The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
If you haven’t heard, there’s a balloon from China that’s been floating over the United States. Some in the U.S. are saying it’s a Chinese spy balloon that’s been flying over military sites, but today, China came out and said it’s a civilian weather balloon from China that flew off course.
The Unites States says they don’t want to shoot the balloon down since it could cause harm to people on the ground, but when they said that, it appeared to be over rural Montana. Although the U.S. isn’t saying where the balloon is currently located, many believe it’s over the mid-west, headed east.
QUESTION: Do you think the United States should shoot it down?
Talk about it….
64 comments
I do not believe it is a weather balloon that flew off course (all the way into Montana?). If there is a way to get it on the ground (my understanding it is at about 60,000 ft, pretty high), I would like to see that first, to investigate any tech, etc., but if it cannot be grounded, blast away. I do have some concern about biologic or chemical weaponry onboard, but I think this is more of jinping testing the resolve of the US.
Duh! Yes.. shoot it down!. Or possibly poke a hole in it so it descends and we will capture it and gain all the intelligence it has.
Joe Biden and our current woke military are stupid saying they’re afraid to shoot it down cuz it might hurt someone on the ground. The way it stands now, it’s hurting 300 million Americans future security! You know if we flew our balloon over China it would be shot down instantly. Boy,we’ve become stupid!
The balloon is the size of 3 buses. its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people and property at risk. That is why the Pentagon did not shoot it down.
Over Montana? LoL!
You do know they have satellites right? They see the same thing with a balloon that they would see with the satellites that they already have right. So the point would be what? We have recon flights over our country every single day you act like this is something that’s new. Some people sound like they’re born in a cave.
As I type this, this spy balloon is now over Kansas/Missouri, meaning it has captured information over at least 4 more states. jinping, and many other of our enemies, are no doubt laughing (or shaking their head in bewilderment) at how weak this country’s leadership is.
It should have been shot down the moment it was detected in US airspace.
The lack of action, the hesitation and confusion displayed by our military show weakness when confronted by a threat.
Our lack of action while foreigners stream across our borders emboldens our enemies as well.
America is weak & ripe for the picking!
Weaker and riper than anyone knows Doc. Pathetic is a good word for it. There is no denying Biden put us there.
“We maintain the peace through our strength;
weakness only invites aggression.”
— Ronald Reagan
Ask, err tell China to land it and we will return it after a quick look for virus capsules or invasive insects
Ideally, they would shoot some holes in it so it would deflate gradually, and come down in a more controlled manner. But I have no idea if that’s practical, or even possible. It would certainly be better for us if we could recover and analyze the equipment, rather than blowing it to smithereens.
My first thought when I saw the picture of the balloon was how clear the picture is, while pictures of UFOs are always blurry. My biggest concern about the balloon is, how did it get as far as Montana without being detected? We have the capability to detect and intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles while they are still over the ocean, but we couldn’t detect a slow moving balloon?
On shooting it down we are limited, at 60,000 ft there aren’t too many planes that have the capability to fly that high, and the United States is pretty populated, even in a rural area, there is always the possibility of some poor soul getting hit on the ‘ol noggin from falling debris.
Dawg, A very measured and reasonable response. I was listening to Joe McGinnis for a short time at my lunch (he is a former sheriff and have a one hour talk show in Sacramento) he had someone on his program talking about the possibility of shooting it down. I didn’t get his name, he was not talking politics so much, more the practical aspects, as well as the possibility of someone getting hurt or killed. I agree if it was outs over China they would shoot it down, but they don’t place the same value on human life as we do.
Sad that this is even a question, this should never have even reached our shore!
Likely false flag event, trying to divert attention from colossal disaster Ukraine.
If you don’t think the Chinese have more sophisticated means of spying than a weather balloon, I have beach front propert to sell you.
Def a fantastic freddy.
Absolutely!!! China would have no problem shooting down a balloon from the US.
It’s obviously another test by the Chinese to see how much further they can push Joe Biden around, and to see and confirm that Joe Biden will show weakness and do nothing.
