Reader Fred Rosenberger has an epiphany…
I wanted to share this with you, as I'm not sure you've ever addressed this specific topic.
Last night, my sisters and I went to get our photo taken with "Santa" at the mall. I'm the youngest of the three at age 37 – this is going to be a special gift for our mother.
Since we went rather late in the evening, there was nobody else in line, and we started chatting with Santa. One of my sisters asked if he had been doing this very long. You see, two years ago, when she brought her five children to see him, her oldest was beginning to doubt the mythology of the jolly old elf.
But that Santa was amazing. He started talking to them, and told the twin boys they needed to be nicer to their younger brother. They all needed to do a better job of picking up their clothes and putting them in the hamper. He may have even referred to some of them by name. When the children left his lap, they were CONVINCED he was the real deal.
It turns out this was the same gentleman – he's been the only Santa at that mall for the past three years. He proceeded to tell us that in his eight years of portraying Santa, he's learned a few things. ALL kids need to do a better job of picking up their dirty clothes. ALL older brothers need to be nicer to their younger brothers. And if you listen carefully, often either the parents or the kids will refer to each other (or even themselves) by name and not realize it. A good listener can learn a lot quite easily.
As he was telling us all this, I couldn't help but think of you, and many of our dear friends (Sylvia Browne and John Edward come to mind).
Thanks for everything you do. I'm enjoying reading all your commentaries (I'm up to June of 2002), and even the ones that are five years old are still extremely educational and entertaining.
Hope you enjoy this little story, and happy holidays!
p.s. If you feel this is worthy of your commentary (which I doubt, but I can dream), please feel free to edit it as you see fit. Writing has never been my strong suit.
I dunno, Fred. I think that readers will agree with me that you did a fine job! Thanks for the seasonal input! Your contribution illustrates very well just how straightforward and organized the “cold reading” process can be. It would be interesting to learn whether Edward and/or Van Praagh ever worked as a department-store Santa….!
Reader David Federlein informs us that CSICOP’s Joe Nickell has unwittingly contributed to Sylvia Browne’s literary output. In Joe’s review of Brown’s latest book, “Secrets & Mysteries of the World,” he writes:
...it is Browne's ideas on the Shroud of Turin (the reputed burial cloth of Jesus) that interest me most. She shows some admirable skepticism, concluding: "I believe that the Shroud is a representation and not a true relic – but I don't think that should put a dent in our Christian belief" (p199).
However, as Nickell clearly points out in his review, each of those observations by Browne – taken in order as she stated them – show striking similarities to his own, also taken in order, from an article he published seven years earlier in the July/August 1998 of the Skeptical Inquirer! For examples, she referred to the statement by Bishop d’Arcis in 1389 that the shroud was a painting:
If the Shroud were in fact painted, it would explain some image flaws that have always raised questions.
Agreed, but in Joe’s article, we find:
That the Shroud is indeed the work of a medieval artist would explain numerous image flaws.
There’s much more. Sylvia wrote in her book:
For example, the hair hangs as for a standing rather than a reclining figure.
Nickell had written in 1998:
Also, the hair hangs as for a standing rather than recumbent figure.
We’ve only begun examining this wonderful set of coincidences. Sylvia observed:
The physique is unnaturally elongated (like figures in Gothic art)
In 1998, Joe Nickell wrote:
For example, the physique is unnaturally elongated (like figures in Gothic art!)
Sylvia’s next comment in her book:
…and the "blood" flows are unrealistically neat (instead of matting the hair, for instance, they run in rivulets on the outside of the locks).
Compare that with Nickell’s 1998 account:
Everywhere the "blood" flows are unrealistically neat. Instead of matting the hair, for instance, they run in rivulets on the outside of the locks.
Wow! Great minds think alike, it seems! Sylvia followed her stunning scientific conclusion with another:
You see, real blood soaks into cloth and spreads in all directions rather than leaving picturelike images.
On page 21 of the July/August 1998 Skeptical Inquirer, author Nickell had written:
In addition, real blood soaks into cloth and spreads in all directions, rather than leaving picturelike images.
As Joe Nickell wryly observed in his review of Sylvia’s book:
Now, the shared phrasing between Browne's passage and mine may give new meaning to the term “ghost-written.”
Indeed….
