OPINION:
For weeks now, drones have been spotted flying around spots in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Massachusetts, disrupting operations and causing concerns to such extent that citizens have lodged complaints and airports have been on alert — and even closed, in the case of Stewart International, which shut down for an hour after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for a federal investigation into the mysterious flights.
The word from the White House is this: “We are on it,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
That’s about as comforting as watching President Biden navigate beach sand. Or stairs.
Mayorkas, remember, is the same guy who told us repeatedly the “border is closed” and “the border is secure” — all while video images of migrants pouring across the open and unsecured border played in the background. Now he says the drones aren’t so much drones as they are “manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones” — except for the ones that are actual drones, of course.
“There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” Mayorkas told George Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on ABC News.
But “some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones,” he also said.
Drones, not drones. Potatoes, potahtoes.
Democrats: They do struggle with truth, don’t they? So, too, RINOs.
Here’s ex-Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s explanation: “They’re literally all airplanes,” he said on CNN.
In fairness, the full context of his remark was this: “Honestly, every video I’ve seen — and I’ve spent the last couple of days looking at every one of these videos — every video I have seen on Twitter, on the internet, are all airplanes. They’re literally all airplanes.”
First off, it’s not Twitter. It’s X. And second off: Really?
“If any of these pictures that they have shown are actual drones,” Kinzinger continued, The Hill reported, “these drones then are complying with FAA lighting requirements: a green on the right, a red on the left with a strobe. And so it’s not Iran, it’s not aliens. If there are drones … then it is more than likely some company that’s testing drones or something like that and has no requirement to tell the public that they’re doing it because they’re actually operating these things legally.”
Nothing to see here.
Go home, folks.
Those who question the mysterious flight of these drones — or apparently, even call them drones — are tin foil hat-wearing nutjobs.
“I mean, look,” Kinzinger said when asked if the government was doing enough to give citizens the facts about these drones, “If you’re — if people don’t want to be reassured, then the answer is no.”
Back to Mayorkas.
“Homeland Security chief Mayorkas blames drone uproar on recent FAA flight rule change,” the New York Post wrote in one headline.
OK. So far, we’ve got this: One, the drones are not drones; they’re airplanes. Two, the drones — if indeed they are drones — are all FAA compliant, so there is no cause to worry. And three, the drones — again, if they are drones, in which case that’d be surprising because, as the Democrats keep reminding, they’re not drones — are only flying about because the FAA has changed its flight rules and it’s proven confusing. The drones are confused. The drones are confused so that in itself shows there is no cause for alarm because it indicates the drones are not very smart — and Americans have no need to fear stupid drones.
Stupid is as stupid does, and yada yada.
The only thing to fear is fear itself, and blather blather.
We are unburdened by what has been, and so on and so forth.
Why make sense when it’s so much easier to spout nonsense?
“New Jersey drones: Biden officials respond with a shrug,” Roll Call wrote.
“White House downplays mystery drones,” NBC News wrote.
It worked for the spy balloons, after all. Nobody does dumb like a Democrat.
“The FBI and Department of Homeland Security assured Americans in a joint statement,” Newsweek wrote, “that there was ’no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.’”
Great. Let’s shoot the suckers down and be done with it then.
Either the White House is lying and knows the source of these drones, but keeping the information from the American people for whatever reason — or the White House has no idea about the source of these drones and is trying to keep the American people from panicking by inventing reasons for their presence that seem plausible.
Neither idea is comforting.
But since Democrats regularly lie, and we all know they regularly lie, the second scenario is the more distressing.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on X @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.