If it were a spy plane, it would (should) be viewed as an act aggression and it would be shot down right away. Why a balloon is viewed differently, I’m not sure. A couple of holes put in it while over a sparsely populated area would bring it down slowly and reduce the likelihood of anyone on the ground getting hurt.
China already has spy satellites just like us.
They are shoving it into President of the USA Joe’s face, to see how he will react. And very much to show the world how he will react.
They should hook onto it with B2 bomber and drag it so it floats back over China’s air space.
Joe will say, there’s no there there.
What about all of those spy satellites at 20,000 miles away? Leave them alone? So, we should shoot down something at 60,000 feet, fine. Where is the cutoff between 20,000 miles and 60,000 feet where we should or should not shoot at it? Just a question. Anyway, before you get upset, yeah, I think it would be fun to shoot it down.
60,000 feet is within our airspace. By international law, controlled airspace is 12 nautical miles above sea level. 12 nautical miles is a little bit under 73,000 ft.
Thank you for that! I did not know there was an actual answer to the question.
The mili. Sec. The balloon entered our air space is a violation without notification/approval. Course and cure F-15e + AIM-7 Sparrow done!
Absolutely yes. It should have been shot down immediately. Very troubling that we either didn’t detect it as it was approaching our borders or perhaps even worse, did detect it and did nothing. Biden is useless.
Yes – no question … we can take it down gently then see what’s on the computers / black boxes without endangering anybody on the ground… China would have done it already to one of ours and not even talk about it
Of course it should be brought down. There is no question about it. China is going to keep right on pushing and testing and pushing some more because they obviously feel like this administration will do nothing to stop them. This is really sad…..
I’ll donate an old crossbow and three rolls of duct tape to arm one of our planes.
Anybody still believe Xiden isn’t compromised?
My thoughts as well.
Seriously does anybody think that if the USA had a balloon “go off course” and flew over mainland China that it would still be in the air?!? For goodness sake we all know that it wouldn’t be. This is ridiculous.
I’m sure that if we put a balloon up that “drifted” over China it would have been shot down long before it was very far over land.
I agree with To Do List. China, Russia, US, and other countries all seem to have satellites to do all the spying needed. What could a balloon tell any of them that they don’t already know.
If there is a way to bring it down intact, then do that. Otherwise keep an eye on it with planes that can get close to it and if necessary shoot to destroy anything it might “accidentally” drop.
“What could a balloon tell any of them that they don’t already know.”
It shows on a world stage, how feeble, ineffective and/or corrupt the current administration is. jinping knows it, and now he is showing (more like reconfirming to an already knowing) world, particularly those considered enemies, this.
Perhaps that’s the point they want to drive home, so to speak.
They have already thoroughly pissed all over Biden’s shoes and he doesn’t even smell it. What’s next? Land it on the Whitehouse lawn? If it were painted in rainbow colors they would send out a welcoming committee. This is so much worse than a gaffe.
The only reason I can see for not shooting this down is if we are feeding it false info. Raise your hand if you think we are that smart.
Seems like the LASER devices the Pentagon has been tested could put a small hole in the balloon to help it begin descending. I suspect it may have self-destruct capability. So caution is needed in commercial plane routes…
We should grab it as soon as it is in a clear area or over water…
All the “weather” info is already transmitted though.
And now they are reporting a second one?!?
Take control, Lead!
.. haven’t heard of a second one – have a link to an article or something?
Shoot it down? No … delicately and carefully recover it for intelligence purposes. The US used to be especially stilled at intelligence matters. Now … not so much.
Of course the current administration isn’t going to do a damn thing about China and their so called weather balloon. It’s pretty evident that whoever is calling the shots in Washington hates America. In just two years this country has become a laughing stock on the global stage. Biden is not making ANY decisions. He’s clearly not capable. So who IS making the critical decisions that have had, and will continue to have profound consequences on every American citizen?
Why bother looking? The Chinese stole all their technology from us in the first place.
An F-15 will easily go to 60,000 ft. A few well placed 20mm holes will give it a slow descent rate, then we can snag it in flight with a helicopter the way we used to snag film canisters from our spy satellites. It would be good intelligence information if we could retrieve the payload intact. There is no question that we should shoot it down, but look who is running (or more accurately, ruining) the country now and you have your answer.
