Can the government really keep a secret?

Some think that if the government was covering up the existence of flying saucers or crashed alien spacecraft, that it would end up on the front page of the New York Times. The idea being that Uncle Sam just can't keep a secret. And UFOs and aliens are just too big a story to keep secret. Oh. Really? Let's see.

What intel did we collect this year through covert operations? How about the formula the IRS uses to trigger an audit? The New York Times can't answer those questions. So how can anyone definitively say the government isn’t hiding alien bodies and UFO debris?

Now I'll be the first to admit, I don't know if Roswell was a cover up. I don't know if the US government has crashed UFOs or the bodies of deceased aliens in its possession either. But I do know that the government is perfectly capable of keeping secrets when it serves their purposes to do so. And given the things governments choose to cover up, would it really be that surprising to learn our government was covering up the existence of aliens and UFOs too?

Does the government know any more than us?

I notice many have called upon the Obama administration to declassify what it knows about the UFO phenomenon. And why not? After all, President Obama did promise a transparent administration during the campaign.

But what happens if our government doesn’t know any more or much more than the rest of us? Albeit, there seems to be ample circumstantial evidence that crashes of UFOs have occurred, alien bodies recovered. But what if that is not true? A common government response to unexplainable UFO sightings goes something like "we investigated it and found the event poses no risk to national security." The statements always seem to stay away from any mention of whether the object came from our planet or not. It just says, essentially, "we don't know what it is either but don't worry, you're all safe." Not that our government ever shades the truth. Ok, you’re right, they shade the truth all the time. But it would make sense to say there is no need to worry. If you don't know what it is, why panic people? I could see a bureaucrat utilizing that kind of logic.

The fact is I don't know whether our government has alien corpses and crashed UFO parts in a secret warehouse somewhere. I've heard persuasive arguments that they do and that they do not. But it did occur to me that our government might be just as puzzled about what all these unexplainable UFO sightings mean as the rest of us

Astronauts and UFOs

Buzz Aldrin came forward a few years ago to say he witnessed a UFO during his Apollo 11 mission. Now, you can say he just saw space junk. The problem is that he knows all about space junk too and further, he's had 40 years to reevaluate his opinion on what he saw. Not only did his opinion not change, but he took it a step further and came out publicly, at risk to his own reputation, to say he witnessed a UFO.

Gordon Cooper, another retired astronaut, went on the record to say he had two encounters with UFOs. The first was as a pilot in the Air Force while flying over Europe in 1951. The incident has never been officially explained. He and his fellow pilots witnessed objects flying in formation faster and at altitudes higher than their planes were capable of reaching. Six years later, while overseeing testing at Edwards Air Force Base, a flying saucer landed and was reportedly filmed. After viewing the footage, Cooper sent it ahead to Washington and nothing else was ever heard of the incident. He also talks about airline pilot friends who witnessed UFOs at relatively close range.

To me, these are two expert witnesses who know the difference between a weather balloon and something else. Its accounts like Cooper's and Aldrin's that make it difficult for me to be skeptical on the subject of UFOs.

Russia and the USOs

I was reading about the Soviets having this year declassified reports on several encounters with USO's or unidentified submerged object. I wasn't aware of USO sightings for the longest time but have found it one of the more curious sides to the UFO and alien phenomenon. What the Soviets encountered were underwater objects moving at 230 knots, faster than the laws of physics would allow. Another account has several military divers on a training mission in Baikal when they encountered humanoid creatures dressed in silvery suits. Several of the divers perished when they moved to confront the creatures and several others were badly injured.

This is the kind of expert witness testimony of extraterrestrial intelligence that I think is difficult to discount. Why in the world would Russia, or any other government for that matter, release false information about contact with space aliens? What do they gain? If they have ulterior motives, what are they and why choose a story that so many will ridicule? Especially when its at their own military's expense. This report on USO's, given its source, is more evidence that the skeptics will find difficult to credibly refute.

Crop circles - aliens and ufos or people with too much time on their hands?

The whole subject of crop circles is almost a metaphor for my waffling between believer and skeptic over the years. Some crop circles are known to be hoaxes, bozos like Doug Bower, Dave Chorley, and John Lundberg who vandalize farmland without compensating the poor farmer. MIT reportedly was commissioned to recreate the qualities of those crop circles that are of unknown origin. Evidently, 20% of crop circles exhibit unexplained qualities. Of the 3 criterion that appear in unexplainable crop circles, our friends at MIT were able to successfully recreate two, using up to the date technology such as night vision goggles. Oh, and did I mention they were MIT students?

So, once again the skeptics have saved the day and explained it all. It's not aliens or UFOs that are responsible for the worldwide rash of crop circles, ladies and gentlemen. It's a global conspiracy of ultra smart super geeks, make that uber geeks, insomniacs no doubt who need something to do at night. What a great example of the kind of fringe theories that skeptics come up with. Of course, there is also the ball lightning explanation. No one has seen ball lightning make a crop circle, but then the skeptics don't seem to let the facts get in their way either.

UFOs and alien life vs. the skeptics

Is it just me or are UFO sightings increasing? As sightings increase, so does the volume of UFO video. I was reading how studies show only a small percentage of UFO sightings are hoaxes. Even though the majority of sightings are explainable, 5% to 20% cannot be explained. No one can say for sure what they are. Are we being visited by aliens? Are these sightings more than natural phenomenon and in fact UFOs? It makes me wonder. I'm no meteorologist but I think a UFO and earth lights or rare cloud formations are hard to confuse, at least from the pictures I've seen. Ironically, most people seem to believe alien life exists somewhere in the universe. But ask if any of that alien life has visited earth and the skeptics go off.

