State of the U(fo)nion II

Losing the Magic, Forgetting Class Consciousness, Worshipping False UAP Idols, and Left Wondering Where to Go from Here

Read the first State of the U(fo)nion here.

If you’re just now tuning in, ufology has now been blessed with two highly publicized congressional hearings about the subject. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is bearing the brunt of a tumultuous first few months of a second Trump term. According to vaunted whistleblower and self-reporting Guantanamo Bay torturer, Lue Elizondo, Trump is the most pro-Disclosure (with a capital D) President that the United States could hope for. In fact, Elizondo said as much to Donald Trump’s son when he appeared on Trump Jr.’s podcast Triggered. Perhaps I am afflicted by the podcast’s titular disorder, but I find it hard to stomach this kind of bootlicking from any of the UFO media darlings.

As such, the prominence of ufologists, paranormalists, or other assorted conspiracy seekers falling for the vapid populist rhetoric of the right has never been more apparent. With strange congresspeople such as Anna Paulina Luna, Nancy Mace, and Tim Burchett leading the charge, the game is immediately given away as to whether these attempts at disclosure will be even-keel or, at a bare minimum, fruitful. As a small sampling, Luna is a convert to Messianic Judaism (attempting to sidestep her Wehrmacht grandfather in the process) who proposed adding President Trump to Mt. Rushmore.¹ She more recently seemed unaware of the entirety of the Warren Commission being deceased, proclaiming that she was going to interview each of them.² Nancy Mace has an unhealthy obsession with monitoring individuals’ bathroom habits³ and was quick to sell UAP-oriented merch as soon as the cameras focused on her presence at one of the congressional hearings. Tim Burchett is the odd, skateboarding representative from Tennessee, who talks of underwater extraterrestrial civilizations when not advocating for militia movement wet dreams:

He introduced the Cartel Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act of 2025, which allows private citizens to act against enemies of the U.S. on behalf of the government.

The legislation would authorize Trump to commission privately armed individuals or groups to seize the persons and property of cartel members or organizations based on the U.S. Constitution’s provision for granting letters of marque and reprisal.⁴

Rest assured, he is fully supportive of the more recent and unconstitutional horrors being thrust upon immigrants (legal and undocumented) and American citizens.⁵ It’s enough to make one wonder if the more sensationalist and juicy headlines regarding UFOs, JFK, and Epstein are produced to run cover for the fact that American institutions are being degraded further every day. Social security is under direct threat, the economy has been thrust into instability, illegal detentions are now commonplace, and—as I am writing this article—the FDA is halting a great number of food safety inspections.⁶ Meanwhile, the UFO issue exists in its own stratosphere, to many a singular positive that the Trump administration or others within his right-leaning cohort might have at their disposal.

Whether these representatives are opportunists, filled with hate, or are truly as stupid as they appear, it doesn’t matter. With each set of “disclosures” so graciously gifted to the American people, it has been delivered in a slapdash manner. As opposed to careful, considered, or even organized releases, the “drops” have been more like a Dickensian scene where a crate of food is plopped down to an unruly mass so that the aristocrats can continue their scheming whilst the crowd of peasants is distracted. This spectacle was seen most prominently in the release of the much-anticipated Epstein files, where home-ec-project binders were ceremoniously handed to some of the worst right-wing influencers you’re capable of imagining.⁷ These were binders that contained little new information, sometimes even having less information than what was already publicly available.⁸ Everything in America is a burger, but this was a nothing burger.

That this information was handed to influencers as opposed to seasoned investigators says much about our current information ecosphere: No one does the reading. Much as in UFO land, the data or information is siphoned through the exalted few to later regurgitate to the masses. The baby bird metaphor might seem like a stretch, but a hefty amount of bile is indeed consumed in this process. We are in an era where media literacy is low and getting lower every day, bolstered by AI systems or LLMs that are prone to “hallucinating” alternate realities to the one we inhabit.⁹ In a field already desperate for the bare minimum of media literacy, the UFO public is instead given figureheads to interpret the situation for them, not all that dissimilar from the way a priest caste would.

