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GeeMack
SFN Regular

USA
1093 Posts

Posted - 01/17/2006 :  21:34:37   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send GeeMack a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by marfknox...

Crazy and liar? You guys' emotions are making you reactionary. I don't mean to defend Skepticpsychic, who has clearly misunderstood many criticisms from this discussion, and who has made a very false generalization on her blog about this forum (I'll get to that in a minute). But calling her crazy or a liar is both mean and jumping to conclusions that you can't be sure of.
Sorry, marfknox, but it sounds like you either didn't read her comments on her blog or you misunderstood her comments. How flagrantly dishonest does someone have to be before you consider them a liar? Let's just take a look at a couple of her comments, shall we?
quote:
Skeptic Psychic Joins the Skeptic Friends Network... More Fun than Right-Wing Fundamentalists!...

In an effort to drive traffic to my hopelessly pathetic attempt to make money through a blog, (how much money do you predict I will make from Psychic Friends Network click ads on a website that is skeptical of psychics and warns people off them?) I did what John said and went out and joined a community forum.
She joined this forum to try to make money, yet she told us she was interested in exploring the possibility of her psychic-ness. Maybe not entirely untrue, but certainly a long shot less than honest there.
quote:
Great! I imagined, skeptic that I am, that we were going to be skeptical about everything: the war, the Christians, politics, face lifts, the French, etc. I thought they'd like my attacks on Pat Robertson, and kid me about my Ghost Whisperer stories. I hopped right on thinking I was among skeptical friends.
She opened the thread here by saying she was skeptical of skeptics. Her first remarks centered around badmouthing James Randi and assuming she might encounter "gnarly tones, mocking and insulting language." That's how she'd start out if she thought she was among skeptical friends? She didn't make any attacks on Pat Robertson, get involved in any of several ongoing discussions about Christians or the war, or even mention her Ghost Whisperer stories. So there's another paragraph chock full of her dishonesty.
quote:
What I didn't know until I read their fine print that their biggest pet peeve is the dismal psychotic psychic, out there pretending to predict people's future, leading the world into hell. A great many of the forum members have personally vowed to take down every last psychic, as if we are child molesters or serial killers.
There isn't a shred of truth in there, either. We have no community pet peeve with dismal psychotic psychics like her. Not one of our forum members has made a vow to take down every last psychic. And only one person has ever made any comparison between psychics and child molesters, and that person is Barbara With herself.
quote:
These are the disciples of the "Amazing" Randi, a former magician turned author and lecturer, who has
Edited by - GeeMack on 01/17/2006 21:40:21
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard

USA
3739 Posts

Posted - 01/17/2006 :  21:46:01   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit marfknox's Homepage  Send marfknox an AOL message Send marfknox a Private Message
GeeMack wrote: Sorry, marfknox, but it sounds like you either didn't read her comments on her blog or you misunderstood her comments. How flagrantly dishonest does someone have to be before you consider them a liar? Let's just take a look at a couple of her comments, shall we?

I think you are right. I did read her comments, but not clearly enough. After reading your point by point analysis – though I didn't agree with every single point you made – overall your arguments hold. She's a liar.


"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong

Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com

Edited by - marfknox on 01/17/2006 21:46:34
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Dave W.
Info Junkie

USA
26020 Posts

Posted - 01/17/2006 :  21:51:31   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit Dave W.'s Homepage Send Dave W. a Private Message
Look at this... On page six of this thread, she wrote (bolding mine):
quote:
What I can claim is that I receive messages via spontaneous hallucinations of the spirits of dead people that have meaning to and are corroborated by the recipient. I cannot recall one time under these circumstances that there wasn't corroboration. However, this is not reproducible in a laboratory. I do not “do” anything to provoke these hallucinations. They happen randomly. I do not claim to do this at will nor does it involve money in any way.
Yet, on her website, she writes:
In 1998, I was enlisted by a representative from a British tabloid to conduct an interview with Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales for the anniversary of her death. While the interview was never published...
and
On December 8, 2001, a group of us sat down in my living room to talk directly to the Party of Twelve.
So, "randomly" and not "at will" my aunt fanny.

marfknox, if she is mentally ill, her illness is presenting itself as pathological lying.

- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too.
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard

USA
3739 Posts

Posted - 01/17/2006 :  22:08:41   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit marfknox's Homepage  Send marfknox an AOL message Send marfknox a Private Message
R. Wreck wrote: If you're going to give spiritual beliefs the credit for humanitarian acts, then you also have to acknowledge when those same types of beliefs are used to justify the worst behaviors.

I already did. Spiritual beliefs can alter peoples behaviors in ways that are both compassionate and destructive.

Historically the bad seems to have outweighed the good.

How do you figure? When a religious person does either compassionate or destructive acts, it is impossible to measure how much they were actually motivated by their religious beliefs, or what that act of kindness or violence should be counted as worth.

And are spiritual beliefs really necessary to humanitarianism?

Nope, and I never said they were.

I suppose one could say that we should start with eliminating destructive dogmatism, but as long as their are unfounded spiritual beliefs, there will be the soil that the destructive dogmatism grows in.

I don't much care for most slippery slope arguments because they usually go both ways. You have conveniently ignored everything I said about how for people of certain psychological makeups it is possible that having zero spiritual beliefs could lead to equally destructive behaviors based on a nihilistic worldview. Thus, the slippery slope does slip the other way – it is possible that in an atheistic culture there will be the soil that the destructive nihilism grows in.

Do not assume that just because you can live with religious skepticism and still be a good and happy person that everyone else can too.

"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong

Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com

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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard

USA
3834 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  01:12:07   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send beskeptigal a Private Message
Well this has certainly taken a different twist.

Considering she has a completely dishonest blog entry about this forum, what are the chances we could put a rebuttal as the first entry in this thread. Then when or if anyone follows her link they could be informed of the absurd conclusions the woman produced in her imagination. She thought we would discuss..... but we were bent on discussing her? I've not read such a crock of shit in a long time.
Edited by - beskeptigal on 01/18/2006 01:17:49
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skepticpsychic
New Member

USA
21 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  04:58:01   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit skepticpsychic's Homepage Send skepticpsychic a Private Message
Words of warning from one of the greatest scientists of all time, Albert Einstein:

"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe." He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest of the universe -a kind of optical delusion. This delusion is a kind of prison for us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures."

"The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man."

"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self."

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

"We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality."

Careful, skeptics, of falling into the trap of group mind, the illusion that intellect rules, and the need for concrete proof of everything. Critical thinking is an absolutely necessary part of living a good, healthy life, but if compassion and heart aren't included in your process, you risk becoming the very thing you are seeking to eradicate.

The Skeptic Psychic
www.writingup.com/blog/skepticpsychic
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skepticpsychic
New Member

USA
21 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  05:30:13   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit skepticpsychic's Homepage Send skepticpsychic a Private Message
Oops apparently the Skeptics have no sense of humor when it comes to not being able to take what they dish out. So sorry if I offended you.

For the record, that post on writingup.com came after receiving appalling hate mail from people in your forum. It's ok, I get it all the time from the Christians.

Glad to see I have riled you up. Everyone needs a little kick in the ass to get them out of their comfort zone.

A word of advice: lighten up...don't take anything you read online in a chat room or forum too seriously. I know I will leave here being called a coward, full of bullshit and other things I won't mention here still striving to understand one thing: psychic, skeptic, Christian, muslim, atheist, we are all the same. We have feelings, we reacts to being attacked and we strive to live our lives the best we can.

I cherish my time here and despite being spit on, kicked, accused of being a liar, having hate mail sent to me, the positive things I learned here will be forever valuable to me in my work ahead.

And please, don't take my satire too seriously. If PennJilette can call me the world's second biggest douche bag and I can still laugh at myself, you should too!

As always, enriched by our time together,
The Skeptic Psychic

The Skeptic Psychic
www.writingup.com/blog/skepticpsychic
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard

3192 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  05:32:49   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send BigPapaSmurf a Private Message
You falsely assume we have lack compassion or heart, helping someone see their false views is the greatest compassion in my book.

