“None of us at TTSA consider ourselves ‘Ufologists’ or part of the ‘Ufology culture,’” controversial TTSA figure Luis Elizondo told MJ Banias in Vice. Elizondo claims to have headed the Pentagon’s UFO program, but the Pentagon denies this claim. Elizondo fronts a History Channel UFO-hunting TV series, which will launch a second season next year, and is a fixture in the ufology media circuit, or should I say circus? (Elizondo, however, may be correct. TTSA’s executives, like Hal Puthoff, don’t believe in nuts and bolts UFOs but have pursued the claim that flying saucers are actually space poltergeists who haunt the skies by phasing in from other dimensions.) Perhaps this is why the U.S. Army is now trying to explain exactly why it partnered with a UFO-themed entertainment company to investigate exotic metals. According to Banias, a Pentagon spokesman said that the Army contacted TTSA and asked to partner with them because they wanted to know if the so-called metamaterials (i.e., the slag previously identified by an earlier researcher as likely industrial waste) TTSA acquired from the 1990s-era collection known as “Art’s Parts” could be used for military purposes. “Art’s Parts” included slag and other seeming chunks of industrial waste sent to radio host Art Bell as alleged wreckage of the Roswell flying saucer. In particular, the government is interested in the group’s ADAM Project, which Doug Halleaux, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center described as “a global dragnet for the collection and evaluation of novel materials.” Last year, TTSA put out a call for individuals and organizations to submit materials from alleged exotic sources as part of the project. So, to reduce this down to less flowery terms: Somebody in the Pentagon saw TTSA’s Instagram stories or tweets and decided that there was a chance that they might have accidentally stumbled onto something interesting. Therefore, (a) the Pentagon is staffed by the credulous, which we already knew from their longstanding patronage of TTSA’s Hal Puthoff and his hunt for psychic powers and (b) the military obviously doesn’t have actual UFO wreckage of their own if they are desperate to test out Art’s Parts. Also: Art’s Parts have been around since the 1990s, so the Pentagon might be interested in hearing about that alien autopsy video all the kids were talking about back then. Incidentally, a couple of weeks ago TTSA’s PR flak promised me a copy of DeLonge’s new book with Peter Levenda. Apparently, after thinking it over, they decided they are afraid of me, since the book never materialized and the PR flak has gone silent. Typically, publishers deliver a promised book with 48 hours. It really says a lot about their confidence in the quality of their work. But while we are on the subject of UFOs, it’s worth pointing to a disturbing promotional clip from the new UFO documentary Witness of Another World posted to YouTube the other day. The clip features Jacques Vallée, the venture capitalist who is a longtime colleague of Hal Puthoff, an advisor to Pentagon UFO contractor Robert Bigelow, and an investigator into metamaterial UFO wreckage working in an (as far as I know) informal partnership with TTSA. In the clip, Vallée claims that he isn’t sure if UFOs (which he calls “the phenomenon”) can alter our reality, but that we don’t know what reality is because—and this is what got me—drugs and altered states of consciousness can “alter” reality. Embracing what seems like solipsism, Vallée suggests that we create our own reality and everything we perceive is merely “consciousness taking notice of our own experiences.”
I’m not really interested in the question of materialism vs. idealism that Vallée is circling around, but I am interested in the underlying issue that he has incidentally raised, which is that ufology isn’t really about UFOs (evidenced by their etherealization as “the phenomenon”) but is instead a full-scale retreat into magical thinking. Vallée’s fascination with the idea that our consciousness creates reality and the quasi-Gnostic concept that the material world is an evil illusion doesn’t really have anything to do with flying saucers. He says himself that these are questions that come from physics, not ufology. So why have they taken precedence? It’s almost as though ufology investigators like him want to be metaphysicians and philosophers and are trying to use flying saucers to enter into cosmology by a side door, without having to do the hard work of rigorously defending their speculations. They seem to hope that finding a single space poltergeist will undo the mathematical rigidity of physics and reenchant the world. But seriously: Drugs change reality? Perceptions of reality, maybe. Reality itself? No.
93 Comments
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 10:21:59 am
"It’s almost as though ufology investigators like him want to be metaphysicians and philosophers and are trying to use flying saucers to enter into cosmology by a side door, without having to do the hard work of rigorously defending their speculations. "
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tom tildrum
11/5/2019 11:03:26 am
Petty. Do you write a blog? If so, tell us the path to it.