Skeptics who smugly offer up their own explanations about UFO sightings and aliens annoy me. I notice many have an air of certainty that belies the fact they don’t have any concrete proof that aliens and UFOs do not exist. If your best evidence is that a UFO has not landed on the White House lawn, that aliens would surely want to make their presence known, then aren't you guilty of the same speculation you accuse UFO believers of indulging in as well?

UFO Sightings

Is it just me or are UFO sightings continuing to increase? As sightings increase, so does UFO video. I was reading the other day that studies have shown only a small percentatge of sightings are hoaxes. Even though the majority of UFO sightings are explainable, evidently 5% to as high as 20% cannot be explained. Are we being visited by aliens? It makes me wonder. The best the skeptics seem to be able to muster is explanations about earth lights and unique, rare cloud formations. That sounds equally far fetched to me. I'm no expert but I think a ufo and earth lights are hard to confuse, at least from the pictures I've seen. Ironically, I notice most people seem to feel comfortable that there is some sort of alien life in the universe. It's just when asked if any of that alien life has visited earth that eyebrows are rasied and the smirking begins.

Cattle Mutiliations

What about cattle mutilations? For years, ranchers have been finding cattle on their ranches mutilated. Tongues and genitals expertly removed, that sort of thing. What everyone seems to agree upon is that these mutilations did not happen as a result of wildlife or random acts of nature.

The skeptics say that humans are behind it since unmarked helicopters are often spotted in the area immediately preceding a mutilation. It's a government agency conducting experiments or attempting to spread disinformation, they say. Or perhaps it is members of the occult who bear responsibility. And they would have to be spread throughout the heartland since these mutilations happen all over the country. Yet no one has to date caught anyone or anything in the act of one of these mutilations, despite the fact that they have been happening for years.

I'll be the first to admit, I don't know who is doing it. If it's some sort of government experimentation, I would think that agency would use its own cattle, rather than generate the attention that these acts have and continue to attract. What good comes from getting the public stirred up over mutilated cattle? And if it is the government, they should reimburse the ranchers, several of whom have been forced out of business by recurrent mutilations and a resulting decimation of their herds. Or if disinformation some government agency's goal, why? What is the net gain?

As far as the occult, that seems unlikely to me since these mutilations show an expert knowledge of anatomy based on how the corpses have been dissected. I've never known of doctors or vets being followers in the occult. It's possible but in large numbers, large enough to account for mutilations across the country, I really doubt it.

So, what is it? Who is responsible? Am I missing something? What say you?

Welcome to the Great Alien Debate

Since I was a kid, this whole notion of aliens visiting earth has fascinated me. The resolution to the question always seemed to be coming, soon. Well, today I'm all grown up, having gone to college, gotten married and started a family. It seemed like we would know one way or another by now. I always expected this question to be resolved one way or another. Recently, I started wondering if I would ever really know for sure.

Now I'm not saying it's all a big government conspiracy. But it could be a cover up. I just don't know. I've gone from both extremes, wanting to believe, then being a skeptic, and back again. Those who believe we are being visited can point to some fairly compelling examples. For instance, when an airline pilot or a policeman comes forward, their expertise in observation deserves a fair hearing. When an airline pilot goes on the record about a near miss with a UFO, I'm sorry but I take notice.

On the other hand, there seem to be an abundance of people who, for whatever reason, seem to find it enjoyable or satisfying in some way to attempt some sort of hoax. In the case of the 'alien autopsy', that seems to me like it was done for money. Crop circles, probably a lot of fun by people with too much time on their hands, albeit they do create some beautiful designs (at the expense of farmers). And I suppose others are just plain unbalanced. Head cases. I don't know. Why someone would care to go to so much trouble to make a fake? Is it just some out of work Hollywood special effects guy who finds making hoaxes fun? Frankly, I just can't relate to spending that much time on something fake, with the exception of a for profit motive. Even then, I have enough respect for those who spend long days, weeks and hours pouring over sightings reports and the like that I would hate to create something fake just to waste their time.

Then there are the skeptics. They say it's all a bunch of bunk. People seeing things that are not there. Creating false photos. Double exposures, Photoshopping pictures. Or just plain lying about what they did or did not see. Or how about this one: "If aliens exist, why don't they just land on the White House lawn?" We've all heard that argument, right? And it's a fair question. Perhaps a better, more accurate question would be why is there no physical evidence? If we were being visited, wouldn't we have concrete proof of that fact by now?

And people want to believe. Hell, I want to believe too. I know lots of other people do as well. However, the desire to believe that we are being visited neither validates nor does it disqualify the facts. It merely adds another wrinkle to a question which is so simple, yet so hard to conclusively put to rest. For while there are certainly many who would look down their nose at the very question of an alien presence, and can explain away 95% of sightings or incidents with compelling, factually based arguments, there is still that nagging 5%. That 5% of UFO related incidents that no one can explain. And I guess its that 5% that keeps me on the fence, so to speak. It's that 5% that makes me wonder if any of us will ever know for sure whether or not we are being visited by beings from another world.

So I was thinking, I wonder what would happen if I created a blog to air out this question. I'm sure there are no shortage of opinions out there. I decided to create this blog for skeptics and believers alike to come together and talk about it. So go ahead, add your comments, good bad and otherwise. What do you think? Are we alone? If so, what about those pesky unexplainable incidents (and I know you know of some) that defy rational, conventional explanation? If you are a believer, why? What made you come to believe? What accounts did you find most compelling to make you feel that way?

In short, welcome to the Great Alien Debate. Let the debate begin!