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The Groom Lake Desert Rat Issue #18 posted her with the permission of the
author, Glenn Campbell.
Posted by Michael Curta, Colorado MUFON
Note: The Newsletter has been edited from 2 parts into one part for convince.
THE GROOM LAKE DESERT RAT. An On-Line Newsletter.
Issue #18. November 16, 1994.
-----> "The Naked Truth from Open Sources." <-----
AREA 51/NELLIS RANGE/TTR/NTS/S-4?/WEIRD STUFF/DESERT LORE
Direct from the "UFO Capital," Rachel, Nevada.
Written, published, copyrighted and totally disavowed by
psychospy@aol.com. See bottom for subscription/copyright info.
In this issue...
INCUMBENT SHERIFF PREVAILS IN LOCAL ELECTION
LARRY KING FEEDBACK
DR. GREER ON "48 HOURS"
OUR READERS RESPOND
BLM ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT RELEASED
CAMPBELL TRIAL INVITATION
HAZARDOUS WASTE PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS
ENEMY UPDATE
INTEL BITTIES
[Note: This issue has been sent in two parts. The first ends with
a "CONTINUED" notice and the second ends with "###".]
----- INCUMBENT SHERIFF PREVAILS IN LOCAL ELECTION -----
On Nov. 8, incumbent Lincoln County Sheriff Dahl Bradfield handily
defeated his challenger Don Brown. That could mean four more
years of secret Air Force "rent-a-cop" agreements, deputies
harassing journalists and confiscating film without due process,
and continued dismal confidence in law enforcement throughout the
county. But, hey, we're sanguine. The people have spoken, 58 to
42 percent. An election is the purest expression of the public
will, and there's no arguing with those numbers.
We can't claim that the electorate was ill-informed. During his
six years in office, Bradfield seemed to have committed every
lapse of professional judgment in the book, and his heavy-handed
"God Squad" of unsupervised deputies had pissed off a large
portion of the county. We and some of allies took out an ad in
the Lincoln County Record to remind voters of his biggest gaffs
and their enormous cost to the county [may be available at the FTP
or WWW sites], and we thought our logic was flawless. All the
Sheriff could offer in his ads were a few trumped-up endorsements
from law enforcement organizations, one of which, the Las Vegas
Sun reported, hardly knew he existed. The challenger, who was
formerly a Nevada State Police chief and well-regarded Sheriff in
Washington State, seemed like a breath of fresh air who could
restore faith in local law enforcement. In the weeks approaching
the election, we worked hard behind the scenes to support his
campaign, and we were almost ready to count our chickens before
they hatched until receiving a call late on election night
shattering our faith in humanity.
We considered this election an important one. The big Groom Lake
base is wholly within Lincoln County, yet returns only trivial
economic benefits to the community. A nonexistent base doesn't
have to pay its taxes and doesn't have to engage in any form of
community relations. Being directly downwind of both the Groom
Lake base and the adjoining Nevada Test Site, county residents
have been dumped on for years by the federal government. In the
days of above ground atomic testing, this meant dangerous levels
of fallout and a predictable rise in devastating cancers. Given
the raw treatment the county has received over the years, this
place ought to be a hotbed of anti-government rhetoric, and it is,
but that sentiment is rarely translated into action.
For a piddling contract fee of $50,000 a year, the Sheriff's Dept.
has essentially taken orders from the Cammo Dudes, seizing film,
arresting naive trespassers and investigating law-biding tourists
whenever the anonymous authorities call. This public police
department, nominally an open entity responsible to the people,
has seen no conflict in representing a government agency that
refuses to acknowledge its own existence. The Sheriff pulled back
from film seizures, perhaps temporarily, only when the election
loomed and negative publicity began to build up in the Las Vegas press.
Similarly, the county tax assessor, an ossified 26-year veteran,
has shown no interest in pursuing the base for the value of
contractor facilities. Although the AF itself is not liable for
local property taxes, the same does not hold for the private
contractors that largely operate the base. [See DR#5.] If they
occupy a government building, property taxes must be paid on it as
if it were private land (NRS 361.157). As it stands, the AF gives
the county an imaginary assessment every year, most recently $3.2
million, and the county blindly accepts it, billing the AF for the
insignificant taxes implied, recently $80,000. Of course, $3.2
million wouldn't buy a latrine at a place like Groom, but the
current assessor's attitude is that if county pushes the AF too
hard, they might sue or pack up the base and move it elsewhere.
Legal guidance, which should be provided by the county District
Attorney, is lackluster at best. He seems more concerned with
pursuing Campbell on the obstruction charge [See trial invitation
below.] than in making the secret base pay its due.
