Robert M. Bowman
Encyclopedia
Robert M. Bowman is a former Director of Advanced Space Programs Development for the U.S. Air Force in the Ford
and Carter
administrations, and a former United States Air Force
Lieutenant Colonel
with 101 combat missions. He holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics
and Nuclear Engineering
from the California Institute of Technology
.
Bowman, the father of Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
, is the Retired Founding Archbishop of the United Catholic Church, an "independent Catholic fellowship" created in 1996 and held to be connected through apostolic succession
to the Old Catholic Church
. Additionally, he is Executive Director of Christian Support Ministries. Bowman is a prominent figure in the 9/11 Truth Movement.
(SDI, also aka "Star Wars") during the Ronald Reagan
administration. On The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour
, 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), and authored two books on the subject of SDI. He is also a critic of an outgrowth of the SDI program, the Bush
administration's proposed National Missile Defense
.
For several years he has been active with Veterans for Peace
and Vietnam Veterans Against the War
as a speaker. He had also been a member of the Peace Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
.
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
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
during the Gulf War
.
In a radio interview on April 12, 2007, Bowman said:
for President of the United States
. In some Reform Party straw polls, he polled better than the ultimate winner of the nomination Pat Buchanan
, though still 40 points behind the frontrunner John Hagelin. In the California 2000 presidential primaries, he came in third among five Reform Party candidates, after Donald Trump
and John B. Anderson
, 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 John Hagelin
, who was running as the Natural Law Party
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
, he ultimately lost it to Nat Goldhaber
.
In 2004, Bowman attempted another run at the Presidency, but ultimately endorsed John Kerry
. In 2005, he toured the United States
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
.
In 2006, Bowman collected signatures to get on the ballot as a Democrat
for the U.S. Representative
seat for the Florida's 15th congressional district
, currently held by Republican Dave Weldon
. Democrat Timothy A. Shipe filed, but did not qualify. Shipe was not known to the Brevard County, Florida
Democratic party whereas Bowman has 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
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.
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
and Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
administrations, and a former United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
with 101 combat missions. He holds a Ph.D. in Aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
and Nuclear Engineering
Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
from the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
.
Bowman, the father of Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
Robert M. Bowman, Jr.
Robert M. Bowman Jr. , Director of Research at the Institute for Religious Research, is an American Evangelical Christian theologian specializing in the study of apologetics.-Biography:...
, is the Retired Founding Archbishop of the United Catholic Church, an "independent Catholic fellowship" created in 1996 and held to be connected through apostolic succession
Apostolic Succession
Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...
to the Old Catholic Church
Old Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
. Additionally, he is Executive Director of Christian Support Ministries. Bowman is a prominent figure in the 9/11 Truth Movement.
Activism
Despite his involvement with space programs and defense, he emerged as an early public critic of the Strategic Defense InitiativeStrategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
(SDI, also aka "Star Wars") during the Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
administration. On The MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
PBS NewsHour is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States. The show is produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, a company co-owned by former anchors Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil, and Liberty Media, which owns a 65% stake in the...
, 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), and authored two books on the subject of SDI. He is also a critic of an outgrowth of the SDI program, the Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration's proposed National Missile Defense
National Missile Defense
National missile defense is a generic term for a type of missile defense intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missile or other ballistic missiles. Interception might be by anti-ballistic missiles or directed-energy weapons such as lasers...
.
For several years he has been active with Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Peace
Veterans For Peace is a United States organization founded in 1985. Made up of male and female US military veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and other conflicts, as well as peacetime veterans, the group works to promote alternatives to war.-Foundation:The...
and Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans...
as a speaker. He had also been a member of the Peace Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Episcopal Diocese of Washington
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is the ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington in the United States. The territory comprises the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Charles, St. Mary's, Prince George's and Montgomery...
.
In 1998, Project Censored
Project Censored
Project Censored is a non-profit, media criticism and investigative journalism project within the Sonoma State University Foundation. It is managed through the School of Social Sciences at the university....
