Friday, February 8, 2008

The UFO Hacker

I read Rob The 'X' Zone Radio Show McConnell’s position on the Stephenville case and was very offended.

McConnell invited some people from Stephenville to be interviewed on The X Radio Show:
Angelia Joiner, of the Stephenville Empire-Tribune
The President of the local Chamber of Commerce
The Local Chapter Of MUFON .

http://xzonenation.blogspot.com/2008/01/wake-up-ufology.html


Let’s give a listen to Mr. McConnell’s conclusion about why these interested parties never showed up:
“However, when invited on a show like The 'X' Zone that challenges what they say, what they claim to have seen, and what their personal motives might really be, [they] decline to come on the show. Also, I sent to all members of the Stephenville Chamber of Commerce who had their email addresses listed in the Chamber Member Directory emails asking them how the UFO publicity has been for business, asking for a reply for Wednesday night’s show... not one member of the Chamber replied.”

McConnell’s litmus test of What Is Truth of course, would be found on his radio show. As he rambles on about inviting these guests, he doesn’t seem to have any insight that what he proposes is self-serving, to say the least. McConnell’s attitude to those who won’t do his bidding is absurd, as he accuses these Stephenville, Texas citizens and others of involvement in all kinds of weird conspiracies.

You’ve got to wonder if it crossed McConnell’s mind that these Stephenville folks’ No Thanks responses were perfectly reasonable…since, from what I can tell, McConnell seems to be over fond of the illogical rant format, and may even be a bit of a nut, himself.

Implying these witnesses were somehow in league with a purported UFO conference, or outside promoter, or the tiny town’s C of C, it all sounds to me like something right out of the Joseph McCarthy - HUAC era.

Track McConnell:
“Now, is it just coincidence that the Stephenville UFO sighting happens just in time to cross promote the 2008 UFO Conference [congress] and Film Festival that is being held Saturday February 23, 2008 - Saturday March 1, 2008 at the New Aquarius Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, Nevada?”

“….Would this type of UFO event be successful if it were to be held in New York, Washington or even Chicago? I doubt it.”

What I wonder about is this: how reality-based is McConnell? How could a rational thinker ignore the obvious?

Mr. McConnell, since everyone else gets it, you can, too.

About that Laughlin, Nevada conference, only somebody confident in his ability to sell the illogical bombast and the rant format could float such a whack concept, because if there’s one thing a conference involves, it’s an advance plan. Here’s the short list of what it takes to take a conference out of the Imaginary McConnell World into reality: deposit in escrow the cost of securing a big conference hall, printing and mailing press kits, buying blocks of print and radio advertising, paying speakers’ fees, paying insurance bonds, signing on with hotels…In other words, a conference represents a mountain of crucial, reality-based details which typically require …finalizing it all two to four years in advance.

Instead of logic, McConnell aims his not-so-rigorous thinking on trashing the credibility of the small-town, ‘just folks’ witnesses.

None of us ufology investigators and the well-intentioned ufo-curious folks care much for the circus atmosphere around any big UFO case. But it comes with the territory.

I think it’s clear to anybody from any orientation there are plenty of undocumented claims in thousands of books on the subject…and plenty of commercialism in UFO land.

But for those who don’t question government or mainstream media’s latest version of the UFO phenomenon, and for those who can’t be bothered to do close reading of the widely available material, what will always be most important to both these subgroups of the naysayer population is the other most controversial aspect of ufology: the profit-making sector.

So the best a person can do when getting a UFO education is to think for themselves while they race along the UFO information highway.

And the ground truth is, if ETs are here, they alone know for certain what they are doing.

Mr. McConnell is not about Truth, he is about his truth.

It’s not easy for good witnesses to come forward and tell what they saw. This is real life, and people who happen to be UFO witnesses --those who see objects, who undergo tremendous elation or tremendous fear during the event and its aftermath, and who face what can happen to their lives and their families when they report it-- those real witnesses have harsh realizations and tough decisions in store.


DVD: History Channel UFO Files
"Brazilian Roswell" Where One UFO Witness committed Suicide

I guess McConnell missed the Larry King Show and the UFO witnesses who appeared and spoke, since he goes on like so:
“It seems that as long as members of the media are willing to swallow all the UFO hype without questioning those who have these ‘sightings,’ the self proclaimed ‘investigators’ and the members of society that I call the ‘woo - woo crowd’ - they will talk a blue streak... showing fuzzy photos... shaky video... out of focused lights... talk about alien abductions and how they have been probed in various manners... how their cattle are being mutilated... and they are being used as human incubators for alien genetic experimentation.”

Does it seem crazy to you that a cattle rancher who pays $100,000 for a prize bull wants to know what mutilated it? Or that a person who has daylight sightings of a UFO and reports it, or who has an abduction experience, lives in fear of being crazy? Or being called crazy by the McConnells out there?