Since the officials who were up for election had also offended the
electorate in other ways, the prevailing sentiment ought to have
been "Throw the Bums Out!" Indeed, that is what we thought we
heard on the street in the weeks prior to Nov. 8. What happened,
in fact, was the opposite: Every incumbent in major county
offices was reelected. The District Attorney ran unopposed,
apparently because there are not many lawyers willing to come to
this area. The Sheriff routed his opponent easily, as did the
Assessor, Clerk, Treasurer, an incumbent Commissioner and the
Justices of the Peace (including Nola Holton, who will be trying
the Campbell case).
Philosophically, we cannot argue with the results. As an activist
nipping at the heals of the monolithic Air Force, Psychospy is
arguing in favor of democratic processes--that the secret base
should be subject to the same public accountability as any other
government agency. We cannot suddenly change our tune when the
democratic processes let us down. We believe that every
community, like every individual, has the right to self-
determination. The liberties American society holds dear include
the right to totally screw yourself up if you so choose. People
and communities that make good decisions prosper, while those that
make poor ones fail, and it is not the place of government or us
aliens to intervene. As it stands, Lincoln County is a dirt-poor
backwater, chasing away industry with its high taxes and bloated
local government and showing little interest in changing. Like a
person who drinks himself into a stupor, we can only conclude that
this is the way the community wants to be.
Still, after expending significant energy on this election, we are
disappointed in the results and annoyed that we misjudged them so
badly. Removing the Sheriff and Assessor from office would have
been a major blow to the legal and tax immunity of the secret
base. The AF would suddenly find itself in a much less friendly
environment and might have to start paying its due. We hoped that
Lincoln County would become a "mouse that roared," demanding
proper compensation from the feds for hosting this huge and
potentially dangerous facility. Now, we expect no more than a
squeak, and we have been trying our best to figure out what went wrong.
The incumbents were of all political affiliations--Democrat,
Republican and Independent--so the national pro-Republican sweep
did not explain the results. If local sentiments seemed
overwhelmingly anti-incumbent before the election, why did the
incumbents win? In Rachel, the Bradfield was voted down almost
two-to-one. Why didn't the same happen in the rest of the county?
To understand the results, we must understand the society here.
..... LINCOLN COUNTY DEMOGRAPHICS .....
The remote town of Rachel, with 71 voters, is on the border of Nye
County, to which it is closely related in culture and attitudes.
Nye is a place of rugged individualism, where brothels are legal
and the prevailing philosophy is libertarian--meaning that people
should be free to conduct themselves however they choose without
interference from the government. With Psychospy's liberal
Eastern roots, we used to be annoyed by the blustering I'll-Take-
Out-Fifty-Federal-Agents-Before-They-Take-Away-My-Guns rhetoric
found in Nye and Rachel, but now we find it refreshing and even a
tad appealing. Nye has been especially aggressive in pursuing its
own secret base, the Tonopah Test Range, as well as other federal
facilities within its borders, for taxes and law enforcement
respect. During the Cold War, when anti-nuclear protesters
starting marching en masse across the cattle guard at the entrance
to the Nevada Test Site, the Nye County Sheriff and D.A. refused
to handle them, so the feds had to construct tennis court-sized
cages at Mercury to temporarily house the trespassers. Because
the Nye county government actively asserts its rights and defends
its independence, it doesn't get dumped on the way compliant
Lincoln County does.
Rachel, we have discovered, is not representative of the rest of
Lincoln County. Rachel is a relatively new town, existing for
only about 30 years and thus composed mostly of "outsiders." The
rest of the county has been frozen in time for generations. The
main streets of the four major towns, Caliente, Panaca, Alamo and
Pioche, have changed little in the past fifty years. The absence
of economic development has helped preserved the county's
historical sites, but it has also meant no significant influx of
new ideas or new blood.
Culturally, Lincoln County is not part of Nevada but of Utah.
Except for Rachel, the county is overwhelmingly Mormon.
Mormonism, or Latter Day Saints, is a religion of great mystery to
the outside world, known for its secret rites and a colorful
history intertwined with the American West. Although Psychospy is
agnostic, we regard religion as one of the unalienable liberties
that an outsider has no right to interfere in. What concerns us
about Mormonism is not its belief structure but how it interacts
with rest of the world. Even then, we are not seeking to
criticize, only to explain and understand.
LDS culture is very close-knit and upholds a firm respect for
authority. "Family values" are paramount, and to help preserve
these ideals, the church does not shy away from active involvement
in all aspects of society, including business, education and
politics. Perhaps because the group was persecuted in its early
days, Mormons tend toward an "us-against-them" attitude similar to
that of Judaism. LDS is a society that pulls together against
real and perceived threats. In practical terms, this means that
when the church's interests are seen as at risk in an election,
Mormons tend to vote as a block under the guidance of church
authorities.
In the Nov. 8 election, the incumbents had nothing in common
except that they were mostly Mormon, while the challengers were
mostly non-Mormon. Had the nascent anti-incumbent sentiment been
allowed to express itself, the church might have lost political
power in the county, resulting, it might be perceived, in the
degeneration of public morality. Was the election in fact pre-
ordained? From secondhand sources we have heard of local Mormons
quietly expressing their displeasure at being told by their
bishops how to vote but who obeyed the orders anyway. Evidently,
God is omniscient and has many human spies. We have not spoken to
any of these Mormon's directly, so the claim is unproven.
