Larry W. Bryant’s UFOview

LWB note: By her response quoted below, CIA freedom-of-information chief Delores M. Nelson cranks up her formletterese machine to let me know that the Agency is going through the motions to process my FOIA request dispatched as Item 2.25 of this blog. But, dear reader: hold not thy breath over the prospect that her records search will produce even an iota of "Bob"-related evidence of the Eisenhower-Hughes's introduction to extraterrestrial mortality. At least Nelson's response confirms that the CIA hierarchy has abandoned its fight to deny my requester status as a "representative of the news media." Meanwhile, as of this writing, our mysterious "Caller Bob" remains incommunicative - the likelihood of his coming further forward being less probable than the Agency's producing the requested records.
 
== TEXT OF MS. NELSON'S LETTER OF JULY 15, 2009, TO LWB ==
 
Reference: F-2009-00693
 
Dear Mr. Bryant:
 
On 12 March 2009, the office of the Information and Privacy Coordinator received your 1 March 2009 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for "a copy of all CIA-generated and CIA-received records pertaining to the film footage revealed by 'Bob's' account." We have assigned your request the reference number above. Please use this number when corresponding so that we can identify it easily.
 
The CIA Information Act, 50 U.S.C. Sec. 431, as amended, exempts CIA operational files from the search, review, publication, and disclosure requirements of the FOIA. To the extent your request seeks information that is subject to the FOIA, we accept your request and will process it in accordance with the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, as amended, and the CIA Information Act. We will search for records existing through the date of this acceptance letter.
 
Based on the information provided in your letter, we determined that your request falls into the "news media" fee category. You must pay only for the cost of reproducing released records, which is ten cents per page after the first 100 copies, which you receive free.
 
The large number of FOIA requests CIA receives has created unavoidable delays making it unlikely that we can respond within the 20 working days the FOIA requires. You have the right to consider our honest appraisal as a denial of your request and you may appeal to the Agency Release Panel. A more practical approach would permit us to continue processing your request and respond to you as soon as we can. You will retain your appeal rights and, once you receive the results of our search, can appeal at that time if you wish. We will proceed on that basis unless you object.
 
Sincerely,
 
Delores M. Nelson
Information and Privacy Coordinator
[U. S. Central Intelligence Agency]
 
http://ufoview.posterous.com

A phone call to me this afternoon (July 17, 2009) from UFO researcher Dan Pinchas of Germantown, Md., brought news of the death of one of ufology's giants: Richard H. Hall, 78, of Brentwood, Md.

 For at least a year, I'd known that Dick had been recovering from colon-cancer surgery, but he counseled me not to spread that knowledge. By e-mail several months ago, he'd told me he was doing okay. Now, I learn that he'd been undergoing chemotherapy. He apparently died in his sleep this morning.

 Seemingly right up to his last moments, Dick was pursuing his ufological calling, for it's been only several weeks since my receipt of the latest issue of his bimonthly newsletter Journal of UFO History.

 My association and friendship with this consummate scholar date back to November 1957, when I met him for the first time at the Washington, D. C., headquarters of the now-defunct National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). There, as I sauntered into the front office, I spied him with his head down and eyes focused on a piece of correspondence he intently was typing upon a manual typewriter.

 Eventually, Dick became a role model for my own baby steps as a UFO researcher-activist. He not only wrote well and fluently; he also had a keen hand at line drawing. Noted mostly for his seminal two-volume work The UFO Evidence, he also had edited the NICAP newsletter (The UFO Investigator) and some of the organization's special reports. His two books on the subject matter (The Challenge of Unidentified Flying Objects (with Prof. Charles A. Maney - 1961); and Uninvited Guests (1988)) remain collector's items.

 His other major contributions to the field derived from his service on the board of directors for the Fund for UFO Research, Inc. At separate periods, he also served as editor of the monthly journal of the Mutual UFO Network, Inc., and as a columnist for the monthly newsstand periodical UFO Magazine. (See my essay about his career at this blog's Item 3.2.)

 Besides his UFOlit products, Dick managed to publish a small handbook on raising house plants, plus an overview of the role of women in America's civil war.

