November 26, 2025
In 2008 I wrote an op-ed for the PRESS JOURNAL (Vero Beach, Fl) titled "UFOs: The Other Inconvenient Truth". The article included my academic title and my affiliation with the Cato Institute.
That op-ed was a serious piece about the history of the UFO phenomena; it never mentioned "aliens" or alleged "abductions." Instead, it argued that there was solid evidence that (some) UFOs were real; that elements of the U.S. government had hidden that information away for decades; and that on-going research was attempting to reverse-engineer recovered technology for some strategic (military) advantage. It also suggested that secrecy was politically dangerous and that UFO disclosure was imperative, despite the fact that there were obvious societal risks associated with transparency.
Some background. I had studied the UFO mystery for decades so I knew what the heck I was talking about. Besides I had some "confidential sources" that confirmed my most important suspicions. I knew about the pilot and military encounters; about the repeated intrusions of UFOs over weapon storage areas (WSA) including those that held nuclear ordinance; about the best photographic, electro-magnetic and physical trace cases; and about the official lying and intimidation of witnesses. I also knew that several prominent politicians at the time-including John Podesta and Hillary Clinton-were fascinated by the subject and were pushing for public disclosure. The time was right, I felt, for a tenured academic like myself to highlight the threat that UFO secrecy posed for our political institutions and "spill the beans" so to speak.
Boy, was I wrong.
One day after the article appeared I received a letter from the Cato Institute abruptly terminating my 20-year long "adjunct scholar" status. The letter suggested that the scholars program was being "reorganized" and that was the reason for dropping me. That was nonsense of course. The actual truth was that the Cato Institute (on the bad advice of an associate) wanted no part of the UFO paradigm so they asserted, unconvincing that the subject was not part of their "research agenda." And what "research agenda" was that, pray tell?
Now let's be clear. My position with Cato was honorary and unpaid. I was not being "censored." Cato had every right to drop me for any reason whatsoever. On the other hand, Cato had lied about the reasons
for my departure and then missed a unique opportunity to uncover and publicize the most egregious example of governmental overreach in our lifetime: the political suppression of the knowledge that some UFOs were real and that there was physical proof that we were not alone in the Universe. They hid that information for eight decades from the public, from the Congress, and perhaps even from several Presidents without a "need to know." Now If that's not a legitimate "public policy" issue (for a libertarian think tank) I don't know what is.
Fast forward to the present. Almost everything I discussed 17 years ago in that op-ed is now being confirmed (in spades) with the recent release of a new documentary titled "The Age of Disclosure." The film is currently available in a few selected movie theaters around the country and on Amazon Prime. In the film, 34 individuals with impeccable credentials in the intelligence, science and political community (including Mark Rubio, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to the President) go on the public record to confirm that UFOs have crashed and been recovered and that the U.S. as well as Russia and China are engaged in a race to reverse-engineer the technology. Chris Mellon, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, speaks passionately in the film and calls the UFO reality the "most important story in human history." I can't disagree.
Do yourself a favor and watch the film. And then begin to think about what the institutional fallout might be from any REAL disclosure. (Real disclosure, apart from testimonials, would involve the actual presentation of hard physical evidence). How will our most important civic and political institutions be affected? What are the implications for the economy, for gold, for the stock market, for AI investment, etc? What are the religious implications of the existence of so-called non-human intelligence (NHI)? Are UFOs a threat and how do we deal with it? And what about the funding of the cover-up itself? How about the trillions of tax dollars that have been covertly funneled (without direct Congressional approval) to private contractors and into various "black" programs? Will anyone be held accountable for any of this?
President Trump now has an immense opportunity to tell the American people the truth about this massive government coverup. He was not a serious part of that story (except for his awkward explanation of the New Jersey UAP sightings last year) so he has little to lose personally for truth-telling now. And since the UFO disclosure horses have now left the barn, never to return, it's high time for the President to acknowledge that fact and then encourage an important societal discussion about what comes next. It's your move, Mr. President.