Morning Jolt: Modern Fragility: One Fire Shuts Down America’s Busiest Airport for Half a Day

Yesterday's intolerable mess at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport would be a little bit easier to accept if it had been cyber-terrorism. If ISIS or al-Qaeda or the North Koreans or someone had deliberately shut down the power and backup systems at the country's busiest airport, we would have an outside source and an intentional action to blame. We would be discussing how to prevent the next cyber-sabotage, whether existing systems at other airports and critical infrastructure were secure enough, and how to ensure everyone knew what to do in this sort of emergency.

Instead, it appears to be the usual cascading mistakes and system failures.

Georgia Power said it believes a failure of its equipment may have started a fire that led to a massive power outage at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport causing more than 1,000 flight cancellations Sunday, disrupting flights for travelers from around the world.

"While evaluation of the incident is ongoing, Georgia ...

December 18 2017

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Modern Fragility: One Fire Shuts Down America's Busiest Airport for Half a Day Jim Geraghty Yesterday's intolerable mess at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport would be a little bit easier to accept if it had been cyber-terrorism. If ISIS or al-Qaeda or the North Koreans or someone had deliberately shut down the power and backup systems at the country's busiest airport, we would have an outside source and an intentional action to blame. We would be discussing how to prevent the next cyber-sabotage, whether existing systems at other airports and critical infrastructure were secure enough, and how to ensure everyone knew what to do in this sort of emergency. Instead, it appears to be the usual cascading mistakes and system failures. Georgia Power said it believes a failure of its equipment may have started a fire that led to a massive power outage at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport causing more than 1,000 flight cancellations Sunday, disrupting flights for travelers from around the world. "While evaluation of the incident is ongoing, Georgia ... READ MORE A Culture in Need of that Manger Scene Kathryn Jean Lopez Upon news of a Christmas variety show benefiting Planned Parenthood, my National Review colleague Kevin Williamson tweeted: "You're getting the story all wrong . . . It was the grave that was... Trump's Refusal to Embrace the Norms of Presidential Behavior Will Hurt His Party Jay Cost Trump's Refusal to Embrace the Norms of Presidential Behavior Will Hurt His Party ADVERTISEMENT A Solid Accomplishment on Taxes The Editors As we hoped, the Republican tax legislation improved as it moved through Congress. Harmful ideas such as eliminating the adoption tax credit were abandoned. Some tax relief for the working poor... The Way Forward on Federal Mental Health Policy D. J. Jaffe Last Thursday, the Trump administration issued the first iteration of its congressionally mandated Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (ISMICC) report. Titled "The... Where Zimbabwe Went Wrong Helen Andrews Editor's Note: The following piece appears in the December 18, 2017 issue of National Review. One of the more poignant moments in the story of African decolonization was the small riot staged... A Whole Year of Draining the Swamp Berny Belvedere Editor's note: This piece is adapted from one published by Arc Digital. Every presidential election has its memorable slogans. The 2016 election had three: "I'm With Her," "Make America Great... ADVERTISEMENT Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45 Peter Caddick-Adams "[Caddick-Adams] illuminates the Battle of the Bulge until he has run out of facets. He layers context and connections with an inclusive style. Both the reader who knows nothing or little of this battle and the maven steeped in Bulgeiana will come away...educated and sated. Snow and Steel is a treasure." - Michael Dolan, Senior Editor, World War II Magazine LEARN MORE Best of 2017: Environment Photos of the Week ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.