var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

The Mutual UFO Network recently announced a new Director of Research, Dr. Christopher Cogswell. He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering and "hopes to bring a seriousness and strong research focus to this field," according to the MUFON website. While we wish the doctor the highest degree of success, we would be remiss if we failed to observe the organization where he chooses to volunteer has an infamous history of substantially obstructing the very efforts he claims to undertake. His predecessor, Robert Powell, bailed for reasons reportedly including the MUFON choices of speakers at its annual symposium in 2017. In a nutshell, the organization's mission

By Jack Brewer The UFO Trail 2-12-18

statement of dedication to scientific study is miles apart from many of its actual activities. If Dr. Cogswell is going to help the situation a number of circumstances will need to be addressed, from employing hypnosis as a memory retrieval tool to endorsing psychic channeling, and those are just some of the problems.


A lack of transparency and public accountability has long plagued MUFON. We have explored it at length on The UFO Trail, including posts such as UFO Community Members Weigh in on Dubious MUFON Speakers. Long before Powell's concerns became more widely known, writers and researchers such as Nigel Watson, Frank Warren, Robert Sheaffer, and several more expressed relevant points about the quality of MUFON speakers and contributed to the 2015 post.

Back in 2014 we attempted to obtain explanations of what MUFON termed a collaboration with a French government agency, GEIPAN, that investigates unexplained aerial phenomena. Statements from MUFON leadership arguably were embarrassingly vague, while, in stark contrast, the head of GEIPAN proved quite willing to discuss the circumstances when contacted.

Other posts, such as parts one and two of the 2013 offering, MUFON, Science and Deception, further demonstrated the leadership's lack of willingness to field questions. MUFON's Jan Harzan has been contacted numerous times, including for comment on how an org dedicated to scientific study could promote such entirely speculative notions as Barbara Lamb's claims surrounding ET-human hybrids, but did not respond.

Likewise, Harzan failed to respond to inquiries about the criteria used to grant David Jacobs a lifetime achievement award. Jacobs is a historian who practices hypnosis as a memory enhancer, claimed to have been harassed by an ET-human hybrid that sent him instant messages, and suggested to Emma Woods to wear a chastity belt during a long distance telephone hypnosis session, among numerous other dubious actions.

In preparation for a 2013 article on a reported UFO crash in Casselberry, Florida, attempts were made to consult several MUFON personnel. Multiple emails inquiring about the case were sent to the Executive Director, Director of Investigations, Florida State Director, and a former Florida Chief Field Investigator. None responded. We could go on at length, but the issues run even deeper still than irresponsibly promoting unsubstantiated conjecture under the guise of science or failing to share information about investigations.

From where I sit, it is significant that the Pentagon indirectly admitted funneling funds to MUFON via Robert Bigelow. This was clearly done through Bigelow's now known receipt of funds and subsequent MUFON-BAASS initiative, yet it is virtually a non-story in UFO Land. Community members for years accused MUFON of acting as an arm of the federal government, and are now validated for all practical purposes, yet the wheels of sensationalism continue to turn with hardly a pause. You can't say we weren't warned.


The Pentagon acknowledges the Defense Intelligence Agency invested money in the UFO community. Up until that time, such interests and circumstances were officially denied. They were taboo, scandalous. It was out of bounds to so much as speculate the IC was in bed with UFO researchers and their organizations. Capital "S" Skeptics cried conspiracy and called for proof. Now it's confirmed and met with a shrug on both sides of the UFO community aisle.

I'd like to direct our attention for a while, please, to the fact the intelligence community has full on acknowledged involvement in the UFO community - this century, here and now. Others told us so and they are now validated, yet it's seemingly not a story, in lieu of analyzing film clips, exchanging opinions on inconclusive claims about alleged aliens, and minimizing its potential significance. In my opinion, if funding sources for one project are called into question, then funding sources for many projects are called into question, especially those involving the same individuals and organizations.

MUFON has a long way to go to gain any credibility, not to mention competently addressing who's been running its organization. Please join me in considering some of the circumstances that brought us to the point in which the Pentagon casually confirmed what amounts to funding the Mutual UFO Network.


The Carpenter Affair. Let's start there.

During the 1990's, the org's lead alien abduction researcher "confidentially," as he put it to me in a series of emails, provided Robert Bigelow - the guy who would later play point man on the DIA's Advanced Aviation Threat Identification Program - with data from case files of alleged abductees in exchange for a reported $14,000. John Carpenter, a Missouri social worker and hypnosis advocate, defended his actions, which included choosing not to obtain consent from the 140 people prior to releasing their files to Bigelow and his National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS).

