Three months ago, following last summer’s congressional hearings on UFOs, the Pentagon’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office issued a 63-page report evaluating almost 80 years of evidence. Its conclusion — not altogether surprising, given the name of the office — can be summarized as follows: Not much to see here. Please move on.

(The actual language from the report: “AARO has not discovered any empirical evidence that any sighting of a UAP represented off-world technology or the existence a classified program that had not been properly reported to Congress.”)

The Senate Intelligence Committee isn’t buying it. The Intelligence Authorization Act , which it passed this month, among other things calls for review of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office. The bill would also limit research into what are now called UAPs (for unidentified anomalous phenomena) unless Congress is informed and add whistleblower protections for anyone who might wish to step forward and speak their minds.

Less plausible claims about UAPs have been achieving greater circulation in part because of the efforts of David Grusch, who testified before Congress last year about hidden alien bodies, crashed vehicles and secret conspiracies. Those claims, which primary witnesses have not corroborated, defy belief, and the ensuing controversy has helped make concerns about UAPs appear silly.

Nonetheless, the truth remains that there are systematic sightings and sensor data of fast-moving entities that the government cannot explain. You don’t have to think they are space aliens to realize that they are threats to national security. At the very least, the mere fact that some experienced military pilots entertain the more speculative alien-linked hypotheses suggests that the military is not processing information effectively. Does it make anyone feel better when reports from pilots are dismissed as crazy?

UAPs will remain an issue as long as China and Russia (and possibly other nations) remain national security threats, because the US military will always want to identify possible entrants to its airspace. No report or bureaucratic process can make those concerns go away. And so there is a kind of paralyzed equilibrium, where a very strong force — the desire to know — has met an immoveable object — a lack of knowledge.

In this sense, the frustration of the Senate Intelligence Committee — as expressed by its unanimous 17-0 vote — is understandable. The Pentagon’s report presents many of the weaker UAP allegations and notes that there is no serious evidence to back them up. And it simply dismisses some of the stronger UAP puzzles, such as the Nimitz or Gimbal incidents.

It is not until Page 26 that the report concedes: “A small percentage of cases have potentially anomalous characteristics or concerning characteristics. AARO has kept Congress fully and currently informed of its findings. AARO’s research continues on these cases.” Those sentences should have been on the first page, and then the report should have presented the evidence about those cases. If this were an undergraduate term paper, I would have given it a D+.

The chatter among insiders, some of which surely reaches senators, is that some of the data is very hard to explain. Some people, such as John Brennan, former head of the CIA, have even speculated that the available evidence might imply contact with a non-human civilization. Agree or disagree, the admission is a marker of our ignorance.

The conspiracy, to the extent there is one, is not to suppress evidence of different life forms; it is to avoid admitting the embarrassing absence of any real answers. So at the very least, the Senate Intelligence Committee deserves credit for reopening the issue.

It can be hard to wrap your head around such huge questions. People are often more concerned with dismissing the possibility of alien life than with admitting the possibility of genuine uncertainty. And since even partial evidence of aliens might scare the public too much, there is an overriding incentive to keep matters under wraps.

When I think about all this, I try to keep two questions separate. First, is there a major puzzle to account for? And second, what is the best explanation for that puzzle? It helps to focus on the first question in isolation, since we can’t seem to keep our heads on straight when it comes to the second.

By admitting that there is a real puzzle to be solved, the Senate Intelligence Committee has moved decisively to answer the first question. Once we clarify exactly what the puzzle is, maybe we’ll be able to make some progress explaining it.

Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of economics at George Mason University and host of the Marginal Revolution blog.

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What about the residents’ rights?

I was genuinely pleased to read about the proposed expansion of the St. Paul Downtown Improvement District.

Now, given that I am a condo owner in the Lowertown district, that might seem a bit odd as the plan would essentially mean additional taxes I would be paying for what I believe the City already has an obligation to provide.

However, I am a realist and if it means paying more to create a safe, clean and well-maintained environment, so be it. However, my elation was quickly dashed upon reading the comments by the city attorney on the proposal. Among other things the proposal provides to add a dedicated attorney to pursue perpetrators of non-felony, quality-of -life issues downtown, especially chronic offenders.

I gather from the comments from the city attorney that she is more concerned about the First Amendment rights of the graffiti artist, the pursuit of happiness by the vandals and thieves and the due process rights of the guy peeing on the sidewalk in broad daylight.

