THE ASSOCIATION FOR RATIONAL THOUGHT NEWS PRACTICING THE ART OF CLEAR THINKING IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE Vol. 1, No. 6 March 1992 The Association for Rational Thought is a new organization committed to encouraging clear thinking in all walks of life. ART encourages the investigation of paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims from a responsible, scientific viewpoint and the distribution of the results of such investigations to the public. You are cordially invited to become a charter member of ART. Membership information is on the back page. Come to the March 21 Meeting at the Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant! Robert Baker on Kentucky Ghosts On Saturday, March 21, at 10:00 AM, ART will meet at its new meeting place, the Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant on Gilbert Avenue (Driving instructions elsewhere in this issue). Robert Baker, University of Kentucky professor emeritus of psychology and chair of the Kentucky Association of Science Teachers and Skeptics will speak on "Not All Kentucky Spirits are in Bottles." Prof. Baker, champion ghostbuster and well-known speaker, will discuss ghost theory, famous Kentucky ghosts. Executive Council Meeting following lunch. February Meeting: A Non-Roundtable ART met on Saturday, February 15, at the Greenwich Tavern. During the business meeting the possibility of incorporating ART was discussed. No actions were taken. The business meeting was followed by a round table led by Bill Giles and Joe Gastright, who spoke on effective communication with non- skeptics. Unfortunately, effective communication among the members present was buried under the speakers' onslaught, which came to an end too late to permit any discussion. We apologize, and will do our utmost to make sure that future round tables are actually round, and include the opinions and contributions of all present. Future meetings begin with a well-organized business meeting no longer than 30 minutes, and will include ample time for discussion. Help Wanted! Jobs Galore! Promote rational thought in the tri-state and have fun working with fellow skeptics by volunteering for an Association for Rational Thought office or committee for the year beginning in April. Our proposed by-laws call for the following slots to be filled: Officers (All officers serve on the Executive Council.) President--prepares agendas for and presides over membership and executive council meetings, supports other officers in accomplishing their tasks, promotes organizational development. Vice-President--assists the president, serves as acting president in the absence of the president. Secretary--Keeps minutes of membership and executive council meetings, prepares annual report for distribution at the annual meeting in April of each year. Treasurer--collects dues, maintains financial records, makes disbursements, prepares annual financial report for distribution at the annual meeting in April. Membership Secretary--chairs membership committee, maintains existing members, enrolls new members, maintains list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of current members. Investigations Officer--chairs investigations committee and oversees all official investigatory projects. Publicity Coordinator--chairs publicity committee, informs media of upcoming meetings, distributes to the media information in keeping with ARTOs purposes. Newsletter Editor--publishes the monthly newsletter, maintains mailing lists, coordinates the exchange of newsletters with other chapters, makes the newsletters of other chapters available to members. Meeting Organizer--chairs program committee, arranges membership meetings. Media Resources Coordinator--chairs the scientific and technical consulting committee, maintains a pool of experts who will be available to respond to inquiries from the media about pseudoscientific or paranormal incidents. Committee Members Each of the standing committees listed below requires at least three members: Program Committee--plans and arranges membership meetings, prepares calendar of membership meetings. Publicity Committee--maintains a mailing list, notifies members of meetings, provides publicity to media. Scientific and Technical Consulting Committee--organizes and maintains a pool of scientists and technicians to implement ART's educational and scientific purposes. Investigations Committee--supervises investigations conducted by ART. Membership Committee--works toward maintaining and increasing ART's membership. ART has at present one ad hoc committee, the Telephone Tree Committee, which requires about three members and a chair. In addition, the newsletter editor could use help with writing articles, maintaining mailing lists, and preparing issues for mailing. If you are interested in any of these jobs, call Peggy Borger to indicate your interest--work: 632-8233, home: 351- 0921. Officers will be elected and committee members appointed at the first annual meeting, April 18. Calendar Change in meeting place: ART's new meeting place is the Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant, 2440 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati (Driving instructions elsewhere in this issue). Come to the meeting and stay for an informal and inexpensive lunch afterwards. Change in monthly meeting day: The day for the regular monthly meeting has been changed from the second Saturday of the month to the third Saturday of the month. March 21, Saturday, 10:00 AM. Monthly Meeting. Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant, 2440 Gilbert Avenue, Cincinnati. Robert Baker, University of Kentucky professor emeritus of psychology and chair of the Kentucky Association of Science Teachers and Skeptics on "Not All Kentucky Spirits are in Bottles." Prof. Baker, champion ghostbuster, will discuss ghost theory, famous Kentucky ghosts. Executive Council Meeting following lunch. April 18, Saturday, 10:00 AM. First Annual Meeting: Election and installation of officers for 1992-93, Adoption of By- Laws. Oren Dent, stage magician and ART charter member, will present "Similarities Between Military Deception and Stage Magic," illustrated with magic tricks. Greenwich Tavern and Restaurant, 2440 Gilbert Ave., Cincinnati. Executive Council Meeting following lunch. May 16. Saturday, 10:00 AM. To be announced. June 20, Saturday, 10:00 AM. To be announced. Possibly a skeptical picnic. Membership Drive Volunteers! If you have not already made your membership drive calls, please do so before the March meeting. Bring your completed contact sheets to Joe Gastright at the March meeting, or,if you prefer, mail them to him at 111 Wallace Ave., Covington, KY 41014, Joe Gastright will collate all the contact sheets and report on the outcome of the membership drive at the April meeting. We greatly appreciate your efforts. Charter Members, December 1991 Zulfi Ahmad W. H. Giles Richard H. McGrath Roy Auerbach Robert Hartmann Ken Matthews Robert D. Bergstein Porter Henry James Mogus Peggy Borger Richard Hildebrand Dan Nagle Carl A. Bunde, M. D., Ph. D. Mark Hilse Richard J. Neal Richard A. Bozian, M. D. Robert Paul Howard Helen E. Norton Richard C. Bozian, M. D. John H. Hubbard PE Fred. W. Oliver Michael Burke Charles N. Huff Mary Pacinda Hubert A. Conner Carolyn R. Hunt Howard E. Rissover, M.D. R. A. Davis Hermon R. Isaacs Wolf Roder Oran B. Dent V. H. Jergens, Ph.D. Charles P. Rodway Kenneth DeWeese Ronald E. Jones Claudia Sawyer Judy Findsen John S. Kennedy Richard Shepherd John E. Fischer William Kennedy Darlene Upson Nicholas A. Forte Philip Koplow Ruthann West Jerome Gastright, Ph.D. Walter E. Langsam Gerald L. Wiles Joseph F. Gastright Scott McCormick New Charter Members Everett Dejager, 8622 Plainfield Lane, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236 Richard Prairie, 629 Robinson Circle, Cincinnati, Ohio 45223- 1511 Neil R. Artman, 5530 Meryton Lane, Cincinnati, Ohio 45224 Elisabeth Via, 2142-B Ohio Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 Patrick Deem, 18 Citadel Dr., Fairfield, Ohio 45014 John H. Durrell, 1404 E. McMillan, #2, Cincinnati, Ohio 45206-2241. Ruth F. Rosevear, 527 McAlpin Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45220. Home: 751-0680 Diana Vinson, 903 Arthur Street, Trenton, Ohio 45067 Current Officers (Term of Office Ends April, 1992) President: Joe Gastright Secretary : Mary Pacinda Treasurer: Peggy Borger Program Committee Chair: Joe Gastright Newsletter Editor: Virginia Jergens Publicity Committee Chair: Porter Henry Telephone Tree Committee Chair: Peggy Borger (Members: Chuck Rodway, Virginia Jergens, Carolyn Hunt, Bill Giles) Membership Telephone Project Chair: Peggy Borger (Project volunteers: Porter Henry, Virginia Jergens, John Hubbard, Richard A. Bozian, Judy Findsen, John Fischer, Richard Hildebrand, John Kennedy, Mary Pacinda, and Ruthann West) By-Laws Committee Chair: Mary Pacinda (Members: Holly Norton , Chuck Rodway, Virginia Jergens) Media Resources Chair: Richard A. Bozian (Members: Chuck Rodway, Carl Bunde) Join ART Now! This Is Your Last Free Newsletter! Stay in touch with skeptical tri-staters--Pay your dues today and continue receiving the Association for Rational Thought News. Costs of xeroxing and mailing prevent us from maintaining a nonpaying mailing list. Address Changes & Corrections, Newsletter Contributions Please send address changes and corrections and contributions to the newsletter to V. H. Jergens, Ed., 1032 Grandin Ridge Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208. The day of the monthly meeting is the deadline for material for the following monthOs newsletter. How to Get to the Greenwich Tavern & Restaurant The restaurant is at 2440 Gilbert Ave. (Telephone: 221- 6764), east of I-71 and north of downtown Cincinnati. If you come from the north on I-71: Drive south on I-71. Take Exit No. 2, Gilbert Ave. and Reading Rd. The exit ramp forks. Take the right fork, marked Reading Rd. In a block or so you will come to two left turn signs, the first to Reading Rd. and the second to Elsinore. Turn left on Elsinore. Go about one block to Gilbert Ave. Turn left on Gilbert. Proceed north on Gilbert about .6 mile to Curtis Avenue, on the right. Turn right on Curtis. Greenwich Tavern parking is off Curtis to the right, and Walnut Hills Business District parking is off Curtis to the left a little beyond the Greenwich Tavern lot. The restaurant is at 2440 Gilbert Ave., one door north from the corner of Curtis and Gilbert. If you come from the south on I-71: Drive north on I-71, Take Exit No. 2, Reading Rd. and Florence Ave. The exit forks. Take the right-hand fork to Florence Ave. At the stoplight, turn right on Eden Park. Drive one block and turn right on Gilbert. Proceed north on Gilbert about .6 mile to Curtis Avenue, on the right. Turn right on Curtis. Greenwich Tavern parking is off Curtis to the right, and Walnut Hills Business District parking is off Curtis to the left a little beyond the Greenwich Tavern lot.The restaurant is at 2440 Gilbert Ave., one door north from the corner of Curtis and Gilbert.