UFO initiative grounded
By Daniel J. Chacon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published January 21, 2009 at 1:03 p.m.
Updated January 21, 2009 at 1:03 p.m.
Photo by Barry Gutierrez / The Rocky
Jeff Peckman, who is pushing a ballot initiative to form an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission in Denver, would like to meet with Barack Obama, but doesn't think it will happen.
A proposed ballot initiative to create a government commission in Denver tasked with developing a strategy to deal with space aliens on Earth has been shelved.
For the time being, anyway.
"It's on hold for now because of the confidence that I feel and a lot of people feel in the Obama administration in moving toward more disclosure of the UFO/extraterrestrial information," said Jeff Peckman, whose proposed Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission generated national headlines.
"But I would say I'm only 51 percent confident, so I'm not abandoning the ballot initiative," he said today.
Peckman said other new presidents have asked the CIA for all UFO-related information immediately after taking office.
Former President Jimmy Carter asked for the information the first day on the job, he said.
"When he became president, the first day, he asked for that information from the CIA director but was denied the information by George H. Bush," Peckman said. "That's a well-known story."
Peckman said he will be in a "wait-and-see mode" for a couple of months to figure out how Obama will approach the subject.
"If there's no indications at all that the White House administration, that Obama, will do anything about this, then I will certainly attempt to start (the ballot initiative) over," he said.
"Putting it on the back burner for now will not have any affect on getting it on the ballot in November," he said. "We would start over with the petitioning anyway and probably even make other revisions in the text."
Peckman said he couldn't remember what kind of revisions he's considering because they're "scribbled in my notes in piles of paper."
The current proposal calls for the creation of an ET commission "to help ensure the health, safety, and cultural awareness of Denver residents and visitors in relation to potential encounters or interactions with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles, and fund such commission from grants, gifts and donations."
An "extraterrestrial intelligent being" is defined as a a form of life assumed to exist or originate from outside the Earth or its atmosphere.
"The creation of an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission will ... ultimately facilitate the most harmonious, peaceful, mutually respectful, and beneficial coexistence possible between extraterrestrial intelligent beings and human beings," the proposal states.
Peckman acknowledged that President Barack Obama has other pressing needs, including two wars, an economic crisis and a housing downturn.
But disclosing information about UFOs should be a priority, too, he said.
"It should be because it's relevant to just about every other important task he has ahead of him, whether it's national security, the economy, health care or job creation," Peckman said.
"The reason for that is that if you start digging into the whistle blower testimony, you'll see that hundreds of billions of dollars are being siphoned out of our economy by covert projects (specifically related to UFOs) that are not accountable to the public or to Congress or to the White House."
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January 21, 2009
1:18 p.m.
Suggest removal
B300 writes:
I dont know Peckman, maybe you could come up with some kind of REAL evidence before people will listen to you. Or maybe you could just hang out at the science channel. They seem to like putting that junk on!
January 21, 2009
1:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
Scott writes:
Or better yet, Peckman should move to The People's Democratic Republic of Boulder. He would fit right in up here with the rest of the freak show.
Scott
January 21, 2009
1:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
Dick_Tater writes:
Laugh now. We'll see who is laughing when we get alien visitors and we're unprepared to welcome them. I do admit that setting up a comission might be a bit much, maybe we should just keep a few bags of Reces Pieces handy instead?
January 21, 2009
1:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
RegLib writes:
Oh man, I'm struggling to think of a funny comment. But it's impossible to come up with anything that's funnier than the article itself.
January 21, 2009
1:37 p.m.
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MBR693 writes:
"Former President Jimmy Carter asked for the information the first day on the job, he said."
At least he knew his priorities as president...
January 21, 2009
1:46 p.m.
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JluvDC writes:
I still think the city should fine him for wasting tax payer money with this stupid stuff.
January 21, 2009
1:49 p.m.
RustyWon writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
January 21, 2009
1:57 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
Jimmy Carter only asked for the information to see if his cover was blown and the CIA knew the truth that he was an alien.
January 21, 2009
2:10 p.m.
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B300 writes:
Hey Dick_Tater, how will we know if we have it right? How would you suggest we learn how to greet something when have have no idea what it is?
This is funny stuff!
January 21, 2009
2:20 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
I thought we were going to flash light patterns or play music at them.
Anyway, they are the ones visiting so they should have the first move.
January 21, 2009
2:26 p.m.
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Barbarosa writes:
Wow, I bet those aliens are responsible for global warming, too. Think about it.
January 21, 2009
2:34 p.m.
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Mtnsjohn writes:
Reminds me of the old Outer Limits episode where the alien carried a book with the title translated, "To Serve Humans".....
