REALL News
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The REALL News
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The official newsletter of the Rational Examination Association
of Lincoln Land
Volume 1, Number 8 September 1993
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Electronic Version
If you like what you see, please help us continue by sending
in a subscription. See the end of newsletter for details.
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In This Issue:
From the Editor -- Bob Ladendorf
From the Chairman -- David Bloomberg
Incredible Mysteries of Sun Pictures -- David Bloomberg
Letter to CBS -- Farrell Till
Predicting the Lottery -- David Bloomberg
REALLity Check -- David Bloomberg
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Purpose:
The Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL)
is a non-profit educational and scientific organization. It is
dedicated to the development of rational thinking and the application
of the scientific method toward claims of the paranormal and fringe-
science phenomena.
REALL shall conduct research, convene meetings, publish a newsletter,
and disseminate information to its members and the general public.
Its primary geographic region of coverage is central Illinois.
REALL subscribes to the premise that the scientific method is the
most reliable and self-correcting system for obtaining knowledge
about the world and universe. REALL not not reject paranormal claims
on a priori grounds, but rather is committed to objective, though
critical, inquiry.
_The REALL News_ is its official newsletter.
Membership information is provided elsewhere in this newsletter.
Board of Directors: Chairman, David Bloomberg; Assistant Chairman,
Prof. Ron Larkin; Secretary-Treasurer, Wally Hartshorn; Newsletter
Editor, Bob Ladendorf; At-Large Members, Prof. Steve Egger, Frank
Mazo, and Kevin Brown.
Editorial Board: Bob Ladendorf (Newsletter Editor), David Bloomberg
(electronic version editor), (one vacancy).
REALL
P.O. Box 20302
Springfield, IL 62708
Unless stated otherwise, permission is granted to other skeptic
organizations to reprint articles from _The REALL News_ as long
as proper credit is given.
The views expressed in these articles are the views of the individual
authors and do not necessarily represent the views of REALL.
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From The Editor
-- Bob Ladendorf
In this special expanded issue, David Bloomberg takes a
long, close look at the controversy surrounding the
production and broadcast on CBS of purported documentaries
about Biblical mysteries. While REALL takes no position on
religious beliefs, it does monitor any claims of
authenticity, such as the existence of wood from Noah's ark,
that can be dispassionately examined by scientific means.
Because recent "documentaries" deal with matters like these,
we feel that the REALL News is an excellent forum for
evaluating media productions.
Having a personal and professional interest in
filmmaking, including the writing of a thesis on a political
documentary filmmaker, I know the manipulative ability of
filmmakers to make the point they want to express while
claiming objectivity. Documentaries can be wonderful films
portraying real life and providing needed information, but
they also can be purveyors of blatant misinformation. Caveat
emptor!
I hope the articles in this newsletter stimulate further
examinations of media accounts of real life. Let us hear
from you about this controversy, or on any other topic of
interest to you.
/s/ Bob Ladendorf
==============================
From the Chairman
-- David Bloomberg
Since my "Gilligan's Island" theme went over so well
last month, I thought I'd make it a regular feature to use
the songs from old sitcoms in my columns. This month I'll
feature The Brady Bunch.
Here's a story of a man named...
Ok, ok, I'll stop. The Editor threatened my well being
if I did it again, anyway.
Since this issue is practically "The Bloomberg REALL
News" anyway, I won't make this column too long. I'd like
to thank Robert McGrath for coming to Springfield and giving
a great presentation! Every-body there seemed to enjoy it
very much, and we had practically double our normal
attendance. I was ex-tremely happy!
This brings up the only other subject I'll discuss now:
We are going to be needing speakers from now until, well,
forever. If you would like to give a presentation on a topic
you think would be appropriate to REALL, or even if you just
have a suggestion about a possible topic, please let us
know! We're doing our best to get good speakers, but we can
always use some help.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Book Sales: As mentioned in the two previous issues, we
have a special discount from Prometheus Books: 20% off, and
only $1 for shipping (if you can pick it up at a meeting).
So far, we have about five books ready to be ordered, but we
need 10. I know there are people out there who want to order
books at a great discount, so please remember to bring your
order to the next meeting, or just send it in to us.
September Meeting: As mentioned elsewhere, our
tentatively scheduled meeting in Champaign-Urbana featuring
Ranse Traxler has been postponed for several months due to
circumstances beyond anybody's control. We promise we'll
have him talk to us soon, though!
