Friday, March 28, 2008

The Day After Stephenville

They asked Saint Francis how much he prayed to keep his lovely gardens so beautiful. He answered, holding up a spade, “Yes, I do a great deal of praying, but also a great deal of work with this”.

Many blogs --UFO Media Matters-- reported on the Stephenville, Texas UFO case. The case that had UFOs and fighter jets screaming through the skies less than 70 miles from the Bush Ranch within one of the world’s most tightly secured air spaces. Skeptical bloggers did their analysis of Stephenville, and as usual, were very selective in both their evidence and the witnesses they profiled. The RRR skeptic group uses the same idiotic reasoning as the late High Priest of Professional Skeptics, trotting out a Phillip Klassless explanation. The RRRs called the widely witnessed, widely reported Stephenville case “a group of stars in the sky that exactly mach up to”…one particular witness testimony.

After everyone has said their piece and after the limelight has disappeared as it must, after all of the pot shots have been taken, and no matter whether the true believers or the professional skeptics seem to have the high ground, that’s when the job really starts. Yes, the usually unthankful and less glorious real work on UFOS is done quietly and smoothly.

No, it is not Paul Kimball, or The RRR group –or Colin Bennett-- who in UFO Magizine compared these volunteer researchers to “locust clouds of lower class, middle class professionals”.

The reader probably does not know their names, these locust clouds of so-called low class researchers. But I don’t think they care about fame that much. These MUFON volunteers don’t do it for the book deals or the DVD sales. They do it because they believe. They do it because no one else will do it. And they do it for free because there is no money anyway.

The Mutual UFO Network will ask field-seasoned men and women, all volunteers, to take incredibly detailed reports on mass UFO sightings. The volunteers of MUFON come from all walks of life. Retired police officers, retired military, and scientists make up a significant part of the MUFON field research effort. And there are plenty of civilians with powerful resumes, including engineers and others with technical backgrounds in every discipline. These volunteers with experience and credentials go out in the field and do the legwork. They ask questions and then they ask more questions. And listen, and take incredibly detailed notes.

What do they get? A nod maybe…

DVD: A UFO Witness does the research himself.






But MUFON knows from history you can’t count on positive outcome over the long run unless you do the legwork. So you could say, MUFON IS NOT A FAST FOOD UFO GROUP. MUFON members and officials don’t speak in absolutes because they honestly don’t know where UFOs are from… absolutely. For MUFON, the answer is simple: you do the legwork anyway, no matter what people say.

Let’s do something different, and give credit where credit is due --to the MUFON grunts who do that legwork. Let’s sneak a look over the collective shoulder of the MUFON investigative teams, and see what really happens the day after Stephenville:

MUFON Journal, February 2008

“MUFON took over 50 citizens’ calls from witnesses, and…the credibility and the number were exceptional…”

Stephenville TX Jan 19th
Place: Meeting set up by the Rotary Club For UFO Witnesses

MUFON Team:
Ken Cherry State Director; Steve Hudgeons of Fort Worth, Senior Investigator for Texas; plus five additional trained investigators went to the meeting.

“[MUFON] did not expect the 200-500 people who attended… people who packed the Rotary building --whatever the number-- it was more witnesses in one place than MUFON ever interviewed…some told of previous experiences…[as far back as] in 1957…”

“Several dozen [Stephenville area] observers [of the January 8 event] claim to have seen a large silent object with bright lights flying low and fast in the skies…some reported seeing fighter jets chasing it.”

“Over the next couple of months MUFON investigators plan to process the information they have compiled, follow up with some of the witnesses and produce a report.”

Yes, this is how it is done. Not with a metaphoric slide rule, while sitting on your fat ass at a desktop deciding what is truth, from whichever side of the aisle you claim. It is not done with theories, or pontificating. And it’s not finished until the whole story is complete.

No matter what the pontificators of The Secret might imply, it is not just through the spirit… when truth is sought, it is through the hard, long, probably unthankful, less glorious work, where the spirits will is usually carried out.

MUFON:
http://www.mufon.com/


Joseph Capp
UFO Media Matters
Non-Commercial Blog

15 comments:

  1. I find the fact that certain so-called researchers are paying for exclusive witnesses to be disgusting. More about that in Grey Matters next Tuesday.

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  2. I don't quite what you maen "exclusive" in what way?

    Thanks
    Lesley

    Joe Capp
    UFO Media Matters

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  3. By the way, this RRR group, well, who are these guys? I like their blog, it's fun to read, but they're accusing Ed Condon of being a communist & this ridiculous explanation of a group of stars exactly matching up with witness testimony? What? Really, I'd like to find out more about these guys.

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  4. Yes, that is the RRR group. Does it really matter if he was a Communist? Probably only to them. Of course, they also think that Ufologists are all in it for the money and women.

