Politics Archives - Tony Ward Studio

The FAA’s Challenges: The State of Air Travel in America

passenger jet in flight out of Philadelphia International airport — Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2025

The FAA’s Challenges and the State of Air Travel in America

Is It Safe to Fly?

In recent months, a series of high-profile incidents involving passenger flights in the United States has raised concerns about the safety of air travel. From near-misses on runways to mid-air mechanical failures, these events have left many wondering: Is flying still as safe as it once was? And could these incidents be linked to the upheaval within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in recent years, including the mass firings of federal workers during the Trump administration?

The FAA, the agency responsible for regulating and overseeing civil aviation, has faced significant challenges in recent years. During the Trump administration, the federal workforce experienced widespread disruptions, including hiring freezes, budget cuts, and the dismissal of key personnel. Critics argue that these actions may have weakened the FAA’s ability to maintain its rigorous safety standards. While the FAA has long been a global leader in aviation safety, the loss of experienced staff and institutional knowledge could have created gaps in oversight and enforcement.

Since then, the FAA has struggled to rebuild its workforce and address systemic issues. A 2023 report by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General highlighted staffing shortages and outdated technology as ongoing concerns. These challenges have coincided with a surge in air travel demand as the industry rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic. The combination of increased traffic and strained resources has put additional pressure on an already overburdened system.

Despite these issues, aviation experts emphasize that flying remains one of the safest modes of transportation. The U.S. commercial aviation industry has not experienced a fatal crash involving a major airline since 2009, a testament to the robust safety protocols still in place. However, the recent spate of incidents—such as runway incursions, engine failures, and near-collisions—has sparked debate about whether the system is being pushed to its limits.

So, is it safe to fly? The answer, for now, is yes—but with caveats. While the FAA and airlines continue to prioritize safety, the agency must address its internal challenges to maintain public confidence. This includes investing in modernizing its systems, hiring and training more air traffic controllers, and ensuring that safety regulations keep pace with the growing complexity of air travel.

For passengers, the best course of action is to stay informed and vigilant. While the odds of being involved in a serious aviation incident remain extremely low, the recent events serve as a reminder that safety is a shared responsibility. As the FAA works to address its shortcomings, travelers can take comfort in knowing that the aviation industry’s commitment to safety remains unwavering—even in the face of mounting challenges.

In the end, the skies are still safe, but the margin for error may be shrinking. The question is whether the FAA can rise to the occasion before another crisis forces its hand.

Passenger jet in flight — Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2025

Bob Shell: The Perils of Prison Life and the First Amendment

man writing a letter from a prison cell — Image FX

The Perils of Prison Life and the First Amendment

I made my living for more than thirty-five years from writing and photography. In my current circumstances I am blocked from doing photography, but I haven’t been blocked from writing — until now.

A bit of history first: I grew up in a media family. My father was a TV news reporter for WSLS TV, the NBC affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia. He also wrote short stories for magazines. My mother worked for The Roanoke Times newspaper and became an early computer expert. I literally grew up in TV studios and newspaper offices. So I guess it was natural that I’d gravitate to the media.

In 1971 I started working for WRFT TV, the ABC affiliate in Roanoke. My boss there was Adrian Cronauer, the real man Robin Williams portrayed in ‘Good Morning Vietnam.’ While working for Ade, I was also writing a monthly column on UFOs for Gnostica magazine, my first paid writing gig.

In 1973 I invented the Harley Stone Detective Agency and wrote a number of genre detective stories. I didn’t have much luck in getting them published, but several did appear in limited-circulation ‘fanzines.’ I put the characters and story ideas aside and didn’t think about them much for years.

In 2018 I learned that it was possible to self-publish books through Kindle Direct Publishing, a division of Amazon. com . I wrote my philosophical/scientific book ‘Cosmic Dance’ between then and 2019, when I published it. Considering that I had a zero promotion and advertising budget, it has sold reasonably well worldwide, and has been positively reviewed.

In 2021, with a lot of time on my hands, I decided to return to the Harley Stone Detective Agency characters, so I started working on my first novel, titled ‘The Adventure of the Abducted Actress.’

I finished the book in near final form in 2024 and only needed to review the author’s proof for final editing and correcting. Then I hit a brick wall. When the proof arrived

in early March at Dillwyn Correctional Center where I’m currently housed, it was confiscated. It was sent to the Virginia Department of Corrections’ Publication Review Committee. In spite of the fact that it has not been published, and obviously isn’t yet a publication, they put it on the VDOC’s Disapproved Publications Listing. That listing is many unnumbered pages long with twenty or more items per page, hundreds of books and magazines.

I’m in good company. Dr. Anthony Fauci’s latest book is on there, as is a magazine banned for containing a recipe for sauerkraut!

Like most detective stories, my book has some sex scenes. But I was very careful not to include anything beyond what could be found in multiple books in the prison libraries, books by well-known authors, including a Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.

After fighting for months to get my proof back so that I may publish my book, I’ve exhausted all of my institutional remedies, and must now take the issue into court.

We all know that the First Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees us freedom of speech. Beyond that, I am in Virginia. Article One, Section Twelve, of the Virginia Constitution says “Any citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects.”

