Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Leah Haley Case: John Carpenter

This is one in a series of posts on the Leah Haley Case.

According to LinkedIn dot com, John Carpenter, MSW, LCSW, is a self-employed therapist and lecturer educated at Washington University in St. Louis and DePauw University. The bio also states he was an "abductions research specialist at UFO research."

John Carpenter
Carpenter has a long history with the UFO community and particularly what some call investigation of alien abduction. Serving as the MUFON director of abduction research from approximately 1991 to 2000, Carpenter conducted literally hundreds of regressive hypnosis sessions. He frequently published statements asserting the supposed reality of an alien presence and resulting program of military abductions through speaking engagements, the MUFON Journal and a network of platforms provided by like-minded individuals.

Early on in Leah Haley's quest to learn more about a childhood UFO sighting, Budd Hopkins recommended she contact Carpenter. Haley did so and Carpenter hypnotized her throughout 1991, giving rise to many fantastic and previously unknown alleged experiences of alien abduction and military abduction. More about Haley, her experiences and her current beliefs are contained in previous posts.

Robert Bigelow
Somewhere along his way, John Carpenter was said to have cut a deal with Robert Bigelow involving the release of 140 case files of alleged abductees, including Leah Haley. The files were said to have been sold for $100 apiece, totaling $14,000. The public commonly perceived a single transaction took place.

Certain individuals, including Leah Haley and some of the other 139, were deeply hurt and outraged. They felt betrayed by all parties involved: Carpenter, MUFON, Bigelow and associates.

The event seemed to have taken place sometime during the mid 1990's. It became known as the Carpenter Affair when the public eventually found out around the turn of the century. The circumstances and their ramifications were of interest to some key MUFON personnel, or at least that was the case with the ensuing public relations problems. It was publicly discussed by such personnel, as well as various people of relative interest in ufology, around the Internet.

John Velez and Gary Hart exchanged emails as cited on UFO Updates List, discussing the filing of a formal complaint and reviewing the MUFON code of ethics. Robert Gates also weighed in on the List, sharing his interpretations of some relevant points and questions concerning the Carpenter Affair. Carpenter defended his actions, as did his supportive wife

James Mosely of Saucer Smear regularly reported on the situation. The September, 2000, edition quoted the MUFON director of governmental affairs, Larry Bryant, expressing his outrage over the manner he interpreted MUFON mishandled the Carpenter Affair:

"Since a cloud of alleged impropriety now hangs over the Executive Committee (of MUFON) for its having taken so long to act upon its months-long knowledge of the 'Carpenter Affair', I hereby call upon all members of the Executive Committee to resign forthwith from their Committee positions, from their membership on the MUFON Board of Directors, and from their MUFON general membership - all in the interest of helping restore the public's confidence in the purpose, operation, management, and integrity of this organization...

"In addition, you Executive Committee members owe all of us in the entire field of UFO research not only a full, written explanation as to who on the MUFON Board originally knew of the 'Carpenter Affair' (and when they knew it) but also a published apology for their having embargoed or otherwise downplayed that knowledge at the expense of the rest of the Board. If we have a lesson to be learned from this debacle, how about this one: Enforced silence never can be the ally of truth!"

Relevant questions remain. Let's consider a few things.

Concerns have been expressed around ufology that Bigelow and his corporations may sometimes act on behalf of hidden partners and undisclosed agencies. Former MUFON international director James Carrion asserted funds donated to MUFON supposedly by Bigelow were actually provided by “sponsors,” the identities of which Bigelow revealed to MUFON board member and former international director John Schuessler, but did not disclose to the remaining MUFON board members. 

In the particular circumstance of the Carpenter Affair, some feel it may be relevant that during the time in question, non-lethal weapons expert and career intelligence officer Colonel John Alexander was a staff member at the National Institute for Discovery Science, a Bigelow-founded and now dissolved nonprofit corporation. John Velez wrote via UFO Updates List that Colonel Alexander was interestingly among those who provided confirmation the Carpenter Affair took place. Of potential further interest is Christopher "Kit" Green, a long time CIA employee who also worked with NIDS, according to former NIDS personnel member Eric Davis.

