Morris Dees fired from the Southern Poverty Law Center

March 15, 2019 • 1:30 pm

I’ve posted a fair amount about the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which at one time was a great organization fighting segregation and pushing for civil liberties (see my posts here).  But, as civil rights became national law, the organization started changing its mission, which largely became fighting “hate speech.” That is not necessarily bad, but the SPLC became so social justice-y that they started making “hate lists” that included people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz who featured on a list of “anti-Muslim extremists” (Nawaz is a Muslim, for crying out loud). Further, they also went after “cultural appropriation” of Cinco de Mayo, pretty close to a victimless crime for these people. Finally, it was revealed by several outlets, including Politico, that the founders and top lawyers of the SPLC made huge and unconscionable salaries, and that they even stashed a lot of the organization’s money in offshore accounts for reasons that aren’t clear.

I was thus pleased when Nawaz sued the SPLC and won a $3.4 million settlement as well as an apology, and when the SPLC removed that “hate list” from their site.  Now, according to the NYT and other venues, the founder and big macher in the whole shebang, Morris Dees, once an effective and admirable civil-right litigator, has been ousted from the organization after nebulous charges of “inappropriate conduct”. That conduct isn’t clear yet, but may include, ironically, poor treatment of women and blacks. The NYT story is below:

From the article:

The group’s president, Richard Cohen, did not give a specific reason for the dismissal of Mr. Dees, 82, on Wednesday. But Mr. Cohen said in a statement that as a civil-rights group, the S.P.L.C. was “committed to ensuring that the conduct of our staff reflects the mission of the organization and the values we hope to instill in the world.”

“When one of our own fails to meet those standards, no matter his or her role in the organization, we take it seriously and must take appropriate action,” Mr. Cohen said.

Mr. Cohen’s statement suggested that Mr. Dees’s firing was linked to workplace conduct. He said the center, which is based in Montgomery, Ala., had requested “a comprehensive assessment of our internal climate and workplace practices” in a bid to ensure that the organization was a place where “all voices are heard and all staff members are respected.”

Note that Dees denies the charges vehemently; the tweets below were posted by Josh Moon, who writes for The Alabama Political Reporter:

Some of the reporting, including the first tweet above, intimates that another factor in Dees’s firing could have been the change in mission of the SPLC from a genuine civil rights group to a social-justice enforcement group:

Mr. Dees and the S.P.L.C. have been credited with undermining the influence of the Ku Klux Klan and extremist groups. But in recent years, the center has come under scrutiny for its classifications of “hate groups,” and whether the organization has abused that label in pursuit of a political agenda or increased donations.

The center has tracked extremist activity and hate groups throughout the country since the 1980s. Its 2018 Intelligence Project reportidentified 1,020 hate groups, its largest number ever. Conservatives have accused the group of unfairly including right-leaning organizations on the list.

. . .“I am glad to see Dees leave S.P.L.C., whatever the reason,” William A. Jacobson, a professor at Cornell Law School and an outspoken critic of the group, said on Thursday.

“S.P.L.C. long ago focused on combating the Ku Klux Klan, but then abused the reputation it earned for those efforts by demonizing political opponents through the use of hate and extremist lists to stifle speech by people who presented no risk of violence,” Mr. Jacobson said.

I’m glad to see hm go, too. It’s time for fresh blood and a rededication to the original mission of the SPLC, fighting genuine oppression and bigotry. As the Montgomery Advertiser reports, an outside group will be examining the group’s direction:

“Today we announced a number of immediate, concrete next steps we’re taking, including bringing in an outside organization to conduct a comprehensive assessment of our internal climate and workplace practices, to ensure that our talented staff is working in the environment that they deserve — one in which all voices are heard and all staff members are respected,” [SPLC President Richard] Cohen said.

This group has about half a BILLION dollars in assets, and that dosh can be used to do real good rather than making up “little lists.”

That was not a 15-meter anaconda!

