ET commission being beamed to ballot?

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ET commission being beamed to ballot?
April 9, 2009
Peter Marcus
Denver Daily News

Local alien expert Jeff Peckman is out of this world with optimism. After two false starts — which generated national headlines — Peckman says he is ready to beam to Denver voters a ballot initiative that would create the Extraterrestrials Affairs Commission. The seven-member panel would be charged with collecting data and research to prepare Denverites in the event of a possible alien encounter.

Two city officials questioned Peckman yesterday on his proposal, clearing the way for the alien expert to file a petition and start collecting signatures. Peckman expects to start collecting signatures to place his initiative on the November ballot within the next two weeks.

“This issue of the presence of extraterrestrial intelligent beings visiting our planet is something that’s been of interest … and the amount of that activity is increasing,” said Peckman following the meeting yesterday with city officials. “The general public has been kept in the dark, primarily by the government and the media … and it’s time that we the citizens, as the highest power of this country, that we have sufficient knowledge to make our own decisions so that we’re empowered to make responsible decisions.”


Obama didn’t come through?

Peckman pulled a similar initiative from the November 2008 ballot after gathering the 4,000 signatures needed to place it on the ballot. He said at the time that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was likely going to become president, and that he was hopeful that as president Obama would release classified documents related to alien encounters.

But Peckman says now that he is not confident that President Obama is committed to UFO disclosure, which is why he is again launching his so-called “Extra Campaign” on the local level.

“I can’t think of a single elected official who during their term of office had the will, or the courage, or maybe even the confidence to address this issue and to do it in a way that’s useful to the public,” Peckman said during the meeting yesterday. “And so my perspective now is that the last people to get involved should be the federal level of government … This topic is very, very personal to people, and on a personal level, they’re going to have to decide, ‘Do I believe in this or not?’”

He also didn’t collect enough signatures last year to get his proposal on the May ballot.

At the heart of Peckman’s initiative is a goal to disclose UFO “X-Files,” which supposedly include details of alien encounters here on earth and across the universe.


Opposition

But he is again facing opposition from an unlikely group — the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society — which says Peckman is making a mockery of the topic.

“We tend to approach things with intelligence,” said Matthew Baxter, a paranormal investigator with the Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society. “They would like to get assistance from the government on something the government is covering up.”

“All they’re trying to do is gain credibility,” continued Baxter. “We have been researching their main evidence pool for over six years now and it’s all crap, it’s all fraud … I’m not going to say that I don’t believe in UFOs, that I don’t believe that they’re not here, because that’s not the case. But the case is that what they’re showing for evidence is all fraud. I’ve seen it, I’ve torn it apart, we’ve reproduced it — it is completely false.”


Growing movement?

While Peckman is not expecting an “intergalactic showdown at high noon” — time is relative when discussing the universe — he says his initiative has nothing to fear because the movement behind it is growing stronger by the day.

The proposal does not differ greatly from Peckman’s initiatives of the past. The purpose of the Extraterrestrials Affairs Commission is to “help ensure the health, safety, and cultural awareness of Denver residents and visitors in relation to potential encounters or interactions with extraterrestrial intelligent beings or their vehicles.”

The commission would be funded through private grants, gifts and donations, which Peckman said would not be a problem to secure because of extreme interest in the topic. City officials expressed some concern over the funding stream, asking how the commission would be funded if donations are not received. Peckman shrugged off the concern, pointing to a half-dozen billionaires who would line up to show their support.

Peckman has also created stricter guidelines for becoming a member of the seven-person panel, requiring that each appointee be a “knowledgeable expert” on extraterrestrials. Four of the slots would be reserved for Denver residents. Non-Denver residents can come from “anywhere in the universe by any means available.”

Topic important to people?

He is confident that voters will take up his cause because it is a topic they believe in.

“The topic is very important to people,” said Peckman. “People aren’t losing track of this even in light of the economy, shootings, earthquakes and what have you. So, we’re very confident that this is the right thing to do … there’s a lot of confidence, a lot of enthusiasm, and more people are wanting to help out.”