In the past three weeks we have seen the awesome capabilities of some pretty unsophisticated airborne items which themselves posed little threat to our nation: A Chinese weather baloon and three pieces of flying junk.

We, as a nation, have learned quite a bit about our preparedness for an attack by our potential adversaries.

We have learned that our sophisticated arial tracking systems may have been able to detect a baloon launched from Hainan Island in the South China Sea and can track it's progress toward the United States and across our sovereign territory.

We have learned that unless it is an obviously hostile incoming missle or bomber neither the military nor civilian intelligence services bother to report such events to the President, to Congress, or to the American public.

We have learned that our professional military commanders become petulant and use our very expensive high-tech weaponry launched from outrageously expensive supersonic aircraft to shoot down flying junk. The worst part is that their first efforts missed. It took lots of very expensive high-tech weaponry to save our country from this flying junk.

We are supposed to believe, with little evidence, that we have the capablities to intercept ballistic missiles with the highest of high-tech weapon systems that we can think up and build. And yet we have just proven that it takes a major, concerted effort by our air defense system to bring down drifting junk. Perhaps there are a few generals that need a good old fashion ass kick.

And further regarding the Chinese baloon... It was probably benign. But what a perfect delivery device for actual weapons. It wouldn't take McGyver to build one in his workshop. Every terrorist group in the world now knows how to accomplish intercontinental delivery and deployment of the highly destructive devices that they already know how to build.

One hundred ten million dollars spent for each F35 built, and they couldn't bring down flying junk.