| EDITOR AND STILL SUPREME COMMANDER: James W. Moseley
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR:
|
NON-SCHEDULED NEWSLETTER Volume 48, No. 7 August 4th, 2001 Your Editor's 70th birthday! |
MAILING ADDRESS: P. 0. Box 1709 Key West, FL 33041 |
DICK HALL RESIGNS FROM MUFON!
Veteran ufologist Richard Hall, who has just published (another)
major UFO
book, recently startled his many fans (?) by resigning from the MUFON organization. Till now,
he had been writing a column called "Perspective" in each monthly issue of their magazine.
Says Hall, on the Net: "As of June 17th when John Schuessler censored my 'MUFON UFO Journal' column that was critical of the 2001 symposium speaker line-up, I have resigned and will no longer contribute a column to the Journal. I have posted a message about this, a copy of the offending column, and a commentary about the blatantly New Age content of the MUFON - Orange County web site (www.mufonoc.org), hosts of the symposium...
"I have tried to work 'within the system' to try to bring about reforms, but since no dissension is allowed and I can't even express my personal opinion, that breaks it for me.
"My hope is that other scientifically oriented MUFON members will join me in this protest, and demand that their leaders actually practice a scientific approach to the subject or else drop all pretenses of same. Otherwise, New Age hogwash will completely take over."
A couple of years back, Hall used to write a similar column for California's "UFO Magazine", but some sort of complex dispute developed, and that column no longer exists, either!
Now that poor Dick appears to be a Man Without a Column, we of "Smear" hereby offer him the opportunity to write one for us. Hall would be completely free to publish any opinion he likes, with certain minor restrictions: Nothing negative about Moseley, Pflock, or Mogul Balloons; Nothing positive about philosophy, NICAP, or Major Donald Keyhoe. We do hope that Hall will seriously ccnsider this offer!
We wonder why ufoologists have so much trouble realizing that resolution is the key to what you see in a picture. Like, whatever happened to the canals of Mars, which were accepted by orthodox astronomers for a very long time? How many faces can you see in the clouds? The normal human mind wants to find meaning in randomness. Add in the "Will to Believe", and you end up with a multitude of ridiculous visual errors. Ask Erik Beckjord, who has probably seen Bigfoot on Mars by now!...
What overjoyed is about this article was the true statement therein: "This new angle on the old Socorro story was first mentioned publicly in a brief piece in the July 15th, 2000 edition of James Moseley's 'Saucer Smear'. Bravo for Mr. Thomas, and bravo for us!
The matter is also discussed on Page 331 of a brand new book by respected Fortean researcher Patrick Huyghe, entitled "Swamp Gas Times - My Two Decades on the UFO Beat". Again your "Smear" editor is mentioned. Both Huyghe and Karl Pflock, whom he consulted, seem to feel that the Socorro mystery remains unsolved.
We will be reviewing Huyghe's interesting new book shortly, in a future "Smear"...
In spite of Karl Pflock's new bock and other efforts at sanity, Roswell lives on - or at
least the annual festival does. In early July, the little town of Roswell, N.M. celebrated the
54th anniversary of that famous nonevent of yesteryear. This year's theme was the
movie "2001: A Space 0dyssey" and actor Gary Lockwood, from that classic movie, was one of
the honored guests. Next year, one of the honored guests will be your humble "Smear" editor,
as previously stated in this ego-oriented zine of ours. (Our thanks to Roswell fan Steve Barnett
for this item.)...
Our apologies for the very dark picture of Dr. Greer in our last issue. Even Greer doesn't deserve to look that bad. When we went to the printer to pick up the issue, the fellow there said, "Sorry, the picture of the black guy didn't turn out very well." I said, "What black guy?" It seems that technical difficulties of some sort came up to spoil the photo...
In the August Fate we find an article called "Mojave Time Warp" by Karl Pflock, about Giant Rock, California, and George Adamski's famed 1952 "Desert Contact". This article looks suspiciously like an expanded version of Karl's column in the Jan. 10th issue of "Smear"!
