• The Shocking Inside Story of the Creatures Who Allegedly Landed Near Roswell, New Mexico, in July of 1947 and Other Highlights of Your "SMEAR" Editor's Recent Ufological Tour Through New Mexico
• Tidbits of Trash
• Missives from the Masses

Enthusiasm at the Beckley convention was moderate at best, and even Hopkins workshop was not well attended. Perhaps our most startling experience at this convention was meeting another UFO fan legitimately using the name "James W. Moseley". Incidentally, we hear that Hopkins' long- awaited book about the abduction of Linda Napolitano, sometimes called "The Case of the Century" (November, 1989) will finally be forthcoming, shortly..

In Colorado Springs your editor rented a car and drove to the beautiful Albuquerque - Santa Fe region of New Mexico. There we lectured on the evening of May 4th to a small but enthusiastic MUFON group, introduced by the semi-mysterious Karl Pflock of Roswell research fame..

On another evening we had a very pleasant dinner with Pflock, and on still another evening we dined with John Alexander and his charming wife Victoria. John is in charge of the U.S. Government's spooky non-lethal weapons research program at Los Alamos Laboratories. Victoria is a technical writer originally from New York.

Moving south along Interstate Highway 25, we reached the town of Socorro, N.M., where a "classic" UFO landing took place back in 1964, involving a local policeman named Lonnie Zamora. In Socorro we met Prof. Charles Moore (not to be confused with ufologist Bill Moore), who has researched the Socorro landing, though his main ufological distinction is that he was project engineer on a series of experimental balloon flights in New Mexico in June, 1947, sponsored by New York University. One of these flights (#4) is thought by many (including Karl Pflock and the Air Force) to be the cause of the debris found at the famed Roswell, N.M debris field in early July, 1947. Interestingly, Moore says he never heard the term "Project Mogul" - the secret code name for his balloon project until he heard it from UFO researcher Robert Todd in 1992!

Prof. Moore, pictured to the right (or above, depending on your browser,) is a mild UFO fan, and he interviewed Zamora in about 1966, and has attempted ever since to reach a conclusion about the case. He discovered that by coincidence or otherwise, there was a test of Surveyor, predecessor to the lunar module, at nearby White Sands Proving Grounds, on the same day (April 24th, 1964) as Zamora's sighting, but this could not have accounted for the vertical take-off that the policeman claims to have witnessed, nor could it explain the two little men in cover-alls who were supposedly standing outside their craft. Thus the case is, according to Moore, probably either a hoax or a truly unknown object.

Moving along on our Saucer Pilgrimage, at approximately 3 P.M. on Sunday, May 7th, your editor entered the Holy City of Roswell, sacred to thousands of ufologists throughout the U.S.A. and indeed the world. We prepared ourselves spiritually by fasting for more than three hours after checking out of our motel in Socorro at noon. The next afternoon, after more short periods of fasting and meditation, we visited the International UFO Museum & Research Center, in the heart of downtown Roswell. This is the most impressive of three UFO museums that have sprung up in the Roswell area in the past few years..

President of this museum's Board of Directors is Walter Haut, who was the public relations officer at Roswell Army Air Field at the time of the "Roswell Incident". Vice President is Glenn Dennis, the legendary Roswell mortician who was also involved in the "Incident". We did not meet Haut, but spent nearly an hour chatting with Dennis - a pleasant man of about 70 - whose claim to ufological fame is mainly the fact that a nurse at the Base gave him drawings and descriptions of weird humanoids who were allegedly under medical observation there after the crash. Unfortunately, the nurse disappeared mysteriously shortly thereafter, and all efforts to locate her, through the years, have been futile..

Based on this nurse's description, the Roswell aliens are shown at the museum to be lacking genitalia, to put it delicately; i.e., they have no external sexual organs. This, you see, must have made reproduction difficult if not impossible! On the other hand, we know that modern-day greys (pictured left (or above) on a wall of the museum) have the same problem, even though their over-all physical description is somewhat different..

Karl Pflock suggests that perhaps before being discovered on the desert, the Roswell aliens were mutilated by predators, who (gasp!) eat the tenderest parts of the body first; but we feel this is probably just wishful thinking on his part, to make the supposed facts of the case sound reasonable..

The UFO Enigma Museum, on the outskirts of Roswell but much nearer to the old Roswell Army Air Field, is not as elaborate as the downtown museum, but nevertheless has some nice displays. It is run by a man named John Price, and the Director of Research is a former military man named Clifford Stone, author of the 1991 book "UFOs: Let the Evidence Speak for Itself." Obviously, Stone believes there is a high-level government cover-up regarding the "Roswell Incident" and many other matters..

