[News] Post a Political News Story

Ongoing discussion of the political news of the day. This thread is for 'smaller' stories that don't call for their own thread. If a story blows up, please start a new thread for it.

There can be no shame in fundraising. Fundamental rule of American politics.

To be fair, removing his committee assignments suggests at least a primordial awareness that shame exists somewhere.

So are they going to paint a balloon on the side of the plane that took the shot today?

Rat Boy wrote:

So are they going to paint a balloon on the side of the plane that took the shot today?

Thirteen more and that pilot can match Frank Luke's accomplishment.

I'm mostly impressed that an AIM-9X could hit a... balloon? Like, "all-aspect heat seeker" doesn't seem like it applies to... balloons.

Wikipedia wrote:

The AIM-9X entered service in November 2003 with the USAF (the lead platform was the F-15C) and the USN (the lead platform was the F/A-18C) and is a substantial upgrade to the Sidewinder family featuring an imaging infrared focal-plane array (FPA) seeker with claimed 90° off-boresight capability, compatibility with helmet-mounted displays such as the new U.S. Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), and a totally new two-axis thrust-vectoring control (TVC) system providing increased turn capability over traditional control surfaces (60Gs). Utilizing the JHMCS, a pilot can point the AIM-9X missile's seeker and "lock on" by simply looking at a target, thereby increasing air combat effectiveness.

Ohhh, okay.

I would have thought they'd use an old AIM-7 Sparrow since the balloon probably can't shake a radar lock, but those things are so old the F-22 can't use them.

Edit: Everyone on social media is going for the obvious Top Gun jokes, but this is more on point I think:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/dqkeUyg.jpg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/NrXKwUm.jpg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/5zl9TOc.jpg)

Actually this can go in a different thread.

Prederick wrote:

I have got to stop underestimating the kind of credulously stupid freakout people will have over things like a spy balloon.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/1vPlmLT.jpeg)

"Everyone's a Captain Kirk"

Prederick wrote:

I have got to stop underestimating the kind of credulously stupid freakout people will have over things like a spy balloon.

Joe Wilson wrote:

When the domestic attack occurs, Biden and Harris will not be able to adequately respond. Credible leadership is imperative to protect American families.

That's right...I do remember when G.W. Bush et al. resigned after the 9/11 attacks after being warned Al Quaeda was looking to strike in the US. Good thing Republicans are consistent.

firesloth wrote:

That's right...I do remember when G.W. Bush et al. resigned after the 9/11 attacks after being warned Al Quaeda was looking to strike in the US. Good thing Republicans are consistent.

To be fair, they're very consistent...

Spoiler:

... ly lying sh*tbags

Sooo.....

After a short conversation with some folks I know from (clears throat) Odenton, MD, it turns out that recon overflights even with balloons are actually pretty common. The Chinese, in particular, like to do this sort of thing about once every two years or so and did so at least once during the Trump administration. Generally, we consider this sort of thing a "we know and we know you know we know but we're gonna let it slide because we do worse to you" thing. But this time is different because apparently someone decided to make a literal federal case out of this and instructed the Right Wing press to sh*t their pants over it.

Considering the timing of this (being right before Blinken's official visit to China), it appears to have been deliberate sabotage. Probably from one of the Republican House members in one of the committees with access to security briefings.

Paleocon wrote:

Sooo.....

After a short conversation with some folks I know from (clears throat) Odenton, MD

IYKYK

The fact that the Republicans are upset that we didn't shoot it down over Montana is particularly precious.  That thing was flying at 66k feet.  Over the service ceiling of an F-15.  and it was carrying a school bus.  The debris field from that and the missile that hit it was 7 miles wide filled with deadly projectiles travelling at terminal velocity.  And thanks to Fox Nuisance, every hillbilly with a pickup truck was trying to catch a glimpse of it in the flight path. And though the prospect of a chunk of chinese spy payload the size of a scooby doo van falling on a Fox Nuisance reporter has a delicious irony of its own, I wouldn't want to hand the Republicans an easy scandal.

Biden handled this about as adultly as you can hope anyone in office would.  And it pisses republicans off.

I don't really care if he handled it well or poorly, etc. It is nothing to me. It is normal global espionage - we have real f*cking problems in the US - white supremacists, climate change, the economy, housing, COVID, etc.
This feels like the dumbest distraction to get people to stop thinking about how their lives are worse every day and nothing meaningful is being done.

We've known about balloon sensing for decades. It has never stopped. This won't stop it. However, the "gentleman's agreement" is that if you don't shoot down ours, we won't shoot down yours. Just like with spy satellites. Until there's an open state of war, everybody's spy satellites get to whirl around the world unimpeded.

In that regard, this is probably not an issue, because by waiting until it was offshore, the information it gathered was likely already transmitted. Someone probably had a quiet conversation with the Chinese explaining political exigencies. They may even get their toys back after examination (and in that sense, this could be a follow-on to the Chinese capture of one of our spy planes a few years back).

