Festive Medical Myths

TOPIC: medical myths

Do you think that sugar makes kids hyperactive and late-night eating makes people fat?

You're not alone. Those are just two of many medical-related beliefs commonly held by people around the world.

But they're also FALSE, and so are many other commonly-believed health-related assertions, as discussed in the article Festive Medical Myths recently published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), by Rachel C. Vreeman (asst prof of paediatrics) and Aaron E. Carroll (assoc prof of paediatrics), both at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Among the medical myths Vreeman & Carroll address:

• Sugar Causes Hyperactivity in Children? FALSE!
  
  According to Vreeman & Carroll,

  At least 12 double blind randomised controlled trials have examined how children react to diets containing different levels of sugar. None of these studies, not even studies looking specifically at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, could detect any differences in behaviour between the children who had sugar and those who did not. [original text contained endnote citations of relevant articles]

  Moreover:

  Scientists have even studied how parents react to the sugar myth. When parents think their children have been given a drink containing sugar (even if it is really sugar-free), they rate their children’s behaviour as more hyperactive. The differences in the children’s behaviour were all in the parents’ minds. [see Hoover & Milch, 1994, referenced below]

• Suicides Increase Over the Holidays? FALSE!
  
  Vreeman & Carroll point out that "While the holidays might, indeed, be a difficult time for some, there is no good scientific evidence to suggest a holiday peak in suicides. [see the Annenburg Public Policy Center references below, as well as Bridges (2004)] … Indeed, people might actually experience increased emotional and social support during holidays. In the US, rates of psychiatric visits decrease before Christmas and increase again afterwards. [see Hillard, Holland, & Ramm, 1981] … Further debunking myths about suicide, people are not more likely to commit suicide during the dark winter months. Around the world, suicides peak in warmer months and are actually lowest in the winter.


• Poinsettias are Toxic/Poisonous? FALSE! Vreeman & Carroll explain:

  In an analysis of 849,575 plant exposures reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, none of the 22,793 cases involving poinsettia resulted in considerable poisoning. No one died from exposure to or ingestion of poinsettia, and most (96%) did not even require medical treatment. In 92 of the cases, children ingested substantial quantities of poinsettias, but none needed medical treatment, and toxicologists concluded that poinsettia exposures and ingestions can be treated without referral to a healthcare facility. Another study, looking at poinsettia ingestion by rats, could not find a toxic amount of poinsettia, even at amounts that would be the equivalent of 500-600 poinsettia leaves or nearly a kilogram of sap. [citations can be found in original text]

Some other beliefs Vreeman & Carroll look at and expose as groundless or outright false involve heat loss from one's head, nocturnal feasting, and curing hangovers.

Makes for entertaining and educational reading, especially when combined with their earlier paper on Medical Myths [see full citation below], in which they discuss commonly-held (but baseless) beliefs involving: drinking 8 glasses of water per day, the sleep-inducing properties of turkey, using only 10% (or some other small fraction) of one's brain, etc.

Perhaps JUST as entertaining, educational, and … sobering (?) are some of the reader responses to the original Vreeman & Carroll article (back in 2007), several of which manage (by example) to illustrate the challenges inherent in communicating scientific findings to the general public …

see e.g. —
"stupid and irresponsible" by david clarke [22 December 2007],
"unbelievable and shameful!" by Mikhail Vinin [23 December 2007],

but also the heartening responses exemplified by responses such as:
"Orders of magnitude?" by Andrew J Rees [24 December 2007]

RELATED REFERENCES

Annenberg Public Policy Center. Media continue to perpetuate myth of winter holiday-suicide link. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Adolescent_Risk/Suicide/myth_holiday_suicides20011204.PDF.

Annenberg Public Policy Center. Holiday-suicide link: newspapers turn the corner. www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Releases/Release_HolidaySuicide_111907/suicidereleasenov152007final.pdf.

