OK, You Can't Bitch-Slap Me On Samuel Alito--Will This Nomination Trigger The Nuclear Filibuster Option?--Can POTUS Sustain Any Kind Of Tussle?

President Bush, bitch-slapped by his own party and supporters over his misguided attempt to elevate aide Harriet Miers to The Supreme Court, this morning nominated veteran judge Samuel Alito. POTUS hopes to re-shape the Court, as well as pander to his conservative allies. Democrats warned us earlier in the week that Alito is a judicial extremist who would tilt the balance of the court in right to choose issues.

"Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court for 15 years, and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years," The President said.

"The Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.

Alito is frequently called "Scalito" because his judicial philosophy closely mirrors that of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He is not so abrasive, but every bit as conservative as his nickname-sake.

Will this lead to the death of the filibuster? We should know before Christmas.
---o0o---

Fitzgerald Vs. The White House In Executive Privelege War

According to the Drudge Report, Prosecutor Fitzgerald plans to call Vice President Dick Cheney as a witness in the trial of Lewis Libby.

This will naturally result in an executive privilege standoff between the White House and Fitzgerald. A White House source said "If Mr. Fitzgerald is going to demand a public recounting of conversations between the vice president, or even the president, and his staff, on matters he, himself, has acknowledged are 'classified,' executive privilege will obviously be invoked."

Does The President have another big fight left in him? Let's find out!
---o0o---

Alien Lore No. 38::::It was 67 Years Ago Today That Orson Welles Scared The Living S*** Out Of America

On October 30, 1938, Orson Welles caused a national panic with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds"--a tale of an ugly Martian invasion of Earth. Click on the title of this piece to download an MP3 of the entire hour broadcast. It's great radio, and truly horrifying.

Welles was 23 years old when his Mercury Theater company updated H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds for national broadcast. Welles had already been in radio for several years, in "The Shadow." Mercury Theatre had no idea of the uproar "War" would cause. They did not intend to create a panic.

Millions of Americans had their radios on--but they were listening to Edgar Bergen (Candice's dad) and his dummy Charlie McCarthy. When that show ended at 8:12, the masses tuned to Welles's drama. By then, the Martian invasion was well underway. An announcer reports that "Professor Farrell of the Mount Jenning Observatory" had detected explosions on the planet Mars. Dance music came back on, followed by another interruption in which listeners were informed that a large meteor had crashed into a farmer's field in Grovers Mills, New Jersey.

A reporter at the crash site describes a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder. '

"Good heavens," he declared, "something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here's another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me ... I can see the thing's body now. It's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it ...it ... ladies and gentlemen, it's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it's so awful. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate."

The Martians rode walking war machines and fired "heat-ray" weapons at the puny humans gathered around the crash site. They killed 7,000 National Guardsman, and after being attacked by artillery and bombers the Martians released a poisonous gas into the air. Soon "Martian cylinders" landed in Chicago and St. Louis.

Across the eastern seaboard, panic broke out, including massive traffic jams in New Jersey of people trying to escape the martians. When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio, Welles went on the air as himself to remind listeners that it was just fiction. There were government investigations but no one was ever reprimanded or arrested.

Orson Welles went on to make great movies, including Citizen Kane, surely one of the greatest American movies ever.

Click here to visit a page with a downloadable MP3 of the entire hour broadcast. It's a great show. And an early piece of Alien Lore.
---o0o---

"A Fresh Start" For The President

After months in the roiling sewer the White House has become, crowned by by the indictment of a senior official, President Bush will, according to New York Times sources "try to give his second term a fresh start by naming a new conservative nominee to the Supreme Court and intensifying his drive to cut government spending."

For now, POTUS will not perform the top to bottom housecleaning that previous administrations have resorted to to rebuild their credibility.
---o0o---

Who'll Be The Next In Line??

Alien Lore No. 37: The Abduction Of Betty And Barney Hill

In 1964 it was revealed under hypnosis that Betty and Barney Hill had been the subjects of alien experiments. The Hills said that on the night of September 19th, 1961, while they were driving back to their home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire after a holiday in Canada. They were on U.S Route 3 and noticed a bright light near the moon that was growing in size. They stopped the car and viewed the object through binoculars for a better look, thinking it was an airplane. The Hills kept driving, but noticed the light was getting near. Approaching the White Mountains, the object now seemed to be on a parallel course to their car. They drove on, checking every now and then for the mysterious eerie light.

Near Indian Head, the UFO appeared directly in front of them. Leaving the engine running, Barney got out to look at the bright object. He viewed it through the binoculars and observed 5-11 humanoid figures moving behind a double row of windows. Betty remained in the car and heard her husband remark "I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" "This can't be happening!

The UFO was 70 feet overhead and only 100 feet distant. Betty screamed for him to get back in the car and Barney drove away fast. The Hills heard a 'beeping' noise. They became very drowsy and sleepy. Two hours later, in Ashland 35 miles south of Indian Head, they found themselves driving. Feeling anxious and puzzled about the missing two hours and the UFO, the continued home.

