Drudge reports on unexplained lights?

Apparently there's very little news going on in American politics today, so the Drudge Report ran a banner headline about strange "lights" over Arizona and Florida.  Have a look:

What could these be?  Startling additional photos after the jump.

Something strange is going on.  The same pattern of mysterious lights has been sighted before.  Check out this picture of the sky, taken in Hawaii some time ago:

Do you see it?  There toward the bottom.  Four mysterious lights.  What are these strange visitors from the sky?  But it gets even more disturbing.  I don't mean to get conspiratorial, but have a look at the flag of Alaska:

There on the bottom left.  Something about this pattern bears a striking resemblance to our night sky "light" visitors.  And I can't but help think the visitors are trying to communicate something.  The similarity, for example, between this pattern and a giant ladle is obvious.  Are we supposed to dig for something?

[Cross-posted at Overbreadth.]

•  Ummmm..

  ...that's the big dipper.

  by bradreiman on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:39:51 AM PDT

  •  Methinks such was intended

    though lacking its snark tag.

    by lgmcp on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:40:46 AM PDT

  •  Vroom!

    That was the joke zooming over your head. ;-)

    by droogie6655321 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:42:17 AM PDT

    •  I feel kinda dumb now. nt

      by bradreiman on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:55:23 AM PDT

      •  No worries

        happens to me all the time.

        by droogie6655321 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:05:04 AM PDT

    •  joke zooing over head

      just like a UFO - the truth is out there!

      Obama/Scully 2008

      by Dont Just Stand There on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:49:34 AM PDT

  •  re

    it's starbuck.

    Some sort of tie in with this week's battlestart gallactica.

    by cookiesandmilk on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:42:20 AM PDT

    •  Oh good!

      I'll have one Venti Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte, please.

      by pattyp on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:56:14 AM PDT

•  Rawstory has it too SO?

  by pd1969 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:41:24 AM PDT

  •  actually, the govt. has done a great job

    at the very same time that we watch things like Star wars, star trek, stargate, X-files, and believe more and more about the possibilities, they have defanged the real questioning about events which we cannot explain, and they have attacked and emasculated those who witnessed, witness and will witness these events.

    by agnostic on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:05:06 AM PDT

    •  edscan diaries have been telling us all along...

      yet we cynics foolishly ignore the peril.

      "Is it safe?"

      by birds and bees on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 12:05:03 PM PDT

      •  heh. I dated a girl like that once.

        and that was my question.

        by agnostic on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 12:25:48 PM PDT

•  And the "dip" is pointing to the north star!

  You're right, Drudge, this is news!!!

  by briefer on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:41:54 AM PDT

•  Snark Tag Coming...

  Yes, snark.  But the question that now confronts you is.... tips? :)

  by Cameron Fredman on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:42:01 AM PDT

•  Hey...this is the kind of news I LOVE.

  Bring on the alien invasion! That will unite the party!

  Seriously though, I totally love UFOs in the news.

  by ablington on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:42:31 AM PDT

  •  And I love astronomy in the news

    It's a double dipper!

    by oldjohnbrown on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:45:58 AM PDT

  •  I will submit to our new masters

    They are probably better than Bush!

    by Shhs on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:09:46 AM PDT

    •  Insect overlords! Insect overlords!

      Finally! Leaving alone the spiders that spin their webs around the siding of my house is gonna pay off.

      by beneldon on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 12:21:17 PM PDT

  •  Best to not let kos diary police catch us...

    indulging ourselves with verbotten conspiracy theories.  See: faq
    Tinfoil works as a "cloak of invisibility".

    by birds and bees on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 12:14:03 PM PDT

•  Maybe Drudge is hoping...

  ... the aliens will accept him for who he is.

  by droogie6655321 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:42:49 AM PDT

  •  Perhaps

    he's looking forward to an extraterrestrial "medical" exam.

    by Treg on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:47:15 AM PDT

    •  or some alien eggs

      by terrypinder on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:06:22 AM PDT

•  Another Breaking Story for Drudge. n/t

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:44:29 AM PDT

•  When people despair, the aliens always seem

  to show up ..