Annenberg Public Policy Center. The Holiday-Suicide Myth: newspapers (and TV shows) return to old ways. Report accessed Wed 12/30/2008 at http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/Downloads/Releases/Release_HolidaySuicide/suiciderelease%202008%20with%20tables.pdf

Bridges, F. S. (2004). Rates of homicide and suicide on major national holidays. Psychol Rep, 94, 723-724.

Hillard, J. R., Holland, J. M., & Ramm, D. (1981). Christmas and psychopathology. Data from a psychiatric emergency room population. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 38, 1377-1381.

Hoover, D. W. & Milich, R. (1994). Effects of sugar ingestion expectancies on mother-child interactions. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 22, 501-15.

Vreeman, R. C. & Carroll, A. E. (2007). Medical myths. BMJ, 335, 1288-1289. Full text accessed Wed 12/30/2008 at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/335/7633/1288

Vreeman, Rachel C. & Carroll, Aaron E. (2008). Festive medical myths. BMJ (British Medical Journal), 337(7684), doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2769. Full text article accessed online Wed 12/30/2008 at http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769.

UniSudoku: For The Perfect Sudoku Experience

TOPIC: sudoku, logic puzzles

I've intended to post something on this for a long time: for the perfect sudoku puzzle experience on a Mac, try out UniSudoku (just $15 and downloadable at http://www.unisudoku.com/). David Ross is apparently a GUI-programming genius and has produced possibly the most perfect sudoku puzzle software/interface ever.

With a little practice you too can enter the beautiful heightened sudoku flash zone where the world seems to disappear and it's just you racing through an alternative sudoku universe. With a finely-tuned mouse the "flow" experience can be breath-taking and addictive.

Quick screen shot below. Let me know what you think!

KENKEN!If You Like Sudoku &hellip

TOPIC: games

So, I finally clicked on that KENKEN link on NYT's crossword puzzle site and found a great new puzzle. Here's Will Shortz to tell us all about it:



And here's the page to get daily doses at whatever challenge level you crave: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/crosswords/kenken.html. Seems quite addictive … sudoku with a bit more depth. Try it out and tell me what you think. Seems like a great combination of arithmetic and logic for kids — I'm going to see if my 7-yr-old likes it too. UPDATE [a few minutes later]: OK, this is structurally only superficially like the sudoku, but it is indeed quite addictive!

Relying on SCIENCE & REASON,Judge Rules Against Florida's Ban on Adoptions by Gays

TOPICs: gay rights, adoption

A bit of good news on the civil liberties front: Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman [pictured at right] has ruled as UNCONSTITUTIONAL a strict Florida law blocking gay people from adopting children (see the original USA Today article here):

Miami judge rules against Fla. gay adoption ban

MIAMI (AP) — A judge on Tuesday ruled that a strict Florida law that blocks gay people from adopting children is unconstitutional, declaring there was no legal or scientific reason for sexual orientation alone to prohibit anyone from adopting.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman said the 31-year-old law violates equal protection rights for the children and their prospective gay parents, rejecting the state's arguments that there is "a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children."

She noted that gay people are allowed to be foster parents in Florida. "There is no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting," she wrote in a 53-page ruling. …

Later in the article, ACLU attorneys are quoted as saying "the case was the first in the nation in which numerous experts in child psychology, social work and other fields testified that there is no science to justify a gay adoption ban." In fact, according to the USA Today article, "Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and American Psychiatric Association all support permitting same-sex couples to adopt."

The great state of Florida begs to differ, however — and in the form of one Florida Assistant Attorney General Valerie Martin, apparently plans "a swift appeal." Even attorney and same-sex marriage bigot crusader John Stemberger got into the act, being quoted as calling the ruling "classic judicial activism."

Go to the ACLU website and download the PDF doc version of the trial court final decision — makes for great reading: Judge Lederman offers a thorough review of the scientific evidence presented and a firm no-holds-barred dismissal of much of the state's so-called expert testimony. In fact, reading the decision in greater detail has made me feel less dread as the state of Florida "swiftly" files the appeal … the state's case really seems based largely on outdated bigotry and explicitly religion-affiliated dogma. Even if the appeal is eventually heard, the state will have to come up with much, much better support for its stand. And frankly, such support simply doesn't exist. Let's hope Lederman's great example of relying on science and reason inspires courts in any future litigation.

