Some of you will remember the AITSE December 2009 newsletter where we described how your Christmas dinner is converted into usable energy. Although my schedule does not permit me to explain this article, I thought it might nonetheless be of interest.

The furor about the release of hacked emails is dying down, but are we any clearer about whether global climate change 1) is occurring and 2) is caused by people. This article by BBC reporter Tom Heap gives a nice balanced view--and concludes that absolute certainty is not possible.

In a highly successful press conference at the Los Angeles Press Club, Dr. Caroline Crocker officially announced the publication of her book Free to Think which details her experience at GMU, including claims that a signed 3-year contract in 2004 was not honored by GMU officials because of a cheating student's incorrect report that she taught creationism in one of her classes. She also announced the launch of a new national non-profit organization known as the American Institute for Technology and Science Education (AITSE), tasked with the goal of promoting greater awareness of a growing epidemic in the loss of integrity in science and her intention to take immediate action to begin a process of restoring it. Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance, a fellow advocate for freedom of speech and scientific integrity, introduced Dr. Crocker. The event was also attended by Eric Buehrer of Gateways to Better Education, Dean Myron Steeves from Trinity Law School, Bob Fleming from the American Institute for Technology and Science Education Board and other dignitaries and was well-received by all.

"Science has long suffered from the loss of integrity, beginning in our schools and academic institutions where we find cheating to be almost epidemic and certainly an acceptable norm in far too many instances," claimed Crocker. "The problem is, cheating students turn out to be cheating scientists as well, and our culture has paid a high price for this for way too long," she added. "One of the big problems with cheating is that in many universities the ratings for professors are based on student evaluations. Many professors are afraid to report cheating because they believe this will provide students with an opportunity to retaliate by filing poor student ratings. We need to fix that, not only for the professors, but more importantly, to stop the trend where students are allowed to more forward if they cheat."

Dr. Crocker, an immunopharmacologist with numerous scientific publications to her credit, warned that "Science is often corrupted by politics, financial interests, and even different ideological viewpoints. This has significant impacts on the health and welfare of Americans - we need to change that or our society will suffer greatly for it." According to Crocker, the curtailment of freedom of speech is linked with the loss of integrity in science, most notably in actions of penalizing students, educators, and scientists for the expression of views that differ from the currently accepted scientific consensus. She offered the treatment of Intelligent Design advocates as one example of a class of dissenters who have been mistreated and are often referenced with contempt for their views.

"That's not the type of attitude most Americans expect to see in our free society. Both educators and students should be allowed to ask questions and explore alternative solutions in science, even if they do not align with consensus views. No one should be penalized for exploring where the evidence leads them. I've experienced this firsthand at George Mason University, and I can tell you this is a huge problem."

Dr. Crocker was one of the "expelled" scientists featured in the Ben Stein documentary film "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" in 2008. Dr. Crocker also claimed that she lost her legal representation when George Mason sought legal representation from the law firm defending her against GMU's actions. "GMU approached the law firm with a separate contract, but then required that Arnold and Porter fire me as a client before signing on," said Crocker. "Large law firms have policies in place for this type of situation and it is normal for clients to waive conflicts of interest, but GMU refused, so I lost my legal representation. This may be a legal action, but it was not ethical one on the part of GMU," she added.

To combat this issue, Dr. Crocker is creating a coalition of like-minded organizations who will stand with her as she moves forward on the issue of scientific integrity. "I know that many organizations may not fully agree with our position on some issues, but we're at the very beginning stages of creating AITSE, and we're looking to establish common ground with several organizations on the points where we do agree," said Crocker. "Integrity really matters if we expect to see science regain the respect it has lost among many Americans."

Free to Think--or Not? This informative talk is suited for all audiences; no science background is necessary. Beginning with an exploration of the nature of freedom, Dr. Crocker shows that science in America is no longer free: it has been taken hostage by politics, finance and religion. After giving much evidence of how those who question the scientific "consensus" view are persecuted, Dr. Crocker then explores the consequences of this stranglehold on science for our health, economic success, and religious views as a society. She ends with a plea for a return to scientific integrity, leaving the audience with hope for the future as she gives information on how they can help make this happen: a call to action for the good of our nation.

Evolution and Intelligent Design: What's the Fuss? Have you ever wondered why people get so angry about evolution, creation, intelligent design, etc.? In this fascinating presentation, the reason for the antagonism is explored and questions are asked: Is evolution fact, fiction or religion? What is neoDarwinism? What is intelligent design? Is it fact, fiction, or religion? What is science anyway? What about religion? Dr. Crocker carefully disentangles the religion from the science and invites the audience to think through these matters for themselves. Although this talk does include some science, participant surveys indicate that it is highly accessible and suitable for high school, university, and church audiences.

What You Shouldn't Ever Say--If You Want a Job! This highly technical, but fascinating, talk is most suitable for home school conventions, university audiences, and those who enjoy an intellectual challenge. If you wondered what Dr. Crocker taught causing her to lose her job at GMU, this is the presentation you want! The theory of evolution, the evidence and problems with the evidence for it, the theory of intelligent design, the evidence and problems with the evidence for it, questions about the origin of life, the wonder of DNA and the nanotechnology of cells are all discussed. An information-packed lecture that will leave you wanting more.

The Evolution and Extinction of a Teacher Illustrated with highly-entertaining cartoons by talented teen Ayden Lopez, this presentation has a serious side. Dr. Crocker begins by describing her journey to becoming a teacher recognized for teaching excellence using amusing anecdotes from her new book. However, the talk then takes a sober turn when she explains how giving one lecture that impartially provided both evidence for evolution and some of the problems with that evidence resulted in the loss of her job, her legal representation, and her career. Since hers is not an isolated case and lack of scientific integrity affects all our lives, this talk is a must for teachers, church audiences, and indeed anyone who is interested in academic freedom.

The page for booking a presentation is not yet complete on the AITSE website, so please click below, click on "contact", and fill out the form.

Critique is not, therefore, some peripheral feature of science. Rather, it is core to the practice of science and without it the construction of reliable knowledge would be impossible.

In other words, scientific integrity--or telling the whole story--matters.

Publicity Coordinator- Locate and work with event coordinators to develop speaking engagements, radio and TV appearances. - Help write press releases as needed - Help to create publicity media and marketing collateral as needed

Social Media GuruDevelop, maintain, and test the AITSE website as needed - Develop and publish videos online as needed - Assist in the development and deployment of the AITSE newletter - Assist in development of Twitter/Facebook/other social networking

Grant WriterIdentify possible funding sources -Contact foundations, corporations, donors in an appropriate manner/ maintain relationships -Write grants (need previous experience)

If you are willing and able to help in these ways, please let me know!