I am completely unmoved by the comments by the city attorney alluding to preserving our core principles of democracy and constitutional protections. What about the residents’ rights? Procedures and rules certainly could be established to prevent abuse by the attorney’s office to ensure that prosecutions are fair and equitable to all.

Dave Cassman, St. Paul

 

Wake up, GOP

What has happened to MY Republican Party? The party that believed in less government, that life began at conception, advocated for lower taxes and small business and respected law enforcement and accountability for those who broke the law?

“Trump is king of the hill for GOP” was the headline in last Friday’s paper. A vast majority of Republicans in Washington, including the congressmen and woman representing Minnesota, have turned into Trump’s puppets. They refuse to take a stand and denounce him for his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, turn a blind eye to his insults, whining and lack of accountability , and above all his deplorable narcissistic behavior.

Wake up GOP! Let’s see your backbone. I for one will not be voting for “the King”.

Ann Helvick, Apple Valley

 

Bump-stock ban is up to Congress

In “Gun bump stocks banned” the news report makes it appear that the Supreme Court decided against banning bump stocks. While their 6-3 decision certainly has that immediate effect, it is by no means the final word on banning bump stocks.

This Court has the unique, and welcomed, practice of reading the law, considering its applications to a case, comparing it with the Constitution’s intent, and issuing an opinion. They have been consistent in this. Bravo. We have missed this for generations.

The Court also clearly stated, Congress had not passed a law that specifically bans bump stocks. I’d vote for it. I bet it would get bipartisan support in Congress, if it wasn’t for the sad reality that Congress has disdain for bipartisanship.

Write your federal House and Senate member and ask them to get this done.

Dave Racer, Woodbury

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The Carol Matheys Center for Children & Families in Oakdale kicked off its summer session last week with a bounce house that featured inflatable pop-ups, a basketball hoop and two separate climbing walls to reach the top of two slides.

Children who attend Carol Matheys Center for Children & Families in Oakdale play in a bounce house on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Courtesy of Carol Matheys Center for Children & Families)

The center paid more to rent the Sports Dual-Lane Slide Combo Bouncer from Froggy Hops Inflatable Jumpers for an extra couple of days so the 64 children who attend Carol Matheys would have even more time to play, said Stacie Penn, the center’s executive director.

But when center staff arrived at work at 6 a.m. Wednesday, the 300-pound deflated bounce house was gone.

“We feel pretty violated by it, and the kids were so disappointed by it,” Penn said. “I’ve been here 30 years, and we’ve never had anything like this. It was huge, so it definitely was more than one person. They had to have a truck or a trailer. It wasn’t a random thing. Somebody had planned it, for sure.”

Police say someone stole the $2,200 bounce house and the $150 blower required to inflate it sometime between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. The large metal stakes used to hold the bounce house in the ground were not taken, according to police.

Per the terms of the center’s contract with Froggy’s, Carol Matheys must cover the full cost of the stolen bounce house and blower.

Given the high deductible on the childcare center’s insurance plan, Penn said center officials decided to pay for the bounce house and blower outright rather than submit it to insurance. Center staff were able to raise the amount needed through an online GoFundMe fundraiser.

A rental bounce house was stolen from the Carol Matheys Center for Children & Families in Oakdale sometime late June 11, 2024 or early June 12, 2024.  (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

The fundraiser had raised $2,915 of its $2,500 goal as of Wednesday afternoon; center staff plan to use any extra funds to pay for the installation of a security camera around the entire center. The center’s current security cameras do not cover the back area where the bounce house was located, Penn said.

Center staff have been monitoring Facebook Marketplace to see if someone is selling the Sports Dual-Lane Slide Combo Bouncer online. “I really don’t think they were teenagers,” Penn said. “This took a little more planning. My guess is that this was somebody who was trying to make some money.”

Penn said the theft has led to some difficult conversations with the children, who range in age from 3 to 12.

“They were disappointed, but also really worried because somebody stole it,” she said. “We had to have conversations about ‘Sometimes people do bad things.’ It was a lesson on, ‘That’s why we don’t take things that don’t belong to us.’”

Police said the case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or submit a tip at cityprotect.com/agency/oakdalepdmn. Once a crime tip is sent, it will send alerts to police staff.

