Ok, this post is not annual, but probably needs to be, however small an audience I might reach. I'm a science writer: no degrees in engineering, architecture, or medicine. But I will argue very strongly that my logic is sound, and the expert sour es given at the end back me up.
1. The US Government has no contact with aliens. Such an event would become the central fact driving US space, defense, and intelligence budgets. It's not mentioned once in the massive leaks of Top Secret material, including the entire intelligence budget, a few years ago. That isn't possible. The revelations of 2023 have been more like rehashes. It's always "someone said they'd heard this." The only thing proven thus far is that the government took more interest and did more studies than the public knew, but that only matters if they found anything.
I'm glad to see the shift to the more neutral term UAP as opposed to UFO (after all, something seen in the sky may not be technically "flying" or an "object"). Reasonable explanations have been put forward for the spectacular Navy videos, and I do know even flight crews can get excited and misinterpret things. (I heard that from a flight crew that called in they were being paced by a UFO that turned out to be the planet Venus with a little atmospheric haze thrown in.) But NASA's new study just made the same statement earlier studies have: there are sightings that bear further investigation, but there is no evidence of intelligent life, contact, or recovery other than individual testimony. Concerning contact with aliens, the case (so far) is closed.
2. There are no simple natural cures for cancer or other killer diseases. Arguing otherwise means that doctors, medical researchers, and pharma CEOs are letting their own cancer-afflicted families die, sometimes horribly, rather than admit to simple cures and diminish drug profits. Case closed.
3. Vaccines are effective. The modern victories against diseases like polio are aided but demonstrably not caused by improved sanitation, etc., because vaccines stop these diseases even in nations where the poverty and sanitation remain terrible. Case closed. The claim vaccines have never been subject to trials likewise defies logic: they've been tested in use on billions of humans. There's no possible information trials of a few thousand people could add. Case closed. Finally, the government made numerous strategy changes and backtracks on advice during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was frustrating, but inevitable, dealing with a new virus needing new treatments and vaccines as deaths mounted, all in real time.
4. Climate change or AGW is not a hoax. One "whistleblower" scientist claimed climate scientists are going along with the consensus for "fame and fortune." It's very hard to find anyone who's attained either. The money is in being a contrarian and getting paid for speeches at MAGA conventions. There are a handful of genuinely qualified scientists who think the consensus is wrong, and they deserve to be heard, but why can't they convert any of their brethren after decades of AGW being a major issue? I speak as a onetime doubter of AGW - the early computer modeling seemed inadequate for such a complex system, the data from different sensors was in conflict, and the early apocalyptic projections were wrong. I was convinced by new data and better tools.
As to "the scientists are just finding what they are paid to find," claim, tthere are three objections. A: Scientists spend their lives dedicated to finding knowledge. That ethic does not extend to all scientists, but certainly to a majority. B. There is peer review, replication, and self-correction in the field. Again, not perfect, but the last two examples of doctors or scientists who were widely rejected and even ridiculed for a theory (i.e., the cause of ulcers and the existence of quasicrystals) resulted in Nobel prizes after the data became convincing. C. Scientists live in this world. So do their families and descendants. That's a powerful, oft-overlooked incentive to tell the truth as best they can discern it. The case sounds closed to me, pending some new and startling evidence.
5. There is nothing left to dispute about the 9/11 building damage and destruction. It's been gone over by the world's finest engineers, with the best tools, in exhaustive depth. The common "truther" claims are rehashes of disproven arguments, "an insider told me" stories, or outright lies. There ARE some little oddities here and there, like the survival of a terrorist's passport, but when an incredibly complex event happens for the first time, there are always going to be outliers. Case long since closed.
Recommended Reading:
NASA UAP Report, science.nasa.gov/science-pink/s3fs-public/atoms/files/UAP Independent Study Team - Final Report_0.pdf
USAF, The Roswell Report: Case Closed. The Roswell Report (af.mil)
Analysis: Whistleblower testimonies did not change our basic understanding of UFOs | PBS NewsHour
Carl Zimmer, A Planet of Viruses, A Planet of Viruses: Third Edition: Zimmer, Carl, Schoenherr, Ian: 9780226782591: Amazon.com: Books
COVID-19 Vaccination Clinical and Professional Resources | CDC
Vaccine rumours debunked: Microchips, 'altered DNA' and more - BBC News
US Government Global Change Research Program, The Climate Report: National Climate Assessment-Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States: U.S. Global Change Research Program: 9781612198026: Amazon.com: Books
Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History: Kolbert, Elizabeth: 9781250062185: Amazon.com: Books See my brief review in Matt's Sci/Tech Blog: Earth Day, a Pulitzer, and a planet full of species (mattbille.blogspot.com)
9/11 Myths: FAQ, Debunking 9/11 Myths - Frequently Asked Questions - Conspiracy Theories (popularmechanics.com)
Matt Bille is a writer, historian, and naturalist living in Colorado Springs. He can be reached at mattsciwriter@protonmail.com. Website: www.mattbilleauthor.com.
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