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opinion
Thursday, May 27, 2021 • Page 4A
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Recently a fascinating/dis
turbing series of events have
thrust what had once been rele
gated to the realm of science fic
tion, UFOs, unidentified flying
objects, to the forefront of the
news, due to observation and
numerous reports of objects and
the behavior of those objects wit
nessed by highly credible indi
viduals (fighter jet pilots, air
traffic controllers, commercial
pilots, law enforcement) and
supporting data.
What we have called for dec
ades UFOs are now referred to in
the new vernacular as "unidenti
fied aerial phenomena or UAPs.
While the name change may be
new, the phenomenon is not,
having been reported consis
tently over decades, but until
now pretty much ignored or hid
den.
Until now it had been the of
ficial policy of the United States
government to do everything
Alan Landers
The
Unknown
possible to deny and or discredit
any UFO/UAP reports, no
matter how credible.
Understandably, the stigma
of being labeled a kook or nut-
job attached to those that might
report such incidents was just
not worth the risk to one's career
or reputation. Even now with
this newly found interest and ba
sically undeniable proof, there
are still government agencies
and individuals that take a very
dim view of the data being open
to public scrutiny.
Due to several images/videos
taken by military fighter jets
being "leaked" to the public,
backed up by sophisticated anal
ysis by experts/scientist in such
technologies and well doc
umented exposure in articles in
the New York Times and other
major outlets, the Genie is out of
the bottle and government offi
cials' hand is being forced to ad
dress the issue.
Upcoming, the latter part of
June 2021, a congressional re
port on the subject is due to held
in Washington, D.C.
The report, we assume, will
address images and analysis
record numerous incidents in
which UAPs with impunity,
enter our air space over areas
with the strictest security; air
bases, aircraft carriers, missile
bases, nuclear facilities, and
other highly restricted areas de
spite our best efforts to
deter/confront/engage them
with our best fighter jets and
other measures.
These incidents have been
going on for decades with abso
lutely no successful intervention.
In a recent expose on the TV
news show 60 Minutes, an F-18
fighter pilot stated these inci
dents are occurring on a daily
basis and have been for two
years that he knows of.
Reluctantly/grudgingly,
leaders at the Pentagon/Depart
ment of Defense, CIA etc. are
forced to admit as much. They
also admit the only thing we
know is they ARE REAL. We
don't know WHAT THEY ARE,
just they are REAL and do exist.
These craft/phenomena ex
hibit speeds, maneuverability
and other characteristics that ex
perts describe with words/terms
According to the Bible: In the
beginning was the word and ev
erything that came after that was
the result of that word. Words
can hurt, words heal, words
create, words destroy, words up
lift as well as deflate our egos. If
we were standing in front of a
firing squad, the last word you
would hear is: “Fire”.
I am in the words business. I
read them, speak them, and
write them. I have even been
known to use non-verbal com
munication that eventually gets
translated into words.
As an avid reader consuming
words from a variety of sources,
B. Waine
Kong, Ph.D., JD
Waine’s World:
The Power
of Words
I confess that my favorite maga
zine is “The New Criterion.”
Each month, I am offered new
insights on our culture written
by very clever writers. My favor
ite article this month (May,
2021) is “The Cost of Words” by
John Steele Gordon. Here are
some of his observations:
1. Human beings are com
municative species because we
are profoundly a social one, and
individuals of all species com
municate with their fellows.
2. Ravens, a few species of
ants, and honey bees can com
municate location and distance
of newly discovered food
sources. But not even animals as
cleaver as ravens have anything
resembling speech with its infi
nite ability to precisely convey
information.
3. Most linguists believe
that it (speech) evolved by at
least 50,000 years ago.
4. The invention of writing
marks the division between pre
history and history. The oldest
forms date to the fourth millen
nium B.C., with Egyptian’s hi
eroglyphs and Mesopotamian
cuneiform... Both systems used
logograms, symbols that stand
for words.
5. While (the Greek) al
phabet was a tremendous im
provement, storing information
remained very expensive, for one
needed not only writing but also
a means of storing information...
the people of Mesopotamia used
clay tablets, which when baked,
made a durable, if cumbersome,
means of storing information.
6. The Egyptians used a
like, "not of this world," "other
worldly," "impossible."
If this is a technology of this
world and China/Russia etc.
possess it, it would not be a game
changer, but a game ender.
But is the alternative any
better? The obvious alternative
is this phenomenon is of extra
terrestrial origin, aliens. A pos
sibility that many far smarter
than myself actually consider
more likely than China/Russia.
We are left with a whole lot of
questions and very few answers.
