10 votes

Weekly US politics news and updates thread - week of January 30

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Tags: usa, politics, recurring.weekly

This thread is posted weekly - please try to post all relevant US political content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Extremely significant events may warrant a separate topic, but almost all should be posted in here.

This is an inherently political thread; please try to avoid antagonistic arguments and bickering matches. Comment threads that devolve into unproductive arguments may be removed so that the overall topic is able to continue.

8 comments

  1. [6]
    skybrian
    Link
    Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over U.S., Pentagon says (Washington Post)

    Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over U.S., Pentagon says (Washington Post)

    A Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States has been spotted and scrutinized by the U.S. military for several days, the Pentagon said Thursday, a new development in a time of spiking tensions between the two countries.

    A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, said the Defense Department considered shooting it down over Montana on Wednesday but decided against doing so out of concern for what might happen to the debris.

    10 votes
    1. [5]
      cmccabe
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I’m finding this a really interesting story— media event really —because of how much press it is getting (it’s everywhere) and because of incongruities in the reporting. Can’t shoot it down...

      I’m finding this a really interesting story— media event really —because of how much press it is getting (it’s everywhere) and because of incongruities in the reporting.

      Can’t shoot it down because of risk of falling debris? Over Montana, the third least populated US state?

      But it’s not really a risk? Then why did it prompt meetings with the US defense secretary, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Biden?

      A BBC story today attempts to fill in the gaps a little more:
      Why would China use a spy balloon when it has satellites?

      Edit: And the story continues to unfold:

      Blinken postpones trip to Beijing after Chinese spy balloon spotted over US

      But China says:

      “It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes. Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure”

      And... Although this is from (pinch your nose and turn on your ad-blocker) the Washington Examiner, here is possibly part of the reason why this has raised alarms at the highest levels:

      Balloons called top ‘delivery platform’ for nuclear EMP attack

      4 votes
      1. [4]
        skybrian
        Link Parent
        I think the idea is that it has implications for international diplomacy even though militarily, the balloon itself is not a risk. If China wanted to attack, they'd use a missile. This is,...

        I think the idea is that it has implications for international diplomacy even though militarily, the balloon itself is not a risk. If China wanted to attack, they'd use a missile.

        This is, literally, a trial balloon. Trial for what, is the question. Some kind of troll?

        2 votes
        1. [3]
          cmccabe
          Link Parent
          Although of course just uninformed speculation, my guess is that it’s mostly likely as described in one of the BBC articles above: That is, if it’s not genuinely a meteorological research balloon...

          Although of course just uninformed speculation, my guess is that it’s mostly likely as described in one of the BBC articles above:

          "The balloon was to send a signal to the Americans, and also to see how the Americans would react," explained Dr Ho - coordinator of the China programme at Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

          "Beijing is probably trying to signal to Washington: 'While we want to improve ties, we are also ever ready for sustained competition, using any means necessary,' without severely inflaming tensions," independent air-power analyst He Yuan Ming told the BBC.

          That is, if it’s not genuinely a meteorological research balloon that blew off course, which seems believable too.

          3 votes
          1. [2]
            skybrian
            Link Parent
            Seems like they should have a way to take it down if it strayed off course, before crossing an international border? I wonder what normal practice is for weather balloons?

            Seems like they should have a way to take it down if it strayed off course, before crossing an international border? I wonder what normal practice is for weather balloons?

            1 vote
            1. cmccabe
              Link Parent
              I have no idea, but it would make sense that the longer the balloon was intended to stay aloft the more controls they would build into it. I learned from another BBC article today that some...

              I have no idea, but it would make sense that the longer the balloon was intended to stay aloft the more controls they would build into it. I learned from another BBC article today that some weather balloons actually do have simple navigational capabilities by rising or lowering in altitude to catch winds going in different directions, and that normal weather balloons are typically only expected to last a few hours before bursting and falling to the ground with a parachute. It sounds like this one is definitely more sophisticated than a typical weather balloon, given that it has apparently been aloft for several days and that it appears to have been loitering over sensitive military locations in Montana as reported.

              3 votes
  2. kfwyre
    (edited )
    Link
    Utah bans gender-affirming care for trans minors (Axios) If anyone needs a rundown on the larger wave, there's a good summary here: The states: Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South...

    Utah bans gender-affirming care for trans minors (Axios)

    Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) signed a controversial bill Saturday that would ban gender-affirming health care and hormone therapy for transgender children and teenagers.

    The move follows similar legislation enacted in other GOP-led states amid a larger wave of anti-trans bills, many of which target youth.

    If anyone needs a rundown on the larger wave, there's a good summary here:

    Lawmakers in at least eight states used the last two months of 2022 to prefile anti-transgender bills ahead of state legislative sessions convening this month — setting up another year of statehouse battles over trans rights, while targeting health care for trans adults in new ways.

    The states: Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia

    8 votes
  3. kfwyre
    Link
    The College Board strips down its A.P. curriculum for African American studies (The New York Times)

    The College Board strips down its A.P. curriculum for African American studies (The New York Times)

    After heavy criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the College Board released on Wednesday an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies — stripped of much of the subject matter that had angered the governor and other conservatives.

    The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism. It ushered out some politically fraught topics, like Black Lives Matter, from the formal curriculum.

    And it added something new: “Black conservatism” is now offered as an idea for a research project.

    6 votes