Instead, we will be having a roundtable discussion of
media treatments of fringe-science and paranormal issues,
such as the Sun Pictures controversy featured in this issue.
/s/ David Bloomberg
==============================
{SPECIAL REPORT}
Incredible Mysteries of Sun Pictures
by David Bloomberg
Over the past few months, CBS has shown several
specials produced by Sun International Pictures, Inc. These
shows have all dealt with the Bible in one way or another
and have been biased towards the pro-literalism, pro-
creationism side. Skeptics are included for short segments
that believers then seemingly tear apart, along with acting
clips supporting the stories as they appear in the Bible.
REALL has reported on the most recent two of these shows,
_The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark_, which aired on
February 20th ("REALLity Check", March 1993; "REALLity
Check", July 1993) and _Ancient Secrets of the Bible, Part
II_, which aired on May 15 ("Logic Abuse and CBS", June
1993), but new information makes it necessary to take
another, much closer, look at Sun and their methods.
As reported in the July "REALLity Check", Time magazine
and the Associated Press (AP) had stories claiming that
George Jammal, one of the people who appeared on the Noah's
Ark show to tell his story about finding the Ark, has
actually fabricated the entire story to expose Sun's shoddy
research. This he allegedly did with the help of Dr. Gerald
Larue, a professor emeritus of biblical history and
archaeology at the University of Southern California, who
had appeared in an earlier Sun production.
Jammal's story, as told on the Sun show, was that he
and a companion had gone to Mt. Ararat to search for the
Ark. According to the story, they found it and took a
number of pictures, but Jammal's companion was killed and
buried in a landslide, along with all the photos. Jammal
had one piece of evidence to show for his trip, a piece of
wood that supposedly came from the Ark. This was the story
that Larue claimed had been fabricated by Jammal and
himself.
Sun fired back with a six-page response to the _Time_
article. CBS has remained mostly silent. The Sun response
seeks to address four issues: Who is making the claim that
Jammal fabricated his account? Did Sun perform due diligence
in its research of the Jammal account? Was the piece of
wood alleged to have come from the Ark authentic? Is Mr.
Jammal's account still factual?
In answer to the first question, the response talks
about Dr. Larue. They bring up the following information:
"Dr. LaRue (sic) is probably conducting some type of a
vindictive campaign against Sun. This may be the result of
his appearance as a skeptic in our show, _Ancient Secrets of
the Bible I_ which aired on May 15, 1992. According to _Time_
magazine, Dr. LaRue felt he was `set up as a straw man.'"
They go on to say, "Since 1982, Dr. LaRue has served as
chairman of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of
Religion, a group dedicated to refuting Bible claims; was
the consulting editor (1987-1989) and Emeritus President of
the National Hemlock Society, a euthanasia advocacy
organization; and is the senior editor of Free Inquiry, a
humanist magazine published by the U.S. Council for
Democratic and Secular Humanism, another group with goals of
removing religion from society and Bible oriented programs
from public broadcast."
But what does this have to do with whether or not Larue
coached Jammal? Apparently Sun is trying to imply that
because Larue is a secular humanist and is upset at Sun, his
claims of having aided Jammal are automatically suspect.
Rather than trying to defend against his claims or find out
the truth behind them, they begin by attacking the man
making those claims.
The Sun response then goes on to defend their research
of Jammal's story. They say they interviewed Jammal, looking
for flaws and inconsistencies in the story, and then gave
the interview tapes to a psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Meier, who
served as the field physician on an earlier Noah's Ark
expedition. Meier told Sun's Chief Researcher, David
Balsiger, that he found the accounts "totally believable."
Meier recorded an interview that had to be cut from the
show, in which he said of Jammal, "we would call him an
`obsessive-compulsive with histrionic features.' What this
really means is that he's a perfectionist performer." Later
in the interview, he says that Jammal wept while discussing
his alleged companion who had been killed by a rock slide.
He uses this show of emotion as evidence to support the
reality of the story. But earlier, he had already admitted
that Jammal is a "perfectionist performer"! He knew Jammal
was an actor, but apparently ignored the possibility that
Jammal was acting.
In that interview, Meier also admits that he does not
know Jammal personally and has only studied him from the
tapes. So, there is a psychiatrist who is certainly not
unbiased, working from tapes of an interview done with an
actor, giving testimony that it is accurate. This is what
Sun considers research?
In addition to the psychiatrist, Sun claims they
analyzed a map Jammal gave them showing expedition routes.