RELATED RESOURCES

ACLU website: http://www.aclu.com/

American Medical Association (AMA) website: http://www.ama-assn.org/

American Psychiatric Association website: http://www.psych.org/

Family Equality Council website: http://www.familyequality.org/index_main.html

Florida Department of Children and Families website: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/ess/ . The adoption program website is: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/adoption/

Stemberger, John: professional website at http://www.orlandolawyer.tv/

RELATED ARTICLES & REFERENCES

A challenge to Florida's ban on adoption by gay parents. ACLU website for miscellaneous information related to the Gill case, including a link to a PodCast featuring Martin Gill. Accessed Wed 11/26/2008 at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/37875res20081124.html

Florida Trial Court Opens Way For Lesbians And Gay Men To Adopt (11/25/2008). ACLU Press Release, accessed Wed 11/26/2008 at web address http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/37907prs20081125.html

Hudson, Waymon (10/23/2008). The insanity of John Stemberger: going down the rabbit hole in Florida. Blog commentary accessed Wed 11/26/2008 at http://www.bilerico.com/2008/10/the_insanity_of_john_stemberger_going_do.php

Miami judge rules against Fla. gay adoption ban. (11/25/2008). USA Today. Retrieved Wed 11/26/2008 at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-11-25-gay-adoption_N.htm.

Trial Court Decision, available as PDF download at http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/parenting/37906lgl20081125.html

Congratulations to Heather Gillman!

TOPIC: free speech

Surfing around looking for recent news/updates on the recent litigation involving Florida's Okeechobee High School and its efforts to suppress student efforts to form a Gay-Straight Alliance club (efforts that eventually failed spectacularly, by the way — see earlier commentary here), and I was reminded of the related events involving Ponce de Leon High School, then-principal David Davis, and Ponce de Leon High School senior Heather Gillman, which then led to this pleasant discovery [for the original, click here]:

Florida High School Student Wins Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award (10/20/2008)

Senior Heather Gillman Honored for Fearlessness In Speaking Out For the Rights of Gay and Lesbian Students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

MIAMI - The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida announces that Heather Gillman has been selected by the Playboy Foundation to receive the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award for "her fearlessness in speaking out on behalf of the rights of gay students" at her Ponce de Leon high school, located in Florida's Panhandle.

Gillman sued her school after her high school principal discriminated against her gay and lesbian friends. At trial, the principal testified that he believed clothing or stickers featuring rainbows would make students automatically picture people having sex, and he forbade students from wearing any sort of clothing, stickers, buttons, or symbols to show her support of equal rights for gay people.

"Heather Gillman is a courageous young woman who is most deserving of this very prestigious First Amendment award," said Howard Simon, Executive Director, ACLU of Florida. That her actions have received accolades from the Playboy Foundation demonstrate that her actions go beyond the walls of her rural high school, she has in essence taken a stand for all students in America. She exercised leadership and honesty when she stood up to the school's principal and the school board on behalf of the rights of gay students and we congratulate her."

Tomorrow, Gillman and her Mother Ardena will travel to Washington D.C. to be honored at the October 21 awards ceremony where she will receive her $10,000 award to pursue education.

"I thank the Playboy Foundation for the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment award. With the support of my parents and family I chose to protect the First Amendment rights of my classmates who support equal rights for gay people. Standing up to my school was really hard to do, but I'm so happy that I did, because the First Amendment is a big deal to everyone. I am grateful to the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida for defending me," said Gillman.

The day after being reprimanded for defending a gay student who had been harassed she returned to school wearing symbols of support including the rainbow flag and the initials G P for "gay pride." She was told by her school principal that she was not allowed to express any support for gay rights because it would be "disruptive," and that the symbols were signs of a "secret/illegal organization."

Past recipients of the First Amendment Award include filmmaker Michael Moore, comedian Bill Maher, and the late columnist Molly Ivins.