 Dick Hall's commitment to serious UFO research and his high standard of personal achievement in the field began during his student days at Tulane University, where he majored in philosophy. I take delight in possessing copies of his self-published newsletter from that early period - the UFO Critical Bulletin. Critical thinking (and action), you see, became the hallmark of his scholarship. If anyone deserved an honorary doctorate in ufology, it certainly was he.

 I never could've asked for a better mentor, friend, and colleague in this field. Thank you, again, Sir Richard, for the enriching part you played in this long journey of inquiry, networking, and enlightenment.

 Note: At this writing, Dick's blog remains accessible at http://www.hallrichard.com .

 http://ufoview.posterous.com

On occasion, one's questioning of authority about the purpose, scope, and leadership of official UFO secrecy can be a bit risky for the questioner - especially if (s)he happens to be a federal employee. My own experience, as alluded to below, certainly (and amply) illustrates this painful fact of life.
 
With the passage of almost 25 years, though, my having dared to mount this citizens' inquisition of officialdom may now seem quaint to some observers. But for me, the passion of that moment in UFOlogical history has an echo to this very day, rekindling itself in this renewed, online ad campaign - its latest installment being the following advertisement now posted (for 30 days hence) at the ad-placement service of inetgiant.com (see http://tinyurl.com/m4ygg3 ).
 
If you happen to collect key quotes about UFO secrecy, here's one that never seems to get out of date:
 
"The government prevents [its] employees from discussing UFO sightings except to the 'proper' authorities." - Journalist Mort Young, in his 1967 book UFO: TOP SECRET.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
 
== Blow the Whistle on the Dix-McGuire UFO Coverup! ==
 
[Larry W. Bryant's note: the below-quoted ad originally was published on March 1, 1985, in two military-base weekly newspapers in the Washington, D. C., area: the Bolling Air Force Base's BEAM; and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center's STRIPE. Its submission to, and March 8th publication in, the Fort Dix, N. J., POST incurred the wrath of the Dix public affairs officer, who tracked me down to my employer (who happened to be the office of the Army chief of public affairs at the Pentagon). That action not only brought my UFO-coverup-whistleblower-solicitation ad campaign to a temporary halt but also ignited a First Amendment lawsuit (Bryant v. Weinberger) whose Count No. 2 (re my employer's on-the-job retaliation against me) won me some favorable relief upon appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court. I reiterate the ad's content here in hopes that some retired/former Army/USAF official might be moved to tender a deathbed confession about his role in the Dix-McGuire incident.]
 
WHERE IS HE NOW? - Army "Sgt. Anon.," the military policeman who, back in 1978, pursued (and shot dead) a disembarked occupant of a nighttime UFO seen maneuvering near Fort Dix and McGuire AFB, N. J. Where are the autopsy report and other records of this incident? If you, or someone you know, can furnish us answers to those questions, contact us immediately so that we can use your evidence/testimony in compelling the Government's full accountability under the U. S. Freedom of Information Act. Now's your chance to add your evidence to the whistleblower testimony we're gathering in this case. Write: Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS); 3518 Martha Custis Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302 [e-mail: overtci@cavtel.net ]. http://ufoview.posterous.com

TO: Hon. James Webb
     United States Senate
     Washington, DC 20510
 
FROM: Larry W. Bryant
      3518 Martha Custis Drive
      Alexandria, VA 22302
 
DATE: June 30, 2009
 
For several years now, I've been receiving hints that one or more congressional committees have been on the verge of holding public hearings on the extent to which certain federal agencies (including the U. S. Central Intelligence Agency) have been withholding from public view their findings and conclusions about UFO-E.T. reality.
 
At the same time, a cadre of UFO-E.T.-coverup whistleblowers has been growing steadily from throughout the nation, asserting their willingness to deliver their accounts, under oath, to all pertinent congressional committees.
 
One of these concerned citizens, John J. Callahan, happens to be a retired official from the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration. As discussed in my May 29, 2009, letter to the CIA inspector general (copy enclosed as Item 2.31), Mr. Callahan became, during a 1987 key UFO-sighting-related meeting at FAA headquarters, the brunt of misconduct on the part of the CIA attenders at that meeting. To date, my May 29th request that the CIA inspector general mount an investigation into this matter has gone unanswered; I therefore presume that the inspector general intends to ignore my request. That inaction runs counter to the I.G. mission, insults the intelligence of the American public, and weakens Congress's oversight authority; but it also offers the pertinent congressional committee(s) an ideal starting point for investigating (and reporting upon) the Executive Branch's role in thwarting the public's stakeholdership in achieving greater UFO-E.T. awareness.
 
