UFO Politics 102: An Update

Three months ago, on June 19, PRAVDA.Ru published an interview with one of the most interesting politicians in America. His name is Stephen Bassett, and he is running for the position of congressman for the eighth district of Maryland. Mr. Bassett is best known as an UFO activist. He believes that the United States government is keeping secrets regarding the existence of UFOs and ET from the American public. Stephen Bassett's campaign is called Disclosure 2003. Bassett is of the opinion that that the US government will eventually come clean about what it knows, as so many Americans no longer believe what the US government says on the issue. Because our first interview with Stephen Bassett was so popular, we decided to follow up and find out how his campaign is coming along.

Mr. Bassett. As you know, the last interview did generate a great deal of interest among our readers. Because of this, we decided that it would be interesting to follow up and see how your campaign is coming along. In your opinion, is your message getting through to the people you are trying to reach?

First an update on what happened since our last interview on June 19.

On August 5, two volunteers accompanied me to Annapolis Maryland, where we delivered to the Maryland State Board of Elections 5,177 signatures in service of the legal requirement that 1% of the registered voters of a congressional district must sign in nomination of an independent candidate for the House of Representatives. 3,373 signatures had to be certified as valid by the Board. 3,372 would not be enough. On August 16, the State Board of Elections gave notice that on the first count 3,567 signatures were validated – another count would not be necessary.

None of this would have been possible unless two-dozen volunteers had not collected signatures for three months throughout the 8th District of Maryland during one of the hottest Washington Metro area summers in history. The heat index was consistently over 100.

As a consequence of their dedication, for the first time in American political history, a candidate will be on the November ballot of a federal election who will speak directly to the FACT of an extraterrestrial presence and the government imposed embargo on the truth of that FACT.

The Disclosure2003 campaign is trying to reach all Americans who want their government to get back in the truth business. They are the target audience, and polls have consistently shown that approximately 50% of the public now believe the phenomena being seen worldwide represent an extraterrestrial presence and 80% are convinced the government is lying to the public about the issue. Therefore, in a sense, the core message of the campaign is already out there. What is new is these issues are now being brought forward in the context of a congressional election.

The campaign has received considerable national and international attention (see “Media Coverage” at the D2003 website( www.disclosure2003.net), and pressure is mounting on the local media to get off their butt and cover this extraordinary story.

In fact your readers can have some impact here. On the top page of the D2003 website, there are links to the top political television interview venues and the local print media. People from all around the world are contacting these programs and newspapers and requesting I be a guest on these programs and the print media cover this campaign. I know this because they copy me with their emails and letters. It makes a difference.

It seems that there is quite a bit of interest regarding UFOs throughout the world. For instance, many PRAVDA.Ru articles dealing covering UFOs and/or aliens are often very popular. Do you feel that interest in this subject is growing, or has it always been at such a high level?

Interest in UFO/ET phenomena and the “Politics of Disclosure” has never been higher. This is due to many factors. These include:

- The airing and re-airing of an expanding library of documentaries at the Learning, History, Discovery, Fox and A&E cable channels.

- The work of a growing cadre of excellent documentary producers and directors such as Tim Coleman, James Fox, Kevin Barry, William Gazecki, Christopher Toussaint and many others.

- Important new books which are providing summary understanding of the key issues such as Missing Times by Terry Hansen, UFOs and the National Security State by Richard Dolan, and The UFO/FBI Connection by Dr. Bruce Maccabee.

- The groundbreaking work of the Disclosure Project to present the testimony of dozens of government and agency employees collectively confirming an extraterrestrial presence.

- The never ending output from Hollywood of relevant entertainment such as Contact, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, 2001: Space Odyssey, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, Communion,and of particular note, Steven Spielberg’s upcoming, massive, 20-hour mini-series, Taken, which begins in December of this year.

- The extraordinary power of website based research to reach around the world with new information. A key current example would be Grant Cameron’s work at the Presidents UFO Web Site.

- And most importantly, the relentless pursuit of the truth by activists such as Larry Bryant, Dr. Steven Greer, Richard Hoagland, Michael Bara, Peter Gersten, Norio Hayakawa, Frances Knize, Elaine Douglas, Remy Chevalier, John Greenewald, Jr., and many, many others.

I read with great interest an article about you and your campaign on the ENN (Environmental News Network) web site. It seems that this organization feels that your campaign could have an impact regarding environmental issues. This organization believes that your campaign could cause the release of secrets regarding "zero point energy,” which, in their opinion, could be an alternative to fossil fuels. Do you share this opinion? Do you also think of yourself as an environmentalist?

Every human being on the planet should think of himself or herself as an “environmentalist,” and if they don’t, they had better soon.

At the very center of the truth embargo lies this simple deductive process. (1) UFOs have been proven to be extraterrestrial craft; (2) these craft must have a propulsion system and an energy system; (3) their flight performance strongly indicates technology well beyond human capabilities; (4) one or more of these craft have crashed, and witnesses have reported seeing extraterrestrial or human created copies of such craft within government facilities, as well as operating over government facilities such as Area 51 (which were filmed); and (5) Lt. Col. Philip Corso in his memoir, The Day After Roswell, clearly stated that some extraterrestrial-derived technological concepts were transferred to the commercial arena under his guidance, but the energy and propulsion systems were not among these technologies.