I wrote on my concerns about this trend in the prior State of the U(fo)nion address, noting how oftentimes these thought leaders came from the world of military intelligence or other DoD arenas. I’m probably testing the patience of any casual reader with these constant reminders, but it is an issue that remains prominent and unaddressed despite all my chastising into the void. The UFO issue is a trifecta for anyone trying to accomplish pro-America goals:

1. The UFO topic is a comfortable distraction away from more materially pressing issues like healthcare or the average person’s financial stability. It has not previously been relegated to tabloids out of sheer ridiculousness, but because it is a subject that can instill obsession in people, making them forget about the world outside of shadowy government programs (the mostly fictional kind) and remarkable technology. UFOs are a topic that feels momentous and consequential, there is a power to that.

2. The subject is broadly pro-military, many officials serving as important witnesses or advocates. Even UAP activist and rockstar Tom DeLonge admitted in his book Sekret Machines that To the Stars Academy was fundamentally “a project that could help the youth lose their cynical views of the Government and the Department of Defense.”¹⁰ The current UFO culture has made many individuals diehard fans of military personnel and substantially underplays American war crimes or other dubious activity at home and abroad.

3. The UFO also represents an onslaught from a technologically advanced force that could conceivably be unfriendly. Every Cold War needs an archenemy, and while few are champing at the bit for any direct conflict with China, the UFO threat is an excellent soft nudge towards worrying about incursions on American airspace. We’ve seen it from believers and skeptics alike—even if the UAP craft are earthly, shouldn’t we be concerned about combating Chinese or Russian military capability?

Each of these qualities provides ample motivation for right-wing politicians, thinkers, and lobbyists to latch onto the UFO subject and sprinkle it into the discourse in order to surreptitiously alter the thinking of the public. This activity is even done quite publicly.

I have previously covered foreign policy strategist Michael Pillsbury using UAP interests to weaponize the Chinese spy balloon fiasco into further Chinahawk sentiments. He is far from alone in this tendency, even the aforementioned Lue Elizondo fear mongers about a war with China and the possibility that they have a beefier UAP task force than the United States.¹¹ Michael Shellenberger, a journalist who chances into remarkable opportunities to lobby on behalf of right-wing interests, was central to the second of two major congressional hearings. His presence was notable enough that it was even alleged by Jeremy Corbell that Shellenberger was given credit for an open letter actually penned by him—supposedly a deliberate tactic by Nancy Mace to make sure Corbell’s name did not appear on the congressional record.¹² Corbell, whose braincells are stored in oversized boots (read: prone to be stomped upon), misses the forest for the trees, and assumes that the government is hiding the real UFO truth with a false one. The reality is that Shellenberger is a well-groomed lobbyist whose testimony carried more weight. He had previously been invited by Republicans to speak about “overblown” climate change concerns to congress, his work even “informing the party’s climate policy.”¹³ This endorsement makes sense given how much he loves fracking. Again, the intentions are out in the open: Shellenberger could help make palatable the UFO issue for conservative interests. He knows how to create headlines and buzz that congresspeople and other special interest groups can utilize to give the UAP issue staying power. Shortly after the congressional hearings, he transitioned to a full-throated defense of VP J.D. Vance’s poorly received speech complaining about E.U. censorship. After all, it’s not a very good marketplace of ideas if the far-right AfD party isn’t in power, the direct intention of the timing of Vance’s speech.

