As mentioned in Rick’s news, the new-look White House (I keep picturing George Clinton getting his P-Funk paintbrushes ready) once again has an implicit link to the UFO mystery, with former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta serving as co-chairman for the Obama-Biden transition. Podesta – who once admitted to having a “shrine” to The X-Files in his WH office – has been actively involved in the UFO area for a number of years. In 2002, he lent his voice to the Sci Fi Channel’s pursuit of government documents related to the 1965 ‘Kecksburg UFO’ incident – although perhaps his primary motivation was his desire for openness of government (PDF document):
I’ve never been followed by a tractor beam; I’ve never been bathed in the glow of a white light coming from the sky; I certainly have never been taken; and while my obsession (which for some of you was well known while I was in the White House) with the X-Files earned me the title of First Fan, I think I always understood the difference between fact and fiction. So I guess you could call me a skeptic.
But I’m skeptical about many things, including the notion that government always knows best, and that the people can’t be trusted with the truth. That’s why I’ve dedicated three decades of my life, both in private practice on the Senate Judiciary Committee and in my work at the White House, to the fundamental principle of protecting openness in government.
…I think it’s time to open the books on questions that have remained in the dark; on the question of government investigations of UFOs. It’s time to find out what the truth really is that’s out there. We ought to do it because it’s right; we ought to do it because the American people quite frankly can handle the truth; and we ought to do it because it’s the law.
Some video of Podesta’s speech at the National Press Club is available at YouTube.
