia states that the FAA denied the tool was a cause, but no FAA statement saying so was found for this file.
Raw Story reported that a Thursday, November 12 Ars Technica article said the air traffic controllers' union had not been given the chance to weigh in on or test the new technology. That report has not been independently verified for this file.
The Microsoft Outage
A separate Microsoft outage began a day earlier, on Thursday, November 12, in Exchange Online, the service behind business Outlook email, and spread to Teams calendars, Copilot and SharePoint. It disrupted email for businesses, schools and governments around the world. Microsoft attributed it to an earlier network capacity upgrade followed by a network change, said it found no sign of malicious cyber activity, and promised a full post-incident report.
Microsoft said it had "no indication that the FAA nationwide ground stop is related to the recent service disruption." Mullin said he saw no reason to connect the two, calling them separate issues. NBC News reported that three senior officials said nothing indicated a connection. No reporting reviewed for this file shows that the FAA systems that failed depend on Microsoft 365.
How can we trust what these guys say. I think they’re covering something up, lying, or are incompetent. Maybe all three. This problem is just showing its ugly reality.
I’d say it’s all three, for sure. From the top rungs to the bottom this administration is made up entirely of lying, incompetent, unserious, greedy, amoral sycophants who deserve nothing other than mockery and disdain from the public.
The damage they have already done that we are aware of is massive. My fear is that we are just seeing the tip of that iceberg.
I would not trust these people as far as I could throw them. Anything they say is a lie until proven otherwise. And you’re absolutely right: if this was such a high priority why haven’t they asked the REPUBLICAN Congress for funds?
Actually, something could have been done about the air traffic control systems during the first DJT administration, as the problems were known then. Attempts by the sycophants to blame this on the Biden administration just won’t fly.
With this posse of incompetent clowns, it’s always been deception, deflection, delusion. But I think the midterms might have shaken up under-informed people to start seeing that the emperor is naked under all that gold floss.
Could be their own incompetence in how they recently released AI into the systems itself without any failsafes, oversight or safeguards but yeah it could be so many things.
I have no trust in our current government whatsoever. I'm really happy with the results of the midterms, but Democrats REALLY need to step up and hold these people accountable right up to the top. If they don't, I think that they will lose the faith and trust of the American people, and we will be right back in this situation in a few years.
Accountability, yes, but at the same time, forward progress that benefits the American people. It may be impossible to strike the balance in a way that satisfies everybody.
This is a new group of Congress members that are young, diverse, and committed to changing the old guard’s business as usual. I think they will actually do as much as possible to negate the regime’s policies.
Yes!!! We actually need laws that candidates for office, elected officials and government employees can be penalized and fired for lying to us, the tax payers who pay their salaries!! No corporation would tolerate employees who lie!!
These people lying to us are Abusing Freedom of Speech robbing us while they do it!
It’s always the same response by the sycophants:
Praise Trump
Criticize Biden or the Democrats
Demand more money
Every day is a new box in the cartoon strip that is the Trump Administration.
How might it possible not to trust such highly qualified individuals with oversight and direction of the 26 total core US agencies that they staff, lead and direct? [Peter Principle?]
Homeland Security. Markwayne Mullin (born July 26, 1977) attended Stilwell [OK] High School, Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship, and received an Associate in Applied Science in plumbing from the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in 2010. https://tinyurl.com/3fw5md3p
Transportation. Sean Patrick Duffy (born October 3, 1971) graduated from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota with a B.A degree in marketing, worked for Scheer's Lumberjack Shows in the summer and later graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law with a J.D. degree. He competed in the Great Outdoor Games's competitions for log rolling in 2000 and 2001 and for speed climbing from 2000 to 2002 and in 2005. https://tinyurl.com/mppdvw5b
Operational and Support Components that currently make up the Department of Homeland Security. https://tinyurl.com/mr37966b (Updated: 05/05/2026)
1. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
2. United States Coast Guard (USCG)
3. United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
4. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
5. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
6. Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC)
7. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
8. United States Secret Service (USSS)
9. Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
10. Management Directorate
11. Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
12. Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD)
13. Office of Intelligence and Analysis
14. Office of Homeland Security Situational Awareness (OSA)
15. Office of Health Security (OHS)
Transportation Administrations https://tinyurl.com/36pjj782 (Updated: August 23, 2021)
1. U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary (OST) U.S. Department of
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
3. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
4. Office of Inspector General (OIG)
5. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
6. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
7. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
8. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
9. Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS)
10. Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
11. Maritime Administration (MARAD)
Thank you!!!!! This needed calling out!!!!
Plumber and Lumberjack something or other!
