CSICON is no con; Ladendorf launches anti-gun violence movement in Vegas

At the Committee for Scientific Inquiry's (CSI) conference called CSICON in Las Vegas last weekend at the Excalibur hotel, scientific skeptics like myself - meaning adhering to the scientific method to investigate claims of the paranormal and pseudoscience - were treated to a number of speakers from Richard Wiseman on deception and self-deception and Maria Konnikova on con artists to a panel of women scientists and science educators discussing many topics, including sexual harassment in the sciences. I've attended these conferences for years, and they recharge my batteries towards working for science and reason in all aspects of life. I also had worked for CSI's parent organization, which was started by scientists such as Sagan and Asimov, for 12 years at its L.A. branch and volunteer there now. (The L.A. branch closes this week but moves to a new location in L.A.)

Here are just a few of the current conclusions of CSICON: Climate change is real and caused by humans; ghosts are not real; GMOs are not harmful, contrary to current hysteria about them; naturopathy and homeopathy don't work; and much more. For more information, follow the CFI Web site, Skeptical Inquiry magazine, and this latest newsletter: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/news/cause_effect_92

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After the Las Vegas conference, I walked from the Excalibur past the Luxor and stopped at the Mandalay Bay, the site of the mass shooter on Oct. that cost the lives of 58 and injured hundreds. Outside the Mandalay Bay, where various victim remembrances, such as photos of victims and mementos, I launched my "Repeal & Replace the 2nd Amendment" movement by conducting an hour-long silent protest against gun violence. I received some thumbs up and talked to some supportive CSICON attendees. While my senators and representatives in California all support various control measures, I now feel that nothing less than a total revision of the 2nd Amendment is needed to ensure that we have a more uniform system of laws nationwide and that the convoluted language of the amendment is clarified. I would like to see a national commission come up with a suggested replacement amendment that would include at minimum a guarantee of home defense with certain guns, a ban on assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines although they could be confined to gun clubs, a banned-gun buyback program, and universal background checks.

I'll be updating my movement on a separate page under "Works" in the near future.