Local Paper Prints Story About "Psychic" - Please Comment

[The Central Scrutinizer]

http://stcharlesjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2008/08/27/news/sj2tn20080826-0827stc-odjob0.ii1.txt

My comment:

Two comments:

1) When used in a story, the term "psychic" must be in quotation marks. The reason? Because, not only is this woman NOT a psychic, no person with psychic powers has even been identified. So her claims are alledged only. Thus the quote marks.

2) As to this claim - "She says she is a medical intuitive whose accuracy rate at determining the area of bodily ills is 98 percent", I call BS<I used the real word in my response> (to quote Penn & Teller). I can't believe anyone over the age of 6 would believe such nonsense, much less print it as "real" news.

Here is a challenge - I will pay her the sum of $10,000 if she can accurately identify the area of my "bodily ills". If she cannot, she must pay me $10,000. Will she take this challenge? Of course not. Why? Because she is a fraud and she knows it.

Let's bury these idiots with comments and humiliate the reporter and the paper in the process.

[TheDoLittle]

Let's bury these idiots with comments and humiliate the reporter and the paper in the process.

Apparently not. They aren't showing any of the comments, and they are free to pick and choose which comments they do show.

...but I left a comment along the lines of yours.

[Ixion]

I went to her website. It is sickening. Up to $300 for a "psychic reading". And the ******** New Age music doesn't help.

[Ixion]

She is not even sure which woo she believes in either. Her webpage talks about being psychic, religion, astrology, crystals. A real woo magnet.

[Babbylonian]

If the media would stop paying [uncritical] attention to these people, I suspect there'd be far fewer of them.

My comment: "This isn't journalism. It's advertising for the irrational."

[Clairvoyant_Kyle]

I remember back in late 2002 my cities paper made an article praising a local “psychic” named Dave Fuller. They talked him up and the reporter said he was amazed with his abilities. The ridiculous thing was I had been editing up a project at the time where a bunch of local kids got him kicked off his “live call in show” because we kept pranking him. It is funny how less then a year later a paper painted him up as the real deal when a bunch of high school kids already proved he was just another delusional fraud. Credible media sources are hard to find.

-Kyle

[Czarcasm]

Well, my response showed up on their site:
" What exactly was the purpose of this article-to spread ignorance? Increase hits on her $300/reading website? Show both sides of the supposed reality vs. nonsense debate? I am very disappointed that this reporter was so afraid of offending the gullible that he printed this drivel without pointing out the impossibilities of her claims, or even going through the motions of checking them out(Reporting 101). The fact that this reporter gave this supposed "psychic" free publicity is disappointing-the fact that his editor didn't have the common sense to spike this puff piece is frightening."

[Babbylonian]

Maybe for their next "Odd Jobs" feature, they can find some wacky fellow who scams the elderly out of their life savings...

[Clairvoyant_Kyle]

Maybe for their next "Odd Jobs" feature, they can find some wacky fellow who scams the elderly out of their life savings...

LOL! Or do a nice entrepreneurial piece on a local mugger who is expanding his business into drug dealing.

-Kyle

[Madalch]

I see they've finally posted some of the comments, nearly all of them negative.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

I see they've finally posted some of the comments, nearly all of them negative.

You probably also noticed the comment from "Joe":

Be nice people. Some people thrive on this kind of thing. It's harmless and fun to believe in something "unknown". After all, most of you believe in God and where is the proof in that one. What am I talking about? That was Jesus doing a keg stand at your last Super Bowl party.

To which I replied:

Joe wrote: "Be nice people. Some people thrive on this kind of thing. It's harmless and fun to believe in something "unknown"".

Perhaps you could ask the Hornbeck family how "harmless" and "fun" psychics can be. You'll remember that "psychic" Sylvia Browne told them that their son Sean was dead and buried by "some rocks". Oh, I bet that was a laugh a minute! You'll also recall that not only was he not by "some rocks", he was also not dead.

[Olowkow]

Well, I added my two cents. Outrageous!

By Olowkow:
This stuff is far from "harmless fun". It is a sickness for some believers, and their lives and health are often irreparably damaged, and the law will not help. The only way to report on a "psychic" is to ridicule her, and to claim this as "news" is the oddest of "odd jobs". Eric the reporter? No, just another loony fraud in disguise. No psychic ability has ever been proven, ever, or perhaps you didn't know that.

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

My comments:

"There's absolutely no solid evidence that psychic powers of any kind exist and the evidence that does can all be explained as cold-reading, urban legend, lies on the part of the pscyhic and faulty memories. If this lady had any special powers to speak of, a million dollars from the JREF would be her's. And that's not even going into all the lotteries she could win."

[Gravy]

I commented but it hasn't appeared yet.

[articulett]

It kept saying that I put in the wrong security code and it wouldn't let me post. I wrote:

Excellent-- a "real psychic"-- finally someone will win James Randi's Million Dollar challenge. http://www.randi.org/joom/content/view/38/31/

We know why Sylvia Browne won't take the test, but surely this "real" psychic will, and we can all benefit from learning all we can about "psychic powers" in a scientific manner- the way we learn about other talents and skills humans possess. When she wins the millions, she may be able to charge less for her readings-- bonus!

I wouldn't mind someone else posting this in your name or mine... or some version thereof, since it keeps rejecting my attempts.