Citizen Scientists and The Texas Academy of Science

In his special editorial "Dealing with Dr. Doom," Society for Amateur Scientists Executive Director Dr. Shawn Carlson wrote:

The Citizen Scientist Community Must Respond

"When the professional scientists have lost their sense of moral outrage of such ideologies, then it falls to America 's great community of citizen scientists to be the conscious of science. If we do nothing when others stand and applaud ideologies of pseudoscience and death, then history will hold us all to account for our failure to shake the very rafters in support of truth and human life.

"Professor Pianka's ideas are horrifically and dangerously wrong. And they must be struggled against. I urge every reader of The Citizen Scientist to voice their serious concern over this matter in letters and phone calls to the Regents of the University of Texas and to the President of the Texas Academy of Science.

"E-mail the Regents of the University of Texas here . Or write Regents of the University of Texas, 201 W. 7th Street, Suite 820, Austin, TX 78701-2981. Telephone: 512-499-4402. Fax: 512-499-4425.

"E-mail the President of the Texas Academy of Science here . Or write Dr. David S. Marsh, President, Texas Academy of Science, Headquarters, USAF/DFB, 2355 Faculty Drive, Suite 2P389, United States Air Force Academy, CO 80840-6226. Telephone: 719-333-6031."

Some writers have copied their e-mails to The Citizen Scientist.

Here is Forrest Mims' personal letter to the Texas Academy of Science:

Subj:Forrest Mims to Board of Texas Academy of Science (2 April 2006)
Date:4/2/2006 6:34:33 PM Central Standard Time
To:david.marsh@usafa.af.mil
CC:forrest.mims@ieee.org, Ben_Pierce@baylor.edu, redwards@panam.edu, Cindy.Contreras@tpwd.state.tx.us, dwaitt@wildflower.org, david.marsh@angelo.edu, don.koehler@ci.austin.tx.us, fchavez@whoopingcrane.org, FStevens@schreiner.edu, Gary.Garrett@tpwd.state.tx.us, hdeyoe@panam.edu, hgrover@hsutx.edu, bio_jlc@shsu.edu, jsieben@tlu.edu, John.Ward@CEN.AMEDD.ARMY.MIL, Larry.McKinney@tpwd.state.tx.us, vinces@math.tamu.edu, nancy@science.tamu.edu, Ned.Strenth@angelo.edu, npence@nbtexas.org, oxley@wildflower.org, Pati_Milligan@baylor.edu, quinn@acad.stedwards.edu, Ray.Mathews@twdb.state.tx.us, sw04@txstate.edu, westgatejw@hal.lamar.edu

2 April 2006

Dear Dr. Marsh and Members of the Board,

Your failure to right an egregious wrong has disgraced the Texas Academy of Science and the great State of Texas.

The front page story in today's Seguin Gazette-Enterprise (www.seguingazette.com) and THE CITIZEN SCIENTIST (www.sas.org/tcs) attracted national attention when posted this morning at the very top of The Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com).

I have since been flooded with many letters of outrage directed against the shocking views of Professor Pianka and the acquiescence of what has happened by the Board of the Texas Academy of Science.

Several writers have copied their e-mails to the FBI and Homeland Security. Three writers claim to be Army Special Forces members who are outraged over the national security implications of this matter and your honoring Professor Pianka.

The disgraceful standing ovation that you gave Professor Pianka was indelibly imprinted on the mind of a biology senior at Texas Lutheran University, who in that 45 minute death speech was converted into a "Piankian" who is willing to die to save the Earth. When she returned to TLU, she blogged in detail that she endorses Professor Pianka's views about global extermination and even questioned the resources consumed in the declining years by her own grandparents. She will likely become a national news story.

Your problem worsened on Friday at St. Edwards in Austin when your Distinguished Scientist, accompanied by his Ebola plush toy, made outrageous statements again before the working press. A remark he made about "Good terrorists" and Ebola is in the Seguin paper today. Read it and weep.

Professor Pianka's remarks at St. Edwards were recorded in full. One of you blocked the video recording of Professor Pianka's speech and has failed to explain why. Others are even now looking into that matter, so, Drs. Waitt and Marsh, I urge full disclosure at the earliest time.

Meanwhile, be assured that I have acquired an audio recording made during the speech and can even now hear your loud laughter and your applause following outrageous statements by Pianka about Ebola, bird flu, universal sterilization, and so forth.

The only way to possibly salvage what might be left of the good name of the Texas Academy of Science and its membership you are supposed to serve is to immediately repudiate the speech given by Professor Pianka and to immediately withdraw the honor "Distinguished Texas Scientist" that you bestowed upon him.

All persons involved in his selection and in blocking video coverage, must give serious consideration to their future roles, if any, in the Texas Academy of Science. If they do not, then the Board must act in their place and do so promptly.

I urge you to act quickly, for the major media is about to report this story, and you must not allow the entire membership to be tainted by your acquiescence and your active participation in this sad affair.

Dr. Marsh has written that he and the Board view this as a closed matter. All of you and he failed to reply when I advised him and you it is not a closed matter and would be appealed above you. Thus, it is left to those members of the Board who are deeply concerned by what has happened to act on his behalf.

If no member(s) of the Board respond(s) to the crisis at hand, the entire Board must share responsibility for this disgrace.

If you choose not to reply this time, I strongly advise that you consult the United Nations conventions and declarations related to human rights, genocide and incitement to genocide, all of which are agreed to by the United States of America. You may also wish to read my second appeal and protest, which includes the definition of academic freedom.

Finally, I expect to receive an acknowledgment from the Board that it has received my second appeal and protest sent to you all on 23 March 2006.

Best regards,

Forrest

Forrest M. Mims III
www.forrestmims.org
www.sunandsky.org

Geronimo Creek Observatory
Editor, The Citizen Scientist www.sas.org/tcs

Chairman, Environmental Science Section
Texas Academy of Science

Member representing Guadalupe County
Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG)
AIR Technical Committee
AIR Advisory Committee

This communication represents the views of the writer.

"I would like to add something that's not essential to the science, but something I kind of believe, which is that you should not fool the layman when you're talking as a scientist." Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman, 1974 commencement address at Caltech."

This letter does not necessarily represent the views of the Society for Amateur Scientists and its Board of Trustees. Shawn Carlson, Ph.D., Executive Director.