If you don't receive Fate Magazine, you are missing a lot of mindbending material on all forms of the "supernatural". $24.95 will get you a one year subscription. Send the Green Stuff or its equivalent to Fate Magazine, P.O. Box 1940, 170 Future Way, Marion, Ohio 43306-2040.
| 
|
|---|
Waaaay back in the last century, I offered my take on what UFOs are and where they hail from ("Smear", June 5th, 1999). For those who may have missed this earthshaking pronouncement, here it is again:
UFOs are real - as yet unexplained - phenomena. Many solid unknowns involving reports of strange craft and sometimes living creatures and/or physical evidence and visual records (photos, motion picture film) leave us with but two choices - hoax or real essentially as reported. (A few admit of a psychological explanation as well.) If what occurred in these cases was objectively real and reasonably accurately reported, they must have been encounters with nonhuman intelligence and its works.
Based on the data, I'm subjectively certain we have been visited by nonhuman intelligent beings - to my '50s-conditioned mind, most likely from an extra-solar planet of our galaxy. However, we do not yet have proof of this - as opposed to very strong evidence pointing to it - though such proof very well may be in the data already in hand, as yet unrecognized as such.
If we've had such visitors, I suspect they were here and left some time ago - arriving in the early to mid-1940s, departing in the late 1960s or early 1970s. They came here because Sol and his planets seemed cozily familiar. They studied our entire system and us quite closely. Once in a while a couple of grad students got out of hand and buzzed, the natives. On occasion some ambitious scientists overstepped a bit and interfered with the locals - the famous and, in my considered opinion, real 1961 abduction of Barney and Betty Hill comes to mind. Then they left, leaving us wondering, dreaming, hoping.
In the last exciting issue, our Esteemed Editor recalled my they-were-here idea, noting it "would nicely explain the fact that sightings have dropped off so much in the past 25 years or so", and then suggesting that "another possibility is that we Earthlings have improved our ability to properly identify UFOs!" However, given that today's UFOs of choice are mostly huge, night-flying triangles that recent research strongly suggests are just large military transport planes, this doesn't seem likely. Earthlings are still having a beck of a time ID'ing our stuff, let alone Theirs. And the sort of flying saucers we used to see doing what we used to see them doing aren't being reported much anymore. Where are the daylight disks flying in formation? Where are - 0ops! Out of Space 'til next ish.
I really do wish you (and now Matt Graeber, who now seems to feel constrained to chime-in with his two unwelcome cents) would lay-off the patter about my comments concerning poor, olde, ailing Philippe Krass. You just couldn't resist printing his words, could you? Anything to stir shit, it seems."Insensitive," huh? "Malicious??" "Cruel," even? I'm tempted to reply at length (again), but what's the use since your mind seems to be made up and you won't print what I write anyway? All I can say to the two of you is that after literally years of being both lied to and lied about, belittled, patronized, insulted, accused of both fraud and forgery, painted as unpatriotic, reported to the FBI as a potential threat to national security (knowing I would be investigated and hoping for my arrest as a result), misquoted, misrepresented, intimidated, bashed, trashed and hashed at the hands of this man, is it any wonder I am reluctant to sing his praises? Had such treatment resulted from something I had said or done to him personally, perhaps one could find some way to excuse the rashness of his behavior; but no, it wasn't like that at all! All I had done was dare to write something with which he, in his infinite wisdom, did not agree; and worse, I had endeavored to spread the word to others-- in effect, to "poison their minds" with "fairy tales" and "Santa Claus stories." It was this and this alone that set Krass on his more than decade-long vendetta. Those who have not walked in my shoes cannot begin to appreciate the things I have suffered at the hands of this monster. Yet now that he is old, and sick, aid dying, suddenly I'm the bad guy because I chose to tell it like it is and refuse to mouth the platitudes usually reserved for people in such straits?! Unfortunately Mr. Graeber's rush to judgment is based only upon his exposure to those few, brief, out-of-context quotes which you, in your great wisdom, chose to publish. I should prefer to believe that perhaps, had he been able to appreciate my words in their entirety, he might not feel quite so self-righteous. (You, on the other hand, ought to know better. Maybe if it had been you he had trashed, you might feel differently.)
