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Groom Lake Desert Rat no 2.
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Groom Lake Desert Rat #2</TITLE>
</head>
<BODY>
<H1>The Groom Lake Desert Rat</H1>
<I>"The Naked Truth from Open Sources." </I><p>
AREA 51/NELLIS RANGE/TTR/NTS/S-4?/WEIRD STUFF/DESERT LORE <p>
An on-line newsletter. Written, published, <A
HREF="copyright.html">copyrighted</a> and totally disavowed by
<A HREF="../../psychospy.html">Psychospy</A>. Direct from the "UFO
Capital," Rachel, Nevada.
<h3>Issue #2. February 2, 1994</h3>
In this issue...
<ul>
<LI> <A HREF="#caliente">Caliente Land Grab Hearing</a>
<LI> <A HREF="#bums">Throw The Bums Out</a>
<LI> <A HREF="#hearing">Las Vegas Hearing Date Set</a>
<LI> <A HREF="#trial">Trespassers' Trial Rescheduled</a>
<LI> <A HREF="#visit">An Ambassadorial Visit</a>
<LI> <A HREF="#articles">Recent Articles</a>
<LI> <A HREF="#paranoid">"Paranoid News" Launched</a>
</ul><p>
<hr>
<a name="caliente">
<h2>Caliente Land Grab Hearing</h2></a>
About forty-five people packed the tiny VFW Hall in Caliente on
Feb. 1 for the first of two public hearings on the Groom land
grab. As expected, the event was attended primarily by Lincoln
County residents and Nevada land-use advocates with a variety of
objections, mostly unrelated to the Groom Lake base itself.
Curtis Tucker, Caliente Area Manager for the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), presided over the hearing with admirable
restraint and professionalism. Nine civilians spoke at the
podium, all opposing the withdrawal, and many others asked
questions, which Mr. Tucker did his best to answer.<p>
Representing the Air Force were two Nellis public relations
staffers and a stone jawed Colonel, who did most of what little
talking there was. Even the staffers didn't seem to know much
about the Colonel; when we asked one of them for the Colonel's
first name, he didn't know and had to ask. The officer was
finally identified as <a name="bennett">Col. Bud Bennett</a>, Range Squadron Commander,
and his appearance and bearing reminded us vaguely of General
Jack D. Ripper in the movie <cite>Dr. Strangelove</cite>.<p>
For most of the meeting, Colonel Bennett sat silently at the
front taking copious notes. He spoke at length only at the
beginning, reading from index cards in a practiced monotone and
offering precious little information beyond the one-liner given
in the withdrawal application: "to ensure the public safety and
the safe and secure operation of activities in the Nellis Air
Force Range Complex." The Colonel said from the outset that
there would be many questions that he could not answer, and he
skillfully avoided most. Here are some of his more lively
comments...<p>
<blockquote>
The military lands withdrawal act of 1986, with an amendment in
1988, withdrew the land currently in the Nellis Range Complex.
Certain elevations on the east side of the range were not
included in the withdrawn area. Due to the increasing visits by
people to this area, the Air Force determined that something had
to be done to ensure public safety and the safety and security of
operations in the Nellis Range Complex.<p>
When someone is on White Sides and other nearby areas, altitude
and route changes have to be made by aircraft to avoid harming
people and to prevent disclosure of operational matters. Some
missions have to be delayed or canceled. This impacts the
effective use of the Nellis Range Complex.<p>
The area proposed to be withdrawn was looked at very carefully
and, in discussions with BLM, we were told to keep the amount to
be withdrawn to an absolute minimum. We eventually did so,
selecting several thousand acres less than originally was roughed
out."<p>
</blockquote>
That was it for informational content. The only other data the
Colonel leaked out was in response to a question at the end of
the meeting. When did he first learn about the current
withdrawal? He said he was first informed of it around August.
How long before that had the withdrawal been in the works? He
said he did not know exactly, but that it was at least a year.
(It is unclear now whether he meant a year before now or a year
before August.)<p>
Citizens were allowed five minutes each to voice their concerns,
a restriction that some chose to flaunt in a show of civil
disobedience heartily supported by the audience. Most of the
expected angles were covered: A representative of the Shoshone
Nation pointed out that this land and most of the Nellis Range
was deeded to the tribe by treaty in the 1800s and that the
government had taken it without permission. Sadly, we suspect
that this argument won't go any further now than it has in the
past. Other speakers were concerned that the AF had not kept the
promises it made for the earlier Groom Range withdrawal, such as
paving the road from Rachel into the Test Site. Mr. Tucker
countered that most of the promises he knew about had indeed been
met. He noted that although the road from Rachel was not paved,
it had been considerably improved at AF expense.<p>
This reporter exercised his five minutes standing in front of a
big map of the area. He protested the vague reason the AF was
giving for the withdrawal and said that the application could
only be evaluated if the AF gave the real reason, which wasn't a
national security issue in itself. He read a list of the major
newspapers and defense publications [See below.] that had already
reported on this land grab and described the Groom base as one of
the best publicized defense installations in the world. Although
acknowledging that some of the secrecy at Groom may be justified,
he described the continued non-existence of the base as an
absurdity.<p>
This speaker then noted that if the purpose of the withdrawal was
to hide the base from public view, then the AF had failed once
again. He pointed on the map to Tikaboo Peak and Badger Mtn.,
which he said also offered a direct view of the base. He was
concerned that, if the AF was allowed to take the current land
for a vague reason like "the public safety," then it could come
back later to take the other viewpoints for other vague reasons.