Given Shellenberger’s deference towards Vance, a former Thiel capital investor, it goes without saying that there is also a Peter Thiel wing to this broad attempt at shaping UFO culture which often intermixes with several of the figures mentioned previously. Rising UFO influencer Jesse Michels is, like Vance, a former Thiel investor who has had access to nearly every personality within ufology in recent years. Thiel’s Founder’s Fund also bankrolled the recent Hereticon conference which, according to anti-woke investor and organizer Mike Solana, intended to promote “heretical” ideas without risk of judgement or allegations of “thoughtcrime.”¹⁴ The list of speakers at this event should raise the eyebrows of any person interested in ufology: Alleged Pentagon whistleblower Lue Elizondo, Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction host Mitch Horowitz, and British UFO spokesperson Nick Pope all gave lectures to a crowd of “dissident” thinkers. Pope’s wife Elizabeth Weiss also attended, later writing about the event by claiming that Thiel “has been frequently and unfairly villainized by the mainstream media and academia.”¹⁵ I assure you, dear reader, it is a fair characterization. Weiss herself is a controversial anthropologist, being against repatriation of Native American remains for proper burial and drawing fire for an ill-advised photo op wherein she handled a skull like a trophy.¹⁶ Ever since, she has railed against the woke practice known as (checks notes) respecting the religious beliefs of indigenous people. These are the brave truth warriors who attended Hereticon. UFOs appear next to lectures eloquently entitled “You’re Probably a Eugenicist” and Peter Thiel’s salivatory pondering on the coming apocalypse. One almost gets the sense that these folks are trying too hard to be countercultural, the obvious result of the reactionary soup brought about by The Joe Rogan Experience and its countless imitators.

Elsewhere, Thiel’s esoteric interests are stated more plainly, such as during fundraising tours where “conversations (…) unlike those that typically take place at political fundraisers” occur. “While the 2016 and 2020 elections and policy toward China have been discussed, a range of other topics have arisen—including cryptocurrency, robotics and UFOs,” writes journalist Alex Isanstadt. “There have even been discussions about ‘deepfakes’—the manipulation of digital media—and Jeffrey Epstein, the financer (sic) and convicted sex offender who in 2019 was found dead in his jail cell.”¹⁷ Of note here is that Thiel exhibits an interest in not only UFOs but broader conspiracy culture, under similar attack to that of ufology: Warranted concerns about the ruling class are transmogrified into a shadowy “deep state” seemingly removed obvious corporate interests. Grifters like Ian Carroll take criticism of human rights abuses in Gaza and slip in some holocaust denial to muddy the whole discussion and push casual conspiracists further to the right. UFOs and ancient aliens slot into this broader trend too, with some of the most popular podcasts covering all manner of conspiracy, woo, and alternative history while offering tacit endorsement to Silicon Valley oligarchs and the American right. Thiel and his jolly band of conspirators now pepper the halls of power, offering attractive conspiratorial answers to the public. Of course, these answers refuse to fully implicate the tech class in the web of conspiracy. Neither do they fully address the ominous arrival of all-out militarization and surveillance nor the tech milieu’s unquenchable desire for capital.

I am wary of how deep this rot may go—perhaps all the way to the core of modern ufology and Forteana. It is not lost on me that one of the foremost scholars in academic UAP studies, D.W. Pasulka, has repeatedly boosted Thiel’s meandering UFO bong talk on social media. One of her most trusted sources, the mysterious Tim (Tyler D.) Taylor alleges himself to be involved with SpaceX and is confirmed to work in the biomedical industry. Both of these ventures have some vague resonance with Peter Thiel, SpaceX being owned by Elon Musk (a Thiel ally who has insinuated himself in the Trump administration) and the biomedical field being one of Thiel’s biggest deconstructions in efforts to “defeat” aging.¹⁸ When considering the Silicon Valley anti-aging trend in this equation, Taylor’s “protocols” for receiving messages from nonhuman intelligences can be seen in a different light, more Brian Johnson than George Van Tassel. Given that he considers “certain factions in the intelligence community” as above the average human, one gets the impression that Taylor’s point-of-view inherently concurs with that of the “dissidents” making pockmarks in our political and cultural landscape.¹⁹ Even the meeting where Taylor initially met Chris Bledsoe smells of Thielite philosophical rot: At that small gathering, Bledsoe met a publisher and his stable of “authors and wealthy friends” who pontificated on the nature of good and evil while declaring that Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims “had in fact chosen to be eaten in their previous lives.”²⁰ Whether this is simply lines of thinking endemic in circles of wealth, I do not know. But it sounds like a small scale Hereticon.