TV’s 60 Minutes recently ex
plored the subject by interview
ing Lue Elizondo, former
director of AATIP, the Advanced
Aerospace Threat Identification
Program.
“The mission of AATIP is
quite simple, he focused on the
national security implications of
unidentified aerial phenomena
documented by U.S. service
members, to collect and analyze
information involving anoma
lous aerial vehicles, what you call
UFOs. We call them UAPs,” says
Elizondo.
Bill Whitaker: You know this
sounds nutty, wacky.
Elizondo: “Look, Bill, I'm not
telling you that it doesn't sound
wacky... What I’m telling you, it's
real. The question is, what is it?
What are its intentions? What
plant called papyrus... but these
scrolls were inconvenient in that
only way to get to a particular
section was to unroll it and then
unroll it to that section and then
re-roll it... Also used was parch
ment made from animal skins...
The prepared skins were rolled,
cut, and bound together on one
side forming a codex, or what we
would call a book.
7. Paper was invented in
China during the Han Dynasty
(206 BC-220 .AD)... it was far
cheaper than parchment, and its
use spread westward until it
reached Europe in the 11th cen
tury... and was in common use
by 1400.
8. In the mid 15th century,
Johannes Guttenberg brought
paper, movable type... and the
printing press together to pro
duce the most earth changing in
vention since writing itself.
9. Newspapers had been
developed in the 17th century;
they were expensive because of
are its capabilities?
Elizondo: Imagine a technol
ogy that can do 600 to 700 G-
forces, which can fly at 13,000
miles an hour, turn at right an
gles while doing so, can evade
radar and can fly through air and
water and possibly outer space.
And oh, by the way, has no ob
vious signs of propulsion, no
sound, no wings, no control sur
faces, and yet still can defy the
natural effects of Earth's gravity.
That's precisely what we're see
ing. (Humans black out at 4-5
Gs /the most advanced fighter
jets experience structural failure
at 9.8 Gs).
There have been reports of
craft as large as aircraft car
riers/football fields sitting mo
tionless/hovering, instantly
accelerating at extremely high
rates of speed, and then sud
denly disappearing.
Though many have high ex
pectations of the upcoming con
gressional report, it is best to
keep expectations low, based on
past performance of the agencies
involved with misleading the
American public. Some inti
mately involved indicate there
will be some rather profound in
formation revealed. I guess the
question remains... just how
much do we really want to
know?
the limited press runs possible.
(Coffee houses evolved as places
where you could read a news
paper.)
10. To newspapers could be
added magazines and books,
which also exploded in popular
ity, thanks to the great drop in
printing costs.
11. True digital computing
had reached practicality in 1945,
with the electronic numerical in
tegrator and computer (ENIAC).
12. The micro pressor, in
troduced commercially in 1972,
is essentially a computer on a sil
icon chip. Today, one hardly
larger than a postage stamp can
have more than four billion tran
sistors embedded in it. That’s
why now every high school stu
dent carries around in his back
pack, computing power that the
pentagon couldn’t have afforded
in the 1950s.
Good reading and happy
trails to you. Go ahead. Use your
words!
Life can change in an in
stant.
For the Broski family, every
thing changed around 6 p.m.
one Sunday evening. Robert
Broski was on his way home
from work on the evening of
March 3, 2019. He was traveling
southbound on Highway 92 to
his home. What Mr. Broski did
not know is that Fernando Da
silva had been drinking alcohol
since lunch that day and was on
Highway 92 as well, driving ex
tremely erratically.
One concerned citizen called
911 after Dasilva almost clipped
his car trying to pass him. This
citizen came to court and tes
tified that Dasilva’s white tran
sient van was all over the road.
Another driver coming from
Marie Broder,
District Attorney
Change in
an Instant
Griffin to Fayetteville testified
at the trial that the van was
stopped in the northbound lane
of 92. According to this witness,
the van was stopped for several
minutes, and once it started
traveling again, it weaved over
into the southbound lane driv
ing into oncoming traffic.
Another witness, a pas
senger in a car traveling south
bound in that lane, testified that
the van forced her to jerk the
steering wheel and force the car
into the ditch so that the van
didn’t hit them. Another wit
ness, a driver of a SUV traveling
southbound on 92, also testified
that the van was coming right at
her at about 60 mph, and she
jerked her car into the ditch as
to avoid being hit.
Robert Broski was traveling
right behind the SUV and had
no time to react. Dasilva hit
Robert’s car head on.
