Happy Thursday! It’s January 12, 2023 and there are 356 days left in the year. On today’s NOTICE News: A massive computer system failure stranded airline passengers around the country. We’ll take a look at what happened. Plus: Classified documents were recently found at a private office used by President Biden before he was president. How is it different from what former President Trump did? Here’s a transcript of today’s show.
Discussion Questions
- Why did the FAA feel the system failure required that they shut down all flights in the U.S. from taking off?
- How would the cancellation of so many flights lead to a domino effect?
- Why might some have feared a cyberattack when the FAA’s system went down?
- Why might both airlines and the government be pointing fingers at each other when it comes to outdated technology?
- What are some reasons why classified documents are meant to stay private?
- Why are some Republicans calling the reaction to top-secret documents being found in President Biden’s personal office a “double standard”?
Writing Prompts
- Often, a difficult decision may cause chaos, or cost money, but those in control feel that they need to make it anyway for the sake of safety. What does it show about the people who are able to make such decisions in times of crisis? What does it suggest when people aren’t able to make such tough choices?
- Updating a complicated technological system that involves many players–like airlines, government agencies, and cities–often can be difficult in terms of deciding who should do most of the work and pay most of the cost. In terms of the flight systems in the U.S., who should lead the effort to update the technology, and why?
- The concept of false equivalency occurs when things are made to seem the same based on flawed or false reasoning. Why might some argue the comparison between President Trump and President Biden’s handling of top-secret documents is a false equivalency? Why might some argue that it’s not false equivalency, but rather a legitimate comparison?
Further Reading
- Our top story: Airlines Hope For Return To Normal Thursday After Computer Outage Snarls U.S. Travel (Reuters)
- Explainer: Why U.S. Flights Were Grounded By A FAA System Outage (Reuters)
- The details: Classified documents from Biden’s vice presidency found at think tank (Reuters)
- Biden classified docs vs. Trump classified docs: What’s the difference? NBC News explains.