I’ve never doubted the concern of the Scots for the welfare of others – nor their ability to suspend reason when confronted with the real world as opposed to mythology. The tiny village of St. Fillans, Perthshire, is located right in the center of Scotland. A certain rock located there is believed to have a small colony of fairies living beneath it. Believed, that is, not only by the little kids in town, but by such village luminaries as Jeannie Fox, the council chairman, who says: “I do believe in fairies but I can’t be sure that they live under that rock.” That expressed doubt gives us some hope that Ms. Fox has not altogether lost her reason. But, she added, “It would be extremely unlucky to move it.” Back to square one….
You see, that rock was to be moved away by housing developers who came in with earth-moving machinery, and there were protests that such an act would harm the fairies – as well it might. As a result, the developers have now been forced to scrap their original building plans and start all over again. Even though the workers attempted to work around the rock and leave the tiny colony undisturbed, they received complaints from the locals that the fairies would still be “upset.”
We’re told that those in the area tend to believe that things like standing stones and large rocks should never be disturbed; in that case, I’m sure there are strict ordinances in the village of St. Fillans against earthquakes and falling meteorites.
There is currently an exciting and very strong exhibition celebrating the life of Charles Darwin featured at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. It cost three million dollars to organize and set up, but it has failed to find any corporate sponsor support simply because American companies are anxious not to take sides in the present brouhaha between science and fundamentalist Christians over the theory of evolution, which theory the exhibit firmly endorses – as it should. Wealthy individuals and private charitable donations are supporting the show, instead.
This reluctance – refusal! – of American companies to back what is a brilliantly educational exhibition, is believed to be due to the growing influence – in business and in education – of the fundamentalist movement. Adding to the dismay of New Yorkers over this failing, another fact has shocked them; the Creationist Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio, which treats as fact the Biblical story of creation, has recently raised seven million in donations.
The yahoos are flourishing, it seems, and the candle of reason gutters even more dangerously….
Dell Winders, who sells the “Omnitron” – see last week at www.randi.org/jr/200511/111805setback.html#i9 – has responded. Here is his answer, in full:
I was not offered any prize money. Not even gas money.
I am not interested in your lies and deception, except that the truth be known.
The prize money was there, Winders, and you knew it. And, that second comment of yours accurately reflects the goal of the James Randi Educational Foundation. We, too, are not interested in lies or deception, but we are interested that the truth be known. Assuming that you don’t understand the situation, Mr. Winders, here’s the basic question, which you didn’t answer, as I sent it to you:
WILL YOU OR WILL YOU NOT DEMONSTRATE YOUR DEVICE AND WIN THE MILLION-DOLLAR PRIZE? You are advertising and selling a device which you claim works, yet you will not SHOW that it works, and win a million dollars?
That’s a yes-or-no question, Dell Winders. Either you will, or you won’t. If you won’t, the only reason I can imagine is that you know the Omnitron doesn’t work, that it’s a fake, and you know that you can’t win the prize – yet you continue to sell it to suckers who you thereby swindle, safe from any FTC interference because they just don’t care, and you know it.
Incidentally, I’m tracing the circuit of the Omnitron unit shown last week. Here you see the innards removed. Those are gobs of glue that were supposed to hold the parts in place, but didn’t because there was no adherence between the plastic case and the glue. We’ll report….
Before reading this item, readers may wish to refer to www.randi.org/jr/070105quality.html#1, for continuity. Reader Rod Bruce, in Victoria, Australia, sent a note to the “Better Health Channel” (BHC) folks with a “Suggested Site Improvement,” saying:
Homeopathy should be dropped from your site now that it has been thoroughly debunked for the quackery that it is.
A prompt reply was sent to Mr. Bruce by Josephine Williams, Content Manager for the BHC:
Subject: Reply to your Health Channel – Suggested Site Improvement
Thank you for visiting the Better Health Channel.
Government agencies concerned with public health around the world have noted the upsurge in interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and the increased investment in training and research that has been occurring in this area.
In a number of jurisdictions they have responded by legislation relating to registration or licensing of such practitioners. They have also noted a degree of convergence occurring between CAM and conventional medicine, with efforts to increase the amount and quality of research into the safety and efficacy of CAM.
With this in mind, the Better Health Channel has endeavored to provide the public with suitable information about CAM, without in any sense, promoting it as a replacement for conventional medicine, or endorsing all of the claims made by the many different streams of CAM. BHC also urges individuals to ensure they receive advice from their doctor (registered medical practitioner) as appropriate.
Mr. Bruce responded to Ms. Williams:
Thank you for your response.