Accordingly, I hereby ask that you intervene on my behalf as follows:
 
(1) Contact the CIA director to determine the rationale behind the inspector general's nonfeasance; and
 
(2) Forward this correspondence to the pertinent committee staff now contemplating holding hearings on official UFO-E.T. secrecy.
 
As you ponder whatever other support you could/should render to the public's right-to-know in this public-policy matter, you might wish to take the bold step of assigning one of your staffers to liaise with the pertinent committee during its deliberations - with the prospect that other whistleblowers soon may emerge with even more-compelling evidence.
 
By snail-mail, I'm sending to you a signed printout of this e-formatted letter. You have my express permission to share this letter's content with anyone you choose.
 
Thank you for attending to this opportunity to help expand worldwide UFOIA (UFO Freedom of Information and Accountability).
 
 
LARRY W. BRYANT
Director, Washington, D. C., office of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy
 
http://ufoview.posterous.com

The envelope contained one sheet of paper, sent to me via U. S. Express Mail, costing us, the taxpayers, $13.05. It arrived at my home on June 24, 2009, but I was unavailable to sign for its receipt; so, on June 25th, I claimed it at my local post office.

 The letter, dated June 23rd, comes from CIA headquarters in Fairfax County, Va., bearing the signature of freedom-of-information coordinator Delores M. Nelson. Of course, I'm forwarding a photocopy of it to my attorney (as well as posting its text, below).

 I suppose counselor Katz will recommend that we negotiate with the Justice Department on the terms for a court-approved "consent judgment" to settle the case. And I would insist that this settlement require the Central Intelligence Agency to promptly reimburse all my litigation expenses. An ironclad consent judgment would prevent any CIA official from denying me my FOIA requester status as a representative of the news media (RNM) in the future. It also would strengthen FOIA case law protecting the interests of all current and future requesters in the RNM category.

 == TEXT OF MS. NELSON'S JUNE 23, 2009, LETTER TO L.W.B. ==

 Reference: F-2008-01781

 Dear Mr. Bryant:

 This is in reference to your 23 August 2008 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, received in the office of the Information and Privacy Coordinator on 18 [sic] August 2008, for the following CIA-received and CIA-generated records:

 (1) As pertain to the convening, attendance roster, briefings, minutes, and all other related documentation of the 1987 special meeting at FAA headquarters in Washington, D. C.; and

 (2) As pertain to all similar cases of airborne UFO encounters reportedly occurring since Nov. 17, 1986, to date.

 Please note that upon further review, the Agency is reopening the processing of your request; a search will be conducted for records in existence through 15 June 2009. You also requested news media status. Since your request pertains to UFOs and you are a columnist with the newsstand periodical, UFO Magazine, we are placing you in "news media" fee category for this request. Accordingly, you will be responsible only for the cost of reproducing any records released in response to your request. Copying costs are ten cents per page less the first 100 pages.

 Sincerely,

 Delores M. Nelson
Information and Privacy Coordinator
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
http://ufoview.posterous.com

TO: Director
    U. S. Central Intelligence Agency
    ATTN: Information and Privacy Coordinator
    Washington, DC 20505
 
FROM: Larry W. Bryant
     3518 Martha Custis Drive
     Alexandria, VA 22302
 
DATE: June 23, 2009
 
This freedom-of-information request seeks (1) a copy of the first three CIA "Weekly Summaries" produced for the month of December 1950; and (2) a copy of that month's first 15 "Daily Summaries." NOTE: If any of the content of these reports still bears a security classification, I ask that this content be subjected to mandatory declassification in accordance with the appropriate presidential executive order.
 
Please waive all your agency's records-search/review fees as you process this request - on the grounds of my requester status as a representative of the news media (RNM), a status fully documented by my web log ( http://ufoview.posterous.com ). Your fulfilling this request shall be construed by me as being your formal acknowledgment of my RNM status.
 
By snail-mail, I'm sending to you a signed printout of this e-formatted letter.
 
