
<p>I happen to be among those who believe that there are life forms on other planets. ; </p>



<p>Consider the size of the universe and the billions of galaxies.  ; There are approximately 200 sextillions (give or take a few quadrillion) stars. ; That is 200 with 21 additional zeroes. ; Give each star a few planets, and you have some mind-boggling numbers. ; I think the odds of life are actually pretty high.</p>



<p>There may be even intelligent life – technologically advanced life. ; Maybe even life not based on carbon, like us. ; The possibilities are as endless as the universe.</p>



<p>But I am very sure none of those other life-forms have come even close to our planet. ; We do not have extra-terrestrials flying around in our stratosphere. ; They have never visited earth. ; No ancient aliens like the Discovery Channel promote.</p>



<p>There is not one scintilla of evidence to establish that extra-terrestrials have visited the earth or are flying around it. ; Yes, we have some unexplained events. ; But they are just that … unexplained. ;</p>



<p>I always get a kick out of the ancient alien shows when the host tells of some unexplained situation and then says, “What else can it be?” ; That answer is … many reasons, and a lot more likely than ancient spacemen.</p>



<p>The folly of the extra-terrestrial stories was brought to the issue of the balloons and other objects that were shot down over the United States and Canada in the past couple of weeks. ; White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that none of the objects were flying saucers flown by little green men. ; Okay, she did not put it that way, but it was essentially the official White House position.</p>



<p>That brought a round of laughter from the White House press corps – as well it should have. ; There was something ridiculous about the official spokesperson for the President of the United States assuring the public that those “things” were not an alien spacecraft. ; It looked like a scene out of a 1950s sci-fi movie.</p>



<p>It was actually a better comment than the one made by an Air Force officer. When asked if the objects could be extra-terrestrial, he said they were not discounting anything. ; His answer should have been, “Are you kidding?” ; And why would a serious reporter ask such a stupid question?</p>



<p>If you think about it, all those UFOs (Unidentified Floating Objects) may explain some of the past sightings. ; We are told that “stuff” has likely been floating undetected around our airspace for years. ; The recent things were floating at an altitude at which commercial aircraft fly up to 600 miles per hour. ; Military planes are even faster. ; With all that speed &#8212; and sun reflections &#8212; one can imagine all sorts of optical illusions.</p>



<p>I cannot prove that extra-terrestrials do not exist or have not visited earth – any more than I can disprove the existence of ghosts. ; But that is because it is impossible to prove a negative. ; I can say, however, that there is no … none … nil … hard evidence of any extra-terrestrials visiting planet earth.</p>



<p>Why do people believe in them? ; Maybe it is taking up a fantasy after losing the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus. ; I cannot prove that they do not exist, either.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Extra-terrestrials? Puleez!
