adam schiff on "unidentified aerial phenomena"

[orleans]

Link to tweet

There's much to learn about unidentified aerial phenomena.

But one thing is sure – the American people deserve full transparency.

Next week,
@HouseIntel
will give the public a chance to hear from experts on one of the greatest mysteries of our time.

that sounds interesting.

[Gore1FL]

3. UFOs are real

It's hard to identify things in the sky sometimes.

They aren't aliens, though.

[PatSeg]

14. If we cannot "identify" them,

then we can't conclusively say whether they are "aliens" or not.

[Gore1FL]

16. True, but given the all of the things it could be, aliens should be the 6 quintillionth guess. nt

[PatSeg]

20. Yes but we still can't say that they aren't aliens

until we can say what they are.

[Disaffected]

26. That's not logically consistent.

There are many unidentified things that are infinitesimally unlikely to be aliens.

In the absence of any credible evidence, it is illogical to claim aliens exist or are likely to exist, flying around in our atmosphere or elsewhere.

[PatSeg]

53. Okay, point taken

I'll rephrase it - we can't say they aren't aliens without more clear and concrete evidence to that effect. You may find it illogical, but not everyone does. You declared an opinion as fact when it was supposition based on your own beliefs and experience.

Meanwhile, from what we do know, there doesn't seem to be any credible evidence indicating what such unidentified objects are. However, it could be that science does have evidence that has not been revealed to the public yet and we can take up this discussion later when there is more available data.

[Disaffected]

61. Where did I declare opinion as fact?

Whatever I declared was not based at all on belief or experience. It was simply based on the logical conclusion that it is illogical to claim something may be something else in the absence of (credible) evidence.

As for an example of credible evidence indicating what such objects are, look up the YouTube debunking the claim by Air Force pilots that blurry blobs they picked up on their IR scanners was an object following them and travelling at great speed when in fact the observation was readily explained by simple parallax.

As always, the burden of evidence lies with those making the claim, not those who question or doubt it.

As for science may have evidence that has not yet been revealed, there we go into the usual conspiracy theories...

[Gore1FL]

64. I seem to post this video a lot in this thread, but it fits.

[Disaffected]

65. Yes.

Richard Feynman, the great explainer (amongst many other capabilities).

[Icanthinkformyself]

38. If they are at our level

of technology, I would agree. But, the universe is 13.8 billion years old. What if the 'visitors' are thousands of years ahead of us, maybe tens of thousand or millions of years. Those are possibilities not in the quintillionth of guesses. Open minds lead to progress. Closed minds, hmmm, not so much. I'm not saying 'they are here' or not. I don't know. But, too many so called scientists use periods where question marks belong.
PS, no countries, including US have claimed these UAPs. Why would a country develop such technology and not brag about it? It's just strange.

[PatSeg]

45. Yes, if we tend to think with the

limitations of our time and place, then it might seem inconceivable that a being from another world could travel throughout the galaxy. I'm sure if we could travel back just three or more centuries, most scholars and scientists would find air travel, television, the Internet, smartphones, microwave ovens, x-rays, laser surgery, etc. too fantastical even for fiction. Shoot some advances I've seen were considered impossible in my own lifetime, if they were considered at all outside of science fiction.

The quantum leap in technology and science in just the past century has been unprecedented and if it were to continue, we could some day be visiting other solar systems. So the idea that other intelligent beings have evolved enough to travel to distant planets is not entirely farfetched.

[Gore1FL]

62. I am in the Richard P. Feynman camp.

[SWBTATTReg]

18. I have a story but I won't ever tell it, for there are lots of DUers that will mock it. It upsets

me for I thought DU was a place where people can go and tell their stories. It's one of the bad things about DU that I don't like.

[PatSeg]

25. There are some subjects I won't attempt

to discuss on DU. For all the open-minded and liberal people here, there are always a few who regularly ridicule ideas or experiences that don't fit their own belief system. I consider that the sort of attitude that we generally oppose. Obviously there are exceptions such as Q-anon whacko conspiracy theories.

The older I get, the more I realize I don't know and that often makes me more open-minded. There is always more to learn.

[Disaffected]

32. Credulity and open-mindedness

are not the same things.

[PatSeg]

48. That is true

but just because some people believe some things are not possible, does not mean they are not. For the most part, I try not to think in absolutes. It thwarts progress and limits creativity. My only problem with what you originally wrote was that you said, "They aren't aliens", as opposed to "they probably aren't aliens" or "it is highly unlikely they are aliens" or "evidence does not indicate that they are aliens". You expressed your belief as fact.

