It's at a point that they have to acknowledge that there is life elsewhere. As you said, they are doing it in baby steps so as not to freak people out. This year, there will be a symposium on extraterrestrial life, and they will be petitioning the government to finally come clean about their knowledge once and for all.
I do know someone who works at NASA. He doesn't have top secret clearance or anything like that, but he has been privy to some little tidbits of info. He will not tell me a lot, as he has to follow confidentiality agreements, but he did let me know that a couple of months ago there was a briefing, and two scientists in the room actually had tears in their eyes (of joy and astonishment) from something very significant that was recently discovered. It would have to be something very big for them to weep in excitement. I wish that I could get more info from him, but I have to respect that he is not allowed to discuss much. I'd be willing to bet that by the end of this year we will know once and for all that there is life out there!
These are really exciting times we are living in! The fact that they are discussing this in the main stream news is very sigificant. It cannot be hidden any longer, so they are preparing us by divulging small bits so that when they release the really big news, we will already be expecting it. I can't wait!
Thanks for starting this thread!