John Schuessler was yet another member of NIDS personnel, a situation that further explains the perspective expressed above by Larry Bryant. In the November, 2000, edition of the 'Smear, Mosely reported:

Our readers will recall that in our Sept. 5th issue, we told you of the internal scandal in MUFON regarding the fact that John Carpenter, their Director of Abduction Research, sold one hundred and forty (140) abduction case histories to wealthy John Bigelow of NIDS (National Institute of Discovery Science). John Schuessler, the new czar of MUFON, has promised an investigation by an Ethics Committee consisting of four unnamed members of their Board of Directors, and he has stated that the results of this internal investigation will be published in the MUFON Journal.

However, we have recently received the October issue of the Journal, and there is not a word therein about the John Carpenter affair! On the contrary, the lead article is authored by Carpenter, who uses the letters "MSW" and "LCSW" after his name. We have no idea what these letters mean, but we do know that the article in question is an absurd defense of the ludicrous "abduction video" which was the topic of Carpenter's presentation at this year's MUFON symposium in St. Louis. It thus appears that Mr. Carpenter is still riding high in the MUFON hierarchy!...

Curious circumstances indeed. Reasonable questions about the Carpenter Affair include:

Was the Carpenter Affair an isolated incident and single transaction as commonly supposed, or was Carpenter involved in additional, ongoing transactions and arrangements?

When did Carpenter's dealings with Bigelow begin?

Why did Bigelow want the 140 case files?

Might Carpenter's affiliation with the Bigelow camp have influenced how he conducted his 'investigations' and effected the ways he interacted with self-described experiencers?

Why did Carpenter not simply tell people, such as Haley and fellow MUFON leaders (in addition to Schuessler, who sat on the NIDS scientific advisory board, creating the related questionable circumstances), he intended to share files and/or information with Bigelow?

I emailed John Carpenter to try to learn more. I informed him I was blogging about the Leah Haley Case and asked if I could ask him some questions. After a few attempts at contact, he eventually replied, “Sure.”

I sent him some questions, to which he replied with some questions of his own, including asking, “Where is this information going?”

How ironic,” I thought... and after exchanging a few more initial remarks, we proceeded.

Below is the vast majority of Carpenter's comments to me. I am providing them in their virtual entirety and exactly as written, less a few remarks contained in a previous post. 

I initially asked Carpenter how his interactions with the Bigelow camp began. I also asked what criteria was used to identify the 140 files as being of interest and if he engaged in any other transactions or projects with Bigelow. I encouraged him to provide commentary as he might be inclined to further clarify the circumstances.

Carpenter replied:


Bob Bigelow is a low key quiet man who has an avid and serious interest in the paranormal for all the right reasons. Because he worked hard for years at real estate and investments, he eventually made enough money to fund projects that would further research, bring answers, and take a much needed, serious, scientific, and psychological look at the UFO field.

All the serious researchers knew him well as he made a point of connecting with the best ones to see what they needed or what projects he could help with. He funded projects for Budd Hopkins, Stanton Friedman, Linda Howe, David Jacobs, myself, Dr. John Mack, George Knapp, MUFON, and more. People need to quit ASSUMING he is some shady figure!!

Carpenter ended the email by indicating he would send more later. I encouraged him to do so and in his next message he wrote:

Bob Bigelow is a kind-hearted, generous individual who avidly sought answers in professional, credible directions. He helped bring researchers together to discuss issues (while staying discreetly in the background). He helped fund the historical M.I.T. Abduction Study Conference in Boston in 1992.

