>should we not have optical based electronic receptors scanning
>the skies.
Apparently. some people agree with you. In the past, I had read about
proponents of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) using
the optical spectrum. Looking through the SETI site:
http://www.seti.org/
one finds a page with links to other SETI pages including
The Columbus Optical SETI Observatory
http://www.coseti.org/
This site has a page of links to Optical SETI information
http://www.coseti.org/oseticon.htm