The next day they contacted the Pease Air Force Base and later the National investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP) in Washington, D.C. Investigators were sent to document their stories and soon after Betty began to have horrible nightmares. The incident played on both their minds for quite some time. Eventually they went and consulted Dr Benjamin Simon, a Boston psychiatrist who specialised in amnesia and personality disorders through the means of hypnotherapy. They were treated for six months which started in January of 1964. What they revealed under hypnosis was pretty much the same as in Betty's nightmares. A group of 8-10 individuals dressed in black matching uniforms with military style caps. Standing in front of the car and being told that they would not be harmed.

Brought aboard the UFO (although it would actually now be an Identified Flying object), they were examined, and samples of their hair and fingernails were taken.

Betty Hill asked one of the Greys where they were from. Under hypnosis, Betty drew a star-map. Not until several years later did a new investigation reveal data which was not available back in '61 showing a cluster of stars, near two newly discovered stars called Zeta Reticuli. Betty Hill's map proved extremely accurate, according to UFOlogists.
---o0o---

Miers Pulls Out:::::Thanks, But No Thanks::::Woe Is Us Because The President With His Waning Politcal Capital Is Forced To A Heinrich Himmler Clone

Good Afternoon, All This Is That readers. I am writing in from Austin, Texas (one of the great, great towns).

I am glad to see The President stumble once again, but am truly spooked about how he responds. The President will now be forced to bring in a Justice with truly conservative credentials. . .one with which there will be no ambiguity about their views on Abortion or Privact matters. This is not so good.

The only positive thing for us (e.g., Demo/lefties) is that a) POTUS experiences another disaster in what is looking to be a week of Big Disasters; and b) we didn't get much stink on us in the Senate. It was the GOP, the rednecks and the religious right that helped sink this nomination. . .the Democrats (for once) just got to lean back and enjoy the show. I can promise you that won't happen next time. In the meantime, we can take one day and enjoy this stumble by The President and His Brain, Karl Rove.
---o0o---

News Flash: Vice President Cheney's Boat Springs A Leak

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Alien Lore No. 36: More On The Greys

click image to enlarge

The Greys are the most frequently identified alien race in UFOlogy and the most commonly described race by [alleged] abductees. Digging into the lore, you find literally dozens of alleged alien races. Most, of course, are at odds and working at cross-purposes with each other. The Greys alone, are lumped into three categories: Grey Type A, B, and C.

Type A Greys are the type most commonly referred to as Greys. They are believed to hail from the Zeta Reticuli star system (e.g., the Bernard star), neighboring Orion. They function in a disciplined, military mode with a rigidly defined social structure and exhibit what we sometimes call hive behavior.

Type B Greys are from Orion. They are about four feet taller than Type A Greys (7 to 8 ft. tall). Their faces are similar to grey type A except for a large nose. These greys also have technologies that allow them to perform certain actions that appear miraculous to we befuddled humans.

Type C Greys are the shortest of the greys. Their facial features are very similar to the Zeta Reticuli greys and they are of the same "root race." They are just as hostile to humans as the Zetas and come from a star system near the shoulder of Orion called Bellatrax.

Many other alien groups have been reported: Human Type A, B, and C; The reptilian; Group A (non earth-born humans, or, our cousins, or possibly our forebears); hybrids, or, human-alien hybrids of varying concentrations; The Blondes; The Nordics; and dozens of other races including Sasquatches and even Dolphins. I like to keep it simple and just focus on the Greys. In the lore, many of these races are at war with each other, or working at very extreme cross-purposes.

While their have been dozens of descriptions given by witnesses, the most reported and accepted face of the aliens are the EBE's (Extraterrestrial Biological Entities) known as the Greys.

In general, the Greys are described as: about 3'4" - 3'8" tall. Their eyes are extremely large, almost insect-like. Their eyes have a couple of inner lids. Their days are extremely bright, probably twice or three times as bright as days on earth. They have just the two openings where our nose would be...and a small mouth. Their mouths contain no teeth, and just a hard 'gum-like' area. Greys are humanoid in appearance with an almond-shaped head, two large black lidless eyes, two arms, hands with no thumbs, legs, and feet. They tend to appear greyish in color, either their skin color or some form of clothing. Some people have said their skin looks like, and feels like, that of a dolphin. In fact, there is a whole school of thought on the relationship of the aliens to dolphins.

Internally, they have one organ which does the job of our hearts and lungs... and their digestive system is simple. Their skin structure is a very elastic and very hard, probably hardened by their sun. Their brain is more complex than ours with several different lobes, more than ours have. Unlike ours, their eyes are controlled by the the front of the brain.

Their hearing is better than ours and reportedly better than a dogs. Along with telepathy, this seems to make them formidable stalkers.

Like their heart and lungs, their kidneys and bladder are one organ. They allegedly excrete waste like humans, although I don't know if they have an actual alimentary canal. They have another internal organ which scientists believe exists to transform solid waste into liquid waste."

They have hands without thumbs, and three or four fingers. Their feet are web-like and small.

Their life span is around 350-400 years. Almost Biblical. This is allegedly because of their reptile-like qualities. The aliens have an IQ of over 200 (and are eligible for Mensa membership, I suppose). The Greys have a universal religion: the universe is the supreme being.

Some say the aliens enjoy music...especially ancient Tibetan-style music. I would have thought they might go for Gamelon music, or maybe Brian Eno's Music For Airports...