He helped fund the famous Roper poll on how many Americans may have been abducted. This led then to another effort to train mental health professionals in abduction knowledge and therapy skills by way of major professional conferences for mental health personnel ONLY. These were held successfully in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago with John Mack, Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, and myself as speakers. Bob wanted all the best for quality research and proper treatment for abductees.

I first met Bob when he tagged along with Linda Moulton Howe as she visited Southwest Missouri to work with me on several interesting abduction cases. Her subsequent film production became the pilot special that evolved into the long-running show, Sightings!

Bob said he was impressed with my hypnotherapy skills and professionalism. He, later on, flew me to Las Vegas, Tucson, Vancouver Island, and Nevada to help abduction cases he had become aware of. He also helped fund the investigation in New Mexico of Gerald Anderson's claims with myself and Stanton Friedman.

Carpenter continued in another message:

Eventually Bob created the National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) in Las Vegas so that top scientists and other fields of professional expertise could study paranormal events, UFO cases, etc in a serious and quiet manner. He developed a science board of experts that would impress anybody on this planet. It included two Apollo astronauts who had walked on the moon, Jacques Vallee, Ian Stevenson (reincarnation studies), Hal Putoff (astrophysics), Edgar Mitchell, and many others who preferred to remain anonymous. They would secretly convene once a month and study various cases and projects.

I had the wonderful opportunity to give a presentation on abductions to this incredible panel of experts!

Having clarified the good and generous nature of Bob Bigelow and all the wonderful things he helped to make possible for all the right reasons, I want to clarify the last project that I worked on with his organization.

He wanted some of his top professional minds to study abduction data. I agreed to confidentially share data from a number of my cases by blacking out names and identifying data to protect my cases while giving top scientists a taste of what is being reported in abduction research.

Despite rumors on the Internet, I NEVER SOLD my cases!! That rumor supposedly had credibility because it was started by my ex-wife who wanted to stir up controversy and headaches for me! Doesn't anybody understand this dynamic with an ex-wife?

Anyway, for the record, all of my 140 plus cases remain complete, intact, and unchanged -- all in my possession if anybody cares to drop by my house just to be certain! Bob Bigelow only reimbursed me for my time and costs to work on selecting, preparing, and sending data. It was an honor to have great minds study this important information, quietly, discreetly, and respectfully. However, I heard that most of it never got reviewed and probably sits in some closet as priorities and more exciting projects came along. Around that time Bob had bought the famous ranch in Utah known for it's paranormal events, and the science team had a chance to study weirdness on our planet firsthand!! (See the book on these events -- "Hunt for the Skinwalker.")

I was disgusted with the rumors, lack of trust, cruelty, and self-serving comments made by Internet buffs --- most who have not performed one ounce of research. They trashed me, tried a lawsuit, discredited my long hours of serious, careful research, and had no comprehension of how I had tried to help abductees and their cause. I had held a full time job during all those years and did all research in my free time -- usually for free or donations. It made me sick, so I just backed away from it all. A voluntary effort is not worth all those headaches!

But I know so much from my cases and feel I still have much to offer. So it is hard to refuse anyone who still needs my help. I will still give presentations for conferences if asked. I produced 10 research DVDs as well to document my research. With Budd Hopkins and Dr. John Mack gone, my famed abductions colleagues have dwindled.

Any other questions?

I replied:

Yes, a few. I would particularly appreciate direct answers to the following direct questions:

"I interpret you are communicating to me that you shared information with Robert Bigelow about abductees you worked with on an ongoing basis, not in a single transaction as the public commonly perceives. Is that a correct interpretation on my part?

"What was the date he tagged along with Linda Moulton Howe and you first met him?

"Would you please reasonably clarify the chain of events by providing a general time line of how the transfer of the information specifically related to the 140 cases in question evolved? For example, when you met Bigelow, when you began sharing information about the experiences of the 140, when you received compensation, etc.

"Did you have dealings with any individuals acting on behalf or in conjunction with the Bigelow camp, in addition to Robert Bigelow and concerning the 140 files, and, if so, who?