Thereby, the AF could subvert the Engle Act, which requires
withdrawals of more than 5000 acres to be reviewed by Congress.
He concluded by warning the audience, "If we let this withdrawal
go through for this vague reason, then they'll be able to take
all of Nevada in little bitty pieces."<p>
Lincoln County Commissioner Eve Culverwell was mad as hell. (We
wouldn't want her any other way.) She brought up some important
points about mitigation and asked for the release of other lands
in Lincoln County that the AF no longer needs. However, the
focus of Culverwell's ire, and the principle target of many
others in attendance, was not the AF but the BLM, which controls
the vast majority of land in Nevada. Culverwell and other
activists do not necessarily question the AF's right to take the
land, but they say the AF should be dealing with the state and
county, not BLM. They say the federal government has no real
jurisdiction over public lands, based on statutes at the time of
statehood. This rather radical approach throws a wild card into
the land grab fight, and certainly adds some color to the
proceedings. [More <A HREF="#bums">below</a>.]<p>
In all, the hearing was lively but proceeded pretty much as
anticipated. No one spoke in favor of the Air Force except for
their hired representatives, but there was some pessimism among
attendees as to whether even their near-total opposition made any
difference. Several people voiced the concern that no matter
what the citizens of Lincoln County said, their comments would
simply be filed away and the AF was going to get the land anyway.<p>
We understand their pessimism but do not share it. The current
battle is taking place on many different levels: in the media,
along the border, within the BLM and inside the AF itself. The
public hearings represent only the most obvious portion of a
mostly subterranean conflict, but they are vital as a visible
show of popular opposition and a preliminary step to future legal
action. Remember that the land grab fight can be a powerful tool
to achieve much larger goals. Our ultimate purpose is not so
much to save the land but to expose the base, and that process
seems to be marching ahead even more inexorably than the White
Sides withdrawal. <p>
<hr>
<a name="bums">
<h2>Throw The Bums Out</h2></a>
Speeches by Nevada "home-rule" activists greatly enlivened the
Jan. 31 hearing. Seeing this land fight as a test case for their
new ideas, several speakers drove hundreds of miles from other
parts of Nevada to be in attendance. When a leader of the
movement, Dick Carver, finally had his chance to speak, he
announced that five minutes were not enough, and that he would go
on as long as necessary. When the five-minute tone was sounded,
the BLM moderator tried to interrupt but was rebuked by the
audience, who unanimously demanded that Carver be allowed to
continue. Carver thus walked away with about 15 minutes of air
time and gave everyone in the audience the warm satisfaction of
having beaten BLM into submission at least on that issue.<p>
Readers who live outside the western U.S. may have never even
heard of BLM, never mind grasping the boundless animosity it
often enjoys among locals. The vast majority of land in Lincoln
County is "public," that is, owned equally by all U.S. citizens,
and is currently managed as a public trust by the federal
government. A significant portion of the economic activities in
the county have to go through the BLM. It leases grazing and
mineral rights and enforces many despised environmental
regulations, thus placing it in the role of evil landlord who
everyone loves to hate. Local sentiments are elegantly expressed
by one resident's well-trained dog who stays, sits and lies down
on command. The dog will also "kill" on command, but only on
special key word. Give him a old shoe, say "BLM," and it's
rendered to shreds instantly.<p>
The position of the revolutionaries is that the federal
government has no right to manage public lands within the state
and that it does so only by default. The activists cite statutes
dating back to Nevada's founding which they contend give the
state the sole authority to manage public lands. BLM, they say,
has no real delegated authority to do anything, and they are
trying to prove this by a series of Freedom of Information
requests. Whenever an interesting legal case comes up in which
BLM is the enforcer, they demand that BLM turn over documents to
prove that they indeed have that authority. According to the
activists, BLM is inherently unable to supply those documents and
thus can be forced to back down from whatever action they were
attempting.<p>
We are pleased that the rebels have adopted the Groom land grab
as a cause celebre. Without them, there might have been only
half as many people at the Caliente hearing. At the same time,
we are a little confused on what the end result of this rebellion
is supposed to be, and we are mildly skeptical about whether it
can succeed.<p>
The current anti-BLM movement reminds us of a number of radical
females we have known who would just as soon eliminate the male
gender altogether. On the surface, we can understand the
sentiments. Males must account for 85% of the violent acts in
this country and easily 99% of the female grief and pain.
