Citizens Hearing tackles government secrecy and the truth about the presence of UFOs

By Richard B. Muhammad -Editor- | Last updated: May 1, 2013 - 11:47:14 PM

Discussion with Richard Dolan, Antonio Huneeus, Danny Sheehan, Lt. Col. Richard French. Photo: Facebook/ Citizen Hearing On Disclosure

WASHINGTON (National Press Club) - A panel of former U.S. representatives and a former senator kicked off a week of hearings about the public’s right to know, government secrecy and its tracking and withholding of information about what are popularly known as unidentified flying objects.

The Citizen Hearing On Disclosure, held here April 29 to May 3, was scheduled to feature some 40 researchers, military and government agency witnesses and 30 hours of testimony.

The early sessions April 29 focused on the peoples’ right to know and what organizers and witnesses called the continued problem of government failures to tell the truth about so-called UFOs.

The overall tendency of government to classify information has grown and needs to be curbed, said the witnesses and some ex-lawmakers.

The hearing started with a message from a former astronaut and former members of Congress taking testimony included Sen. Mike Gravel, D-Alaska; U.S. Rep. Lyn Woolsey, D-Calif.; U.S. Rep Darlene Hooley, D-Ore.; U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md.; and U.S. Rep. Merrill Cook, R-Utah.

Organizers said the former lawmakers were paid $20,000 for their week’s work, but all of the retired legislators said their participation was based on concern about government secrecy, the public’s right to know and a desire to learn more. Several spoke candidly about negative fallout associated with the subject of UFOs, with former Senator Gravel noting the number of mocking tweets were fewer than he expected.

Reuben Langdon, an organizer of the hearings, said the event allows significant numbers of experts to go on the record, despite the likelihood of ridicule. Paying the congressmen $20,000 for a week’s work is “peanuts,” given level of remuneration they usually receive, he said. Rep. Bartlett took the assignment despite a warning that it could ruin future prospects and his reputation— the 80-something year old said it didn’t matter.

None of the congressmen was asked to take a position and their positions on UFOs weren’t asked, said Mr. Langdon. But, he added, they asked thoughtful questions and expressed significant concern at the end of the day.

“To take this job, you have to have some kind of interest,” said Mr. Langdon. The panel knew ridicule and career-ending mockery could happen, so money could not be the sole motivation, he said.

The theme for the hearing was “the people” doing what Congress has not done, which is hold recent open and substantial hearings on a subject that millions of Americans are interested in.

Economics, politics, religion, notions of nationhood and notions of power were among reasons that explain U.S. government failure to tell the truth, said participants.

Mr. Langdon believes money is the biggest motivating factor behind the cover up followed by

power. The “truth embargo” once broken will take a lot of money out of people’s pocket, he said.

Once people know a craft flies but emits no sounds and defies known physics it changes everything, said Mr. Langdon.

It would change how people study and act, redefine energy options, impact Big Oil, gas and related industries, said the filmmaker.

Without jet propulsion and rocket propulsion humanity could be freed from today’s energy crisis, he noted.

“Whether is it ET or not,” Mr. Langdon said.

The hearing at the National Press Club was webcast live through www.citizenhearing.org.

Paul Hellyer, former defense minister for Canada, told the panel that truth is the currency of the 21st century and hiding the truth is undermining governments.

While public opinion shows many Americans believe UFOs are possible, movies, comic books, sci-fi and everything in the entertainment world has said this is not real, so the level of ridicule is easy, Mr. Langdon said.

And, there has been a lot of weird phenomenon and weird people associated with this issue, he admitted.

Hopefully, the filmmaker continued, this forum will help eliminate some of the ridicule in the future.

Former astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who holds a Doctor of Science degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, opened by saying he and many colleagues believe UFOs exist and some have had experiences with them. Among scheduled hearing witnesses are a former colonel, former U.S. Air Force pilots, the ex-head of FAA investigators and a “lot of heavy hitters. You have these very credible people going on the record to declare these phenomena are real phenomenon. We really shouldn’t call it a phenomenon, it’s real it exists,” said Mr. Langdon.

The fear of harm to reputations, non-disclosure agreements that were signed and fear of physical harm were among reasons many don’t come forward and why many admit to UFO experiences after their careers close, according to conference presenters.

The discussions ranged from Defense Dept. and national security concerns that impact the subject, to crash landings of crafts, the presence of aliens and experiments with animals.

“You see White supremacy at its best,” said Dick Gregory, commentator and satirist, who attended the hearings. “Here is why they have to lie: The world is 97 percent non-White that means 3 percent White. Now how does 3 percent control the whole planet? White supremacy. So once they admit these things exist, White supremacy goes out the window, organized religion goes out the window.”

Most important, political boundaries fall and the planet becomes populated by “earth people,” instead of geographic divisions defined by Whites, he said.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan sat through the early part of the morning session and was accompanied by his sons Joshua and Supreme Capt. Mustapha Farrakhan and Abdul Akbar Muhammad, international representative of the Nation of Islam.

Mr. Gregory doubted that even the scientists discussing the issue truly understand it.

According to a survey last year, some 80 percent of Americans believe the government is hiding something about the reality of UFOs. Some 80 million Americans, or a third of the country, believe UFOs exist.

Organizers hope the hearing will spark congressional action and the former lawmakers advised witnesses to draft a resolution that would reflect the actions they desire lawmakers to take. (FinalCall.com)

Related site:

The Citizen Hearing On Disclosure

The Final Call