"Did you receive $14,000 or thereabouts from Robert Bigelow?

"Around the turn of the century, a post on Geocities dot com revealed the names of 139 of the alleged alien abductees in question. What would you say to those who might hold you and your choices responsible, at the least indirectly, for the occurrence?

"What would you say to the experiencers you worked with who may feel violated by your choices and betrayed by your actions, and might suggest you are rationalizing your behavior while minimizing the emotional damage done?”

Carpenter replied:

Yes, my data sharing was spread over 3 years around 1995 and the reimbursements trickled in over that period, so I don't know the actual total. My ex-wife provided a figure, but I'm not sure how she would have totaled it. Other researchers were approached with the same proposal, and some of them may have shared data, too.

I emphasize the confidentiality, care, and protection I gave this data. And I know of nobody that was harmed in any fashion.

I met Bob on Linda's trip in 1990.

I always dealt directly with Bob Bigelow.

I was appalled that a list of names was leaked to the Internet... I had privately developed code numbers for each case to protect the identity of each person. This way I could privately keep track of each case by number NOT by NAMES. I later learned that my ex-wife copied my private list and gave it out, and then some insensitive idiot had the nerve to put this private list on the Internet thus exposing identities that I had worked hard to protect. That person should be held accountable for such an insensitive and hurtful act!

However, since I worked with cases all over the country, the name Bill Johnson could be a lot of people since no locations or addresses were attached. The code numbers were to protect their identity and maintain confidentiality. The Internet and rumor-mongers were the hurtful participants!

Closing Remarks

I leave it up to the reader to determine what may be surmised from the statements of John Carpenter. You can determine for yourself what was learned and what issues remain.

Those who read The UFO Trail and know me are aware of my thoughts and feelings on such issues as regressive hypnosis used as a memory retrieval tool. My views are also reasonably well known on certain circumstances Carpenter chose to cite, as well as the work of some of the people he opted to frame in a positive light. I recognize Carpenter's right to hold and express any opinions he may choose, and I have no inclination to jump on any soap boxes in the immediate wake of those expressions. Suffice it to say there is plenty of competently composed critical review in opposition to circumstances cited by Carpenter, and I will primarily leave it at that.

I sincerely hope John Carpenter finds peace with himself. I also hope the often emotionally troubled people who summon the courage to reach out to such individuals as Carpenter in search of help will find much deserved relief and peace from their suffering. I hope those who were long since hurt by the Carpenter Affair found some comfort somewhere, too.

Decide for yourselves what you think mattered about the Carpenter Affair and Carpenter's recent statements. Decide for yourself what you would think mattered about it all if you were Leah Haley.

I indicated I wanted to discuss one last thing with Carpenter and I thanked him for providing comments.

If you were so confident your motives and intentions were honorable,” I asked, “why did you not ever just ask Leah if it would be okay to share her file with an interested party? After all, she was obviously an ambitious truth seeker, considering her activities and levels of commitment. Why didn't you just ask her?”

She was already publicly sharing, speaking, and publishing more details of her case than I ever thought of sharing,” Carpenter replied in an email, “and I wasn't sharing anything publicly --- only discreetly and privately with scientists -- that's what researchers do.”

Three minutes after the previous email, Carpenter sent another, adding, “If every researcher had to stop and call every case for permission before discussing details privately with another researcher, we never could have had confidential discussions and research meetings to advance this field of study.”

All other hurtful remarks and distorted perspectives temporarily aside, I take serious issue with the statement, “advance this field of study.”

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See also:

The Carpenter Affair: For the Record

17 comments:

  1. Thank you for this article. I have read many comments referencing this debacle, but this is the first place i've seen an easy to follow summary of what took place. What a mess.

