Creative Speculation

First my apologies for the delay.

First the comment about: "a UFO boosters conference with no dissenters." There were about 200 attendees at the conference; it would be unlikely that none of them were skeptics or 'dissenters.' Perhaps it is a failing that no skeptics were invited to speak, or perhaps the skeptics just weren't interested.

Next, let us acknowledge that the Rendlesham RAF Bentwaters incident remains controversial. Col. Conrad is sticking to his story; Col. Charles Halt and Sgt. Penniston are sticking to theirs.

Yes, Dr. Richard F. Haines degree is in psychology: PhD. in Experimental Psychology from Michigan State University, 1964. Yes, NASA does hire psychologists to work in various aspects of human factors.

"The Belgian Wave has been thoroughly debunked...." Rather a sweeping statement, since there were approximately 2,000 cases. According to Gen. Wilfried de Brouwer, 600 of those were investigated by the Belgian Air Force and approximately 500 remain in the unexplained category. The Skeptic Report addressed itself to a private organization: SOBEPS and a relatively few individual cases.

Yes, GEIPAN has its critics, and its supporters.

As for Ms. Kean herself, she has had a successful career as an independent investigative journalist. Her book garnered positive reviews by people as varied as:

• Michio Kaku, Ph.D,
  
• Rudy Schild, Ph.D., Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
  
• Neal Lane, Ph.D., Rice University; former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy,
  
• John Podesta, White House Chief of Staff under the Clinton Administration, and
  
• Derek Pitts, Chief astronomer at the Franklin Institute.

Labeling Dr. Haines and Ms. Kean 'true believers' is ad hominem and does nothing to provide a substantial argument.

Please note I've done my best to minimize the use of any personal pronouns, except for a few referring to myself. I'm trying my best to maintain a civil dialogue, without resorting to the argument ad hominem in any of its forms.

Edited to add: I've considered myself a hard-core skeptic most of my adult life; in recent years, however, I've evolved into more of an open-minded skeptic, using the definition given by Dr. Bernard Haisch:

Skeptic - One who practices the method of suspended judgment, engages in rational and dispassionate reasoning as exemplified by the scientific method, shows willingness to consider alternative explanations without prejudice based on prior beliefs, and who seeks out evidence and carefully scrutinizes its validity.