"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History

"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini
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Starman
SFN Regular

Sweden
1613 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  05:38:47   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Starman a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by skepticpsychic

Oops apparently the Skeptics have no sense of humor when it comes to not being able to take what they dish out. So sorry if I offended you.

For the record, that post on writingup.com came after receiving appalling hate mail from people in your forum. It's ok, I get it all the time from the Christians.

Glad to see I have riled you up. Everyone needs a little kick in the ass to get them out of their comfort zone.

A word of advice: lighten up...don't take anything you read online in a chat room or forum too seriously. I know I will leave here being called a coward, full of bullshit and other things I won't mention here still striving to understand one thing: psychic, skeptic, Christian, muslim, atheist, we are all the same. We have feelings, we reacts to being attacked and we strive to live our lives the best we can.

I cherish my time here and despite being spit on, kicked, accused of being a liar, having hate mail sent to me, the positive things I learned here will be forever valuable to me in my work ahead.

And please, don't take my satire too seriously. If PennJilette can call me the world's second biggest douche bag and I can still laugh at myself, you should too!

As always, enriched by our time together,
The Skeptic Psychic

Whew!

Talk about inflated ego.
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skepticpsychic
New Member

USA
21 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  05:44:43   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit skepticpsychic's Homepage Send skepticpsychic a Private Message
If any of you think you can determine what I am lying about, what I am telling the truth about, what I was merely being satirical about and who I really am through reading anything I wrote online, you are fooling yourselves silly. I would never claim to know if you are lying or not. But I can feel hate when I see it.

If anyone thinks they can determine what my intentions were, again, unless you are *psychic* you are only speculating, and it would be my guess that your emotions would be so intense that you could not make even a close conclusion.

Perception of reality is a very tricky thing. I will say one of my intentions in coming here and posting has been to rile up your comfort zone, to kick you out of how sure you are of what you claim and stir the pot. I have grandly succeeded in doing that.

To think you can determine the truth of who I am is as bad as any psychic you are trying to take down with your hate and name calling.

Look in the mirror folks....there's where the only truth you need to know really lies. Quit wasting your time trying to prove me wrong and spend some time finding out where YOU are wrong.

My intention when I came here was to see what the skeptics might suggest about what I have experienced. The level of closed minded hate I found here blew me away. Not everyone, no. But as a rule, your room is as bad as the Christians are with their dogma. Your group mind is apparently lacking in self-scrutiny.

If you can stop calling people names long enough to take that good long look at yourself, you mght see that you are part of the problem you perceive outside yourself.

Again, my apologies you didn't like my satire. I totally understand. And yet, how much of it rung true? Perhaps thou doth protest too much...


The Skeptic Psychic
www.writingup.com/blog/skepticpsychic
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pleco
SFN Addict

USA
2998 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  05:57:34   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit pleco's Homepage Send pleco a Private Message
quote:
Perception of reality is a very tricky thing. I will say one of my intentions in coming here and posting has been to rile up your comfort zone, to kick you out of how sure you are of what you claim and stir the pot. I have grandly succeeded in doing that.


Hardly. You just presented a false impression of what your intentions were. To most normal people, to find out they have been lied to will make them upset and angry. We are just reacting normally to being lied to and manipulated.

Being told by a confirmed liar to "look in the mirror", that's rich.

Do you like running around with your pants on fire all the time? Doesn't it hurt? I suspect you have been doing it for so long, that you no longer feel the burn. Too much scar tissue, no doubt.

And calling you a liar is not "name-calling"; rather, it is just stating facts.

Since you seem to be unable to tell the truth about anything, any further discussion with you is pointless. Perhaps you should go fora where this type of behavior is more favorably looked upon.

by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart.
Edited by - pleco on 01/18/2006 06:00:20
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Starman
SFN Regular

Sweden
1613 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  06:00:47   [Permalink]  Show Profile Send Starman a Private Message
quote:
Originally posted by skepticpsychic

Quit wasting your time trying to prove me wrong ...
LOL!

Whatever shall we do now with our time?

Mind if we just continue revolve around you with the rest of the world?


