Subject: Re: The Real Reason for Counter Event
From: campbell@ufomind.com (PsychoSpy)
Date: 2 Apr 1996 14:38:43 -0500
Message-ID: <4jrvo3$oci@newsbf02.news.aol.com>

Regarding opposition to the E.T. Highway by the Area 51 Research 
Center, Jeff Lloyd <103266.3155@compuserve.com> writes:

> After reading the documentation he has prepared to 'counter' 
> this event, I've come to the conclusion that Campbell is merely 
> pissed off that the State nor 20th Century Fox is including him 
> in this event.  

I have often read in this newsgroup that my ego is immense.  It is 
interesting to note that April 20 is Hitler's birthday, and maybe 
this is what motivates me: to follow in Der Fuhrer's footsteps.

I _am_ pissed to have been excluded from the State's political 
process--especially after making my interests known to my 
assemblyman.  I have no objection to the movie company including 
or excluding me, but the state is a different kind of entity.  The 
state is serving multiple interests, not just that of the Little 
A'Le'Inn or the Fox studio, and standard political procedure in 
all levels of American government is that you notify and open the 
floor to opponents as well as supporters.  You have to allow 
opposing viewpoints to be heard BEFORE you pass the measure.  That 
way, government leaders are sure they have covered all the bases, 
and that some surprise won't come up later to bite them in the 
derriere.

Well--surprise!--there's a whole slew of nasty issues the state 
excluded from consideration, and there's a big ol' pissed-off 
barracuda heading for the governor.

Jeff Lloyd <103266.3155@compuserve.com> further writes:

> For example, who really gives a shit if the Governor flew to
> California at taxpayers' expense ?

These are the kind of issues that really _are_ important to some 
of us, and the implications I think are significant, especially in 
context.

The governor's first loyalty and responsibility is to the people 
of Nevada, yet he planned and negotiated this highway extravaganza 
only with an out-of-state movie company.  He did NOT visit Lincoln 
County or consult with anyone here regarding his highway plans.  
Apart from the Little A'Le'Inn, the governor has NEVER consulted 
with ANYONE in Lincoln County, and this includes the Lincoln 
County Commissioners and the county committees concerned with 
tourism.  (I assume also that he has not consulted with their 
counterparts in Nye County.)  As far as anyone in Rachel knows, 
the governor has never actually visited his "E.T. Highway," and he 
certainly did not consult with the Air Force, which is another 
affected neighbor.  As chairman of the state's transportation 
board, Governor Miller imposed the "E.T. Highway" designation 
after notifying and consulting only Pat Travis of the Inn, 
Ambassador Merlyn Merlin II of Draconis and the Fox movie company 
of L.A., each of whom have their own agendas.  That, to me, is not 
a proper political process.

In this context, the governor's later visit to L.A.--be it at 
taxpayer expense or his own--is highly dubious.  As a citizen of 
Nevada, I want to know what other contacts the governor has had 
with the movie company and why they are getting preferential 
treatment.  Why was this gala extravaganza planned in private 
between the governor and Fox and announced jointly by them on the 
governor's letterhead.  Why weren't local residents included in 
the planning process?  It is, after all, _their_ highway isn't it?

You can say, "Who gives a shit about political processes?  It's 
just some stupid signs."  For that matter you can say, "Who gives 
a shit" about anything the government does.  Nothing the 
government does is trivial; it almost always has far-reaching 
effects.  The outside world may see the "E.T. Highway" as a hoot 
that has no deep meaning, but it does have great importance to the 
people who live and visit here and to those like myself who are 
fighting for political change.  "E.T. Highway" signs, if erected 
by a private party, would probably not be noticed, but when the 
state does the same thing, it is taken by the outside world as an 
event of great significance--hence the enormous recent publicity.

It is not the signs themselves that are important but the meaning 
that is conveyed to the public by the state's action. The "E.T. 
Highway" is an official statement by the state about what is 
supposed to be important.  By decree of the governor, public 
attention is shifted from the serious issues at Area 51 to the 
circus on the highway.  Of all the conflicts involving Area 51 and 
the state--including alleged environmental abuses, local tax 
evasion, civil rights abuses at the border, as well as the few 
credible UFO claims--the governor has chosen to address himself 
only to the aliens-on-the-highway and lights-in-the-sky stories 
that are mostly nonsense.  Regardless of how the governor tries to 
downplay it, this is going to be taken as the state's official 
position.

The "E.T. Highway" does NOT advance the UFO movement.  It simply 
perpetuates the "Little Green Men" syndrome where every UFO story 
has to be turned into a joke and a "fun time" for politicians, 
short-circuiting any serious debate.  The governor is also 
promoting a movie that is not E.T. friendly, where the invading 
aliens have no deeper motivation than wiping out mankind.  "Kill, 
destroy, annihilate," is their only line in the script.  This is 
not the kind of image the UFO community ought to encourage because 
it does not advance the issues.

I believe that the Governor of the State of Nevada should not be 
seen to endorse ANY single commercial product, regardless of what 
it is.  I think it looks especially bad when the movie he is 
promoting, supposedly set in Nevada, was filmed in Utah instead.  
The part of Nevada appearing in the movie (Area 51) in no way 
resembles the real thing anyway, so what is the governor trying 
promote?  Is he supporting his state in the long run, establishing 
policies and business opportunities that will last, or has he just 
gotten starry eyed about being wined and dined in Hollywood?

> In my opinion, anyone wanting to visit the area should stay 
> clear of the 'border', because there's nothing to see anyway.  
> But if you're too stupid to [not] cross the line, then you 
> deserve to be arrested.

Stupidity is not necessary for arrest.  The state's vague 
trespassing law assures that anyone can be arrested, even if you 
are an experienced desert traveler.  Consider this: You are hiking 
in the desert in an area that your official USGS map says is 
public land and where the State of Nevada has invited you to come 
to see the UFOs.  You come across a thin orange post sticking out 
of the sand--maybe even just a wooden stick.  There is no other 
marking and no other posts visible.  What does it mean?  To most 
desert travelers, both experienced and inexperienced, it is just a 
random survey marker, perhaps for a mining claim, but the State of 
Nevada says that if you cross this post going in the wrong 
direction, you will be arrested, and when you get to court, you 
will be convicted without the opportunity to face your anonymous 
accusers.

You may say, "Who gives a shit?  If anyone is stupid enough to 
leave the paved highway or hike in the desert, they deserve to be 
arrested."  But if you can't drive on dirt roads or go hiking, 
then what else are you going to do once you get here?  Unless the 
State of Nevada can produce the UFOs it promises, what's the point 
in coming if you can't explore the desert?

> From a business prospective, isn't that what the Governor of 
> Nevada is trying to do, too ??  Generate business for the 
> state ??

The state is not simply a marketing entity.  It has to serve 
multiple clients of many different viewpoints, not all of whom 
agree that making money is the only goal in life.  Most 
importantly, the state is obligated to enforce the law and assure 
justice, and these issues come far ahead of economic development.

Whenever the state takes any action at all, it is like a 500-pound 
gorilla stepping into the ring.  Because it is so potentially 
dangerous, there are a lot of procedures and ethics that the state 
is supposed to obey before it passes an action--even a seemingly 
trivial one.  All of those safeguards were bypassed with the "E.T. 
Highway."  It is important, now, that the world knows about it, 
and that the governor is forced to answer for the validity of his 
process.

I stick by my March 6 report to the governor--to which he has 
never responded.  You can find it at 
http://www.ufomind.com/highway

Glenn Campbell

========================================
Area 51 Research Center, Las Vegas Annex
http://www.cris.com/~psyspy