They're aggressive, suppressive, insensitive and demand too much.
Give them an inch and they'll take a mile. WHO NEEDS THEM
ANYWAY? "Just say No," is the best solution. If you excise them
definitively from your life then all your problems will be
solved.<p>
Okay, so maybe that's a bad example. The point is, although such
dramatic plans to "Throw the Bums Out" may seem solid in theory,
they usually get tripped up somewhere in the implementation. We
march into the battle with high idealistic hopes but a few years
later usually find ourselves living with the bums anyway. Given
this typical outcome, one wonders if it would be more productive
to take a less combative approach that might be more likely to
succeed in the long term. Instead of expending all our resources
in an attempt to totally annihilate the enemy, we could take the
time to understand him, learn his fears and vulnerabilities and
the kind of leverage we have over him, then take him by the balls
and turn him into our slave.<p>
No, wait, never mind. BAD example.<p>
<hr>
<a name="hearing">
<h2>Las Vegas Hearing Date Set</h2></a>
The Las Vegas hearing on the Groom land grab has been officially
set for Weds., March 2, 1994 from 5-7 pm at the Cashman Field
House, rooms 203-204. (Cashman Field House is a stadium complex
on Las Vegas Blvd. just north of Downtown.)<p>
This is the BIG ONE. (Caliente was only 4.0.) Everyone's
invited! More info will be provided in <A
HREF="rat_03.html">Desert Rat #3</a>, which will
be issued at least a couple of weeks before then.<p>
[Report on hearing in <A HREF="rat_04.html">DR#4</a>]
<hr>
<a name="trial">
<h2>Trespassers' Trial Delayed</h2></a>
In <A HREF="rat_01.html#plead">Desert Rat #1</a>, we reported the case of the seven Las Vegans
who stumbled across the military border while visiting the
Tikaboo Valley. Due to their lawyer's schedule conflicts, their
trial, originally scheduled for Mar. 2, has been delayed to a
later date. (We'll publish the date when we know it.) The
location will be Alamo Justice Court in the County Annex Building
in Alamo, 90 miles north of Las Vegas. Come one, come all!<p>
The change of date is providential because it means that the
trial will not compete with the Las Vegas hearing.<p>
<hr>
<a name="visit">
<h2>An Ambassadorial Visit</h2></a>
On Jan. 28 at our psychospy headquarters in Rachel, we were
pleased to receive a surprise visit from the Ambassador Merlyn
Merlin II from the planet Draconis. He had taken human form,
resembling to us a bearded Abe Lincoln or Amish farmer, and was
driving a 10-year-old brown Monte Carlo. When he first appeared
at our door, he was holding a small black book in front of him in
both hands. In an impulsive attempt at humor, we blurted out,
"Oh, a Bible salesman!" He smiled at that and showed us that it
was only a notebook. The bible, it seems, was out in the car.
Later, he went to fetch it and read to us some lengthy passages.<p>
Three aviation watchers from the Bay Area happened to be visiting
our headquarters at the time, and we were all quite fascinated
with the Ambassador. He was a "Being of Light," he said,
although we touched him and found him to be quite solid. He was
on a mission to promote the coming "Golden Age," when the aliens
would be integrated into our society and we humans would evolve
into a higher form. This transformation, he said, would take
place within the next five years.<p>
The Ambassador did not always know that he was a Draconian. He
had thought he was an ordinary human for most of his time on
earth until he began to experience some revelations in 1986.
Even now, he has no direct memories of Draconis, although he is
certain that that is his origin. He said that another part of
him was on Draconis even as he was speaking to us. He suspected
that he was also simultaneously a Venusian and that part of his
being was currently at home on Venus.<p>
He was proud of his role as Ambassador to Earth and was
especially pleased to be officially recognized in that capacity
by the State of Nevada. He gave us a xeroxed letter to prove his
status. It was on official state letterhead from the Secretary
of State in Carson City. The letter was dated March 31, 1993,
and was signed by the secretary herself. It read:<p>
<blockquote>
Ambassador Merlyn Merlin II<br>
The Embassy of Christ<p>
Dear Mr. Ambassador:<p>
Thank you for your invitation; however, I will not be able
to be in California. Thank you for your consideration.<p>
Sincerely,<br>
Cheryl A. Lau<p>
</blockquote>
We wish the Ambassador the best of luck in his mission and urge
the Federal government to accord him similar recognition.<p>
<hr>
<a name="articles">
<h2>Recent Articles</h2></a>
Following are recent articles on Groom Lake in the major media.
