| Getting smart, ordinary folks to consider the idea that the Earth is being visited by aliens – and that there’s an associated government cover-up – is never an easy sell. So it’s arguable that “UFO disclosure” activist Stephen Bassett wasn’t thinking very clearly when he, or his organization, approached former State Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick to help preside over their congressional-style hearings April 29 to May 3. The event will be held at the National Press Club in Washington and is optimistically described on Bassett’s website as having “historical implications“. For a lot of Michiganders – particularly those who view the subject as silly in the first place – the appointment of Kilpatrick to a panel studying aliens is certain to have nothing but hysterical implications. |  |
A political family modeled on the Gambinos
Here’s a thought: if you’re thinking of convening a panel to take a serious look at the subject of aliens (and a possible government cover-up regarding their existence) it is highly recommended that everyone involved – both alleged witnesses and panel members – have reputations that are, to use an intergalactic modifier, “stellar”. Because, often, even folks whose reputation’s are above reproach (ie. astronaut Edgar Mitchell, former Arizona Governor Fife Symington, theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, numerous military and commercial airline pilots, etc.) won’t cause a skeptic to waste a minute of their time listening. So the last thing you’d want officially associated with your panel would be what amounts to the matriarch of a notorious crime family Enter Carolyn Kilpatrick.
To be clear, the former U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional has never gone to prison. In fact, she’s never been charged nor indicted for a darned thing. Nonetheless, mention the name Kilpatrick to anyone in Michigan and the images that come to mind are graft and corruption of the worst possible varieties. The crimes of the father and, especially, the son (former mayor Kwame Kilpatirck ) are the stuff of legend. In March, 2013, both her former husband and her son were found guilty of various felonies (racketeering, mail and tax fraud, and more). Her former husband, Bernard Kilpatrick, was convicted of 1 of 4 federal charges. Her son racked up an impressive list of 24 convictions (on 30 federal charges) and is currently sitting in jail awaiting sentencing.
A poster child for poor judgement
As already noted, Carolyn Kilpatrick has never been accused of doing anything criminal. So, is guilt by association fair? Maybe not. Nevertheless, almost no one in Michigan will ever look at a member of the Kilpatrick without a wary eye. As the mother of Kwame (and former wife of Bernard) it’s almost impossible for Michiganders to view the “mother hen” as someone to be taken seriously, or, trusted. Whether or not that’s fair is irrelevant – that’s simply the fact of the matter. At the very least, Carolyn Kilpatrick is guilty of extremely poor judgement. She’s guilty of poor judgement in picking a husband, and, in the way she chose to raise her son. All of which begs the question, “Why would her judgement be any better, here….?”. That, by itself, should be enough to disqualify her from Bassett’s panel. To have her associated with a panel investigating an alleged government cover-up of extraterrestrial life is an open invitation for skeptics to hoot, and, holler even more loudly than normal.
Bassett shoots himself in the foot
A recent online article in The Detroit News, describing Kilpatrick’s association with the upcoming event, generated hundreds of comments from readers. Of course, almost all of comments used Kilpatrick’s involvement to paint the whole affair as farcical in the extreme. As if things weren’t already tough enough when it comes to getting people to look at the subject of UFOs and aliens seriously, the panel’s choice to include Kilpatrick in such an investigation amounts to something of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. If anyone was inclined to be dismissive of this panel and it’s objectives in the first place (in Michigan, at least) Bassett has walked to the kennels of the skeptics and taken it upon himself to unleash more hounds than usual.
At the end of the day, the question is this: Stephen Bassett, what were you thinking?