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Joe Scales
11/5/2019 11:35:13 am
www.jumpupmyass.com/withyoureyeswideopen
Mystic
11/5/2019 12:03:39 pm
Joe criticises UFOs but is a Christian fundamentalist
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 01:19:45 pm
Jesus Christ, you're an imbecile. You have absolutely no idea of the depths of your misunderstanding.
Hey Joe
11/5/2019 01:50:49 pm
The secular Founding Fathers of American Independence embraced freedom of belief in order to break the monopoly of belief held by Christians.
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 01:58:02 pm
Again, with the misunderstandings.
Hey Joe
11/5/2019 02:03:01 pm
Dodging your previous rants
Dr. Phil
11/5/2019 01:06:05 pm
Metaphysics is a component of philosophy. However, there can be sufficient difference between how metaphysicians operate compared to other forms of philosophy that at times it is accurate to cover one's bases and refer to both metaphysicians and philosophers. Much like psychiatrists are medical doctors but one may wish to refer to these categories individually or collectively based on the situation.
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Joe Scales
11/5/2019 01:16:47 pm
Actually, Metaphysics came about because it was the name of the treatise following Physics in Aristotle's writings. Unless Jason wants to clarify any distinction he feels is relevant here, it remains redundant.
Dr. Phil
11/5/2019 01:31:35 pm
We are talking terminology and schools of thought in the present-tense not in the time of Aristotle. You are helping to make my point here. No doubt there are many things that in your mind are redundant or wrong but most intelligent and educated people feel otherwise. It is much too early in the day to be subjected to childish taunts such as "imbecile," your standard debate strategy. So, I will disengage from what will undoubtedly prove to be a fruitless debate and wish you good day.
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 01:39:14 pm
So Dr. Phil, is what you are saying is somehow Jason must have meant practitioners of some other branch of Philosphy in his redundancy? Like what... Logic? Logicians? Don't think you'll find many of them promulgating ancient alien theories. 11/5/2019 01:42:26 pm
There are times, Joe, when rhetorical emphasis uses synonyms (or in this case a subset and the broader category) for effect. Brevity may be the soul of wit, but not every sentence has to be stripped to its essence for concision. Our obsession with concision is a product of the telegraph, which charged by the word and changed our view of rhetoric.
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Joe Scales
11/5/2019 01:53:26 pm
So, rhetorical redundancy then.
Jr. Time Lord
11/5/2019 04:58:12 pm
"Our obsession with concision is a product of the telegraph, which charged by the word and changed our view of rhetoric."
Jr. Time Lord
11/5/2019 04:59:43 pm
You *have*
Wordsmith
11/5/2019 05:18:34 pm
Things have been clarified for Joe. Hopefully, he now understands the difference between redundancy and rhetorical redundancy intended by Mr. Colavito. Now we can move on. Or probably not...
Just a Thought
11/5/2019 06:00:51 pm
Joe frequently exhibits an inability to grasp either the obvious or nuanced as well as a certain degree of difficulty in operating in the realm of abstract thought. Reminds me of Ricky from The Trailer Park Boys. Maybe in the future post a regular article followed by a version of it worded in a manner where the intent is to anticipate all possible issues with comprehension that Joe may have with the original piece and break it down accordingly. Or maybe set up a side chatroom called Joe's Special Space where he can spend all day, dictionary and thesaurus in hand, and point out all the flaws in vocabulary and logic that the voices in his head tell him are the right way to have written the piece. People can visit the chatroom at their discretion to give Joe the attention that he so desperately craves. Kind of like at the small rural schools without the resources for a special ed program. They just stick the kids in a side room with some coloring books and people check in on them from time to time to look at the pictures of the doggies and ponies that they have drawn.
Jim
11/5/2019 07:19:25 pm
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 08:36:15 pm
"Reminds me of Ricky from The Trailer Park Boys."
Cyrus
11/5/2019 09:01:00 pm
Now Joseph (French Canadian pronunciation) be a good sport and admit that you were already really fucking high and really fucking drunk when you first got here today. Now fuck off I got work to do!
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 09:14:45 pm
How'd ya like that artwork on your hood Cyrus? I got your best side...
Jim Leahy
11/5/2019 09:34:22 pm
He who looks into the abyss realizes something. That there's nothing looking back at him. The only thing he see's is his own character, Ricky. You understand, Bud? The abyss. The shit abyss.