MUFON officials, including John Schuessler, who sat on a NIDS board, primarily chose the stance of silence on the topic. Col. John Alexander, a former employee of the Bigelow-founded NIDS, declined comment in 2013. Alexander was asked about any interest he may have had in the files; why he suspected his employer, Bigelow, may have desired to obtain them; if other alien abduction researchers also shared files with Bigelow as Carpenter claimed may have been the case; and if Alexander was at liberty to discuss any relationships between Bigelow corporations and intelligence agencies. Alexander, a man who has repeatedly presented himself as willing and able to talk inside baseball on UFOs and the intelligence community, didn't want to discuss it.

The above image is a copy of the second page of a 1996 letter apparently composed from Carpenter to Bigelow, discussing copying and sending 140 case files, as well as expressing thanks for payment. The image was obtained from researcher Gary Hart, who included the letter and other items in complaints filed to MUFON and the State of Missouri Division of Professional Registration. Read more in the 2013 blog post on the Carpenter Affair linked above.


In 2017 I published a post about NSA largely releasing a document via my FOIA request about an NSA assignee's attendance at a UFO symposium. The existence of the document, though previously withheld, was long known to researchers such as Philip Klass. Although we did not previously know its specific contents, Klass confidently suspected it was authored by Tom Deuley. Klass was in all likelihood correct for reasons provided and linked in my 2017 post. The document proved to be a memo, titled Information request solicitation, in which its author informed NSA of events and actions of researchers at the 1978 MUFON Symposium. From the now mostly declassified memo:



In 2014 I did a blog post on the ill-fated Ambient Monitoring Project (AMP). The undertaking was initially titled the Abduction Monitoring Project, but was changed for reasons that reportedly included efforts to increase credibility and attract qualified researchers. The initiative involved placing instruments to measure environmental changes in the homes of individuals reporting alien abductions. It was headed up by long time ufology staple and career intelligence officer Tom Deuley, who likely composed the above NSA memo and served in leadership capacities of multiple UFO organizations, including MUFON. Funding sources for the AMP were not clearly disclosed and details of project results were never released. From the 2014 blog post:

Deuley wrote in the 2008 Journal article that the AMP was jointly proposed to MUFON, FUFOR [Fund for UFO Research] and the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS). The collaboration reportedly resulted in the UFO Research Coalition, or the URC, as Deuley dubbed it. Exactly where the funding originated, however, was not clear, and Deuley did not at all address the amount and specific terms of project funding.

The proposal was given to the Fund for UFO Research, Deuley stated in the article, “with the intention that they in turn offer the idea to some prospective donors who might be interested in this project.”

“Over time,” he continued, “the Fund’s efforts led to sufficient funding for the work.”

“With a good prospect for a sponsor,” Deuley not so clearly explained further, “the URC continued to fine-tune the proposal. After several rounds of changes and negotiation with the prospective funding organization, the proposal for the Ambient Monitoring Project was accepted.”

Who ever the “prospective funding organization” of which Deuley may have been referring, how ever the proposal may specifically have been “accepted,” and where ever reported “sufficient funding” may have actually originated, Richard Hall told UFO Updates List the project was out of money. Hall informed them of that nine months before Deuley's July, 2008, article which suggested funding was in hand and data was in the process of being analyzed.

[...]

In 2008 I emailed inquiries about the project to various board members of the UFO organizations involved. An email was sent to Deuley, who I requested provide details that might be available for public release, particularly concerning such information as final analysis and project personnel. He replied August 2, 2008:

“The analysis is in progress and will include a full report when all of the cases have been analyzed. Until then we feel it is prudent to not publicize who is doing the analysis or where it is being conducted. The report is most likely to be printed in the MUFON Journal, and if extensive to be published for sale by the UFO Research Coalition.”

I sent a similar inquiry to David Boras of CUFOS, who briefly replied on August 3, 2008, “Statistical analyses are ongoing and not yet available.”

Astronomer Dr. John Carlson, also of FUFOR, and I exchanged some brief messages. Even after I made him aware Deuley had just days prior stated in an email to me that AMP data was in the process of being analyzed, Carlson wrote in an August 5, 2008 email there were no funds to analyze the data, so he believed the project was effectively dormant.

Such discrepancies and contradictions within MUFON and UFO orgs have now become common to the point of no longer attracting meaningful discussion. Inaccuracy and a lack of direct answers from leadership have come to be expected.

Robert Bigelow

There may be some events of interest under the descriptions of high strangeness or things in the sky. I don't claim to know, and as regular readers are aware, my primary area of focus migrated into social aspects of the UFO community. While I don't profess to conclusively know much about what all is being reported and witnessed, I'm pretty confident you aren't going to get any substantial explanations from the latest crowd of self-proclaimed insiders, researchers, and disclosure activists. We simply have no reason to think so, barring extreme changes of operating procedures. It is more than reasonable at this point, if not arguably naive not to call into question the funding sources and agendas of those directing the UFO research community.

It is also reasonable to desire financial accountability from tax-funded projects, such as the AATIP, and nonprofit corporations, namely MUFON, that collect public financial support while enjoying tax benefits. You are entitled to expect accurate and reasonably transparent reporting of budgets and activities. We clearly have a long, long way to go to achieve such transparency in the UFO community. I am strongly of the opinion its obstruction and the related issues are much more worthy of attention than the unsubstantiated sensational claims promoted by the involved parties.
Read more »

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

CHARLOTTE, NC (Bruce Henderson/The Charlotte Observer) - Last Sunday night, an Indian Trail man’s wife excitedly burst into their house to report two orange, glowing balls that seemed to hover a few hundred feet overhead.

By Bruce Henderson The Charlotte Observer 1-10-18

The man, who reported the incident to the Mutual UFO Network, wrote that he and his grandson headed outside to see a single ball hovering silently above them. Less than a minute later, a group of three balls appeared.
Read more »

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

The National Security Agency recently released the majority of a 1978 memo prepared by an assignee (see below) about his attendance at a UFO conference. The document was obtained following a Jan. 24, 2017, request for a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR). The five-page memo contains the subject line, "Information request solicitation," and advises the NSA on such matters as likely fraudulent CIA letters showcased at the conference, activities of some specific researchers in attendance, relationships with the researchers, and potential problems that might arise through such relationships. The NSA Sep. 12, 2017, response to the MDR request and the partially redacted document may be viewed and downloaded at the link above.

By Jack Brewer ufotrail.blogspot.com 9-22-17

The NSA continues to withhold the name of the assignee who composed the memo, as well as identities of additional NSA personnel referenced, but the late writer and researcher Philip Klass confidently speculated the author to be Tom Deuley. Klass was probably correct, as we will explore later in this post.

The Aug. 29, 1978, message begins by providing its recipient with some context. The author explained how he informed proper NSA personnel of his interest in UFOs and his intention to attend the 1978 MUFON Symposium. He then described events which occurred at the conference and involved researchers Leonard Stringfield, Robert Barry and Todd Zechel.

Stringfield did a presentation, during which he introduced Barry, who shared two letters he allegedly received from the CIA (Further research revealed Stringfield's presentation was on crashed flying saucers, so we might reasonably assume Barry's letters were related to the topic). The memo author/NSA assignee indicated he suspected the letters to be fraudulent, and proceeded to interact with the researchers in order to investigate the authenticity of the docs. He went on to explain he contacted CIA personnel who verified the letters to be frauds, and that the CIA wrote Barry and informed him that was the case.

The memo author described his suspicions of the origin of the purported CIA letters, as well as his concerns about the activities of researchers involved, including Todd Zechel (who founded Citizens Against UFO Secrecy, or CAUS):


This leads us to the bulk of the body of the memo, and the purpose of its subject line, "Information request solicitation." The memo author describes a nearly hour long telephone conversation with Zechel in which the NSA man clearly developed a sense of responsibility to inform the Agency of its contents. The author explained Zechel was requesting he "watch out for UFO related information within NSA" and "that I pass on what I could." The NSA assignee added he had "to some degree" checked on Zechel's character "with some people who have worked with him more closely."

"There is some thought," he continued, "that he would be capable of being behind the CIA letter fraud and that he is apt to go to most any length to collect information or to bend facts to fit his needs."

The author further wrote, "I personally have some fear that now that he has made contact with me, he may, either privately, or worse, publicly attempt to make it look as if I am an inside NSA contact for him. Or, on the other hand, he may elude to having such a contact for years, then when he feels it appropriate or when cornered, hope to produce me as that contact."

The memo concludes with mentioning "a chance of building a productive working relationship" with Zechel, whatever that's supposed to mean, and committing, "Any further contact or requests for information will be reported.":



The trail of the 1978 memo can be followed back to the Yeates affidavit. The sworn statements of NSA man Eugene F. Yeates were recorded in the early 1980's when CAUS sued the NSA for its UFO files.

Yeates stated some 239 documents responsive to the FOIA request submitted by CAUS were located in NSA files. One of the docs, he noted however, should not be considered relevant to UFOs: the 1978 memo. As Yeates explained in the affidavit, "It is an account by a person assigned to NSA of his attendance at a UFO symposium and it cannot fairly be said to be a record of the kind sought by the plaintiff."

In other words, it didn't really have anything to do with UFOs. Yeates' statements further suggested the NSA was reluctant to fully release the rest of its files for similar reasons: the info therein had less to do with the plaintiff's UFO-related interests than matters of national security, particularly communications intelligence (COMINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT).

Philip Klass explored the topic in his Jan., 1997 newsletter. Klass obtained some 156 formerly Top Secret COMINT "UFO documents" spanning the years 1958 to 1979 and previously withheld from CAUS by the NSA. While the docs were "heavily censored," Klass concurred they primarily revealed matters of national security, such as NSA eavesdropping on Russian military sites and similar circumstances.

Klass further wrote that he strongly suspected the author of the then-withheld memo by the assignee at the UFO conference (referenced in the Yeates affidavit) to be Tom Deuley, a former NSA man and longtime MUFON board member. Klass continued that Deuley explained in a 1987 paper he was assigned to the Agency in mid-1978, just prior to attending the MUFON annual conference held that year in Dayton, Ohio. Deuley reportedly also wrote, "Before making that trip I felt it was necessary to let NSA know that I had an interest in UFOs. I took the matter up with my immediate supervisor, suggesting that the fact be put on the record."

It can be reasonably surmised that Klass was likely correct about the identity of the memo author, as both the date, 1978, and location, Dayton, of the conference are corroborated in the now largely released document. The sponsor of the event, the Mutual UFO Network, is also corroborated, as is the description by the memo author that he was then-recently assigned to the NSA and desired to keep his employer properly informed of his activities.


In my opinion, the declassified memo represents important yet largely under reported aspects of the UFO community: the significance of espionage and counterespionage operations, investigations (unrelated to UFOs but overlapping with the UFO community) conducted by the intelligence community, and the effects the circumstances have on the genre as a whole. This appears to have particularly been the case in the 20th century, when standard methods of operation seem to have included fabricating tales of crashed flying saucers and circulating unsubstantiated reports of aliens via fraudulent documents. The dynamics are reflected in the 1978 memo, whatever may have been the actual agendas of the parties involved.

Paul Bennewitz

The time of the memo, 1978, was just a few short years before Richard Doty gaslighted Paul Bennewitz and shared unverified extraordinary documents with Linda Moulton Howe. The Bennewitz Affair contained entirely unsubstantiated rumors that nonetheless continue to be recycled and continuously accepted throughout UFO circles.

At that same point in time, the early 1980's, a young airman stationed in Nevada and holding a Top Secret clearance was slipped none other than a likely forged smoking gun doc. She had a preexisting relationship with MUFON and interest in UFOs. As explored in my book, The Greys Have Been Framed: Exploitation in the UFO Community, Simone Mendez was subjected to grueling interrogations before being cleared of potential espionage charges and any wrongdoing. It is reasonable to suspect she and others may have been provided such docs for the purpose of following their trails through the UFO community, somewhat like throwing a dye pack in a sinkhole and seeing where the dye emerges.

Barry Greenwood of CAUS would later assist Mendez in obtaining documentation of her circumstances from the FBI and USAF Office of Special Investigations via the Freedom of Information Act. He also provided me with documents and information requested for inclusion in the chapter on the Mendez case contained in my book.

Also noteworthy was the 1980's case of the late Vincente DePaula. He apparently held security clearance in his employment in the defense industry, working on satellite systems. DePaula, who had an interest in UFOs and traveled ufology social circles, was reportedly interrogated at length by the Defense Investigative Service about his ufology associates.

The activities of the intelligence community within ufology stand to substantially alter and subsequently form popularly held perspectives, and the activities often have nothing to do with unusual phenomena. The interests of intelligence agencies at least some of the time include circumstances as reported by Klass, protecting the sensitive details of such circumstances, and keeping a sharp eye on those who express unusually deep interests in them.

The UFO topic has in at least some instances been used as a vehicle to gain the trust of individuals holding security clearances in employment capacities. It is then used in attempts to extract information. It should be understood and taken into consideration that the accuracy of stories passed among such people is extremely suspect, even as they gain wider attention throughout the UFO community at large. What's more, the intent of such architects of deception, at least some of the time, is not to mislead the public, but such manipulation is simply a byproduct of other objectives. They just don't care what the public thinks about UFOs.

Bushman showing a highly questionable photo of an alleged alien reportedly obtained from his network of contacts

In the end, a valid point can be made that it is not only the IC games that contribute to the deterioration of the genre and the topic, but the very presence of individuals who partake in such games. This goes much further than a simple warning of 'buyer beware'. The fact is the Mutual UFO Network has long been inundated with byproducts of the intelligence community, and many will recall it was Tom Deuley who served as front man for the ill fated Ambient Monitoring Project, an initiative which involved placing various data-gathering sensors and equipment in the homes of self-described alien abductees. The project was ultimately strongly criticized due to its lack of completion, lack of transparency, and general incompetence. Maybe the IC had nothing to do with the lack of adequate explanations for its failure, or the lack of resolution surrounding Skinwalker, or any number of similar circumstances, but if its members weren't so deeply involved in such cases while simultaneously harboring classified agendas, we wouldn't have to wonder.

Whatever the objectives may have been that were furthered by such events spanning from a 1947 press release in Roswell to the cultivation of the MJ-12 meme and all the way to the adventures of Tom Delonge - and virtually countless more cases potentially involving the IC along the way - their significance in shaping public perception should be recognized. The reasons may be as diverse as the dates and cases, but their relevance should be understood and incorporated into assessments.
Read more »

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

Two weeks ago, a resident of Grovetown, Georgia took a brief look skyward during a Friday night football game between the Grovetown Warriors and the Lincoln County Red Devils. What he saw in the sky that night immediately arrested his attention.

By Anthony C. Hayes baltimorepostexaminer.com 9-18-17

Moving west to east at a slow rate of speed was a wedge-shaped object – its triangular light configuration clearly visible from the stands. The witness (who wants to remain anonymous) first tried to use his cell phone to record the aberration. When his phone malfunctioned, he borrowed the phone of a friend who had joined him for the game that evening.

The witness later texted the picture to Donnie Brooke, a member of the Georgia Chapter of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network). MUFON is the world’s oldest and largest UFO phenomenon investigative body.
Read more »

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

A witness from Georgia claims to have seen a “massive” metallic “beautiful chrome-ish” triangular UFO. The witness says the object had no lights and although it was huge, it was moving very slowly. The witness reported the sighting today to the Mutual UFO Network’s (MUFON) online reporting system. The witness says the object was spotted on June 1, 2008 while driving home from work with a friend. They were headed from

By Alejandro Rojas openminds.tv 8-3-17

Cartersville to Canton, Georgia on the I-20 highway. The object was so large and strange that the witness says they did not want to alert their friend who was driving for fear of sounding crazy.
Read more »

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

A few years ago, MUFON - the largest UFO group in the U.S., and probably the world - seemed to be riding high. Its motto is, "The scientific study of UFOs for the benefit of humanity." Its TV show Hangar 1 on the "History" Channel was attracting attention and new members, in spite of being soundly denounced for its sensationalism by practically every serious student of UFOlogy. Today, MUFON has hit a very rough patch, and seems to be skidding out of control.

By Robert Sheaffer badufos.blogspot.com 8-1-17

Read more »

A Washington witness at Lummi reported watching a triangle-shaped object “as big as a house” that passed overhead, but hovered briefly while shooting orange-colored orbs to the ground level, according to testimony in Case 85309 from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database. The witness was driving home from a casino at 10:30 a.m. on July 20, 2017, when the incident began. “I saw a huge, triangle-shaped object come from the south direction

By Roger Marsh OpenMinds.tv 7-28-17

and travel south,” the witness stated. “It was big as a house with red lights all over the bottom.”

While most UFO reports indicate no sound with the object, the witness did hear the object in this case.

