North Texas Skeptic - Vol 10 No 03 - 1996

Magazine Overview

Title: The Newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics
Issue: Volume 10 Number 3
Date: March 1996

This issue of The Newsletter of The North Texas Skeptics, titled "The Skeptic," offers a critical examination of media portrayals of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims, alongside investigations into health fraud and organizational tactics.

The third eye: News and Commentary from the Weird World of the Media

Written by Pat Reeder, this section begins with a satirical take on global warming claims, noting the irony of record high and low temperatures occurring in consecutive years. Reeder then expresses his disdain for Paramount's planned UPN Network show, "Psychic Connections," which he believes will feature sensationalized paranormal claims. He highlights a preview segment on "Entertainment Tonight" showcasing a "sensitive" named Margaret Wendt, who claims to communicate with the dead and uses "t'chi" for miracle cures. Reeder mocks the idea of "living-challenged" for corpses and the show's premise of using tarot card readers to dissuade gang members from violence, sarcastically noting that if the gangstas stopped killing each other, it would be good news.

Reeder also touches upon the designation of a road near Area 51 in Nevada as "The Extraterrestrial Highway," suggesting it as a tourist attraction. He then praises the PBS series "Nova" for two exceptional episodes. One was a profile of skeptic James Randi, and the other, a critical look at alien abductions. Reeder describes how "Nova" dramatically reenacted the Betty and Barney Hill abduction, interviewed proponents like Dr. John Mack and Bud Hopkins, and followed Hopkins' hypnotic "memory retrieval" sessions. However, the show then systematically dismantled these claims, pointing out the lack of evidence, the similarities between the abductees' descriptions and the "Outer Limits" TV show, and explanations rooted in sleep phenomena. The episode also showed Bud Hopkins being criticized by a trained hypnotherapist for leading subjects to "recover" memories that aligned with his theories, often influenced by prior reading of books by Hopkins and Whitley Streiber.

Reeder also discusses a "Dateline NBC" segment on James Randi, which, while generally positive, included a spokesman from the Rhine Center for parapsychological studies who defended ESP and psychokinesis, and questioned Randi's qualifications. Reeder contrasts this with the experience of Susan J. Blackmore, a former parapsychologist who became a skeptic and chronicled her journey in a book, questioning why the Rhine Center would dismiss her evaluation.

Finally, Reeder mentions a response from the Church of Scientology to a critical article in "Spy" magazine. He notes that the church's "Media Relations Director," Leisa Goodman, wrote a letter denying allegations and promoting L. Ron Hubbard's "accomplishments," including his continued writing of novels after his death. Reeder concludes by quoting Hubbard on truth and personal integrity, sarcastically agreeing with the sentiment.

Healthy skepticism

This section, written by Tim Gorski, M.D., addresses two distinct topics.

"Pregnancy Suspension" Is Science Fiction

The first part discusses a promotional mailing from a Houston company called Cryogenics Solutions, Inc. (CSI). CSI proposed a new medical service called "pregnancy suspension," which would involve cryopreserving tissues from elective abortions to maintain their viability for indefinite storage, with the eventual goal of re-animating them to regenerate embryos for gestation and birth. While CSI admitted the technology did not exist, they named Dr. Fuller Bazer of Texas A&M University as leading their research effort. However, Dr. Bazer and Malcolm Skolnick of the University of Texas Health Science Center were unaware of CSI's claims and denied any association with such research, with Skolnick stating the technology was "four to eight orders of magnitude beyond" current capabilities. An attorney for Texas A&M demanded CSI cease using Dr. Bazer's and the university's names. The article suggests CSI's claims might be a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters of the abortion rights controversy, possibly by targeting women seeking to terminate pregnancies rather than those experiencing involuntary pregnancy loss.

Up A Tree

The second part of this section is a brief mention of a cartoon by Laura Ainsworth. The cartoon depicts a character, presumably an evangelist named Robert Tilton, with a message about destroying an unopened message within 48 hours due to its "highly spiritual nature," followed by a plea to "SEND MONEY." The cartoon also includes tombstone-like figures labeled "RIP."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The newsletter consistently adopts a skeptical and critical stance towards paranormal claims, media sensationalism, and pseudoscientific endeavors. It champions critical thinking, scientific evidence, and the debunking of hoaxes and unsubstantiated beliefs. The publication appears to be a platform for disseminating information that challenges extraordinary claims, particularly those presented in popular media and by various fringe groups. The editorial stance is clearly in favor of rationalism and against what it perceives as gullibility and misinformation, especially when it involves potential health fraud or exploitation.