According to Sun, "it could not have been drawn by anyone
who did not have experience with the mountain." Sun does
not, however, explain why this is so.
The third portion of the response deals with the piece
of wood Jammal showed, claiming it was a piece of the Ark.
Sun begins by bluntly admitting that they do not know
whether it is real. However, contradictions then appear in
their response. They say, "It has not been the practice of
Sun or other production companies to spend money or time
testing and documenting artifacts shown on the air by
interviewees." That sounds fine, until it is compared with
Balsiger's comments in the AP article. He said, "We couldn't
test the wood in time for our deadline." On one hand, Sun
is claiming it is not their practice to test such things, on
the other, they are claiming they didn't have time to test
it.
The remainder of that section defends Sun's refusal to
test such things by saying their shows are "entertainment"
and that they would have been creating news if they had run
the tests. This brings up the question of why they tested
Jammal at all, through the psychiatrist and the map. Where
does Sun draw the line? How much research is too much?
The final section deals with the question that sums it
all up, "Is Mr. Jammal's expedition account of seeing the
Ark still factual?" Sun says they still stand by the account
as being accurate, even in the face of the evidence given by
Larue. "Our position is not expected to change unless there
is an admission by Mr. Jammal of an elaborate hoax, and how
he managed to execute such a clever hoax to convince a
professional psychiatrist and several experienced Ark-Ararat
explorers that he was telling the truth...or until third
party collaborating evidence can substantiate Dr. LaRue's
(sic) account of the hoax."
So what does Jammal have to say about all this?
According to the AP article, he refused to talk to
reporters. According to Skeptics Society Director Michael
Shermer, and Dr. Larue, Jammal is not saying anything
because he is afraid of getting sued. When REALL contacted
Mr. Jammal, he said that, under his lawyer's advice, he had
no comment at this time. But the September 1993 issue of
Freethought Today has as its cover story an article saying
that Jammal will be speaking about the story at the Freedom
From Religion Foundation (FFRF) convention on October 23.
Larue adds that Jammal will lay out the entire story at that
convention. The story identifies Jammal as an actor and
mimer, and an FFRF member since 1986.
When REALL asked Sun's David Balsiger what would happen
if Jammal came out and admitted that the story was
fabricated, Balsiger said that there may be legal
implications to hoaxing a network. He also said, "CBS
attorneys were trying to speak to Dr. Larue and he would not
get back to them." Larue said that he has never been
contacted by CBS or their attorneys. Balsiger added that he
has talked to Jammal's attorney, and that Jammal won't make
any statements until he sees what legal ramifications might
result from Sun or CBS against him and Larue.
But even without a direct admission from Jammal, there
are questions about Sun's methodology in writing and
producing these shows. For example, as the _Time_ article
stated, Larue does believe that he was set up as a straw man
by Sun. In an interview with REALL, Larue said that when Sun
came to him for their piece on the fall of the walls of
Jericho, they brought a statement and asked him to read it.
He said it wasn't exactly the statement he would have made,
but it was mostly in accord with his views. He went on to
say, "I read this and was given the opportunity to expound
on why I didn't believe it was a genuine historical
happening." However, all of that was cut out, and all that
was left in when the show aired was the original statement
that Sun had brought to him. This was followed, according to
Larue, by Dr. Bryant Wood, who went on to give a lengthy
discussion of his point, which countered Larue's and favored
the Biblical interpretation to which all three of Sun's
shows have been slanted.
Farrell Till, editor of _The Skeptical Review, feels_ the
same way of his own appearance on _Ancient Secrets of the
Bible, Part II_ ("Logic Abuse and CBS", June 1993). Sun came
to Till with a script, the same way they came to Larue. Till
was told he could change it, and he did so, with the
understanding that his changes would remain in the show.
Instead, his time was cut down to very little, mostly
representing what had been originally scripted, and he was
dropped altogether from one scene, replaced by Carol
Dickinson, a professor of psychology who simply read the
script.
In his interview with REALL, Sun's Balsiger discussed
the interviews. "Being entertainment, it's a scripted show,"
he said. "But when it comes to the experts, they have the
liberty and the rights to [put] what they're saying any way
they want, the only requirements being that they cannot be
excessive on time, make [their] point fairly quickly, and
[they] can't go off on a tangent where [they're] going to
get five minutes, because it doesn't happen. Most of our
experts always changed something in the script." He said
they try to base the script on what they think the expert
will say, based on research that they've done, but they
don't hold them to it.
