Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Trending News
  • Polling Dashboard
  • Membership
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Sign In
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / National Security / Hobbyist Balloon Feared One of Those Shot Down

Hobbyist Balloon Feared One of Those Shot Down

February 16, 2023 at 3:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A small, globe-trotting balloon declared ‘missing in action’ by an Illinois-based hobbyist club on Feb. 15 has emerged as a candidate to explain one of the three mystery objects shot down by four heat-seeking missiles launched by U.S. Air Force fighters since Feb. 10,” Aviation Week reports.

  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Threads
  • Facebook
  • Email

Filed Under: National Security

« Fetterman Checks Into Hospital for Clinical Depression
Election-Denying Republicans Underperformed in 2022 »

Your Account

For the full experience, sign in.

Sign in

Not a member? Join Political Wire.

Members Only

  • What We Learned This Summer
  • The Hegseth Warning Signs Were There
  • Hakeem Jeffries Is No Nancy Pelosi
  • Can a Democrat Win in South Carolina?
  • The GOP’s Trump Trap

Think You Know Politics?

  • The Way It Was
    Eight moments in political history. Put them on a timeline.
    →
  • Yea or Nay?
    Five senators. Three bills. Can you guess how they all voted?
    →
  • Split Decision
    Nine Justices. One case. How did they rule?
    →
  • Pollster
    Do you have your finger on the pulse of America?
    →

A new game every day.

About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2026 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC