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Post-ABC UFO Special Thoughts

2.24.5

Just some quick thoughts on the special. Though it did just end 10 minutes ago.

Nice to see Art Bell on within the first 5 minutes of the special. The segment on him and C2C was excellent and gave the show an air of credibility it otherwise didn't have so far. That said, it was edited in a way to make the show seem "wacky", which was obviously done on purpose.

I was amazed by the animations throughout the night. They were perhaps the most startling, along w. the Phoenix Lights video. During that as well as during numerous animations, I found myself saying "whoah", as I was amazed at what I was seeing.

One man described having a UFO sighting as something like "you don't want to blink because you're afraid you might miss something". That struck me in a strange way as being so honest. I suppose you'd have to see the moment, I'll try and pin down the time on that one.

You can always spot a skeptic by how they pronounce "ufology". This should be one of the 10 commandments of The Field. All skeptics, it seems, or disrespecting science types for that matter, mispronounce Ufology. I cannot respect someone's opinion when they cannot muster the intelligence or the investigative ability to correctly pronounce the name of the field of study.

The detailing of the Robertson Panel and Blue Book was a rather backhanded way of showing how the government conspired, without outright saying it of course, to downplay Ufology. Interesting hearing that on network television.

I loathe that SETI woman who told the UFO story and it turned out to be the moon. Only because she tricked me. I do find the entire lot @ SETI to be rather dreadful people, however. Seth Shostak repulses me to my core.

No one in the entire field of Ufology lost out bigger tonight than Stanton Friedman, which was the biggest shocker of the night for me. A complete and utter burial of the "Father of Modern Day Ufology" and the entire Roswell case. I don't even think Friedman was interviewed by ABC, which is even more astounding. I was having visions of the ABC special on JFK from last year as this played out. The special essentially took the 1995 Roswell : Case Closed gov't report at face value. No serious investigation or rebuttal from Friedman or any other Roswell researcher.

The show did an extra sleazy job of painting Friedman and the other Roswell investigators as charlatans. Calling them "Roswell promoters" on numerous occasions. It was an interesting, albeit slanted, look at the growth of the "Roswell story", but it always concluded that it was a myth and ended the Roswell portion acting as there was absolutely nothing to the story. Friedman must be steamed.

I'm declaring right now that there was no need for a 20 + minute segment on abductions. I think it clearly muddied the waters of the special and did not help matters at all. The show should have primarily focused on UFOs alone and not delved into abductions.

Coming out of that was the biggest winner of the night, Michio Kaku, whose wisdom shone through once again, this time on a grand stage. Kaku excellently represented himself and the idea of why UFO cannot be ruled out. If I were making the case for UFOs, Kaku would now be the first guy I'd call.

Peter Davenport also came out looking good. His tireless dedication to collecting data was given it's proper due. I was happy to see that. I wish he'd been given more than 3-5 minutes, but rumour has it he and Jennings hit it off, so this may not be the end of the line for those two.

Overall, it's too early to judge the special. I've just digested it moments ago, a mere half hour. Some big questions have emerged and some have been answered. This weekend, binnallofamerica.com will bring you an in-depth look at numerous facets of the ABC special. Such as :

Who did ABC miss interviewing that they should have ?

A comprehensive look at who did get featured for skeptics and ufologists.

More on the C2C segment in the special.

Comparison of coverage of the special by the "big 2" in esoteric radio.

Possible conclusions one can draw based on when the show aired.

Was this a watershed moment in Ufology ?

We hope to cover these points and many more over the course of the next few days and weeks to come.


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