Therefore, it is quite appropriate to conclude the Unite States government has in its possession and may be reengineering extraterrestrial propulsion and energy technology with profound capabilities. Without disclosure, it is unlikely the world’s people will know whether these technologies can mitigate the human suffering and environmental damage now endemic to the planet. Therefore, disclosure has major potential implications to the planet and all life on it.

For one reason or the other, many people feel that the issue of UFOs and ET life is somewhat of a joke. In your opinion, why is this the case? Also, how have you been received while campaigning?

While the number of people worldwide who takes this issue seriously grows every day, there are many who do not. The reason for this is simple: a government orchestrated management of the issue since the 1940’s. Propaganda, misinformation, disinformation, covert actions, subversion, disruption and misdirection were used to embargo the core truth during the Cold War. It was the view (perhaps correctly so) of the United States government that introduction of the extraterrestrial reality during this period of nuclear deterrence - mutual assured destruction (MAD) - was too risky. [Note: to properly understand this embargo, it is essential that all who care, particularly journalists, read Terry Hansen’s Missing Times: News Media Complicity in the UFO Cover-up.]

The Cold War is over. It’s time to move on.

My campaign is being covered worldwide and being taken seriously by those who have taken the time to review the D2003 website

I have no reason to think this is going to change as Election Day draws near.

Your campaign deals with many other issues besides UFOs and ET. Have people shown an interest in any of the other issues you talk about? If so, which ones are people most interested in?

The “Politics of Disclosure” has implications for a range of national concerns. All of these implications revolve around secrecy, privacy, intrusion, citizen empowerment, and governmental abuse of power.

The D2003 campaign will address these concerns, tie them together, and make the case to the American people why the government imposed truth embargo must end next year. To do this, a set of core themes have been presented. These are not simple themes, but complexity is not justification for issues of great importance to fall between the cracks of partisan politics or to be set aside in the interest of winning a seat in the Congress. They are the following:

- Repairing the fundamental relationships within the social contract - Secrecy / intelligence reform - Restoring citizen trust: getting government back in the truth business - The criminalizing of the American people: ending the “war on drugs” - Separating journalism from thenational security infrastructure - The empowerment of women - “Transparent government, private citizenry”

Without question, the subsidiary theme drawing the most comment refers to the “War on Drugs” - a social and political abomination, which must be ended immediately.

One thing that I always wanted to ask about is a piece of history. During WWII, there were the so-called “foo-fighters.” It is said that these craft were secret levitating lighted globes that Germany produced to pace Allied aircraft. However, some say that the German military did not possess this kind of technology and these craft were not of German origin. What do you know about this subject?

The “Foo-Fighters” have never been explained by conventional science and remain a component of extraterrestrial phenomena research - one of many. Much as been written on this subject. Your readers are invited to search for source material in the bibliography section of the Paradigm Clock website (http://www.paradigmclock.com/bibliography.html).

Will you have the chance to participate in debates with the Republican and Democratic candidates? It seems that such debates could really help you make the public aware you and your campaign.

Several organizations have refused to invite me to their debate forums including, to its everlasting shame, Common Cause of Maryland. The American people would be wise to reverse the national trend of excluding independent and third party candidates from debates and from media coverage. Ralph Nader, who relentlessly tried to warn the American people about corporate greed and abuse of power, was kept out of the presidential debates. Perhaps those who now stare blankly at their ruined pensions and empty bank accounts, would wish now prefer he had been able to participate.

That said, debate/forum invites have been received and accepted. All of that is being tracked at the D2003 website.

Your readers can help here by contacting the local print media and demanding my inclusion in the upcoming debates held in the 8th District of Maryland.

Has the foreign press paid much attention to your campaign?

Yes, the UK, Canada, Russia, Mexico, and Germany have covered or are about to cover the D2003 campaign. This is all being tracked at the D2003 website under “Media Coverage.” And, of course, the website is receiving hits from all over the world.

Do you have any plans after your campaign?

Of course. The political activism will continue unabated. As you know, I expect the U.S. government to hold a disclosure event next year. That’s why the campaign is called Disclosure2003. The conditions are optimal from the government’s perspective, and there are now substantial benefits to all parties.

If disclosure doesn’t take place by June of 2003, I will declare a new independent candidacy for the House of Representatives, which will be called Disclosure2005.

Also, every effort is being made to raise funding for the D2003 campaign and for X-PPAC, the Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee. Until next year, campaign contributions are still limited to a ridiculous $1000 per person (next year, $2000, which is still too low). But the contribution limit for PACs is $5000.

All contributions to X-PPAC will be use to continue the political activism after the election is over, but no X-PPAC funds will be used for the D2003 or D2005 campaigns.

There are many people willing to fight on the behalf of the American people for truth in government. If the people will support these efforts with funding, they will get the truth.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Sure, how much disk space have you got? Just kidding.

How about some info on upcoming speaking engagements your readers might like to attend?

On Saturday, September 28, I will be speaking to the National UFO Conference at the Kings Island Resort near Cincinnati.

On Friday, October 11, I will speak in San Francisco at a presentation set up by the Friendly Favors network (see “Events) – an absolutely extraordinary networking group at the cutting edge of the social and political aspects of the internet revolution.

Much more will happen between now and Election Day, November 5, and I will be happy to provide another update for your readers later in October.

Mr. Bassett, we at PRAVDA.Ru are very grateful for the interview!

Questions compiled by Justin Cowgill

For information about Mr. Bassett and his Disclosure2003 campaign, please visit his campaign website at www.disclosure2003.net

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