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Your Paracast Newsletter — June 2, 2019


Gene Steinberg

Forum Super Hero
Staff member
THE PARACAST NEWSLETTER
June 2, 2019

www.theparacast.com

Ufology's Favorite Curmudgeon, Don Ecker, Holds Court on The Paracast

The Paracast
is heard Sundays from 3:00 AM until 6:00 AM Central Time on the GCN Radio Network and affiliates around the USA, the Boost Radio Network, the IRN Internet Radio Network, and online across the globe via download and on-demand streaming.

SUPPORT THE SHOW AND ENJOY A PREMIUM PARACAST EXPERIENCE AT A SPECIAL LOW PRICE! We have another radio show and we’d love for you listen to it. So for a low subscription fee, you will receive access to an exclusive podcast, After The Paracast, plus a higher-quality version of The Paracast free of network ads, when you sign up for The Paracast+. We also offer a special RSS feed for easy updates of the latest episodes, the Paracast+ Video Channel, episode transcripts, Special Features, Classic Episodes and there’s more to come! So act now! Check out Introducing The Paracast+ | The Paracast — The Gold Standard of Paranormal Radio for more details about The Paracast+.

This Week's Episode: Once again, Gene and Randall present the irrepressible Don Ecker. As usual Don takes us on a wild and wooly journey into UFOs and related fields. He discusses the MJ-12 documents, his observations about the Roswell, NM case, possible advanced ancient civilizations, and even lunar mysteries. Don Ecker is a Vietnam vet and a medically retired law enforcement officer. In addition to hosting “Dark Matters” twice a week, he has appeared on a number of radio and TV shows that include documentaries on the History and Discovery channels. As of this episode, Don has made over two dozen appearances on The Paracast.

J. Randall Murphy's Ufology Society International: Ufology Society International (USI) - Explore the UFO Phenomenon

William Puckett's Blog: UFO Reporting Center, Latest UFO Sightings & News.

Dark Matters Radio: Don Ecker's Dark Matters Radio

After The Paracast -- Available exclusively for Paracast+ subscribers on June 2: Gene and Randall present an expanded UFO sighting episode featuring investigator and atmospheric scientist William Puckett. This week William presents an update to reports from Phoenix, AZ and a neighboring city, Mesa. He’ll also update the Wolf Creek, Montana sighting and compare it to a case that occurred 18 years ago in the State of Washington. There’s a fascinating daylight description of an H-shaped UFO in Rochester, New York, and a recent sighting in Plainfield, IN, located near Indianapolis.

Reminder: Please don't forget to visit our famous Paracast Community Forums for the latest news/views/debates on all things paranormal: The Paracast Community Forums. Check out our new YouTube channel at: The Official Paracast Channel

Fake Credentials Are Not Just Exclusive to the UFO Field
By Gene Steinberg

At first this article may not seem to relate to UFOs, but stay with me a bit.

Despite claims of an improved economy in the U.S., it’s still difficult for someone to get a high-paying job. Competition is fierce for such positions, and prospective job holders are seeking an edge to be selected.

Companies will look into the prospective employee’s background, including education and the positions previously held. While a resume ought to stick to the facts, it just happens that some people will exaggerate or provide some fake credentials.

It’s not just having a friend vouch for someone as an alleged previous employer, but one’s education. Depending on the position, having advanced degrees may be a plus.

For those who haven’t had the time, ability or money to get a real education, there’s always the “diploma mill.” That label refers to a company that sells fake degrees, diplomas, certificates and so on and so forth. You don’t even have to take a course, in person or online. Just send your payment and your personalized degree will be sent forthwith.

And, no, I’m not referring to a certain fake university, named after a certain high government official, which took lots of money from the unwary and provided little or nothing in return.

But I remember the time when my old friend, Jim Moseley, bought himself a ministry degree, and thus, in the spirit of the absurdity of the situation, would sometimes refer to himself as “Reverend Moseley.” After all, he had proof, even though he never actually took a course to acquire the appropriate knowledge. In the real world, Jim’s did attend Princeton, but he didn’t graduate.

Of course, the lack of education didn’t stop Steve Jobs when he co-founded Apple, Inc., although he did monitor some university classes.

In any case, in the UFO field, it’s well known that some people faked their credentials to seem more impressive, or perhaps were accorded such recognition by their followers.

Take contactee George Adamski, who became infamous by claiming to have met up with a handsome humanoid alien in the California desert in 1952. While he was often referred to as “Professor Adamski” by the true believers, his admittedly fascinating biography does not reveal any higher education. His Wikipedia entry indicates that he never progressed beyond the third grade.

More recently, a once-heralded UFO researcher and author, Philip J. Imbrogno, was outed as lying about his educational background. While he claimed to have a doctorate from MIT, and was even photographed wearing a branded T-shirt, that worthy institution had no record of his attendance.

His claims of being a former Green Beret were equally bogus.

Until he was exposed by several researchers, including skeptic Lance Moody and long-time researcher Don Ecker, Imbrogno was considered a respected member of the UFO community. He even coauthored a widely-praised book, “Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings” with Bob Pratt and a genuine Ph.D., Dr. J. Allen Hynek.

Yes, we did have Imbrogno as a guest on The Paracast on four occasions. We were taken in too, and maybe we should all get into the habit of making more of an effort to validate someone’s credentials. But unless suspicions arise, it’s common to accept such claims.

Pennsylvania UFO researcher Butch Witkowski has also become a controversial figure, as his claims of being a law enforcement officer have been brought into question. But that situation has become even more muddled because someone posted a topic thread in our forums claiming that Witkowski’s background was indeed genuine and were not properly investigated.

While Witkowski reemerged in the UFO field after what appeared to be a short absence, Imbrogno evidently took the hint and took a hike.

More recently, a skeptical columnist, one Keith Kloor, wrote an article challenging the claims of someone who reportedly headed the so-called Pentagon UFO research program that was revealed in a report published by The New York Times in 2017.

While Luis Elizondo identifies himself as having been in charge of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, AATIP, there may be reason to doubt the claim. Kloor claims to have attempted to verify that Elizondo held such a position. While there was and maybe is an AATIP, according to one Christopher Sherwood, a Pentagon spokesperson, “Mr. Elizondo had no responsibilities with regard to the AATIP program while he worked in OUSDI [the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence], up until the time he resigned effective 10/4/2017.”

There is certainly no doubt that Elizondo has taken on some level of prominence in the UFO field. It may also be that the government would prefer that he didn’t make such a fuss about the subject, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the denial of Elizondo’s presence in AATIP was false.

Certainly Elizondo could clear all this up by producing documentation that he was attached to that government UFO project. He certainly has a deep interest in the subject, and I suppose he felt that presenting himself as a whistleblower would enhance his credibility. Otherwise, he’d be just another government bureaucrat who got caught up in the UFO mess.

But if the claim is false, would there not be repercussions from his former employers? Or would they rather not get their hands dirty?

It may even be that the denial itself is false, but it does appear, according to Kloor’s report, that some people who believed Elizondo may now have reason to be more skeptical about his background.

As you might expect, Kloor uses the controversy surrounding Elizondo as just more fodder to denigrate the UFO field, to assert that we are all just too gullible to dismiss such fakery.

The article is a fascinating read, and it’s clear Kloor did do the sort of research that you might have expected from the folks at The New York Times who originally helped bring Elizondo to prominence.

Until or unless Elizondo provides something more in the way of confirmation as to what he did do for the government, I suppose we might have to place this matter in the gray basket.

You can check out the article at: The Media Loves This UFO Expert Who Says He Worked for an Obscure Pentagon Program. Did He?

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