[Disaffected]

58. You must be quoting someone else.

I did not say "they aren't aliens" or anything like it. I said it is illogical to claim they are or even may be aliens based on the absence of credible evidence. It would be just as (il)logical to say they are or may be leprechauns.

[PatSeg]

79. I am sorry

I mixed you up with another poster who flat out claimed "they aren't aliens". I apologize.

[BlueLucy]

59. The people you describe are the type who think they know it all.

They're not worth talking to.

[PatSeg]

80. Yes, I know

Many of them use condescension and ridicule to reinforce their arguments, which does not make them more persuasive.

[Willto]

46. Spotting Something.....

Spotting something in the sky that you can't ID and jumping to the conclusion it must therefore be an alien spacecraft is like glimpsing an animal in the woods for just a second that you couldn't ID and jumping to the conclusion that it must have been a T-Rex. LOL!

[PatSeg]

49. And spotting something in the sky

that you can't identify and saying it is NOT aliens is prejudging something without real evidence. That said, one could say that according to their knowledge and experience, it is probably not aliens. Meanwhile, it is okay to say, "We don't know what it is" while waiting for additional evidence without conjecture about what it is isn't.

I am not saying it is aliens, because I honestly do not know and at this point, I really have no preferences without further evidence. Of course, it is entirely possible that scientists do know more and have not revealed it all to the public yet.

[USALiberal]

27. Unidentified flying objects are real, but they're not fucking aliens

[reACTIONary]

30. UFOs are a hilarious fiction...

... I'm part of that crowd.

[reACTIONary]

34. My sentiment exactly. nt

[reACTIONary]

39. ..

Don't know what ".." is supposed to mean, but I don't know what "poor dear" is supposed to mean either.

[PatSeg]

50. UFOs are not a fiction

They are unidentifiable flying objects. You are assuming that the mention of UFOs automatically means aliens and that is not what most people here are saying.

[reACTIONary]

56. No argument ...

... in most cases. But I was responding to a post that would put me (and many of those others) in that camp, and so I am going with it.

Outside of DU I think the aliens assumption IS what most people are saying.

[bluestarone]

67. And I'm with you, and those people

[reACTIONary]

69. The truth is out there...

... to each his own.

[TheRealNorth]

2. Clearly, UFO'S are part of liberal NWO conspiracy....

To abduct babies to eat/bathe in their blood/molest/(fill in latest Qanon conspiracy here).

[SoonerPride]

4. I sure wish we'd expedite hearings on trump fomenting a coup.

But sure, lets talk about UFOs because that's more fun.

Our government is pathetic.

[Novara]

5. Democracy teeters over the cliff

and Congress is worried about UF-fucking-Os??????

[SoonerPride]

7. Precisely.

There is a five alarm fire of trying to stop the march of fascism, but hey look we have some interesting videos of stuff that we can't explain so let's focus ion that instead.

Nero fiddles while Washington burns.

[jimfields33]

11. +1,000,000

Shaking my head in disbelief.

[Disaffected]

28. Seeing an upright guy like Adam Schiff

expending political capital to delve into such stuff is disappointing indeed.

[Magoo48]

41. Aren't some sort of televised hearings supposed to begin tomorrow, something about a coup?

[jimfields33]

75. June I believe.

[Mr.Bill]

94. June is probably when they will announce

the televised hearings will begin in September.

[geardaddy]

19. This!

[reACTIONary]

33. +100 nt

[Brenda]

37. I agree.

And when did UFO's become UAP's? Really disappointed Adam is talking about this when HUGE threats to democracy and human rights are going on. Not to mention climate change breaking the national electric grid this summer. W.T.H?

[SoonerPride]

43. Welcome to DU!

[Brenda]

44. Thanks!

[anarch]

72. personally I've come to appreciate the term "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" over UFO

because it sort of admits to the possibility that at least some of these things aren't necessarily "objects" as we would ordinarily use the word.

As to why Schiff is bringing this up, who knows? I'm guessing he has more information on the topic than you or I have, and maybe suspects it may be important enough to address publicly to help mitigate some kind of widespread panic if/when more people start seeing things that don't seem to fit into our understanding of the world.