    My latest post on them can be found here - http://thedebrisfield.blogspot.com/2008/03/humorless-souls-of-abyss.html

    Greg Bishop also has one at http://www.ufomystic.com

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  5. "Colin Bennett-- who in UFO Magizine compared these volunteer researchers to “locust clouds of lower class, middle class professionals”. Too bad, I usually like Bennett, but it's this kind of classist sneering that really gets under my skin.

    I also liked your point about the MUFON, etc. volunteers doing it, because no one else does. That's right.

    When it gets down to it, something's happening down there in Texas, and no, it isn't just stars, (sigh) -- so, regardless of one's class, political opinions, or religious beliefs, they have the right to be listened to, the right to have some help in investigations, and the right to be treated with respect.

    Everyone else, get off the snob bus.

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  6. Dear Mr. Anderson,

    For me the decision has become simple, go with the fifty or so witnesses who were there those several nights when these craft flew very near to them, or go with the RRR group who checked a star map(from their computers) of one of the days and found one witness who's position of the UFO's may have briefly matched some of those starts - We call that shoveling in the crap to cover-up the holes- kind of explanation, please excuse my Brooklynese...and…
    What about the rest of the witnesses? Just idiots to them they never count because the mainstream media are not listening to them they are listing to the pilot in a case system set up along time ago so that is who they go after someone who was in the media.
    This diversionary tactic has been going on for decades If the skeptics can't go about explaining honestly the other witnesses sightings, don't even bother with their hack job, unless you believe regular people don't ever count. It is intellectually dishonest and they know it. There are always stars at night in all kinds of configurations.
    Joe Capp
    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commercial Blog

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  7. Lesley,
    I don't know about the money part of it, but let me tell you this on Mystic UFO hewrote a post on UFO money and sex at conferences he was saying that their are not any beautiful women at UFO conferences I beg to differ...If I was not married...some of them are very striking women and i have many beautiful women friends and my share of great looking women lovers...in my youth, I met one of the most beautiful women at a UFO conference so that blows that theory out of the water. . They feel I'm safe,unfortuanly there right. The only UFO researchers who in it for sex is Tim Good; just kidding :)


    Joseph Capp
    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commercial Blog
    I don't think anyone is doing it for sex except Tim Good :)

    Joe Capp
    UFO Media Matters

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  8. Dear Regan,
    Yea I hear a lot of snipping at MUFON because they don't push certain pet theories and continue to want check data and because they have not proved UFOs are not ETs yet. The volunteers are not part of the political nonsense going around they just are seekers with the tools of the 21st century trying to find answer. Sometime I think some in the UFO community like Bennett, who are suppose to be spiritual, are in fact the worst judgmental writers and people , disguised it in beautiful prose.
    For me it not what you write it's helping those who are least likely to defend themselves.. He jst doesn't fit the bill.


    James G/ head of MUFON only wrote two statements to me when I directed him to Bennett's story - he was surprised Bennett felt they way - He had always liked his writing.

    I don't know anymore....is spirituality talking about God all the time or... trying to be a part of God all the time by your actions - and when is the honest pursuit of truth for free not a high calling.

    Joe Capp
    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commercial Blog

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  9. LOL! I have no doubt there are beautiful women at UFO Conferences, but I doubt they are there hoping for the chance to jump in the sack with one of the rich and famous ufologists. Maybe a few are? Who knows?

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  10. Oh I don't know.. Nick Popes pretty hot.
    Joe

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  11. Joe

    There is a great post at Department 47 about Ted Phillips..to me he exemplifys what you are getting across. I posted one on Aime Michel...there are very grounded individuals who did and are doing some great work.

    Best Wishes

    Bruce

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  12. Thanks Bruce,
    I did a post on Ted as one the best researcher of our time. He responded in an e-mail to the post, I felt honored. Here is a man who never seeks the limelight and does the very hard leg work. He is a member of MUFON and has just organized new active on going research teems for MUFON. Something which as been needed for some time.
    Another note, on the RRR group's debunkers dumb explanations. A policemen now has come forward and reported he used a Radar gun on the UFO object which he claims was moving at 27 miles an hour and accelerating and had to be 500 feet accross. There goes the Stars and Jet plane explanation.

    Thank You
    Joe
    UFO Media Matters
    Non-Commercial Blog

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  13. Right on. I just don't understand anyway, how people can think Stepenville was a gross hallucination, Mexico was bad tacos, and oh, what did they say about San Diego? High realty prices. And in Wiltshire they are tripping. Bosh.

    It must be fear motivation, or maybe religious, or fear of having the status quo disrupted BIG TIME. Or, some people think it is a disinformation campaign. Whatever. Too many sightings now for this to be bogus. And yes, thank god for the MUFON investigators.

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  14. Dear who ever you are,
    It can't be said any better than that.

    Thanks
    Joe Capp
    UFO Media Matters.

    ReplyDelete