Wow. Way to go, Heather!

The 9/24/2008 press release from the Playboy Foundation notes that the First Amendment Awards were bestowed this year on just three recipients from a record number of 60 nominees,

… ranging from law professors to website creators to student journalists and representing both traditional and digital means of expression. The winners were chosen by a panel of distinguished judges: David M. Rubin, Professor and former Dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University; Geoffrey Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at University of Chicago Law School, and Nadine Strossen, President of the American Civil Liberties Union and Professor of Law at New York Law School.

The Playboy Foundation praised Gillman for her "fearlessness in speaking out on behalf of the rights of gay students."

This puts 17-yr-old high school senior Heather Gillam in quite distinguished company. Former recipients include film-maker and activist Michael Moore and columnist Molly Ivins. This year's recipients also included New-York-based attorney Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), recognized for "his tireless efforts to defend First Amendment rights of students and faculty," and Mark Klein, a retired AT&T technician, recognized for his courage in speaking out against electronic surveillance of American citizens by our own government.

RELATED REFERENCES

Florida High School Student Wins Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award (10/20/2008): Senior Heather Gillman Honored for Fearlessness In Speaking Out For the Rights of Gay and Lesbian Students. Accessed 10/24/2008 at http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/youth/37255prs20081020.html

Hudson, Waymon (10/23/2008). FL Student Heather Gillman Honored for Speaking Out for LGBT Rights. Accessed 10/24/2008 at http://florida.bilerico.com/2008/10/fl_student_heather_gillman_honored_for_s.php

The Playboy Foundation. Web site accessed 10/24/2008 at http://www.playboyenterprises.com/home/content.cfm?content=t_template&packet=0007B308-45F5-1C7D-9B578304E50A011A&artTypeID=0007B451-BB99-1C76-8FEA8304E50A010D

Ponce de Leon Senior Wins $10,000 Hugh Hefner Award. (10/16/2008). Accessed 10/24/2008 at http://www.wtvynews4.com/home/headlines/31126474.html.

Jacobsen v. Katzer: Apppeals Court Rules That The Terms In Artistic License Are Indeed Enforceable Copyright Conditions

TOPIC: open-source software, creative commons license

An apparent victory for Open-Source Software and Creative Commons licenses.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has vacated a District Court decision in the case of Robert Jacobsen v. Matthew Katzer and Kamind Associates, Inc. (dba KAM Industries) and eventually sent the case back to the District Court (Northern District of California) for further proceedings.

The Appeals Court summarized the case quite simply:

We consider here the ability of a copyright holder to dedicate certain work to free public use and yet enforce an "open source" copyright license to control the future distribution and modification of that work.

Indeed. So what's the problem? Jacobsen originally sued for copyright infringement and moved for a preliminary injunction when Katzer/Kamind used his code without following the conditions Jacobsen provided in the public license. The District Court apparently ruled that the open-source Artistic License was overly broad and did not create any liability for copyright infringement, only perhaps a breach of the nonexclusive license.

I'm only vaguely aware of some of the issues surrounding the open-source software movement, but I've benefitted from the movement in several ways (e.g. my current personal printer driver is open-source software and works much better than the driver supplied by the printer's manufacturer) and I've encountered related issues (e.g. working on b logs such as this and developing wiki sites for various class-related work). The Appeals Court ruling is actually quite informative/educational in terms of some of the reasoning behind, necessity, benefits, and incredible propagation of Creative Commons public licenses.

Open Source software projects invite computer programmers from around the world to view software code and make changes and improvements to it. Through such collaboration, software programs can often be written and debugged faster and at lower cost than if the copyright holder were required to do all of the work independently. In exchange and in consideration for this collaborative work, the copyright holder permits users to copy, modify and distribute the software code subject to conditions that serve to protect downstream users and to keep the code accessible.2 By requiring that users copy and restate the license and attribution information, a copyright holder can ensure that recipients of the redistributed computer code know the identity of the owner as well as the scope of the license granted by the original owner. The Artistic License in this case also requires that changes to the computer code be tracked so that downstream users know what part of the computer code is the original code created by the copyright holder and what part has been newly added or altered by another collaborator.

