MUFON Arizona Chapter

Magazine Overview

This document is the MUFON Arizona Chapter Newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 3, dated February 1996. It focuses on UFO-related news, upcoming events, and member contributions within Arizona.

Director's Message

Tom Taylor, State Director, announces significant news regarding a press conference by Richard Hoagland at the National Press Club on March 21, 1996, concerning the "announcement" deadline. The event was to be broadcast live on the Internet, CNN, or C-Span. Taylor also details an upcoming meeting on March 27, 1996, at the National Guard Armory in Phoenix, which will discuss NASA's recent failed tethered satellite mission. He recounts a personal attempt with Paul Ankney and Richard Motzer to film the satellite passing over Phoenix, which was unsuccessful due to aiming videocameras in the wrong direction.

The message also mentions Bill Hamilton's new book, "Alien Magic," and expresses interest in recruiting a Section Director for southeastern Arizona, specifically near Portal and Fort Huachuca. Taylor is also awaiting news from Sedona regarding potential MUFON activities there. An upcoming outing to Painted Rock State Park on March 30 is highlighted, with members from Yuma expected to attend, and an invitation is extended to members from Tucson and other areas.

Key Events and Announcements

February Program: The newsletter announces the February program for the Arizona Chapter: a discussion of the Secret NASA Tethered Satellite Mission. The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, March 27, 1996, at 7:30 p.m. sharp, at the National Guard Armory in Phoenix.

Richard Hoagland Press Conference: A press conference by Richard Hoagland was scheduled for Thursday, March 21, at 9:00 a.m. Washington DC time (7:00 a.m. Phoenix time) at the National Press Club. He was expected to reveal "exciting news."

Painted Rock State Park Outing: MUFON-AZ sponsored an outing to Painted Rock State Park on Saturday, March 30. The park is known for its petroglyphs. Carpooling arrangements were made for members from the east and west valleys of Phoenix.

UFO Update Picnic: An event was scheduled for Saturday, April 6, at El Dorado Park, Scottsdale.

Ozark UFO Conference: The 8th Annual Ozark UFO Conference was scheduled for April 12-14.

Yuma Co. Meeting: A Yuma County meeting was planned for Sunday, April 14, featuring a program on Puerto Rico sightings.

UFO Research Conference: The 2nd Annual UFO Research Conference was scheduled for May 3-5 in Greenville, South Carolina.

MUFON's 27th International Symposium: This event was scheduled for July 5-7, 1996, in Greensboro, North Carolina.

International Tesla Symposium: This event was scheduled for July 18-21, 1996, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Media Watch

Tom Taylor's "Media Watch" section provides a list of recent and upcoming media programs related to the UFO topic. This includes:

• Art Bell's "Coast to Coast" program: Richard Hoagland was scheduled to make an announcement on March 15th.
• Fate Magazine: The March issue featured articles on "The Monster That's Terrorizing Puerto Rico" by Scott Coralles and "Stargate: The CIA and PSI" by Lloyd Averback.
• Budd Hopkins: Was featured on Art Bell's program on February 23rd. NOVA television program also contacted Art Bell regarding this.
• George Knapp: Investigative reporter, was featured on Art Bell's "Dreamland" on February 25th, discussing his trip to the former Soviet Union.
• Peter Davenport: Director of the National UFO Reporting Center, was featured on "Dreamland" on March 3rd, with tapes of UFO sighting reports played.
• Thomas Ropp: Arizona Republic reporter, wrote a three-page article on remote viewing and UFOs, mentioning Courtney Brown, author of "Cosmic Voyage."
• Time Magazine: Featured an article titled "Is Anybody Out There?" in its February 5th issue.
• The New Times: Featured an article titled "The Outer Space Underground: International Space Access Society."
• Channel 12 Programs: "The Origins of Man" program on February 25th, and "Unsolved Mysteries" on March 15th, featuring the disappearance of a truck driver in Northern Arizona.

Specific Sightings and Reports

Northwest Phoenix Sighting: Rodney C. Washington reports a sighting on September 5, 1993, of an unusual object with a white strobe light that hovered rigidly and moved in an odd sequence. The object appeared oval-shaped and seemed to fade in and out, becoming transparent at times. The sighting lasted approximately seven minutes.

March Skywatch: Approximately 30 MUFON-AZ members participated in a March Skywatch on March 16th, observing stars and a mysterious red light or beacon.

Carl Sagan and UFOs

This section presents quotes from astronomer Carl Sagan, highlighting perceived inconsistencies in his views on UFOs. Paul Ankney provides quotes from Frank Edwards' 1964 book "Strange World" and Vincent Gaddis' 1967 book "Mysterious Fires and Lights." In 1962, Sagan reportedly stated that Earth "probably has been visited by intelligent beings representing an advanced civilization from outer space!" and that these visitors might have built bases on the moon. However, when asked to comment on UFOs, Sagan is quoted as saying, "I do believe there are objects that are unidentified, but I'm not saying whether they come from one place or another."

MUFON-AZ Caps and Article Submission

Alan Morey is selling MUFON-AZ logo baseball caps for $10 each. The newsletter also provides guidelines for submitting articles, requesting that members use WordPerfect 5.1 format or ASCII format if submitting on diskette, or faxing articles to Mary Hart.

Online Presence

Larry Noack has made the MUFON-AZ Newsletter available on the World Wide Web at http://www.xroads.com/~noack/mufon.html.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The newsletter consistently promotes MUFON's mission of investigating UFO phenomena and encourages member participation in meetings, outings, and article submissions. The editorial stance appears to be open to the possibility of extraterrestrial visitation, as evidenced by the discussion of Carl Sagan's quotes and the reporting of local sightings. There is a strong emphasis on keeping the UFO topic in the public eye through media monitoring and event organization.