Remembering
James Robison

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The Brew: Go Tulsi, Go! Let’s Kash the Check!

By John Zmirak Published on January 31, 2025

Happy Friday! We are awash in news today, including the following sampling of big events from NBC News reports:

  • “American Eagle Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, collided midair with an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport last night.
  • President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that there are no survivors.
  • The two aircraft crashed above and then fell into the Potomac River, where a rescue operation became a major recovery effort, with dozens of bodies pulled from the frigid waters so far.
  • The U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter was carrying three people, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
  • American figure skaters, coaches, and family members were among those aboard the passenger jet, according to U.S. Figure Skating.
  • Russian state media confirmed that Russian figure skaters and coaches were also on board.

Authorities haven’t found the cause of this deadly collision, and some people on both the left and right are trying to politicize it. Let’s step back for a moment and pray for the victims, their families, and all those who face air travel today in the wake of this heartbreaking incident.

But we do need to get to the bottom of this. Millions of Americans travel by air every year because they feel it’s safer than driving. It is, but it can be and should be safer. Recently, however, The New York Times has reported on “an alarming pattern of safety lapses and near misses in the skies and on the runways in the USA.” What’s behind this pattern? The fearless folks at Revolver News spoke to insiders at various airports where near-misses have happened, and pointed to

two major contributing factors that have received scant media attention. The first such factor is the likely contribution of disastrous COVID-era policies to the staffing shortage of many air traffic control rooms. The second factor is that aggressive affirmative action policies implemented during the Obama administration have resulted in a catastrophic collapse in the quality of controllers. In short, COVID policies have gutted the quantity of air traffic controllers, and diversity policies have gutted the quality of air traffic controllers, creating unprecedented danger for the aviation industry.

Key Trump Appointees Face Hostile Grilling

Two of President Trump’s key appointees went before the U.S. Senate yesterday. The Stream has already reported on the exquisite qualifications of proposed FBI Director Kash Patel, who faces fierce Democrat, Deep State, and Establishment GOP opposition for his truth-telling about FBI abuses in his book Government Gangsters. War Room has also made a film version of it:

Before Trump’s enemies (in both parties) could open fire on him, Patel offered an opening statement which illustrates why he’s the right man for the job of cleaning up a corrupted, politically weaponized agency:

For those with a high tolerance for nonsense and prevarication, watch the senators scramble to make Patel sound like a crank extremist in the pocket of Vladimir Putin:

Moving on to Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s appointee to General Mike Flynn’s old job as the Director of National Intelligence, Jason Jones and I offered our suggestions Wednesday on how she should turn the tables on senators wedded to the dead, failed consensus of reckless interventionism abroad and spying on citizens at home. It was encouraging to see Meghan McCain, daughter of one of the architects of that consensus but a personal friend of Gabbard’s, appear at the hearings to support her nomination. If you’re wondering why Trump selected Gabbard, a longtime Democrat and formerly a member of the progressive left, for this mission critical position, watch her brilliant opening statement:

Pray that these two extraordinary public servants get through the thicket of self-interest and Deep State obstruction and join Trump’s cabinet. (Maybe also contact your senators.)

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Why Do We Need RFK, Jr.? Because of Companies Like Pfizer

Senators of both parties who accept large donations from Big Pharma companies are terrified that we might indeed Make America Healthy Again. Those senators subjected Trump’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to aggressively hostile questioning this week. Wondering why the favorite senators of huge pharmaceutical companies whose vaccines are exempt from litigation for deadly side effects are so intent on keeping control of the FDA? Check out what one Pfizer subsidiary was up to, according to Gateway Pundit:

Big Pharma Pfizer has agreed to a hefty $59.7 million settlement to resolve allegations of a kickback scandal that has defrauded Medicare and other federal healthcare programs.

The scandal revolves around Biohaven Pharmaceutical, a company acquired by Pfizer in October 2022, which engaged in unethical practices to push prescriptions of its migraine medication, Nurtec ODT, also known as Rimegepant.

The U.S. Department of Justice disclosed that from March 2020 through September 2022, Biohaven manipulated the healthcare system by offering kickbacks — including speaker honoraria and lavish meals at upscale restaurants — to healthcare professionals.

Allegations include that Biohaven paid some healthcare providers over $100,000 to boost prescriptions of their migraine medication, Nurtec ODT, resulting in fraudulent claims to federal programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

This egregious scheme involved not just ordinary incentives, but also repeated, unnecessary educational programs that offered no real benefit to attendees, turning these events into mere facades for bribery.

So now you know why Elizabeth Warren (among others) was so unhinged during the hearing.

J.D. Vance Gives a Mini-Class in True Love of Neighbor

In the current conflict over mass immigration and the duties of Christian citizens toward both God and country, far too many pastors and other leaders (for instance, Pope Francis) treat Christianity as a kind of civilizational suicide cult that demands utopian and self-destructive measures such as open borders and limitless public assistance to all comers, even those who openly demand sharia law and hate our Church.

As I’ve written here before, if Christianity really did demand things that make human life unlivable, such as pacifism, open borders, or universal celibacy, that would prove that the Gospel isn’t true. So people who try to convince you that Jesus was the enemy of the human race might not really be on our side. They’re working for Screwtape, whether they realize it or not. (But at least some of them do.)

In another admirable media appearance, Vice President J.D. Vance offered Fox News viewers a short catechism on what “love your neighbor” (a phrase Gov. Gavin Newsom hijacked to use in support of abortion) actually means in practice. Vance didn’t footnote Thomas Aquinas, but some of us spotted that great saint’s logic here:

In case you’re wondering, here are the biblical references which underpin Vance’s explanation:

Along The Stream …

Later today, read longtime Stream editor Al Perrotta will post a fond farewell to readers as he moves down along life’s road.

In the meantime, don’t miss Pastor Shane Idleman’s powerful video testimony about his conversion to Christ, and how it turned his life on its head.

 

John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream and author or coauthor of 14 books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. His newest book is No Second Amendment, No First.