Generally, Mormons don't talk to non-Mormons about the affairs of
their church any more than workers talk about Area 51.
We were unimpressed, however, by a candidate's night we attended
at a high school shortly before the election. It was presided
over by the bishop of the local LDS ward. We knew he was a bishop
even before being told because he had that air of moral rectitude.
In his introduction, the bishop said, in effect, that there were
no conflicts in Lincoln County, and as if to prove the point no
debate between candidates or questions from the audience were
permitted. This meant, of course, that no embarrassing questions
could be posed to the incumbents regarding their past performance
and newcomers couldn't show their strengths in a direct exchange.
Candidates were reduced to bland three minute statements at the
podium. Given that the candidates had already visited most voters
door-to-door, we didn't see the purpose of a candidate's night if
the candidates couldn't challenge each other.
The Sheriff, an overweight, young-looking man, seemed to have
nothing to offer in his three minutes except that he had taken
some law enforcement courses and had instituted a 911 telephone
system. Like many of the other candidates, he had grown up in
Lincoln County and attended Southern Utah College in nearby Cedar
City. In comparison, his opponent, tall, thin and in his 60s,
seemed a paragon of worldliness and maturity. He recounted his
experience as a law enforcement administrator in a series of
prestigious posts outside the county. "Good show!" we thought to
ourselves as he passed the two minute mark. The challenger then
went on to explain that recently he had dedicated himself to
"Vampire 2000," an organization of law enforcement officers
fighting the "new order" and the encroachment of federal control.
We began sinking slowly into our seat as the challenger proclaimed
that he would tolerate no restrictions on assault rifles in this
county, but murmurs of approval from the audience picked us up again.
The strangest appearance of the evening was that of the District
Attorney, who although he was running unopposed was game enough to
offer his three minute resume. Given that a part of the DA's job
is to argue cases in court, he seemed surprisingly weak as a
public speaker. He is apparently no intellectual slouch, however,
having attended Stanford University followed by a law degree at
the University of Florida and a stint in corporate law in Miami.
A non-Mormon in his mid-30s who ought to have a better grasp of
democratic principals than most natives, he seemed to us to be
misplaced soul, and we wondered what made him tick. The one-man
DA's office both prosecutes criminal cases and serves as legal
counsel to county government. As an elected official, his office
is independent and responsible only to the voters, but you
wouldn't know it from his past performance, in which he has pretty
much toed the line of the Sheriff's Dept. Since his position is
secure, he ought to be beholden to no one and free to do what is
right for the county, but so far he has not lived up to that promise.
As stated, we cannot prove that the incumbent landslide was the
result of the Mormon majority voting as a block. There were
certainly other factors at work. In a long-established county
with little population turnover and only 2300 voters, it is
possible for everyone to be related to everyone else. Indeed, a
glance at the tiny Lincoln County phone book (18 pages) reveals a
disproportionate number of repeated last names. If you take the
Sheriff and his extended family and personal allies, add those of
the Undersheriff, whose position is also threatened, and the
families and cliques of all the various deputies who fear a loss
of their current freedom or job security.... Given that this is
one of the largest per-capita police forces in the country in one
of the poorest counties, you could have a majority right there.
One fact is certain: In the Sheriff's hometown of Panaca, where
his family ties are deepest and, coincidentally, the Mormon Church
is strongest, he was also reelected by the biggest margin, almost
three-to-one.
Panaca was also the source, according to the postmark, of the only
hate mail we received as result of the election. (We've received
more from UFO buffs who believe we work for the government.) The
anonymous scrawlings from Panaca said, "If you don't like the way
Lincoln County is run--LEAVE!" Indeed, that is exactly how
democracy and free enterprise work. Every community has the right
to choose its own destiny, to uphold its own values and present
its own chosen face to the world. Individuals and businesses, in
turn, have the right to move to wherever the opportunities are the
best for them. If, for example, the Mormon majority makes the
environment uncomfortable for all non-Mormons, deprives them of
political power and enforces upon them their own religious values,
then indeed the others will move out and none will move in. The
only downside is that most industry beyond the walls of this tiny
kingdom is not controlled by Mormons, and businesses would be
foolish to invest where they have no power. The moral purity of
the community may be preserved, but not its jobs.
Is it legal to vote on behalf of your religion or your family.
Certainly. Is it right? No. The root of democracy is
individuals making their own decisions, in private, without fear
of retribution and through their own independent conscience.
Otherwise, the system is as totalitarian as any Communist regime.
We recall, with bittersweet amusement, the caption on the Review-
Journal cartoon....
"Entering Lincoln County.... Now Leaving America."