 
LARRY W. BRYANT
Columnist for UFO Magazine
 
Copy furnished to: Editor, UFO Magazine

Indefatigable California resident John Greenewald, Jr., who began his FOIA warriorship at age 15, now has (re)joined the ranks of aggrieved requesters who've been denied their rightful status as "representatives of the news media" - a category expressly defined by the U. S. Freedom of Information Act as deserving of favored treatment in the form of waived records-search/review fees.

 This time around, it's the U. S. National Security Agency that wishes to impose Draconian processing fees upon Greenewald, presumably to discourage his inquisitiveness. But, as you can see from his appeal letter, quoted below, he ain't gonna take it any more.

 At this point, all who believe in greater UFO Freedom of Information and Accountability (and who deplore its opposite force - UFOBIA (UFOlogical Fear of Basic Information and Accountability)) might wish to write their congresscritters in support of Greenewald's appeal.

 NOTE: John will be the master of ceremonies at the annual symposium of the Mutual UFO Network, Inc., Aug. 7-9, 2009.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
==TEXT OF GREENEWALD'S LETTER OF JUNE 10, 2009, TO NSA HEADQUARTERS ==

 Wednesday, June 10, 2009

 John Greenewald, Jr.

 National Security Agency
980 Savage Road - Suite 6248
Fort George G. Meade, Maryland 20755-6248
Fax: (443) 479-3612

 To whom it may concern,

 This is an open-letter appeal, made under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, in response to multiple FOIA requests in your office. In most of the letters, you have stated that you disagree with my "representative of the news media" category, and put me in an "all other" status.
Consequently, many of the requests are estimated at hundreds of dollars in search fees, when I am not guaranteed a single piece of paper.

 First and foremost, I consider this a grave injustice made in light of the true intent of the FOIA. From President Clinton's signing the Electronic FOIA and multiple executive directives regarding declassification; President Bush's signing the U.S. OPEN Government Act of 2007; and President Obama's, on the day he entered office, signing legislation improving agency disclosure, openness,
and transparency in regard to document declassification - the FOIA has been an important tool in American democracy and public awareness.

 But the NSA, in my opinion, will not recognize the true meaning of a "representative of the news media," and will not acknowledge my established ability to disseminate this information to the public - thus going against the definitions outlined in the law, and erroneously categorizing my requests.

 So, therefore, I hereby appeal the determination of the NSA regarding my fee status category as "all other" and submit the below evidence to my established category of "representative of the news media."

 1) Multiple agencies have considered my request to become a "representative of the news media," and have granted that request. Only a select few are referenced below for your perusal:

 a. In a letter dated 10 April 2009, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in case F09-0036, states, "Based upon the information provided, you have been placed in the 'educational/scientific/media' category of requesters. . .."

 b. In a letter dated 14 May 2009, from the Department of the Air Force, Malmstrom Air Force Base, in FOIA case number 2009-00743F, it states, "You have been placed in the 'Media' category."

 c. In a letter dated March 16, 2009, in FOIA case number 09-006, it states, "Additionally, the U.S. Army Center of Military History's Initial Denial Authority for FOIA requests has declared you to be a member of the media. . .."

 2) Further, you state that the FOIA stipulates I must show how I will turn raw materials into a distinct work, and distribute that to an audience. I outline the following:

 a. NEWS/EDITORIAL EXAMPLES - TELEVISION:

 i. The History Channel - The Universe; in this episode of The Universe on History Channel, entitled, "Alien Faces," which I directed and wrote, I utilized multiple documents obtained from the FOIA from NASA on the topic of Astrobiology. The material was used in the research/development phase of the
program, and the information was interpreted and disseminated to the public throughout the show.

 ii. The History Channel - UFO Hunters, Season 3 - Multiple Episodes; from December 2008 - June 2009, I served as a producer of the popular UFO Hunters program. Throughout multiple episodes, the research/FOIA documents I have collected over the last decade were used in the research/development phase, shown on screen, and opinions were offered on select documents. As an example, in one episode dealing with a secret underground installation, underground digging technology was discussed at length. To source this information in the show, multiple documents were obtained under the FOIA as reference, including "Use of the Subterrene for Military Drilling
Applications," located at:
http://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/ufos/subt.pdf .

 iii. The History Channel - UFO Files: Hangar 18; multiple documents obtained from the FOIA were used in this special, which dealt with the top secret work on military technology by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base throughout the past 5-6 decades. Documents were obtained from the Air Force
and Army that were used in this special, for which I was credited as the producer.