Quackery should not be promoted or endorsed in any way by a government agency. Even though Homeopathy is currently “regulated” (to some degree) by some “legislation” in Victory, it is just plain old quackery. Recently published studies (which no doubt you have seen) confirm this, as does the previous large body of authoritative studies (ref. citations appended to this email).
The “upsurge in interest in complementary and alternative medicine” that you have noted confirms that education of the general public regarding quackery is even more important than ever before. Your site does not have a section devoted to the recognition and avoidance of quackery. It really should.
Thank you for considering this very important issue.
PS: Just one of the many available meta-analyses of homeopathic studies ... Terence Hines (2003: 360-362). He reviewed Taylor et al. (2000), Wagner (1997), Sampson and London (1995), Kleijen, Knipschild, and ter Riet (1991), and Hill and Doyon (1990). More than 100 studies have failed to come to any definitive positive conclusions about homeopathic potions. Ramey (2000) notes that – Homeopathy has been the subject of at least 12 scientific reviews, including meta-analytic studies, published since the mid-1980s....[And] the findings are remarkably consistent: ....homeopathic "remedies" are not effective.
PPS: The JREF foundation provides a $US1 million dollar prize to anybody who can demonstrate paranormal claims under controlled conditions. Homeopathy would be a candidate for this prize. Please consider, why has this prize not been claimed by any homeopaths?
An excellent description of homeopathy can be found at skepdic.com/homeo.html.
In case his response needed the attention of another official or department, Rod added:
If you are unable to respond on this serious issue, would you please forward this email to the responsible person or department. Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. Bruce, for presenting this comprehensive and informative critique to the BHC. We await, with interest, any further development…
Reader Dr. Mark A. Duva suggests:
I am a psychology professor at Cerritos College in Southern California. I follow JREF's work closely and even include your commentary as required reading in my critical thinking in psychology class. I have just started doing it this semester, and the students love it. Some have told me that they were strong believers in the paranormal prior to taking the class, but are now seriously reconsidering their cherished, fantastical beliefs after being exposed to your weekly commentary. JREF is making a difference.
On another point, my class and I have been closely watching the auctions of the bent spoons by both you and Uri Geller on EBAY. We are not surprised that yours has received higher bids! In any case, I went to TAM3 last year and am going to attend TAM4. I thought it would be a great idea if you could "mentally" [ha ha!] bend some spoons and have them available for purchase at TAM4, maybe include a signed photo and/or proof of authenticity in a cardboard jewelry box. I know several colleagues that would love to have one as a teaching tool or novelty item. The foundation may be able to raise quite a bit of money for its noble and necessary cause. Please consider the idea.
And, I am sure it would blow my student's minds if you were to include any or all of this communication in one of your upcoming commentaries. We will all be looking! In any event keep up the great work.
If you just heard minds exploding, blame it all on Duva, folks… We already offer a custom-bent fork – see www.randi.org/shopping/index.html#merch – way down the list. It sells regularly… Registration for TAM4 is now at just under last year’s total – 560 – and we still have 80 days to go! A good 40% of TAM3 registrations were in the last 30 days – so if you’re really going to attend, get registered now – because the hotel auditoriums will only hold 700 persons, and we’ll have to cut off new guests when we reach that number. There are still seats left for the one late-Friday show by Jamy Ian Swiss – the others are completely sold out! – and there’s room at the Celebrity Dinner. Take a peek at www.tam4.com to refresh your memory on the super stuff that TAM4 will be offering…!
I’ve been reminded by reader Sam Lewson to go back to www.randi.org/jr/022505thank.html#11 for a series of predictions by one Daniel Adam Millar of Vancouver, Canada. Strangely, I haven’t heard back from Dan on his latest re-configuration of his “confident” prophecies….
I remind you that Mr. Millar predicted that on April 10, 1997, the Antichrist would arrive on Earth. He suggested that we’d hear the news from the Vatican and from Jerusalem, about a “coup” by the Antichrist which would install him as Pope Peter II. On September 6th, 2000, Millar said, that same Antichrist would declare himself God and start the battle of Armageddon. Just 15 days later, he said, would be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when the sidereal day would also be “reset.” I live in Florida. Not all the news is always reported here, and I travel a lot, so perhaps I missed these events? Or was “prophet” Daniel Adam Millar of Vancouver, Canada, simply wrong – again?