----- LARRY KING FEEDBACK -----
The following postings on internet newsgroups were passed on to us
by our network of cyberspace spies following the Oct. 1 Larry King
Special on TNT, "UFO Cover-Up: Live from Area 51." In addition to
taped segments, there were four live panelists: Stanton Friedman
and Kevin Randle, representing the Roswell Incident; Dr. Steven
Greer, founder of the CSETI UFO group; and Rachel resident Glenn
Campbell, subtitled as an "activist." Only Campbell did not wear
a suit and tie.
"The show is off the air 10 minutes and I am left with the
feeling that Glenn Campbell works for the government. I have no
evidence to that fact, I am new to this whole line of information,
but Mr. Campbell in my opinion seemed to soft-peddle the entire
affair in a much too uncomfortable way for me to give him any
credibility. Friedman on the other hand, pending further
information, seems very credible and quite likable, if not eccentric."
-- buddhatek@aol.com
"Okay, the show is off the air 28 minutes now, and you've got
an interesting theory. What better place to plant a
disinformation artist than as a crusader? Campbell, you're
correct, was very soft-shoe about the whole affair, even though he
moved his entire lift from Boston to live in a trailer in the
desert. Oops, I forgot... that trailer is actually The Area 51
Research Center.
"Whether or not he's actually a disinformant remains to be
seen. What was evident, however, is that Glenn Campbell couldn't
hold his own against the scientists and researchers on the panel.
Let's face it, Campbell is not a scientist, a physicist, even a
serious author. He's simply like one of us, an 'enthusiast' (I
hate that term) who's taken it to an extreme. He seems very
uninformed on the UFO phenomenon, which strikes me as remarkable.
How can you claim to be the Area 51 researcher extraordinaire and
not give a hoot about UFO's? The two subjects are so intimately linked.
"I'm not sure he's a government agent. He may just be a boob."
-- sharvey@interaccess.com
"The guests on Larry King had mixed beliefs and ideas... much
of what is a cross section of the people who are interested in UFO
study. Stanton was correct in pointing out that there has been no
serious study of the phenomenon. Glenn Campbell is a better
writer than interview guest, he really doesn't have a UFO
position, he just wants the military to stop acting like Area 51
isn't sitting out there. Greer is pushing the envelope with the
CE5 stuff. Hey, if he gets out in the fresh air and gets some
exercise waving a spotlight around the sky, more power to him.
Maybe they'll take him to their leader, who knows."
--d.beaty2@genie.geis.com
"Steven Greer spent some time in Gulf Breeze, FL. I was there
at the same time. He was received warmly and with healthy open-
mindedness. Then, it became PAINFULLY obvious that his claims
were completely exaggerated. For instance, on March 14th, 1993 (I
think it was '93.), three of the Gulf Breeze 'red light' UFOs
appeared AND WERE VIDEOTAPED. He immediately claimed that he was
'telepathically' in contact with them and invited them to 'land on
the beach behind us.' He asked all present to 'send out your
awareness to them.' He was heard to say (to the UFOs), 'We
welcome you, we love you, we invite you to land,' etc. When the
UFOs disappeared, he claimed it was 'A MAJOR CE-5.'
"Later that year (in June), he tried his tricks again (calling
them in). He was in a parking lot on Santa Rosa Island, about
seven miles from the other watchers at Shoreline Park. The UFO
did appear that night--about a mile from Shoreline, and about
eight from Greer.
"Later, he claimed that the craft 'appeared overhead' at a very
close range. Other witnesses deny this, as do their videotapes.
Perhaps he saw something all the others didn't?"
-- dxr41@po.cwru.edu
----- DR. GREER ON "48 HOURS" -----
Larry King panelist Dr. Steven Greer is an M.D. from North
Carolina and the founder of CSETI (Center for the Study of
Extraterrestrial Intelligence), a group that seeks direct
communications with aliens. We know little about him except for
his prior appearance on "48 Hours" (4/20) in which he and his
group journey to Mexico where they hope to be taken aboard a UFO.
Greer: "I'm serious enough about this that I have transferred
every asset I have into my wife's name."
The group sets up an observation post and their array of cameras,
communicators and signaling equipment near the small town of
Metepec, which happens to be about 50 miles from the busy Mexico
City airport. Sure enough, the group has seven sightings in six
nights--bright lights hovering above the distant horizon that are
captured on video tape. (Later, two film analysis experts say
there is nothing to distinguish these lights from ordinary
aircraft.) The group even claims communications with one of the
UFOs through light signals.
Greer: "It interacted beautifully, though, in terms of the off
and on. I mean, that was incredibly good CE-5. In no way could a
conventional craft move in a way where it could signal back and
forth like that with the lights on and off."