 iv. The History Channel - UFO Files: UFOs and the White House; multiple documents obtained from the FOIA were used in this special, which I also produced for The History Channel, which were used as source material, used in the research/development phase, and were interpreted for the public in
the show's writing phase.

 v. With the details above, I feel this clearly shows interpretation and dissemination to the public of the information obtained under the FOIA.

 b. NEWS/EDITORIAL EXAMPLES - NEWSPRINT:

 i. "Inadvertent Nuclear War - The India/Pakistan Armageddon," which was published on the popular online news site OpEdNews, located at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Inadvertent-Nuclear-War--by-John-Greenewald-081202-496.html .

 ii. "Dr. J. Allen Hynek: The UFO Scientist's 'Other life,'" which was
published on the popular online news site OpEdNews, and is archived at
http://www.theblackvault.com/wiki/index.php/Dr._J._Allen_Hynek:_The_UFO_Scientist's_%22Other_life%22_(by_John_Greenewald,_Jr.,_3-13-2008) .

 iii. Fate Magazine - Multiple articles in print throughout the past 13 years; one example as a cover story entitled "Mysteries of The Black Vault" can
be seen at

 iv. With the articles sourced above, I feel this clearly shows interpretation and dissemination to the public the information obtained under the FOIA.

 c. EDITORIAL EXAMPLES - PUBLISHED PRINT:

 i. Beyond UFO Secrecy, by John Greenewald, Jr. - Publisher: Galde Press; 2nd edition (January 1, 2008) - ISBN-13: 978-1931942607. This book, in its second, expanded edition, details years' worth of work and FOIA documents collected. Documents are interpreted for the reader and explained in editorial form; then some are displayed for the reader's interpretation. The book can be seen/ordered on Amazon.com at
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-UFO-Secrecy-John-Greenewald/dp/1931942609 .

 ii. With the details above, I feel this clearly shows interpretation and dissemination to the public the information obtained under the FOIA.

 d. EDITORIAL EXAMPLES - RADIO:

 i. I currently own and operate The Black Vault Radio Network, which syndicates nearly 40 shows from around the globe. The top show on the network, The Black Vault Radio, hosted by myself, interviews experts, authors, Hollywood celebrities, etc., dealing with the topics researched by my FOIAs.

 In many of the episodes, I offer my interpretation of documents received under the FOIA, inform the public of the documents' availability, then tell the public where they can download the information, for free.

 ii. These shows are then archived online, and have been since the shows first aired. All are available 24/7.

 iii. Throughout the past 13 years, I have done HUNDREDS of radio interviews on many networks other than my own show, in which I am asked about my FOIA research. In these interviews, ranging from 5 minutes in length, to more than four hours in length, I am asked my interpretation of the information. I am asked to dissect the meaning of many of the documents, and offer my opinion of what they mean. Lastly, I clearly define where the documents can be obtained.

 iv. With the details above, I feel this clearly shows interpretation and dissemination to the public the information obtained under the FOIA.

 3) Lastly, you state to fit into this fee status category that the information must be of "potential interest to a segment of the public . . .." In response, I offer the following:

 a. The Black Vault website, which houses 500,000 pages of declassified documents, serves thousands of people a day on average who download, peruse, and read the documents. Further, they can browse the online archive of news articles which I have written, and read the editorial pieces outlining many of the FOIA documents. Although you clearly state that my simply posting the documents does not make me worthy of a "representative of the news media" status, I believe
that the multiple articles, page descriptions, document summaries, etc., do offer an editorialized piece that paves the way for public perusal of the archive.

 b. Alexa Internet rates The Black Vault within the top 280,000 sites in the world. (Online traffic fluctuates, and this number has been as high as the top 60,000 depending on the traffic cycle.)
Given that the online research agency Netcraft calculates that there are more than 182 million (182,000,000) websites currently on the internet, this figure clearly states the information within The Black Vault is clearly in the public interest, and remains one of the internet's top destinations for FOIA
documents. For all of the reasons above, I feel I have fully and completely outlined my appeal to your determination. My unique set of circumstances, I feel, fits into the category "representative of the news media"; and I additionally feel the NSA should overturn their decision and promptly update the status of my requests to avoid further delays and unworthy charges of in some cases,
astronomical proportions.