In the case of Farrell Till, Balsiger said, "he had
three scenes and wrote a better argument for all three
scenes and that's the way we shot it." But, he said, "even
though we shoot an interviewee doesn't guarantee it's going
to get in the show, it doesn't guarantee that their piece
may not be shortened, it doesn't guarantee that it won't be
edited in some way."
Why is the editing necessary? Again according to
Balsiger, "the show was over 2 hours too long. We haven't
done a show yet that hasn't been at least an hour [too]
long. What happens is that we attempt to keep as many
interviewees in as possible, [so] we have to shorten their
pieces. Maybe they were speaking for a minute, they get
shortened to 30 seconds. A sentence or two is cut off the
end or somewhere, not to change their point of view or
anything, but to let them make the longest point they are
making in shorter period of time."
"I'm not sure exactly what happened in [Till's] case. It
may not have been the duration of what the interview was. We
also have some other requirements that we attempt to meet in
each show: What is our ratio of women in each show? Also,
does a person make more than two appearances? He could have
been dropped on his third appearance because he already had
two appearances and another factor may have been that ... we
were way down on our females. There's a lot of factors that
go into these shows, and to the viewer it looks like we're
rigging something."
Indeed it does. For example, if they only allow a
person in twice, why shoot three scenes with him? If they
base the script on their research of a particular person's
views, why did the psychology professor who replaced Till
read the exact remarks that Sun presented Till? Did their
research indicate that she had the exact same views as he,
and would express them in the same way? Why were both
scenes with Till and Larue cut down such that essentially
only the original statements, scripted by Sun, were left,
even though Balsiger admitted that Till came up with better
arguments? Why doesn't Sun ask the interviewees ahead of
time which of their arguments should be cut first, if
necessary? Balsiger said that they have NEVER done a show
that hasn't been too long, so shouldn't they think about
editing ahead of time? Why give the interviewees the
impression that most or all of what they say will be in the
show when it simply doesn't happen? Sun needs to answer all
of these questions about their procedures if they expect
viewers to stop wondering if they are "rigging something."
So Larue did feel that Sun was setting up a hoax upon
CBS viewers, and his friends and acquaintances knew of his
feelings. George Jammal knew Larue for approximately seven
years, so when Sun came to him about his Noah story, he
contacted Larue. According to Larue in his interview with
REALL, Jammal started his Ark tale several years earlier to
expose faulty research by religious organizations, and had
been interviewed by a creationist organization then. Sun saw
this interview and called Jammal when they decided to put
together their show. Jammal saw this as a perfect
opportunity to expose Sun's lack of research. To help in
this endeavor, Larue says Jammal got a piece of wood from
his backyard, soaked it in various juices, baked it in the
oven, accidentally charred it a bit, scraped off the charred
material, soaked it in soy sauce, and put it back in the
oven. Thus he had his chunk of Noah's Ark. Jammal concocted
the story about his companion Vladimir, who supposedly fell
to his death, to account for his lack of photos.
Again according to Larue in his interview with REALL,
Jammal has never been to Mt. Ararat. He was coached by Larue
on what to say to help back up his story. Larue said,
"Jammal's part was designed to expose the hoax that Sun
International was pulling on the people. We felt that the
whole CBS program was a hoax."
Larue went on to say, "It talks about the discovery of
Noah's Ark. That's a lie. They never discovered Noah's Ark."
He said that calling it "The Search For Noah's Ark" or
something similar would have been much more honest. Larue
was very blunt in describing his views. "There was no
discovery. The title is a lie. The idea that it was a
documentary is a lie. The third lie is that they are now
explaining it as entertainment only. That was never given
clearly in the text."
In fact, the host of the Noah's Ark show, Darren
McGavin, stated at the beginning that this was a "non-
religious, scientific investigation." To the average viewer,
this makes them think of a documentary, not an entertainment
show. But Balsiger said all of Sun's shows are contracted
under the entertainment division; they're not news, nor
documentary. He calls them reality TV shows and says they
are "actually not allowed to create news. I personally have
gotten in trouble over this issue in the past. Being a
researcher, it is my inclination to check this or check
that, but on an entertainment type show, we are not
mandated, and matter of fact we [cannot] make news or create
news. On an entertainment show, we are actually forbidden
from doing that and instructed not to do that. I did it on
another occasion and when it was discovered that I had
tested an artifact, [which] proved what the interviewee was
trying to make, it ended up getting not used, period."
