Updated: 02.04-05.2023 — Despite Steve’s would-be pearl clutching telling of it all, now for the fourth time… this is solely embarrassing for Xi, and China. It’s still just a dumb balloon. See SNL’s spot on mockery of Powerline’s nonsense.

End update.

It’s. A. Balloon.

Damn, son.

We could of course, shoot it down in under 45 seconds — by scrambling some F-22 fighters, or a drone. [And that may still happen, once it’s out over the Atlantic Ocean.] It is certainly defenseless… and may in fact be an intrepid weather balloon. [No, Faux News, this is not a Sputnik moment, at all.]

We didn’t. Because even if it is China “spying” — snapping high res images — or bouncing Lidar down to get sub-surface readings… who really cares? They may have seen some rancher… driving his herd (100 or so cattle), toward a lower winter pasture, on the high Montana mesa… big whoop. Geez.

Our military might no longer is driven by keeping things hidden, at least not like this. Our air and sea superiority is on full display, before the wide-world. That is a powerful deterrent, as a force known to exist… but not brandished.

And, in any event, some Chinese spy satellite is already getting these images (in higher res, too), to a certainty.

So — Mr. Biden (correctly, I think) is treating it with bemusement, mostly — and using it to poke fun at Chinese ineptitude in spycraft.

But the Powerline boys think it some sort of an alarming latter day Sputnik moment. [I think Powerline… is just out of ideas.]

Though — funny thing! — they never really say how… this is any form of credible threat.

And — bonus! — now if we decide to collect data, via balloon — about China’s coal dust pollution levels, in Beijing, for example… President Xi cannot really be heard to complain.

Onward, grinning.