<p>
[See <A HREF="../articles/articles.html">reference list</a> for a more complete listing]<p>
<ul>
<li>5/93: On-Site Inspection Agency: Fact Sheet on Open Skies
Treaty [which allows foreign overflights of Groom Lake].
<li>9/93: Intl. Defense Review: "Groom Lake's secret revealed?"
[Mothership theories, by Sweetman.]
<li>10/19/93: L.V. Review-Journal: "State to examine Stealth base
for toxic fumes." [Hazardous waste dump at Groom base.]
<li>10/17/93: Salt Lake Tribune: "No peeking from peak: Air force
wants to seize mountain to protect secret base."
<li>10/18/93: Federal Register "Notice of proposed withdrawal and
opportunity for public meeting."
<li>10/21/93, Aerospace Daily: "Air Force tries to plug 37-year-old
leak with Groom Lake Land Grab."
<li>10/23/93, L.V. Review-Journal: "Air Force promises openness" [in
open-pit burning case].
<li>10/23/93, Scripps Howard Service: "Mountain 'spying' upsets AF at
secret Nevada base."
<li>10/25/93, Defense Week: "Air Force land grab eclipses view of
'UFOs'."
<li>10/29/93, Inside the Air Force: "USAF seeks to keep unwanted eyes
from watching secret Nevada base."
<li>11/1/83, Newsweek: "The Mystery at Groom Lake."
<li>11/1/93, Testor Corp.: Announcement to dealers of June 94 release
of Lazar saucer model.
<li>11/1/93, Aviation Week: "No more peeks." [one paragraph]
<li>11/5/93, CBS affiliates: Report on Testors Aurora & Mothership
models. [transcript]
<li>12/93, Intercepts Newsletter: "Dispatches from the front." [Road
sensors found on public land]
<li>11/6/93, L.V. Review-Journal: "State seeks evidence of burn pits"
[at Groom base].
<li>12/5/93, L.V. Review-Journal: "'Spy' turns focus on buffer area."
[Campbell]
<li>12/5/93, L.V. Review-Journal: "Budget for hypersonic spy plane
rivals Nevada Test Site."
<li>12/7/93: L.V. Review-Journal: Editorial cartoon. [Prospector
chased by security goons.]
<li>12/27/93, High Country News: "How military secrecy zones out
Nevada." [Oct. camp-out]
<li>11/11/93, CBS Evening News: Report on Testors Aurora model and
Groom Lake. [transcript]
<li>12/28/93, Wall Street Journal: "'Earthlings Welcome' in tiny NV
town where mysterious aircraft often fly overhead."
<li>1/2/94, Washington Post: "The Pentagon's Secret Garden." [by
Sweetman]
<li>1/3/94, Aviation Week: Letter by John Andrews protesting land
grab.
<li>1/5/94, L.V. Review-Journal: "Seven people arrested in Groom Lake
incident." [Trespassers]
<li>1/29/94, L.V. Review-Journal: Editorial re: Lazar and Knapp
[dismissive].
<li>1/30/94, L.V. Review-Journal: "Air Force buffer zone for Groom
Lake base to be discussed." [Hearings]
<li>2/94: Wired Magazine: "A Visit to Dreamland." [2-page photo of
Groom base]
</ul><p>
<hr>
<a name="paranoid">
<h2>"Paranoid News" Launched</h2></a>
Pleased with the instant success of The Groom Lake Desert Rat,
psychospy has launched yet another free on-line newsletter--this
one on an unrelated subject. <cite>The Paranoid News</cite> will explore
psychospy's favorite mental disorder, paranoia, and show how it
effects the thoughts and behavior of all of us.<p>
Paranoia is a fascinating mechanism by which a person tends to
bring about the very thing he most fears. If he is terrified
enough of failure, then he will often create it for himself by
his own hand. Paranoia is more pervasive than we might suppose,
and there is not one of us who isn't touched. Paranoia effects
our every decision, especially our most important ones, so don't
read this newsletter unless you are prepared to question your
past choices or the wisdom of your current circumstances. This
is not a pretty newsletter. There are a lot of icky things
inside our minds, and <cite>The Paranoid News</cite> will delight in exposing
them.<p>
[Three issues of <cite>The Paranoid News</cite> were published before it
was suspended. Available at <A HREF="..\..\psych\paranoid_news\index.html">WWW site</a>.]<p>
<hr>
[<A HREF="rat_03.html">Next issue</a>]<p>
<address>
<b>© 1994, Glenn Campbell</b>, Rachel, NV 89001. All rights reserved. May not be copied or
redistributed except in accordance with <A
HREF="copyright.html">copyright statement</a>.
</address>
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