  I guess it's Repugnants that are seeing all the little green men.

  by shpilk on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:44:56 AM PDT

•  Well, it was an object

  and it was unidentified. So, draw your own conclusion.

  by RudiB on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:45:24 AM PDT

•  Aliens are coming: Now that's change we can belie

  FFS I've so head it with the boring, ignorant, rascist, hateful, uninformed life forms of this planet. Aliens coming, wether they are friendly or hostile, would certainly bring about a fresh breath of air and much needed change to our planet.

  by DarkOmnius on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:46:26 AM PDT

  •  but are they bitter?

    by agnostic on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:07:30 AM PDT

•  Drudge rates a Stella

  

  by shpilk on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:46:30 AM PDT

  •  Harcourt Fenton Mudd!

    Sniff, sniff "Have you been drinking again??"

    by MikeTheLiberal on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:51:11 AM PDT

•  After all this time

  I'm really not surprised that Drudge is turning to gas giants for news. That's his entire career in a nutshell.

  by oldjohnbrown on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:46:47 AM PDT

•  Go ahead and laugh,

  Go ahead and laugh, but here in LA last night there was a giant glowing orb that moved slowly across the sky. It moved so slowly that it took about eight hours to go from horizon to horizon. It couldn't have been man-made, because it would have to to refuel at some point I'm sure. It was round, white, and seemed to be pretty large. I even called to local cops, and they never came out, so that just tells me the government is in on it.

  by EKO on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:46:49 AM PDT

  •  Lunacy! n/t

    by oldjohnbrown on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:47:22 AM PDT

•  It's in Arizona, right?

  Are you unfamiliar with the constellation Maverick?

  by AmericanFactotum on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:47:26 AM PDT

  •  Sorry, feeling a bit nebulous about that

    celestial reference...although the unconventional GOP nominee probably isn't very likely to shoot the moon or reach for the sky, or ever earn Heaven's approval for his war-mongering ways.  It can be said that he has a rather strong and undying affinity for head-spinning heavenly bodies.

    Perhaps you meant to refer to some new naming system for blackholes and dark matter accumulations?  Maverick dark matter working hard to negate normally oriented matter...it does seem to have a certain ring to it.

    by antirove on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:56:21 AM PDT

    •  Planet though he may claim to be

      He has somehow never managed to wander far from the huge bubble of gas that spawned him.

      by oldjohnbrown on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:03:03 AM PDT

  •  It's a mythical constellation.

    by socratic on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:07:00 AM PDT

•  well, I'll be dipped eom

  by voila on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:48:04 AM PDT

•  not a ladle over the head, its a peace sign!!!

  if you ignore the farthest two on the left of the ladle handle and use the one at the base of the handle as a center for a circle through the other four you get a peace sign.  who wants a ladle over their head!

  by certainot on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:48:33 AM PDT

•  But..

  are these space aliens supporting Obama, Clinton, or McCain?

  by RBH on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:48:55 AM PDT

  •  Obama because..

    President Hillary or President McCain would welcome them by sending nukes.

    by DarkOmnius on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:54:33 AM PDT

•  Drudge has always been a paranoid jackass

  Drudge cares about 4 things:

  - CCTV (big brother watching people in the public)
  - Cloning of any type
  - Hillary
  - fake controversies which have potentially offended a mythical group
  

  that and perhaps his fetish of breaking raw eggs on his chest (google it if you care)

  by cioxx on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:49:52 AM PDT

•  Yikes! Sell! WSJ fears the Sign of the Bear!

  The aliens are demanding we repent and give up greedy self-absorbed lifestyles, and learn to love the diamond clarity of truth.  Or we can just try the ol' Project Blue Book explanation style:  

  These meterological features are just the result of an upper atmosphere massive inversion, the atmospheric ionic reflections of flourescing gases emitting from multiple pinpoints, which are located over the most reactive points in the massive global effluent arising from the subprime loans melt-down of some of our largest banks, as the investment portfolios of greedy speculators implode at high G levels.

  Or, the primaries are almost over!  It's a sign the alien super-delegates are going for Obama!

  by antirove on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:50:12 AM PDT

•  I never trusted either

  of the so-called "dippers."  They are just waiting for us to let our guard down, then... BLAMO!

  by Olds88 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:50:31 AM PDT

  •  Ah, terrestrial stew.

    Not to mention terrestrials stewing.

    by walkshills on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:55:37 AM PDT

•  THERE... ARE... FOUR... LIGHTS!

  

  by mistersite on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:52:39 AM PDT

  •  No one but a Trekker will get this reference.