Traditionally, copyright owners sold their copyrighted material in exchange for money. The lack of money changing hands in open source licensing should not be presumed to mean that there is no economic consideration, however. There are substantial benefits, including economic benefits, to the creation and distribution of copyrighted works under public licenses that range far beyond traditional license royalties. For example, program creators may generate market share for their programs by providing certain components free of charge. Similarly, a programmer or company may increase its national or international reputation by incubating open source projects. Improvement to a product can come rapidly and free of charge from an expert not even known to the copyright holder. The Eleventh Circuit has recognized the economic motives inherent in public licenses, even where profit is not immediate. See Planetary Motion, Inc. v. Techsplosion, Inc., 261 F.3d 1188, 1200 (11th Cir. 2001) (Program creator "derived value from the distribution [under a public license] because he was able to improve his Software based on suggestions sent by end-users. . . . It is logical that as the Software improved, more end-users used his Software, thereby increasing [the programmer=s] recognition in his profession and the likelihood that the Software would be improved even further.").

Jacobsen originally sued because Katzer/Kamind used his code but didn't include the required attributions/notices. Katzer has argued that Katzer/Kamind cannot be liable for copyright infringement because Katzer/Kamind had a license to use the material. The District Court originally agreed, basically concluding that one cannot be liable for copyright infringement for something one has been granted a license to use.

The Appeals Court ultimately disagreed, however, noting that "The heart of the argument on appeal concerns whether the terms of the Artistic License are conditions of, or merely covenants to, the copyright license," [pg 9] and going on to explain:

… The District Court did not expressly state whether the limitations in the Artistic License are independent covenants or, rather, conditions to the scope; its analysis, however, clearly treated the license limitations as contractual covenants rather than conditions of the copyright license.

Jacobsen argues that the terms of the Artistic License define the scope of the license and that any use outside of these restrictions is copyright infringement. Katzer/Kamind argues that these terms do not limit the scope of the license and are merely covenants providing contractual terms for the use of the materials, and that his violation of them is neither compensable in damages nor subject to injunctive relief. Katzer/Kamind's argument is premised upon the assumption that Jacobsen's copyright gave him no economic rights because he made his computer code available to the public at no charge. From this assumption, Katzer/Kamind argues that copyright law does not recognize a cause of action for non-economic rights, relying on Gilliam v. ABC, 538 F.2d 14, 20-21 (2d Cir. 1976) ("American copyright law, as presently written, does not recognize moral rights or provide a cause of action for their violation, since the law seeks to vindicate the economic, rather than the personal rights of authors.").

The Appeals Court points out, however, that "The conditions set forth in the Artistic License are vital to enable the copyright holder to retain the ability to benefit from the work of downstream users," [pg 11] going on to point out that:

By requiring that users who modify or distribute the copyrighted material retain the reference to the original source files, downstream users are directed to Jacobsen's website. Thus, downstream users know about the collaborative effort to improve and expand the SourceForge project once they learn of the "upstream" project from a "downstream" distribution, and they may join in that effort.

The District Court interpreted the Artistic License to permit a user to "modify the material in any way" and did not find that any of the "provided that" limitations in the Artistic License served to limit this grant. The District Court"s interpretation of the conditions of the Artistic License does not credit the explicit restrictions in the license that govern a downloader's right to modify and distribute the copyrighted work. The copyright holder here expressly stated the terms upon which the right to modify and distribute the material depended and invited direct contact if a downloader wished to negotiate other terms. These restrictions were both clear and necessary to accomplish the objectives of the open source licensing collaboration, including economic benefit. Moreover, the District Court did not address the other restrictions of the license, such as the requirement that all modification from the original be clearly shown with a new name and a separate page for any such modification that shows how it differs from the original.

