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.