March 15, 2019 • 11:15 am

by Greg Mayer

So here’s the wrap-up on anacondas. First, as I mentioned in the previous anaconda post, alert readers went digging and found out the true story. Reader Roger first suggested it was stretched, and, following a suggestion by infiniteimprobablit, determined it was changed from an aspect ratio of .550 (typical, I think of cellphones) to 16:9; Michael Fisher located the original video. Here’s the original video:

There was also a discussion of the stretched video on reddit. The snake now looks like a typical anaconda: the stretched one made its color pattern look a bit odd, and appear to be very wide (which added to the impression of great size). After watching the original video, I sent the following message to Jerry:

It’s not fake, but it’s been stretched from a vertical cell phone video to fit a 16:9 format. I’ve now seen the original video. It’s crossing a road (not a stream), it’s not swimming, the guy filming is walking (not in a boat). It’s a big snake, but on the order of 5-7 m, not 15. Readers found this, and I’ll put it together into a post for tomorrow afternoon.

My guess on the conversion ratio was right, or close to it (see the detailed discussion by Michael Fisher and Roger on figuring out the exact method of aspect ratio conversion/stretching). The video was posted by the Youtube account of Dumato, a Swiss company with Brazilian roots. They said this about it in the video description:

Many thanks to Dinda from Manaus who took this video and sent to DUMATO, showing how Amazonia is alive and free

davelenny, judging by the ruts in the road, figured the snake to be less than 3 car widths long (which would be less than 18 ft. for a 6 ft. wide vehicle such as a Jeep or Land Rover. Michael Fisher, noting that the ruts are likely to be 60 inches apart, so that the road would have a width of 10 ft., suggests a total length of 12-15 ft. (ca. 4-5 m) for the snake. Jeeps/trucks have wider axles (65″ for a Toyota Land Cruiser), and the flooded section of the road where the snake is is a bit wider than the rest of the road, so I’d go a bit larger than Michael. My initial guess of 5-7 m is probably not way off, but I would lean more toward the lower end of that range.

Next, there’s the size of the anaconda on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum. It is about 22 feet, which I figured out by measuring the floor tile length using my feet (my feet, shod, are one foot long, as I’ve verified on many floor tiles and soccer fields), and then counting the number of floor tiles from one end of the snake to the other.

Anaconda on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum.

My hat, which placed in the picture for scale, is 7-8 inches across. Michael Fisher, using the hat, came up with 20 feet, which was the closest of any reader, and given the angle, a pretty good estimate. So, with a 20% stretch, the live length would be 18.3 feet, which is spuriously precise, so let’s say 18 feet.

And finally, as an extra added bonus, I need to point out that that’s not a shed skin; this is a shed skin:

Shed skin of ball python (Python regius), ca. 1.2 m total length.

Note that the shed skin is translucent and nearly patternless; it is also much lighter (in weight) than an actual skin, which is what is on display in San Diego. Shed skins are only rarely taken as specimens for museums, usually only to document very uncommon species or occurrences. The above is a shed from my ball python, Vyvyan. Below, you can see the skin between the scales. The scales are nearly transparent, but the skin between is more opaque; it is this opaque skin that gives a skin its “stretch”.

Shed skin of ball python (Python regius), ca. 1.2 m total length.

NYT goes soft on astrology

March 15, 2019 • 10:15 am

“It is wrong, everywhere and for every one, to believe anything on insufficient evidence”.
—W.K. Clifford, The Ethics of Belief

If a newspaper has an astrology column, write it off. Unsubscribe. It may be justified as a form of amusement, but many people accept astrology, and such a justification feeds into the acceptance of woo and faith. And a lot of people spend a lot of money on astrological advice, just as they do on psychics. The two phenomena are, after all, related.

The New York Times doesn’t have an astrology column, but it just published an article that could be seen as soft on astrology, for while it points out that many people don’t accept astrology, it doesn’t point out that scientific tests also debunk it. (For a very good test of astrology, see this pdf.) And the article (below) copiously quotes those who accept it. It’s like the NYT publishing a piece on creationism and saying “creationism is sometimes met with ridicule or derision by scientists and non-believers” but that there are many creationists around and those folks urge caution about accepting evolution. If you don’t like creationism, it implies, just shut up and move on. Don’t quibble about “evidence”.

Nor does this piece present any evidence against astrology, though one linked article says there is such evidence. Rather, it says that Mercury is in “retrograde”: an optical illusion that occurs a couple of times a year when Mercury, which circles the Sun about four times faster than does Earth, appears to be going backwards because of its greater speed. That alarms some people. Read and weep:

Here’s all the stuff in the piece that implies that astrology might have something to it:

Do not sign contracts. Do not buy electronics, or anything with moving parts or gears. Do not be surprised if the mail is screwed up, or something goes awry when you’re in transit. And be mindful: You’re liable to forget something, like your glasses or phone.