When they're not mutilating cattle, or harvesting humans, they like vegetables... and it has been reported they love strawberry ice cream. Episode 14 of Dark Skies showed a Grey asking for, and eating two quarts of it.

Zeta Reticuli? According to abductees, they have been told, and seen, The Greys are Zeta Reticulans. Betty & Barney Hill (of one of the most famous abduction cases, about which more later) had some insight into the Grey origins. Under hypnosis, Betty Hill remembered the leader of the UFO she was taken upon showing her a Star Map. In a hypnotic session, she
reproduced the star map that a researcher was able to plot on a map to show Mrs. Hill's aliens came from Zeta Reticuli.

We call this race of extraterrestials the "Greys", due to the color of their skin which is grayish in color. Many people under hypnotic regression have drawn the same type of body form with a small mouse, nose and ears and very large eyes, insectoid in a fashion.

Based upon the large number of people reporting them, it seems more and more people are being abducted.

The most commonly seen grey is around two to four feet tall, very slender and delicate looking, they are small beings and light weight, extremely penetrating black slanted eyes with no pupils, almost vestigial mouth and nose, a very large head with a pointed chin. The skin color varies from dark grey to light grey, tan to tanish grey, white to pale white. They have no hair on their bodies.

There have also been many report of cross breeds that are both human and grey. These are explained as hybrids, a cross between the races. They have more of the physical appearance and physical strength of humans, but their minds are capable of telepathy and other superhuman feats.
---o0o---

Alien Lore No. 35: UFO Maps

http://www.ufomaps.com/ has some handy maps showing recent UFO appearances. Like all cool internet maps these days, you can zoom in and out on specific locales, and view anything from all lower 48 states to your own home town and the sightings that have occurred there.



According to the Wikipedia,

"A UFO or unidentified flying object in the original, literal sense is any airborne object or optical phenomenon, detected visually or by radar, whose nature is not readily known. Interest in these objects stems from arguments that some of them display anomalous characteristiscs, especially the continued speculation that some of them may be the products of extraterrestrial intelligence."

---o0o---

Digital Painting: The Spooks From The C.I.A.

. . .Click painting to enlarge. . .

---o0o---

NY Daily News: President Is Frustrated, Angry, Bitter

WASHINGTON - Facing the darkest days of his presidency, President Bush is frustrated, sometimes angry and even bitter, his associates say. [THOMAS M. DeFRANK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF]

Click here to link to the Daily News Story...

---o0o---

CIA Leak Prosecutor Launches His Website::::The Machine Cranks Up For Dramatic Announcements To Follow

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the Special Counsel investigating the CIA-Wilson-Plame-Rove-Scooter Libby issues has put up a bare bones web site. So what, you ask? In the past Fitzgerald has announced decisions on his web site. Since he didn't have his old one, he launched this one. . .can indictments be far behind? Is The President about to have his brain and right hand lopped off? We should know in ten days or so.
















Unlike recent special prosecutors like Lawrence Walsh, or Kenneth Starr, Fitzgerald is not a judge, but a prosecutor. By all reports a very good prosecutor. So. . .this should get real fun, real soon.
---o0o---

Painting: Grey Silhouette

Click painting to enlarge...

---o0o---

Alien Lore No. 34 - Majestic 12

. . .click all images and documents to enlarge. . .






The MJ-12 (standing for "Majestic Twelve") mystery became public with the 1987 publication of an alleged briefing document from ex-US President Truman to president-elect Eisenhower in November 1953. The document dealt with government knowledge about UFOs, aliens, and Top Secret projects.



The membership, or a loose board of directors, were: Dr Lloyd Berkner, Dr. Detlev Bronk, Dr Vannevar Bush, James Forrestal (who later committed suicide or was murdered), Gordon Gray, Vice Admiral Roscoe Hillenkoetter, Dr. Jerome Hunsaker, Dr. Donald Menzel, General Robert Montague, Rear Admiral Sidney Souers, General Nathan Twining and General Hoyt Vandenberg.

MJ-12 (also known as Majic-12, Majority-12, Majesty-12) is alleged to be a Top Secret research and development and intelligence operation set up by and accountable only to The President. All thirteen members had died by the time the Majestic papers became public, and none of the details could be checked out. What could be verified was the document's authenticity, and when it was found that the signature on the briefing document was identical in ratio to a 1947 memo from President Truman to Vannevar Bush, most people assumed the briefing document was bogus. In fact copies of the document released by the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), are all marked "bogus."

The creators of the late 90's television drama "Dark Skies" used Majestic as the backbone of the show, which detailed alien invervention in human affairs and history. This is probably my personal favorite TV show ever...



To this day, the MJ-12 controversy continues, with people saying that although the document was proved to be disinformation, parts of it must therefore be true. The document touched upon the Roswell crash, as well as Projects Sign, Grudge, and Blue Book, and the Kennth Arnold sighting of nine flying saucers neat Mount Rainier, all of which are believed to be true by UFO researchers.




President Jack Kennedy With Alleged Majestic Members

Ufologists are still split as to whether there actually was a Majestic 12. When Robert Lazar revealed that his work was classified as Majestic, it added weight to the opinion that there may have indeed been such an organization.