The newest and strangest of the Roswell museums is the Midway Sightings UFO Museum, located on a farm several miles south of Roswell. This is run by a brother and sister named Manuel and Becky Escamilla. Another brother named Jose was associated with them until he went Too Far Out in their opinion, and wrote an article for Tim Beckley's UFO magazine describing our Visitors as "interdimensional insects"..

The Escamillas claim to have taken over a thousand hours of daylight UFO videos during the past year or so! We were shown a bit of this footage at Tim Beckley's convention and also at the farm, which includes a rather barren museum and an even more barren gift shop. The most spectacular of the scenes we looked at shows a small fleet of flying saucers far up in the sky, which suddenly has another object pass swiftly in front of it and then out of sight. Upon being "freeze-framed", this swiftly-moving object looks very much like a flat hat with a circular brim. Or, it may be some other kind of hat..

The Escamillas are very friendly, pleasant people, seemingly sincere, and we wish them well. However, we are told that their ufological activities are an embarrassment to the International UFO Museum, which is supposedly more serious..

It occurred to us that the Holy City of Roswell is just about ripe for a flying saucer convention, and sure enough, someone else has thought of the idea before we did. On July 4th weekend this year, the First Roswell UFO Encounter will be held, featuring "costume contests, float races, laser light shows, open forums with leading UFO researchers, and live entertainment". Apparently this bash is being sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce rather than any of the UFO museums. We wish we could attend, but it will only happen if the "Silence Group" or the Space People themselves pay our way back to the Holy City. For further information about the convention, try phoning 505-623-5695....

John Price, owner of the Outa Limits UFO Enigma Museum in Roswell, N.M., shows an artist's interpretation of the purported 1947 UFO crash.

• Jerry Clark has been fired as Vice President of CUFOS (Center for UFO Studies). He remains editor of its zine, "International UFO Reporter", though his work rarely appears in recent issues. Not long ago, Clark was fired as editor of FATE Magazine and later fired as a columnist for said publication, Way to go, Jerry!...

• Chris Roth of Chicago radio fame has kindly sent us a recent magazine interview given by Whitley Strieber, author of "Communion", "Transformation", and a forthcoming book called "Breakthrough". In the interview, Strieber still seems to be fed up with the flying saucer field, from which he withdrew several years ago; and he still does not believe that the Greys and such are physical aliens from another planet. He apparently believes the aliens are 4-D entities of some sort, whose interaction with humans is both uplifting and confusing.

• In our last issue we had a short item about William Cooper, a former ufologist who now hosts a pro-Militia right-wing radio program on the World wide Christian Radio Network. Recently we phoned him, to get his opinion on the Oklahoma City bombing. Predictably, he said it was intended to "demonize patriotism" and was probably perpetrated by someone in the Government itself. Cooper edits an irregularly-published newspaper called "Veritas" ("Truth" in Latin). The paper is available from P.O. Box 3390, St. Johns, Arizona 85936. Cooper told us on the phone, "I'm so fed up that I'd like to leave this planet and go to Planet X with a real live alien, and open up a bar there!"

• We aren't sure why anyone would care, but two of our fans have sent us the information that MUFON's 501(c)3 tax identification number is 37-0990161. The State registration number is 00-808629-0. Wow!...

• As reported in a previous "Smear", Armand Laprade, editor of "Would You Believe", had a massive stroke last March and is in a nursing home, Two friends of his, named Norma Cox and Dennis Crenshaw, worked together to put out the last issue of "Would You Believe?" - most of which was prepared by Armand before his illness. Those wishing to purchase this last issue, dated April 12th, 1995, or any of the available back issues, should write to Norma Cox at: HC 80, Box 156, Marshall, Ar. 72650...

• Two intense but obscure ufological feuds continue to grind on. The first is between UFO researchers Bill Knell and John Ford on Long Island, New York. Ford tells us he is suing Knell for several million dollars. Incidentally, on May 20th Ford hosted a one-day convention, where he supposedly showed "dozens of photos" of dead aliens, re an alleged UFO crash on Long Island a couple of years ago.

  The other feud is in Los Angeles, between Harley Byrd and Erik Beckjord. All we know for sure is that on May 3rd, a bench warrant was issued for Byrd, because of various instances of harassment of Beckjord. There were rumors that Byrd would force the cancellation of UFO Expo West on the weekend of May 20th-2lst, in revenge for his having been forced to cancel a convention of his own, several weeks earlier. Our information is that UFO Expo West took place as scheduled, possibly with Beckjord as one of the speakers. Byrd was not invited.

  We are reliably informed that Beckjord has been found guilty of harassing a non-ufological neighbor in Los Angeles. A mock trial was held on the "Jones and Jury" TV show on Jan. 25th, 1995. (Case No. 94-1082; Show No. 012595)....

