What really happened is "more sordid than sensational," according to the authors of this searing, selective, and yet over-generalized opinion piece. Bottom line, according to Luis Cayetano Simmari and Vicente-Juan Ballester Olmos, "This entire saga shows how pseudoscientific thinking can metastasize in a positive feedback loop, ensnaring not only scientists with paranormal inclinations but also government officials." No cover-up of aliens here, they insist, just a bunch of former defense officials pushing their personal mythology that UAP represent an extraterrestrial presence. The authors basically ignore thousands of military reports, inestimable amounts of instrumented data, and the labors of hundreds of their peers who have labored arduously in the field of ufology for decades. Their abject obeisance to the US government "party line," scorn for ex-government professionals still laboring under NDAs, and apparent ignorance of the American political system are disappointing. On a more positive note is Popular Mechanics' answer to the question: Could a Massive Public UFO Database Eventually Help Explain Mysterious Sightings? Esther D'Amico allows Robert Powell—and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, academics, plus Congressman Robert Garcia— to argue for serious, objective UFO studies. The historical "stigma" hindering such progress comes clearly through—and is only reinforced by one-sided and simplistic argumentation. (WM)