Opinions differ as to what MJ-12 could really be if it exists. Some researchers say it was a committee that evaluated UFO reports from Project Blue Book (which we know did exist, according to the Air Force). On the other hand, many Ufologists say that Majestic runs the CIA, FBI, and the world's illicit drugs markets and plan to take over the world to rule in collusion with The Greys.

The Full Text of The Majestic 12 Brfiefing Document:

****************
* TOP SECRET *
****************

EYES ONLY COPY ONE OF ONE

For Information as a early warning

BREIFING DOCUMENT : OPERATION MAJESTIC 12

PREPARED FOR THE PRESIDENT-ELECT DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER: (EYES ONLY)

18 NOVEMBER, 1952

WARNING: This is a TOP SECRET - - EYES ONLY document containg copartmentalized information essential to the national security of the United States. EYES ONLY ACCESS to the material herein is strictly limited to those possessing Majestic-12 clearance level. Reproduction in any form or the taking of written or mechanically transcribed notes is strictly forbidden.

***************
* TOP SECRET *
EYES ONLY

*************** T52-EXEMPT (E)

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY COPY ONE OF ONE

SUBJECT:OPERATION MAJESTIC-12PRILIMINARY BRIEFING FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT EISENHOWER

DOCUMENT PREPARED 18 NOVEMBER,1952.

BRIEFING OFFICER: ADM. ROSCOE H. HILLENKOETTER (MJ-1)

*NOTE: This document has been prepared as a preliminary briefing only. It should be regarded as introductory to a full operations briefing to follow.

*********

OPERATION MAJESTIC-12 is a TOP SECRET Research and development/ Intellgence operation respnsible directly to the President of the United States. Operations of the project are carried out under control of the Majestic-12 (majic-12) Group which was established by special classified executive order of President Truman on 24 September,1947,upon recommendation by Dr. Vannevar Bush and Secretary James Forrestal. (See Attachment "A".) Members of the Majestic-12 Group were designated as follows:

Adm. Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter
Dr. Vannevar Bush
Secy. James V. Forrestal*
Gen. Nathan F. Twining
Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Dr. Detley Bronk
Dr. Jerome Hunsaker
Mr. Sidney W. Souers
Mr. Gordon Gray
Dr. Donald Menzel
Gen. Robert M. Montague
Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner

The death of Secretary Forrestal on 22 May 1949, created a vacancy which remained unfilled until 01 August 1950, upon which date Gen. Walter B. Smith was designated as permanent replacement.

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY T52-EXEMPT (E)

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY COPY ONE OF ONE

On 24 June, 1947, a civillian pilot flying over the Cascade Mountains in the State of Washington observed nine flying disc-shaped aircraft traveling in formation at a high rate of speed. Although this was not the first known sighting of such objects, it was the first to gain widespread attention in the public media. Hundreds of reports of sightings of similiar objects followed. Many of these came from highly credible military and civilian sources. These reports resulted in independent efforts by several different elements of the military to ascertain the nature and purpose of these objects in the interests of national defense. A number of witnesses were interviewed and there were several unsuccessful attempts to utilize aircraft in efforts to pursue reported discs in flight. Public reaction bordered on near hysteria at times.

In spite of these efforts, little of substance was learned about the objects until a local rancher reported that one had crashed in aremote region of New Mexico located approximately seventy-five miles northwest of Roswell Army Air Base (now Walker Field).

On 07 July, 1947, a secret operation was begun to assure recovery of the wreckage of this object for scientific study. During the course of this operation, serial reconnaisance discovered that four small human-like beings had apparently ejected from the aircraft before it exploded. These had fallen to earth about two miles east of the wreckage site. All four were dead and badly decomposed due to action by predators and exposure to the elements during the approximately one week time period which had elapsed before their discovery. A special scientific team took charge of removing these bodies for study. (See Attachment "C".) The wreckage of the craft was also removed to several different locations. (See Attachment "B".) Civillian and military witnesses in the area were debriefed and news reporters were given the effective cover story that the object had been a misguided weather research ballon.

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY T52-EXEMPT

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY COPY ONE OF ONE

A covert analytical effort organized by Gen. Twining and Dr. Rush acting on direct orders of the president, resulted in a preliminary concensus (19 September, 1947) that the disc was most likely a short range reconnaisance craft. This conclusion was based for the most part on the craft's size and the apparent lack of any identifiable provisioning. (See Attachment "D".) A similar analysis of the four dead occupants was arranged by Dr. Bronk. It was the tentative conclusion of this group (30 November, 1947) that although these creatures are human-like in appearance, the biological and evolutionary processes responsible for thei development has apparently been quite different from those observed or postulated in homo-sapiens. Dr. Bronk's team has suggested the term "Extra Terrestrial Biological Entities" (EBEs), be adopted as the standard term of reference for these creatures until such time as a more definitive designation can be agreed upon.

Since it is virtually certain that these craft do not originate in any country on earth, considerable speculation has centered around what their point of origin might be and how they got here. Mars was and remains a possibility, although some scientists, most notably Dr. Menzel, consider it more likely that we are dealing with beings from another solar system entirely.