• We are in possession of a strange little soft-cover book by a man named John Bryant, called "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Religion, Science and Superstition But Were Afraid to Ask Because You Thought You'd Be Excommunicated, Cursed and Denied Your Research Grant". In this tome are some interesting negative comments about Phil Klass and CSICOP, and even a little paragraph (Page 126) about your "Smear" editor. The book is published privately by Bryant, who seems to be a wealthy eccentric of some sort. Write to: The Socratic Press, P.O. Box 66683, St. Petersburg Beach, Florida 33736-6683....

• Also newly arrived at our Headquarters is the second semi-annual issue of "The Anomalist", of which Patrick Huyghe and Dennis Stacy of MUFON are co-editors. Loren Coleman, Patrick Huyghe, Hilary Evans, Dennis Stillings and Robert Baker are among the writers appearing In this particular volume, which sells for $12.50 and can be purchased from Dennis Stacy at: P.O. Box 12434, San Antonio, Texas 78212....

• Finally, we have a 50-page technical treatise by Prof. Charles Moore, entitled "The New York University Balloon Flights During Early June, 1947." This relates to the activity now known to ufologists as Project Mogul, one of whose flights (#4) appears to be the cause of the Roswell, New Mexico debris. This treatise is not for sale, but we feel confident that Prof. Moore will be willing to make a copy available to serious researchers..

The "Deep-Throat' column in the April/May issue of Houston Sky, a bimonthly newsletter for Houston-area MUFON members, reports: "This just in,..Rumor has it the GAO has unearthed evidence that the MJ-12 documents are genuine and will confirm that MJ- 12 does exist. Seems the CIA has turned over numerous documents to the GAO for their Roswell inquiry...." SUN predicts the GAO will NOT make these documents public because of their "ultra-sensitive" contents. These documents reveal that the current MJ-12 Director is Stanton T. Friedman (who succeeded William L. Moore) and MJ-12 Deputy Director is Elaine Douglass. co-chairman of Operation Right To Know (which stages public protests against UFO Secrecy.)

• Roswell investigator KEVIN RANDLE writes as follows:

  "In February I sent out a letter in support of my friend (and co-author) Don Schmitt. During the six years I had worked with him, I had never known him to lie, to exaggerate, or misrepresent. He told me of his background and I had no reason to question what he said. When the controversy about his `day job' arose, I asked him for the truth and was told, by him, that he didn't work at the post office. I had no reason to doubt him, and when I called Ken Eppler (the Postmaster) he was vague, but did not confirm that Don worked there. When I received a copy of the letter that Eppler wrote, I believed it to be an accurate representation of the truth. I was wrong on all counts.

  "In a conversation held with Mark Stokes at the Hartford, Wisconsin post office on April 3rd, it became clear that Don worked there full time. Any other statement was either a lie or a statement calculated to mislead. There is no polite way to say it. Don had lied to me repeatedly about his employment. My crime was believing my friend.

  "In the course of this controversy, I have sent out letters supporting Don Schmitt. I sent these out, believing that Don was the victim of character assassination. I now know the truth. Don has lied about his employment and his educational background and has provided weak excuses for this behavior.

  "To all those that I misled, I sincerely apologize..."

  We regret having jumped to the conclusion that Randle was "covering up" for Schmitt. - Editor.

• British researcher CHRISTOPHER ALLAN writes:

  "Although no fan of his, I do have some sympathy for Don Schmitt. The reason he covered up his job as a humble postman and overstated his education was, I assume, to get more easily `accepted' into the UFO community.

  "For a long time now there has been a big myth in ufology that for your views to be worthy of consideration you have to be somebody with high qualifications or employed in some academic institution or a high-sounding government or industrial establishment. This myth is encouraged by such organizations as MUFON, who demand only `qualified, competent' people in their ranks, and who love to parade their list of consultants with their impressive-looking Ph.D, M.S. and other degrees. (No high school jerks need apply, of course.)...

  "In ufology, still a fringe science and likely forever to remain so, a nuclear scientist or Harvard psychiatrist may be no more qualified to pontificate on UFOs than a garbage collector. Stan Friedman gave Dr. Roger Wescott three pages of credentials in his final MJ-l2 report, purely to impress readers.

  "A good education certainly helps in any endeavor, but we really must not get the idea that a UFO `expert' (whatever this means) can only come from the ranks of the intelligentsia.

  "So I do have some sympathy for Don Schmitt, for this reason."

As a consequence, I have resigned, effective April 13, 1995, as Director of Special Investigations of the Center for UFO Studies. I will continue, with the support of my colleagues, as a CUFOS board member. I want to thank all those who have offered their support and friendship to me during the past few months.

• Researcher ROBERT TODD writes as follows:

  "...The fiction writers in the UFO `research' field have it easy. It doesn't take a lot of work to dream up sensational claims, but it takes an enormous amount of work to disprove them. Yet it seems the fiction writers receive the most attention and kudos, and reap the biggest financial rewards. Their feel-good writings are titillating, and they tell the faithful exactly what they want to hear, but they bear little if any resemblance to reality. It's a dirty little secret in `Ufology' that many `Ufologists' are far more interested in validating their own beliefs than they are in finding the truth. Perhaps that's why so few of the true believers bother to examine the fraudulent claims of these fiction writers too closely.

