THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
April 9, 2011
Former Governor Jesse Ventura Brings His Conspiracy Theories to The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
The Paracast Humbly Requests Your Donations: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network. So we hope you'll be willing to help fill the gap if you can to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch. No contribution is too small (or too large
. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, right below our logo. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.
Attention U.S. Listeners: Let's Bring The Paracast to Your City! Last summer, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. Now we want your help to add more affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact directly. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
You Can Now Order The Official Paracast T-Shirt: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and a collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt, just pay a visit to our new online store at CafePress.com : Down For Maintenance to select your size and place your order. We now also offer a lineup of other premium merchandise featuring The Paracast logo.
Sunday, April 10, 2011: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast hosts interview long-time researchers in the field, to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join us as we explore the realms of the known and unknown, and hear great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Former Governor Jesse Ventura, a conspiracy theorist and author of "€œ63 Documents the Government Doesn'€™t Want You to Read,"€ who talks about the Kennedy assassination and other fascinating conspiracies in modern history.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Jesse Ventura's Site: Rosemary Ellen Guiley | Paranormal Research | Ghosts & Hauntings - Visionary Living
Coming April 17: Gene and Chris present Benjamin Radford, an editor for Skeptical Inquirer, and author of "Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore." Are reports of such creatures real, fanciful -- what?
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Benjamin Radford's Site: www.RadfordBooks.com
Reminder: Don't forget to visit our always-active Discussion Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal (and note our new Internet address): The Paracast Community Forums.
Trusting Your Government
By Gene Steinberg
Years ago, I wrote an article for a small UFO-oriented magazine attacking the U.S. government for its alleged policy of hiding the truth about flying saucers. I suppose I was echoing the ideas first voiced by such early UFO researchers as Major Donald Keyhow and, later Stanton T. Friedman, both of which believed the authorities knew that those strange flying aircraft were spaceships from another world.
Well, one day my father picked up the magazine, read my article, and then, with a frown on his face, his voice a near shout, announced, “You can’t criticize the government!” I never actually got a satisfactory answer as to why, other than the fact that he was a government employee. In his later years, he worked with the New York City transit system, first as a bus driver, and later as a scheduling manager. In his youth, according to my uncle, he had actually partnered with the late union boss, Mike Quill, to help establish the Transport Workers Union of America. Only my dad was, I heard, double-crossed by Quill and had no authority in the union itself after it was formed.
Well, my dad – and my uncles for that matter – are no longer with us, but I recall those words in a different context. In his day, people believed what the government told them. But this was before 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Now, my views about the Kennedy assassination were first formulated after listening to several lectures from attorney Mark Lane, once a member of the New York Legislature and, well into his 80s, still on the lecture circuit. Lane’s argument, expanded in his best-selling books that included “Rush to Judgment,” was, among other things, that the accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, could not have possibly performed that dire deed using the weapon at his disposal, a 6.5 mm Carcano-type Model 91/38 rifle.
I won’t get into the specifics, because I’m sure most of you can recite the major points of his skepticism by rote. The long and short of it is that this rifle was so seriously flawed that it could not possibly accomplish the deed, particularly by a shooter who barely qualified as a marksman in the military. Maybe he could have gotten off one lucky shot, but the precision with which he purportedly hit his targets in fairly rapid succession would have even exceeded the ability of an expert, someone who held the highest possible classification.
This is a key point that’s raised by former Governor Jesse Ventura, who is now part of the conspiracy theory circuit, in describing the specifics of his own very public tests, using a rife that’s a near match to the one Oswald allegedly used back in 1963. Understand that Ventura, a Navy veteran, says he did achieve “expert” status.
The long and short of it is that many people, frustrated over the alleged cover-up in the Kennedy assassination, came to distrust the U.S. government. Certainly that holds true today, where Congress and other government officials receive extremely poor ratings in polls.
