Devil's Advocate

History

Tim Brigham launched Devil's Advocate from PO Box 10853, Pensacola, Florida 32524 in the summer of 1995. Issue #1 opened with a confession: "At the last minute we changed our name from the AORUFOP Newsletter." The new title better matched the editorial position Brigham staked out from the first page: "Here at Devil's Advocate we feel obligated to voice views that many people would consider to be in opposition to the majority opinion. We don't claim to be right all the time, our purpose is just to make you think."

The newsletter cost $2 per issue (cash, cheque, or money order payable to Tim Brigham). In its early issues it did not accept formal subscriptions. Readers who wanted notification of the next issue were asked to send a self-addressed stamped envelope. Publication ran roughly every two to three months, with Brigham stating he cared more about information quality than hitting a fixed schedule.

Issue #1 tackled the Don Schmitt postal service controversy head-on. Schmitt, co-author with Kevin Randle of the major Roswell investigation books, had been accused by Milwaukee Magazine of working full-time for the US Postal Service since 1974 while claiming academic credentials. Brigham tracked down the details through Jim Moseley's contacts, concluding that Schmitt had "deliberately twisted the facts" about his employment. The piece asked bluntly: if a researcher misrepresents his day job, what else might he have misrepresented about the Roswell case?

The same issue carried a sceptical examination of Gulf Breeze-area phenomena. Joe Barron, chief investigator of Pensacola/Gulf Breeze MUFON, had reported mysterious carpet circles, a disembodied woman's voice, and "unusual rumbling" in his home. Brigham noted with dry amusement that Barron, whose job was training other investigators in evidence photography, could only produce one usable photograph of his own carpet because he "used too much light in the others."

Issue #2 (Fall 1995) covered the GAO Roswell report (NSIAD-95-187), the Fox television "Roswell autopsy film" broadcast, Whitley Strieber, and "The Gulf Breeze Six" military AWOL case. Brigham telephoned Congressman Steven Schiff's office directly for comment on the GAO findings, learning that at least twenty other Representatives had requested advance copies. Issue #3 featured Brian Boldman's research into angel hair cases (the 1954 Jerome, Ohio and 1955 Whitsett, North Carolina elementary school incidents) and a long piece on the evolution of abduction research, including contrasting quotes from Dr. Richard Boylan and Dan Wright of the MUFON Transcription Project about the nature of abduction experiences.