X-Message-Number: 699 From: M.Paulle Subject: The Bold Beat The Cold (Alcor Move to Arizona) I have appended below a fax message I received today from Michael Paulle, in response to this past weekend's decision re: moving Alcor to a new facility in Scottsdale, AZ. - KQB FYI: You can reply to him via email at either: or ----- The Bold Beat The Cold April 5, 1992, the day Alcor spun off its most powerful new competitor, Alcor-Riverside. Finding the only possible way to cap its stellar exponential growth of the last few years, five members of the Alcor board, Carlos Mondragon, Dave Pizer, Ralph Whelan, Paul Genteman and Bill Jameson decided to try to move away from where cryonicists are dying, to where they are not. In their chartered quest to improve suspension procedures, the board mistook real estate speculation for an advanced life saving technique. It's difficult to conceive of a group of people less in touch with its constituents, outside of the White House. The board listened for several hours to repeated expressed concerns about a quick decision to offer on the new building. The sincere concerns were made by the forty-plus Alcor members present from all over the world. Those concerns centered around the potential added cost and lack of knowledge as to the political acceptance of Alcor in a new community. The board acted as if they heard nothing and proceeded with a plan to offer on the new property and not to even consider any further study. In a classic example of myopia, the gang of five on the Alcor board failed the eyesight test - that of being able to see our faint guiding star, Alcor - by blocking it out with a handsome new building in Scottsdale. With a rush to judgment that Earl Warren would have been proud of, Carlos Mondragon, President of Alcor, cut off any attempt at compromise and due diligence on the potential move, in favor of a precipitous lunge into the arms of Dave Pizer and his "friend" in Scottsdale who can "take care of" any political opposition to cryonics because Dave's friend "has lunch with the mayor." Not waiting for the response from letters Carlos says he sent to the mayor of Scottsdale, Herb Drinkwater, and the county coroner, Dr. Heinz Karnitschnig. (Letters, no doubt, stating that Alcor is most famous for decapitating and hiding the heads of corpses.) Carlos forced a yea or nay vote with "you can go forward or you can stick your head in the sand with your ass in the air." Actually, one of the few good ideas of the day came from Jack Zinn of ACS who suggested that we get a "court ruling" on the legality of our kind of business in Scottsdale prior to paying the option. This eminently reasonable idea was ignored by the board who had their own preconceived agenda. With Carlos, Dave Pizer and Ralph Whelan known to be yea prior to the vote, the yes votes of Paul Genteman and finally Bill Jameson crushed the opposition that wanted a measured study of our needs and abilities to pay for them. The opposition crumbled, Hugh Hixon mumbled "there is going to be trouble," Keith Henson stumbled, Brenda Peters was ignored and Glenn Tupler wasn't asked his opinion and didn't offer it. Now for the good news. Dave Pizer feels he can get the rent to Alcor in the new building at "around $600 a month." This is about 12% - 15% of fair market rent for comparable space in the area. Dave says he is willing to avoid a potential conflict of interest by not voting, personally, in the final vote of the purchasing entity. Also, letters from the mayor and coroner, plus open arms at the ribbon cutting, are Pizer's proclaimed and board-backed requirements for approval of the move. The fundraising for the purchase has to include donations for the extra expenses incurred in the move, added employee time and effort, increased electricity cost, added telephone and stationery expense. Finally, a qualified renter, paying fair market rates for the Riverside facility, has to be found. If Alcor pays $600 a month rent, we can consider moving. If we have to pay more to satisfy the profitability requirements of the purchasing entity, let's look some more. It's sad that cryonicists can be as stupid as other human beings, but there it is. In Keith Henson's relating of the recent neurosuspension of patient A-1260, and in the stabilization and transport of "Dennis" last December, more than enough important problems were raised that don't have any immediate answers. As he says, the mistakes we make here can cost someone we all love a chance to come back. With this move and the inherent instability that comes with it, we are embarking on a course that will conceivably jeopardize the revival of anyone who dies in the next few years. I am not willing to support that possibility. We are not ready to complicate our piteous abilities at this point. On a day when we lost Isaac Asimov, let's think about important issues like keeping our wonderful friends alive, as best we can, through concentrating on cryonic suspensions and advances in research. In a few years, when we are stronger, let's move mountains. Until then, don't die, okay, my beloved cryonicists, please! Michael Paulle Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=699