----- OUR READERS RESPOND TO PREVIOUS RATS -----
NUKING VEGAS [DR#11]
"I thought your views on Las Vegas were disgusting. Yes I
agree there is little cultural worth there, but there are still
humans that live there. I hope someone wants to destroy you and
where you live. No I do not live in LV, but feel destruction of
life through terrorist action is absolutely stupid. I hope there
are no further commentaries like this one in your newsletter."
-- 74541.1743@compuserve.com
"It's obvious that the only reason that you've ever been to LV
is to shop and immediately head out of town. I've lived here for
24 years, my family has been here since 1943, and I find that it
is a very reasonable place. There are actual neighborhoods with
children, schools, parks, and other "normal" activities.... Most
of our problems are caused by people that have come to town in the
last 10 years or so which has caused a lot of growth which has
pretty much ruined any chance of a pleasant life. East Coast
people (and I use the term "people" loosely) are usually morons
who are going to rough it out West and end up destroying or over-
regulating things and generally making a mess.... One can only
hope that the exhaust from a UFO completely fries the top of
Freedom Ridge the next time you clowns are up there."
--john@cephas.isri.unlv.edu
Ed.: We admitted were wrong about Vegas, and we still feel guilty
and ashamed. We repented in DR#16, suggesting a different target....
NUKING NEW YORK [DR#16]
"...But really, how closed minded can you be to condemn an
entire city based on your limited experience. Maybe everyone
doesn't want to live in the woods or the desert. Being a NYC
resident myself, I find your comments very ignorant and scary. I
enjoy the culture here and the sensory overload experience of
working and living in this metropolis. When I want to get away
from the crowded spaces I get in my car and drive to the
Adirondack State Park which has over 5 million acres of some of
the most beautiful high peak woodlands in the country. During the
summer months we NYC people who appreciate natural beauty get in
our cars or buses and spend weekends out in the Hamptons where we
have clean and uncrowded beaches surrounded by sandy dunes and
farmlands. Perhaps you should limit your coverage to topics that
you know something about. Your reckless comments certainly don't
help your credibility on matters that you are trying to shed light on."
-- macinwi@ffhsj.com
Ed.: Nuke it!
CALIFORNIA FALLING INTO OCEAN [DR#16]
"Kindly inform the person wanting the map of the western US
after the coast falls into the ocean, that he's got it all wrong.
After the big one hits, we on the Left Coast expect to watch the
entire eastern portion of the US slide into the Atlantic."
-- dhomuth@ednet1.osl.or.gov
Ed.: Please note that on NO OCCASION has Psychospy advocated the
nuking of California. (But now that we think about it....)
CLONING UPDATE
The letter by the cloning activist G.S. in [DR#16] prompted one of
our readers, Andy S., to do some research and confirm that indeed
his claims were true. According to contemporary news accounts, a
live KNBC-TV news broadcast was interrupted on Aug. 9, 1987, when
a station visitor placed a toy gun to the head of consumer
reporter David Horowitz and demanded that he read a statement on
the air. The visitor, Gary Stollman, the son of the KNBC
pharmaceutical reporter Max Stollman, had gained entry to the
studio by mentioning his father. Only a few seconds of the
statement were actually broadcast before being cut off, but the
Desert Rat has obtained the full text. It begins...
"The man who has appeared on KNBC for the last 3 years is not
my biological father. He is a clone, a double created by the
Central Intelligence Agency and alien forces. It is only a small
part of a greater plot, to over throw the United States
Government, and possibly the human race itself. The CIA has
replaced and tried to destroy my family, and those of my friends.
"Although I have known about this since 1981, I have not taken
any action about it for fear of the lives of my family. I have
been forced into CIA-run mental hospitals, such as Cedars-Sinai
Thalians, where I am shown being interviewed by many different
doctors, although I spoke to nobody there for two weeks. At UCLA-
NPI, I attempted to have myself released by a court several times,
but was asked by a Dr. Martin Zsuba to keep removing my requests
for a writ-hearing. I have been unable to obtain records from
several other hospitals, including Ben Taub Hospital in
Cincinnati, where all the phones were turned off for 48 hours
after I arrived.
"I do not know where my real family or others are being held,
but I believe it is somewhere in California."
A NEW TYPE OF SENSOR? [DR#17]
"I was in the Air Force during Vietnam. We used "dog do-do"
sensors to monitor an area. It looked just like a piece of you-
know-what with a little wire antenna on one side. It was activated
by a small pin you removed. It had a life of two or three days and
if anyone walked near it a signal was sent out. They came
packaged in shrink wrap packages 6 to a pack.
"Keep an eye out for devices like that."
-- Jcarter@orl.mmc.com
----- BLM ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT RELEASED -----
People who made comments to BLM on the proposed White
Sides/Freedom Ridge withdrawal should have received by now their
copy of the proposed Withdrawal Amendment and Environmental
Assessment for the Freedom Ridge/White Sides land withdrawal--an
intermediate step toward eventual AF control of the nearest Groom
viewpoints. A 30-day protest period on the document is now in
effect (ending Dec. 9), but it is open only to those who made
comments during the previous planning process. (Apparently you
qualify if BLM sent you a copy of the document.)