I don’t appreciate McConnell’s Bill O’reilly (“Orally”) tactics, which when played, insinuate the worst motives for anyone who doesn’t agree with them…or will not do what they want.

Finally, McConnell says:
“The investigative procedures of examining unidentified flying objects, to gain the respect of society must be done by credible persons, who have earned the right to be called investigators and researchers by taking legitimate courses, understanding human psychology, astronomy, chemistry, physics and other established courses…”

GOTCHA!

Hey, McConnell, yes, MUFON does indeed have scientists from all disciplines educated at the best universities. The MUFON field researchers who get their hands dirty and go on investigations, those researchers usually know what they’re doing, too.

MUFON is holding more classes to teach volunteers their well-regarded, comprehensive field investigation techniques. By the way, I hope MUFON also revises the Field Guide. It needs it.

MUFON is doing what it can with limited funds. I don’t like to see commercialism in any research endeavor, but MUFON could not survive without some financial support.

It’s easy to criticize, but it’s hard to keep a UFO investigative body going for 38 years with shoestring financing. UFO fads come and go, but bills have to be paid.

We also have The National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena --NARCAP-- with a distinguished board of investigators.

However, without the UFO witness, all of this would be nothing.

You could say the witnesses to UFO phenomenon come forward in a UFO world not of their making. For over 80 years UFO witnesses have courageously given public testimony to what they experienced, and by their thankless, often dangerous participation, these thousands of witnesses are opening the door ever wider to the truth.

Many witness accounts have been proven legitimate by research and by the test of time.

These classic, proven close encounters --attested by honest UFO witnesses--unfortunately still are often the stuff of laughter and McConnell-style rants outside the UFO community. Do we really need it from McConnell, too?

Some believe in a world where cattle ranchers, farmers and other hard-working, regular people are just dying to put forward a UFO hoax. In McConnell’s imaginary world, everyday people can’t wait to ruin their reputations and their standing in communities where they’ve lived and raised their kids for decades, just so they can be insulted on radio, misquoted in print, and have strangers and military showing up on their doorstep for close encounters ranging from threats to biased interviews to TV soundbytes [inevitably edited down to incomplete or misleading quotes], all hours of the day and night.

Instead of being so quick to attack UFO witnesses and their supporters, maybe we should be questioning the motives of self-righteous ranters like McConnell, who finds it easy to put everyone else’s intentions on trial, and resorts to the dumbed-down chump approach that lumps all UFO cases, all witnesses, investigations, organizations, books, and conferences into One Thing.

That’s wrong. And worse, it’s lazy.

When you look closely at what people like McConnell stand for… you’ll find intellectual dishonesty at its worst.

Atlantic Coast UFO Conference:Febuary 15,16,17 Atlanctic City Schedual and Tickets Here:

http://www.atlanticcoastufos.com/speakers.html


Joseph Capp

UFO Media Matters

Non-Commercial Blog

9 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this. Very well done!

    "It’s not easy for good witnesses to come forward and tell what they saw. This is real life, and people who happen to be UFO witnesses --those who see objects, who undergo tremendous elation or tremendous fear during the event and its aftermath, and who face what can happen to their lives and their families when they report it-- those real witnesses have harsh realizations and tough decisions in store."

    Many people simply have no idea what these sightings put you through. No idea at all.

    "For over 80 years UFO witnesses have courageously given public testimony to what they experienced, and by their thankless, often DANGEROUS participation, these thousands of witnesses are opening the door ever wider to the truth."

    Very dangerous at times. Just take a look at what poor Mr. Sorrells is going through. Not to mention the reporter who just lost her job over this. I wonder if Mr McConnell has given that a thought. If he wants a good argument, maybe he should be calling on all the people who are telling these witnesses and reporters to shut their mouths. Who is this McConnell guy? I am going to look into him right now. Thanks again for this article.

    UFO's And The Star People

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  2. Dear Blase,
    Thank you and I if you find out anything about him please e-mail me. He seems to shoot from the hip without thinking. He smears people and seems paranoid to me. Some UFO researchers seem to do this too. They call into question people motives even before the ink is dry.
    The witnesses get it from outside and inside the UFO community it is just not right.
    Thanks Again
    Joe Capp
    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commercial Blog

    ReplyDelete
  3. I thought the best part of McConnell's story was the picture at the top of the page.

    Next to those cars in the photo (but not shown) is a street sign, which states Eden. There is no Eden Street, Drive or anything else in a tremendously large radius of Stephenville, Dublin etc. Consequently, it was pronounced a hoax by Stephenville residents the very day it appeared on YouTube January 16th, but McConnell was ranting the following on January 31st.

    "VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE ALLEGED UFO IN STEPHENVILLE TEXAS IS NOT A SMOKING GUN. Please take note that the so-called UFO has top and bottom navigation lights on it. Now, why would a UFO need Earth navigation lights?."