Our excellent friend in the UK, Tony Youens, can be seen with parapsychologist Chris French at www.exn.ca/dailyplanet/view.asp?date=11/21/2005. Scroll down to “A Nail Bending Suggestion” and click on “video” to see a remarkable and important experiment in suggestion techniques. Then move down to “The Man behind the Magic” for a visit with UK psychologist Richard Wiseman, who you’ve met at our annual Las Vegas meetings. This is a great place to send those who want to know what the skeptics movement is all about!
Reader Charles Blue – and several others – alerted us to this news item. During an interview, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters that he could not answer any questions until next year because the alignment of the planets is not in his favor! Said he:
Right now Mercury... is in a corner perfectly aligned with my star. Mercury is no good, so if it's not good, I am going to request not to speak. I'll just wait until next year to talk.
Having just returned from a trip to South Korea and China, where he met with George W. Bush, the Prime Minister explained that Mercury moves slowly and will not steer clear of his “star” – I think he means, “sign” – until next year. Mercury is now in the constellation Scorpio, and we all know what that means!
Known for his general hostility toward the media, Thaksin is accused of trying to restrict press freedoms by manipulating coverage, canceling TV and radio shows, and doing media takeovers with his political and business friends. This most recent novel innovation is likely to win him admirers among the international political – and astrological – crowd.
Thailanders, we in the USA presently have a religiously motivated and directed president, and in former years we had Ronald Reagan, who made decisions based on astrology, and might even have inspired your PM….
Reader Scott Marshall tells us:
This is on today's ABC news video clips on AOL. It appears to have been live on the ABC morning show. The clip is called "Super-Powered Kids?" They opened with someone with the right language of a skeptic, but then laid out the kids' powers, which included bright blue eyes and having been reincarnated from dead ancestors.
The little girl's power to predict what her mom will get her from the store was really funny. The child tells her mom what she thinks she will get, then her mom goes to the store, and (to everyone's astonishment) that's what mom gets. Exact transcript below.
What is it with ABC-TV? That obvious error cannot have escaped Diane Sawyer, or her writers, or the producers of The Morning Show! Or is this just telling the viewers that ABC-TV will do anything to make a miracle out of nothing?Diane Sawyer: I'm told that you know your Christmas presents, Marlena does, before she gets them.
Marlena's Mom: She describes things before I go to the store she'll tell me you're gonna get me a pair of shoes and they look like this, and she's waiting for me at the door when I come home.
A reader points out a courageous game company that really cares about science and rationality:
I have just finished playing my first game of “Bone Wars” from Zygote Games, at www.zygotegames.com. When I looked to see if this company had any other games for sale, I noticed this promotion. I thought your readers in Kansas might like to know about it:
Limited time, special offer to people living in Kansas or shipping to Kansas! Go to our special ordering page for more information and a press release.
Why give a discount to Kansas? Why not Wyoming or Vermont? Simple: the Kansas Board of Education has attempted to give equal space in the state public school biology curriculum to the doctrine of "Intelligent Design," claiming that it is a "scientific theory" about the origin and development of life. It isn't, of course, and when real scientists complained that "Intelligent Design" fits none of the criteria for an actual scientific theory, the Board responded by redefining "science" so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations for phenomena.
So we're doing our part for science. BONE WARS is all about how scientific theories get developed and tested (along with being about lying, stealing, and conniving). Maybe our game can do what the schools in Kansas won't.
I note the “limited time” provision, as if these folks know – as I suspect – that eventually Kansas will have to get in stride with the real world outside its borders, and move out of the 14th century. We hope that’s up ahead, but that hope is only faith-based….
Shouldn’t we all support “Bone Wars” by clicking on www.zygotegames.com and playing a game or two?
While we’re on the I.D. topic, reader Mark Siegel has an idea:
Just had a thought, while reading the Catholic Church's just-released view of ID (apparently rejecting it).
Wouldn't showing how ID is not science, relegating it with references of phlogiston/alchemy, Piltdown Man hoax, etc., be an appropriate place for it in the science classroom?
Wouldn't that also satisfy ID proponents, as it would then be “taught in science class”?
Sounds right to me, Mark! See “A Change of Heart/Mind” up ahead….
Re the www.randi.org/jr/200511/111805setback.html#i5 item last week, reader Frank Chukoskie tells us that he, too, wrote to Sciencedaily.com editor Dan Hogan, and also received a prompt and satisfactory reply. But, he tells us, there’s a caveat here:
Regarding the item from Dan Hogan, editor of ScienceDaily, do you think he is aware that the news service (UPI) from which ScienceDaily purchases its newsfeed, is owned by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's News World Communications? In light of the fact that he continues to receive ads from "total nuts who want to push their own ‘theories of everything’ and whatnot," he might want to consider switching to a service not affiliated with those very same nut jobs.