    The comments from Mr. Carpenter are especially instructive. If he is correct, it appears that all the major researchers were receiving funds from Mr. Bigelow at one point or another. While many of the researchers mentioned by Mr. Carpenter used hypnosis, Mr. Vallee has been speaking out against it's use since, what, the early 1990's at least? So i wonder how far the money went in buying influence.

    You quote Mr. Carpenter as stating: "If every researcher had to stop and call every case for permission before discussing details privately with another researcher, we never could have had confidential discussions and research meetings to advance this field of study."

    Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't this what the researchers behind Project Core plan to do? I heard Mr. Ritzmann say on one of their podcasts that they would not publish the data online so as to avoid 'exploiting the data for money'. But if they were approached by 'serious researchers' Project Core would give them access to the data. I do not see this mentioned in the questionnaire, though i have not submitted anything myself - possibly there's a radio button agreeing to such sharing further along in the process?

    As an aside, as a style blogger i am well aware of problems relating to stolen content, though i have yet to receive that compliment myself. Fascinatingly enough, merely publishing content on the web gives the author copyright protection - so keeping the data secret to avoid it being stolen for profit driven purposes doesn't make much sense. There are technical and legal remedies and protection available. Two blogs which go into this in detail are "Grit and Glamor"
    http://www.gritandglamour.com/
    and "The Taxonomy of My Wardrobe" http://taxonomyofmywardrobe.blogspot.com/ if anyone is interested.

    Mr. Brewer, i share your sincere hopes for peace and comfort for people troubled by high strange experiences. However, referring to them as '...often emotionally troubled people...' comes across as pretty condescending. Additionally, that statement requires a qualified reference to support the factual claim made.

    Happy Monday! steph

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    1. Mr. Brewer, i share your sincere hopes for peace and comfort for people troubled by high strange experiences. However, referring to them as '...often emotionally troubled people...' comes across as pretty condescending. Additionally, that statement requires a qualified reference to support the factual claim made.

      Seconded.

      I, too, would like to know: (a.) how often, and; (b.) what is the nature of the emotional "trouble" cited? Is that something left to the reader to decide, or shall we just take your word for it?

      Credit where it's due: Information regarding the scope of Bigelow's influence on abduction researchers, and his motivations, is conspicuously scarce. Your work to that end is commendable and appreciated.

      One wonders if Carol Rainey might have personal knowledge on the subject of Billion-dollar Bob.

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    2. tinyjunco wrote: "Correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't this what the researchers behind Project Core plan to do? I heard Mr. Ritzmann say on one of their podcasts that they would not publish the data online so as to avoid 'exploiting the data for money'. But if they were approached by 'serious researchers' Project Core would give them access to the data. I do not see this mentioned in the questionnaire, though i have not submitted anything myself - possibly there's a radio button agreeing to such sharing further along in the process?" - - -

      Hi Steph, I recall Jeff Ritzmann saying something very much like this in at least one of the Paratopia blogcasts. And, he also wrote about this in his former Paratopia Forum (which he deleted completely without saving any posts). I also recall either on air and/or written in the forum, that they (Ritzmann & Vaeni) might choose cases that were particularly interesting and share them publically (assuming on a podcast). So, if it catches your interest (perhaps supports your bias or belief?), you'll share it. That's the impression I came away with.

      Just 2-3 days into the opening of the Project CORE Questionaire, Ritzmann, in perusing the early submissions, stated on a blogcast (and may have written it too) that he was already seeing similarities that he expected. I would think, even if you're not a scientist, you'd not mention this as it seems to indicate he's seeking to reinforce his preconceptions.

      What Ritzmann was seeing might have had something to do with what he's mentioned a number of times (as have some other abductees/investigators/writers - Brad Steiger probably being one of the earliest) - a high number of experiencers with Celtic ancestry and/or Native American ancestry. Yet, there may be nothing paranormal about this because there are many Americans of Celtic descent, considering the numerous immigrants from Ireland and Scotland. And, of course, the indignious peoples here that were either killed or bred-out by said immigrants. Also mentioned was an artistic flair or talent in an experiencer (but this could simply be, not so much a talent per se, but a coping mechanism to deal with one's outre experiences).