Meanwhile, Mr. Graeber's kind offer of prayers and forgiveness are certainly most appreciated, and I join him in offering them for whatever benefit they may bring. For my part, I forgave Krass before he did it, but that does not mean I have forgotten what the did, nor does it relieve me of my right to tell the world about it if I so choose.
"Many thanks for a copy of Bill Moore's latest blast. I plead guilty to all of his accusations - including publishing Monica Lewinsky's unlisted phone number in SUN. If you publish Moore's charges, I will not sue you and/or Moore for slander."(More seriously, I do not understand Moore's bitterness. His dropout from pro-UFO circles can be attributed to the contents of his famous speech at the 1989 MUFON conference in Las Vegas.)
"Ref. Rick Doty's letter of April 30th, in which he claims that he was not Moore's 'Falcon', and that 'the person code named Falcon was an employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency and was identified by Philip Klass some years ago. However, because the disclosure of this information and identity would make Mr. Klass look like a fool, he failed to disclose Falcon's true identity.'
"I herewith invite/authorize Mr. Doty to reveal the true identity of Falcon and make me 'look like a fool.'"
"It appears that Phil's debunking of the 'bogus' MJ-12 documents, and his linking them to Moore, has had a marked effect upon Mr. Moore... I don't know if Mr. Moore did create the documents or not but he seems to be obsessed with the charges that he claims to be untrue!"I received your note, along with the copy of Bill Moore's overreaction to my comments about his bad manners. It seems obvious that Moore feels that Klass, you, and now I, have selected him from the throng of ufologists to pick on... He seems to protest too loudly and too long over things that he claims to be totally untrue and unfounded. I think that it might be a good idea to let him 'off the hook', so to speak, since he's obviously not going to do so on his own!"
"Regarding Richard Doty's letter in the June 1st 2001 'Saucer Smear': Thanks to Karl Pflock, I learned that this letter was a response to an article I wrote with Bernard 'Duke' Gildenberg in the 'Skeptical Inquirer', Vol. 25, No. 2, March/April 2001. Regarding Doty's claim that he is not 'Falcon', we based our conclusions on Curtis Peebles' book 'Watch the Skies' (Berkley Books, N.Y., 1995), in which Peebles writes: 'Several people, including (Peter) Gersten, (Linda Moulton) Howe, and ex-AFOSI agents, identified 'Falcon' as Doty.' Peebles cites the article 'UFO Coverup Live!' in 'Just Cause', Dec. 1988, 5."If Doty doesn't appreciate being identified as the 'Falcon', perhaps he should take the matter up with Peebles, Gersten, and Howe."
"Gosh! I am so sorry for selling 'FAKE' Area 51 signs, as mentioned in your last newsletter. I really don't remember saying that these signs were REAL, but if the Supreme Commander doesn't like fake signs then I guess I will have to go out there and steal one of their signs and sell it for $6.95. As usual, the Supreme Commander didn't do his homework and didn't realize that the signs were changed a couple of years ago. If you weren't so engrossed in your book of adjectives that you are so fond of, you just might be able to have time to do a little research!"I guess I won't be at your Convention in Austin this Fall, as I don't want to upset you by selling 'FAKE' T-shirts, hats, badges, etc."
This letter is amusing, because out of friendship our article deliberately did not identify Greenen as the guy who sells fake Area 51 signs at conventions. Now he has identified himself! - Editor.
"...I'm glad to see the Face on Mars theory is still viable - not viable as a theory but viable as a social phenomenon. I forgot to clip for you a New York Times brief notice about the newly released NASA photo of the Face which, not surprisingly, looks much less like a face from the new angles. I was always suspicious that the classic photo of the Face looked a little too much like Richard Hoagland himself - or perhaps he groomed his mane to resemble the Face?"I am a little wary of the idea of a big Hollywood production of 'Mothman', but I am sure I will still go see it. I hope that despite everything, Keel can manage to get on lots of talk shows, etc., to try to get some of the publicity and income he deserves after all these years..."