When asked about the narrator calling it a "scientific
investigation," Balsiger said it "may be splitting hairs on
something that was said by the host, but it should have been
pretty clear that our show was an entertainment." Asked how
this should have been clear, he indicated that it should
have been obvious from the context. He said that news shows
and documentaries are produced by the network news side of
the network, while this was not. He added, "We've only done
entertainment shows over the years. Reality TV shows are
entertainment. Always have been, always will be." Balsiger
said that he considers shows such as Unsolved Mysteries to
also be reality TV shows. However, Unsolved Mysteries makes
a point of telling the audience before every airing of an
episode, "This is not a news broadcast."
According to Balsiger, we can look forward to more
"reality TV" from Sun and CBS. Even though the AP story
says that CBS claimed they had no other Sun programs
scheduled, Balsiger said that they have a show, Ancient
Mysteries of the World airing on CBS in November, which is
presently in production, and one on UFOs that will probably
air in December. He said there are others under development
with CBS. Why didn't CBS mention these in the AP story?
It seems that there are a number of unanswered questions
regarding Sun and CBS. L.A. Times TV critic Howard Rosenberg
has called for an explanation from CBS (July 7, 1993), but
has gotten none. He called their stance an "incredible
double standard regarding truth in news and entertainment
programming."
So where are the answers? If Jammal admits to having
made up the story, will Sun and CBS retract the story
publicly and admit that they need to check into their
research procedures? Or will they both continue to say that,
as "entertainment," they don't need to do any research, and
can just present claims? The line between news and
entertainment is getting dangerously blurred. When a
narrator calls a show a "scientific investigation" but the
viewer is expected to somehow realize that it is just
"entertainment," that line has been removed altogether.
[David Bloomberg is an environmental engineer and
Chairman of REALL. He writes the monthly "REALLity Check"
column in this newsletter and has several writing projects
in progress.]
==============================
{CBS DOCUMENTARY CONTROVERSY}
Farrell Till's Letter to CBS
[Editor's Note: This is the complete text of Farrell Till's
letter to CBS criticizing the network for broadcasting the
Sun Pictures' shows as documentaries. He sent a similar
letter to Sun and got the form response dealing with the
Time article (see earlier article). To date, he has not
received a reply from CBS. Till gave his permission to REALL
for reprinting the letter.]
CBS
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
Sir/Madam:
I am writing to register my protest of biblical
fundamentalist programs such as _The Incredible Discovery of
Noah's Ark_ and the _Ancient Secrets of the Bible_ series.
Since I appeared as a critic on the second segment of
_Ancient Secrets_, I trust that my complaint will be judged
worthy of more than just a form-letter response.
Shortly after _The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark_ aired,
I was contacted by Sun International Pictures, Inc., to
appear in _Ancient Secrets of the Bible II_. Having seen the
original _Ancient Secrets_ as well as the farce about Noah's
ark, my reaction was to laugh when the company
representative told me why she was calling. I thought that
would end the matter, but company officials kept calling the
switchboard at the college where I teach to leave messages
for me. Finally, I returned the calls and was promised that
I would be permitted to write my own script if I would agree
to appear on the program.
The writer-director David Balsiger sent me a faxed copy of
the script for the Samson and Delilah segment on which he
had written a message telling me that my scenes could be
"worked over to make stronger arguments if we don't get too
long, change the subject completely, or get so complex the
viewer can't understand the point being made." When I read
the script, I was appalled at the shallowness of the scenes
that had been assigned to critics of the story. After I had
rewritten my three scenes to put some real critical
substance into them, I called Balsiger and read my script to
him. He approved it and assured me that this would be the
script that would be used in the filming.
During the filming, I did about ten takes of these scenes,
each of which followed exactly the script I had submitted.
When the program aired, much of what I had said was cut from
one of my scenes, and another scene was cut entirely. In my
place, Carol Dickinson, identified only as a "professor of
psychology," did the third scene and read the superficial
statement that was in Balsiger's original script. Needless
to say, I had a bit of difficulty understanding how a
"professor of psychology" would have the qualifications to
pass critical judgment on a biblical issue, especially when
she was doing nothing except reading from a prepared script.
This criticism may sound strange coming from me, since I
myself am a college English instructor. However, I do have
recognized credentials in religion, including degrees from a
religious institution and work experience as a clergyman and
foreign missionary. Perhaps Ms. Dickinson also has
credentials other than her teaching experience in
psychology, but nothing was stated in the program to
indicate that. All that she did was to read a prepared
script, and any person literate in English could have done
the same.