I may be in prison, but I am still a citizen, and I have that right. But the Virginia Department of Corrections is interfering with my right.

The problem with taking this issue into court is that I am not a lawyer and have no money to hire one, while the Virginia Department of Corrections would be represented by the Virginia Attorney General.

I need help to defend my right to publish my book. If you watch TV, you’ve probably seen the commercials for the ACLU in which they beg for donations and say they defend freedom of speech. So far, the Virginia ACLU hasn’t even had the common courtesy to answer my letters.

If anyone reading this blog can help, or has suggestions on who might help me, you may email me via JPay.com

by using my name, Robert Shell, and my state ID number, 1201280, or write me at Dillwyn Correctional Center, P. O. Box 670, Dillwyn, VA 23936-0670. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

About The Author: Bob Shell is a professional photographer, author, former editor in chief of Shutterbug Magazine and veteran contributor to this blog. He is currently serving a 35 year sentence for involuntary manslaughter for the death of Marion Franklin, one of his former models. He is serving the 17th year of his sentence at Pocahontas State Correctional Facility, Virginia.

On September 16, 2024 Shell’s release date got moved up six years due to new “mixed charges” law to February 2, 2030. It was 2036.

To read additional articles by Bob Shell link here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/bob-shell-nova-nonsense/

Politics: The Chaos of DOGE

photo of the US capital aerial view — US Capital Building

The Chaos of DOGE

How Elon Musk’s Obsession is Disrupting America’s Federal Workforce

In recent years, Elon Musk’s fascination with Dogecoin (DOGE), the meme-inspired cryptocurrency, has transcended mere personal interest and begun to ripple into unexpected areas—including America’s federal workforce. What started as a series of playful tweets has evolved into a disruptive force, creating chaos for federal employees and raising questions about the intersection of cryptocurrency, corporate influence, and government operations. This chaos reached a boiling point recently when 21 employees at SpaceX, one of Musk’s companies, quit their jobs, citing concerns over his erratic behavior and the growing influence of DOGE on their work environment.

The trouble began when Musk, a self-proclaimed “Dogefather,” started using his massive social media platform to promote DOGE. His tweets, often cryptic and humorous, have caused wild fluctuations in the cryptocurrency’s value. While this has been a boon for some investors, it has created a volatile environment for businesses and employees tied to Musk’s ventures. Federal employees, particularly those working on contracts with SpaceX, have found themselves caught in the crossfire. SpaceX is a major contractor for NASA and the Department of Defense, and its operations are critical to national security and space exploration. However, Musk’s preoccupation with DOGE has reportedly led to distractions, shifting priorities, and a lack of focus on mission-critical projects.

The recent exodus of 21 SpaceX employees highlights the growing frustration among workers. According to reports, these employees left due to Musk’s increasing focus on DOGE and his unpredictable management style. Many felt that his obsession with the cryptocurrency was diverting attention and resources away from SpaceX’s core objectives. One former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the work environment as “chaotic and unsustainable,” with Musk frequently pushing for DOGE-related initiatives that seemed disconnected from the company’s mission. This sentiment was echoed by others, who expressed concerns about the long-term impact on SpaceX’s reputation and its ability to fulfill its obligations to federal agencies.

The fallout from this situation extends beyond SpaceX. Federal employees working on joint projects with the company have reported delays and disruptions, as Musk’s focus on DOGE has led to missed deadlines and shifting priorities. This has created tension between SpaceX and its government partners, with some officials questioning whether the company can maintain its commitment to critical national projects.

The chaos caused by DOGE also raises broader questions about the influence of cryptocurrency on traditional industries and government operations. While cryptocurrencies like DOGE offer exciting possibilities, their volatile nature and the cult-like following they inspire can lead to instability, particularly when influential figures like Musk champion them. For federal employees, whose work often depends on stability and predictability, this unpredictability is deeply unsettling.

In the end, the DOGE saga serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of allowing personal passions to overshadow professional responsibilities. As Musk continues to navigate his dual roles as a tech visionary and a cryptocurrency evangelist, the challenge will be to balance his ambitions with the needs of his employees and the federal agencies that rely on his companies. Until then, the chaos caused by DOGE is likely to persist, leaving federal employees and the public to wonder what the future holds.

Bob Shell: Nova Nonsense

Illustration_Roswell_lab-Nova — A.I. simulation of Roswell Lab.

Nova Nonsense

I was excited when I saw the announcement that the PBS science series NOVA was going to devote a program to UFOs. There have been several very good recent programs on NEWSNATION, so I had high hopes for PBS taking the subject seriously for a change.

Unfortunately, the NOVA program was a bunch of poorly researched nonsense. They ignored most of the good research done since at least the 1950s.

As just one example, Major Jesse Marcel, the man who first collected some of the debris from the Famous Roswell event, said on numerous occasions late in his life that the debris he was holding in the famous press conference photo was not the material he recovered from the Foster Ranch near Roswell, New Mexico in the summer of 1947. There was a coverup by the government, which was later admitted. But NOVA repeated the long debunked nonsense that what crashed was a Mogul Balloon Array.

