Forty Twenty [aach, basic error] percent of Americans now say that they think flying is very or somewhat unsafe, up from 12% last year. Google searches for “is it safe to fly” are way up from the norm. And Trump just fired 400 workers at the FAA.

If an opposition party can’t put these simple stats together to make a political argument about society, government, and our interdependence, it’s neither in opposition nor a party.

Update, 3:30 pm

On a related note, The Washington Post just reported this:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that it is moving to correct the accidental firing of several people working onthe federal government’s response to an outbreak of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there is a low risk of the public contracting the disease, the USDA firings come as bird flu is wreaking havoc on the agriculture sector and as egg prices soar to a record high. The job cuts are part of a Trump administration overhaul of the federal government, including attempts to gut national health agencies, halt scientific reports and grants,and put a hold on multimillion-dollar programs to combat malaria, Ebola and tuberculosis abroad.

“Although several positions supporting HPAI [bird flu] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” a statement from the USDAsaid.

In a Friday statement ahead of the cuts, the USDA touted its pursuit of “an aggressive plan to optimize its workforce,” and Secretary Brooke Rollins said she welcomes “DOGE’s efforts at USDA,” referring to the Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service.

Again, if the fakakte Democrats can’t make a point of this, beyond some inane tweets, well, you get the idea.