  "The words 'pulp fiction' come to mind whenever I see Kevin Randle's name. The UFO `research' field would be better off reading comic books.

  "Since you like Randle, I don't suppose this letter will ever make it into `Smear'. Too bad."

• ERIK BECKJORD writes:

  "For your info., the Demand Letter I sent you six months or more ago to cease and desist... along with the `demand' for $1,000 was mainly meant to `jerk your chain', but it was also sent somewhat tongue in cheek, since it is well known that your wallet is welded to your thighbone and wrapped with 25 layers of elephant skin to prevent blood-sucking leeches from extracting so much as a dime from your family coffers.

  "Knowing that getting $1,000 from you had as much chance as getting Randi and Geller together to share a weekend Honeymoon Cottage with a single bed, I felt safe that you would not be too worried about it.

  "So, LO! If it caused you any loss of sleep, I am sorry..."

  Editor's Note: Yes, we are very cautious of blood-sucking leeches. If Beckjord's demand for $1,000 "by return mail" was "tongue in cheek", we would still ask: Would he have sent the money back if we had been stupid enough to send it? If not, it is still attempted extortion!

• Parapsychologist GEORGE HANSEN writes:

  "Thanks for the latest `Smear'. Great job, as usual!

  "In this issue, Graeber, Vallee, and Todd lament the sorry state of ufology. Only now they see it? Gee, are they slow learners or what? They fail to understand that what they lament actually is the UFO phenomenon. To its immense credit, `Smear' obviously grasps this central point:...'

• Researcher CHUCK JINES writes as follows:

  "It appears that the abduction phenomena belief system requires serious reexamination. The pseudo scientific practice of hypnotic regression is currently under serious scrutiny. Memory researchers are calling into question the practice that many therapists have used to dredge up `repressed memories'. The belief that this is a valid practice is rapidly being shown to be little more than bullshit. In that the scientific community is reappraising this practice, would it not behoove the UFO community to do the same?

  "The UFO groups are constantly asking the mainstream scientific community to reappraise existing paradigms. Is it unfair to ask that ufology do the same? Continued reliance upon abduction claims is not only boring but casts the entire field in a ridiculous light. The continued emphasis upon these claims only serves to reinforce the view that mainstream science has about ufology. It is incredibly counter productive. But I suspect, that with so much invested in this almost religious belief system, little or nothing will be done to reappraise this practice....

  "Anyway, keep `Smear' coming. It is one of the few voices of sanity in this particular arena. Oh incidentally, the spell checker in my computer suggested that I change 'ufology' to 'urology.'"

• Researcher TOM BENSON writes as follows:

  "Back in 1980 or so, with my Associate Editor and former `Saucer Smear' non-subscriber Ken Behrendt's input, I decided to publish a UFO journal, and we entitled it `The Sixth Quark Journal'. The Journal pothesized that subatomic particles have a definite relationship to the UFO phenomenon. Four issues, 60 pages or more each, were published between 1981 and 1986.

  "Now that scientists have finally found the `Sixth Quark', I have changed the name of my journal to the `Cosmic Soup Mix'. The first issue will describe my story in its entirety as best I can recall it consciously. The journal's title is ambiguous, but some also thought that of my former journal's name

  "I first heard the terms `Cosmic Soup Mix' via an astral type dream or out-of-body experience, while I was aboard a UFO in the late 1940's or early 1950's. While touring the craft with a humanoid entity, who was small as a child, had white skin coloration but whiter than Caucasian, and not a commonly-reported gray, I saw a human-like being in a concentrated activity. The being was at the top of a stairwell on an upper level of the craft, and was looking down at a circular display screen device of a pinkish-gray coloration, with particle matter flowing across the screen on top of a pedestal, and was about three feet in diameter.

  "While looking down through the device, you could see the ground. The being was working some kind of mechanisms (i.e., levers, buttons.) The cross-dimensional view of the oval device screen was similar to what I earlier observed, from the ground while the object hovered at close range, except the coloration was different.

  "I asked the being what he was doing. The being answered that it is difficult to explain. I asked again. He then said he was `mixing the cosmic soup'. Today I recall that this mix allows the entities to alter the time/space continuum so they can interact with us, such as using the central hub field on the craft for levitating, transporting, etc.

  "The entities exist at a different energy-vibratory field than our physical body, but not our astral body. I predict that during the 21st century, scientists will develop theory along these lines, with some applications. Later in time will come `thought propulsion', as our psychic senses become enhanced in an altered state of consciousness and/or our astral body is interacted upon by the entities...