 I am disseminating this letter to few different locations, including the internet, as I feel this information should be circulated outlining the situation with FOIA requesters at the NSA. I believe I am not the only one who has fallen victim to this misidentification of fee status, and hope in the future, this will not be a problem for so many legitimate requesters, journalists, and authors.

   Sincerely,

   John Greenewald, Jr.

 Cc:

 The White House
ATTN: President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
FAX: 202-456-2461

 Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Fax: (202) 228-3954

 Senator Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
Washington, D.C.
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Fax: (202) 224-0454

(Originally published in the May 2007 issue of "UFO Magazine.")
 
  By Larry W. Bryant
 
    UFO secrecy,
    official or private,
    cheats society;
    but preserving UFOlit
    benefits all of us
 
  Perhaps you've heard a horror story like one of the following:
 
  Some years ago, a UFOlogist in Nebraska fell under the influence of a religious group convinced that his UFO research conflicted with their tenets. He thus opted to destroy his entire collection of UFO literature - in hopes of self-reforming his errant ways of viewing the universe. Later, he recanted that precipitous move; but the damage turned out to be irreparable.
 
  Next, the UFO files of another UFOlogist, then a Californian, suffered a similar fate - but not at his own hands. Instead, the culprit was his estranged wife, who, in a fit of unholy acrimony, decided to let a storage company dispose of his collection for failure to keep the storage fee paid up. (Now, please spare me any other such cases; they're just too painful to my aging eyes and ears!)
 
  Yes, just as my own 50-year-old collection of UFOana continues to ripen with age here in my 800-square-foot condo unit (which I call the world's largest filing cabinet), so do I, its dutiful custodian, attract the years like a magnet. Long ago, I gave up trying to read all this stuff - which ranges from books (domestic and foreign) to journals, magazines, newsletters, pamphlets, audio/video tapes, litigation papers, historical/bibliographic studies, monographs, novels, newsclippings, cartoons/comic strips/comic books, and reams of UFO-research correspondence. Nowadays, I look upon these treasured items as my unwittingly dependent children - whereby I remain somewhat burdened by their presence but nevertheless steadfast in my determination to subject them to no more abuse than some occasional benign neglect.
 
  In a paean to the fate of my collection, published on June 5, 1982, under the title "Propose Set up UFO Reference Center" (in the now-defunct NYC newspaper News World), I discussed, in solemn tone, the choices one might face in arriving at a decent disposition for one's UFOlogical assets:
 
  "If UFOlit - as [UFO bookseller] Bob Girard calls the genre - merits any preservation and perpetuation whatsoever, then how can the average collector escape the civic duty implicit in that realization? After . . . decades of growth in the UFO-oriented publishing industry, isn't it time that the resultant cumulative testimonial to the greatest untold story of all time be placed in the hands of library science and library security?"
 
  Luckily, since my posing that question, more and more researchers have joined the chorus of commitment. For example: George Fawcett of North Carolina donated a truckload of his UFOana to the International UFO Museum and Research Center in Roswell, N. M. More recently, former Virginia resident John Anderson donated more than a box load of duplicate, vintage UFO books to the Fund for UFO Research, Inc., so that the proceeds from selling them can be applied to acceptable research projects. Steve Zalewski of Syracuse, N. Y., took it upon himself to build a UFOlit collection at the library of Onondaga Community College. In doing so, he insisted on including only the more serious, scholarly material - no frivolous or spurious items need apply.
 
  In Columbus, Ohio, at the library of Ohio State University, you'll find what may well be the premier publicly accessible UFO archive. Alas, the severity of its security makes it unavailable via the Interlibrary Loan Service. As the brainchild of MUFON state director for Ohio William Jones, the OSU archive remains a work-in-progress for him and his colleagues. In an e-message to me of Sept. 14, 1999, Jones wrote: "We need a lot of older material to fill in blanks in the collection. Can anyone help?" That "anyone" certainly could be one Jan Aldrich, director of http://www.project1947.com/shg/ . His web site's "Sign Historical Group" subpage contains an inventory of the OSU collection, to which Aldrich has donated some blank-filling material of his own.
 
