According to the Boston Herald, seven Boston psychic businesses were asked to appear before the city Licensing Board last week, after being cited for license violations.
To obtain a psychic business license in Boston, the applicant must prove to the city that they are registered voters and that they have not been convicted of any state or federal crimes.
They must also prove that not only their landlord approves of their business, but also those residents who might live or work on either side.
Psychic businesses are also required to clearly list their services, and how much each will cost.
I’m not sure how the meeting went, or what specific violations each of the businesses had, but if I learn more, I’ll let you know.
Last week, city commissioners in Leavenworth, Kansas began discussing the possibility of repealing a city ban on fortune-telling that’s been on the books for ages.
Presently, the ordinance states that it is ‘unlawful for any fortuneteller, palmist, phrenologist or clairvoyant to carry on or practice his business, trade or profession within the city.’
Commissioners are considering repealing this law, and instead regulating psychic businesses through licensing, zoning, and possibly criminal background checks.
The whole discussion surrounding the ban came about after a Leavenworth resident requested last December that it be repealed.
The ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri backed up the resident’s request by notifying city officials that psychic speech was protected under the First Amendment.
No decision has yet been made, but further discussion will take place after commissioners have had time to review their options.
On behalf of Salem resident, Anaka Hunter, the ACLU last week filed a complaint against the City of Salem, Missouri, its public library’s Board of Trustees, and the library’s director.
The ACLU maintain that the ‘Netsweeper’ content filtering software used by the library is unconstitutionally limiting Hunter’s ability to access information on ‘minority’ religious views, specifically sites related to Native American religions and Wicca.
While trying to do research on her own Native American heritage, as well as on the Wiccan faith, Hunter discovered that the sites she was trying to access were being blocked.
The reasons given were that they contained content related to the ‘occult’ and/or ‘criminal skills’.
To understand how ludicrous this situation is, take a look at some of the sites Hunter was denied access to:
Interestingly enough, Christian discussions on pagan and occult practices were not blocked by the software.
According to the complaint, library director Glenda Wofford told Hunter that library staff will only allow people to view blocked websites if the content in those sites pertain to their jobs, or they’re writing a paper, or if it’s determined by the staff, that the person inquiring has some legitimate purpose for viewing the content.
Wofford also noted that she was required to inform the proper authorities about anyone she believed might misuse the information being requested.
Personally speaking, I can’t imagine why any of the websites listed above are considered a threat to Salem residents. And it’s absolutely outrageous that Native American traditions are being classified as occult or potentially illegal.
And what do they mean by ‘occult ‘ and ‘criminal skills’ anyway?
I’m glad that the ACLU took up this case, and I wish them and Ms. Hunter success with it.
As promised yesterday, we have an update on Grandpa the Psychic Monkey’s predictions for the New Hampshire Republican primary. I don’t know what to think of them though.
As you can see in the NY Daily News clip below, Grandpa ignored conventional wisdom and chose Newt Gingrich as the frontrunner.
When offered an array of bananas all representing particular candidates, he went right to the Gingrich banana, snapped it up and ate it.
Though he grabbed the Huntsman banana at the same time he took the Gingrich one, he didn’t actually eat it until he’d finished off the two marked Santorum and Perry.
And he completely ignored both the Romney and Paul bananas, leaving them for another monkey.
Till now, Grandpa’s record has been good. At least in sports. He picked the winner for last year’s Super Bowl, and six out of nine winners in the US Open.
But maybe politics isn’t his strong point, or it’s possible he knows something we don’t.
He could also just be saying he thinks the whole lot of them are bananas.
Tomorrow is the New Hampshire Republican primary. The polls and the pundits have been anticipating a win for Romney, but who knows, politics can be a difficult business to predict.
And for that reason, the New York Daily News decided to look beyond the mainstream commentators to see what a true oracle has to say.
They visited the Staten Island Zoo in order to meet with Grandpa, the black-handed spider monkey who has been credited with correctly predicting outcomes for the US Open and the Super Bowl.
Bananas are Grandpa’s divination tool of choice. In this case, each one represents a particular candidate in the race.
They’re all laid out in a row, under a light covering of hay. Then Grandpa sets to work. Whichever banana he chooses to eat is his projected winner.
Unfortunately, the news report below is nothing but a teaser, and we won’t know who Grandpa chose until sometime later today.
I’ll try to keep on top of the story and will report back tomorrow with an update. If for some reason that’s not possible, I apologize in advance.
