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By Jennifer Harper

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jennifer Harper is writing this column while Greg Pierce is on vacation.

Obama, phone home

And now for something completely different.

The Extraterrestrial Phenomenon Political Action Committee has called on President-Elect Barack Obama to "end the six-decade truth embargo regarding an extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race."

The Maryland group wants the incoming president to insist on a "full briefing from military services and intelligence agencies regarding what they know" and to open congressional hearings "to take testimony from scores of government witnesses who have already come forward with extraordinary evidence and are prepared to testify under oath."

The campaigners think Mr. Obama could lend a sympathetic ear to their plea for other-worldly transparency because of two people: John Podesta and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Mr. Podesta - former chief of staff in the Clinton White House and now chief of Mr. Obama's transition team - once led a project to declassify 800 million pages of intelligence documents. Mr. Richardson, who has contributed to a book on UFO sightings within his state, might also provide some sway.

Stephen Bassett, director of "X-PPAC," hopes to have 40,000 signatures from supporters ready for Mr. Obama by Inauguration Day.

"The truth embargo is now at the end of the line. The release of documents in Britain and France has put huge pressure on the U.S. It makes the government here look pretty stupid," he told the Sunday Daily Telegraph.

"I think we are seeing the Democrats moving towards disclosure. John Podesta has outed himself as an enthusiast. He thinks the American public can handle the truth. Bill Richardson thinks there was a cover-up."