  Aldrich, in New England, remains among the top-tier collectors of UFOana, whose other members include Barry Greenwood of Stoneham, Mass.; Richard W. Heiden of Milwaukee; Lucius Farish of Plumerville, Ark. (retired publisher of the monthly UFO Newsclipping Service); and me, here in Alexandria, Va. (overtci@cavtel.net). But I'm aware of some other collectors' grappling their way up the ladder of UFOlit enrichment, some of whom are - guess what! - WOMEN. In fact, one of them, Dr. Brenda Denzler of North Carolina (author of The Lure of the Edge: Scientific Passion, Religious Beliefs, and the Pursuit of UFOs), recently tried to help me find an academic home for my material (once I've decided to part with it). Try as she might, though, she failed to convince the library at Duke University to become interested in my offer.
 
  Later, I, too, struck out when I queried the accessions librarians at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. I was seeking an institution close enough to me and/or to my daughter's home so that my estate could more readily monitor terms of the collection's placement and management. That was Plan A.
 
  Plan B calls for me to entrust to my daughter the public sale of the collection - possibly via an Internet auction service. That way, everyone gains: serious collectors/preservers of some near-priceless UFOlit; and my daughter in her quest for supplementing a meager retirement income. I shall let her decide whether there'll be a Plan C - i.e., auctioning off part of the stuff and donating the other part to help fill in some more blanks in the OSU archive.
 
  In the meantime, I plan to continue avoiding contact with religious fanatics and vindictive ex-wives.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
* Though he fancies himself far from being a poet, Larry W. Bryant has tried his hand, once or twice, at composing a tanka - an ancient form of Japanese poetry consisting of five lines totaling 31 or fewer syllables (in a 5,7,5,7,7 syllabic pattern). His next book, which he occasionally refers to as "the world's longest book review," will bear the title Conjuring Gretchen: The Saga of Virginia's Preacher-Hypnotist (to be published this spring by Galde Press, Inc. - http://www.galdepress.com ).

Elsewhere on this blog (see Item 2.7), I've declared my support for civic activist Jeff Peckman's campaign, begun months ago in a rickety process of jumping through hoops of municipal red tape, to have a ballot initiative for an ordinance declaring Denver as host to an official Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission.

 Now, after all that planning and coordination, a cadre of signature gatherers has embarked upon this historic journey to prove that SOME citizens of Earth can unite, publicly, to advance their cosmic interests and concerns - on behalf of us all.

 I'm posting this note to announce the below-quoted classified ad's appearance upon the ads-service web site of inetgiant.com (see http://tinyurl.com/nbyp9t ). It's part of my current ad campaign to help broaden public participation in UFORIA (UFO Freedom of Information and Accountability):

 == HELP SUPPORT Denver's Drive to Create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission! ==

 This summer, registered voters in Denver, Colo., have a unique opportunity to put their city on the galactic map - by adding their names to the now-circulating signature petition for a November 2009 ballot initiative to pass an ordinance creating a Denver-based Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission. The proposed commission would be funded only by "grants, gifts, and donations" and not the city budget. It would serve as a public-policy center and clearinghouse for dealing with the UFO-E.T. presence and its societal implications for all citizens of Earth. If you'd like to volunteer your services and/or resources in support of this ballot initiative, you can find pertinent details of the proposed ordinance and points of contact on the web site created by the project's chief proponent, Denverite Jeff Peckman - http://www.extracampaign.org . As a supporter in Virginia, I've posted an online petition by which all Earthlings may add their signatures/comments to encourage Denverites to vote for this history-making paradigmal shift in UFO-E.T. awareness; see it at http://www.petitiononline.com/etaffair/petition.html . NOTE: The online "signatures" aren't valid for the approved ballot-initiative petition but do offer a measure of moral support. For locations where to sign the official hard copy of the petition and also learn about the "Welcome to Earth" project of the campaign to support charitable causes, visit http://www.extracampaign.org/Petition_Signing.html . The world has waited long enough for the people - not their rulers - to take the lead in letting the case for UFO-E.T. reality speak for itself - at the ballot box! I remain honored to take part in this campaign, and urge you to join it all the way into November's general election. - Larry W. Bryant, director of the Washington, D. C., office of Citizens Against UFO Secrecy; 3518 Martha Custis Drive, Alexandria, VA 22302; phone: 703-931-3341; e-mail: overtci@cavtel.net .
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