Ohio's UFO University: Youngstown State Has A Flying Saucer Course

YOUNGSTOWN (TDB) -- At Youngstown State University, the school is offering a course that investigates the activities of undocumented aliens, the aliens who can't be kept away by building a fence along the border with Mexico. The YSU class raises the possibility -- perhaps the likelihood -- that humans and the Earth have repeatedly crossed paths with extraterrestrial visitors. Foremost among such encounters this year might be U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich's disclosure he had sighted a mystery craft -- the Cleveland Democrat who is running for president reports he spotted a UFO years ago.

The YSU class is a special topics psychology course called "ETs and UFOs," and uses Steven Greer's book Hidden Truth:Forbidden Knowledge as its text. Greer is a physician who contends the government has covered up contacts with extraterrestrials and is calling for the United States to make public what it really knows. He claims to have inside information from top CIA spies on down the line.

Sarah Sole, news editor of YSU's student newspaper, The Jambar, says the class taught by retired psych prof Steve Graf is a curriculum pretty much unique in the nation. Only Temple University in Philadelphia offers a similar class. Sole said the course is intended to push students to think about separating myth from reality -- with the reality being that UFOs might actually be out there after all.

From The Jambar:

"A discrepancy exists between the reality of extraterrestrials and what the media perpetuates about them, Graf said. While moves like 'War of the Worlds' and 'Independence Day' depict extraterrestrials as brutal monsters, reality points to peaceful visitors that do not aim to abduct earthlings or steal resources. Graf said he admits that the class was be challenged by skepticism. The climate of false thinking that surrounds the subject of UFOs often prevents educated individuals from becoming involved, Graf said. They don't want their credibility to be questioned."

And:

"Quarantines are placed on societies or planets like ours that haven't fully developed socially. As a society, we are not mature enough to deal with extraterrestrials, Graf said. 'They're sort of waiting for us to get it,' Graf said."

Ohio's Boxing Champ Kelly Pavlik: Called A White Guy Who Can Fight

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Newly crowned middleweight Kelly Pavlik gets a big write up today in the Boston Herald via AP sports columnist Tom Dahlberg, who points out the fighter from Youngstown is a white man in a sport dominated by African Americans. Dahlberg thinks that could make Pavlik a 160-pound star. But the whole black/white thing feels uncomfortable, like skin color is more important than athletic ability in boxing.

From the Boston Herald:

"He fights every fight aggressively, never gives ground and has a thudding right hand than can cause an opponent's legs to turn to Jello. It doesn't hurt that he's white in a sport that has always chased the next great white hope. Ironically, though, the color of his skin may have also played a role in slowing his way to the top."

Ohio's Crooked Dem Jim Traficant: Racist Anti-Semite David Duke High-Beams His Cause

YOUNGSTOWN (TDB) -- Sleaze supporting sleaze is how it looks with David Duke -- the Jew-hating Louisiana race-baiter -- sticking up for imprisoned former U.S. Rep. James Traficant. Material was distributed last week on Duke's official Website that portrayed the corrupt former Ohio congressman as victim of a massive government conspiracy. The material includes a letter from prison by Traficant, who said he was placed behind bars because he knows too much, including what happened to former Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa and who really was behind the murder of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Duke's official site urged visitors "To Write Jim Traficant A Letter."

Traficant's own missive from a federal pen seems to date from December 2003, but appeared on Duke's site only six days ago. The letter contends things began to disintegrate for Traficant after he defended John Demjanjuk, the Cleveland autoworker who was cleared of running the gas chamber at Treblinka during World War II. According to the letter, the Jewish community had it in for Traficant, who is an innocent political prisoner.

"The government agents that destroyed Demjanjuk's life should be in jail! That was just the tip of the iceberg. When people saw what I had done for the Demjanjuk family they came to me with unbelievable information. The information is so powerful that it is hard to believe, and the government knew I was getting sensitive information that could damage the American people's confidence in the government. People came to me with facts about Waco, Ruby Ridge, Pan Am Flight 103, Jimmy Hoffa and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It may all sound far-fetched, but I do know what happened to Hoffa and JFK. The government knows that I know -- and so they had to ruin my voice by destroying my credibility. I may yet divulge this information if I can get the proper forum."

Duke's Website may be the perfect forum for Traficant. Or a new episode of the Twilight Zone. As Traficant often used to say from the floor of the U.S. House when he ended his speeches: Beam me up, Scotty.

Ohio College President Says Butts Are Everywhere

YOUNGSTOWN (TDB) -- Youngstown State University President David Sweet says students are tossing cigarette butts on the ground all around the campus since the school removed ashtrays to comply with Ohio's new indoor smoking ban. He didn't call anybody an a-- over the butts. He is doing a slow burn over the ugly sight of litter.

Sweet has offered $100 of his own money to any YSU student who comes up with the best idea for getting the butts off his campus. He said he wants to stop littering, not stomp on students who smoke, and he's open to any creative possibilities. The Jambar, the student newspaper, is collecting the ideas at thejambar@gmail.com. "It's the little ideas that mean a great deal to me," Sweet said.

Apparently, nobody wants to start arresting litterbugs.

Still, the campus appears more than a little ragged without the ashtrays. The student newspaper said the smokers "are leaving a nasty trail behind them" and noted the student center was among several buildings in need of a serious cleanup.

"The goal now is for students to render ideas that would effectively stop the littering of cigarettes across campus. SmokeFreeOhio is the law now; ignoring it makes us criminals and makes our campus dirty," the paper wrote in an editorial. "Don't forget; the winner gets a 'Sweet' check."