      [ For the record, as a close-encounter experiencer, I have no Celtic nor Native-American ancestry and have no artistic talent; but I am a Leftie, which just might have been a very important question - re. how our brains work, which unfortunately wasn't included in the CORE questionaire. ]

      ~ Susan

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  2. I have personally interacted with dozens of alleged alien abductees and/or experiencers of high strangeness. Such interactions have taken place in settings such as public UFO-related meetings and personal residences. I do not claim to be an authority on such, I am just qualifying I have the '50 polar bear theory' working for me, in the event it is relevant to anyone.

    In addition to my interests in ufology, I am also a long time advocate of the mental health industry. I encourage the use of professional mental health services in the pursuit of self-improvement. The number of mental health professionals I have directly known and interacted with is not as great as the number of experiencers, but suffice it to say I have utilized many such professionals as a resource for several purposes. Those purposes include consultations on such issues as the abductee demographic, emotional trauma and hypnosis, as well as clarification of the mental health industry stance on matters related to alleged alien abduction.

    The entire paragraph in question:

    “I sincerely hope John Carpenter finds peace with himself. I also hope the often emotionally troubled people who summon the courage to reach out to such individuals as Carpenter in search of help will find much deserved relief and peace from their suffering. I hope those who were long since hurt by the Carpenter Affair found some comfort somewhere, too.”

    My experience leads me to conclude there are apparent aspects of the abductee demographic. For instance, abductees and advocates thereof typically promote the need for increased support services. Also, abductees are well known for calling for more empathy and more places to turn for help. Actually, I would confidently say they often pride themselves on their enthusiasm and consistency in such matters.

    It seems the specific words in question were my use of the term, emotionally troubled. Emotion is defined by Dictionary dot com as “an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive or volitional states of consciousness.” Trouble: “to disturb the mental calm and contentment of; worry; distress; agitate.”

    Consistent with the above two paragraphs, I assert those who report events of high strangeness and subsequently seek support from mental health counselors are experiencing affective states of fear, etc., and their mental calm and contentment has been disturbed. That assertion is based virtually entirely upon the statements of self-described abductees, and by very definition qualifies them, through their own testimonies and requests for help/support, as emotionally troubled.

    Isn't asking for citation of such a description comparable to asking me why I might describe people who order pizza as often hungry? I must sincerely question if such discussion topics are the best uses of our time and attention.

    Lastly, I would like to emphasize consideration that perhaps my use of the term emotionally troubled was not derogatory, but was PERCEIVED THAT WAY. As stated, I am an advocate of mental health services and a firm believer in the value of emotional intelligence. My point being my description of the emotional state, troubled, of experiencers seeking mental health services was a reasonably qualified objective observation and literal description, not a judgment.

    I sincerely hope most readers find other points of much more interest and significance than the term quoted. I appreciate the interest many are demonstrating, both directly and indirectly, in the primary subject matter. Thank you. I hope all of you find the material helpful and informative in some manner. If, however, anyone finds them self consistently troubled by my posts, I invite them to consider it is possible, if not quite likely, that I may not be the actual and original source of the distress.

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  3. Thank you for another very interesting post on Ms. Haley's case.

    Could I ask you when John Carpenter made the statements you quoted, and in particular his references to David Jacobs and Budd Hopkins?

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    1. You are welcome, Emma. Thank you very much for voicing your interest. It is appreciated.

      I obtained all of the statements from Carpenter contained in this post via email exchanges taking place from January 9-13, 2012.

