Lawd have mercy. They’re doing stupid shizzle again. Apparently, they didn’t learn from the first time they did something stupid. What the hail is going on with these people? Are they really that stupid? This makes less than no sense. (Yes, that isn’t possible, but it’s appropriate.) It seems there’s no communication between agencies, and this could turn very bad. Too many people with twitchy fingers. This is kinda long, with a lot to say. You’ve been warned (ha). This column has been brought to you by Britney Spears’ “Oops I Did It Again”. Thanks to CNN (subscription may be required) :
The US military used an anti-drone laser system to shoot down an unmanned aircraft operated by US Customs and Border Protection in Texas, according to congressional representatives. The incident comes just weeks after the use of a laser system near El Paso led to confusion and exposed communication lapses among several US agencies.
“Our heads are exploding over the news that DoD reportedly shot down a Customs and Border Protection drone using a high-risk counter-unmanned aircraft system,” three Democrats on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statement. It’s not clear when the shoot-down happened.
Our heads are exploding, too. Another *laser* shootdown. It looks like it could have been partly over civilian airspace. Testing is fine if you tell people in advance so they can take proper precautions. Oh, and not freak out the FAA. “We are working on a military system. Please do not be alarmed. We’ll be in *this* airspace.” No details needed. Just that they’re practicing. But they just do what they want and be damned to anyone else.
The Department of Defense, CBP, and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed in a joint statement to CNN on Friday that an “engagement occurred.” “This reported engagement occurred when the Department of War employed counter-unmanned aircraft system authorities to mitigate a seemingly threatening unmanned aerial system operating within military airspace,” the statement said.
“The engagement took place far away from populated areas, and there were no commercial aircraft in the vicinity,” the agencies added. “These agencies will continue to work on increased cooperation and communication to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Far away from populated areas. Fort Hancock is populated, you idiots! Want to bet the FAA was told they *will* join this statement to CNN? Prevent such incidents? They already did it once, but they didn’t learn from the El Paso mess? Good gods. And *why* didn’t they tell the people who needed to know about this little debacle? It would have been nice for CBP to tell the military what they are working on with these drones. At least it wasn’t a party balloon this time. I’m still wondering why they didn’t figure out it was a party balloon. We have sophisticated systems, but couldn’t determine anything? Feh.
As a result of the incident, the FAA implemented a temporary flight restriction starting Thursday evening above the town of Fort Hancock, Texas, to “ensure safety.” The top Democrat on the House committee, Rick Larsen, along with Reps. André Carson and Bennie Thompson were notified of the shootdown on Thursday through official channels, a congressional source tells CNN. “We said MONTHS ago that the White House’s decision to sidestep a bipartisan, tri-committee bill to appropriately train C-UAS (counter unmanned aerial system) operators and address the lack of coordination between the Pentagon, DHS, and the FAA was a short-sighted idea. Now, we’re seeing the result of its incompetence,” the statement said.
The top Democrat on the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, Tammy Duckworth, called for an investigation into the “dysfunction” endangering the nation’s aviation system. “The situation is alarming and demands a thorough, independent investigation,” the senator said in a statement. “I will be calling on the Inspectors General of the Departments of Defense, Transportation, and Homeland Security to launch a joint investigation into the recent scandals in El Paso and now Fort Hancock.”
Yes, I’m giving you big gulps of information. And there’s more in the article. This is super important. There are a lot of screw-ups going on in our government, but this one is dangerous because we don’t know what they’ll do with the shootdowns. And we don’t know where. And they don’t care. They’re potentially putting lives in danger, especially when the debris rains down. It would be fantastic if the Inspectors General could do something about this. It’s menacing. And, you note, there is a town around Fort Hancock. What do they do to fly planes in and out (I love C-130s and Harriers) with closed airspace?
This is ridiculous. Trump’s “cabinet” is so full of sh!t I can’t stand it. Just when you think they’ve calmed down for a while, the new, dangerous thing happens. It also looks like they’re bypassing Trump completely. That’s even worse, because Trump actually would have been able to spin this into something *MAJOR* and redirect the blame away. What the hell is going ON here?
See you soon!
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“It also looks like they’re bypassing Trump completely.” Newsflash: They are. They feed him ideas when they need him. Wannabe Autocrat/autopen. Spot the difference.
Spot the difference ahahahaha. The tricky part is making him think he came up with an idea all on his own.