Joe Scales
11/6/2019 10:05:40 am
Jim Lahey is a fuckin' drunk and he always will be. Now make like a tree and fuck off...
CALEB SEARCHER
11/6/2019 11:31:00 pm
Joe Scales Kent is Americanegro. He talks just like him for fuck’s sake.
Kent
11/6/2019 08:19:16 am
Mr. Vallée (Febreeze to his intimates) seems to be taking a perfectly sensible and defensible Vijñānavadin position although he may not have thought it through. That said I'm more of a pataphysician than a metaphysician.
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Metaphysicians
11/5/2019 10:27:03 am
It’s almost as though theologians want to be metaphysicians and philosophers and are trying to use fables to enter into cosmology by a side door, without having to do the hard work of rigorously defending their speculations
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orang
11/5/2019 11:08:58 am
There is a story in ufology about a secret alien autopsy which revealed that the alien had no anus. Aliens must be metaphysical to endure that without being cranky.
Reply
Also
11/5/2019 12:04:34 pm
Jesus Christ also did not have an anus
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Ketn
11/6/2019 12:35:44 pm
The anus was removed in a crop circle by the same government team that mutilates cows.
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Machala
11/5/2019 12:44:08 pm
Vallée and Puthoff have been living in a state of altered reality for decades.
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GOT THE PLO CHIPPING IN NOW
11/5/2019 12:53:04 pm
IMPOSSIBLE FOR RATIONALISTS TO BE ANTI-SEMITIC LIKE MACHALA
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Yep
11/5/2019 12:55:01 pm
Yep, I remember Machala telling everyone to stop being sceptical about the Bible. Only anti-Semitic people can take the Bible seriously.
orang
11/5/2019 01:04:53 pm
The bible is often used as a good archaeological starting point for an investigation.
Machala
11/5/2019 01:27:18 pm
Only the emotionally immature feel the need to shout in caps. when commentating.
For The Record
11/5/2019 01:46:51 pm
Machala has previously stated on this Blog that they are a supporter of the PLO. Machala has previously stated on this Blog not to criticise the Bible.
Machala
11/5/2019 09:26:19 pm
"
Terrible Rubbish from Machala
11/5/2019 10:43:31 pm
What a poor liar Machala is.
Indeed
11/5/2019 10:52:53 pm
Indeed, those Blog messages by Machala have been deleted, where that person made those statements.
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Kent
11/6/2019 08:47:02 am
The PLO is a fine organization. Yes there have been some rather spectacular rough spots, but no worse than sending a government murder squad to Norway to kill a waiter because he "looked PLOish." No worse than sending a letter bomb to President Truman. No worse than slaughtering the Canaanites and taking their land. No worse than murdering American naval and NSA personnel on the U.S.S. Liberty with the complicity of then President Johnson. No worse than sheltering dismemberment murderer and corpse burner Samuel Sheinbein. No worse than trading classified information acquired by Jonathan Pollard to the Russians.
Context
11/6/2019 10:25:02 am
The PLO (Munaẓẓamat at-Taḥrīr al-Filasṭīniyyah) is an organization founded in 1964 with the purpose of the "liberation of Palestine" through armed struggle, with much of its violence aimed at Israeli civilians.
Context this bitch
11/6/2019 12:00:14 pm
The Israelis claim that their ancestors, the Hebrews of the Bible, slaughtered tens of thousands of Canaanites when they invaded Palestine which is and was not their homeland on the orders of their imaginary God. So I'm fine with most things the PLO does, with minor exceptions such as the Klinghoffer matter and Arafat's massive embezzlement. The Israelis are invaders and squatters. Israel and Iran are the two religious states in the world. Saudi Arabia is a fake state run by crypto-Jewish homosexuals.
KENT IS ANTHONY WARREN
11/6/2019 03:29:52 pm
I never knew the Palestinians had equal right to conquer Canaan like the Jews.
Oops - mea culpa
11/6/2019 03:35:43 pm
The state of Palestine only dates from 1917.
Kent
11/6/2019 04:09:28 pm
Everywhere on Earth has been around for about the same time, with some exceptions like Surtse.