Numerous examples of what appear to be a form of writing were found in the wreckage. Efforts to decipher these have remained largely unsuccessful. (See Attachment "E".) Equally unsuccessful have been efforts to determine the method of propulsion or the nature and method of transmission of the power source involed. Research along these lines has been complicated by the complete absence of identifiable wings,propellrs,jets, or other conventional methods of propulsion and guidance, as well as a total lack of mettallic wiring, vacuum tubes, or similiar recognizable electronic components. (See Attachment "F".) It is assumed that the propulsion unit was completely destroyed by the explosion which caused the crash.

**************
* TOP SECRET *
**************

EYES ONLY T52-EXEMPT

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY COPY ONE OF ONE

A need for as much additional information as possible about these craft, their performance charateristics and their purpose led to the undertaking known as U.S. Air Force Project SIGN in December,1947. In order topreserve security, liason within the Inteeligence Division of Air Material Command whose role was to pass along certain types of information through channels. SIGN evolved into Project GRUDGE in December, 1948. The operation is currently being conducted under code name BLUE BOOK, with liason maintained through the Air Force officer who is head of the project.

On 06 December, 1950, a second object, probably of similar origin, impacted the earth at high speed in the EL Indio-Gurrero area of the Texas-Mexican border after following a long trajectory through the atmosphere. by the time a search team arrived, what remained of the object remained almost totally incinerated. Such material as could be recovered was transported to the A.E.C. facility at Sandia, New mexico, for study.

Implications for the National Security are of continuing importance in that the motives and ultimate intentions of these visitors remain completely unknown. In addition, a significant upsurge in the surveillance activity of these craft begining in May and continuing through the autumn of this year has caused considerable concern that the new developments may be imminent. It is for these reasons, as well as the obvious international and technological considerations and the ultimate need to avoid a public panic at all costs, that the Majestic-12 Group remains of the unanimous opinion that the imposition of the strictest security precautions should continue without interruption into the new administration. At the same time, contingency plan MJ-1949-04P/78 (Top-Secret - Eyes Only) should be held in continued readiness should the need to make a public announcement present itself. (See Attachment "G".)

***************
* TOP SECRET *
***************

EYES ONLY T52-EXEMPT

TOP SECRET

EYES ONLY

The White House
Washington
September 24, 1947

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Dear Secretary Forrestal: It continues to be my feelings that any future considerations relative to the ultimate disposition of this matter should rest solely with the Office of the President following appropriate discussions with yourself, dr. Bush and the Director of Central Intelligence .

TOP SECRET

EYES ONLY

July 14, 1954

TOP SECRET

RESTRICTED SECURITY INFORMATION

MEMORANDUM FOR GENERAL TWINING

SUBJECT: NSC/MJ-12 Special Studies Project. The President has decided that the MJ-12 SSP briefing should take place during the already scheduled White House meeting og 16 July, rather than following it as previously intended. More precise arrangements will be explained to you upon arrival.

Your concurrence in the above change of arrangements is assumed.

ROBERT CUTLER
Special Assistant to the President
---o0o---

Poem: Sonnet For Hari

It didn't matter where as long as they did.
Even the five dollar a night Glen Hotel
With twelve hours to cling on the ancient springs
Over The Embassy blue movie house.
He watched her fall asleep that rainy night
And he became a friend of the world.
Three years later, he shuffled off the bus
In NYC and threaded himself through
A surging gauntlet of hands and eyes.
He snagged her in a flying bear hug.
She steered him to the southbound IND
Into those incognito years in Brooklyn
Where they learned we don't make love, love makes us.
It didn't matter where as long as they did.
---o0o---

Congress Offers BJ To The Gun Industry & Lobby

Congress gave the gun lobby Item No. 1 on its wish list Thursday: a bill protecting the firearms industry from crime-victim lawsuits. President Bush said he will sign it. You think!?

"Our laws should punish criminals who use guns to commit crimes, not law-abiding manufacturers of lawful products," Bush said in a statement.



The House, including many Democrats, voted 283-144 to send the bill to the president. The National Rifle Association proclaimed it vital to protect the industry from being bankrupted by huge jury awards. Opponents, waging a tough battle against growing public support for the legislation, called it proof of the gun lobby's power over the Republican-controlled Congress.
---o0o---

POTUS: "There is some background noise..."

click photograph to enlarge

Between his two closest advisors, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney's staff (and possibly Dick himself) on the verge of indictment, the house Majority Leader posing for mug shots, the Senate Majority Leader Dr. Frist in hot water over shady stock transactions, massive spending in New Orleans to compensate for the administration flub, plummeting polling numbers, soaring oil prices, increasing agitation against the war, the Katrina mismanagement, a shaky choice for the Supreme Court, inflation soaring, and the national debt skyrocketing, a reporter asked The President yesterday how he is able to deal with such a full plate. President Bush replied:

"There is some background noise here, a lot of chatter, a lot of speculation and opining, but the American people expect me to do my job and I'm going to."

---o0o---

Horsin' Around: Update On The Enumclaw Beastiality/Murder Case

Trespassing charged in horse-sex case - According to The Seattle Times, James Tait, an Enumclaw man who managed the farm where people had sex with animals (and regularly videotaped the results for the internet) and where a Seattle man died after being rogered by a horse, was charged with a misdemeanor yesterday. Why is he being charged? He used the neighbor's barn for his horse prostitution ring.