Robear wrote:

We've known about balloon sensing for decades. It has never stopped. This won't stop it. However, the "gentleman's agreement" is that if you don't shoot down ours, we won't shoot down yours. Just like with spy satellites. Until there's an open state of war, everybody's spy satellites get to whirl around the world unimpeded.

In that regard, this is probably not an issue, because by waiting until it was offshore, the information it gathered was likely already transmitted. Someone probably had a quiet conversation with the Chinese explaining political exigencies. They may even get their toys back after examination (and in that sense, this could be a follow-on to the Chinese capture of one of our spy planes a few years back).

Yup. From what I understand, this sort of thing is a regular occurrence and both sides have well-worn protocols for their expected arrival. The DoD even mentioned that they locked down and away anything sensitive during the balloon's overflight. I would be willing to bet that some Air Force pranksters might even have put out inflatable models of fictional aircraft just to f*ck with the Chinese. I know I would.

Am I the only one concerned that the GOP appears to be coalescing around a DeSantis candidacy? He's a far more dangerous version of Trump.

Paleocon wrote:

Am I the only one concerned that the GOP appears to be coalescing around a DeSantis candidacy? He's a far more dangerous version of Trump.

There's definitely a groundswell of anti Trump in the party. But still the minority.

I think there's a group of Rs who would love Trump getting arrested or banned from running but would never have the will to support that publicly.

It's a win win for them. They get rid of Trump and can blame Ds for overreach and conspiracy to keep his audience.

Course the can of worms that is Trump can't be unopened. We're stuck with this crazy rhetoric until they collapse or takeover.

Paleocon wrote:

Am I the only one concerned that the GOP appears to be coalescing around a DeSantis candidacy? He's a far more dangerous version of Trump.

I don't know. I don't get the same magnetism from DeSantis. I am sure he can get the cult (ie republicans) but I am not sure he can get independents and I am not sure he can really energize the cult.

To kind of back up my thoughts - he has been governor of Florida since 2019 but I have never seen the rallies, the fandom that trump generated. His fans love him but he doesn't seem to create that very, very weird love that people seem to have for trump.

DeSantis is definitely smarter than Trump, which makes him more dangerous as President. But he has low charisma and is not good in front of crowds like TFG. Die hard MAGAs might like him, but that's not enough to win the White House. I'm hopeful his star fades once he gets more exposure on the national stage.

edit: farley-housered

master0 wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

Am I the only one concerned that the GOP appears to be coalescing around a DeSantis candidacy? He's a far more dangerous version of Trump.

There's definitely a groundswell of anti Trump in the party. But still the minority.

I think there's a group of Rs who would love Trump getting arrested or banned from running but would never have the will to support that publicly.

It's a win win for them. They get rid of Trump and can blame Ds for overreach and conspiracy to keep his audience.

Course the can of worms that is Trump can't be unopened. We're stuck with this crazy rhetoric until they collapse or takeover.

Yup. The GOP has been building this fascist/populist T-Rex of a political machine for decades and it was only a matter of time before someone like Trump took it through a trailer park. Now they just want to get the keys back from him without scratching the paint.

JLS wrote:

DeSantis is definitely smarter than Trump, which makes him more dangerous as President. But he has low charisma and is not good in front of crowds like TFG. Die hard MAGAs might like him, but that's not enough to win the White House. I'm hopeful his star fades once he gets more exposure on the national stage.

edit: farley-housered

Biden has pretty low charisma and his outreach has been pretty ineffectual. I fear that anyone but Trump would basically be a walk in.

Ironically, Biden is by far the most clear-eyed president we have had in the last 22 years, particularly in regards to foreign policy despite all the bullsh*t about his "dementia". He is in every way what the country needs, but doesn't want. He is an adult.

I dunno, I think what the country needs is someone who walks the walk of being pro-labor. Biden talks a mean game when it's easy but shows his true colors when supporting labor would be politically inconvenient.

hbi2k wrote:

I dunno, I think what the country needs is someone who walks the walk of being pro-labor. Biden talks a mean game when it's easy but shows his true colors when supporting labor would be politically inconvenient.

That ship sailed with Bernie 2016. He's too old now, and I'm not sure who his understudy is.

AOC, but she isn't old enough yet (I don't think).

farley3k wrote:

the dumbest distraction to get people to stop thinking about how their lives are worse every day and nothing meaningful is being done.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Republican National Party platform.

wow. Looks like one of the neo nazis the DoJ arrested for trying to blow up the US electrical grid was from less than 10 miles from my house.

The Justice Department has charged two people with conspiracy to damage energy facilities, alleging that the Maryland-focused plot was driven by ethnically or racially motivated extremist beliefs.

The DOJ unveiled the charges on Monday and announced the arrest of two individuals, Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell of Orlando, Florida.

The individuals “conspired and took steps to shoot multiple electrical substations” in the Baltimore area, US Attorney of Maryland Erek Barron said at a news conference Monday.

The charges come as domestic violence experts have warned that attempts by extremist groups to attack power facilities are trending up.

Alexandria Occasio-Cortez or Katie Porter for president!

Or Senate at a minimum. They're both national treasures. So are many others, but those two have especially been consistently outstanding.