UFO$, Inc. - Volume 2

Richard Dolan is the king of ufological sleight-of-hand. One of thousands of people possessing a Masters Degree in History from some small liberal arts college, Dolan managed to turn himself into "Ufology's historian" in just over a decade, all while building a nice little multi-media congolmerate with him as the centerpiece. 

How has he done it? Well, he wrote a book about the history of UFOs that was a combination of fact recitation, just enough wild-eyed speculation to bring in the true believers, and copious footnotes - the apotheosis of quantity over quality. But in the land of the blind, the one eyed historian proved to be king. He followed that up by doing anything and everything that would get allow him to build his brand, which was that of the reasonably articulate, well-educated (by ufology's standards), young-ish, and good looking researcher. What followed? More books, of course, usually just repeating the same themes that he has written about before, mixed in with some television gigs and now his own radio show (the flagship of the KGRA internet network), and a publishing company (that he called Richard Dolan Press, which is quintessential personal branding).

He's kept this all going by getting more and more outlandish with his claims over the years as he has refined his branding to the only place he could really take it and be successful - over-the-top conspiracy theorizing about anything, usually by quoting anonymous "witnesses" and "sources." Most recently he wound up on the stage at Mexico City with the Roswell slides promoters, a decision which blew up in his face within just a couple of days. Whereas some of the others involved apologized, however, Dolan did what all good corporations do - he issued some bland statements about how none of it was really his fault (conveniently forgetting any and all statements he made in support of the event and the slides before May 5th), and urged everyone to move on as quickly as possible... even as he steadfastly refused to offer anything even remotely resembling an apology for agreeing to be part of an event that was a money-milking sham.

But that's how UFO$, Inc. rolls. 

Paul Kimball

UFO$, Inc. - Volume I

For many people interested in the subject of UFOs, it is just a hobby. There are also the true believers, of course.

But for a small group, it's a corporation - UFO$, Inc. For them, it's all about the money. Like the entertainment industry, they constantly have to generate new content to stay profitable, almost always riffing on the same basic stories and themes that they have been pushing for decades. They are a transnational conglomerate, no different in principle from Exxon or Lockheed - Martin (even as they are clearly penny ante in terms of practical impact)... or, in a less formalized sense, the Bilderberg Group.

So I've decided, in the wake of the "Roswell Slides" fiasco, to list the people who clearly comprise the Board of Directors of UFO$, Inc.

Some of them are con men / women and frauds, a few are true believers in the flying saucer gospel who are also very adept at turning that belief into buckets of bucks, and some of them are a bit of both. I'll let you, the readers, decide into which category each Board member fits.

First up - Linda Moulton Howe, the grand dame of UFO$, Inc.

More to come.

Paul Kimball