You shouldn’t be surprised. Along with silly posturing and exaggeration that’s part and parcel of the rhetoric from both major parties, it seems nothing gets accomplished without causing rampant fraud and waste. Consider that massive scandal at the Arlington National Cemetery, where our heroic soldiers are buried. You’ve probably heard the tragic tale that burial plots were totally messed up over the years, with thousands of bodies misidentified, that they are still keeping primitive paper records decades after computers took over. No wonder people have no faith in what the government says or does.
Except when it comes to UFOs. Skeptics will have you believe that, when the U.S. government says that UFOs aren’t real, you can take that pronouncement to the bank. Do you see the disconnect?
Now let’s forget the conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination, 9/11, and a host of other major events. Even if you accept the conventional explanations as true, it’s hard to have faith in hundreds of elected screw-ups. And I haven’t even begun to consider career civilian and military officials who pay the denial game. Well, maybe they just don’t know, don’t have a need to know, or they have been ordered to deflect inquiries, and mislead where possible.
I suppose you can easily say that the U.S. government – and the governments in other countries in the free world – truly need to do whatever is necessary to regain the trust of their citizens. But whether that’s going to change without drastic shake-ups is another matter entirely, and one that takes us way beyond our little paranormal corner of the world.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2011 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!
April 9, 2011
Former Governor Jesse Ventura Brings His Conspiracy Theories to The Paracast
Special Announcement: The Paracast is heard Sundays from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM (Central Time) on the GCN radio network.
The Paracast Humbly Requests Your Donations: Although ads help cover a small part of our expenses, the income they produce is never enough. Also, we do not receive any revenue from the ads placed on the show by our network. So we hope you'll be willing to help fill the gap if you can to help us cover increasing server costs and other expenses -- or perhaps provide a little extra cash for lunch. No contribution is too small (or too large
. We have a Donate link on our home page, below the logo and audio player. There's also a Donate link on our forums, right below our logo. Or just send your PayPal donation direct to sales (at) theparacast (dot) com.Attention U.S. Listeners: Let's Bring The Paracast to Your City! Last summer, The Paracast joined the GCN radio network. This represented a huge step in bringing our show to a larger, mainstream audience. Now we want your help to add more affiliates to our growing network. Please ask one of your local talk stations if they are interested in carrying The Paracast. Feel free to contact us directly with the names of programming people we might be able to contact directly. With your help, The Paracast can grow into one of the most popular paranormal shows on the planet!
You Can Now Order The Official Paracast T-Shirt: You asked, and we answered. We are now taking orders for The Official Paracast T-Shirt and a collection of other specially customized merchandise. To get your T-Shirt, just pay a visit to our new online store at CafePress.com : Down For Maintenance to select your size and place your order. We now also offer a lineup of other premium merchandise featuring The Paracast logo.
Sunday, April 10, 2011: The Paracast covers a world beyond science, where UFOs, poltergeists and strange phenomena of all kinds have been reported by millions across the planet.
Set Up: The Paracast hosts interview long-time researchers in the field, to shed light on the mysteries and complexities of our Universe and the secrets that surround us in our everyday lives.
Join us as we explore the realms of the known and unknown, and hear great stories of the history of the paranormal field in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This Week's Episode: Gene and Chris present Former Governor Jesse Ventura, a conspiracy theorist and author of "€œ63 Documents the Government Doesn'€™t Want You to Read,"€ who talks about the Kennedy assassination and other fascinating conspiracies in modern history.
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Jesse Ventura's Site: Rosemary Ellen Guiley | Paranormal Research | Ghosts & Hauntings - Visionary Living
Coming April 17: Gene and Chris present Benjamin Radford, an editor for Skeptical Inquirer, and author of "Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore." Are reports of such creatures real, fanciful -- what?
Christopher O'Brien's Site: Home - Our Strange Planet
Benjamin Radford's Site: www.RadfordBooks.com
Reminder: Don't forget to visit our always-active Discussion Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal (and note our new Internet address): The Paracast Community Forums.
