August, 2006 August, 2006 meaning of the with all opinion pieces, We continue the discussionWe of the real In this Issue: Declaration of Independence. This month, we focus on its present-day implications. As readers are invited to submit responses for publication. Volume 24, No. 8 24, No. 8 Volume The PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID 808 Wisteria Drive Cocoa, FL Melbourne, FL 32901-1926 32922 Permit 20 ©2006 Space Coast Area Mensa Permission to reprint non-individually copyrighted material is hereby granted to all Mensa publications, provided proper credit is given to both Author and Editor, and a separate copy of the publication is sent to both author and editor. For permission to use individually copyrighted material, contact the editor. Opinions expressed are those of the individual writers and do not reflect the opinions of Space Coast Area Mensa or American Mensa Ltd., as neither holds any opinions. Mensa is registered at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as the collective mark of the international membership association. Send your change of address to both The SCAM at the above address and to: American Mensa Ltd., 1229 Corporate Drive West, Arlington, TX 76006-6103. The SCAM logo designed by Keith Proud THE TENTH STORY Maggie Truelove, RVC 10 Vol. 24, No. 8 The August, 2006 ugust is the hottest part of the summer and the height of A hurricane season. But this year it signals one of the biggest events in American Mensa history - the World Gathering to cele- All submissions must be received by the Editor before the 10th of the month preceding brate Mensa International’s 60th birthday, to be held right here publication. Please allow extra time for mailed submissions, which may be typed or legi- in Florida at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, August 8-13. For bly handwritten. Whenever possible, we prefer submissions via e-mail. They may be in this year only, this replaces the Annual Gathering, which is usu- e-mail text or any of most word processing formats. All submissions should be sent to the Editor, whose contact information appears on Page 2. ally held in July. I can promise you that there will be at least 2000 people there, both from the US and internationally, as that many have pre-registered as of this date of writing. Page Three Mike Moakley, Editor There will be programs Wednesday through Sunday, running from 9:00 a.m. until midnight each day except Sunday, when they olunteers...Volunteers...Volunteers! Groups such as ours end at 2:30. There are too many to list here, so I will only men- V cannot function without...you guessed it...volunteers. A quick tion a few better known names: Jean Auel (author of “Clan of the look on Page Two will instantly reveal that we are badly in need of Cave Bear”), Bill McArthur (astronaut who returned in April volunteers. A closer look will show that this need is even more criti- from more than 6 months on the International Space Station), cal than is readily apparent. Hint: See how many times an individ- Tarek Saab from the recent “The Apprentice Show”), Alan Ra- ual’s name appears more than once. Anyone who is interested (I chins (from numerous TV series, including “LA Law” and know you’re out there…) should contact any member of the ExComm “Dharma and Greg”), and Richard Lederer (author of numerous (Page Two). As for me, I’m looking for a few good writers to volunteer books dealing with the English language). There are a few hun- their views. dred more, so please visit the website <WG06.us.mensa.org> and For my volunteers in print, both present and future, I would like click on programs for the complete listing. You can even plan to bring up a subject that all of us should have at least some working your time at the WG, as they are listed by day and time sched- familiarity, copyrights. Since I am not a lawyer and do not even pre- uled. There will be numerous LDWs (Leadership Development tend to know the nuances of copyright law, what follows is a lay- Workshops), as well. So whether you are already actively in- man’s familiarity with copyrights as they apply to us. volved or simply want to be, you can plan to attend some of those. The SCAM is a copyrighted work. Everything you see on these These are listed in with the programs. pages, except for those works bearing individual copyrights, are the There will be three dances at the WG. Thursday night is an property of the Space Coast Area Mensa. Those items bearing their International Dance. Friday night is a GenX Dance. And Satur- own copyrights belong to the copyright holder (usually the author). day night is the big Gala Dance, with none other than nationally In the case of the former, other Mensa publications are permitted to known Michael Andrew and Swingerhead performing. On use items published here. The exception, of course, is the individu- Wednesday, you might choose to sit in and observe your AMC ally copyrighted work—permission is needed from the author. taking care of business. Thursday is American Mensa’s Annual If you belong to another group and wish to reprint anything from Business Meeting. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, you can do The SCAM, please contact me for permission (as Editor, I make the same thing with the IBD meeting. (That’s the American those decisions). If you wish to reprint an individually copyrighted Mensa Committee and the International Board of Directors.) (Continued on page 25) And of course it isn’t too late to decide to get involved. There is always room for another volunteer! One of the best ways to have a good time at one of these large gatherings - and to get to The SCAM sells classified ad space. SCAM members, non-commercial, no know people - is through volunteering. You can find out more charge. Others: $20 full page; $10 half-page; $5 quarter-page per month, we offer discounts for multiple insertions, and we can help with layout and design. (Continued on page 25) Subscriptions: SCAM members, included in dues; others, $10 for 12 issues. 26 Space Coast Area Mensa Space Coast Area Mensa 3 Letters from our Readers MAILBAG THE TENTH STORY Continued. his is in response to LocSec George Patterson’s plea in T the July issue to write something, anything, for God’s sakes, in (Continued from page 26) response to his May column. Well, George, I intended to at the time, about volunteer opportunities by visiting the WG06 website, click on but you somehow got lost in the shuffle, so you are now hereby res- contacts, then on volunteer. urrected. Hope to see you there. George, you asked in the May issue if “due to it having been” is Maggie Truelove, RVC 10 correct. No, it is not. You mentioned having seen the subject dis- 3333 Honeysuckle Lane cussed somewhere and you forgot which side won. I don’t think any- Orlando, FL 32812 body won; everybody stayed stubborn, adamant and unyielding -- 407-855-9078 but it’s “due to its having been,” the “its” being possessive. You saw [email protected] this in a Mensa editor thing on the Internet. [email protected] I always enjoy your lighthearted column and I missed it last month. So keep up the good shirk, er, work. You, too, Mike! I like your righteous indignation! “PAGE THREE” Continued Why don't we gut the treasury and have a big party -- where we can smoke? Is there such a thing -- a private party at a public place (Continued from page 3) where we can smoke? No, I guess not. A pity. work appearing in The SCAM, please let me know, and I will contact —Joyce Megginson Kircher the copyright holder for the needed consent. If you submit an item for publication in The SCAM, should you Editor’s note: Last month’s issue ran two guest columns that originally ap- copyright the work? That is entirely up to you. The SCAM does not peared in another local Mensa newsletter. The guest columns elicited two require you to do so. In most cases, there is no need. Here are some responses—one for each article. things to consider in making your decision. As an opinion columnist I do copyright my columns. My reason is would like to respond to John F. Snyder’s opinion piece in to maintain ownership of the work. In the future I may wish to write a book that may contain some of my columns as part of the content. I the Summer, 2006 Flamenco entitled “Islam and Freedom”. While many people including myself agree with most of what he says As the copyright owner, this presents no problems. Without my copy- about Islam, it is very critical that we Americans develop the best right, The SCAM owns the work; I would need a future Editor’s con- possible approach when dealing with Muslims so as to reduce terror- sent to use it. The main question is, do you anticipate using the ism around the world rather than to fuel the flames of hatred be- same work for other purposes? If so, copyright your work. tween Muslims and non-Muslims. In his last paragraph Mr. Snyder The procedure for copyrighting your work is simple. Registration points to the need for solutions when he states that free nations is not required. It is advisable with for-profit writing—be sure to reg- need to “recognize Islam for what it really is and adjust their policies ister your copyright when you write that book! For The SCAM, sim- and practice accordingly.” Many people in recent years have studied ply note at the beginning or end of your work, “Copyright 2006, Your the Koran and conclude that radical Islam can only and must inevi- Name”.