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Right this very moment, the JREF is among the costumed fans of science fiction, comic books, gaming, and all sorts of other wonderfully geeky things at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA. Dragon*Con is home to the Skeptrack, a weekend-long schedule of skeptical lectures, panels, and live podcasts. JREF president D.J. Grothe, education director Michael Blanford, and I are all here sharing the JREF's vision for a more rational world.

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We've been a part of panels on science education, investigation versus debunking, skeptical activism, and more. We're also operating a JREF information table that offers free "Do You Have ESP?" education modules, stickers, and our Million Dollar Challenge novelty checkbooks. Even better, we're giving away books, TAM DVD sets, and t-shirts to anyone who becomes a JREF member during the con.

If you're at Dragon*Con, please stop by our table in the Hilton across from the Walk of Fame!

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This week: Coverage of the JREF's renewed challenge to Van Praagh and other celebrity psychics, including several great radio interviews.
  • Jeff Allan Show, 570News and Cable 20 Ontario, Sept. 1, 2011
    Live interview with James Randi on the Million Dollar Challenge (not available online)
  • CBC Radio-Canada, August 31, 2011
    Interview with D.J. Grothe on the Million Dollar Challenge (not available online)

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DragonConLogoThis week, several JREF staff are heading to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in Dragon*Con's Skeptrack. We'll have a table in the Hilton chock full of free stickers, pamphlets, and educational materials.  If you're in the area Sept. 2-5, please stop by. You can find more details about our Skeptrack plans here.

And be sure to mark your calendars for Skeptic Fair on Sept. 8.  This free event will be held in front of the central campus library at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Students and members of the public will be able to browse educational booths, play games, and win raffle prizes in the name of science and skepticism!  It's a great way for students and members of the public to educate themselves about the supernatural, the psychology of self-deception, "magical" devices, and faith healers.  Plus, the JREF is providing our new Dowsing Education Kit free to all attendees.  With it, you'll learn about the power of the ideomotor effect and how to make your own dowsing rods!  

Along with the Center For Inquiry, the Secular Student Alliance, and Florida Atheists and Secular Humanists (FLASH), the JREF is very proud to be involved in what we hope will be an annual event.

Notes from the classroom - Michael Blanford

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Folks, I’m alarmed – and always have been alarmed – at the insidious science-bashing that presently threatens our way of life in the USA, and in fact, all over the world. I’m well aware of the fact that the JREF, as a 501(c)3 organization, cannot and does not endorse nor support any political party or opinion, but I recommend that you read this article from which I extract and offer you this small portion so that you may know in advance the nature of the message:

[It is] highly likely that the presidential candidate of one of our two major political parties will either be a man who believes what he wants to believe, even in the teeth of scientific evidence, or a man who pretends to believe whatever he thinks the party’s base wants him to believe.

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Dear Friend, 

Every day we hear more stories of faith healers preying on the seriously ill, televangelists targeting poor communities, and psychics harassing grieving families. Fraudulent science sparks a vaccine-safety panic that puts children’s lives at risk, yet the mainstream media fans the flames for ratings instead of helping parents get the facts. Politicians seem more interested in attacking science than in prosecuting the people pushing fake bomb detectors on public safety agencies. 

If we want to see a healthier, safer, more rational world, it’s up to us to make it happen. Becoming one of the JREF's monthly donors means you want to fight for what we believe in. 

Your ongoing contribution will help educate students about critical thinking; support grassroots skeptics campaigns; and take on corporations, media organizations and celebrity hucksters that promote dangerous nonsense. 

Will you Take a Stand for Skepticism today? 

James Randi
Founder 

P.S. Please take a minute to share this message with your friends and ask them to Take a Stand for Skepticism.
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