Trusting Your Government
By Gene Steinberg
Years ago, I wrote an article for a small UFO-oriented magazine attacking the U.S. government for its alleged policy of hiding the truth about flying saucers. I suppose I was echoing the ideas first voiced by such early UFO researchers as Major Donald Keyhow and, later Stanton T. Friedman, both of which believed the authorities knew that those strange flying aircraft were spaceships from another world.
Well, one day my father picked up the magazine, read my article, and then, with a frown on his face, his voice a near shout, announced, “You can’t criticize the government!” I never actually got a satisfactory answer as to why, other than the fact that he was a government employee. In his later years, he worked with the New York City transit system, first as a bus driver, and later as a scheduling manager. In his youth, according to my uncle, he had actually partnered with the late union boss, Mike Quill, to help establish the Transport Workers Union of America. Only my dad was, I heard, double-crossed by Quill and had no authority in the union itself after it was formed.
Well, my dad – and my uncles for that matter – are no longer with us, but I recall those words in a different context. In his day, people believed what the government told them. But this was before 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Now, my views about the Kennedy assassination were first formulated after listening to several lectures from attorney Mark Lane, once a member of the New York Legislature and, well into his 80s, still on the lecture circuit. Lane’s argument, expanded in his best-selling books that included “Rush to Judgment,” was, among other things, that the accused assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, could not have possibly performed that dire deed using the weapon at his disposal, a 6.5 mm Carcano-type Model 91/38 rifle.
I won’t get into the specifics, because I’m sure most of you can recite the major points of his skepticism by rote. The long and short of it is that this rifle was so seriously flawed that it could not possibly accomplish the deed, particularly by a shooter who barely qualified as a marksman in the military. Maybe he could have gotten off one lucky shot, but the precision with which he purportedly hit his targets in fairly rapid succession would have even exceeded the ability of an expert, someone who held the highest possible classification.
This is a key point that’s raised by former Governor Jesse Ventura, who is now part of the conspiracy theory circuit, in describing the specifics of his own very public tests, using a rife that’s a near match to the one Oswald allegedly used back in 1963. Understand that Ventura, a Navy veteran, says he did achieve “expert” status.
The long and short of it is that many people, frustrated over the alleged cover-up in the Kennedy assassination, came to distrust the U.S. government. Certainly that holds true today, where Congress and other government officials receive extremely poor ratings in polls.
You shouldn’t be surprised. Along with silly posturing and exaggeration that’s part and parcel of the rhetoric from both major parties, it seems nothing gets accomplished without causing rampant fraud and waste. Consider that massive scandal at the Arlington National Cemetery, where our heroic soldiers are buried. You’ve probably heard the tragic tale that burial plots were totally messed up over the years, with thousands of bodies misidentified, that they are still keeping primitive paper records decades after computers took over. No wonder people have no faith in what the government says or does.
Except when it comes to UFOs. Skeptics will have you believe that, when the U.S. government says that UFOs aren’t real, you can take that pronouncement to the bank. Do you see the disconnect?
Now let’s forget the conspiracy theories about the Kennedy assassination, 9/11, and a host of other major events. Even if you accept the conventional explanations as true, it’s hard to have faith in hundreds of elected screw-ups. And I haven’t even begun to consider career civilian and military officials who pay the denial game. Well, maybe they just don’t know, don’t have a need to know, or they have been ordered to deflect inquiries, and mislead where possible.
I suppose you can easily say that the U.S. government – and the governments in other countries in the free world – truly need to do whatever is necessary to regain the trust of their citizens. But whether that’s going to change without drastic shake-ups is another matter entirely, and one that takes us way beyond our little paranormal corner of the world.
The Paracast Copyright 1999-2011 Making The Impossible, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy: Your personal information is safe with us. We will positively never give out your name and/or e-mail address to anybody else, and that's a promise!