What is a fanatic? According to Webster's New World Dictionary of American English, 3rd College Edition, A fanatic is: unreasonably enthusiastic, overly zealous, Also fanatical, a person whose extreme zeal, piety etcetera, goes beyond what is reasonable; a Zealot.

Recently on the UFO UpDates List, James Oberg decided to enlighten us about what Major Robert White actually saw on July 17, 1962 while test-flying an X-15 for NASA.

Now for those of you who do not know the story, Major White reported that while on a 58 mile high flight, he saw something that he could not identify flying beside him as he observed out the left side of his aircraft. Now Maj. White said in a statement that he noticed other little things flying past him that he presumed had come from his aircraft but this object was about the size of his hand when he saw it… and… it stayed in view… as opposed to flying past him and out of sighT as debris flying off the aircraft would be wont to do.

So, Mr. Oberg decided to enlighten all of us on the UFO UpDates List by first claiming that what Major White saw was nothing more than a piece of ice flying off the plane and offered some interesting scientific evidence to back-up his claim. That is… until some of the other members of the list challenged Mr. Oberg's scientific data and shown how it was… errr… incorrect - and I'm being kind by using that term.

But does that deter our brave Mr. Oberg? Of course not. He comes back with a reported phone coversation with someone who knew Maj. White stating that it was of course ice because that is what HE was told it was. (Umm…good proof…can you say hearsay?)

So, quick, let's drop the ice theory and concentrate on paint flying off the nose of the craft. Once again, somebody quickly points out that unless Paint flecks have changed the laws of physics lately, it is highly dubious that they would be floating beside the plane for any period of time.

Well, Mr. Oberg has decided to prove to all of us that this object must have some kind of rational explanation and like a pit-bull on a rare steak, he's not giving it up.

The next thing Mr. Oberg does is put forth an OMNI magazine article talking with another astronaut who saw Satellites during his flights and discussed how strange they looked when he saw them. Although he didn't quite say that Major White mistook a satellite for something he couldn't recognize, he most definitely intimated it.

Once again, when the list members had shot this one down along with every single point that James Oberg made, what does he do? He posts again saying that he enjoyed the discussion and that he liked it when he was able to make all the "Fanatics" come forward to defend the UFO sighting.
Wait a second, let me re-cap. James Oberg proclaims that he has solved the UFO sighting by Major White and presents his very faulty evidence…but when he gets shot down after 3 tries, he calls the listmembers who shot him down the fanatics?

I'm sorry, James, but it appears to me that the only obvious fanatic in this whole exercise was you… but that's just my take on it!