That doesn't mean that congress shouldn't also be focusing on the other things you mention though, and prioritizing them above unknown mysteries (since it's no mystery as far as the sources of the threats to democracy and the refusal to do anything to mitigate the climate crisis that might impact the profits of the fossil fuel industry). Just taken on its own merits, I'm glad he's bringing it up, and I'd like to know everything there is to know about these...things...that are clearly either natural phenomena or some kind of technology of unknown provenance that is far beyond our capabilities and entering our airspace with impunity.

[Brenda]

76. Well

To be honest, I've experienced multiple UFO/UAP sightings since I was a child. But I have also seen the serious investigations get turned into mere money making clown shows over the years. I've been hearing about and watching special whistle blower panels discuss "Disclosure" for 20 years. Dribs and drabs from the Pentagon.

Obviously there's some weird shit in the sky and has been for hundreds of years (read Vallee Wonders in the Sky). Aliens? Maybe. Odd natural phenomena? For sure. But right now the world and especially the US is imploding and I do not believe our dear leaders all know something and are trying to protect us from panic. It's a tool they use when they actually don't do anything to solve any of the major problems. Distraction.

It's been 1 year 4 months since a deadly mob stormed the capitol and only a handful have been given light sentences and none of the higher ups have been punished for their conspiracy to overturn the election. Yet, within hours the Senate passed a law yesterday to keep citizens from having peaceful vigil protests near the Supremes homes.

Yeah, I believe Aliens are on the verge of landing.

[anarch]

82. that's fair; and I agree as far as "serious investigations"

but I for some reason tend to give Schiff the benefit of the doubt more than a lot of other politicians when it comes to having relatively good intentions.

And yes, obviously the ongoing efforts to dismantle our democracy and install a permanent fascist theocratic oligarchy need to be dealt with, but then again it seems clear to me that congress is never going to confront that issue directly because they'd have to have some kind of referendum to throw like a third of their members out due to their support of sedition and so on. So I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you as far as some dramatic thing being done by congress to save us from their own members--that's going to be up to we the people.

Not to mention the fact that nobody is doing anything to seriously confront climate change, and probably won't because they depend on money from people who have a vested interest in profits continuing.

And personally I suspect that we're well past the point of "aliens landing" or whatever; as you say, these phenomena have been observed for a very long time, probably the whole of human history really. But for one reason or another, disclosure efforts seem to be ramping up, and some incontrovertible evidence may be on hand at this point that would lead to this being the case. Although then again we may have already gotten all there is in the way of disclosure of real government knowledge, with the recent admission that they frankly don't know what some of the things they've observed are, or where they come from.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what any of us "believe," reality is what it is. I'm just saying I don't think it's a bad thing for Schiff to be talking about this.

[Brenda]

84. Schiff

does seem to be one of the good ones. The timing just seems to be highly suspicious and perhaps by choosing one of the most pragmatic and reasonable members of Congress to release this statement will get a lot of more attention as opposed to being ignored as just another looney tune statement by one of the outrageous performance artists in Congress.

My point is that something has got to give. I'm not prone to hysteria about the outrage of the day which seems to be morphing into the outrages of the minute but our government, especially the Dems cannot continue marching on as if everything is normal, institutions will continue, the regular orderly process of how things work, we can multi-task, just get through the midterms, blah blah blah is not even remotely keeping up with reality.

The confluence of extreme natural disasters, cascading economic disasters and fast-moving fascism within our government and other positions of authority are peaking. Everyone except the 1% is suffering with extreme anxiety. As they say, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution.

Disclosure has been "ramping up" since at least 2000. It's a big time money-maker for lots of people and the media and government love to use it as a shiny new thing to divert the masses away from something else. I'd like to see solid evidence and even an admission that our government really has proof. But unless that is going to be a solution to any of our severe existential problems right at this moment, what is the point of revealing it today?

To cause some kind of panic amongst the fearful and pious who are already threatening my very life?

It certainly won't cause humanity to drop arms and hold hands like some happily ever after sci-fi flick.

[anarch]

85. well I certainly agree that something's got to give

frankly I don't see any kind of solution to any of our problems coming out of congress or any part of our government at this point, I'm sorry to say.

[PatSeg]

83. That was my reaction as well

If someone as serious and pragmatic as Adam Schiff is expressing an interest or concerns, I am assuming that he and others in government do have information that the average person does not. Clearly smarter people than me feel there is a need to share that information with the public. I've found that if you withhold evidence and data from people, their imaginations will come up with some awfully bizarre and farfetched conclusions.

[onecaliberal]

6. How about we have hearings about, oh I don't know. Saving Democracy!

[Willto]

47. Amen

I agree

[MontanaMama]

8. I would much prefer

hearings on the phenomena of the obvious and violent war against my civil rights and voting rights.