The Appeals Court concludes that

The clear language of the Artistic License creates conditions to protect the economic rights at issue in the granting of a public license. These conditions govern the rights to modify and distribute the computer programs and files included in the downloadable software package. The attribution and modification transparency requirements directly serve to drive traffic to the open source incubation page and to inform downstream users of the project, which is a significant economic goal of the copyright holder that the law will enforce.

and in the end determine that "the terms of the Artistic License are enforceable copyright conditions."

John Markoff has a nice summary article in The New York Times, titled Ruling Is a Victory for Supporters of Free Software.

A more informative summary is available at GPL JMRI Beats Patent Troll Matt Katzer in Court.

ADDENDUM (OMG!): apparently this case has a very interesting history not even whispered about in much of the news coverage of the Appeals case, with Katzer apparently copying Jacobsen's code THEN obtaining a patent on some model railroad technology that included the Java Model Railroad Interface (JMRI) work already done by Jacobsen's group, THEN Katzer attempting to charge Jacobsen's group for the right to offer downloads … Katzer apparently went so far to even cybersquat — Jacobsen's group writes that "Katzer also improperly registered one of our trademarks, DecoderPro, as the domain name "decoderpro.com". The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ordered it returned to us, and wrote an entire section of the order on "Katzer's bad faith"." (see http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/index.html). It appears that Katzer is much more than he appears. It will be ironic if such duplicity on his part eventually leads to solid case support for the affirmation of the open-source licenses.

RELATED REFERENCES

GPL JMRI Beats Patent Troll Matt Katzer in Court (8/15/2008). Slated, accessed 8/15/2008 at web address http://slated.org/jmri_beats_katzer_troll.

Jacobsen, Robert G. Website at the Department of Physics, University of California (Berkeley), accessed 8/15/2008 at web address http://physics.berkeley.edu/index.php?option=com_dept_management&act=people&Itemid=312&limitstart=0&task=view&id=363.

Jacobsen v. Katzer. (8/13/2008). Ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, accessed 8/15/2008 in pdf form at http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/opinions/08-1001.pdf.

Java Model Railroad Interface (JMRI) website (accessed 8/15/2008) at http://jmri.sourceforge.net/.

KAMIND Associates, Inc. website, accessed 8/15/2008 at http://www.kamind.net/.

Markoff, John (8/13/2008). Ruling Is a Victory for Supporters of Free Software. New York Times (online). Accessed 8/14/2008 at web address http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/technology/14commons.html.

Open-source pact subject to copyrights law - US court. (8/15/2008). Reuters, accessed 8/15/2008 at web address http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4657006a28.html.

Shiels, Maggie (8/14/2008). Legal milestone for open source. BBC News (online), accessed 8/15/2008 at web address http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7561943.stm.

Welcome to KAM Industries. Website (accessed 8/15/2008) for "The Conductor" software and related information at web address http://www.trainpriority.com/.

Secular Camp featured on NPR (8/7/2008)

TOPIC: religion, summer camp

Not long ago I posted on Summer Camp, Hold The Religion — prompted by an AP article by Valerie Bauman on the secular summer camp called Camp Quest. Barbara Bradley Hagerty of NPR has just run a segment this afternoon (8/7/2008) on a similar camp called Camp Inquiry, described on the Camp inquiry website as "one of many educational initiatives offered by the Center for Inquiry," and the following mission statement:

This is a place where kids can be themselves. We work toward helping youth confront the challenges of living a non-theistic/secular lifestyle in a world dominated by religious belief and pseudoscience. Grounded on the conviction that kids can begin establishing habits of the good and ethical life early on, Camp Inquiry 2008 adopts a three-part focus: The arts and sciences, the skeptical perspective, and ethical character development comprise an integrated approach to this “Age of Discovery.” Campers, counselors, and teachers will address key issues around individual identity, forging trusting relationships, establishing a sense of local and global community, and living with respect for the natural world.

Hagerty's NPR segment is available at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93174374 and will be available shortly in audio. The segment/article is a bit condescending, but she was dealing with relatively young kids and the attention itself was generally positive. It will be interesting to see the listener/reader reactions.