KENT IS ANTHONY WARREN
11/6/2019 05:45:00 pm
Yeah - anti-Semitism is running rampant on this Blog
KENT IS ANTHONY WARREN
11/6/2019 06:28:57 pm
Another point - the story of the Israelites' conquest of Canaan is part of the story of Exodus. How many mainstream historians and mainstream Biblical Scholars take the story of the Exodus seriously. The historicity of Moses himself has been dismissed by scholars. The whole story could symbolise the power of "good" of the Israelites against the "evil" heathenism of other nations. Nothing more, nothing less,
Simple
11/5/2019 01:44:16 pm
_But seriously: Drugs change reality? Perceptions of reality, maybe. Reality itself? No._
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Kent
11/6/2019 08:57:49 am
You raise a good point: how COULD you know? Do hermaphrodites dream of eclectic Sheiks? I'm going to mail myself a French Letter with the answers to all life's problems.
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Uriah the Hittite
11/5/2019 03:37:09 pm
Mister Colavito, just a question. Don't you think that Joe Scales getting on your blog and calling everyone who disagrees with him an imbecile has a negative effect on other posters to this blog?
Reply
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 04:08:49 pm
Should Jason not wish for me to post here, all he simply has to do is request same via email. I'm his guest here. I post only as Joe Scales. And I only call imbeciles imbeciles; you imbecile.
Reply
correction to Joe Scales
11/5/2019 04:27:55 pm
But this is not a rational sceptic blog
Uriah the Hittite
11/5/2019 04:35:35 pm
You know damn good and well that Jason Colavito is completely gutless. The question asked was not directly at you, but at him. I await his response.
Percy Wetmore
11/5/2019 05:10:24 pm
Let me translate from the Scalese:
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 08:45:47 pm
Sorry Percy, you crazed cyber-stalking imbecile. If you have to imagine me in such straights, that says more for your lack of intellect. I'd be happy to engage in rational discourse, but not with people who use google for a brain, are too wrapped up in their politics and are otherwise poor sports.
You tell him
11/5/2019 08:55:55 pm
AmericanNe….uh, I mean Ke...uh...I mean Joe Scales. Set him straight!!!
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 09:03:58 pm
Dude, if you think I'm Kent, then it's a game well played. And one you lost.
Jim
11/5/2019 09:08:47 pm
Joe:
Joe Scales
11/6/2019 10:09:42 am
That would be "rhetorical redundancy".
CALEB SEARCHER
11/6/2019 11:38:15 pm
Your Scalese is on the mark, Percy. The assholia runs strong in this one!
Again
11/5/2019 04:37:49 pm
That's why Joe has settled here, because it's not a rational sceptic blog
Reply
Iskanander
11/5/2019 05:52:35 pm
"They seem to hope that finding a single space poltergeist will undo the mathematical rigidity of physics and reenchant the world."
Reply
An Anonymous Nerd
11/5/2019 08:14:21 pm
It's strange to see the very petty things the Fringe will try to use against Mr. Colavito.
Reply
Joe Scales
11/5/2019 08:57:32 pm
"Now it's whether or not it's "redundant" to say "Metaphysics and Philosophy" in light of the fact that Metaphysics is a branch of Philosophy."
Reply
Come on, Joe
11/5/2019 10:58:44 pm
You are affiliated with the likes of Catherine Millard and David Barton, revisionist historians biased towards the so-called "Christian origins" of American Independence.
An Anonymous Nerd
11/5/2019 11:33:24 pm
[It wasn't "Metaphysics and Philosophy". It was "metaphysicians and philosophers",]
Subjective marathon waffling
11/5/2019 11:36:18 pm
90% subjectivity on these Blog posts from various people than can be flushed straight down the toilet.
George Washington's Beliefs
11/5/2019 11:39:46 pm
George Washington's original correspondence admiring Freemasonry and supporting the existence of Judaism can all be accessed online. Believers in the Supreme Being and The Great Architect of the Universe were all rationalists and therefore could not be anti-Semitic if they deemed the Bible to be worthless mythology.
Joe Scales
11/6/2019 10:26:57 am
"You cite this as something I'd find on Google."
Joe Scales
11/6/2019 10:39:29 am
" You have promoted wild conspiracy fantasies here"
Jim
11/6/2019 11:14:22 am
From this:
Man Who Says Nee
11/6/2019 12:28:50 pm
Joe's ankles haven't been nipped at. It would be more accurate to describe people as severing his ankle tendons and leaving him flopping helplessly like the Knight in Search for the Holy Grail who has gotten his ass kicked but is still yelling for his opponent to come back and fight. Intellectually speaking, that is.
