Goodspeed is just WRONG
Well, when one reads such drivel it's extremely difficult to decide where to begin when composing a rational response. One tends to get a bit angry. It's mighty hard to avoid.
Goodspeed makes a mighty mess of the truth here. I'd like to respond to each and every false claim he has made in his posts, but I simply don't have a free month or two on my calender to devote to such a task. I also have a family, and I like to see them and spend some time with them every now and again.
But, I digress.
I know exactly where Randi is coming from when he arrives at the point of responding to his detractors with hysterics; anger and seemingly insurmountable frustration are sometimes unavoidable when an ignorant buffoon like Goodspeed spins his pap before an audience. Happily, however, we can always trust Randi to respond honestly when confronted by such utter nonsense and sloppy thinking. Indeed, when such sloppy thinking is right in your face, very often one simply can not help but erupt like a volcano and spew a vitriolic response back into the face of the bullsh*tter. Bold-faced lies regarding who we are and what we do are very upsetting, and this Goodspeed bozo does seem committed (no pun intended) to making Randi seem downright dishonest and opportunistic, to say the least. Shame on him and his kind. If only everyone who reads his shoddy postings could for even a single day become a "fly on the wall" here at JREF, they would immediately see through his effluvium and know the truth...and perhaps I should now introduce myself:
This is my first post. My name is KRAMER. I have been friends with James Randi for many years, long before I relocated from NYC to South Florida and began working here at JREF in the MILLION DOLLAR PARANORMAL CHALLENGE department...the target of such feeble-minded scrutiny here in the JREF forum.
As I said, there is so much to respond to, it's hard to know how to even begin. Perhaps the best way to start is to address the absurd claim that Randi's interest in investigating the claims of prize applicants is focused mainly upon the claimants whose fame or notoriety might bring about an invitation to appear on TV or in the media. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH !!!
I have been here for nearly four weeks now, and, until today, when I finally found the time to register in the forum and begin perusing its contents, I have spent 100% of my time pouring through hundreds of applications for the Paranormal Challenge and responding to each and every one. Many are accepted outright. Others need clarification of their claim. Others make little or no sense at all, yet regardless, I try my very best to decipher the nature of the claim and compose a clear response.
Here is one important thing I can tell you all in response to the LIAR Goodspeed's claims that we are more concerned with testing the rich and famous for the sake of publicity than honestly responding to and/or investigating ALL paranormal claims that come our way:
Of the hundreds of applications I have read and responded to, NOT A SINGLE ONE has been from anyone of ANY notoriety or fame. Although many applications are from persons of questionable morality who earn a damn good living deceiving the ignorant, none possess any hint of notoriety, and most are clearly of limited means. One "psychic" is fairly well known amongst the Russian community in Brooklyn, but by and large, the "famous" steer clear of us. Exposing their trickery would cost them their livelihoods, and they're anything but stupid. Most are pretty clever, in fact. One needs a certain degree of cleverness and imagination in order to achieve tenure in the industry of deception. We all know that there's an awful lot of money at stake in what they do. Why would they risk it? By and large, they don't. Only the most blatantly shameless (or stupid) would submit to appearing on nationwide TV alongside Randi, whom they know full well is forever undaunted in his willingness to challenge them with his mantra; "PROVE IT !"
I spend my days sauntering in and out of Randi's private office, interrupting his hard work with constant questions regarding prize applications. He treats each and every query with the same integrity and attention, regardless of its' source, whether they be self-deluded scientists, amateur paranormalists, or devout followers of jesus, mohammed or zarathustra. He listens attentively. never interrupts as I read a claim to him, and presents a reasonable response.
I swear this to all of you on my father's grave. I would swear this in a court of law under penalty of perjury. It is the absolute TRUTH.
That said, I would be lying if I said that all the claims we receive are reasonable in nature. Rest assured they are not. Some are downright ridiculous, such as the man in England who insists that no lion, no matter how wild, no matter what size, will bite him. We shared a good laugh over that one. Can you blame us?
Indeed, is this even a paranormal claim?
Are alleged "breatharians" claiming paranormal ability, or just medical impossibility? It doesn't matter to me. I respond within days, regardless of the claim, often repeating over and over that the claimant should visit the website and CAREFULLY examine the prize rules. Every prize has its rules. Who would give ours the slightest credence were it not supported by REASON?
We respond to each and every application we receive, and each and every applicant is given equal opportunity to become a "claimant". Perhaps half of all applicants seem to be submitted by honest people who truly believe they possess the type of powers that can win them the prize. The other half is a combination of cowardly hucksters who never respond to our proposed protocol for testing their claim, and those who are more concerned with insisting that their "powers" are divine in nature than they are with actually submitting to a test of their claim. It's a real mixed bag. Yet still, we decline to discriminate. If someone writes, I write back, often repeatedly. If someone emails, they get a response immediately after I read it. If someone calls, I pick up the phone and STAY on the phone until the caller is satisfied.
Try me.
The piece submitted on the forum by Goodspeed is categorically and patently false in each and every respect. I have poured through it in a desperate search for even a modicum of truth, but could find none. Believe me; I know Mr. James Randi intimately, and I assure you with all sincerity that he would much rather appear at 1,000 grade schools lecturing children on the virtues of critical thinking than appear on ONE installment of Larry King beside some grossly wealthy charlatan in a vain attempt to prove false what people will continue to believe regardless of the existence of mountains of hard proof refuting it. Such an appearance would be costly and time consuming, to say the least.
Randi has a plethora of more important things to do. Meaningful work is in great abundancy here at JREF.
I repeat; however absurd the claim appears on the surface, we respond quickly (as of my arrival here, anyway), and every applicant has a fair shot at proving their claim. If claimants refuse to allow scientific standards to be applied to the testing procedure, well, there is little we can do about it. We make no unreasonable demands on applicants. Indeed, REASON is all we have.
This just the beginning. There is SO MUCH MORE to respond to.
I'm happy to be here, and I look forward to ALL correspondence that comes my way. I'll also try to keep as up-to-date as my duties will allow, here in the forum.