For your information, I am enclosing a resum‚ that will
verify my qualifications to criticize the way this program
was presented. The obvious intention was to further the
cause of biblical fundamentalism. On this subject, I
consider myself knowledgeable enough to affirm without fear
of successful refutation that biblical fundamentalism runs
completely contrary to the conclusions of responsible
biblical scholarship. For your network to present a program
so flagrantly intended to convey the fundamentalist view
that the Bible is accurate in everything it says was
completely irresponsible.
If you wish to schedule productions like these, you
certainly have the right to do so, but they should be
presented as movies and not as documentaries. The general
public is appallingly ignorant of the Bible, so the average
person seeing these productions will assume that there are
scholarly reasons for believing that the Bible is the
inerrant word of God. The falsification of facts on news
programs aired by NBC cost an executive his job. The cost
should be the same whoever is responsible at CBS for the
airing of such programs as these fundamentalist productions
from Sun International Pictures.
Sincerely,
Farrell Till
==============================
Predicting the Lottery
by David Bloomberg
Recently, a self-proclaimed psychic has been touring the
Midwest, claiming that he can and has predicted correct
lottery numbers. I have studied his methods and determined
that you, too, can make a living by doing this. Here is a
step-by-step instruction manual.
1. Contact radio/TV stations and/or newspapers in the
town you wish to visit. Tell them you'll be around for a few
weeks and get them to interview you when you come to town -
it's free publicity.
2. When on the radio or TV, pick 3 numbers. Say that
these are the numbers that you predict will come up.
However, you don't know in what order they will appear, so
people should "box" them (meaning play them in every
possible order). Also, let people know that these numbers
may not come up for three weeks or so.
3. Mention a phone number at which you can be reached
for private readings.
4. Sit back as the calls for personal readings come in,
and you make money.
5. Meanwhile, the lottery is played every day. Your
chances of hitting are as follows: Random pick is 1 in 1000
chance for a 3-digit drawing. But you have told people to
"box" the numbers, so that increases it to a 6 in 1000
chance. It may not come up for 3 weeks, so multiply by 21,
for a 126 in 1000 chance. And if the numbers happen to come
up in the fourth week, you can take credit then, too, which
brings the chances to 168 in 1000. If you do several
different readings on the air, say 3 (which this supposed
psychic did), you have just tripled your chances to 504 in
1000, or better than 50%.
6. If your numbers hit, people will remember your
prediction (or you can remind them), and you will become
temporarily famous in town, with lots of people wanting you
to do readings for them. You can stay in town and let the
money roll in for as long as your celebrity status lasts.
7. For an added bonus, try picking the 5-number Little
Lotto or 6-number Lotto once in a while. If you miss, see
number 8 below. If, on the off chance, you actually hit, you
could become famous across the country and may make as much
as if you had actually played those numbers.
8. If the numbers don't hit, it's no big deal. You were
only planning on staying 3 weeks or so, and can be out of
town by the time your numbers were "supposed" to have hit,
so nobody can follow up. Besides, very few people remember
failed predictions anyway. You've already made some money
from readings during those weeks, and you can move on to
another town, to start the cycle all over again.
There you have it. But if anybody makes any money off of
this plan, I want 10%.
==============================
REALLity Check
by David Bloomberg
What a combination I have for you this month. From witches
to creationists, from alternative medicine to the American Medical
Association.
REALL in the News
Of course, the item of greatest interest to REALL members (I hope)
is that REALL made it into the newspaper again, in several ways. Doug
Pokorski of _The State Journal-Register_ wrote a great article about
Robert McGrath's presentation the Friday beforehand (August 13). A
quick survey of attendants at the presentation showed that the
article drew about 10 people that otherwise would never have known
about it! See below for other newspaper mentions.
Can't Break With Tradition
In the finest "REALLity Check" tradition, we have another bit
on "alternative medicine". The State Journal-Register, Health and
Fitness Section (8/23), had two articles about alternative medicine
and the recently established Office of Alternative Medicine, under
the National Institutes of Health.
Overall, the article was mostly a report, not taking any sides.
Personally, it would have been nice to see a little more research on
the specific "therapies", but it could have been worse. Several
things that could have pointed out are that the existence of such a
governmental office does not validate the supposed therapies. It is
because so many people are spending billions of dollars on these methods
that the office was formed, to try to figure out if any of them have
merit. Until scientific testing is done (double blind tests, etc.),
we cannot know which, if any, of the methods are valuable.