"It is difficult to understand Mr. Moore's logic when in one breath he says, '...every one of the Mormons' arguments are false', and in the next breath says, '...nor do we challenge any of the teachings of their Church except those dealing directly with the historical origin of their allegedly holy book.'"Because the Book of Mormon contains the teachings of the Church, if it is false, then so are the teachings. The entire argument (of the Spalding advocates) hinges on whether or not Rigdon and Smith were in collusion to produce the Book of Mormon. All else is trivial. If Smith and Rigdon did not meet a reasonable time before the Book went to press (it went to press complete - it was not published as a piecework), then the Spalding argument is specious. Moore's contention, 'Smith did meet Rigdon before the alleged finding of the golden plates' is almost ludicrous. Smith found the plates when he was 14 years old, and was instructed to translate them when he was 18. In order for Moore's statement to be correct, Rigdon and Smith would have had to have met when they were kids and cooked up a scheme to defraud the world and not ever let anyone know what they had done...
"The Church records I could find do not indicate any contact between Smith and Rigdon before 1829. The Bock of Mormon went to press in 1829. However, it is well established that 'Mormonism' was a threat to many people in those days (and apparently it still is to some), and mucho records were falsified concerning Smith and the Church...
"If Bill Moore wants to send me a review copy of 'his' book, I'll be happy to take a look at it, but I will not spend a penny for it... I am left wondering - why did they spend so much time in this endeavor? There are 10 million members of the Church who will not be convinced by the arguments 'on the website, and few if any will buy this book!"
"Regarding 'Saucer Smear' June 25th, 2001 - the item about 'intelligence report by non-human interplanetary agents' - please read or refer to the book 'Knowledge from the Stars', $11.95, by Wesley H. Bateman - Federation Telepath, published by 'Light Technology Publishing', P.O. Box 1526, Sedona, Arizona 86339. Copyright 1993..."I'm still looking at the stars..."
"...I am assuming that Bill Moore is upset about your comments about his comments about Klass. Frankly, although Klass has irritated me as well, I don't wish anyone a stay in hell - although I am almost to the point that I feel we are are already inmates of the place and just delusional when we think this is a piece of heaven."Actually, I hope Moore doesn't discover that the gold plates of Joseph Smith were fake when he gets to the Other Side, and I hope Klass isn't greeted by saucers and aliens. Let us all rest comfortably within the confines of our cherished belief systems. Amen...
"Thanks for the updates, and 'Smear', of course. There hasn't been much in the newspapers of a strange nature lately, I'm sorry to say..."
| BEAR WITH SORE HEAD: Dutch police discovered what appeared to be a bear fast asleep beside a road at Engelden, near Den Bosch. It turned out to be a 22-year-old man wearing a bear costume who had collapsed after drinking 26 pints of beer at a fancy dress party, [R] 24 April 2001. | TAKING IT LITERALLY: In preparation for elections in November, the Union of Right-wing Parties put up a sign on a Toad in Suceava, eastern Romania, with the slogan "Keep to the right." A driver thought this was a traffic sign and was severely injured when he drove his car into a ditch. Romanian public radio |
|---|---|
|
ANTON BRIESZOV WAS TRAPPED in the lions' enclosure of Moscow Zoo when the ladder he climbed down to retrieve a toy dropped by his child toppled over. He managed to outrun the lions and climb to safety. He then jumped into a moat surrounding the enclosure and, being a non-swimmer, drowned. Guardian, 15 Feb 2001. |
CALGARY - A sexual predator is stalking northwest Calgary pastures, attacking horses in the the rectums or genital areas, say police who are investigating four confirmed eases. The cases involve mares who were kept in pastures near each other. There are known to be at least eight other possible cases in the past decade in which horses have either mysteriously died or suffered unexplainable internal injuries, though horse owners believe dozens more similar equine attacks have occurred in the area during the past 20 years. |
Saucer Smear Index
|
 Please note that letters for Smear editor James Moseley should be snail-mailed to PO Box 1709, Key West, FL 33041, insofar as Cdr. Moseley is proudly computer-illiterate and determined to stay that way. |
Own a genuine artifact of ufological history!
Line your birdcage for pennies a sheet!
Back issues available for the last 47 years!