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
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
and Dennis Bernstein
Dennis Bernstein
Dennis Bernstein is producer and co-host of the radio news program, Flashpoints Radio on Pacifica Radio. Flashpoints originates from Pacifica Radio's flagship radio station, KPFA, listener-sponsored, noncommercial FM radio that is also carried on the Internet....
) 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
Depleted uranium is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope U-235 than natural uranium . Uses of DU take advantage of its very high density of 19.1 g/cm3...
during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
.
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 ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
ordered the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
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.
Political ambitions
In 2000, he campaigned nationwide for the nomination of the Reform Party of the United States of AmericaReform Party of the United States of America
The Reform Party of the United States of America is a political party in the United States, founded in 1995 by Ross Perot...
for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. In some Reform Party straw polls, he polled better than the ultimate winner of the nomination Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
, though still 40 points behind the frontrunner John Hagelin. In the California 2000 presidential primaries, he came in third among five Reform Party candidates, after Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
and John B. Anderson
John B. Anderson
John Bayard Anderson is a former United States Congressman and Presidential candidate from Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois for ten terms from 1961 through 1981 and an Independent candidate in the 1980 presidential election. He was previously...
, 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 John Hagelin
John Hagelin
John Samuel Hagelin is an American particle physicist, three-time candidate of the Natural Law Party for President of the United States , and the director of the Transcendental Meditation movement for the US....
, who was running as the Natural Law Party
Natural Law Party
The Natural Law Party was a transnational party based on the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. It was active in up to 74 countries, and ran candidates in at least ten. Founded in 1992, it was mostly disbanded in 2004 but continues in India and in some U.S. states.The NLP viewed "natural law" as...
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
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
, he ultimately lost it to Nat Goldhaber
Nat Goldhaber
A. Nathaniel Goldhaber is an American venture capitalist, computer entrepreneur and politician. He was the 2000 U.S. Vice President candidate for the Natural Law Party.-Education:...
.
In 2004, Bowman attempted another run at the Presidency, but ultimately endorsed John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
. In 2005, he toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
The non-Hodgkin lymphomas are a diverse group of blood cancers that include any kind of lymphoma except Hodgkin's lymphomas. Types of NHL vary significantly in their severity, from indolent to very aggressive....
.
In 2006, Bowman collected signatures to get on the ballot as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for the U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seat for the Florida's 15th congressional district
Florida's 15th congressional district
Florida's 15th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district contains most of Brevard County south of the city of Cocoa, all of Indian River County, most of Osceola County, and a very small portion of Polk County...
, currently held by Republican Dave Weldon
Dave Weldon
David Joseph Weldon, is an American politician and physician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing .-Early life:...
. Democrat Timothy A. Shipe filed, but did not qualify. Shipe was not known to the Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County, Florida
Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...
Democratic party whereas Bowman has 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
Florida Today is the major daily newspaper serving Brevard County. The Gannett corporation bought the paper in 1966.In addition to its regular daily publication, Florida Today publishes four weekly and eight biweekly community newspapers which are tailored for distinct neighborhoods within Brevard...
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
Kevin Barrett
Kevin James Barrett is a former university lecturer, Muslim convert. He is a member of the Scientific Panel for the Investigation of 9/11 , and is a founding member of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance , established October 30, 2004 with the stated aim of improving "interfaith dialogue,...
. Barrett got 2 percent of the vote in his Congressional district.
External links
- Robert M. Bowman official homepage
- 2006 Bowman for Congress official site
- 2008 Bowman for Congress official site
- Robert M. Bowman official homepage
- Institute for Space and Security Studies (in previous site)
- United Catholic Church
- Fox News: 'H & C' Update: Supporter Defends Controversial Univ. Lecturer's Theories About 9/11
- Bowman endorses the FairTax
- Interview on Real Radio, 12 April 2007