King County prosecutors say it's the heaviest charge they could some up with. Washington is one of the states that has not outlawed bestiality.

If you ever looked at our legislature, you might have some insight into just why beastiality hasn't been criminalized.

"There is no evidence of injury to the animal to support animal-cruelty charges," said Dan Satterberg, the county prosecutor's chief of staff.

A Seattle Times Photographer Takes

A Picture Of The Possible Murderer

Index To Jack's Poems In All This Is That

This corrects several errors that have crept into the index of poems in All This Is That. And it reminds you that we're not just about ranting about the president, strange paintings, and alien folklore!

Poem: Sonnet For Hari
Poem: Defensive Daydreaming
Poem: The Dream
Poem: Dogpaddling
Poem: The Prostethic Head & The Absence Of Blood
poem: Tetuan - "No Paranoia, My Friend"
Poem: The Grey Visitors & Painting: The Grey Ambassador
Poem: The Bad Movie
Poem: The Bucket
Poem: The Man In The Mirror
Poem: Liftoff
Poem: Optimism
Poem: Perspective
Poem: A Flight Of Swallows
Audioblog - Poem: The Prevaricator
Poem: Weather Report
Poem: Your Wooden Leg
Poem: The Revelations Sermon At The First Church Of The Mojo Apocalypse
Poem: Dosvidaniya, Ivan Ivanovitch
Poem: The Late Excavation (Text And Audio)
Poem: Jack Kerouac, Meet John Barleycorn
Poem: The Gideon Bible In My Nightstand
Poem: At The Acropolis
Poem: When Aliens Land, Or, The Return Of The King
Poem: The sous-chef is a sociopath]
Poem: James Wright
Poem: Falling
Poem: [Life Is Not A Hardy Novel]
Poem: Seven
Poem: Coyote Comes Home Like A Salmon
Poem: Shorts For Jerry Melin ca. about 1988
Poem: Bird Poem: Monism
Poem: The Golden Rule Poem: The Countdown
Poem: When Aliens Land, Or, The Return Of The King
Poem: AT HILLCREST CEMETARY IN KENT, WASHINGTON, I WALK BY THE GRAVE OF SAM THE GRASSEATER
Poem: Notes On Flying
Poem: Daybreak
Poem: Explosions
poem: Not Past Tense Yet
poem: the glass is not half-full
Poem: It's Getting Crowded Here
Poem: Li Po In Disgrace
Poem: The Clock
A Poem: Love Song
Poem: Bad Timing
Poem: The Killer
Poem: The Absence of Footprints
Poem: Growing Up
Poem: Gone Fishing
Poem: The M.D.s
A Poem - Acrylic
poem: The Marriage
Poem: Driving Home To Seattle, We Watch Deer Drinking from the Skookumchuck River

How Big Is It?::::The Really Really Really Big Numbers

Click to enlarge these 10,000 dots. If you want
to see what a million looks like, print 100 copies
of this image.


I love Robert Munafo's web site! He helps you understand the numbers, and although he is a wonky science guy, he can explain what a million is in a way a knucklehead like me might understand:

"You can just barely put 1,000,000 dots on a large piece of paper and stand at a distance such that you can perceive each individual dot as a distinct dot."

So, there is a thousand, million, billion, and trillion. The big numbers past a trillion, in rising powers of ten, are:

quadrillion
quintillion
sextillion
septillion
octillion
nonillion
decillion
undecillion
duodecillion
tredecillion
quattuordecillio
quindecillion (that's 10 to the 48th, or a one followed by 48 zeros), (or,
1,000, 000, 000, 000,000, 000,000, 000,000, 000,000, 000,000, 000,000, 000).

The highest number Munafo's table shows is a milli-millillion. That's 10 to the 3000003rd. For something closer to home, a centillion is 10 to the 600th.

The googolplex is often considered the largest named number in the world. Googol is ten to the one hundredth. Googolplex is one followed by a googol of zeroes.

Alien Lore No. 33: Gordon Cooper On Astronaut UFO Sightings

There is a fairly widespread belief that American astronauts witnessed, on more than one occasion, UFOs in space. One name often associated with these tales is that of Major Gordon Cooper, who was apparently a believer, but also tried to clear up a lot of the wacko information.

Cooper was interviewed by the magazine OMNI in March, 1980:

OMNI: What about the repeated allegations that the astronauts saw
many UFOs?

COOPER: It got so bad that there were deliberately falsified tapes of communications with the astronauts, where UFO material was simply edited in. To my knowledge, the only astronaut on any of the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo missions who ever saw anything that might have been a UFO was Jim McDivitt, but he didn't get enough pictures to prove anything substantial. That's the only case, in spite of all the stories you hear.

OMNI: Didn't you go after some UFOs as an air force pilot in Germany in the 1950s?

COOPER: Yes, several days in a row we sighted groups of metallic, saucer-shaped vehicles at great altitudes over the base, and we tried to get close to them, but they were able to change direction faster than our fighters. I do believe UFOs exists and that the truly unexplained ones are from some other technologically advanced civilization. From my association with aircraft and spacecraft, I think I have a pretty good idea of what everyone on this planet has and their performance capabilities, and I'm sure some of the UFOs at least are not from anywhere on Earth.