This newsletter’s favorite ufological observer, Jacques Vallée, is also not immune to the powerful techbro allure of Thiel. He and Garry Nolan—also present for an important “gifting site” visit led by Tim Taylor—sought to make a “deal” with Thiel in 2019. Vallée remarks that Thiel is “an investor genius and Donald Trump supporter of Paladin fame” and is quick to deem his PayPal fortune “well-deserved.”²¹ Vallée, Nolan, Pasulka, and the rest of their cohort all seem to be well-meaning seekers. At least, I hope as much. But intentions do not matter on the individual scale when, upon zooming out to the macro, we have seen complete corporate and IC capture of the subject matter, often extending out to the entire arena in which the subject matter resides—conspiracy, new age, paranormal, and nearly anything fringe. It’s not a question of “selling out,” although that undoubtedly comes into play as well. No, it’s a complete lack of care for information quality and thoughtful analysis—analysis I beg these individuals to undertake at all costs.

Much as in the case of Silicon Valley endeavors across the board, ufology has been monopolized by the same dissident right that has monopolized industries elsewhere. Contrary to their goals of being unafraid to express heretical ideas, the conversation is extremely limited to only those who receive financial or military/IC backing. As I had discussed in my recent article reflecting on the recurring problem of patronage in the field of ufology, only those eager to kiss the ring and play along in the long con receive the needed funding or approval. For all the talk of transparency and dedicated study, the public only gets occasional breadcrumbs from figureheads who have ample conflicting interests in other domains within American society.

So Tanner, you may be asking, what is the state of the u(fo)nion? Not good. We are dealing with near total cooptation of the topic by right-wing politicians and influencers, dissident academics, and Silicon Valley wannabe overlords. Nearly every media figure in the subject matter has some right-wing slant, ranging from Cold Warrior sentiments to endorsement of unfettered surveillance capitalism and military power. Critics of this trend are well outside of the mainstream. While conspiracies have rarely been more signal boosted, the real ones get lost in the muddy mixture. We are witnessing an honest to god conspiratorial attempt to wrestle state power into the hands of a right-wing coalition that hides under a populist veneer interested UFOs and other (warranted but half-baked) paranoid Americanisms.

Ufology needs a day of reckoning. It has gotten horrendously bad, hard for me to stomach at times. But the core reason for this broad (previously fringe) right-wing takeover is simple: They are relying on the audience to be wooed by shiny promises of secrets being revealed, occulted truths buried under layers of woke science and neoliberal governance. Once one accepts this premise, it becomes remarkably easy to push enthusiasts further to the right. These individuals will lie to your face about your standard of living, what difference does it make that a little lie or half-truth about flying saucers is added to the stew? The military has become increasingly fascistic or, alternatively, is pushed into the private sector so folks like Thiel can run the show. All along the way, mainstream ufology now runs cover for both the military-industrial complex and the tech oligarchy.

What truly sends me into fits of frustration is the fact that UFOs are real. People see unexplained things in the sky all the time. Anomalous experiences are real and worthy of examination. And while much could be chalked up to swamp gas, misidentified aircraft, military craft, altered states, and random quirks of human psychology, I do not think the story ends there. UFOs are a potent symbol of the human imagination, signs and wonders that present a hint of the universe’s mysteriousness to people of nearly any social stratum. The UFO has always had a religious significance, but this significance has been sniffed out by right-wing opportunists who want to see their end goals achieved at all costs. The false idols at the aptly named Hereticon, the crummy politicians who can get moderately decent press from UFO hearings, or the policy shapers who build the UFO Trojan horse are all part of the same viscous liquid slowly coating the floor. My final plea is that those interested in the subject seek out the magic on their own terms. More importantly, I urge them to do the reading and analysis required to see the situation for what it truly is. There is a beautiful, vibrant subject matter here that has been made corporate, militaristic, and stale. It has taken the ineffable and brought it down to our level—whichever level of hell this is. These people do not have the answers, nor do they have the capability or intention of reaching them. Reject the present state of ufology.

[The thumbnail image is derived from Au Coeur de la Paresse (In the Heart of Laziness) by Yves Tanguy.]

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