“It made a humming sound as it passed almost overhead. As it went north over by the river, it stopped and shot out 10 orange orbs down into the river or close to the bank anyway. I watched it for about 20 minutes. It was raining that morning, but the clouds were clear out when I saw it.”
Read more »

LAS VEGAS - A computer hacker says he's seen evidence that suggests the United States military has its own secret space program, separate from NASA's space effort.

By George Knapp I-Team KLAS 7-19-17

Gary McKinnon, a computer whiz from the United Kingdom, says he will talk about it at a Las Vegas symposium the weekend of July 21nd-23rd.

According to McKinnon, in 2001, while he was searching online for evidence about UFO's, he accessed classified NASA computers a total of 13 times. But instead of evidence of UFO's, McKinnon found files about a secret space program operated by the U.S. Navy, he said.
Read more »

var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true};

A California witness at Landers reported that a group of people at a UFO conference watched and videotaped a military jet “chasing” two lights sources that may have been two independent objects, according to testimony in Case 84123 from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database. The sighting occurred about 10 p.m. on May 21, 2017, at the conference in Joshua Tree, CA, that included one participant shooting video with night vision goggles.

By Roger Marsh www.OpenMinds.tv 7-13-17

“Luckily one of my participants caught this and many of our other sightings (from all three nights no less), with his black-and-white night vision video camera,” the witness stated. “His additional footage of some of the other incredible sightings will be posted at a future date once they are compiled.”

The witness described the event.

“At just before 10 p.m. (did not note exact time), some of my participants and I saw a large, amber-colored light low to the horizon just behind Giant Rock from where my whole group of about 50-plus people were gathered and using 15 pair of night vision goggles. A contingency of about 20 of us ran to get a better view of it. To the naked eye it appeared to be a large, orangish (amber) light, that, quoting some of the 20 people; ‘flew like a bumble bee.’”

One of the guests had a good look.


The group then heard the sound of a low flying jet from behind the hill.

“Suddenly clearing the top of the hill and right over our heads, came a very fast military jet chasing a faster, large, red-glowing light. The military jet had both red and white blinking strobe lights and glowing afterburners and was very loud as it flew directly above our heads. The large red light had no blinking lights and no sound at all. It became clear to all 50-plus witnesses, this was no jet. Those folks present who looked with the aid of the goggles said they were seeing either two lights, or one object with two light sources on it.”
Read more »

Although the MUFON Inner Circle is announced on MUFON’s website, and there seems to be no attempt to keep the elite organization hidden, very few of the MUFON members I queried had any idea that it existed. It currently is made up of thirteen members, which seems to be more coincidence than design, but that number does seem to have mysterious connotations for some. I don’t believe it significant, only a little bizarre. The thirteen members, in no particular order are: Jan Harzan, Ed L’Heureux, Jennifer Stein, David MacDonald, John Schuessler, Debbie

By Kevin Randle A Different Perspective 6-24-17

Ziegelmeyer, Clifford Clift, John Ventre, JZ Knight, Holly Baker, John Grace, Cindy DuPont and Michael Limotta.

Membership is limited to those who have an extra five grand that they can use each year to buy their place in the Inner Circle. That seems to be the only real qualification for membership. According to MUFON, “The Inner Circle status is obtained through a yearly donation of $5,000. Whether you have had a UFO sighting or are just interested in UFOs, you are welcome to join.”

The site then reports, “Inner Circle members provide advisory guidance to MUFON and are included in annual conference calls, attend private functions and cocktail parties during Symposium time, are afforded reserved seating at MUFON events, and much more!”

It is also noted, “You’ll be joining a very select group of UFO enthusiasts who stop at nothing in pursuit of knowledge about the UFO phenomenon and extraterrestrials. You’ll meet other Inner Circle members at MUFON who are kindred spirits and you’ll participate in Inner Circle-ONLY events.”

The benefits, again, according to MUFON, include access to the MUFON Director’s annual conference call and latest UFO reports, access to the MUFON Director’s live annual post symposium review, including speaker’s comments and personal insights shared with MUFON Director one on one, followed by 30-minute live Q&A session with the MUFON Director. An Inner Circle member also receives free admission to the MUFON Symposium each year of donation, special reserved seating for two in MUFON Director’s section during MUFON Symposium, along with photos with the MUFON Director and Keynote Speaker at the MUFON Symposium. There are three LIVE (emphasis on the website) “Closed Door” conference calls with the MUFON Director, soliciting “your input regarding UFO Research and Public Awareness. Director will also share unpublished current UFO cases with information generally unknown by public or Media.” And finally, it includes a lifetime membership to MUFON which includes the MUFON e-Journal.

