A gentleman named Timothy John Strating from Montana is suing "psychic" Nathalie Roberts, claiming that she stole $170,000 from him in an attempt to reverse his bad karma. Apparently, Strating lavished her with cash and gifts to "raise his energy level" to better his standing with women and once the process was complete would get a refund.

Obviously Strating never saw any of the money again and Roberts is claiming that the two were intimate and this is nothing more than a case of "a broken heart."

To be accurate, she shouldn't be classified as a "psychic" as she is clearly a scam artist. One might argue there's no difference, but I'm not one of them. Also, who gives a complete stranger $170,000 in cash and gifts? Seriously, that's just insane. I'm not saying that he deserved it, but come one! I felt awkward paying a real psychic <$100 for a reading, muchless $170,000!

Complete story here. 

A 22-year-old woman from New Jersey consulted the help of a 'psychic' to save her deteriorating relationship. She found the help she needed in psychic,Tammy Mitchell, who was offering a very reasonable $65 reading. Mitchell promptly determined that the reason for the young woman's woes was very simple… she was cursed! Luckily Mitchell had the cure.

She instructed the woman to perform an elaborate series of twisted and hilarious steps. First, Mitchell made the woman sleep with white thread, red wine and salt in a pillowcase under her bed. Then she persuaded her to remove $600 from the bank and rub the money and the fruit on her body while making the sign of the cross. The following day, Mitchell repeated the ritual, this time rubbing the oranges and grapefruits on the woman's body herself! This set the woman back $5,500 for Mitchell's services.

But we're not done yet. Mitchell then told the victim to smash an orange with her foot, apparently revealing an evil head which marked the end of that part of the curse.

A few days later, Mitchell requested another $7,000 and sent the woman home with grapefruits and oranges. She instructed the woman to rub the fruit all over her body in the shower. When the woman couldn't pay in cash, Mitchell persuaded the victim to buy her a dining room set, shoes and clothes.

Not even sure where to go with this one. Any suggestions? 

Complete story here. 

With nearly three-quarters of Americans believing in the paranormal, up from half in 1990, there is no shortage of psychics to quench their thirst. TV networks see the potential and thus an explosion in paranormal shows is underway. Psychics are now touring the country and commanding the attention of millions of followers, while reaping millions of their dollars.

Initially, when I read this story, I was not inclined to do a writeup on it. But having read over it a few times, one point stuck out from Patricia Baker, a sociologist and psychotherapist in Boston who is working on a book about people's changing attitudes toward authority.

"And it definitely seems that people are turning to them (psychics) more for their problems, particularly when terrorism, war and scandals have caused people to question our political and religious leaders."

This got me thinking about religion, politics, and psychics more. Throughout history, people have been manipulated by fear and poverty to follow certain people, beliefs, religions, etc. Recent examples of this would include Hitler's rise to power, and even the current state in the US. The US Government is using fear of Muslim extremists to promote their agenda and further their interests at the expense of our nation. Conversely, many arab nations are using fear of the US to create their own new generation of mindless followers. The list goes on and on.

But with the recent political and religious scandals in the US (i.e. priests in the Catholic church, domestic spying, impeachments, etc), are American's left with psychics as their only hope? Yes, I know this is a bit of a stretch, but look how many people turned to Hitler, Castro, and Chavez for answers. Look how many people turn to religion after tragedies for consolation. Many people need that crutch to get them through the tough times and provide hope.

Are psychics the next crutch or am I just crazy? What do you think?

Thanks to John C for pointing this story out to me.

The History Channel is teaming up with psychic John Holland to produce what they hope to be a unique and extraordinary series. John's psychic abilities will be put to the test as he tries to solve some of the world's most confounding mysteries.

In the premiere episode, Holland will attempt to answer some lingering questions about Waco: Who fired the first shot?  Were Koresh's followers being held against their will? Also, Holland apparently breaks some news that was never released to the public.

While I will definitely tune in to watch this, I can't get over the fact that no matter what Holland offers up for an answer, can it actually be verified? How can he truly answer who fired the first shot and prove it? Sounds like he can't go wrong in my opinion. But I will reserve judgement until after I see it. 

I always have issues with "psychics" that always appear to be cashing in… not that I blame them :)

The pilot airs:

- June 26 at 9 pm EST/PST
- July 6 at 11 pm EST/PST
- July 8 at 5 pm EST/PST