      If helpful to know, Anomaly Archives eNews, January/February 2011 edition, contained several links to UFO Updates List and emails posted there circa 2000 (about halfway down the page):

      http://www.anomalyarchives.org/public-hall/2011/02/28/anomaly-archives-enews-%E2%80%93-januaryfebruary-2011/

      Among such emails on the List and as cited by Anomaly Archives eNews was one apparently authored by Carpenter. It is dated July, 2000, and contained statements in which Carpenter indicated funds were being received by many ufologists from, or at least through, Bigelow. Carpenter stated recipients included Jacobs and Hopkins, among many others:

      http://www.ufoupdateslist.com/2000/jul/m27-021.shtml

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    2. Thanks for the information Jack. It is much appreciated.

      I have found it disappointing that most researchers in the field who use hypnosis have not, to my knowledge, made any public statement in regard to Dr. Jacobs' outright abuse of hypnosis. It makes me feel that the concern for experiencer welfare that many researchers speak about only goes as far as their friendship loyalties and UFO field politics. It is pretty sad.

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    3. I can certainly understand why you feel that way, Emma. The lip service is indeed ineffective and hypocritical.

      I, too, am quite disappointed in the manners people such as you and Leah Haley have been mistreated. Insult is piled on top of injury when such mistreatment not only goes unaddressed by many, but is endorsed and continues.

      More injury will result. It is inevitable.

      I am sorry, Emma. I am sorry for you, I am sorry for Leah and I am sorry for the many who continue to be hurt.

      But your work is not in vain. Far from it.

      People such as you, Leah and others, who demonstrated abilities to look in your hearts and sincerely ask yourselves for answers, are absolutely extraordinary examples of courage. You made yourselves your biggest critics. You incredibly took your own personal cases and gave them the scrutiny that is usually only given to the objectification of people and circumstances not personally known to those who dissect them.

      You are among the true, legitimate truth seekers, Emma, and that can never be in vain. There is no greater courage required than that needed to question our own stories. That can never be taken from you.

      When you, Leah and others demonstrate such outstanding characteristics, it positively effects and motivates the people observing you, both closely and afar. You have risen to a league of which many only dream and many more fail to so much as recognize exists. This is the case and will continue to be, Emma, whether or not the swine ever notice the pearls.

      Thank you.

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    4. Thank you so much. I am so grateful for the work that you are doing in carefully documenting these events. It has been fascinating reading about Ms. Haley's case. I have a lot of respect for the way that she has questioned what happened to her. I appreciate so much the incredible research you have done in this case and making it known.

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  4. The issues of "mental health" and "anonymity" are booby traps for "abductees" and for people who are concerned about them.

    Alien-abduction hypnotists obviously use client anonymity as a human shield, cloaking their methods from the public. Yet they do not publish audio from hypnosis sessions nor do they publish unedited transcripts of those sessions. Both forms of media could be easily redacted to adequately protect anonymity. Access to that data would allow other scholars and investigators to falsify/test it. Allowing the data to be tested makes the data better. Why don't the hypnotists want the data tested?

    Because abduction hypnotists are not interested in falsifying their data.

    They also do not publish demographic information about their clients, information that could also be redacted for anonymity. The reason detailed demographic information is not published, as with full audio and full transcripts, is to protect the hypnotist's work from scrutiny. It has nothing to do with protecting the abductee. It has everything to do with the career aspirations of the hypnotists.

    Demographic specifics would have exposed David Jacobs's work as fraudulent from the get-go.

    I suspect hoaxed concern over abductee's being labeled as mentally ill is linked to the abduction of their narratives by charlatans who wish to profit from those narratives but who, on a dime, will use them to debunk clients who expose their methods. How?

    By proclaiming them mentally ill. Abduction hypnotists both profit from selling narratives as legitimate and are protected by the same narratives if those voicing them get uppity.

    --Gary Haden

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    1. Hi, Gary. Thanks for voicing your perspectives. I have developed an appreciation for your points of view for many reasons. Please consider yourself encouraged to continue to comment and share your understandings as you may be inclined.

