I have been reading “The Men who Stare at Goats” a book and movie based on the true story of General Albert Stubblebine who started a unit of military men with so called psychic abilities. He believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Of course none of this worked and lots of tax dollars were spent investigating this bunkum, the general became a bit of a joke as a result.
So I should not have been surprised that the man who ran into his office wall thinking he could melt right through it using the power of his mind would also buy into the nonsense of the 9/11 Truth people. Me thinks the general must have run head first into that wall on more than just one occasion. It would seem that many in the truth movement do have a tendency to follow the leader rather quickly and without vetting so Stubblebine is welcomed by many a truther. They think of the person as an authority because they have a title, Dr. or General, former USG official.
One thing I have learned when dealing with truthers is they like to embrace all sort of claptrap. You know those condensation trails you see coming out of high flying jets? In trutherville it is thought to be chemical spraying of mind control drugs or weather changing compounds. And then you have the subset of truthers who believe no airplanes hit the towers, No-Planers who buy the idea of holographic projections were what everyone saw. High energy space beam weapons are popular with a certain faction. Your basic big tent of loonies.
The only good point of the general involvement is it have sparked accusations of disinformation among members of the “Truth” movement. The infighting among the “planers” and “no-planers”, the controlled demolition and non-controlled demolition and the “Let it happen on purpose” LIHOP and the “Made it happen on purpose” MIHOP is comedy gold. I myself get accused of being a paid government agent because I happen to have enough sense to call a kook a kook. Yeah, Yeah, I know, it’s not cool or politically correct dismiss others deeply felt ideas, but when your idea is pure 100% crap like staring at goats with deadly intent or thinking the WTC was a controlled demolition one would be a fool himself to entertain the ideas as some how based on reality.
It’s amazing when you see the news reports and how people say these could NOT be balloons with road flairs. People will convince themselves UFOs must be alien space craft, when it is in fact, a hoax. UFO mavins are upset, some down right mad at the hoax. Lots of embarrass people in NJ.
So caller “Psychic” Sylvia Browne Misses Big in 2008. Sylvia went on on the Montel William’s show were she predicted the housing market would get stronger and the automotive industry would rebound! OK so it’s not as bad as when she made a major mistake about the West Virginia miners tragedy on a live radio. And again on Apr 26 2004 on the Montel Williams Show Sylvia predicted some sort of implant that would be used on paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve, the Superman actor died on Oct 10 2004. And who of course can forget the tragedy of her telling Shawn Hornbeck’s parents their son was dead, she still is very quiet on how she was so wrong, as you may know the boy was found alive after being held for four years. The woman does have a history of being wrong and 2008 was no different. To be fair she did say “President Bush’s approval rating will continue to drop” and Jamie Lynn Spears, 16-year-old sister of Britney, will have her baby. Well… DUH!
But why should she be any different than all the other psychics who failed to get it right last year. Soothsayer Elizabeth Joyce told us a terrorist attack will force President George W. Bush to declare martial law and postpone the election, and Al Gore will decide to run at the last minute and be voted president by a landslide. Gee, you would think with all those psychics out there you could find one who would be correct in predicting an Obama win, I have not seen one yet.
Nikki, a Toronto-based self-proclaimed “psychic to the stars” told us how George Clooney will get married and have a child. Penelope Cruz will run for political office in Spain and Sean Penn will be wounded in a visit to the Middle East. Also there will be a terrorist attack at the Beijing Olympics, a hurricane will wipe out Miami and a transvestite will compete in the Miss USA contest. Either Prince William or Prince Harry will be kidnapped in 2008. As for the presidential election, Nikki said she sees John Edwards in the White House after Sen. Hillary Clinton drops out of the race due to health problems.
Being a Medium is a very simple job, you merely sit around and make predictions. Some you base on educated guess and some you pull straight out your ass. The key here is volume, make a prediction that a passenger aircraft will crash in a major American city and make this prediction every day and sooner or latter it may happen. We just saw one crash land in the Hudson River. Make hundreds of such prophecies each day and you are bound to get a hit or something you can spin to sound like a hit.
The misses are far more telling when it comes to these charlatans because there are so many incorrect forecasts from them. It’s human nature to remember the hits, (or the bogus claims of a hit) and to forget the misses.
With 9/11 trutherism fast becoming a dead issue maybe it time to take on scams of a different kind. Huckster Kevin Trudeau with his conspiracy theorist laden outlook on traditional medicine, finance and weight loss has been banned by the FTC from making infomercials for three years and was fined $5 Million. Seems his dieting book was a bit deceptive. Judge Robert W. Gettleman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois noted:
the diet protocol could not be done “easily” and “at home,” because the protocol described in Trudeau’s book requires colonics, which must be done at the office of a licensed practitioner, as well as injection of human growth hormone;
dieters could not “complete” or “finish” Trudeau’s four-phase program, because Trudeau’s book states that “Phase 4 is for the rest of your life”;
dieters could not eat “anything” they want, because Trudeau’s book prescribes that dieters following Phase 4 must eat “only 100% organic food,” and no “brand name” food, “fast food,” or “food served by regional or national chain restaurants”; and
the diet protocol did not require “no exercise,” because Trudeau’s book states that three of the diet’s four phases, including Phase 4, require walking one hour outside every day.
This of course is not the first time Trudeau has run afoul of the FTC, in 1998 they charged him with making false and misleading claims in infomercials for products that he claimed could cure addictions to heroin, alcohol, cigarettes, and help you lose weight as well.
In 2003 Trudeau claimed in infomercials that a product called Coral Calcium Supreme could cure cancer. The FTC again filed a contempt action and fined him 2 million. After that Kevin changed his tactics and stopped directly pimping snake oil but instead he started to write books…… Books that in essence compelled you to buy the same worthless cures he had been pushing for years.
Trudeau latest scam? Well like any good con man he has jumped onto the next big social problem, DEBT. And of course his “Expert” advice to those with money problems is to make MORE money and spend LESS money. Or you could follow Kevin’s lead and cheat lie and steal it.
I have been reading “The Men who Stare at Goats” a book and movie based on the true story of General Albert Stubblebine who started a unit of military men with so called psychic abilities. He believed that a soldier could adopt the cloak of invisibility, pass cleanly through walls and, perhaps most chillingly, kill goats just by staring at them. Of course none of this worked and lots of tax dollars were spent investigating this bunkum, the general became a bit of a joke as a result.