Just a suggestion.
Reader Phil Rustage, in London, has a grammatical bone to pick re www.randi.org/jr/200511/111805setback.html#i4…
The article on the "Honest Juror Thwarted" led me to consider what I would have answered in the same situation as Charles Miller. Unlike him, I suspect I would have said, "Yes."
The problem may be a semantic one but it has something to do with the question "Have you ever fallen down for no reason?" For me "reason" implies "motivation." The only way I could imagine falling down for a reason would be in order to make someone laugh, draw attention to myself, create a distraction or even fake a legal claim. These are things I have never done so therefore I would have to say that I always fall down for "no reason."
Surely the list of examples that Charles gave were not reasons but causes? Forgive me for being so pedantic...
Well, I’ll be just as pedantic, Phil. Going to two major dictionaries I have here – italics mine:
Webster’s: reason, n— 1. a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, or event. (first and primary meaning listed)
Oxford’s: (listed as meaning #6) reason, n— a ground or cause of, or for, something.
I rest my case, for good reason, or good cause, or whatever...
Reader Tony Gundich had his own adventure with his civic duty:
Having just read the report of Charles Miller's jury service, I have to add my experience. I have been summoned for jury duty in Northwest Indiana. Along with the various do/don't for jurors, is a sentence in bold and all-caps that informs:
"JURORS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING READING MATERIALS IN THE BUILDING." Next in smaller print and non-bold letters we're told we can't bring in "Knives, Mace, Cellular Phones, Pagers, Cameras, Radios, Tape Recorders, and Firearms."
Am I the only one that feels they are more worried about reading materials than weapons? And why prohibit reading materials? Are they more dangerous than the book I'd have to kill time? The only thing I can think of is since this is a Federal Court summons perhaps they want “faith-based” verdicts.
On that same subject, reader J. J. Johnston tells us:
I was dismissed from a capital murder case (thank you, I didn’t want to do it anyhow) because I didn’t pick a religion. As you already know, I’m just not religious, period, but the two lawyers insisted that I had to pick a religion from the LIST IN THEIR QUESTIONNAIRE. Nowhere were atheist, agnostic, or unbeliever listed. What I am going to answer, then? They weren’t happy when I drew in another box and said “none.” To them, it seemed out of the realm of possibility that I meant it.
J.J., I had a grand time once many years ago when I visited the corporate offices of IBM, at their request, on business. There was a box on the get-an-identity-badge form I filled out, for “religion,” and I entered, “Druid.” I was questioned on it, a fuss was made, and I told them that they should inform the assembled IBM officers I was there to meet with, that I was unable to attend the conference. You can believe me when I tell you that the rules were quickly adjusted to meet my needs!
From an Associated Press release:
The Vatican's chief astronomer said [last] Friday that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms. The latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States, the Rev. George Coyne, is the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory. He said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.
"Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science."
Reverend Coyne said, “mixing apples with oranges.” How about, “comparing apostrophes with orchestras”? After all, apples and oranges are fruits, and thus share some resemblance….
Canadian reader Rene Jaspers complained to the management of the Canadian Superstore chain:
I sent the following email via the Superstore website, and have not received a response, I am extremely disappointed that no one has gotten back to me, perhaps you can help. This was my letter:
I’ve been a customer of Superstore for many years. I depend on my local store for my prescription needs, and my groceries as well. I visit there frequently for various purposes. We are always satisfied with the service and attention that we receive. That said:
I just came back from picking up a prescription at my local Superstore, and I found stacks of Kevin Trudeau’s book – “ Natural Cures ‘They’ Don't Want You To Know About”! Trudeau is a quack – recognized as such by the US Federal Trade Commission and the US Federal Courts. Superstore is selling his book – a book which essentially says that pharmacies are useless and that “natural healing” is all that ill persons need. Why? If someone follows his terrible advice are you liable since you sold this information?
The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Trudeau has been fined $2 million and banned from advertising product health benefits in any medium by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Why is Superstore supporting this man by selling his product? Offering such an item for sale is surely not what a legitimate vendor should be doing, if that vendor has the well-being of customers in mind.
Trudeau has made literally millions selling quackery – and now he is offering his book. The publisher and those offering the book are well aware of the dangerous situation they have brought about, thus the “Book Disclaimer.” Trudeau has been fined and jailed for his activities, and Superstore sells his advertising…? Why?
