OPINION | Barry Richard: Search for UFO’s Worth the Money?

Is there really life out there?

You've probably heard that between 2007-2012 about $ 22 million in taxpayer money was used to fund a top-secret Pentagon program to investigate UFO's and their potential threat to mankind. You probably didn't know that the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program was initiated through an earmark by former Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV), as a favor to his long-time pal and contributor, Nevada hotel developer Bob Bigelow, already a billionaire.

For years Americans have been fascinated by the possibility of extraterrestrial life and the potential for flying saucers checking out life here on Earth. Hundreds of thousands of UFO sightings have been reported worldwide, most in the northwestern and northeastern U.S., (the aliens must love American liberals.) While almost all of the sightings have been explained away, a small number still remain a mystery. Area 51 and Roswell, New Mexico are the stuff that legends and myths are made of.

And think about this, we're spending millions searching for alien life that is supposedly already checking us out. Why can't we find each other?

Look, in the grand scheme of things $22 million out of the billions we spend on defense is a drop in the bucket. But, next time we decide to go alien hunting do we have to be so secretive about it? And can we find someone to head the investigation that hasn't contributed $10,000 to "Dirty Harry" Reid's campaign?

Editor's Note: Barry Richard is the afternoon host on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from Noon-3pm. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.