Hopefully, strict testing will eradicate some of the myths and
perhaps put and end to some of the wilder claims made by some
alternative health proponents.
REALL Chairman/"REALLity Check" author David Bloomberg had a
letter to the editor published on this topic on September 12th. The
letter went into a few details about alternative medicine that regular
readers of this column have already seen, especially those who just
read the preceding paragraph. In particular, homeopathy was singled
out as having been tested a great deal already, with no positive
effects, though there is always the possibility that actual scientific
tests may show some use for other alternatives.
Creationism in Vista Schools
Out West, in Vista, CA, the school board has managed to figure out a
way to get creationism into the public schools. According to a _Chicago
Tribune_ front page article (August 25), the board was opposed by
the school district's own teachers' association, but apparently ignored
them.
The resolution that was passed called for enhancing scientific
education by having teachers present "scientific evidence that challenges
any theory in science." Heck, any good science teacher should do that!
It certainly sounds innocuous enough. However, the first draft of the
resolution shows the real intent. It said, "to enhance positive
scientific exploration and dialogue, weaknesses that substantially
challenge _theories in evolution_ should be presented." (Emphasis added)
Somebody at the first hearing pointed out that the school district was
likely to get sued, and lose, due to the original language, so they
changed it. But the intent is still clear. Further evidence is that
the lawyer who drafted the Vista board's policy change, David Llewellyn,
does "legal work on behalf of conservative Christian causes across
the region" according to the article.
The article was well-researched, and brought out most of the points
that need to be shown about creationism and the public school system. The
most important fact is, of course, that a 1987 Supreme Court decision
said the teaching of creationism as science in the public schools is
unconstitutional, as it violates the separation between church and state.
Now it looks like creationists are trying a new direction to sneak
creationism into schools without calling it "creationism". In case
anybody wonders how a situation in California is pertinent to schools
here in Illinois, remember that most textbook manufacturers look to
California and Texas for guidance in writing textbooks. Also, the
situation in Vista is only one part of a national campaign to get
creationists elected to school boards. According to the article,
last year this campaign succeeded in getting 3,611 "conservative
Christians" into school boards across the country.
On a heartening note, the two letters which were published in
response to the Vista article were both against the teaching of
Creationism in public schools (September 4). A later letter (September
13), apparently in rebuttal to those two, attacked science in such a
haphazard way that the writer managed to contradict himself several
times in only a few paragraphs.
Extra Credit: Turn Your Classmate Into A Newt
Also out in California, and also reported by the _Chicago Tribune_
(August 10), school vouchers are being put to a vote. These would, among
other things, allow parents to use some money that would have gone to
the public schools to send their children to private schools. It is
often, though not by any means only, supported by the same people who
want creationism taught as science. Why? Because this would allow them
to use public funds to teach religion.
But that isn't really what this portion of "REALLity Check" is about.
It seems that some witches have decided that this voucher system would be
a great idea, but not exactly in the manner many other proponents want.
The Contra Costa Pagan Association said that they intend to form a school
if the voucher proposal is passed. According to the article, a pagan
school would teach regular classes, plus one period per day of pagan
lore, including "how to burn sage to `cleanse energy.'"
How can they hope to teach science in such an atmosphere that is so
contradictory to scientific method. Or do most schools mix physics class
with energy cleansing? Most readers would probably hate to think all
their energy has been dirty up `til now.
False Memory Syndrome
_The State Journal-Register_ had an article (August 20) about a $3.5
million lawsuit being brought by Steve McCaffrey against the Rev. Robert
Vonnahmen for alleged sexual abuse from 12 years ago, which McCaffrey
just remembered recently. One portion of the article said that McCaffrey
claimed that it is common for victims of childhood sexual assault to
repress those memories. What _The State Journal-Register_ didn't say was
that there is little or no scientific evidence that these sorts of
memories really can be suppressed. There is evidence that they can be
created by therapists and/or improper use of hypnosis. There is no way
to tell, from this one article, if this may be true here, but it bears
watching.
A letter on this subject, written by REALL Secretary/Treasurer Wally
Hartshorn was printed on September 6. In that letter, he pointed out
much of the above information (OK, "REALLity Check" borrowed much of the
above paragraph from his letter).