Trump promised to stack his second Administration with loyalist, not qualified people. A weekend entertainment personality is the Secretary of Defense. A former heroine addict with no medical background is running HHS. Trump’s personal attorney runs the Department of Justice. Trump’s son-in-law and business partner negotiate on behalf of the USA, without security clearances. Twice, the American people have elected this reality television personality with a shocking criminal background and credible ties to Russia; and, the second election occurred after he encouraged his supporters to join a “fight like hell” march to the Capitol. Responsibility for this falls on the supporters of MAGA.
Elected twice …. Yes…. Devastatingly stupid decision 🥺
Honestly, it’s quite a simple system if you think about it.
Fine observation, Dianne:
Fox --> WH --> Fox
What could be easier and more corrupt?
OMG…Duffy’s presser left me with my mouth hanging open…although I have permanent JDD…’Jaw Drop Disease’ from listening to Trump and the Trump sycophants during these type of events. For all our sakes, we’d better get to the bottom of this before speculation howls in every corner of this country and before something really terrible happens. As President Obama said, “These are unserious people.” A pox on all their houses!
You win the web-award today. That is the best response.
Thank you!😀 I was hoping for the Nobel Peace Prize, but…🤣🤣
🤣
Unserious???…they are Dangerous!!!!
I'm a retired professor of Cybersecurity and Information Technology at Georgia Southern University. I don't trust these guys as far as you can throw them. From what I've read, I don't think it's a cyber attack. But you don't install patches on a working system in the middle of the day. And if the routers are THAT old, how have they functioned THIS long. They should've been replaced since W's administration. TWICE.
Thank you for validating my initial reaction to the “govt statement.”
Wait until you see how we manage el super nino
Duffy and mullin are at least as unqualified for the hugely important agencies they "lead" as hegseth is at Defense. Occam's Razor tells us to look squarely at the most obvious answer to any question. The most pressing problem in all of government today is an entire staff of "leaders" demonstrating gross incompetence, corruption and subservience to a fascist grifter. Only when the entire trump regime is long gone can we expect a return to real, responsible government.
Even a quick glance through this (or the full transcript) confirms 100% incompetence and embarrassing (but not to them) groveling before King Lear 2.0:
Press Briefing/Full Transcript: Donald J. Trump; Roll Call;13-Nov-26; https://tinyurl.com/49bwyzpd
Markwayne Mullin & Sean Duffy Brief Discuss the FAA Ground Stop
Markwayne Mullin:
This is what the leadership of President Trump looks like by the organization and the team he's put together.
So, right now things seem to be working, as we can say, in the right direction.
[We] are working to resolve the issue, and we hope to have operations up and going normal at some point.
And so, this is what happens when Congress kicks the can down the road.
[Question: And separately, a tanker riverboat crash today down in New Orleans ...]
Yeah, um, this looks like it was an engineer um, major engineering, uh, defect that took place during -- either they hit the bridge or something - something caused the ripple effect.
President Trump immediately had people in his office ...
And I just can't speak enough about President Trump's leadership. This is what President Trump does, he puts leaders in place, and he allows them to lead.
President Trump trusts his leadership and that's why we really lean in towards his leadership. And when Secretary Duffy said he's the greatest president we've had, you've never had a builder and a leader, like President Trump, lead this nation and have a vision and put the put the team together.
Sean Duffy:
Complete engagement by President Trump's team.
Now, I have already replaced some of those switches with President Trump.
Well, with President Trump and what we've done ...
President Trump is a builder; he's going to build this network and deliver for the American people.
And it takes a president's leadership, like President Trump ...
Well, you have -- you have a team with President Trump that actually is building it right now ...
This is an American issue, an American build with an American president that knows how to do it.
his is the greatest country, by the way, with the greatest president ...
Markwayne and I were in The Oval with him, which, by the way, I appreciate his leadership.
And what's unique about the president is he loves aviation, he loves the airspace, and which is why he has been so engaged on this.
And it takes a president's leadership, like President Trump ...
God help us.
What company managed the “SMART” system implementation? Was it a no'-bid contract? Any family or Cabinet inside ties?
Have seen reports that the SMART system just coincidentally is linked financially to Duffy's fancy son in law. And $$ were exchanged prior to them getting the contract. the corruption is everywhere all the time. and it is dangerous.
Thank you for this question. It made me check…
In June 2026 the FAA awarded a 12-year contract worth about $875 million to Air Space Intelligence (ASI), a Boston-based startup, to build two systems: Flow Management Data and Services, which is meant to become the technology backbone of the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, and SMART (Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories). ASI won the contract over larger competitors Palantir and Thales.