Angie McQuaid (one of the camp counselors, pictured above) spoke well in the segment:

"It's a brain spa," says Angie McQuaig, one of the counselors. McQuaig is an elementary school administrator in Georgia.

"As an educator, I like to teach critical thinking at a deep and erudite level, because it's not embedded in the curriculum as much as I'd like to see," McQuaig says. "And this provides a place for kids to talk about deep questions that many into adulthood don't even consider and contemplate."

Are they trying to create little atheists?

"Absolutely not!" McQuaig says. "We want to create little thinkers. Little thinkers that explore their own capacity and the external world, with all of the tools of science and humanity. That's why we're here."

Of course, the participants in any such summer camp will be uniquely self- or parent-selected. But the critical point for me is the opportunity for such kids.

Go visit the Camp Inquiry website. It's good reading.

RELATED REFERENCES

Bauman, Valerie (updated 5/28/2008). Atheist, agnostic families opt for own sleep-away camp. Accessed 8/7/2008 at web address: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-05-27-atheist-camp_N.htm.

Camp Inquiry website, accessed 8/7/2008 at web address: http://www.campinquiry.org/.

Camp Quest website, accessed 8/7/2008 at web address: http://camp-quest.org/.

Center for Inquiry website, accessed 8/7/2008 at web address: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/.

Craft, W. D. (5/27/2008). Summer camp, hold the religion. Available at web address: http://psychescientia.blogspot.com/2008/05/summer-camp-hold-religion.html.

Hagerty, Barbara Bradley (8/7/2008). Camp Offers Training Ground For Little Skeptics. Segment broadcast on All Things Considered, National Public Radio, with text (and related figures) available (8/7/2008) at web address: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93174374.

Federal Court Says Okeechobee High SchoolMust Allow Gay-Straight Alliance Club To Meet

TOPIC: gay rights, high school, freedom of speech

In an article titled "Judge: Gay club can meet at Okeechobee high school," the MiamiHerald.com reported Wednesday 7/30/2008 the ruling of federal judge K. Michael Moore:

By KELLI KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI --
A school district in rural Florida must allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to meet on campus and must provide for the well-being of gay and straight students, a federal judge ruled, capping a nearly two-year legal battle over First Amendment rights.

Students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate," Judge K. Michael Moore said in a written ruling issued Tuesday night, quoting another case.

Kennedy also alludes to the case involving (former) high school principal David Davis of Ponce de Leon High School:

Earlier this year, a Florida judge said a Panhandle principal led a "relentless crusade" against gay and lesbian students at Ponce de Leon High School and violated their First Amendment rights by trying to prevent them from wearing gay pride clothing, stickers and buttons.

By the way: former principal David Davis, who ended up costing his Holmes County School District more than $300,000 in damages and attorney fees, has now elected to return to the classroom to teach … American government and other classes! American Government?! OMG. (see "Ponce de Leon High School Principal Back to the Classroom," 7/24/2008, referenced below.) ANYWAY, Kennedy notes that:

Her lawsuit [against Okeechobee] cites the 1984 federal Equal Access Act, which was initially pushed by evangelical Christians after some public schools banned after-school prayer meetings and other religious gatherings. It says that if a public school allows any extracurricular activities to meet on campus it must allow all groups to do the same.

There's some great irony for you!

The actual ruling can be downloaded in pdf form from the ACLU site at: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/36195lgl20080729.html.

I'm looking forward to a detailed reading of that document. In the mean time, I notice that the Gay Straight Alliance is not mentioned on the Okeechobee High School website nor is any link provided to the GSA under the website's listing of "clubs."

I DID notice, however, that the school website included the picture of the school mascot "Bubba" shown above. The picture itself is ironic after you read about some of the supposed shenanigans the school went through to deny the Gay Straight Alliance club the right to meet.

RELATED REFERENCES

Bubba the Brahman (picture of the Okeechobee High School mascot), accessed 8/2/2008 at web page http://www.okee.k12.fl.us/ohs/mascot/mascot.htm.