Was listening to a local talk show where a person called in who claimed was in the USAF in the 70’s.
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Said they were training; successfully, to snag/snare such things back then and safely bring them down.
Was a believable concept.
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Again, making be believe that there is more to the story than the Gov’t is saying….
@S Was that the same talk show I was listening to? Joe McGinnis 1530 am, Sacramento?
Since KGO folded there’s very few if any Bay Area talk stations.
KSFO 560 AM & KSTE 650 AM – dare to hear the news the liberal stations won’t report.
Hopefully you will realize how much you were not being told before.
KSFO is not local, and for your information both Joe McGinnis and Tom Sullivan are conservatives, I listen to both on a regular basis. How many liberal news do you read or absorb? It goes both ways. Each side embellish. There is no liberal talk radio since KGO folded, but there are some former hosts who are doing a podcast, I like one not the other. Just because someone is liberal does not mean are find them interesting or informative, and just because someone is conservative does not mean I don’t find them intereresting and informative.
“Since KGO folded there’s very few if any Bay Area talk stations” That’s what YOU said Hanne ……. KGO was brainwashing garbage, you might as well have been listening to NPR.
KSFO in San Francisco is not local? KSTE in Sacramento ?
Geez, how close do they have to be?
yep, I’m pretty sure
It’s no-brainer I agree with all the posters that said the second it was detected it should’ve been shot down. The Biden administration is the weakest administration since Jimmy Carter/obummer
https://tinyurl.com/mryz52bm
https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-hot-air-and-a-ballon/
What about one of our airliners hitting the stupid balloon?
Explanation i favor is Red Army doing this to embarrass whatever his name is who is the top . dog.
Biden looks weak
Surprised Fox hasn’t chartered a jet to get up and close..
Should have been shot down long ago. Over Canada or Montana where it posed no threat. They use balloons as we know where their satellites are and when they pass, the balloons take a different track. They also can launch hundreds of balloons for the price of one rocket with a satellite on it and don’t need to get world wide permission to launch. Likely this is not a first and others in the past have quickly been shot down before people have seen them (speculation). Feels like a test and we failed. Thanks Sleepy Creepy, nothing like making the people feel unsafe.
Appears biden administration is being run by a committee of invertebrates.
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‘… White House KNEW About the Chinese Spy Balloon and Covered It up…’
https://tinyurl.com/3jj48u2e
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‘Why the menacing threat of China’s spy balloon – and America’s surrender to it – is just the latest proof that the People’s Republic’s insidious creep into the US is so much more than conspiratorial hot air…’
https://tinyurl.com/44yhrr83
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Backpedaling without mirrors,
‘Military jets circle Chinese spy balloon as FAA closes airspace and three airports in the Carolinas due to ‘national security initiatives’ – after Biden vowed to ‘deal with it’ ‘
https://tinyurl.com/2p8k4e3v
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“We maintain the peace through our strength;
weakness only invites aggression.”
— Ronald Reagan
Just heard on the news it was shot down. Flights from one or more airports in the area was grounded for a time. Seems to me it was done in a responsible and deliberate way, making sure no one got hurt.
https://twitter.com/ashlynforsc/status/1621956652688711682
our boys doing their thing
Geez Hanne…. what about the Chinese? I’ll bet we hurt their feelings. Maybe we should apologize ?
I’ll run by the 99 cent store and pick up a bag of balloons…. Wonder if FedEx delivers to China???
.
🙂
No I don’t think we should apologize to the Chinese did I say that? I merely agreed with what Dawg commented on this blog, we wouldn’t ANY American get hurt or killed. If the balloon had been shot down right away and some debris killed someone, how would you judge Biden then? It is obvious from your posts no matter who Biden handled it he couldn’t win. I was not worried about the Chinese, or at least not the Chinese leaders and politician, I was merely voicing a concern that some innocent American might get hurt.
And I was merely suggesting that you worry too much.
Biden would have won alot more support if he’d had the balloon shot down the moment it entered our airspace & don’t try to tell me that there was “no opportunity” to shoot it down between Alaska & Montana… puhleeze!
I had heard there is another one floating around in So America. Don’t know if that is true because not heard a thing about it since.
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