At first glance, these perks to membership in the Inner Circle don’t seem to be worth the yearly contribution to MUFON coffers. It might be seen as more of a status thing than as a way to make a contribution to UFO research and some of the members have a rather checkered background. The emphasis on “special reserved seating, photos with the Director and Keynote Speakers and the “Closed Door’ conference calls,” seem to smack of elitism, but then is that such a big deal?

And, at siccolinks.website>back_up>index_058, it says, “Members of this elite group provide insight and direction to the course MUFON takes in it’s [sic] daily activities.” That is a point where this Inner Circle becomes important especially as we look at the list of those who are members of the Inner Circle really are.

I’ve already detailed in another post some of the trouble that John Ventre, who had bought his place in the Inner Circle, brought to MUFON as a whole. His racist rant on Facebook in May 2017, his doubling down by suggesting some sort of demonic component to the UFO phenomenon a few days later, and his overall attitude gives rise to questions about the Inner Circle and the only real qualification to join.

I have also learned that while Ventre was removed as the state director for Pennsylvania and Delaware, he has been assigned duties as the state treasurer and the conference coordinator according to Lon Strickler. I had asked Harzan during my radio interview with him if Ventre had been reduced to “journal subscriber,” but meant it more as a joke, not realizing that Harzan didn’t actually answer the question. Instead he said that anyone was allowed to join MUFON and, of course, he hadn’t been removed from the Inner Circle which seemed to me to be more problematic. That suggested that the monetary contribution to MUFON was the important aspect. But then, Ventre is not the only member who has these bizarre and racist beliefs.

J Z Knight is another of those whose membership might be questioned. She is a “New Age Leader,” who channels a 35,000-year-old Lemurian warrior who apparently participated in the downfall of Atlantis and who endorsed Donald Trump in the last election. (I note here that I would have mentioned if he had endorsed Hillary Clinton.) In March 2011, Knight was on stage addressing hundreds of those interested in what she had to say, which seemed to be nothing more than a drunken rant, according to Susy Buchanan of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Although Knight claimed, or it is suggested the words aren’t hers but rather Ramtha, the Lemurian she channels, he (meaning Ramtha) said, “Fuck God’s chosen people [meaning the Jews]! I think they’ve earned enough cash to have paid their way out of the goddamned gas chambers by now.”

She, or rather Ramtha, added that Mexicans “breed like rabbits,” all gay men were once Catholic priests and in a strange comment, organic farmers have questionable hygiene. I don’t know what that last means.

Buchanan noted that these remarks would have remained private except that in 2012, they were posted to the web, again according to Buchanan, by Knight’s ex-student Virginia Coverdale and a fellow named David McCarthy. This embarrassed Democratic candidates who had received some $70,000 from Knight, which also suggests that she had enough money to hand over five grand to MUFON on a yearly basis so that she can enter the Inner Circle. To their credit, the candidates returned the donations.

In the article cited above, there was a note I found interesting which was that Knight had been borne Judith Darlene Hampton in 1946 in Roswell, New Mexico. (It seems no matter how hard I try, I can’t get away from Roswell which is the only reason I mention this.)

It is also suggested that Knight owes no apologies to any to those she might have offended during her drunken rant because she employs lapsed Catholics, former Jews, a lesbian and a Mexican-born man in her Inner Circle (but doesn’t seem to employ an organic farmer). Somehow her association with them absolves her of any charges of bigotry or racism. She also claims that the videos used as the basis for Buchanan’s article are heavily edited and that “Coverdale couldn’t keep the man she was after for more than three weeks and hated me for it.”

Much of what Buchanan had to say also has appeared on Wikipedia with a long list of sources that can be accessed for additional confirmation. There are also articles from television stations and newspapers that seem to validate the claims of the racist rants that Buchanan raised.

There are others whose backgrounds and comments aren’t quite so dramatic. David MacDonald, who is also a member of the MUFON Board of Directors as well as a member of the Inner Circle, started the Flamingo Air which was sort of a charter service but it had an added component. For a fee, a couple could hire one of the aircraft so that they might join the “Mile High Club,” and yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Is this egregious? Not really, but then, it isn’t exactly something that an organization that works in the UFO field wants its board members (and former Director) to be doing. In fact, a couple of MUFON members said that they had left the organization when they learned about this. It seems to reflect poorly on the organization, but, of course, not as poorly as some of the other activities.


