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The rantings and ravings of superstar theologian, Joe Vee



Editor's Note: Nearly two years ago, Joe Vee penned the piece "The First Victim of the Cosmic Inquisition" which detailed Michael Corbin's oft-overlooked contribution to esoteric radio history. Now, nearly a year since his last appearance @ BoA, Joe Vee returns for a special edition of "The Wrath of Joe" to pay tribute to one of his personal heroes, Michael Corbin.

3.28.8

RIP Michael Corbin

At about this time last week, I learned the sad news greeted with heavy heart by most any serious researcher into the “powers behind the throne” that often underlie the outermost façade of society. Michael Corbin, veteran talk-show host, intrepid journalist, and the grandfather of the esoteric media, long before Art Bell realized it was a ratings draw, passed away.

For anyone who enjoyed Michael’s work, either for pure entertainment or for content capable of sparking a thought, one did not necessarily feel sadness, so much as it was a bitter taste in the mouth. If you’ve joined Michael Corbin on his long ride from the Paranet Continuum, to "A Closer Look" on GCN, to the independent run of "A Closer Look" over the past three years, you’ve more often than not felt a certain sense of injustice for Michael.

For better or worse, Michael Corbin will always be lumped in with the “paranormal” and “conspiratorial” categories and yet anyone who listened to him can tell you this man was the rare radio journalist. In a field ridden with charlatan’s and hacks, Michael Corbin made it readily apparent to any listener that he wasn’t particularly interested in putting on a show or selling a guest’s book. Corbin possessed a near encyclopedic knowledge of every corner, shadow and crevice of this arena and never refrained from making it apparent. Whether it was on the Paranet Continuum or "A Closer Look", Michael Corbin was captain of his ship and would take the topic into waters lesser able (though sadly better known) contemporaries hadn’t the ability to pilot.

At last I checked, the archives to Paranet were down, however, if you get a chance, please, take a listen. Corbin asked the difficult questions Art Bell groupies and Ufology junkies should have clamored for. Aside from Corbin’s open challenge to Art Bell in the weeks leading up to and after the Hale Bopp fiasco, Corbin dared to go where no one in Ufology was willing to go in the 90s: he was willing to question the legitimacy and interest of funding.

Thus when Robert Bigelow bought the “Skinwalker Ranch” and assembled an investigative team, Corbin reviewed Bigelow’s interest in the sight and UFO activity and dared to ask open mic if anyone else was concerned about where Bigelow’s money came from and why were concerned parties only willing to commit a bare minimum research into his background and connections? And let’s not forget, towards the end of Paranet’s run, Corbin began focusing in on the potential psy-ops behind the whole UFO issue and the potential it had for mind control. Corbin had, in the course of the program, uncovered so much fraud and dirty money surrounding the phenomenon. By the time he discovered the presence of MK ULTRA alumni in the early history of Ufology, it became time to ask the forbidden question: was the whole UFO phenomenon, one which had enchanted-in one way or another-millions, an operation in mass mind control?

When Paranet evolved into "A Closer Look", Corbin continued to ask the difficult questions. In retrospect, "A Closer Look" was more suited to Corbin’s journalistic instincts, yet, Corbin would again encounter resistance to the difficult questions. Corbin, to the shock of many, dared to question the legitimacy of 911 Truth. Now, this does not mean he questioned the theory of 911 Truth; rather, he questioned the legitimacy of the movement. It seemed to Corbin that a movement which could have exposed the dark annals of government corruption became utterly fixated on one thing, to the point of ignoring far more insidious potentialities and degenerating into a mere impeachment movement. Although he never, to the best of my knowledge, stated it explicitly, Corbin hinted he had begun to feel 911 Truth was functioning-by design-to keep people affixed to one particular issue; while groups were shouting for Truth now and impeachment, Rome was burning behind their backs, as it were.

It would be impossible to touch on every idea Michael Corbin brought into the exchange (although his shows on the Vatican Bank are genius) or in how many different directions he could steer the conversation. We can only pray someone takes up management of both the Paranet and "A Closer Look" archives-there is a mountainous treasure of thought for the losing.

In a field-which he far out classed-where glorified disc jockeys are often marketed as journalists, Michael Corbin was without any peer. Michael Corbin was a genuine journalist and researcher in his own right who utilized the medium of talk radio to publish his ideas and his findings. Thus, even in his more “paranormal days” Michael Corbin never devolved into the host of a three ring freak circus. And as he evolved into "A Closer Look", Corbin resisted the trends so predominant in today’s field.

He was passionate about controlled immigration, but rather than water the xenophobic roots of American culture, Corbin advocated speeding up the immigration process, teaching English, and making sure vested corporate interest could not use this issue as a means of keeping cheap and under-educated labor. Corbin could question the role of the Israeli lobby without denigrating into the loosely veiled anti-Semitism touted by some of other talk show hosts. Corbin could discuss government corruption with credibility, without becoming a self parody by plugging his merchandize every other segment and running commercials for it during breaks.

Corbin was the thinking man of this sad little field. Oddly, that’s probably why he didn’t have a larger audience. With Michael Corbin’s passing, the investigative voices in the field are now firmly on the margins. Investigative journalism is dying and it’s likely to be a long while before another figure comes to the fore to pick up the ball for his or her peers. So many directions remain open. Corbin proposed so many ideas, so many avenues upon which to drive the show, but we’ll never know where they could take us-Corbin’s knowledge dies with him.

If you haven’t, do your self the favor and go to www.4acloserlook.com, find whatever available archives you can and listen. One can only hope that like so many other luminaries, Michael Corbin will be appreciated after his death more than he was in life.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

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