Not only does the Pentagon have its own X-Files unit, there’s a strong Las Vegas angle. The Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program was the brainchild of then-Sen. Harry Reid (D) and (officially) ran from 2007 to 2012. However, according the the New York 
Times, “its backers say that, while the Pentagon ended funding for the effort at that time, the program remains in existence. For the past five years, they say, officials with the program have continued to investigate episodes brought to them by service members, while also carrying out their other Defense Department duties.” If this sounds like something that would be dreamt up by Vegas tycoon and paranormal enthusiast Robert Bigelow your surmise would be precisely on target.
Much of the unit’s work was outsourced to a Bigelow-owned company, enabling Old Sixty Votes to juice his buddy in on the governmental largesse. Documents obtained by the NYT “describe sightings of aircraft that seemed to move at very high velocities with no visible signs of propulsion, or that hovered with no apparent means of lift.” Said an unblushing Reid, “I think it’s one of the good things I did in my congressional service. I’ve done something that no one has done before.” You know what? We agree. “Unidentified flying object” means exactly what it says an no more. It’s a giant leap to go from acknowledging the existence of UFOs to believing in extraterrestrial visitors (although it is a leap that Bigelow has made). Even UFO skeptic James Oberg allows that “There could well be a pearl there.”
* UFOs are an open-and-shut case compared to the workings of assassin Stephen Paddock‘s mind. As though to acknowledge that the efforts of Las Vegas Metro to solve the mystery have been lackluster, the FBI is promising the most comprehensive study possible … next October. So be patient. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo continues to think that Paddock’s losses at gambling have played a role in the Oct. 1 shooting, but it’s difficult to draw a 1:1 correlation. For instance, a comparable shooting spree at Resorts World Manila involved a disordered gambler but he chose to spray bullets on the casino floor, not at an outdoor concert.
While Las Vegas casinos seem, for the most part, to be quickly forgetting the lessons of Oct. 1, one place is not and that’s Walt Disney World. No longer will you be able to hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door (so be careful when you’re doing the nasty). One TV station reports that “the monorail resorts have similar vantage points into crowded areas.” Hmmm. Sounds sensible to us. Guests are, as you can imagine, already complaining but if, God forbid they were shot at while visiting, they’d sue Disney faster than you can say “assault rifle.”
* While the sexual harassment trail of accusations hasn’t led to Las Vegas yet, it’s getting closer with the exposure of amusement-park designer Gary Goddard. Not only did he craft parts of Studio City in Macao, Goddard tried to sell the City of Las Vegas on a cockamamie scheme to erect a full-size replica of the Starship Enterprise on Fremont Street. (Cooler heads at Paramount Pictures ultimately prevailed.) Given the number of people calling for his scalp, Goddard might want to stay in Macao or even lam it out into mainland China, from whence he could not be extradited.