[USALiberal]

29. +1000

[reACTIONary]

36. +1001 nt

[TreasonousBastard]

9. How about we learn to do more than one thing at a time?

[SWBTATTReg]

13. Exactly. I see these posts and they act like 'oh my god, they're wasting time or crap on ...

this topic' and act like the government in non-functional if they're not working on their topic of choice at the moment.

This is ridiculous. This is a serious topic and it does deserve some serious discussion on it. After all, if someone has developed the technology of these devices (and everything about them/around them/etc.), there are benefits to further investigating them in far more depth and analysis.

[PatSeg]

15. I agree

Though some issues may be more urgent than others, that does not mean Congress can't address more than one issue at a time. That is what they do.

[SoonerPride]

21. When a house is on fire, the fireman don't stop to tour the house next door that just went on sale.

Our house is on fire.

There is no other topic worthy of attention until the fire is out.

[SWBTATTReg]

51. Ok. Not that this is an apt comparison, but if you feel like it is, okay.

[NJCher]

24. it's tantamount to this

Example:

Bring up banning leaf blowers

The response: lawnmowers make almost as much noise. Why not ban them?

Total non sequitur. Avoids the issue. Has nothing to do with anything.

[USALiberal]

77. It is not a serious topic. Nt

[SWBTATTReg]

86. And how would you know? Obviously the Pentagon and others are in the know far more than you

and chose to invest these sightings (without the public knowing about it) so most of their reports are from very qualified people, pilots, etc.) And I would want to know what these things are, and how do they function. If we didn't have the curiosity of what the Germans were doing in WW2, such as trying to build an atomic bomb, we might all be speaking German today. I disagree w/ you (and I have that right as a member of DU, that this is indeed a serious topic, that warrants discussion and investigation (and the Pentagon and those in the know agree w/ me). We can do multiple things at the same time by the way.

[Disaffected]

40. The subject has already been

studied & reported on to death. All that remains are conspiracy theories and never-ending and repetitious anecdotal evidence. It's time to give it a rest until at least a bit of credible evidence shows up to warrant further consideration.

[SWBTATTReg]

52. And the military's own intelligence, pictures, videos, etc. (numerous ones) isn't enough?

[Disaffected]

63. Not even close.

If you have credible intelligence, pictures or videos, I would be pleased to see them.

But please, no anecdotal evidence, obvious fakes or blurry blobs.

[USALiberal]

78. +1000

[SWBTATTReg]

87. Go out and look at the damn videos, interview all of the witnesses, pilots etc. You are so

close-minded that it hurts.

[Disaffected]

89. Calm yourself,

the little green men will arrive eventually and all will be well.

And, while we are waiting, provide a link if you would to all these "high quality" pentagon videos. I have viewed a number of such videos and seen nothing convincing at all - obvious fakes or the usual blurry blobs darting around on radar screens or the like.

Do you really expect me to conduct my own interviews??

[SWBTATTReg]

90. I expect to be truly open minded and reasonable. In the past, you ridiculed others for their UFO

sightings and you are doing it now. For some reason, you are so against this, it makes me think that you are part of some government agency that is like the men in black, stifling and/or intimidating witnesses, etc. You and some others are always in these trends, for some reason. You must work for the air force or something like that. It wouldn't be surprise me.

[Disaffected]

91. I do admit that

I have a tendency to ridicule the ridiculous. Mea Cupla.

Myself, no I am not some covert government employee or member of the air force, just a mundane skeptic that calls BS whenever unfounded claims & beliefs or nonsensical conspiracy theories are put forward in a public forum or the media.

I will ask yet again however, give us a link to all those high quality images and videos you seem to have seen or, any other credible evidence, and I will reconsider...

[SWBTATTReg]

92. I don't to provide a link, you obviously have the intelligence to do it yourself, go to YouTube, and

see for yourself all of the Pentagon releases on these topics. I shouldn't have to hold your hands to find credible evidence, any reasonable search on Google would do this, and I know you know how to do this. You just throwing this 'show me the evidence' so you can obscure, obstruct, naysay, whatever, and I'm not playing that game. Play it with someone else.

Besides, you got your eyes and ears anyway closed to everything, no matter what I do or say, or anyone else for that matter, it won't make a hoot of difference. Your mind is closed period.

