THE SOTU SPIN: State of the Union: Biden sees economic glow, GOP sees gloom.

Notice the anti-GOP bias built into the headline. But…

The Reality: Record numbers of people are worse off, a recipe for political discontent. “Four in 10 Americans say they’ve gotten worse off financially since Joe Biden became president, the most in ABC News/Washington Post polls dating back 37 years. Political fallout includes poor performance ratings for Biden and a tight hypothetical Biden/Trump rematch next year.”

RICHARD FERNANDEZ: Cold War 2 in Paradise. “Everything is negotiated. Russia has manifestly set restrictions on itself by not attacking NATO sovereign territory, just as NATO has implicitly discouraged Kyiv from striking targets on Russian territory, except when they are directly linked to attacks on Ukraine. Both sides are fighting under implicitly negotiated rules of engagement, which to the extent they are understood and mutually accepted, have limited escalation so far.”

LAUGHING WOLF: The Termites Are In The Woodwork.

As it is, the government and corporate media are dropping like a hot potato any mention that the balloon we did finally shoot down may have spent three days loitering over Malmstrom AFB, which happens to house the majority of our Minuteman missiles. Among other things. Look at all the bases and such along the flight path of the balloon. Want to place a bet that if the data is not already being shared with Moscow, it soon will be?

And let’s not forget that the balloon(s) were allegedly not picked up before they were over the Aleutian Islands. If that is true, that would indicate that multiple systems failed in their job. No one, not two, but multiple systems. Also, note that neither was shot down right then either over ocean or in a remote area, despite the violation of American airspace and international law. Instead, they were allowed to continue on and complete their mission.

Dereliction of Duty is the politest term I can use for what has happened.

Read the whole thing.

HMM: Supreme Leader Khamenei Agrees to Pardon Tens of Thousands of Prisoners as the Revolt Continues.

AND FOUR TIMES AS CORRUPT: Planned New FBI HQ Is Twice the Size of the Pentagon.

Riveted into the colossal new project are woke regulations to ensure that the FBI center will comply with diversity, equity, LGBTQ+, and climate change political goals.

The plan, unveiled last September, has received little attention. For years the FBI has sought to vacate its present headquarters, a brutalist concrete bunker on stilts and occupying two city blocks between the White House and the Capitol.

Plans for the new FBI headquarters specify that it will be built on one of three sites in suburban Virginia and Maryland. Those sites are large parcels of 58, 61, and 80 acres.

That means, at minimum, the new FBI headquarters complex would be twice the size of the Pentagon building. Covering about 29 acres plus a five-acre courtyard, the Pentagon, until recently, was the largest office building on earth.

Speaker McCarthy, will you continue funding this monstrosity?

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: That Noise You Hear Is the ChiComs Laughing at Pudding Brain Biden. “If the Chinese balloon thing was a mini dress rehearsal for World War III, we may want to form some Mandarin study groups.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: SpaceX Starship’s first launch is for real.

SpaceX is indeed close to launching Starship, despite the fact that the company has not formally announced a date.

Shortly into January, the company stacked the jumbo rocket at its launch pad on Texas’ Gulf Coast, then loaded it with fuel for a so-called “wet dress rehearsal.” SpaceX said the test, a key practice run for any new rocket, was successful.

Next the team said it would disassemble Starship for a test fire of the rocket booster’s 33 Raptor engines, according to recent updates from SpaceX on Twitter.

But in order for Starship to actually reach ignition, the Federal Aviation Administration must license the launch, which won’t be done until “SpaceX meets all licensing, safety and other regulatory requirements,” according to an agency statement given to Mashable in January when asked for the status. The review is ongoing, a spokesman said.

Get the hell out of Musk’s way.

MATT MARGOLIS: Biden’s Story About the Spy Balloon Doesn’t Add Up; Here’s What Most Likely Happened. “The other problem with this story is that we know the Pentagon had been monitoring the balloon since it left China, and it had previous opportunities to shoot it down while it was over U.S. territorial waters when it crossed over the Aleutian Islands. The Biden administration most certainly knew what it was and where it might go, and the opportunity to shoot it down safely over the water was not taken.”