That’s the advice from astrologers while the planet Mercury is in retrograde, which lasts until March 28 this time around. The phrase has become a go-to explanation — or scapegoat — for when things go a little haywire.

But two prominent astrologers we spoke to said there was some exaggeration in the popular mind about the chaos caused by Mercury’s motion.

Susan Miller, the force behind the popular site Astrology Zone, finds the alarmist headlines about “surviving” retrogade to be a bit much.

“It’s not tragic,” she said. “It’s annoying.”

Chani Nicholas, whose writing is infused with political and social commentary, agreed. “It’s given way too much emphasis generally,” she said.

They preach caution, not panic. For example, you might have to purchase a gadget during Mercury retrograde. That’s fine.

“Just keep your receipts,” Ms. Nicholas said.

Imagine. That’s like interviewing a flat-earther saying, “Well, don’t panic. It’s okay if you take a cruise; but be sure to take out life insurance in case you fall off the edge.”

But wait! There’s more!

Call it a sign of the times.

“The meteoric rise of New Age practices may be trendy, but it’s one way millennials are acknowledging that the current system isn’t working,” Krista Burton wrote in a Times Op-Ed last year.

“We’re trying out new things that are actually old things; we’re seeing what else could make life a little more meaningful, a little more bearable.”

. . . “It’s a waste of your energy to be hating on astrology, because we really aren’t out here trying to harm people,” she said.

Yeah, they’re just deluding people to make them feel good and taking money in the process.

At the end of the piece, astrology is touted as a sort of feel-good practice, like being a liberal Methodist. The difference, of course, is that astrology does make specific predictions that can be and have been falsified, whereas many religious claims are untestable. Accepting astrology is like accepting flat-earthism. While it doesn’t cause as much harm as, say, accepting climate-change denialism, it still weakens the organs of rationality, and in places like India it is dead serious, with marriages and other events—even launching satellites—timed to coincide with a propitious conjunctions of the planets.

Here’s how the piece ends.

Many people, of course, may peruse their horoscope without embracing all of the teachings of astrology. And having “Mercury retrograde” as a go-to phrase to describe things going wrong can be pretty useful.

Both Ms. Miller and Ms. Nicholas said that there were positive aspects to Mercury being in retrograde, and that it was a good opportunity to look back, reflect and regroup. Ms. Nicholas is using the time to complete revisions on her upcoming book about astrology and radical self-acceptance, due out in December.

“My main concern is that everyone has access to the therapies and practices that are healing to them,” Ms. Nicholas said.

“And if astrology is not that for you, then great, move on.”

If palm-reading and seances aren’t for you, then great, move on.  If anti-vaxism isn’t for you, then great, move on. If creationism isn’t for you, then great, move on. If Bigfoot isn’t for you, then great, move on. The thing is, astrology shouldn’t be for you, for it weakens your rationality and, for many who pay astrologers, picks your pocket on false pretenses.

In contrast, here’s the entirety of criticism in the article, with one sentence even giving some pushback:

Of course, actual scientists point out that any “retrograde” motion by Mercury is an optical illusion. And they vigorously dispute the core belief of astrology, that the motion of the planets can influence events here on Earth. In fact, studies have shown no correlation between the behavior of planets and of people.

. . . But astrology is sometimes met with ridicule or derision by scientists and non-believers. Ms. Nicholas said she was emphatically pro-science, and “baffled” about the negative reaction that some people have to astrology.

They do proffer some depressing statistics about American belief in astrology, although they aren’t seen as depressing by the NYT:

The National Science Board, which submits biennial reports to Congress on the state of science and engineering in the United States, including attitudes toward “pseudoscience,” has also found that younger Americans are less likely to reject astrology. Its 2018 report found that 54 percent of those 18 to 25, and 53 percent of those 25 to 34, said astrology was “not at all scientific.” Among all respondents, that number was 60 percent.

And a Pew Research Center survey of American adults released last year found that 37 percent of women and 20 percent of men said they believed in astrology. The numbers were highest among people ages 30 to 49, followed by those who were 18 to 29.

Below is a video, embedded in the article, which I thought would be critical, as it’s called “Astrology is fake but it’s probably fine,” about the “mystical internet” and the rise of astrology apps and the like. At least they seemed to say it was “fake”. But did it really?