SMART pulls together about 200 data streams, including weather, flight paths, traffic flow and controller staffing, and uses AI to predict congestion and potential conflicts. The FAA says SMART cannot replace air traffic controllers or take control of an aircraft, and that FAA staff and local facility leadership must review every recommendation before acting on it. The limited rollout began in the Washington, D.C. region on September 21, 2026. FedScoop reported that earlier in the week of the ground stop, the FAA announced it would expand SMART across the country. Wikipedia gives the expansion date as November 10, but that date had not been matched to an FAA announcement for this file. According to the Associated Press, SMART runs from one location near Washington, D.C. and only sends recommendations to the air traffic control centers.
On the day of the ground stop, ASI stated on X that the stop was "not based on or a result of the SMART system," any ASI product, or the company's integration with the FAA. That is the company's own statement.
Government officials have not closed the question. GeekWire reported that Mullin said a link to the AI tool could not yet be ruled out, and CNN reported that he said officials were looking into whether the new AI-supported system contributed to the communications failure. Wikipedia states that the FAA denied the tool was a cause, but no FAA statement saying so was found for this file.
Raw Story reported that a Thursday, November 12 Ars Technica article said the air traffic controllers' union had not been given the chance to weigh in on or test the new technology. That report has not been independently verified for this file.
The Microsoft Outage
A separate Microsoft outage began a day earlier, on Thursday, November 12, in Exchange Online, the service behind business Outlook email, and spread to Teams calendars, Copilot and SharePoint. It disrupted email for businesses, schools and governments around the world. Microsoft attributed it to an earlier network capacity upgrade followed by a network change, said it found no sign of malicious cyber activity, and promised a full post-incident report.
Microsoft said it had "no indication that the FAA nationwide ground stop is related to the recent service disruption." Mullin said he saw no reason to connect the two, calling them separate issues. NBC News reported that three senior officials said nothing indicated a connection. No reporting reviewed for this file shows that the FAA systems that failed depend on Microsoft 365.
How can we trust what these guys say. I think they’re covering something up, lying, or are incompetent. Maybe all three. This problem is just showing its ugly reality.
I’d say it’s all three, for sure. From the top rungs to the bottom this administration is made up entirely of lying, incompetent, unserious, greedy, amoral sycophants who deserve nothing other than mockery and disdain from the public.
The damage they have already done that we are aware of is massive. My fear is that we are just seeing the tip of that iceberg.
Exactly. This is an example of crumbling infrastructure. I hope it’s not of titanic proportions 🙏
Amen!
Why was Trump hiding during this mess? Where was he? Throwing ketchup? In the Bunker? Drooling in a corner? Our “government” is a ship of fools.
Taking a nap? Literally asleep at the wheel???
He doesn’t care
More like a ship of “tools.”
I would not trust these people as far as I could throw them. Anything they say is a lie until proven otherwise. And you’re absolutely right: if this was such a high priority why haven’t they asked the REPUBLICAN Congress for funds?
Actually, something could have been done about the air traffic control systems during the first DJT administration, as the problems were known then. Attempts by the sycophants to blame this on the Biden administration just won’t fly.
A confederacy of evil dunces.
With this posse of incompetent clowns, it’s always been deception, deflection, delusion. But I think the midterms might have shaken up under-informed people to start seeing that the emperor is naked under all that gold floss.
I don’t trust them at all. They are incompetent grifters and sycophants.
Could be their own incompetence in how they recently released AI into the systems itself without any failsafes, oversight or safeguards but yeah it could be so many things.
I have no trust in our current government whatsoever. I'm really happy with the results of the midterms, but Democrats REALLY need to step up and hold these people accountable right up to the top. If they don't, I think that they will lose the faith and trust of the American people, and we will be right back in this situation in a few years.
I'm happy but apprehensive.
Accountability, yes, but at the same time, forward progress that benefits the American people. It may be impossible to strike the balance in a way that satisfies everybody.
Yes. Definitely, but they need to make the effort. I’m worried that they won't. 😔
This is a new group of Congress members that are young, diverse, and committed to changing the old guard’s business as usual. I think they will actually do as much as possible to negate the regime’s policies.
I think they will! I really like the incoming class! Im just worried that the AIPAC caucus will block the good work that these folks try to get done.
The old guard might as well be Republicans. 🙄
Yes! Effort on both — holding the GOP accountable and progress for the people.
A very quick answer based on decades of management: If you lie, you are fired. Period.
Won't happen with the Liar in Chief at the helm.
Yes!!! We actually need laws that candidates for office, elected officials and government employees can be penalized and fired for lying to us, the tax payers who pay their salaries!! No corporation would tolerate employees who lie!!
These people lying to us are Abusing Freedom of Speech robbing us while they do it!