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  5. Jack, as one of the principle reporters of the Carpenter Affair I found your posts quite interesting especially in regards to what Mr. Carpenter had to say about everything. Perhaps I can clear up some few points that Mr. Carpenter chooses to repeatedly ignore or twist to a brighter point of view:

    1)Mr. Carpenter originally wrote the section on handling abductee cases in the then current edition of the MUFON Field Investigator's Manual where he includes a sample form for the abductee to be presented with and sign if they wish to give a researcher permission to use their case material publically. Mr. Carpenter, in a private communication, admitted that he had never had any of the abductees he worked with sign this or any other form of consent to sell or otherwise distribute their hypnosis files and that no researcher he knew followed his own suggested procedure.

    Some files such as Leah Haley's would have been instantly identifiable even if Carpenter sold them without providing Mr. Bigelow with the identity of the person associated with each file. As I found out and was provided evidence of, Mr. Carpenter provided Mr. Bigelow with a name/case key list and even though every abductee I spoke with said that Carpenter promised he WOULD revisit them for their explicit permission to release any of their file materials if necessary yet he never did.

    2)I brought the Carpenter case to public attention only after many of the abductees asked me to do so understanding that at that time he planned to write a book about them and was ALREADY selling a video for his personal profit that showed clips from some of their private hypnosis sessions with his professional credentials prominently listed on the videotape's cover.

    3)Carpenter claimed, in a legal statement through his lawyer, that he did his hypnosis sessions as an amateur and thus could not be held to professional ethical standards - a point also made to me directly by then head of MUFON Walt Andrus. In fact, several of Carpenter's cases were referrals from other medical doctors. LCSW, by the way, is a professional designation - MO state Licensed Clinical Social Worker. MSW says that he has a masters in social work. All abductees I spoke with were shown only Carpenter's professional business card with these important licensing initials, not MUFON's more ordinary Investigator's ID card so he was promoting himself as a true health care professional.

    4)Carpenter got to a point in the mid 90's where he double billed abductees: he asked them for personal payment for their hypnosis sessions and billed their insurance and there is proof of this.

    5)Finally, as a result of my filing a complaint against Carpenter's professional license because of his unethical handling of abductee cases, he was put on 5 years probation by the State of Missouri and there is online proof of this also so the state did agree with the case we collectively presented to their investigative board.

    MUFON still throws out the "we want to stop the backbiting and infighting in Ufology" line as if there never has been a legitimate legal issue with how MUFON board members and representatives (as John was as their then Director of Abduction Research). This was the case MUFON still would like to forget. This is the case that caused MUFON's Board in 2001 to vote and throw out the "member" designation so that from then on persons affiliated with MUFON would be "subscribers" only and have no voting rights as to how the organization does business.

    Just to set things straight,

    Gary Hart

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    1. Thank you very much for your comments, Mr. Hart. Your perspective is most appreciated. As a matter of fact, I felt it relevant enough to warrant a new post:

      http://ufotrail.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-leah-haley-case-gary-hart-on.html

      Please feel both invited and encouraged to shoot me an email anytime you would like to discuss such circumstances (brewer.jack at rocketmail.com). I indeed continue to find it all relevant from many perspectives.

      Regards,

      Jack

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  6. How does this John Carpenter knows about us ?
    How can i concact this human ?

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  7. Carpenter is a quack that now is a therapist in Sparta Mo. He wrote a lot of hear say that my ex wife told him in so called "therapy". Excuse me there quack, don't you know the dynamics of a ex wife. Your a disgrace to real therapist. Better go hide farther in the woods buddy your past is still haunting you. Your words are worth nothing!!!!! IDIOT!!!

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  8. Carpenter is a quack working on Sparta missouri

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  9. Disgusting, morally, ethically and legally.
    Sadly it seems common, I have heard of this with several researchers/ hypnotherapists in Australia too.
    I advise experiencers not to speak out, and not to put their info on any databases like FREE.

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