To file an effective protest, you must show that the environmental
and land use issues raised during the previous comment period were
not adequately addressed in the current document. There is no
sense in ragging about the UFO cover-up, black budget
accountability or defense priorities. Your protest must directly
relate to the document at hand.
We note with interest that the stated purpose of the withdrawal
has changed since the public comment period. The only initial
official Air Force explanation in the Federal Register and at the
hearings was: "The purpose of the withdrawal is to ensure the
public safety and the safe and secure operation of activities in
the Nellis Air Force Range Complex."
The new document says: "The purpose of the withdrawal is to
provide a security and safety buffer to prevent a compromise of
national security interests and to protect assets of the adjacent
withdrawn Nellis Air Force Range."
The document also provides the following significant admission:
"In 1988 the U.S. Congress withdraw the Groom Range Addition to
the Nellis Air Force Range as a security and safety buffer zone
between public lands administered by the BLM and the NAFR complex.
The USAF subsequently discovered that two areas adjacent to this
buffer zone provide viewing of military activities on this portion
of the NAFR. Public viewing of military activities (which has
often included illegal photography of range activities) has
increased during the past few years, necessitating the diversion,
postponement, or cancellation of missions to prevent a compromise
of national security."
There is nothing surprising in the content of these statements,
and the purpose may even be justified (if they can also neutralize
the OTHER viewpoints like Tikaboo Peak that haven't been touched).
What is disturbing about these statements is that this is the
first time we have ever heard them from the Air Force (if, indeed,
this document conveys the Air Force position). For example, we
have never heard the Air Force admit that it erred in 1988.
Here's the scenario we see: The AF applies for a land withdrawal,
but gives only vague reasons--"public safety," "secure operation
of activities," etc. The public is allowed to comment on the
action based only on this vague explanation--which makes
meaningful comment very difficult. After the comment period is
over, the AF starts fleshing out its reasons for the withdrawal,
providing more specifics and admitting its mistake in 1988. By
the time the application reaches the Secretary of the Interior,
maybe the AF even admits that there IS a base at Groom Lake and
that they want the land specifically to keep people from looking
down on it. Although this admission appears to be what we were
seeking from the beginning, the problem is that it was presented
only AFTER the public comment period was over, so obviously the
public had no access to it. In essence, the withdrawal becomes a
closed process with only the theatrical appearance of public input.
----- CAMPBELL TRIAL INVITATION -----
All members of the press and public are hereby invited to attend
the trial of political activist GLENN CAMPBELL of Rachel, Nevada,
on the charge of Obstructing a Public Officer (NRS 197.190) for
pushing down the car door locks during the seizure, without a
warrant, of the news video tapes of KNBC-TV of Los Angeles near
Freedom Ridge, July 19, 1994. (Four of the five tapes have still
not been returned, although the crew insists that they did not
photograph the secret base.)
The trial will begin with jury selection on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER
21, 1994, at 10:00 a.m. and may take one or two days.
Charges will be presented by Lincoln County District Attorney
Thomas A. Dill before Justice Nola Holton of the Pahranagat Valley
Justice Court in the County Annex Building, Alamo, Nevada (on US-
93, 90 miles north of Las Vegas and 50 miles east of Rachel).
Campbell will defend himself, with the possible co-counsel of a
Nevada lawyer.
It is advised that those who wish to attend confirm the date and
time just before the trial. Local lodging is available at the
Meadow Lane Motel and Alamo Motel, both at (702)725-3371.
COMMENTS. This will be a jury trial, so the judgment on Campbell
will be rendered by the same pool of local voters that re-elected
Bradfield. (Keep this in mind when placing your bets.) In any
case, we regard the process as more important than the outcome.
If found guilty, Campbell will be subject to a fine but no jail
time. At one point, the DA offered to seek only a $50 fine if
Campbell pleaded "no contest," but the defendant declined.
REFERENCES. The incident for which Campbell was arrested was
recorded in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 21 (with an
editorial July 22 and an editorial cartoon July 26); Las Vegas
Sun, July 21, and Publisher's Auxiliary (organ of the Reporter's
Committee on Freedom of the Press), Aug. 1. [Also DR#12.] For
general information on Campbell and his goals, consult feature
articles in the New York Times Magazine, June 26, 1994; Omni
Magazine, Sept. 1994; Popular Science, March 1994; Reno Gazette-
Journal, July 24, 1994; and Dayton Daily News, March 20, 1994.
----- HAZARDOUS WASTE PRE-TRIAL HEARING -----
On Nov. 10, we attended a brief pre-trial heading on the lawsuit
filed by a widow and several "John Doe" plaintiffs charging
injuries at Groom Lake stemming from illegal hazardous waste
disposal. When we walked into the courtroom, there were children
everywhere. Twelve kids in the jury box, a girl in the judge's
chair, a boy on the witness stand and a sniffling wimp at the
defense table represented, evidently, by two young gentlemen
making rude sounds into their microphone. Across the aisle was a
gangly, blond-haired DA who clearly hadn't had an opportunity to
go to Stanford yet.