Gonzalez v. School Board of Okeechobee County - Case Profile (5/21/2008 ?). American Civil Liberties Union (online), article accessed Sat 8/2/2008 at web page http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/35421res20080521.html.

Gonzalez v. School Board of Okeechobee County - Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment; Denying Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (7/29/2008). PDF document available for downloading, accessed Sat 8/2/2008 at web address http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/36195lgl20080729.html.

JUDGE REJECTS OKEECHOBEE SCHOOL BOARD'S ATTEMPT TO BLOCK GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE'S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT (3/13/2007). American Civil Liberties Union (online), article accessed Sat 8/2/2008 at web page http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/29025prs20070313.html.

Kennedy, Kelli (7/30/2008). Judge: Gay club can meet at Okeechobee high school. MiamiHerald.com, accessed 8/2/2008 at web address http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/623334.html.

Okeechobee High School website: accessed Sat 8/2/2008 at web address: http://www.okee.k12.fl.us/ohs/index.html.

Ponce de Leon High School Principal Back to the Classroom (7/24/2008). wtvynews4.com, accessed 8/2/2008 at web page http://www.wtvynews4.com/news/headlines/25875264.html

Ponce de Leon High School website: accessed Sat 8/2/2008 at web address http://pdlhs.hdsb.org/

Cool News From NASA:Phoenix Verifies Water On Mars

TOPIC: water on Mars

Image: full-circle panorama in approximately true color, combining more than 400 images taken during the first several weeks after NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on the Martian artic plane. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University Arizona/Texas A&M University. See http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/images/press/15158.html for more details.

NASA's Phoenix spacecraft & Mars probe has confirmed the presence of ice in the polar soil:

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080731.html

The Mission News site at NASA.gov reports:

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced by the heating of samples.

"We have water," said William Boynton of the University of Arizona, lead scientist for the Thermal and Evolved-Gas Analyzer, or TEGA. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted."

Boyton went on to say that "From my standpoint, it tastes very fine." (Mars probe finds water. USA Today, 7/31/2008).

RELATED REFERENCES

Mars probe finds water (7/31/2008). USA Today, accessed 7/31/2008 at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2008-07-31-mars-water_N.htm

NASA Spacecraft Confirms Martian Water, Mission Extended (7/31/2008). NASA website, accessed 7/31/2008 at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/news/phoenix-20080731.html

Massachusetts Takes Another Step Toward Equal Rights

TOPIC: gay rights, gay marriage

The Massachusetts legislature has now voted to repeal a 1913 law that had been used to block gay marriages involving out-of-state couples, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick indicates he will sign the bill.

So, now in addition to allowing residents of Massachusetts to participate in same-sex marriages (since 2004 under then governor Mitt Romney), out-of-state gay couples can go to Massachusetts to get married, even if their "home state" does not allow/recognize such unions.

Partly (ironically) driven by economic considerations, sure. But my less cynical side hopes that Massachusetts state Rep. Byron Rushing is sincere when he says that "This is question of fairness, and it is a question of equity" (Mass. House OKs out-of-state gay marriage, USA Today, 7/29/2008).

RELATED REFERENCES

Braun, Stephen (7/16/2008). Massachusetts Senate votes to end gay marriage restriction. Los Angeles Times, accessed Tues 7/29/2008 at web address http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gaymarry16-2008jul16,0,5071765.story .

Goodridge v. Mass. Department of Public Health, 440 Mass. 309, 798 NE2d 941 (Nov. 18, 2003).

Mass. House OKs out-of-state gay marriage. (7/29/2008). USA Today, accessed 7/29/2008 at web page http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-29-mass-gaymarriage_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip .

Massachusetts Law About Same-Sex Marriage. Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries (online), web page accessed Tues 7/29/2008 at http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/gaymarriage.html.

Viser, M. (7/10/2008). Gay-marriage advocates hope to repeal old law: Nonresidents now barred. The Boston Globe, accessed Tues 7/29/2008 online at web address http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/10/gay_marriage_advocates_hope_to_repeal_old_law/ .