    It was already a known hoax when he wrote his article so why did he bother putting it in his article? This sighting was not only discovered as a hoax, the actual footage the individual used in his YouTube was UFO footage from a New York state UFO hoax.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxQtBzekPr8

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  4. Dear mesbott[;ac7

    Thank you.

    I looked at that footage and didn't know the history so I didn't include it. I was so angry after I read post I just had to respond.
    Does he think we are that stupid or is he just trying to make a name for himself by being a AH if you know what I mean.

    McConnell is apart of a growing number of Bloggers who put down MUFON or write as if it doesn't exist.
    I would bet none of them have a "MUFON FIELD INVESTIGATORS MANUAL" and I know they couldn't past the test... without reading the manual. The idea that in a few keyboard stokes he tries wipes out the millions of public service hours put in by UFO field investigators who volunteer their "professional services" make me immediately on the defensive. There are ways to constructively criticized but that is not even close to what he does.
    Some of our UFO "spiritual brothern" do the same thing.

    In today's world I am embarrassed by the lack of empathy shown for one another as reflected in the media and in our government. But when a person, who through no fault of their own, shows integrity and courage by coming forward on a UFO report only to be hack them to death in the public area is shameless.
    You know after all the books and blogs and presentations are done these people have to go back to their communities I believe we should do all we can to give an honest witness support whether they saw a UFO or just were honestly mistaken.



    Thanks again for your informative comment.
    Joseph Capp
    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commercial Blog

    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commerical Blog

    ReplyDelete
  5. And, adding insult to injury, we can now amend the Stephenville incident to include a fatality just because an honest reporter was only doing her job as she saw fit for the readers of the Stephenville Empire-Tribune who was fired this week for doing so.

    Here we have now the Mayor and City Council on the local paper's back after they claim that this UFO nonsense is an embarrassment to their little town.

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  6. After posting, I realized not everyone would know who I was talking about. The reporter was Angelia Joiner, the staff writer there in Stephenville for the Empire-Tribune. She appeared on the January 18th Larry King Live program.

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  7. Unbelievable nesbittplac7,

    Angelia Joinerl the jounalist who broke the story lost her job because of it.

    I guess after all she was not part of the McConnell's plot.

    My sadness is for her job lost. But what she did is what always make America special, she wrote the truth, in times when to speak the truth comes at a cost. You can't by that type of integrity you have to earn it. , you are to me what a real journalist is about thank you for you service.


    The UFO community also needs to stop eating it's young. These brave people are being subjected to a type of NAZI tactics. Say what we want you to say or else.
    Also we have the Ricky Sorrells in Dublin Texas, close to Stephenville do we have anyone coming to the defense of this guy and what he is going through?

    "Sorrells believes military officials have been harassing him by flying military aircraft over his property at low altitudes, at all hours of the day and night. Sorrells runs livestock on his place and said the cattle don’t react well to the disturbances. It’s also been hard to get any sleep"
    Of course anyone could lie but the history of UFOs reports indicate this happens to hundreds of UFO witnesses who have been harassed and threatened by the government and others. Here is what he says about a conversation with a military call he received.
    Sorrells said the conversation started out nice enough.

    “He was sort of nice to me right off,” Sorrells said. “He asked to come and talk to me.”

    Sorrells said he told the man that he needed time to think about it and then, “He (the man) became really arrogant.”

    The caller told Sorrells he wasn’t taking “no” for an answer and would be out to talk to him. Sorrells again tried to politely tell the man he did not wish to have company.

    After that, Sorrells said the conversation became heated and he told the man not to cross his cattle guard.

    Sorrells said the man responded with, “ Son, we have the same caliber weapons as you do but a lot more of them.”

    People who see UFOs don't expect this. They have no idea this happens in our world so when it happens to them it is right out of left field.

    All these criticism of what UFO witnesses and what they should have done is mute.
    I think we need to educate the public to what they should do when they have a very close encounter because the stakes change when that happens. The government can take lights in the sky, but close scrutiny of craft, that is something they will deal with on or off the record.
    Thanks For the Udate
    Joseph Capp
    UFO Media Matters

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  8. The UFO Casebook has a February 9th report on the Angelia Joiner situation if you want to read the whole skinny. Open Mind's Forum had Ms. Joiner in there this week and Bren Burton posted an email she sent him telling him that she was fired because of it. She obviously got in a tiff with her bosses because she gave them a two-week notice. Then when she came back into work her computer was gone and they told her she was fired.

    I can just picture this being a political thing between the paper, the Mayor and the City Council. They see a mockery and she sees the truth. They won, she lost, we lost.

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  9. I agree, when this happens to good jounalist the world loses. thank you I will read the article. That is the least she deserves.
    Joe
    UFO Media Matters

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