The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition

The vastness of the stupidity on display with regard to the recent increase in drone sightings is a signal that many of us have lost all ability to think. That much of the stupidity is being spouted by our government officials and representatives may be even worse. In the absence of any data, they reassure us that there is no threat? Or they breathlessly tell us that they are Iranian drones being dispatched from a mother ship off our east coast? Or they are looking for radioactive material? Or they are being controlled by Russian sleeper agents?

It is entirely possible that all of these drone sightings are coincidence, much like those mythical clusters of disease that freak out people with an insufficient grasp of statistics and probability. With thousands of aircraft in the skies at all hours, particularly in the populated Northeast, seeing a bunch of lights in the sky at night is not odd. I live within 30 air miles of three major commercial airports and one very large general aviation airport. I can look at the night sky and see lots of slow and fast clusters of lights; the leap from "aircraft" to IRANIAN DRONE! is one that I am not prepared to take absent any data.

But... our government lies. It lies reflexively. It lies even when the truth is a better choice. It lies because it does not want us to know anything.

So when I read this sort of dribbling bullsh*t pouring from the mouths of our government spokesmen my immediate thought is: "what are they hiding?"

US has the tech to down Jersey drones -- but not the policy, officials say

Government officials have stressed that the drones reportedly sighted since mid-November pose no immediate threat, and do not appear to be part of any attack. One military official speaking on background said that if intelligence analysis had shown the aerial objects were foreign or military in nature, the military could bring sophisticated sensors and weapons to bear. In February, U.S. Northern Command dispatched an Air Force F-22 to down a Chinese spy balloon over the United States. But the FBI is in charge of the more recent incursions—suggesting that U.S. agencies suspect a domestic cause.

The incredible fiasco of the Chinese spy balloon does not fill me with confidence that our military knows what the hell is going on. The damned thing flew (or drifted) across the entire country, and THEN they shot it down? Was that stupidity? By plan? Either one is damning.

But the reflexive nonsense is guaranteed to make most people just a little bit suspicious. "We have no idea what is going on, but we are confident that there is no threat." That tells me that A) the speaker is an idiot, or B) the speaker is lying. Of course this is the Biden administration, so it is entirely possible that both A and B hold true.

As for having the technology to down drones? Sure...maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. The Russians seem to be having a tough time with Ukrainian drones, and that is a war! But if we really do have the technology, then why not trot it out around a few major airports that have issues with drones being flown too close. Shoot the f*ckers down. The excuse that Congress must authorize that sort of stuff is arrant nonsense. When was the last time our federal law enforcement services gave a rat's ass about the law?

And that makes me think that they really are hiding something!

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter]

posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

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