    Great episode.

    by Delaware Dem on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:11:21 AM PDT

•  Did this happen at 3 am!

  Let's call Super Hillary! I'm pretty sure she's up!

  by Electric Slim on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:55:42 AM PDT

•  Funny...

  You just know he's doing this as an attempt to generate a false news "story" to be passed around by the legions of people logging in for early PA primary returns... hysterical!

  by chicago DEM on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:57:29 AM PDT

  •  That's an interesting theory.

    Seriously, why did Matt Drudge post this?  And Today?  I need some media genius to explain why someone would post a story about UFOs on the day of the primary.

    by Cameron Fredman on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 10:59:49 AM PDT

    •  clearly aliens

      are coming to interfere with the primary.

      by terrypinder on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:12:08 AM PDT

•  Simple

  Drudge's parents are finally arriving to take him home.

  by oxfdblue on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:00:20 AM PDT

•  They are coming for Kucinich

  by machiado on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:00:35 AM PDT

•  I think it was McInsanes birthday

  and that was a reflection from the candles on his cake lighting the night sky over Arizona

  by kittycago on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:00:51 AM PDT

•  it's the Colonial Fleet

  the Cylon attack will begin shortly.

  "Humanity's Children are coming home, today."
  -Six

  Then Gaius Baltar shit his pants.

  by terrypinder on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:05:37 AM PDT

•  I love that UFO Hunters show on History

  They should send those guys (along with Matt Drudge) to investigate.

  by Buckeye BattleCry on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:05:55 AM PDT

  •  that show is hysterical

    they're so serious, especially the one that wears the sunglasses and sees a conspiracy under every rock.

    i just laugh and laugh.

    (that said i am sure the universe is teeming with intelligent life. it'd be an awful waste of space for it not to be)

    by terrypinder on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:10:59 AM PDT

    •  OMG, the older guy is hysterical!

      I especially loved the episode where they zapped the computer with a EMP.  

      by Buckeye BattleCry on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:34:52 AM PDT

      •  i fell asleep during sunday's episode

        about the Iranian incident of 1976. Apparently the CIA was there. spoooooooooooky!

        by terrypinder on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:40:46 AM PDT

    •  Have you read

      Arthur C Clarke's Rama series? I can only whole-heartedly recommend the first book, but one of the later books has a pretty good description of the Drake Equation in practice.

      A race of aliens use an enormous chamber to display the overwhelming scale of the galaxy to an observer. Then they set the entire thing in motion, mapping the civilizations that had arisen over billions of years. Civilizations would flash into existence and then die all over the galaxy, but even neighboring civilizations were often separated by millions of years, making contact virtually impossible even in a galaxy teeming with life.

      Of course, Clarke's scenario is just an assumption of one set of variables for the Drake Equation, but it does highlight just how very common life would have to be for contact.

      That said, I have some weird love of UFO videos. I'll have to check out the show.

      by Olds88 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:59:10 AM PDT

•  They got the wrong night, the wrong city.

  The Aliens must not be too sharp because they were a night early and in the wrong city for game two of the Spurs-Suns Series.

  Look to the skies over San Antonio tonight my friends.

  by SomeYahoo on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:09:10 AM PDT

•  They've come to take Bush home.

  by Delaware Dem on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:10:38 AM PDT

•  I keep hoping for a free anal probe

  but it never pans out.

  by Gator1980 on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:34:36 AM PDT

  •  heh

    by terrypinder on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:41:14 AM PDT

•  No insult to trekies

  I believe it's really "How to Serve Man"
  They can take Drudge first,I'm sure after they got a taste they would not be back.

  by woodtick on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:37:25 AM PDT

•  It was also reported in the Arizona Republic.

  Here is a link to the story.
  Aviation officials: Source of strange red lights unknown

  by BluejayRN on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:39:00 AM PDT

  •  I love the FAA response...

    "There's nothing to look into," said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

    by Cameron Fredman on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 12:05:58 PM PDT

•  BREAKING!

  Chuck Todd of MSNBC reports 62% of bowling space aliens polled are voting for Hillary.

  by djbender on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:45:02 AM PDT

•  Kodos for President!

  Although, Kang does offer a better health care plan.

  by djbender on Tue Apr 22, 2008 at 11:49:01 AM PDT