Close Menu
Syracuse New TimesSyracuse New Times
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    • Jump to Category…
    • All Events
    • Club Dates
    • Comedy
    • Exhibits
    • Film
    • Fundraisers
    • Learning
    • Literati
    • Outings
    • Other
    • Specials
    • Sports
    • Stage
    • Trivia
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
    Syracuse New TimesSyracuse New Times
    Demo
    • CNY Events Calendar
      • Add My Event
      • Advertise On Calendar
    • News
      • News
      • Business
      • Sports
    • Arts
      • Art
      • Stage
      • Music
      • Film
      • Television
    • Lifestyle
      • Food
      • Wellness
      • Fashion
      • Travel
    • Opinion & Blogs
      • Things That Matter (Luke Parsnow)
      • New York Skies (Cheryl Costa)
    • Photos
    • Special Editions
      • 2019 Spring Times
      • 2019 Winter Times Edition
      • 2018 Holiday Times
      • 2018 SALT Awards
      • 2018 Best of Syracuse
      • 2018 Autumn Times
      • 2018 SNT Student Survival Guide
      • The 2018 Arts Issue
      • 2018 Summer Times
    • Family Times Magazine
    • CNY Community Guide
    Syracuse New TimesSyracuse New Times
    Home»Opinion & Blogs»New York Skies (Cheryl Costa)»The UFO Question
    New York Skies (Cheryl Costa)

    The UFO Question

    Cheryl CostaBy Cheryl CostaMarch 13, 2017Updated:June 16, 2017No Comments3 Mins Read0 Views
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Telegram Tumblr Email
    President Barack Obama speaks with Jimmy Kimmel while recording an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in Los Angeles, March 12, 2015. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    The UFO question came about from Jimmy Kimmel. Not once, but four times in the past two years and seven months he has asked three former U.S. presidents and a presidential candidate the same query about UFOs. All of them brushed it off. Some side stepped it with a laugh, others with an uncomfortable snicker claiming they can’t talk about it.

    Jimmy Kimmel is an entertainer and should be commended for bringing up the topic in front of a national television audience that a majority of Americans (70 percent, according to a 2012 National Geographic UFO poll) want to know the answer to. But why is Kimmel the one asking this challenging question?

    Why haven’t journalists affiliated with mainstream news shows, like 20/20 and 60 Minutes, or newspapers or, better yet, the White House press corps asked the same hard question? Do these world-class journalists feel that a question about UFOs and the extraterrestrial presence is silly and nonsensical?

    How can the UFO subject matter be so trivial that the journalism elites can’t or won’t broach the question to current or former leaders? After all, how trivial can the subject matter be when a Canadian government memorandum, classified top secret from 1950 stated, “The matter is the most highly classified subject in the United States government, rating higher even than the H-bomb.”

    In recent weeks I’ve had conversations with reporters and editors from around the country, and when I brought up the subject of UFOs, the tone of the conversation coldly changed to, “I’ve got to go.”

    One editor literally laughed me off the phone. The most perplexing response came from the science editor from a major newspaper who told me “the UFO question has been settled long ago.”

    I could only wonder how he came to this conclusion. Perhaps he bought into the 1968 findings of the Condon Report to Congress. The finding recommended that no government funding should be spent researching UFOs, which killed the US Air Force’s project Blue Book. It also prevented any other government agency from directly researching the topic or granting federal funds to academic institutions to pursue research. Of course we have no idea what has been funded in the black budget and researched in classified agencies.

    A medical doctor acquaintance of on mine suggested that the nervousness on the part of many of those editors and reporters to the topic of UFOs might be rooted in sub-conscious fears. Perhaps it’s a natural reaction to having their reality challenged.

    In the 1960s, the average UFO sightings reported nationwide totaled in the hundreds every year. In the 1980s, those numbers began increasing. Since the year 2000, our nation averages about 8,000 UFO sighting reports per year. Something big has been happening. It’s time for our free press and media to wake up.

    If you would like to review the Jimmy Kimmel interviews, here are links to all four:

    • Aug. 2, 2014: President Bill Clinton
    • March 13, 2015: President Barack Obama
    • March 24, 2016: Secretary Hillary Clinton
    • March 2, 2017: President George Bush

    If you are interested in joining a monthly UFO discussion group in the Onondaga County area, drop Cheryl an email at [email protected]. If you have a UFO sighting to report, you can use either one of the two national database services: nuforc.org or mufon.com. Both services respect confidentiality.

    blogs new york skies
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Cheryl Costa
    Cheryl Costa

    Cheryl Costa is a native and resident of upstate New York who saw her first UFO at age 12. A military veteran, she’s a retired information security professional from the aerospace Industry. She’s been a speaker at the International UFO Congress and at the MUFON Symposium. Cheryl writes the UFO column “New York Skies” for SyracuseNewTimes.com. Besides being a journalist, she’s also a published playwright. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from the State University of New York at Empire State College in entertainment writing. For media queries, email [email protected] or call 315-263-2731

    Related Posts

    How Preparedness Shapes Resilient Communities

    December 3, 2024

    Blog | UFO news, disclosure and the demise of a great newspaper

    June 26, 2019

    Column | Despite financial hardships, people still want local journalism

    June 26, 2019

    Column | Cuomo will never win a popularity contest, yet he keeps winning gubernatorial elections

    June 19, 2019

    Column | Never Forget: Sacrifices made by the Greatest Generation on D-Day led to 75 years of world peace

    June 12, 2019

    Column | It’s time for Trump to release his tax returns

    June 5, 2019

    Comments are closed.

    • CNY Events Calendar
    • Club Dates
    • Food & Drink
    • Destinations
    • Sports & Outdoors
    • Family Times
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Community Code of Conduct
    • Staff/Contact Us
    • Careers
    • SALT Academy Applications & Awards Process
    • Family Times
    • CNY Tix
    • Spinnaker Custom Products

    Syracuse New Times
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube Dribbble
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.