I knew Jesse Marcel, Jr. He wrote the foreword for the 1997 book ‘Beyond Roswell,’ of which I was the coauthor.

Jesse Jr. was twelve years old when his father excitedly came home one night to show his wife and son some of the debris he’d collected on the Foster Ranch. It was not debris from a weather balloon, with which Marcel was quite familiar, nor was it debris from a Mogul Balloon train, which Marcel would easily have recognized.

Marcel Senior had been involved in balloon recoveries, and would never have confused balloon debris with exotic material. There was material that looked like tinfoil, but when crushed and released, returned to it’s original shape. (We are just learning to make such ‘memory materials.’) There were I-beams with ‘hieroglyphics’ on them that were as light as balsa wood but could not be bent or burned.

In that photo, taken by James Bond Johnson, General Ramey is holding a telegram. Image analysis has shown that it refers to ‘victims’ of the crash. Weather/Mogul balloon victims?

It was a disservice to PBS viewers to present long disproved material as factual and irrelevant pseudoscience about the videos taken by fighter pilots, the famous ‘TikTak’ and ‘Gimbel’ videos and others.

The program was essentially another tired old attempt to debunk the whole UFO phenomenon, attempts to explain the extraordinary as misinterpreted ordinary. We’re long past that.

Toward the end of the program, they repeated the old ‘They can’t get here from there’ mantra, because the universe is just so big. This reminds me of Lord Kelvin saying that heavier than air flying machines were impossible. Yes, they were — within the technological framework that Kelvin understood. Just because we can’t build faster than light (FTL) craft with our current technology does not mean that it is impossible. NASA is, in fact, exploring the possibilities of warp drive technology in Houston. A civilization even a hundred years in advance of ours probably has solved the problems of FTL travel, or might be using quantum teleportation to instantaneously jump from place to place in the universe. Physicists have already done quantum teleportation on a molecular level.

The argument that ‘they’ can’t get here is specious.

I have been researching the UFO phenomenon since the 1960s. In the early 1970s I wrote a regular column on the subject for Gnostica magazine. I have watched numerous feeble attempts to debunk the phenomenon over all of those years, but the UFOs ignored the nonsense and just kept doing their thing, and people worldwide kept seeing and encountering them.

It’s long past time to stop the silliness and admit that they are here, we don’t know what they are or where they’re from, and they’ve been here a very long time.

On September 16, 2024 Shell’s release date got moved up six years due to new “mixed charges” law to February 2, 2030. It was 2036.

To read additional articles by Bob Shell link here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/bob-shell-ancient-aliens/

The Assassination Attempt on Trump: A Wake-Up Call for the Secret Service

Television coverage of the assassination attempt on Trump — Assassination Attempt on Trump.

The Assassination Attempt on Trump: A Wake-Up Call for the Secret Service

The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has sent shockwaves across the nation, highlighting vulnerabilities within the Secret Service’s protective measures. As details unfold, this incident could mark a pivotal moment in the evolution of presidential security protocols.

The audacious attempt occurred during a public engagement, raising immediate questions about the adequacy of current security measures. Trump, known for his polarizing presence and large, fervent crowds, has always posed a unique challenge to the Secret Service. However, the attempt on his life has exposed critical gaps that must be addressed to ensure the safety of current and future leaders.

The Secret Service, an agency with a storied history of protecting America’s highest office, will now face intense scrutiny. Traditionally, their strategy has relied on a combination of physical barriers, advanced technology, and meticulous planning. Despite these measures, the attack on Trump demonstrates that no system is foolproof and that constant adaptation is necessary.

One significant area of concern is the balance between accessibility and security. Modern presidents, including Trump, thrive on direct engagement with the public. This openness, while politically advantageous, inherently increases risk. The Secret Service may need to reassess how to protect leaders without completely isolating them from their supporters. Innovative approaches, such as enhanced crowd monitoring and the use of artificial intelligence to identify threats in real-time, could become standard practice.

Another aspect under consideration is the training and readiness of Secret Service agents. The Trump assassination attempt has underscored the need for continuous, rigorous training programs that prepare agents for a wide array of scenarios. This includes not only physical threats but also cyber-attacks and other forms of modern terrorism. Emphasizing agility and rapid response will be crucial.

The psychological aspect of security is also paramount. Ensuring that agents remain vigilant and prepared for potential threats requires a supportive and well-structured work environment. This could mean increased mental health support and resilience training to help agents manage the stress of their roles effectively.

In the aftermath of this event, the Secret Service is likely to undergo significant reforms. These could include technological upgrades, revised protocols for public engagements, and enhanced training regimens. The goal will be to build a security apparatus that can preemptively identify and neutralize threats while adapting to the ever-changing landscape of potential dangers.

The assassination attempt on Trump serves as a stark reminder that the protection of the nation’s leaders is an evolving challenge. For the Secret Service, this incident is a catalyst for reflection and improvement, ensuring that future presidents are safeguarded against both known and emerging threats. As the agency undertakes these critical reforms, the safety of America’s highest office will remain a paramount priority, reinforcing the resilience and adaptability of this essential institution.