On the news, some of the talking heads are heaping praise on the pilot who shot down the balloon - brave, valiant, heroic, etc.
We have arguably the finest military pilots in the world, superbly trained, flying some of the most advanced fighters in the world. Shooting a BALLOON isn't even up to the challenge of a typical training flight - that the pilot went up and took his assigned SIMPLE task seriously enough to do it right the first time, is nothing less than we'd expect. It's WAY below their level of competence.
I'm just wondering two things - one, why was a missile used rather than a (very) short burst of cannon fire, and two, how much did the Chicoms pay someone (the Bidens? Pentagon brass? Someone else?) to let the balloon cross the entire country?