SUBJECT: MUFON 1988 SYMPOSIUM RECAP FILE: UFO1406
Some quick notes on the 1988 MUFON Symposium in Lincoln.
The event was well-attended, with around 400 people registered. That
compares favorably with last year's 450, at the "Woodstock of UFOlogy" in
Washington. Some of the more notable attendees: Dr. Bruce Maccabee, Dr.
David Jacobs, Dr. Michael Swords, Budd Hopkins, Marge Christensen, Walter
Webb (primary investigator on the Betty and Barney Hill case), Phil Klass,
Dr. James Deardorff, George Eberhard & Don Schmitt of CUFOS, George &
Shirley Coyne, Dan Wright, and Walt Andrus as the Beaver. AND....Mr. Ed,
the main witness in the Gulf Breeze case. He and his wife were there
"incognito", but many of us guessed who he was. I spoke to him briefly,
but didn't let on that I had guessed his identity.
The big news on Gulf Breeze that came out of the conference seems to be
that there is a lot more to the case than most people suspected. Dr.
Maccabee's 3 hour presentation on his analysis work thus far was extremely
impressive, and though highly technical at points, had us all fascinated.
It is apparent now that, if this be hoax, it is one of an incredible
magnitude. The stereoptical photos conclusively rule out a double-
exposure, and show the craft to be approximately 18 feet in diameter. They
also show, in one case, that the object was more than 150 feet from the
photographer, OUT OVER THE WATER. Many of the objections to the case
raised by CUFOS in their Bulletin were answered convincingly in the
presentation, and Don Schmitt related to me afterwards that "there was a
lot of information there we didn't have previously." Sadly, however, the
photographs are only part of the evidence, and there are still so many
factors pointing towards hoax that I cannot bring myself to raise the
rating of the case: it remains S5/P2. One of the factors, never
satisfactorily answered as yet, is why Ed would continue to use a Polaroid
when he had access to a video camera. Certainly he must have been told by
the investigators that video is much more convincing than stills....
Everyone remarked at how mellow and
understated Phil Klass behaved. I guess everyone expected him to repeat
his performance of last year, shoving tape recorders at people and making
dramatic (incorrect) statements from the audience. He asked one question
of Maccabee, and actually complimented him on his work...Maccabee, after
showing himself to be the true "Sherlock Holmes of Ufology," removed his
jacket and shirt, revealing a t-shirt that read "Just Returned from the
Twilight Zone." He put on a sporty set of shades and took answers from the
audience in his new role as "The Saucer Dude." It was a complete departure
from his reputation as a rather droll, straight-laced scientist.
..Funniest moment: Alan Benz of Tucson, who was videotaping the entire
proceedings for his Foundation for UFO Research, fell asleep during Walt
Andrus' slide presentation on Gulf Breeze (as did many of us). The camera
was trained on the screen at the time. When the lights came up, Andrus
spoke for about 15 more minutes, but Benz was off in Z's-ville. Bear this
in mind if you intend to purchase a copy of the tape...Budd Hopkins told
of an encounter with Carl Sagan, at which Sagan promised to cooperate on
an investigation of Budd's best case. He also answered Sagan's bromide of
"Extraordinary Claims Demand Extraordinary Proof" with a quote that will
be familiar to longtime ParaNet members: "Extraordinary Phenomena Demand
Extraordinary Inquiry."...Bill Moore was scheduled to speak on MJ-12, but
couldn't make it, and sent Jamie Shandera in his place. Shandera spoke
extemporaneously for half an hour, giving a very dramatic performance but
saying basically nothing new on the controversial "crashed saucer"
documents. Your Esteemed Sysop asked Shandera to give us an approximate
date by which everything should be out in the open. The answer: "Before
Reagan leaves office." Thank goodness he didn't stick to the text prepared
by Moore: as published in the Proceedings, it is the most vitriolic attack
on Phil Klass ever. While it pretended to be an answer to Klass'
objections to the authenticity of MJ-12, it was nothing more than the
vicious outburst of a cornered animal. About every fifth paragraph
actually contained an explanation of some inconsistency in the MJ-12
scenario, none of which were convincing in the least; the rest was pure
venom, enough to almost evoke sympathy for Klass...Conspicuous by his
absence was John Lear, who will supposedly be hosting the '89 convention
in Las Vegas. There is talk that that may change, however...All in all, an
enjoyable, successful conference, attended by the highest percentage of
intelligent, down-to-earth, non-woo-woos I've ever seen at such a
couldn't make it, and sent Jamie Shandera in his place. Shandera spoke
extemporaneously for half an hour, giving a very dramatic performance but
saying basically nothing new on the controversial "crashed saucer"
documents. Your Esteemed Sysop asked Shandera to give us an approximate
date by which everything should be out in the open. The answer: "Before
Reagan leaves office." Thank goodness he didn't stick to the text prepared
by Moore: as published in the Proceedings, it is the most vitriolic attack
on Phil Klass ever. While it pretended to be an answer to Klass'
objections to the authenticity of MJ-12, it was nothing more than the
vicious outburst of a cornered animal. About every fifth paragraph
actually contained an explanation of some inconsistency in the MJ-12
scenario, none of which were convincing in the least; the rest was pure
venom, enough to almost evoke sympathy for Klass...Conspicuous by his
absence was John Lear, who will supposedly be hosting the '89 convention
in Las Vegas. There is talk that that may change, however...All in all, an
enjoyable, successful conference, attended by the highest percentage of
intelligent, down-to-earth, non-woo-woos I've ever seen at such a
function. J. Allen Hynek's last wish for UFOlogy, as presented in the
keynote address by Marge Christensen, was for all of us to get our act
together, and many came away feeling that it just might be happening.
--Jim Speiser
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