....and it was a cook book.
January 21, 2009
2:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
peterpi writes:
Hmmm, it's hard to type effectively when I'm laughing my hindquarters off. But,
Let me get this straight: Several Presidents of the United States have asked the CIA for this vital information, and the CIA told these Chief Executives to put their requests where the Sun doesn't shine.
But!!!
If the City and County of Denver creates a Mayor's Extraterrestrial Sentient Being Advisory Committee (MESBAC), and that Committee makes a request, why the heads of the CIA, NSA, FBI, NOAA, NASA, and for all I know, the MI5, Mossad, and the successor to the KGB will come to Denver and give all the information they have.
1) What weed is this guy smoking?
2) Can anyone else get it? That's some powerful high he's on!
January 21, 2009
2:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
Jeff writes:
Mtnsjohn:
It was the Twilight Zone: "To Serve Man."
Yes, maybe the obesity problem in American is just a plot by the aliens to fatten us up, so that we'll result in larger portions ;-)
January 21, 2009
3 p.m.
Suggest removal
temurlan writes:
"Yes, maybe the obesity problem in American is just a plot by the aliens to fatten us up, so that we'll result in larger portions ;-)"
So does that mean Americans are the Kobe beef of the universe?
January 21, 2009
3:07 p.m.
Suggest removal
jrod193 writes:
as a taxpayer, i would rather have my money spent on the ufo commission as opposed to:
1. perpetual war
2. banker bailouts
i mean, why not? its not like we've ever needed solid evidence to fund the aforementioned before we went ahead with them, right? seems as if the ufo commission can just be the next in the long line of government fiascos we so willingly fund.
January 21, 2009
3:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
MBR693 writes:
We'll also want to inform the aliens, when they get here, that it's unlawful for them to leave their children unattended in their spacecraft while buying goodies at a quickie mart. And they should never ducktape their kids' hands behind their backs to prevent them from eating humans.
January 21, 2009
3:15 p.m.
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Willy writes:
Be nice folks. Loons need love too.
January 21, 2009
3:20 p.m.
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Marshdale writes:
Thank god. I can take my aluminum foil hat off now that this is resolved.
January 21, 2009
3:31 p.m.
Suggest removal
elkman writes:
"The creation of an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission will ... ultimately facilitate the most harmonious, peaceful, mutually respectful, and beneficial coexistence possible between extraterrestrial intelligent beings and human beings," the proposal states.
Why would anyone naturally think that aliens want to be peaceful, mutually respectful, and coexist with us? Maybe they want to dominate us. If they are so advanced as to be able to fly to this planet, why would they want to share their technology with us. And further more, if they have been spying on us for so long, why have they not made legitimate contact with us? Show me an alien!
January 21, 2009
3:50 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Well, it was You who invited Us in the first place:
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraf...
Humanoids, geesh!
January 21, 2009
3:55 p.m.
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elkman writes:
When did we invite them?
January 21, 2009
4 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Elkman,
The Voyager spacegraft, heard of it. It has recordings of greetings in almost every language on Earth in it. Did you just land here or something, elk? ;)
January 21, 2009
4:02 p.m.
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HankReardon writes:
Uh, that's a spacecraft...
Go back and check the movie Starman from the 70s/80s. That's most likely what the Humans would do.
January 21, 2009
4:04 p.m.
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BigRich writes:
Hey Peckman-
I thought I told you that you're not supposed to leave the house without your tinfoil helmet; it's dangerous!
January 22, 2009
10:14 a.m.
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FlyfishDude52 writes:
Perhaps I've read too much science fiction. When we do get visitors from afar, chances are they would want trade relations as profit is what it's all about. If we have nothing to offer, which is likely as they would be a far advanced scientifically and one would hope culturally, then they would be faced with a dilemma; should we wipe out another species or enslave them. Unless their culture is truly way advanced from the normal avarice, greed and cruely that man depicts, we toast, which is the most likely scenario.
But spending money we don't have on speculation that we will be meeting up with an alien species soon is funnier than the normal humor surrounding Boulder... LOL
January 27, 2009
2:29 p.m.
Suggest removal
ghostchaser writes:
We think that this is a just a "cover up" for the Peckman-Romanek camp to get the time to revamp the plan. They claim to be waiting for Obama to come forward with something but when it does not happen they can blame the government for making Obama part of the cover up.
We (Rocky Mountain Paranormal) feel that the effort that we made to show the reality behind the "evidence" that is being used to push the ET Commission has helped slow (If not stop) the collection of enough signatures to pass the initiative.
Thanks,
Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society