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If the social media rumors are true, your leftover rice may be trying to kill you. Experts on the matter, however, tell a somewhat different story.

It’s true that cooked rice left at room temperature too long can become a happy home to intruders, notably Bacillus cereus, a common type of bacteria that lives in soil and, therefore, in much of the food we eat. “B. cereus loves to grow in the warm and moist environment provided by cooked rice,” said Si Ming Man, a professor in the division of immunology and infectious diseases at the Australian National University.

What has made B. cereus more TikTok-famous than other food-borne bugs is that its spores are hardy enough to survive the cooking process, and then — when food isn’t kept cool in the refrigerator — can grow and produce toxins that even vigorous reheating won’t destroy, Man said. And yes, while the illness is sometimes referred to as “reheated rice syndrome,” since leftover rice is a common pathway, other foods (steak, pasta salad, milkshakes) have prompted B. cereus outbreaks. (The case that recently went viral on TikTok was caused by spaghetti left at room temperature for five days in 2008 — definitely don’t do that.)

So what about the countless batches of leftovers you’ve zapped (or even eaten cold) over the years, without a trip to the hospital? Martin Wiedmann, a food safety professor at Cornell University, said the reason we hear relatively little about those cases was because “the disease is typically very mild, unlike other food-borne diseases.” Symptoms show up in one of two unpleasant ways — primarily vomiting or diarrhea — but both usually resolve on their own within 24 hours.

“The illness is likely to be over by the time you are inspired to do something about it,” said Linda J. Harris, a professor at the University of California, Davis, who researches microbial food safety. “The exception,” she added, “is for those people who might have weakened immune systems” — children younger than 5, adults 65 and older, and pregnant and other immunocompromised people. But experts agree that even healthy people have good reason to follow the simple, common-sense guidelines below.

How long does rice last in the fridge?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gives us four to six days to eat cooked rice (and up to four days for most other leftovers), so long as it’s been stored in a fridge that’s 40 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler, and never left out for more than two hours (or at most one hour on particularly hot days). Some experts go with a more conservative four-day maximum and recommend reheating no more than once, since more trips out of the fridge mean more time spent in the danger zone.

Can you freeze rice?

In the freezer, cooked rice will keep for up to six months, per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but limiting its stay to under two months will help keep it fresher. Andrea Nguyen, who wrote “Ever-Green Vietnamese,” recommends freezing rice in any airtight container you’d use to refrigerate it. “I don’t keep rice frozen for long so there’s no need to get fussy and complicated,” she said. Thaw it in the fridge, then reheat it as above, or toss it directly into simmering soups and stews.

How do you cook rice in the microwave?

For evenly cooked grains without the chance of scorching a pot, Priya Krishna, who reported on this very subject in The New York Times last year, recommends steaming rice in the microwave: Rinse the rice well and add it to a large microwave-safe bowl, along with twice the volume of water. Microwave it uncovered for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave (finding your exact timing may take a little trial and error). As the rice plumps and water simmers away, the microwave captures the steam, much like a lidded pot. (Pro tip: There is also no better time to wipe down the inside of your microwave.)

How do you reheat rice?

To warm up cold rice and recover much of its fluffy texture, Michael W. Twitty, author of “Rice: A Savor the South Cookbook,” likes to heat it in a skillet with a little liquid and oil, or another fat “until it’s spongy and steamy again.” Nguyen takes a similar approach, or just uses the microwave, sprinkling on a bit of water, then loosely covering and using high power. Both methods restore much-needed moisture to grains that tend to dry out significantly in the fridge.

How can I put leftover rice to use?

Kimchi fried rice is a stellar and simple way to use up leftover rice on a weeknight. Food Stylist: Jerrie-Joy Redman-Lloyd. (Con Poulos/The New York Times)

Cookbook author Julie Sahni’s go-to breakfast is fried eggs nestled in zucchini or spinach stir-fried with leftover rice, cumin, garlic, chiles and cilantro, sometimes topped with roasted seaweed flakes or crushed potato chips.

To his fried rice, Twitty adds bits of pastrami or kosher surimi — for example, imitation shrimp or crab, as in California rolls and sushi bakes — in the manner of Carolina crab fried rice.

These days, Nguyen packs her fried rice with vegetables: “Like a 1:1 ratio,” she said. “Vegetable fried rice seldom has enough vegetables.”

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