The force of impact was
enough to crush Mr. Broski’s
sedan and flip da Silva’s van on
its side. Robert’s injuries were
horrifically devastating. Da
Silva, who was not wearing a
seatbelt, had a few scratches but
no significant injuries. He was
transported to the hospital and
refused to provide law enforce
ment with a sample of his blood
to evaluate whether he was
under the influence of any sub
stances. Nonetheless, he had his
blood drawn at the hospital as
part of his course of treatment,
which showed a blood alcohol
content of .216, more than three
times the legal limit of .08.
Assistant District Attorneys
Dan Hiatt and Warren Sellers
tried Dasilva for vehicular
homicide in Fayette County Su
perior Court before The Honor
able Ben Miller last week. In
Georgia, a charge of vehicular
homicide requires the state to
prove that a person caused the
death of another in a traffic ac
cident while under the influence
of alcohol either above the legal
limit of .08 or under the in
fluence of alcohol or drugs to
the point where it is less safe for
them to drive.
A Fayette County jury heard
testimony from GBI experts
about the findings in Dasilva’s
bloodstream after the accident,
the concerned citizens who were
nearly hit by da Silva, and law
enforcement. They carefully
considered all the testimony
and deliberated for over a day
before reaching a verdict of
guilty. Judge Miller sentenced
da Silva to 15 years in prison,
which is the maximum sentence
allowed by law.
This was a difficult case be
cause it reflects everyone’s
nightmare - losing your life or
the life of someone you love,
when merely trying to drive
home from work. Robert’s wife
had spoken to him just minutes
before the crash. She was wait
ing at home for him, but he
never returned.
Dasilva almost took the lives
of so many innocent people that
day, and he devastated the
Broski family. They will be
forever changed.
This case should be a stark
reminder of how dangerous
drinking and driving is for inno
cent people on the roadways.
We have way too many vehicu
lar homicides and serious injury
by vehicle cases involving
people driving while under the
influence of alcohol or drugs.
This is inexcusable. There are so
many alternative options avail
able to us now, and it is impor
tant to use these options.
The difference between a
DUI charge and someone’s
death is nothing more than the
wrong turn of a wheel. Before
you drink and drive, remember
that every person on the road is
someone’s mother, father,
daughter, son, sister, brother, or
child. And, if you take their life
while driving beyond the legal
limit, you will be prosecuted in
this circuit.
Until next time, take care,
and please, don’t drive while in
toxicated.
BOE Budget,
Continued from Front
General fund expendi
tures include 64 percent in
structional designation at
$26,200,854; other uses
covers less than one percent
or $169,250; other support
services cover less than one
percent or $147,049; central
support services cover less
than one percent or
$198,631; student transpor
tation covers seven percent
or $2,749,763; maintenance
and operations covers 10
percent or $4,024,662;
business support covers one
percent or $301,444; school
administration covers eight
percent or $3,085,479; gen
eral administration covers
three percent or $1,052,251;
educational media services
covers one percent or
$587,012; and pupil support
services covers four percent
or $1,701,089.
Preliminary numbers
from the tax assessor and
tax commissioner indicate
the tax digest is expected to
increase $47 million to
$692.5 million. The esti
mated value of one mill of
tax for the school district is
$692,466. Final digest
numbers will not be known
until after the appeal win
dow closes.
Final millage rates will
be determined once final di
gest numbers are known,
and the millage rate is pre
dicted to decrease from
13-73 to 13.10 mills.
Balanced budgets for all
funds are supplemented by
either general fund or
CARES dollars. FY22 is
based on an instructional
calendar providing 175 stu
dent days.
The first budget hearing
will take place June 1 at 8
a.m. and the second will be
held June 8 at 6 p.m.
Request for tentative ap
proval of the FY2022 budget
is June 8 at 6 p.m., request
for final adoption of the
FY22 budget is June 29 at 6
p.m., and adoption of the
final tax digest and millage
rate will be in August 2021.
All meetings will be held at
the Thomaston-Upson
Board of Education, located
at 205 Civic Center Drive.
In other news, board
member Steve Sadler ad
dressed the board and Dr.
Derico, asking for clarifica
tion on the honors day pro
cess going forward at
schools in the system, refer
encing concerns that par
ents were excluded from
honors day at Upson-Lee
Elementary and Primary
schools.
Multiple members in the
meeting assure that there
were no intentions to ex
clude parents from honors
day celebrations at the ele
mentary and primary
schools. At the middle and
high school, honored stu
dents and family members
were invited to an after
school honors day event, but
principals at the elementary
and primary schools chose
to incorporate into class
parties since all students re
ceive honors in grades K-5.
Teachers had the option to
invite parents via Zoom for
the honors celebrations.
Principals of ULE and
ULP were not present at the
meeting.