Why federal DEI policy can translate to ‘DIE’

A ship sinks at sea, leaving hundreds of survivors in the water, all struggling to stay afloat. As government rescue ships and aircraft arrive, no effort is made at an immediate recovery attempt until those in the water are carefully scrutinized to identify survivors qualifying as ethnic minorities. It is this group that is then given immediate priority for recovery. Even though some non-minority victims lack life jackets, rescue teams focus totally upon ethnicity in determining who gets priority in their recovery operation, even if some non-minority victims could easily be rescued first.

While the above is a hypothetical, it represents Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) gone wild! And, while sounding completely improbable, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) embraced a similar equity prioritization policy in advance of the disastrous swath Hurricane Helene cut through the southeastern U.S. after making landfall on Sept. 26 in Florida.

In May 2023, FEMA initiated a $12 million grant program aimed at promoting disaster preparedness equity. Using the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), it identified racial minority, LGBT and rural communities “underserved” by the Biden-Harris administration, toward which such grants should be directed. Applicant proposals targeting these communities received priority.

However, the communities receiving the grants were not among those hardest hit by Hurricane Helene, especially the counties of two states that incurred extensive damage – North Carolina and Georgia. The hurricane claimed the lives of 227 people and caused $35 billion in damage.

Rather than maintaining a ready reserve of funding to assist communities actually hit, FEMA’s equity initiative diverted it from those areas ultimately in need of such support. That, plus the $1 billion FEMA’s parent agency – the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – spent on migrants, left DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas clamoring for more money.

DEI is penetrating our society in a way that diminishes public safety. Take the following example concerning firefighter qualifications, which, unfortunately, is real.

Basic math is a requirement for firefighters who are tested with questions like how many 60-foot hoses would be needed to reach a fire 350 feet away? However, the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has undertaken a slew of lawsuits against local police and fire departments alleging that it is racist to require new hires entrusted with public safety to know basic math.

President Joe Biden’s DEI policy has damaged the U.S. government’s ability to meet numerous demands of the nation by senselessly giving priority to factors that only diminish mission accomplishment. While we probably have to excuse an incoherent, rambling and mentally challenged president from such responsibility, we cannot excuse his soon-to-be retired vice president, who ran to replace him while assuring us he was still mentally competent.

DEI is a ship that never should have sailed.