It was a field day to Las Vegas Federal Court by a local grade
school. We guessed that the youths were about 12 years of age.
Earlier in the day, they had witnessed the sentencing of a real
drug dealer, a pregnant woman condemned to a couple of years in a
non-fictional slammer. From their places in the courtroom, the
students fired questions at the real judge, who towered above the
melee in his judicial robes. Would the woman have the baby before
going to jail? Would she be able to keep the baby? Why was she crying?
Someone in the jury box asked U.S. District Judge Philip Pro what
his salary was. He said he made $135,000 a year.
Then the children filed out and grownups filed in. Three
gentlemen in dark business suits represented the government: Two
from the Justice Dept. and one from the EPA. The lead lawyer was
Richard Sarver, who we understand is a former Air Force officer.
Lawyer Jonathan Turley, representing the workers, sat alone at the
other table. In the pews were the widow and her family and a
handful of reporters scribbling notes on steno pads.
The hearing was conducted in legalese, much of which was beyond
the grasp of our own tiny brain. We did pick out a few tidbits,
though. The judge asked if there were any ongoing negotiations to
reach a settlement, and Sarver said they were "almost DOA"--dead
on arrival. The judge also asked Sarver repeatedly whether the
government would "stipulate that the base exists." The government
lawyer declined the opportunity--meaning that the government still
does not acknowledge any base at Groom. However, Sarver did
repeat the official line that there are indeed "facilities at
Groom Dry Lake." It's a subtle distinction lost to meager minds.
We noted that six months would be allowed for the discovery
process, during which each side of the case will be seeking
information from the other. The content of the rest of the
hearing was over our head. At one point, some angry-sounding
words were exchanged between Turley and Sarver, but the subtext
was not apparent to us. The hearing ended after 45 minutes, and
the lawyers dispersed.
Whatever happened, Turley walked out of the courtroom looking like
the cat that ate the bird. Apparently, the government had
overplayed its hand. It had attempted to suppress the entire case
on national security grounds, and that gambit had failed. All we
know for sure is that Turley was bubbling. He was heard to use
"sex" and "law" in the same sentence, with law being rated as superior.
----- ENEMY UPDATE -----
-- In DR#16, we reported that our intimate enemy list included
Lazar's gatekeeper GENE HUFF. We are now as surprised as anyone
to report a change in status: Huff and Psycho have kissed and
made up, and all those harsh words of the past have been forgotten.
Huff has even sold us a shipment of the handsome Lazar saucer
posters, which are now available from us for $15 (plus $3.50
postage in the US). This 22" x 34" poster features three
schematic views of the "Sport Model" flying saucer that Lazar says
he worked on at "Area S4." In the background is a Russian
satellite image of the Papoose Lake area. It happens that in the
mountains north of the lake bed a tiny saucer shape appears, but
we suspect that it is a photo artifact. (Huff says that the
"saucer" did not appear on other frames taken at the same time by
other cameras on the satellite.) The poster was produced by Lazar
and Huff to coincide with the release of the Testor's S4 saucer model.
-- Replacing Mr. Huff on our mortal enemies list is German UFO
filmmaker MICHAEL HESEMANN. (Big round of applause, ladies and
gentlemen.) We met him on only one occasion, when he came to
Rachel to videotape part of a UFO documentary. He struck us as
narcissistic and highly unprofessional. He was abusive of his
crew (or so we gathered from his tone of voice, as we do not speak
German), and he insisted in appearing in every shot of his
interview with us. When a German journalist later asked us what
we thought of Hesemann, we summed up succinctly: "He's an
asshole." That translates into German as "Arschloch," a sentiment
apparently shared by many in the German UFO field. Eventually,
our analysis made it back to Hesemann himself, who called us from
Dusseldorf to leave a long and unhappy message on our answering
machine. Listening to it, we were reminded of Col. Klink
threatening Col. Hogan. Hesemann said he was going to cut us out
of his documentary, but he was kind enough to give us one last
chance to regain favor: If we wrote him a letter of unconditional
apology, which he would publish all over Europe, then he would not
sue us. We were trembling, of course, especially in light of
Hesemann's written comments to the journalist, the ominous tone of
which is best experienced without translation....
"Wie Herr Campbell, den ich in der Tat WIE JEDEN interviewte,
der in der Area 51 forschte, mein Video beurteilen kann, das
derzeit uberhaupt erst im Schnitt ist ist vielleicht das grosste
Ratsel der Wuste von Nevada. Ist er ein Medium? Oder hat er
selbst so einen Scheiss gesagt, dass der Film schon wegen seines
Interviews (von den anderen Interviews weiss er ja nichts)
schlecht sein MUSS? Was, bitteschon, soll er uber mich gasagt
haben? Nun, Campbell hat ein Manko. Als er in Rachel eintraf,
sind die 9 Scheiben--zumindest laut John Lear--langst nach White
Sands verfrachtet worder. Darum hat er nie selbst was gesehen.