Nope; they show Spencer Pratt using crystals for healing. They say that you don’t have to actually believe in astrology to use it, for the practice is about “helping us understand ourselves.” After all, “a piece of rose quartz stone is an expression of unconditional love.” They tout Goop’s jade vagina eggs without criticizing them, saying that woo “fulfills a legitimate need”, as it’s “a rejection of all the algorithmic, data-driven, hyperlogical, crypto-libertarian values that run so much of what we do online. In their place, it carves out room for intuition and empathy. . . In this context [the fact that it’s even more idiotic than flat earthism], retreating into the mystical internet actually feels like quite a rational move.”

There you have it: faith trumps facts; what makes you feel good trumps what’s true. It’s idiotic, and it’s in the New York Times.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/video/arts/100000005926644/internet-mysticism-astrology.html

Again, my twin beefs:

1.) Why was this published in the New York Times? Of what value is it to anyone? Why is the paper giving voice to people who accept woo because it “seems rational”?

2.) Astrology is not benign, but harmful. It not only weakens the mental barriers between faith and rationality, but it also enables a whole group of shysters—those who profit from astrology—to prey on the gullible.

Greg Mayer, who brought this piece to my attention, wanted me to add this, as he teaches a course on pseudoscience:

It’s not just that astrology harms your mind; it also harms your pocketbook. Astrology is just one of a long and sorry list of scams that are designed to separate the gullible from their money. I’ve covered many of these over the years of teaching a course called “Science and Pseudoscience”. On one memorable occasion, after we had covered these various scams, a student raised her hand and told the class, “You wouldn’t believe how much I was spending on palm-reading until I took this class!”

The Times should have thrown this piece in the bin.

h/t: Greg

Please donate to Feline Friends London

March 15, 2019 • 8:30 am

Many thanks to the roughly 70 readers who contributed to Feline Friends London, a no-kill and impecunious cat rescue organization that has become my pet charity (excuse the pun). I have asked readers to donate twice now (here and here), and will do so once more after this, but I don’t like to hector people. But cats can’t ask for money, so I have to.

I’m told that the total received is about £1000, which is certainly very helpful, but it’s far less than I expected. When I made my first appeal (here), I said that if every subscriber gave just one pound, we could raise 60,000 pounds for the shelter. Only about 1% of subscribers—and there are more readers than that—have kicked in, and I’m sort of sad. I’m thinking that if only 1% of the readers appreciate this site enough to give even a pound or so, I’m not doing a very good job—or that people will take but not give even a pittance in return.

But there is still a chance to give a few pounds and, if you say in the comments that you’re donating, you could win a free autographed book with a cat drawn in it. (Two will be given.) Just click on the screenshot below to make some rescue cats very happy. This is a plea—for the cats.

To donate using your credit card, click on the screenshot below:

Look at it this way: you don’t have Jerry Lewis annoyingly importuning you for 24 hours straight. You have only Jerry Coyne asking you politely to open up your wallet a bit.

Here are some more cats up for adoption (three are taken already!):

 

“They are us”: New Zealand’s PM reacts to mosque shootings

March 15, 2019 • 7:45 am

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, reacts strongly and eloquently to the terrorist murder of 49 Muslims worshiping at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“It is clear that this is one of New Zealand’s darkest days. Clearly what has happened here is an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence. Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand. They may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand. There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence, which it is clear this act was.”

Readers’ wildlife photos

March 15, 2019 • 7:30 am

Reader Duncan McCaskill in Australia has a popular birdbath, and it’s gotten even more popular with the heat. His notes and photos:

Its been a long hot summer in Australia, and here in Canberra and my bird bath has been busy. I clean and re-fill it nearly every day, but at the end of the day it can be dry and dusty if large birds have been having a good splash. Here are some of the visitors.

A young Brown-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus brevirostris):

A Yellow-faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops) :

A White-plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus):

The White-plumed Honeyeater enjoying itself:

A Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa):

Some Red-browed Finches (Neochmia temporalis):

A Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata) that was missing its tail for some reason. It was in a small flock, but only this tail-less one wanted a bath.

An Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen). It doesn’t take many magpies bathing to empty the bird bath.
A Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina). Despite the impression you might get from the preceding picture, Currawongs are actually a bit larger than Magpies.