Don't believe the hype

UFOs, JFK, and Tim McVeigh

By nessie

On May 9, 2001, in a live Webcast by the Disclosure Project from the National Press Club in Washington D.C., more than two dozen military and intelligence witnesses claimed to expose the most classified compartment of government. Hundreds of witnesses are prepared to testify under oath, before Congress. The gist of their message was that UFOs are of alien origin, that this was being covered up by the government, and that the militarization of space was a bad idea, especially the so-called "missile defense shield." Was this interesting juxtaposition a clever and subtle attempt to link in the public's mind anti-ABM activists with people who believe in little green men? Since subtler psy-war ops in the past have succeeded wildly, we would be derelict to fail to consider the possibility.

It is difficult to imagine the public accepting such "disclosures" if there seemed to be no attempt on the part of the powers that be to suppress it. So much money can be made by building the "Son of Star Wars" that it is barely conceivable that those who stand most to gain would not try to influence public opinion by any means possible. So it could very well be that Project Disclosure is really Project Coverup.

That the existence of Ryder vans and Colombian Cessnas make even a workable missile shield nothing more than a glorified Maginot line, is irrelevant. If, as the subliminal logic of the Project Disclosure message goes, there are aliens out there, we'd better be prepared to defend ourselves from invasion. Aside from the aliens, there's always the threat of a comet or asteroid strike. In the days running up to May 9, not one, but two movies on the subject showed on cable TV. Coincidence? Perhaps.

Reaction to the Project Disclosure has been mixed and encompasses the spectrum. Since the core of the issue is belief, and belief is irrational, much of the public's reaction has been notably lacking in logic. This is normal, and a nuisance to deal with, at best. It's better than having to deal with the consistent lies and distortions of corporate media, though, because at least some of what the public comes up with is rational, honest analysis of the actual, empirical data.

See for yourself. Check out the course of debate in one corner of cyberspace, by sampling the following links. Be warned, though, that this is a hot-button issue for a great many people, and the debate gets pretty heavy. Some of the criticism of me, for example, is both vulgar and profane. That sort of stuff doesn't bother me. If it bothers you, skip ahead.

http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=39812

http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=39705

http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=39762

http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=40124

http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=40388

Many people who post to the Internet, especially about subjects like UFOs and government cover-ups, are sorely in need of advice. Here's mine. People writing about scientific and technical subjects with no training in those areas are advised to read the article, "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments," in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology prior to posting.

When home schoolers talk about how public schools are intentionally dumbing down the general population, they often sound like raving paranoids. They are not. The proof is that the capacity for critical reasoning is so little in public evidence these days that, at cursory glance, it would seem that Americans will believe anything they are told. It's positively embarrassing.

Among their most preposterous delusions is that either UFOs don't exist or they are from outer space. The obvious third possibility eludes all too many, even though, the government allegedly admits that the CIA covered up government UFOs. But, we are told, they weren't "flying saucers" with exotic propulsion, they were spy planes with jet engines. That, they would have us believe, is all that UFOs are. People fall for this stuff, especially when any of it's true. Mix in enough truth and people will believe almost any lie you tell. If that doesn't work, tell them another lie.

This tactic is instantly recognizable to any serious assassination buff. When, for example, we realized we were lied to when they said Oswald acted alone, we quickly came up against the back-up lie. Yes, it was a conspiracy, the conspirators finally told us, but it wasn't us. It was Castro. We dug deeper. Oh, it wasn't Castro? Then it was the Mob. It was Onassis. It was the Masons. It was the Illuminati. It was space aliens. It was Elvis (jealous because Jack was porking Marilyn and he wasn't). It was anybody but the real conspirators themselves.

Putting out a weltering array of competing theories works by confusing people, by making all theories look ridiculous by association, and by wearing down the resolve of the serious researcher. Both these tactics are tried and true. The are used because they work. They work because too few people possess the capacity for analytical reasoning required to defeat them.

There are even people who believe that "aliens" are fallen angels who come to trick them into believing in evolution. People like this cannot be reasoned with. It's like trying to reason with Marxists. It can't be done. To reason, you must think for yourself. You cannot let dead people think for you and simultaneously think for yourself.

Unscrupulous deceivers prey on such gullibility for both fun and profit. There is even alleged to be an upcoming book, Killing the Messenger: The Death of JFK, which purportedly claims that Kennedy was killed on his way to give a speech in which he was to announce, "Citizens of this Earth, we are not alone." With those dramatic words, President John F. Kennedy supposedly intended to inform the American public and the world at large that the U.S. government had made contact with aliens from deep space. Even though the story originated in the Weekly World News, it has nevertheless spread like a virus through vulnerable segments of the Internet user population, and even beyond. It is not at all implausible that such a claim be made. Far weirder claims have been made, and believed.

It's ironic in a way, because JFK was killed by America's quintessential UFO, the so-called "Magic Bullet." The Warren Commission case hangs on a single element, that a single bullet made two near right angle turns in mid-air, pierced flesh and bone five times and ended up on a gurney in near pristine condition. This defies fundamental laws of physics. Either you believe the fundamental laws of physics or you believe the Warren Commission. There is no middle ground. Unfortunately, dumbing us down has worked. People with thorough grounding in the fundamental laws of physics are as scarce as are people with the capacity for analytical reasoning.

Which brings us to a remarkably similar case, equally ridden with hype, Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing. The government's case against McVeigh also hangs on a single element, that the bomb in the truck was the only bomb. Either you believe in the fundamental laws of physics or you believe in the government's version of what happened to the Murrah Building. It is physically impossible for that amount of ANFO in that location to do that amount of that particular damage to that building. It can't be done. Ergo, the government is lying. What's more, they immediately destroyed the crime scene before any incriminating evidence could be gathered. If McVeigh actually agreed with the government's case, as the corporate media allege he did, then he is lying, too. Or else the media is lying about what McVeigh said. It's a toss up. The laws of physics never lie.

There are many questions still waiting to be answered. Don't hold your breath.

And don't believe the FBI either. There is a lot of debate going on right now about the FBI allegedly finding a bunch of missing documents just before McVeigh was about to be executed. If you believe this was just happenstance, you are being naive. The FBI is a terrorist organization. Any members of an organization that burns babies alive on TV, who fails to (at the very least) resign in disgust, lacks sufficient moral character to warrant being taken at their word about anything, under oath or anywhere else.

One dead give away that something fishy went on that day is that the smaller, weaker building across the street was still standing. And no, it wasn't because the Ryder van held a shaped charge. ANFO can't be shaped. It's a liquid. That's not the only problem. ANFO is also a relatively weak explosive. It's great for blowing up tree stumps. It's not so great for shattering steel-reinforced concrete support columns. That's a job for RDX, directly affixed to the columns themselves. It is not within the capacity of what some people are now calling the "Mannlicher-Carcano bomb," after the cheap Italian-made rifle with a defective scope that was allegedly used to kill Kennedy.

But don't take my word for it, read Army Technical Manual TM 31-210, "Improvised Munitions Handbook." It is often found for sale at gun shows. If you don't want to wait for the next gun show, read these links:

http://www.brasscheck.com/OKBOMB/

Copyright © 2000 San Francisco Bay Guardian.