Speaking of False Memory Syndrome (FMS), Pamela Freyd, of the FMS
Foundation, sent in an article from Clinical Psychiatry News (August
1993) about the American Medical Association's (AMA) position on "memory
enhancement" techniques. In summary, the article states that the AMA
regards such techniques in child sexual abuse cases "to be fraught with
problems of misapplication." This statement is part of a resolution
adopted without comment during the annual meeting of their House of
Delegates. The resolution also called for their Council of Scientific
Affairs to evaluate "the validity of techniques used to help patients
recall childhood experiences."
A 1985 AMA report had stated that accounts of events elicited
through hypnosis "can involve confabulations and pseudomemories," but
did not deal directly with "repressed memories" of childhood abuse.
She Should Have Known
Those people who heard Detective Bruce Walstad speak at the REALL
meeting in April may recognize the name "Ruby Stevens." Walstad mentioned
her as one of the "fortune tellers" he has met. Well, it appears she has
found herself in trouble with the law.
Again, those who were at the meeting should remember that fortune
telling itself is not a crime. However, promising something, such as
curing a curse, for a sum of money is. According to a _Chicago Tribune_
article of September 9, Ruby Stevens has been charged with accepting
$300 in return for removing the "black aura" and "curse" from a
Bloomingdale resident.
Stevens' lawyer argued that the charge of theft should be dismissed
because it doesn't state that the client held a "reasonable belief" that
Stevens could actually help solve her problems. The lawyer also argued
that "a reasonable person would know that Stevens couldn't really purge
an aura or a curse from anyone's life." (_Tribune_ quote) The judge
denied the motion to dismiss.
This case is interesting in that the fortune teller's own lawyer
is apparently arguing that a reasonable person wouldn't actually believe
the claims allegedly made by the fortune teller. Well, "REALLity Check"
has to agree, but should the court be making judgments about what is a
"reasonable" belief and what isn't? Luckily, the judge didn't seem to
think so.
Hello X-Files
A few months ago, "REALLity Check" said good-bye to the Fox show,
_Sightings_. To replace that show, Fox has put on a new show, The _X-
Files_. At least they admit this one is fiction, though they call it
drama when it should probably be labeled as a comedy.
It's pretty easy to sum up this show in a few words: The government
is bad. UFOlogists are right.
Ok, in a few more words: There is a conspiracy to cover up evidence
dealing with aliens. The FBI sends out agents to debunk everything, and
evidence is hidden away in a secret Pentagon warehouse (remember the
scene from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_?). When a rogue agent with political
connections starts examining some of these cases, the FBI assigns a
scientifically-trained agent to report on him. Of course, the rogue is
right and the scientist is all wrong.
The script of the premiere could have been taken out of almost any
generic pro-UFO book. Already there are rumblings within the UFO
community that this show is using "real" case histories, and that the
government is preparing us to eventually reveal the reality of alien
contact. Of course, that has been said for years about various TV
shows, movies, etc., but that doesn't seem to phase some.
==============================
A Nod to our Patrons
REALL would like to thank our patron members. Through their extra
generosity, REALL is able to continue to grow as a force for critical
thinking in Central Illinois. Patron members are those giving $50
or more. To become a patron of REALL, please see the membership form
below. Patron members are:
Alan Burge, D.D.S., Pekin Wally Hartshorn, Springfield
David Bloomberg, Springfield Bob Ladendorf, Springfield
==============================
BUY PROMETHEUS BOOKS THROUGH REALL AND GET A 20% DISCOUNT NOW
We are placing an order as soon as we have a minimum of 10 books. To
order through REALL or to get a Prometheus Books catalog, come to the
next meeting, or send us a check for the book(s) minus 20% + $1 for
shipping and pick u the book(s) at a following meeting, or call us.
==============================
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Predictions for Future Issues
* Current Research Updates on Top Ten Paranormal/Fringe Science Activities
* Paranormal Beliefs in Medieval Times
* The End of the World!
* Using Computer Bulletin Boards for skeptical information
* Who is Susan Blackmore?
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Skeptics Online
If you have a computer and a modem, you owe it to yourself to
participate in the skeptic message areas on the computer BBS
networks. Here in Springfield, call The Temples of Syrinx at
(217) 787-9101. David Bloomberg operates this BBS, which carries
the FidoNet SKEPTIC, EVOLUTION and UFO conferences, internationally
distributed message areas for discussing topics of interest to
skeptics. He is also carrying ParaNet conferences, all dedicated
to UFO and paranormal topics. You can also find a wide variety of
skeptic text files.
The Temples of Syrinx -- (217) 787-9101
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