Republicans mock Biden for shooting down $12 hobby balloon with $400,000 missile

1. When the Bottlecap Balloon Brigade discovered their hobby balloon went missing the same time fighter jets were scrambled to down a mysterious object over Alaska, theories started swirling.

Was their $12 inflatable taken out by a $400,000 Sidewinder missile fired from a $143 million F-22 in a military operation ordered by President Joe Biden?

They reported their property 'missing in action' and have been in contact with the FBI, but whether their balloon was targeted is yet to be confirmed as the Pentagon tries to retrieve the debris....

Ted Cruz wrote on Twitter: 'To be fair, Biden is providing is powerful deterrence for any high school science clubs that might try to invade America….'

Former Republican congressman and Army reservist Peter Meijer added: 'RIP to the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade’s ~$80 ham radio transmitter balloon, likely the victim of friendly fire by a $143,000,000 USAF F-22 firing a $485,000 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile during the Great Balloon Panic of 2023.'

The Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade (NIBBB) reported one of its balloons 'missing in action' around the same location - and at the time time - a U.S. Air Force jet downed an unidentified object near Alaska using a $400,000 Sidewinder missile....

Source Link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...epublicans-mock-Biden-military-operation.html

2. KYIV, Ukraine — The Kyiv Military Administration says it shot down six Russian balloons that appeared over the Ukrainian capital during an air raid warning on Wednesday. Similar balloons had appeared in other parts of Ukraine on Sunday.

Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for Ukraine's air force, said that the balloons had plain metal triangles suspended with string below them, saying that was enough to appear like an incoming missile or drone on Ukrainian radars.

"Russia wants Ukraine to waste its ammunition on these balloons, which effectively cost them nothing at all," he said on national TV....

A former Ukrainian Naval commander, Andriy Ryzhenko, told Ukraine's TSN that Russian decoys are an effective bluff at a time when several Eastern European countries are worried about a Russian escalation this spring....

Source Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/16/1157457205/ukraine-russia-balloons

3. Russia has recently started using decoy missiles without explosive warheads and balloons to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense systems, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview with AP on Feb. 16.

Podolyak noted that the Russians are “definitely changing tactics” as the anniversary of the invasion war approaches. According to him, the purpose of the decoy missiles is to overload Ukraine's air defenses with numerous targets.

“They want to overload our anti-aircraft system to get an extra chance to hit infrastructure facilities,” said Podolyak.....

Source Link: https://english.nv.ua/nation/we-re-...one-time-donation-or-become-a-p-50304850.html

4. $12 in exchange for $400,000!! Where on earth can you find such a lucrative business?!

The Russian leader has to thank his US counterpart for introducing him to such a profitable business venture in Ukraine.

America's unbridled political frenzy and paranoia over the so-called spy balloon could invite more trouble as it could inspire another guy to change from "rocket man" to "balloon man". It won't be surprising if he decides to launch a startup to exchange his $12 balloons for America's $400,000 missiles.

Additional Reference:

https://timcast.com/news/sen-cruz-b...-used-to-shoot-down-12-hobby-weather-balloon/

https://www.rt.com/news/571057-chinese-balloon-biden-us-paranoia/

https://time.com/6256768/chinese-spy-balloon-paranoia-psychology/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/where-did-trump-s-use-rocket-man-come-n802681

 

Wow. The same people who whined when he did not shoot down a balloon whine when he did?

 

If you wish to ignore the context of which balloons we expect him to get rid of and which not to then that’s on you lmao.

Ol Brandon really cannot do right.

 

Not when folks criticize him for doing what they criticized him for not doing.

 

Not happening here, yiu ignore context lol. But hey, let’s just have him shoot down all balloons without discrimination instead of dare critic fuhrer. Lol

 

Whoa.

 

~ Alac Baldwin could have shot down that balloon without ever pulling the trigger ...

​

 

Fighter jets have guns. I see no reason that they can't use them.

 

The first missile missed.

https://news.yahoo.com/us-ufo-balloons-missile-missed-lake-huron-192631106.html

It missed a floating balloon.

 

Joe Biden shoots down wrong balloon. No one is surprised lol. Ive seen only a few of the loyalist defending this on social media, its been fun to watch.

 

To be fair... Biden was criticized for not shooting down an extremely large spy balloon until after it had crossed 2000 miles of our air space transmitting surveillance data on Americans to China. Biden was never criticized for not shooting down a bottle cap taped to a shopping bag.

At least we learned one thing... our tracking system for the sidewinder missiles is pretty awesome in that it was able to shoot down a clear plastic bag.



That said, the DoD refused to provide Congressional Oversight the cockpit video they went off of when they determined to shoot it down. We don't know what they saw or what the recommendations were.

 

money well spent. If that Baggie had made it into a lake or stream, then a turtle may have become entangled in it.

Well done Biden admin

 

When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool for the loser.

 

Interesting response to the Biden administration shooting down the wrong balloon. Not seeing the connection, but cool man!

 

Sidewinder is heat seeking, so not ideal for targets which do not emit heat.

 

He let the actual spy balloon complete it's mission, then shot down three hobby balloons.

Only a cultist sycophant wouldn't criticize that.

 

We criticized him for not splashing the spy balloon. Now, we're criticizing him for splashing three hobby balloons...lol

 

What slander are you referring to?

 

Makes sense to me. They waited to shoot the Chinese balloon down so they could recover and examine it.
They shot the others down because their altitude was a possible danger to commercial flights.
I wouldn't want to be in a Boeing 737 that sucks up a balloon into engine #1, would you?
Most of the criticism shows a complete lack of understanding, or complete dedication to partisanship over country, or both.
It really isn't that difficult to understand.

 

more support of all things Democrat no matter how outrageous. Why?

 

He shot a Chinese balloon down, while Donald did not. He was playing golf instead.

You mean, people with a balloon hobby accuse Biden of shooting down their balloon.
I haven't seen any proof.

 

personally, I think all helium filled balloons should be illegal. We have a helium shortage and balloons are very stupid waste. Fill hobby balloons with hydrogen so shooting them down is more fun anyway.

 

That would be awesome! It would produce a huge fireball!
I'm sure no one would criticize that! lol

 

Yep.

 

Doesnt matter if its the right one, he just needed to shoot something down?