OMNI: Aren't you concerned about the reaction of people who may read this?

COOPER: I've always been honest about my views on this subject. Because the astronauts have been so badly misquoted by irresponsible journalists, it's up to each of us to say what he believes in. I'm engaged in a lawsuit against people who used my name for a commercial venture, quoting me to the effect that I'm dedicated to forcing the government to tell the truth about UFOs. I never said that at all. If any UFO information is being suppressed, it's certainly not in the U.S. Air Force, because I was at a high enough level to know about it.
---o0o---

Painting: President Bush Jawboning

click painting to enlarge...

---o0o---

Alien Lore No. 32: The Condon Report - The Study That Killed Project Blue Book And All (Admitted) Government Research On UFOs And Alien Visitors

Earlier, I wrote about some of the early government studies and investigations into UFOs. Project Blue Book was the Air Force project charged with researching UFOs. In later chapters, I will get into the whole conspiracy angle. Many UFOlogists believe that Project Blue Book was a cover organization, fed easily debunked reports concocted by wackos. The real research, they claimed, was being done elsewhere, in total secrecy. We'll get into the stories of John Lear, Bill English, Bill Cooper, Allen Hynek, and others later.

The Air Force commissioned an analysis of Project Blue Book, and a 1,465-page document based primarily on data collected by Project Blue Book was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in November 1968 and released in January 1969.

The head of the study, Dr. Edward Condon, wrote:

"Our general conclusion is that nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge. Careful consideration of the record as it is available to us leads us to conclude that further extensive study of UFOs probably cannot be justified ... "

The Report attracted widespread criticism, from both UFOlogists and even the mainstream scientific community, which felt that the Condon study had been too quick to dismiss certain well-documented UFO cases for which there was no obvious explanation.

The American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) had formed a subcommittee on UFOs in 1967 which, following the release of the Condon Report, issued its first public statement:

"The Committee has made a careful examination of the present state of the UFO issue and has concluded that the controversy cannot be resolved without further study in a quantitative scientific manner and that it deserves the attention of the engineering and scientific community. In December 1969, at its annual meeting in Boston, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held a symposium, organized by a committee including Carl Sagan, Philip Morrison, and Thornton Page, to allow a more open and thorough airing of scientific views than it was felt the Condon report had achieved. "

Project Blue Book was cancelled. Some would call this a victory for Majestic 12 and other nefarious forces, dedicated to hiding the truth.
---o0o---

The Incredible Blinking President!

In the Washington Post last week, columnist Dana Milbank wrote a piece, For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes. He analyzes The President's physical responses to various questions. His piece contains gems like these:

"The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was 'trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression,' Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt. When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer..."

"Lauer's query about whether conservatives 'are feeling let down by you?' appeared to provoke furious jiggling of the right leg."

---o0o---

Alien Lore No. 31: The Hynek And Vallee Alien Contact Classification Systems

Jacques Vallee (best selling author, scientist, and Silicon Valley entrepeneur) believes there a compelling case for the existence of UFOs. He has also said that one of the greatest impediments to understanding UFOs are the hard-core believers. UFOlogists exhibit a high degree of territorial sniping and infighting. Vallee is often considered one of the brightest scientists who actually believes in UFOs.

Vallee worked early in his career for J. Allen Hynek, who, as you may remember, directed the Project Blue Book for the Air Force. Blue Book is often now considered as the government's program to bury all information about UFOs, under the guise of researching them...

Both of these scientists came up with systems for classifying encounters with UFOs and aliens.


The Hynek Classification System

A system developed by Dr. J. Allen Hynek which categorizes the various types of UFO sightings. The categories are as follows:

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIRST KIND
A UFO in close proximity of a witness.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SECOND KIND
A UFO leaves permanent or semi-permanent physical markings behind (such as burns on the ground or radiation traces).

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
A Close Encounter of the First or Second Kind where extra terrestrials are also seen.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FOURTH KIND
A UFO’s occupants abduct an individual. Abductee's experience severe reality distortion such as memory lapse, 'post abduction trauma' symptoms such as fear and anxiety.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FIFTH KIND
Communication occurs between a person and an extra terrestrial.


The Jacques Vallee Classification System


MA RATING
Describes the maneuvers of a UFO
MA1- A UFO has been observed which travels in an erratic trajectory. i.e. vertical drops, maneuvers
MA2- MA1 plus any physical effects caused by the UFO.
MA3- MA1 plus any entities observed on board.
MA4- Maneuvers accompanied by a sense of reality transformation for the observer.
MA5- A maneuver that results in a permanent injury or death of the witness.


FB RATING
The fly-by rating, describes the flight characteristics of the UFO
FB1- A sighting of a UFO travelling in a straight line across the sky.
FB2- FB1 accompanied by physical evidence.
FB3- A fly-by where entities are observed on board.
FB4- A fly-by where the witness experienced a transformation of reality into the object or its occupants.
FB5- A fly-by which the witness would suffer permanent injuries or even death.