But either way, we’ll know who the winner is soon enough.
It’s more political than it is oracular, but the episode of Rap News by The Juice Media posted below is kind of funny.
It’s an entertaining and irreverent look at the hoopla surrounding the year 2012, making fun of both the ‘mystics’ and the ‘realists’.
Will the end of the Mayan calendar mean anything more than the end of our own calendar every 365 days? I doubt it.
Though I expect it’ll be an interesting year ahead, I don’t think that the world is facing an apocalypse, at least no more than it normally is.
The card I pulled when I asked about 2012 was #7, the Chariot.
It suggests change, but that we’re moving steadily forward. This card often recommends working hard and persevering with determination.
It’s not an easy energy, but it’s one that indicates strength and a willingness to keep going.
After all is said and done, the Charioteer typically represents victory. Primarily because he doesn’t give up when he hits a rough patch on the hi-way.
Let’s all have as smooth a ride this year as possible.
And if we see anyone needing help by the side of the road, why not give them a hand.
Television advertisements must not promote psychic practices or practices related to the occult. Psychic and occult-related practices include ouija, satanism, casting of spells, palmistry, attempts to contact the dead, divination, clairvoyance, clairaudience, the invocation of spirits or demons and exorcism.
I’m not sure how satanism got thrown in there. If it’s to be disallowed from the airwaves, it should probably have its own category. It’s a belief system, not an ‘occult’ tool or form of divination.
But the rest of the statement is pretty clear – they don’t want anyone advertising psychic services on TV.
In addition to the above, psychic advertisers must clearly state in their pitch that what they do is ‘for entertainment purposes only’, and that they do not do predictions of any sort.
Furthermore, nothing can be in the ad that could lead someone to think that the psychic is ‘reliable’ or ‘substantiated.’ They don’t allow endorsements.
Most readers I know wouldn’t have nearly enough money to advertise on TV anyway, so I imagine these rules will primarily affect large psychic phone-line and internet companies only.
And I expect they’re meant to target situations where people are duped into paying $4.99/minute to talk to some schmuck they think they saw on TV with recommendations from the stars.
I sympathize with them there, and don’t like that kind of business either. But why pretend psychic advertising is allowed at all.
Clearly it’s not if while trying to sell your services you’re obligated to discredit them at the same time.
Tommy and Marie Costello have won their battle against the fortune-telling ban in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Last September they filed suit against the City claiming that the ban was an illegal restriction of free speech in violation of both the U.S. and Mississippi constitutions.
On Tuesday, a federal court agreed, and handed down a preliminary injunction against the ban, prompting Hattiesburg City Attorney Charles Lawrence to recommend that the ordinance be repealed.
According to City Councillor Kim Bradley, it will take another 90 days before the ban is lifted. In the meantime, Council will come up with zoning regulations for new psychic establishments.
As of Tuesday, however, the Costellos and their shop are open and ready for business.
I congratulate them on their win and thank them for their courage to take a stand.
This ban has been in place for almost 100 years, and as Councillor Bradley acknowledges in the news clip below, the change is overdue.
This past September, I posted about proposed new regulations for professional psychic readers in Babylon Village, Long Island.
The proposals included obtaining a license, being fingerprinted, buying liability insurance, and locating in the industrial part of town.
Last week, Babylon Village trustees decided to drop these proposals.
According to Newsday, village attorney Joel Sikowitz said the decision was based on ‘investigation, input from the public, and analysis of the facts.’
Though the regulations have been shelved for now, Mayor Ralph Scordino left the question open, with the possibility of revisiting it some time in the future.
Hopefully, they won’t find that necessary. I think they made a good decision.
In September, I wrote about Tommy and Marie Costello’s suit against the City of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
They argued that the fortune-telling ban that forced them to shut down their business last December is an illegal restraint on their rights to free speech and due process per the US and Mississippi constitutions.
Last week, the city responded with their answer, claiming that the present law does not violate US or state constitutions.
They also contend that in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of their city, Hattiesburg has a legitimate interest in regulating, or in this case outlawing, psychic businesses.
This sounds a lot like the argument made by Chesterfield County, Virginia a few weeks ago.
In that case, the Virginia Federal District Court upheld the right of Chesterfield to heavily regulate what they describe as ‘fortune-telling’.
It flies in the face, however, of the 2010 decision by the Maryland High Court that prohibitions on such businesses are in fact violations of the federal constitution.
It’ll be interesting to see how the courts decide. As might be expected, I’m rooting for free speech.