If you do not believe me, please see the story from the Washington Post at
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/22/AR2005102201272.html. I am seriously alarmed about this situation, and I am seeking a response from Superstore's management. May I have such a response, please?
A response eventually arrived from Lori Stene, Canadian Superstore’s Director for Public Affairs:
Thank you for your comment on the Kevin Trudeau book that we currently sell in our real Canadian Superstore. As you mention, Kevin Trudeau was fined for falsely implying that a coral calcium product could cure cancer and other serious illnesses and that an analgesic called Biotape can permanently cure or relieve severe pain. The settlement does not allow Kevin Trudeau to make any more infomercials selling any product or service. However the ban exempts infomercials for books, newsletters, and other informational publications.
The book “Natural Cures They Don’t Want You to Know About” is a bestseller in both Canada and the United States and is carried by other major book retailers in Canada.
We try to offer our customers a wide range of products, recognizing that everyone has different requirements and tastes.
Randi comments: Translated from Public Relations jargon, Ms. Stene has said here that since (a) Canadian Superstores are legally safe selling the Trudeau book, (b) that the book is a “hot” sales item, and (c) other Canadian book retailers are selling it, then (d) Canadian Superstores will also do so – regardless of content harmful or deadly to readers, and the shabby record of the author. Rene’s account of the contents of the book, and Trudeau’s quack status, do not interest Canadian Superstores at all; the book will make them money. Bottom line.
That rubbed Rene the wrong way. He wrote back:
Thank you for the reply. I know that several TV stations and stores in the USA have removed this book and its infomercial once customers started to complain, I am shocked that SuperStore aka Westfair Foods will not follow suit.
Trudeau's current book advises diabetics to stop taking insulin, it tells parents that sun screen causes skin cancer, he advises people with depression to stop taking their medication and take a walk! The list of harmful advice is longer than I care to mention, and earning any money from this product is akin to aiding a thief.
Kevin Trudeau has been convicted of credit card fraud, and check fraud, and fined $2 Million dollars, yet Westfair Foods still wants to do business with him, and offers as an excuse that other vendors choose to sell his trash, so they will! I am extremely disappointed that a legitimate vendor such as Westfair Foods would rather earn a few hundred dollars in profit than take the moral high ground against the fraudulent claims of a snake oil salesman. His book is not a matter of a difference in taste, it is a pack of HARMFUL lies, packaged to target people who don't know any better, but we both know better, and at least I am trying to do something about it, what about you?
I hope you re-consider your decision.
I must tell you that I will share this information on the internet with literally thousands of fellow consumers, and with the media, as someone needs to step up and stop Kevin Trudeau from harming people. I have been in contact with the Market Place television program on CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation] which is planning a follow up story on Kevin Trudeau. I hope that you will take some time and explain to them how profits are more important than health or truth.
Rene signed it, “A very disappointed customer.”
Reader Gene Johnson finds that there’s no skeptical group in Montana. He wants to remedy that situation by getting a group together:
First, any Montanans interested in this idea can email me at drmctchr@cyberport.net. Hopefully, some people will correspond and possibly meet – maybe even at TAM4.
Secondly, our newly founded group would not be able to afford a formal speaker. However, spectacular Glacier National Park, nearby, is a great attraction and I would like to invite JREF travelers en route to stop for a visit and refreshments. They would help bring some "incentive-to-think" new blood to residents here. It would be pleasant and stimulating to have likeminded guests share their thoughts and concerns with us. Thank you for considering these requests. My bet is that there are many similar situations like mine throughout the United States.
Yes, I’m sure you’re right, Gene. Let’s hope you hear from some locals who will get together with you!
Linda’s been off on Holidays for two weeks, I’ve been battling the powers-that-be concerning the damages done to my property by hurricane Wilma, and it’s been pretty rough just holding down the JREF fort here in Fort Lauderdale. A side trip to Toronto, Canada, and New York City, had to be squeezed in there, too. My thanks to Kramer and to Jeff Wagg for making this travail bearable. And, in meeting some old buddies in Canada that I hadn’t seen in 35 years, as well as visiting my alma mater, Oakwood Collegiate Institute, I found that people can change in three-and-a-half decades. It’s true!
Last week I was interviewed by Rick Wood on “Audiomartini.” The interview is now available on the main site, www.BadPsychics.com and on the Audiomartini page at www.audiomartini.co.uk.
Until next week….