Ich war das achte Mal in Rachel, als ich ihn interviewte. Ich
hatter bereits, zusammen mit einem ABC-TV-Team, eine sehr
beeindruckende Sichtung. Er nicht. Pech. So what? Neid???"
-- Conspiracy nutcase GARY SCHULTZ is still our treasured enemy.
He showed up in Rachel during the Larry King show and afterwards
had the gall to visit our Research Center and try to strike up a
conversation. Since this is the twerp who once phoned our
neighbor to spread vague rumors of child molestation against us
(false, we must emphasize), we regard our differences as
irreconcilable. No kissing and making up here. We ordered the
little dip from the premises and told him never to come back.
-- The enemy status of SEAN DAVID MORTON remains unchanged. At a
Nov. 5-6 UFO conference in the Bay Area, Sean described his
relationship to us as being like Michael Jackson to Weird Al
Yankovich. (This is fine by us, as we have already proclaimed
that we are not a child molester.) In our continuing campaign to
"data him to death," we are thinking of setting up a World Wide
Web page devoted entirely to the bigger-than-life exploits of this
modern Munchhausen. Another neat idea would be to establish an
internet newsgroup, alt.fan.sean.morton, where Sean's growing
legion of "fans" can exchange information and insights about their
hero. We don't currently have newsgroup host capabilities,
however. Is there a sysop out there interested in sponsoring this?
----- INTEL BITTIES -----
BILBRAY DEFEATED. One bright spot in the Nov. 8 election was the
surprising defeat of Democratic Representative James Bilbray,
Congress's most vocal defender of the secret base and Air Force
interests in Nevada. In interviews, Bilbray came closer than any
other government official to admitting that the base was there,
but he seemed 100 percent in support of its continued official
nonexistence. In an interview on the Fox "Encounters" segment on
Area 51 [7/22, DR#10,15], Bilbray said that he had been all over
the Nellis complex but had seen no evidence of alien craft.
(Critics counter that Bilbray would have only gone where the
military wanted him to and didn't have the clearance necessary to
see anything really secret.)
THE CAMPING SEASON IS NOW OVER in the Rachel area, as nighttime
temperatures drop through the 20s enroute to a winter low
approaching minus 10 F around the first of the year. Daytime
weather can still be pleasant (or horrible), but you'll need a
warm jacket. Light snow is common here in December and January,
and snow on the ground brings impenetrable fog to the valleys.
The normally clear desert skies are often heavily overcast in the
winter. Spring is the windstorm season, where fierce gales from
the southwest often prohibit outdoor activities.
Identical weather is found at the Groom base, which was once
cynically referred to by Lockheed workers as "Paradise Ranch."
According to Skunk Works chairman Kelly Johnson, the name was
"kind of a dirty trick since Paradise Ranch was a dry lake where
quarter-inch rocks blew around every afternoon." [Source:
"Lockheed U-2," by Bill Yenne via C.H.]
GROOM LAKE VOR. The frequency for the Groom Lake VOR (navigation
beacon) is 117.5 MHz.
WWW UFO PAGE. A new World Wide Web page on UFOs, pointing to back
issues of the Desert Rat as well as a variety of UFO files, is
available at "http://www.bgsu.edu/~jzawodn/ufo/".
===== SUBSCRIPTION AND COPYRIGHT INFO =====
(c) Glenn Campbell, 1994.
This newsletter is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without
permission. PERMISSION IS HEREBY GRANTED FOR THE FOLLOWING: For
one year following the date of publication, you may photocopy this
text or send or post this document electronically to anyone who
you think may be interested, provided you do it without charge.
You may only copy or send this document in unaltered form and in
its entirety, not as partial excerpts (except brief quotes for
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document is allowed without permission. (The same one year grace
period also applies to all previous issues of the Rat, extended
from six months.)
Email subscriptions to this newsletter are available free of
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Current circulation: 1860 copies sent directly to subscribers
(plus an unknown number of postings and redistributions probably
several times this number).
A catalog that includes the "Area 51 Viewer's Guide", the Groom
Lake patch and hat and publications relating to Groom Lake is
available upon request by email or regular mail.
Back issues are available on various bulletin boards and by
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/pub/trader/secrecy/psychospy. Also available by WWW to
http://alfred1.u.washington.edu:8080/~roland/rat/desert_rat_index. html
The mail address for Psychospy, Glenn Campbell, Secrecy Oversight
Council, Area 51 Research Center, Groom Lake Desert Rat and
countless other ephemeral entities is:
HCR Box 38
Rachel, NV 89001 USA
###