The CNPS Has Been Incorporated
Dear fellow scientists,
An update on the battle for survival following upon the virtual destruction of the NPA. As you may know, Barry Springer has resigned, as have many others, and little is left of the NPA, save a skeleton crew.
In the meantime, the John Chappell Natural Philosophy Society has been incorporated in the state of Michigan as an organization for those of us (the vast majority) of NPA members who were opposed to the Springer group take-over. The new society, now known as the CNPS, has been organized by a group of five former NPA members, namely Greg Volk, David de Hilster, Lou LaFollette, Nick Percival, and myself (Duncan Shaw). So far, we have the support of over 160 former NPA members and the number is growing.
The CNPA is incorporated in the state of Michigan and Lou LaFollette is our resident agent. Our initial annual conference is being held in Boca Raton, FL, from August 5 to 8, 2015.
You will remember that a key factor in the destruction of the NPA was a dispute as to whether the directors were to be elected by the members or be self-perpetuating. While there was much more to the dispute than that, our group is pleased to report that the question of who elects the directors of the CNPS has been resolved in the proposed by-laws. This document, called the Operating Agreement in the state of Michigan, provides that it is the members who elect the directors. It also defines members as those who are paid up on their annual dues.
A copy of the proposed Operating agreement can be viewed on our website at: Operating Agreement. It is the product of considerable work by the five of us. We invite comments and suggestions as its provisions can be amended. Its adoption will be put to a vote of the members.
If the CNPA is to prosper – and I believe it will – it needs the active support of its members. To put it bluntly, at this early stage of its existence it needs funds to allow it to successfully operate. The main source of funds at this time is from annual membership fees, $50 for ordinary members, and $35 for seniors (over 67) and $25 for students. Many have already paid their dues, but there are others who have not. In this start-up period we need funds to meet operating expenses. I emphasize that this support is critical. You can click here to pay your membership online.: Pay Membership.
Consequently, I ask those who wish to be members to become paid-up members. How to go about this is posted on the CNPS website on our Membership Page. Please note that members who wish to vote for who will be the directors and for the adoption of the Operating Agreement (the by-laws that will govern us) must be paid-up members. The directors’ election and the vote on the Operating Agreement will be held well before the end of 2015, once our members have had a reasonable chance to consider who they wish to have as directors and had full opportunity to consider and comment on the proposed Operating Agreement.
If some of you are considering whether to attend the Boca Raton conference, I urge you to come. It will not be the largest conference we have ever had, but it will be an exciting event. I intend to attend and present, and I hope many others will as well. Even if you cannot make it, please consider submitting papers and articles for publication in the Proceedings of the conference.
To get to this stage has been a long and difficult task. With your support, we can rise from the NPA debacle and again have a thriving organization that is based upon the will of the membership.
Yours sincerely,
Duncan Shaw
Dear Duncan, There is nothing that I would like more than to forget the whole mess. But since I will probably be the last President of the NPA, I should clarify somethings.
The conference last November was an unqualified success. There was considerable support for a dissident organization along the lines of the pre 2008 NPA. There were about 45 total publications offered. About 35 were far more serious than what became typical of the NPA in the last few years. We were on our way to an NPA renaissance.
The problem is that the majority of the Springer Board was not interested in quality. They were more interested in not offending those who thought the age of the earth was compatible with a literal reading of the old testament or that biblical events could be explained by near collisions between the planets. One of the directors started taking unilateral actions to make sure that I would have absolutely no control over what went into the proceedings. Many falsehoods were told. The situation became untenable and I resigned.
There are still 2 volunteers trying to finish the proceedings and if it is ever printed it will have fewer than a third of the original submissions. The board is no longer following its own bylaws. The website is practically abandoned. One of the board members still does something once in a while, but I have no idea what authority he has. There has been no published financial statement since the conference.
Elections were never the issue. When I demanded elections in 2008, I was told they weren’t needed. When we tried to negotiate a reconciliation in private, there was no interest in elections. Even the Springer Board wanted elections. The disagreement was over who got to vote and how the vote would be conducted. When we polled members at the conference only 2 thought that elections were important.
You say you have support from 160 members. I am waiting for the list of speakers at the conference. Just so there is no confusion, I am not going. I am also not calling for a boycott.
The NPA started dying around 2009. It died without leaving a legitimate heir.
I sincerely hope that someone else tries to pick up the pieces and they do a better job than I.
The sadness of Dr. Kokus may be understood of course. But it seems that the CNPS is in good way to succeed in taking over all the challenges of the former NPA and mainly a fully opened mind.
NPA was already well-known and the only small problem is that its takes a long time to make a NAME. It’s a pity that the NPA name could not have been used instead of CNPS. Nevertheless with the Internet the change could be integrated very soon among the scientists looking at the CNPS pages.
I noticed a deep slowing of the number of new dissident scientists. Its occurs during all economic crisis and the 2008 crisis was not a small one! Things should take off now again and I wish the best to CNPS!!!
Christian Sütterlin (Jean de Climont)