Robert M. Bowman
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Robert M. Bowman (September 19, 1934 – August 22, 2013) was a former director of advanced space programs development for the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...
in the
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and
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administrations, and a former
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
lieutenant colonel with 101 combat missions. He received a Ph.D. in
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and
nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide ...
from the
California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
. Bowman, the father of theologian Robert M. Bowman, Jr., was the founding archbishop of the United Catholic Church, an "independent Catholic fellowship" created in 1996 and held to be connected through
apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...
to the
Old Catholic Church The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches, or Old Catholic movement, designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undiv ...
es. Bowman retired as archbishop in June 2006. He was consecrated as bishop on 18 April 1996 by Bishop William Dennis Donovan (1943–1997), assisted by Bishops Orlando Hyppolitus Lima y Aguirre (1934–2009) and Grant W. Cover (born 1965). Additionally, he was executive director of Christian Support Ministries. Bowman was a prominent figure in the 9/11 Truth movement.


Activism

Despite his involvement with space programs and defense, Bowman emerged as an early public critic of the
Strategic Defense Initiative The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic nuclear missiles. The program was announced in 1983, by President Ronald Reagan. Reagan called for a ...
(SDI, aka "Star Wars") during the
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
administration. On '' The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour'', he called it "the ultimate military lunacy, easily overwhelmed and vulnerable". Bowman founded the Institute for Space and Security Studies and its publication ''Space & Security News'' (1983) (ISSN 1071-2569). He also authored two books on the subject of SDI and was a critic of an outgrowth of the SDI program, the
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
administration's proposed
National Missile Defense National missile defense (NMD) refers to the nationwide antimissile program the United States has had under development since the 1990s. After the renaming in 2002, the term now refers to the entire program, not just the ground-based intercepto ...
. For several years Bowman was active with Veterans for Peace and
Vietnam Veterans Against the War Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) is an American non-profit organization and corporation founded in 1967 to oppose the United States policy and participation in the Vietnam War. VVAW is a national veterans' organization that campaigns for ...
as a speaker. He had also been a member of the Peace Commission of the
Episcopal Diocese of Washington The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is a diocese of the Episcopal Church covering Washington, D.C., and nearby counties of Maryland in the United States. With a membership of over 38,000, the diocese is led by the bishop of Washington, Mariann ...
. In 1998, Project Censored cited Bowman's article "Our Continuing War Against Iraq" in the May 1998 issue of ''Space and Security News'' as one of the few (along with Bill Blum of the ''
San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. Parts of the paper were relaunched online in February 2016. History The ''Bay Guar ...
'' and Dennis Bernstein) covering what they deemed the fifth most censored story, "U.S. Weapons of Mass Destruction Linked to the Deaths of Half a Million Children". The WMDs referred to are the biological samples sent to Iraq from the United States up to 1989, and use of
depleted uranium Depleted uranium (DU), also referred to in the past as Q-metal, depletalloy, or D-38, is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope Uranium-235, 235U than natural uranium. The less radioactive and non-fissile Uranium-238, 238U is the m ...
during the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. In a radio interview on April 12, 2007, Bowman said:
Technological feasibility of a defensive shield is entirely irrelevant, because Star Wars has nothing to do with defense. It is an attempt to deploy offensive weapons disguised as defense. In 1982, in his secret defense guidance document,
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
ordered the
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
to develop Star Wars weapons, and he assigned them two missions. One: Destroy opposing satellites and seize control of space. Two: Destroy targets on the surface of the earth from space without warning. There wasn't a word in there about shooting down ballistic missiles. That was a smokescreen for the American people, because they knew that the American people would never approve weapons in space for offensive purposes.
Bowman was very vocal about 9/11 and disputed the commonly accepted version of events. He said, "The truth about 9/11 is that we don't KNOW the truth about 9/11, and we should", and "If they have nothing to hide, why are they hiding everything?" The latter was referring to what he believed to be the hiding of videotapes of the Pentagon crash, and the black boxes from the planes. On September 11, 2004, Bowman stated in New York
Townhall Townhall is an American conservative website, print magazine and radio news service. Katie Pavlich is Editor. Previously published by The Heritage Foundation, it is now owned and operated by Salem Communications. The website features more than ...
, "I think the very kindest thing that we can say about George W. Bush and all the people in the U.S. government that have been involved in this massive cover-up, is that they were aware of the impending attacks and let them happen. Now some people will say that's much too kind. However, even that is high treason and conspiracy to commit murder."