Joe Scales
11/6/2019 12:57:10 pm
Jim, you imbecile, you should pay attention to what you quote. I realized long ago that constructive discourse was useless with the Anonymous Pretension. When I tried long ago, all I got was willful misinterpretation of my words and baseless accusations... you know, kinda like what you do on a near constant basis. But hey, if you want to agree with this imbecile and believe that I'm a conspiracy theory spouting member of the Fringe... well, that's on you. But it is my hope that even your stilted intellect could find fault with that.
Jim
11/6/2019 02:01:09 pm
Joe:
An Anonymous Nerd
11/6/2019 07:14:31 pm
[[" You have promoted wild conspiracy fantasies here"
Jim
11/6/2019 08:21:51 pm
Oh, Oh,,,,,I smell a stalker accusation in the making.
CALEB SEARCHER
11/6/2019 11:52:21 pm
Intelligent discourse my ass. As soon as somebody offers up a viewpoint different from his he starts insulting them. Exactly what Americanegro used to do. Even their language is the same. Wow, what a coincidence! Please.
Shane Sullivan
11/5/2019 11:57:17 pm
Incidentally, I once saw a System of a Down fan go absolutely apoplectic at the suggestion that the band constituted pop music.
Reply
Kent
11/6/2019 09:46:21 am
If the Turks had been more thorough the question would not arise but toward the end of the Ottoman period they became sloppy and undependable.
Kent
11/6/2019 09:42:32 am
Butcher shops? I will not have my "Salt does not taste like butter" ignored!
Reply
Nanooky of the North
11/6/2019 12:51:43 pm
I know a cute Eskimo chick who told me that the Eskimos never ate meat. their diet has always consisted of Burger King veggie burgers distributed from giant igloo temples.
Kent
11/6/2019 04:16:11 pm
All well and good, but I'm moving to Montana soon. A lotta hungry freaks out there Daddy!
Iskanander
11/5/2019 08:52:33 pm
Trying to figure out what Old Man Vallée is trying to say by struggling with words like "Metaphysics", and "Philosophy", and especially the dreaded "Consciousness" is like being dropped in to a fist-fight with no arms or legs. He'll just drag you down.
Reply
Momus
11/6/2019 08:08:57 am
The comments' sections on this blog have degenerated into pure drama since I've last checked them. That's sad. What a waste.
Reply
Doc Rock
11/6/2019 02:21:04 pm
Love the Trailer Park Boys material. Kind of a highlight of this mess. Kudos.
Reply
11/10/2019 10:29:12 am
while some UFOs definitely act paranormal and there is this involved with the aliens somewhat and some may be demons and others flesh and blood but partnered with demons, I think this TTSA and others are using this angle on UFOs to push a new age agenda.
Reply
Kent
11/10/2019 12:42:50 pm
How do I know you aren't partnered with demons?
Reply
TONY S.
11/11/2019 12:53:35 pm
What the hell did I just read?!
Reply
Jr. Time Lord
11/12/2019 04:14:30 am
Space Ghost inseminated the demons with his ectoplasm. Thus creating a hybrid race called the Polestargeist. These beings signed a treaty with the coelacanth and left the Earth. This "New Age agenda" must be...Coelacanth lives matter. There's something fishy about it.🤣
Kent
11/12/2019 11:20:56 am
You seem fixated on Space Ghost. That tells us roughly when the abuse happened. Dr. Drew would call it your "little girl voice". Now show us on the doll where "Space Ghost" touched you.
Jr. Time Lord
11/12/2019 10:00:39 pm
"from the very bottom of my heart, my ticker, if you will, I am grateful for the insight you have provided into the phenomenon that Joe Scales characterizes as "stalkers and ankle-biters". It's not a good look for you, but only you can live your life."
Kent
11/13/2019 12:04:39 am
So with your track record of reading 2 to 5 books a day for 42 years except for those days when you gave yourself a sick note, what have you read this week?
Kent
11/13/2019 03:31:00 am
I can only speculate what it must be like to be a victim of molestation and bury it under various strategies. Perhaps you'd like to share? Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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AuthorI am an author and researcher focusing on pop culture, science, and history. Bylines: New Republic, Esquire, Slate, etc. There's more about me in the About Jason tab. Newsletters
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