GLOBAL WARMING UPDATE: Arctic outbreak shatters records in Northeast, including -108°F wind chill.

MANY SEEM TO BE MORE SELF-RIGHTEOUS: Are Mask Wearers More Self-Conscious Than Others?

FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY: Man Bites Snake, Florida Man Maces Cop. “This week we have a little Miami Blues LARPing, man bites snake, and the fate of last week’s pooping perpetrator — revealed!”

FRAUD, BULLYING, INTIMIDATION:

More here from Margot Cleveland.

MUSTN’T OFFEND BIDEN’S MASTERS IN BEIJING: For God’s Sake. Just Shoot the Damn Thing Down Already.

Related: Biden Says He’ll Shoot Down Chinese Spy Balloon As Soon As He’s Done Letting It Spy.

VIDEO: Pentagon Briefing On Chinese Spy Balloon: ‘Does Not Pose A Risk To People On The Ground.’

More:

The balloon “has the ability to maneuver” and has “changed course,” he explained. “Currently it does not pose a physical or military risk to people on the ground.”

“It will probably be over the US for a few days.”

“The balloon continues to move eastward… We’re not going to get into an hour-by-hour location of the balloon. We’re monitoring it closely. As I mentioned, it is over the center of the continental United States, that’s about as specific as I’m going to get,” he said.

“Does the public not have a right to know?” a reporter asked.

“The public certainly has the ability to look up at the sky and see where the balloon is,” he replied.

Another reporter asked: “If the [Chinese spy balloon] is violating our airspace, why not take it down?”

The Pentagon spokesman replied: “We assessed that it does not pose a risk to people on the ground as it is traversing the continental United States.”

What I take away from this is that the balloon is maneuverable, and therefore not off course, but that we shouldn’t shoot it down because it’s no threat to people on the ground.

What the hell kind of sense does any of that make?

MAYBE I SHOULDN’T HAVE LAUGHED BUT I DID: You Have to Watch This Viral Deepfake of Joe Biden Talking About Trans ‘Women.’

BLUE ON BLUE: Antifa claims responsibility for attack on far-left Portland bar in retaliation for them ‘spreading Covid’ by staying open.

HEALTH: Want to Avoid the ICU for COVID? Just Take This One Little Pill. “Before we go on, understand that I’m one of those crazy million-supplements-a-day people. We’ll get to that in a second, but first, let’s look at the science behind vitamin D and COVID.”

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Rising number of people tapped their 401(k)s last year amid economic strain, “Inflation-adjusted wages have been falling — meaning that workers have less purchasing power than a year ago. Median weekly real earnings have actually fallen by 3.4% since the start of 2021, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

AND NOW THIS: Pfizer Director of mRNA Research Raises Fertility Worries Over COVID-19 Vaccine.

THEY KNOW THEIR CONSTITUENTS: If New Mexico Democrats Get Their Way, Even Felons Will Be Voting By Mail.

WOULD YOU BUY GASOLINE FROM A STATION THAT REDEFINED COMBUSTION? ‘Beauty Company’ CEO Orchestrates Online Petition to Redefine ‘Beauty,’ Cites ‘Ageism,’ ‘Sexism.’

OUT: Sens. Cruz, Manchin Team Up To Fight A Nonexistent Gas Stove Ban.

IN: Gas Stoves Are Back Under Scrutiny With New US Limits Proposed.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: New and Improved Kevin McCarthy Passes First Test as Speaker. “These weekly check-ins on the new Republican majority are becoming rather pleasant. I count myself among the many who were convinced that I’d be doubling my monthly whiskey budget to deal with Team McCarthy.”

XI, YOU’VE LOST ANOTHER BALLOON? Canada monitoring potential second incident of suspected ‘spy balloon.’

CAPITALIST PIG: Comrade Bernie Sanders to Charge $95 to Attend His Book Debut.