* Crossposted from: Skeptik
 
                       The Pigasus Awards 1997
 
Announcing the official 1997
Pigasus Awards from the
James Randi Educational Foundation
 
        On April 1st, we award the coveted Pigasus
	awards in four categories,
	for accomplishments in the period January 1/97 to December 31/97.
	The awards are announced via telepathy, the winners are allowed to
	predict their winning, and the Flying Pig trophies are sent via
	psychokinesis. We send; if they don't receive, that's probably due
	to their lack of ability.
 
This year, we award the prizes to:
 
Science:
            Dr. Michael Guillen
	    
           Category #1, to the scientist who said
		or did the silliest thing related to
                the supernatural, paranormal or occult,
 
goes to Dr. Michael Guillen of ABC-TV News.
The science editor of ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" since 1988, Dr. Guillen
has supported all manner of questionable "New Age" notions, usually by
featuring endorsements by celebrities.  Dr. Guillen holds Ph.D. degrees in
physics, mathematics, and astronomy, and should know better.  ABC-TV refers
to him as, "a leader in this nation's campaign to eliminate science and math
illiteracy." Judging from his indiscriminate promotion of pseudoscience and
quackery, we don't think so. (See "Media" Award, below.)
 
            National Institutes of Health
 
           Category #2, to the funding organization that supported the most
                useless study of a supernatural, paranormal or occult,
        goes to the National Institutes of Health,
	whose budget for their Office of Alternative Healing
	began as two million dollars, and now amounts to twenty million.
	This money, originally marked to do "basic research"
	on alternative healing claims such as homeopathy, acupuncture,
	and chiropractic, has been dribbled away on peripheral claims
	of individual quack advocates.  In our thinking, "basic research"
	should address such questions as, "Does chiropractic work?"
	rather than, "How much pressure is exerted on the spinal column
	by the thumbs of the chiropractor?"
	As we've said before, an apt definition of "the spinal column"
	is: "It supports the head, the neck, and the chiropractor."
 
            ABC-TV News
	    
           Category #3, to the media outlet that reported as fact the most
                outrageous supernatural, paranormal or occult claim,
                the prize goes to ABC-TV News, for their
unquestioning and enthusiastic endorsement of "cold fusion," ESP,
psychokinesis, astrology, "magnetic therapy," and all sorts of junk science
and highly questionable "alternative healing" modalities.
	
            Various winners
 
           Category #4, to the "psychic" performer who fooled the greatest
                number of people with the least effort,
	is given this year to all the psychics, astrologers, fortune tellers,
spiritualists, and palm readers who, though they were consulted a matter of
hours before her death,  all failed to see any danger for Princess Di.  These
were the best of the best, highly paid and respected by Di and her friends.
So much for professional help.
	
	The James Randi Educational Foundation
	
	 201 S.E. 12th St (E. Davie Blvd)
 
	 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316-1815,
	 U.S.A.
 
	  +1 954 467 1660 (fax)  
	  +1 954 467 1112 (phone)
 
        randi@randi.org
 
      Ross Sauer    patch@bbs.sts.net    patch@bytehead.com
 
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