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skepticpsychic
New Member

USA
21 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  06:27:10   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit skepticpsychic's Homepage Send skepticpsychic a Private Message
My public apology:

http://www.writingup.com/skepticpsychic/skeptics_on_the_rampage_skeptic_psychic_apologizes

For heaven sakes people lighten up and start using your power of deductive reasoning that you pride yourself in: I came here only to make money? And how much money do you believe I planned to make driving you to my website with all those psychic hotline listings?? Do you honestly think I planned to get rich because once you read my immaculate postings you would be rushing over there to get a phone reading from someone who just got off the welfare rolls in NYC (true story, the city of NY used the psychic hotline as employment for welfare recipients)? Now THAT'S just nutty..

Do you think I came here to trap you into some kind of perspective that would do you harm? Please...

I have done nothing but try to show you have a big sense of humor about myself. What other person who claims to be psychic would come to the Skeptic Friends Network and start a conversation asking for your input into what she thought she was experiencing and post a self-effecing list of why I can't take Randi's challenge? I AM MAKING FUN OF MYSELF FOR GOD SAKE...

So yes, I did not promote unity with my humor, and I am sorry. But for heaven sakes, lighten up...

If you want to get insanely angry about something why not put it towards something that means something, like, reducing nuclear weapons , feeding children, helping the people in Afghanistan make it through the cold cruel winter? Don't get me wrong, we all have interests and activities that are personally meaningful for our lives, but to take yourselves this seriously is not good for your health.

And it doesn't take a *psychic* to tell you that!!
Your friend,
The Skeptic Psychic

The Skeptic Psychic
www.writingup.com/blog/skepticpsychic
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skepticpsychic
New Member

USA
21 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  06:31:06   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit skepticpsychic's Homepage Send skepticpsychic a Private Message
tsk tsk tsk I would be very careful who I call a liar here.

I do understand though how your emotions overshadow your ability to be clear thinking. that's ok it happens to all of us.

The Skeptic Psychic
www.writingup.com/blog/skepticpsychic
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skepticpsychic
New Member

USA
21 Posts

Posted - 01/18/2006 :  07:11:05   [Permalink]  Show Profile  Visit skepticpsychic's Homepage Send skepticpsychic a Private Message
We are approaching the moment of truth. Violence in Darfur continues to rise, and for the first time in recent news reports the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), and even the U.S. have indicated support for an urgent multinational intervention to stop the genocide in Darfur. In February, the U.S. will be the President of the UN Security Council, providing an ideal moment for the U.S. to lead the international community to stop genocide. We know that they will not take action without hearing strong public support, so we are asking you today to help us tip the balance. Please pick up the phone and call the State Department today!

Today is a national call-in day on Darfur. Please call the State Department with the following message:

“Hello. I am calling with a message for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about the genocide in Darfur. I have been encouraged by the Secretary's recent remarks in favor of a UN intervention. I am aware that the U.S. will become the President of the UN Security Council next month. Please use this window of opportunity to stop genocide in Darfur by instructing the U.S. Ambassador at the UN to introduce a resolution for a multinational intervention in support of the AU with a mandate to protect. As the violence continues to rise in Darfur, there is no more time to waste. Thank you.”

You can reach the State Department comment line by calling: (202) 647-4000. The person at the switchboard might take your comment directly or, if the person is flooded with calls, you might be transferred to an automated comment line. In either circumstance, please leave a message.

For a longer explanation of how a multinational intervention would stop genocide, feel free to download a flyer or read Africa Action's statement on how the UN can stop genocide in Darfur. Feel free to utilize the updated talking points on the genocide in Darfur.

This national call-in day is a part of an escalation campaign that is building citizen pressure to push the Bush Administration to use this window of opportunity to take the action necessary to stop genocide. We will issue a new alert each week in January and early February with ways to get involved. Mark your calendars for our next call-in day to the United Nations on February 1st and the rally in Washington, DC on February 2nd.

Please spread the word about this important moment and help us to turn up the heat to protect Darfur.

Sincerely,

The Staff @ Africa Action

The Skeptic Psychic
www.writingup.com/blog/skepticpsychic
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