The 1980s - When Ufology went Screwball Crazy

a reply to: mirageman

One myth or misconception spread by so many books, and alluded to in Mirage Men (perhaps as result of editing) is that Linda Howe was asked by Doty to visit him.

That is not the case according to early books. In Linda's own words from near the time Linda was looking for sources for her new HBO documentary on aliens. I've heard several reasons why she visited - The supposed Ellsworth Air Force Base incident, access to Bennewitz films, Roswell footage.

So who suggested Doty as a source? Peter Gersten, who apparently was the Lawyer who was trying to sue the USAF over Cash-Landrum incident (according to Doty).

This article (PDF) was published in the last day or so and I thought it belonged naturally on this thread. (Link is to my old favourite, Lobster magazine: Usual disclaimer, I have no financial interest in the publication or in this article).

It doesn't relate to the 1980s, but there's a lot of stuff about the climate the ufology of the 1980s instilled (mostly what happened in the 1990s). Linda Moulton Howe and Majestic Twelve (mentioned upthread) both get discussed, as do quite a few other surprising connections (Marilyn Monroe, anyone?).

Summary: the author contends that quite a significant chunk of the UFO documentation leaked from the 1990s onward is part of a distraction strategy aimed at discrediting people researching the Kennedy assassination.

Anyway, it's a fairly interesting read although the author is dismissive about UFOs in general, which might undermine his argument a bit.