Philly shuts down psychics

[Katana]

PHILADELPHIA - They never saw it coming.

City inspectors shut down more than a dozen psychics, astrologers and tarot-card readers after learning about a decades-old state law that bans fortune telling for profit.

Inspectors did not make arrests or issue fines, “but they will if these people try to return to work,” said Dominic E. Verdi, deputy commissioner of the city Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Verdi said the law, on the books for more than 30 years, makes fortunetelling “for gain or lucre” a third-degree misdemeanor.

"They never saw it coming."

I liked that.

Link

 

[Charlie Monoxide]

I love Fridays and news like this is just whipped cream on the pudding ....

Charlie (hee hee, never saw it coming) Monoxide

 

[tkingdoll]

Gosh. OK, who wants to dig around the other state's laws to if this can apply elsewhere

Must be harsh to have your living pulled from under you like that though. But, the law is the law.

 

[Francesca R]

Dumb government intervention . . .

 

[Overman]

ABOUT TIME!

I know New York has one of these laws too...though unenforced.

 

[Ocelot]

Personally I think they should only shut down the fraudulent ones. Fraud is after all a crime. Any psychic who can demonstrate genuine ability to confound the laws of chance in a randomised, double blind controlled study should be allowed to operate.



Here's UK Petition to have the exisiting Fraudulent Mediums Act Enforced

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/mediums/

 

[daredelvis]

Among all of the B.S. in the world there shines a little sun.

Why is it that all of the psychics I see are in crappy little houses in crappy little neighborhoods? If I was going to go to a psychic, I would go to one that had a real nice house, drove a nice car, had a monocle, top hat, and a cane with a big diamond at the top. That would be the mark of someone who knew what's up.

Daredelvis

 

[tkingdoll]

Among all of the B.S. in the world there shines a little sun.

Why is it that all of the psychics I see are in crappy little houses in crappy little neighborhoods? If I was going to go to a psychic, I would go to one that had a real nice house, drove a nice car, had a monocle, top hat, and a cane with a big diamond at the top. That would be the mark of someone who knew what's up.

Daredelvis

Because they are often desperately poor, ill-educated individuals who struggle to make a living?

 

[BPSCG]

If I was going to go to a psychic, I would go to one that had a real nice house, drove a nice car, had a monocle, top hat, and a cane with a big diamond at the top. That would be the mark of someone who knew what's up how to empty your wallet, your back account, and your mother's bank account, and get your blubbering gratitude in the process.

Fixed. Want to know what that kind of psychic looks like? Click here.

 

[Mephisto]

Houdini must be smiling in his grave. I agree with this particular law, but I think Pennsylvania might have a little fun trying to enforce a few other archaic laws:

1. It is contrary to Pennsylvania law to discharge a gun, cannon, revolver or other explosive weapon at a wedding.

2. It is illegal to have over 16 women live in a house together because that constitutes a brothel. However up to 120 men can live together, without breaking the law.

3. It it illegal to sleep on top of a refrigerator outdoors.

4. Any motorist driving along a country road at night must stop every mile and send up a rocket signal, wait 10 minutes for the road to be cleared of livestock, and continue.

5. A special cleaning ordinance bans housewives from hiding dirt and dust under a rug in a dwelling.

6. You may not sing in the bathtub.


http://www.bitoffun.com/stupid_laws_Pennsylvania.htm

 

[Ocelot]

Houdini must be smiling in his grave. I agree with this particular law, but I think Pennsylvania might have a little fun trying to enforce a few other archaic laws:

It's not quite an archaic law - they say it's "decades old" and more specifically "on the books for more than 30 years"

 

[strathmeyer]

http://www.snopes.com/college/halls/brothel.asp

Don't see any reason to think the rest of the list is true, either.

 

[Checkmite]

Ironically, I have a feeling the reason this "anti-psychic law" is on the books because at the time, most folk believed psychic powers were of Satanic origin.

 

[Krash]

Why is it that all of the psychics I see are in crappy little houses in crappy little neighborhoods?

A lot of them are, unfortunately, doing pretty well and quite comfortably by their own definition.

I've had the opportunity to actually go inside a couple of those crappy little houses inhabited by psychics. From what I can gather, the tendency is to fill them with expensive and extravagant stuff...the most important of which I've noticed seems to be very large televisions and ugly sofa couches. I guess it's necessary to be comfortably lazy while waiting for more victims.

In a situation like that, it's hard to maintain civility when you think about where all that stuff came from.

 

[Alt+F4]

This reminds me of the FDA's battle against Olestra. If some people want to have violent diarrhea who is the government to tell them they can't!

 

[shecky]

A law that bans fortune telling for profit is ridiculous. Unless psychics have the power to force people to use their services, dupes should be able to do with their money as they wish as long as no harm comes to anyone else.

 

[Meadmaker]

Ironically, I have a feeling the reason this "anti-psychic law" is on the books because at the time, most folk believed psychic powers were of Satanic origin.

Whatever works. An awful lot of laws that were originally designed to protect Christianity have been turned to better uses.

It's a good news story today.

 

[geni]

Ironically, I have a feeling the reason this "anti-psychic law" is on the books because at the time, most folk believed psychic powers were of Satanic origin.

30 years ago? Questionable. More likely either a case of the industry getting out of hand or a couple of cases that hit the local news hard.

 

[Kerberos]

A law that bans fortune telling for profit is ridiculous. Unless psychics have the power to force people to use their services, dupes should be able to do with their money as they wish as long as no harm comes to anyone else.

Do you think that all forms of fraud should be legalized or only this one in particular?