Richard Dolan on FOX

Nothing to do with sketpics, except that skeptics of course would find plenty to argue about with Dolan. Feh, who cares? :)

Here's the link to Richard Dolan's appearance on Fox yesterday morning. Thank you Karyn Dolan for sending the link. Karyn Dolan encourages people to let Fox know what they thought of Richard's segment; would viewers want to see more like this, what's their take on the whole thing, etc.

http://www.mandjshow.com/videos/ufo-sightings/

Bigfoot Snarliness

Just a comment; I mentioned to George this morning that the JREF has fifteen (or is it sixteen?) seperate threads on something they don't believe exists: Bigfoot. Over a dozen threads about Sasquatch. George wants to know which is crazier: "believing" Bigfoot exists, or having fifteen something threads wasting time arguing about how it doesn't exist?

New BF Thread: Hoaxing Bigfoot in Montana

The James Randi forum has a new Bigfoot thread, this one about a hoax in Montana.

This makes, what, fourteen, maybe fifteen separate threads about Bigfoot over there and counting, I'm sure.

Skylaire Alfvegren on James Randi

Thanks to Lesley of The Debris Field, who is also a contributor at Women Of Esoterica. Lesley posted an item about Skylaire over there. Which was a nice reminder; since I remember Skylaire from a couple years ago, I had emailed her about something she had written. Don't remember what, but do remember I was very impressed.

So here she is, in all her Fortean Gonzo Journalisitic self, writing about Randi:Questions For Skeptics;The problem with James Randi and his foundation on the paranormal, pseudoscientific and supernatural

Startling But True! Another BF Thread at JREF

If I didn't know better, I'd say that there's one or two over there at JREF who are intentionally starting BF threads over there just to see if I take the bait. I know, that's awfully arrogant yet oh so paranoid of me.

Whatever the case, here's yet a new thread: Bigfoot in West Virginia.

Which is also a bit of Mothman synchronicity, since Andrew Colvin in his Mothman's Photographer II, which I"m reading now, discusses Bigfoot in West Virginia. Hmmm . . .

Damn! I Can't Keep Up!

I spoke too soon; there's another Bigfoot thread over at JREF! This one is "3 Toed SC Bigfoot!"

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=111363

(So this makes, what, fourteen threads now?)

New Bigfoot Thread at JREF

Yes, it's true! A new thread about Bigfoot at the James Randi message forum. This one is called "Bigfoot on video? Memorial Day 1996" and makes, I think, the 13th thread over there about Bigfoot. Which, remember, they don't believe exists. Thirteen threads (there abouts) about something they don't believe exists, spend a lot of time (obviously) arguing against its existence, and call people who do believe it exists things like woos and morons. But, it doesn't exist, so not to worry. As all thirteen threads prove.

http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=111282

For a complete list of links, see the Bigfoot Links of the JREF on the menu on the right.

New blog: "Debunkersville"

By a debunker. One post up there so far; it's pretty funny. Not intentionally. Why do I suspect the RRRgroup people, or that "nasty arthur pink blog" person? Oh, because it says that "Arthur" is the blog owner on the profile . . .

Scientists Admit Using Brain Enhancing Drugs

Hey, I don't care, just find it interesting.

JREF Comments on Sheldrake's Stabbing (Update)

The usual and expected things aside,no excuse for some of the tasteless remarks over at our favorite forum at the JREF concerning Rupert Sheldrake's stabbing incident. (Meaning, Sheldrake was stabbed. . .)

UPDATE: Seems a few people were having trouble with the link. Sorry, should be fixed now. Try the title, or click here.

Loren Coleman:"Die, Elders, Die!"

Loren Coleman has an excellent post about the RRRs group blog entry on death and the "cleansing of the UFOlogical palatte." For shame on them, and good post on that, as well as Rupert Sheldrake's recent stabbing.

Bullies

This is a re-post of my blog entry at The Daily Grail from January 2007. Enjoy!

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More insights into pathological skepticism, or “chronic, cultural” skepticism, to use Colin Bennett’s terms. (See Bennett’s article Scepticism as Mystique, December UFO magazine, December 2006.)

This is from author Michael Prescott’s blog and his recent article Bully for skepticism!

“Item: After the publishing house Macmillan announces acquisition of Immanuel Velikovsky's book Worlds in Collision, which makes unorthodox claims about the origins and history of the solar system, famed astronomer Harlow Shapley lobbies the publisher to prevent the book's publication. He fails. According to philosopher David Stove, Shapley then arranges for "denunciations of the book, still before its appearance, by an astronomer, a geologist, and an archaeologist," none of whom have read it. Other reviews by "professors who boasted of never having read the book" follow, and Velikovsky is "rigorously excluded from access to learned journals for his replies." The anti-Velikovsky forces then compel the firing of the long-time Macmillan senior editor who bought the book, even though it has become a bestseller. They also get the Hayden Planetarium's director fired "because he proposed to take Velikovsky seriously enough to mount a display about the theory." Under intense and continuing pressure, Macmillan eventually transfers the book to rival Doubleday, "which, as it has no textbook division, is not susceptible to professorial blackmail."

As the above shows, the tactics of these chronic skeptics are unethical, though sadly typical. Why the Pelicanists, etc. seem to prefer to behave like Bette Davis on her best flamboyant drama queen melodrama days is an intriguing sociological question to ponder.

I’ve given up on the pondering part long ago; I’ll leave that to others who study the sociology of scientism. Still, I enjoy, and believe it’s a worthy act, to point out the actions that range from amusing to outrageous, of the “skeptoids.”

No matter how many times those of us who point out these behaviors and tactics state that it is the actions, not mere skepticism itself, that is the issue, it falls on deaf ears. Prescott writes:

“I’m not endorsing the validity of all the unconventional theories mentioned above. In particular, I think Velikosky and Reich are unlikely to have been correct. All that interests me, in citing these instances (and there are many others that could be added to the list), is this question: What are the powers of establishment science so afraid of? Why would people who are genuinely confident that they have reason on their side resort to character assassination, ostracism, threats, and even police action to enforce their opinions? In other words, why do the self-styled defenders of reason, science, progress, and civilization so often act like bullies and thugs?

Excellent questions.

Irrational rationalists also resort to hyperbole and thin skinned, over the top silliness, as in comparing being called a “thug,” or a “skeptoid” to being called a racial or ethnic slur, as I wrote this September in The Usual Purple Tinged Hyperbole About UFOs

Rabid skepticism abhors the UFO-abduction phenomena of course, and doesn’t hold back when it comes to television. I found an interesting post at UFO Updates from 2001. Posted by John Velez, it discusses the PBS NOVA program on UFOs and abductions as written about by Terry Hansen in his excellent book, The Missing Times.

There are endless examples of course: The Amazing Randi and his on-going battles with Uri Geller, the sTarbaby scandal, Phillip Klass, etc.

Thuggish and dishonest tactics, as well as dis ingenuousness, have always been a part of scientism in general (they are scientism) as well as UFOlogy. No doubt much of it is intentional disinformation, the rest, picked up by the individual rabid skeptic, and, unaware he/she is being used, happily passes along such behaviors.

While this campaign of disinformation and witless acceptance by unsuspecting individuals can be said of many a UFOlogist, that’s another article for another day.

Nightline - the Alien Abduction Episode part 2

Klass: "Being a pilot does not improve your powers of perception." Good to know, because I sure don't want the pilot of any plane I'm on to have better skills at perception, etc. than I do! We all know a five year old can drive a plane, feh, nothing to do it!