Radar returns, nada. Pilots seeing stuff, nada, millions of witnesses, nada. Nothing works w/ you. Again, you are some sort of government agent or someone that keeping this low key, under wrap, etc., perhaps to hide the technology revealed via the thousands of sightings, etc. Why waste my time on you? There are far more better people that I rather deal w/, who do have either an open mind, know of someone that has seen (actual eyewitnesses by the way is what these are called in case you didn't know). And this doubt extends to no less than the report to Congress from the Pentagon. And you doubt the Pentagon, wow, just wow. Qualified pilots don't fly a hoot w/ you, good videos don't fly w/ you either. Notice that the below report states 'mysterous aircraft', etc., so something is there, it isn't swamp gas either, so don't give this ridiculous excuse.

****

An unclassified version of the Pentagon’s report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs, aka UFOs) was sent to Congress on Friday, showing that more than 140 instances of strange sightings by military aircraft remain a mystery. This is the public’s first glance at the 9-page report.

Last year, Congress gave the Defense Department a six-month deadline to share classified and unclassified versions of a report on UAPs cataloged by the Pentagon’s UAP Task Force. The task force’s existence was announced in August 2020 and its mission is “to detect, analyze and catalog UAPs that could potentially pose a threat to U.S. national security.” Today marks the deadline.

Senate committees received the classified version of the report on June 2nd. And leaks earlier this month to The New York Times, citing unnamed US intelligence officials, indicated the task force’s assessment has remained largely inconclusive, unable to identify the mysterious aircraft. The 180-day anticipation over the report, as well as scant public comments from the Pentagon, have spawned a swell of attention on the report.

[Disaffected]

93. You don't seem to grasp that

I have done all the stuff you suggest and have found nothing at all that indicates these UAPs are related to possible aliens. Hence I ask again for you to point the way for me to this convincing data as I have been unable to find it myself. Anything else is a cop-out.

You also seem to think I do not believe in UAPs - of course I do but the significant difference is that I do not conflate UAPs with aliens as there is no logical reason to do so.

There is also no logical reason to think that I, or any of the other aliens detractors on this forum, are "government agents" or the like.

[SWBTATTReg]

96. I never did say aliens either, but when one doesn't know what these craft are, it opens up to ...

who the hell knows? After all, they are unknown including the occupants. Enough said.

[Xoan]

10. Idiocracy Rules.

There is no mystery to it.

[Wounded Bear]

12. Make sure they play a few episodes of the X-Files at the hearings...

everybody knows those were documentaries.

[FakeNoose]

17. We're all going to say "Why didn't they tell us this 50 years?"

[AllaN01Bear]

22. if everything is ready on the dark side of the moon, play the five tones .

[Xavier Breath]

66. I always suspected my mashed potatoes meant something.

[miyazaki]

95. I saw bigfoot once.

It made a sound that I would not want to hear twice in my life.

[yaesu]

23. I want full transparency of foreign influence of elections, repuke dirty tricks, treasonous acts

but hey, at least I can try out my tinfoil hat

[Archae]

54. Just about everyone nowadays has a video camera, on their cell phone.

But we still get nothing but blurry blobs of light, or fakes.

[anarch]

73. that is true, but the other day I saw some cool birds...

looked like a flock of seabirds that had been blown inland for some reason...I tried my best to get a picture of them on my cell phone, but I wasn't quick enough and they flew away before I could get them in frame. Just saying....

[SWBTATTReg]

88. This is a very poor description or reason, cell phones are notorious for taking long distance

pics, thus to use this as an excuse is not a very good one. How about all of the videos shot by the Pentagon? Thousands of them apparently. These are very high quality videos, compared to the cell phone mantra that I hear quoted all of the time. Cell phones only work within 50 feet or so from what I hear.

[edhopper]

55. The default

"the unidentified sightings are most likely aliens" crowd are hilarious.

[JanMichael]

57. Birds aren't real.

[brooklynite]

68. BREAKING NEWS!!! They're....."unidentified"

Anyone expecting something else will be disappointed.

[USALiberal]

97. +1000

[alphafemale]

70. Woot! Let's also waste some time investigating black eyed children, skin walkers and other woo woo!

So sick of this nonsense.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

71. "The chances of anything coming from Mars..."

"...are a million to one, he said. The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one... but still they come."

[link:

|]

[LeftInTX]

74. my skin is turning green

[marie999]

81. The first question that should be asked "Are there Unidentified Flying Objects?".

The answer would be "Yes.". The second question should be "What are they.". The answer would be "How the hell do I know they are unidentified.".