But the website said, ““Inner Circle members provide advisory guidance to MUFON and are included in annual conference calls, attend private functions…” which sounds like something more significant than just getting together to chat about UFOs. It sounds as if it is more than just someone handing over that kind of money with no expectation of privilege. You might compare it to major contributors to a political campaign or political party. Those people do expect some sort of quid pro quo for the money.

Add to that, “You’ll meet other Inner Circle members at MUFON who are kindred spirits (they might want to remove this given how some of those kindred spirits speak about others) and you’ll participate in Inner Circle-ONLY events…” We don’t know what those other Inner Circle only events might be, but I suspect it is something more than just a party at someone’s house. And, if you are meeting with Inner Circle members who are either on the Board of Directors or are the Executive Director, you have an opportunity to affect MUFON’s direction simply by having the opportunity to meet, one on one, with the Executive Director who certainly does exert influence on the direction MUFON takes.

Also suggesting something more than a donation level as Harzan repeatedly claimed, and that anyone can call the Executive Director, there are “… three LIVE (emphasis on the website) ‘Closed Door’ conference calls with the MUFON Director, soliciting ‘your input regarding UFO Research and Public Awareness.’’

So, while anyone can call the Executive Director, can everyone expect a return telephone call? And, will the Executive Director be interested in their “advisory guidance?” Claiming that the Inner Circle members exert no influence, but attempting to entice people to join by suggesting there will be influence as the Executive Director is “soliciting” their input is somewhat contradictory. If all this Inner Circle does is contribute money, then why is the Executive Director soliciting their input.

While it seems that many of those who have joined the Inner Circle have the best intentions, supporting an organization they believe to be of some benefit, shouldn’t they be troubled by the attitudes of a couple of their fellow Inner Circle members? The racist rants wouldn’t be tolerated in almost any other arena, but here, they are ignored because those holding those extreme views allegedly have no influence on the organization and have Inner Circle status solely based on the size of their wallets, at least according to Harzan.

But when we look in other directions, political campaigns often return money given by those with extreme views. They don’t want to be associated with people who think in the extreme and have the power to purchase a platform.

And to suggest that this is merely free speech, as Harzan did, is to overlook the real trouble here. Yes, you can say whatever you wish, but there are consequences to some of that free speech, especially when directed in an antagonistic way to a specific group. You simply can’t advocate, indirectly, violence against a group because of skin color, religious belief, ethnicity (which is different from skin color) or other less than objective criterion. I will defend your right to say whatever you wish but I will also note that you must take responsibility for that speech. You can’t dismiss a bigoted, racist point of view simply by calling it free speech.

I will add this. While I am exercising my right to free speech here, I know that I am offending some. Those who toil at the lower levels of MUFON, who believe in what is being done, will be annoyed with what I say here. I don’t mean to offend them. They are sort of caught in the crossfire. I do believe that the facts I have laid out here need to be seen and reviewed. I expect nasty comments to the blog (and for those keeping score at home, attack me personally and the comment will not see the light of day… make an argument against my conclusions here and the like, I’ll be happy to post it… free speech), but I am opening a dialogue about all this and accept the animosity as part of the deal. But you’ll notice that I’m not attacking anyone for being black, Jewish, Mexican, Asian, female or white. I am exposing what I see as a hypocrisy at the top of the MUFON food chain. Harzan even joked about it, saying that he’d remove J Z Knight as a state director, but she wasn’t one. He wasn’t concerned about the image that projected to the rest of the world, which I would have thought would have been one of the more important elements of the discussion.

What it boils down to here is this: is the Inner Circle nothing more than a donation level group, or does it actually have a larger function and influential impact as suggested by the Inner Circle information on the web site? Does it help influence the direction of MUFON or is it just a cash cow created to stroke the egos of a few people who have more dollars than sense? There is a contradiction here which suggests that the Executive Director is not overly concerned with the radical and expressed views of some of these people because they have money. He says, on the one hand, they have no influence, but the web site says they do and if they do, then the leadership owes it to the membership to address these concerns.

(I will note here that the situation seems to change day by day, but there hasn’t been the response from the leadership that you would expect… I found some of the things said by Harzan during my interview to be said more as a joke than anything else, including his seemingly tongue in cheek claim that he had sort of bought his position as Executive Director. MUFON needs real leadership and not lip service.)
Read more »