At this article from last week, you’ll see some of the excellent coverage that reader Mogen Winthers has been providing us on this totally – and dangerously – self-deluded man, Dr. Richard Boylan, a defrocked psychiatrist who has been circulating statements about a fictitious asteroid that he says celestial powers have told him will impact Earth on November 15th, and has asked for a Joint Psychic Exercise [JPE] by all his fellow-nuts to steer the visitor away from Earth.
Well, at least it's something. Huckster Kevin Trudeau, who claimed his books could cause significant weight loss, cure addictions to heroin, alcohol, and cigarettes, and enable users to achieve a photographic memory, has been banned from being involved in "infomercials" for three years, and ordered to pay more than five million dollars for making false claims. See this Swift article from 2007.. Mind you, Trudeau has made that amount of money many, many, times over, so this is just a slight hitch in his operation - a nuisance. Look for Trudeau-coached operators appearing on TV to continue selling the same woo-woo, as Kevin enjoys the Riviera in luxury, while banking the proceeds.
Please watch this short commercial from our non-sponsor, Columbia Sportswear:
Notice anything odd there? Well Nat Heffernan did, and he brought it to our attention. The narration begins "Man didn't outlive dinosaurs or rotary phones by sitting still. We adapt." And then later, in a stern voice, "Texas isn't surf country." Ok, two things. We didn't outlive dinosaurs at all. Not even close. While we're still learning about mammalian evolution during the "dinosaur age," it's likely beyond all reasonable debate that there were no humans around to run from a T-Rex. (This article gives evidence that mammals weren't the mouse-like pipsqueaks we had earlier believed though. Wow.)
According to Wired News, things are good for those with "gifts." The author, Ryan Singel, apparently interviewed a few "psychics" and asked them to report. Troubled investors have been turning in droves to so-called online "psychics" to advise them on what to do during these difficult economic times. I'm not terribly surprised by this "news," but the article itself has a few interesting points for dicsussion.
During a recent interview on the current economic crisis, President-Elect Obama was asked by a reporter if he had spoken with former presidents about the matter. Obama replied "I have spoken to all of them... um... that are living." A tense pause follows and then, as a joking aside, he explains "Hey, I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances..." The room full of reporters laughs, and he moves on to more pressing issues. Later, according to CNN, Obama's staff said that Obama had apologized to Ms. Reagan "for the careless and offhanded remark."
During a recent interview on the current economic crisis, President-Elect Obama was asked by a reporter if he had spoken with former presidents about the matter. Obama replied "I have spoken to all of them... um... that are living." A tense pause follows and then, as a joking aside, he explains "Hey, I didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about, you know, doing any seances..." The room full of reporters laughs, and he moves on to more pressing issues. Later,