CE RATING
Close Encounter rating, describes the level of contact between the witness and the UFO
CE1- UFO comes within 500 feet of the witness, but no after effects are suffered by the witness or the surrounding area.
CE2- A CE1 that leaves landing traces or injuries to the witness.
CE3- Entities have been observed on the UFO.
CE4- The witness has been abducted.
CE5- CE4 which results in permanent psychological injuries or death.


SVP RATING
Describes the credibility of the witness’s account of the UFO sighting.

A rating out of four is given for the three categories of the source’s: reliability, site visit and possible explanations. For Example:
source reliability-1, site visit-2, possible explaination-3 = 123
(A rating of 222 or higher indicates the case was reported by a reliable source)

SOURCE RELIABILITY RATING
0- Unknown or unreliable source.
1- Report attributed to a known source of unknown or uncalibrated reliability.
2- Reliable source, secondhand.
3- Reliable source, firsthand.
4- Firsthand personal interview with the witness by a source of proven reliability.

SITE VISIT RATING
0- No site visit, or answer unknown.
1- Site visited by a casual person not familiar with the phenomena.
2- Site visited by persons familiar with the phenomena.
3- Site visit by a reliable investigator with some experience.
4- Site visit by a skilled analyst.

POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS RATING
0- Data consistent with one or more natural causes.
1- Natural explanation requires only slight modification of the data.
2- Natural explanation requires major alteration of one parameter.
3- Natural explanation requires major alteration of several parameters.
4- No natural explanation possible, given the evidence.
---o0o---

Karl Rove & Scooter Libby Will Resign When Indicted

Notice, my headline says "when," not "if." The Time Magazine online edition published an article today saying that if indicted, Rove & Libby will resign. Click here to read the full article. This excerpt is from Time:

"Karl Rove has a plan, as always. Even before testifying last week for the fourth time before a grand jury probing the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity, Bush senior adviser Rove and others at the White House had concluded that if indicted he would immediately resign or possibly go on unpaid leave, several legal and Administration sources familiar with the thinking told TIME. Resignation is the much more likely scenario, they say. The same would apply to I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, the Vice President's chief of staff, who also faces a possible indictment. A former White House official says Rove's break with Bush would have to be clean--no "giving advice from the sidelines"--for the sake of the Administration."

---o0o---

Alien Lore No. 30: Sergeant Lonnie Zamora & The Strange Events At Socorro, NM

One of the most fascinating and best documented UFO cases is a pivotal event in UFO lore: The Socorro, New Mexico landing. Socorro is a small town located just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Air Force Project Blue Book, a notoriously skeptical agency, classified the encounter as "unexplained."



Lonnie Zamora was a sergeant in the Socorro Police Department. On April 24, 1964, he witnessed the Socorro landing in New Mexico. The investigation of the Socorro case was lead by Dr J. Allen Hynek with the FBI. The report on the case ended up in the Project Blue Book saying:

"There is no doubt that Lonnie Zamora saw an object which left quite an impression on him. There is also no question about Zamora's reliability. He is a serious officer, a pillar of his church, and a man well versed in recognizing airborne vehicles in his area. He is puzzled by what he saw, and frankly, so are we. This is the best documented case on record."

The Lonnie Zamora case is well-known and highly regarded by most of the UFOlogy community. The credibility of sergeant Zamora is untarnished, and the fact that there appeared to be some credible physical evidence led J. Allen Hynek remarked, "I personally am willing today to accept his testimony as genuine.." Let me point out that Hynek is not just your typical UFO nut. He was chairman of Astronomy at Northwestern University, and worked for the U.S. government as a researcher in Project Blue Book. Over the years, he moved from being highly skeptical to being convinced a genuine and potentially important phenomenon lay behind some of the unresolved UFO reports.



Zamora reported seeing two, small aliens beside a white, egg-shaped object minutes before it blasted off. Incredibly, earlier the same day, Gary T. Wilcox reported practically the same event on his farm near Tioga City, New York. He also said he saw two small beings near a metallic, egg-shaped object in a field surrounded by woods. This case was dismissed at the time because Wilcox claimed to have talked to the two aliens. He was, naturally, written off as a nut-job.

There is no way that Zamora or Wilcox could have known about the other's report (unless they knew each other, which does not seem likely). This is an extremely unlikely coincidence whether either or both reports were true, or confabulations.



Lonnie Zamora's encounter is one of the landmark ufo events in the history of the phenomena. To this day it remains a case in which all the facts involved support the witnesses claims. It is this kind of case that makes ufo lore endure.

While Socorro does not prove the existence of extraterrestrial life or E.B.E.s, some type of unusual craft with occupants did land, and take off again. Dr. J. Allen Hynek, who interviewed Zamora on more than one occasion, believes every word that Zamora said. He played his cards pretty close to the vest however: "There is much more evidence to indicate that we are dealing with a most real phenomenon of undetermined origin."

If this vehicle was not extraterrestrial, where did it come from? Why did it land? Who were the occupants? To answer that question, you need to read the next chapter of alien lore, where we analyze just what they were building at Area 51 and who was piloting these craft. That, of course, is another long and often shaggy-dog story we will get to in the future.
---o0o---

Painting: The Nudist Beauty Pageant

Click the painting to enlarge. . .

Some Days You Just Feel Like A Clown

click image to enlarge