Political ambitions

In 2000, he campaigned nationwide for the nomination of the
Reform Party of the United States of America The Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA), generally known as the Reform Party USA or the Reform Party, is a centrist political party in the United States. The party was founded in 1995 by Ross Perot. Perot believed Americans ...
for
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
. In some Reform Party
straw polls A straw poll, straw vote, or straw ballot is an ad hoc or unofficial vote. It is used to show the popular opinion on a certain matter, and can be used to help politicians know the majority opinion and help them decide what to say in order to gain ...
, he polled better than the ultimate winner of the nomination
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...
, though still 40 points behind the frontrunner
John Hagelin John Samuel Hagelin (; born June 9, 1954) is a physicist and the leader of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) movement in the United States. He is president of Maharishi International University (MIU), formerly Maharishi University of Manageme ...
. In the California 2000 presidential primaries, he came in third among five Reform Party candidates, after
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and
John B. Anderson John Bayard Anderson (February 15, 1922 – December 3, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Illinois's 16th congressional district from 1961 to 1981. A member of ...
, with 15% of the vote. Including "votes cast by Independents or voters of another party", he came in third among six Reform Party candidates with 14% of the vote, after Trump and George D. Weber. Bowman was also considered as one of the running mates for Hagelin, who was running as the
Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it co ...
candidate for president and also one of the frontrunners for the Reform Party nomination. Though many believed Bowman would win the slot on Hagelin's ticket as the candidate for
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
, he ultimately lost it to
Nat Goldhaber A. Nathaniel "Nat" Goldhaber is an American venture capitalist, computer entrepreneur and politician. Goldhaber helped found Maharishi International University and was special assistant to lieutenant governor William Scranton III and founder an ...
. In 2004, Bowman attempted another run at the Presidency, but ultimately endorsed
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
. In 2005, he toured the
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at the invitation of friends honoring him for his efforts towards peace, viewing it as a sort of "farewell tour" due to his battle with a form of
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredn ...
. In 2006, Bowman collected signatures to get on the ballot as a
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for the
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seat for the
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, then held by Republican Dave Weldon. Democrat Timothy A. Shipe filed, but did not qualify. Shipe was not known to the
Brevard County, Florida Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county s ...
Democratic party whereas Bowman had been working with them. In September 2006, Dr. Bowman won the Democratic Primary election, and became the official Democratic candidate running against the Republican incumbent in November 2006. An article by ''
Florida Today ''Florida Today'' is the major daily newspaper serving Brevard County, Florida. Al Neuharth of the Gannett corporation started the paper in 1966, and some of the things he did with this newspaper presaged what he would later do at ''USA Toda ...
'' noted Bowman had about $6,000 campaign money compared to Weldon's $559,858. By the end of September, the difference in campaign money had grown to Bowman's $21,944 versus Weldon's $673,321. As of October 31, there had been no debate scheduled between the two. Following the election, "With all 314 precincts reporting, the vote was: Weldon 125,596 Bowman 97,947" In October, 2008 Dr. Bowman endorsed the Congressional campaign of Dr. Kevin Barrett. Barrett got 2 percent of the vote in his Congressional district.


Awards

*The President's Medal of Veterans for PeaceVeterans for Peace Spring 2002 newsletter, page 10.


Bibliography

*"Arms Control in Space: Preserving Critical Strategic Space Systems without Weapons in Space" in ''America's Plans for Space'' (1984) *"Proposal for a Deep Freeze" in Patricia M. Mische, ''Star Wars and the State of Our Souls'' (1984) *''Star Wars: Defense or Death Star?'' (1985) LoC 85-82136 OCLC 13943536 *''Star Wars: A Defense Insider's Case Against the Strategic Defense Initiative'' (1986) (paperback)


References


External links


Robert M. Bowman official homepage2006 Bowman for Congress official site2008 Bowman for Congress official site

Robert M. Bowman official homepageInstitute for Space and Security Studies
(in previous site)
United Catholic Church
* ttp://www.bowman2006.com/issues_az.htm#Fair_Tax Bowman endorses the FairTaxbr>Interview on Real Radio, 12 April 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Robert 9/11 conspiracy theorists 1934 births California Institute of Technology alumni 2013 deaths United States Air Force officers American conspiracy theorists Florida Democrats Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Florida Aviators from California Military personnel from Los Angeles United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War