Psychic powers provide comfort and therapy. Sure.

That's the message the despicable John Edward and Dr Oz tried to give in a recent television program. I knew Edward was beneath contempt, but I've never watched Oz and had only heard second-hand that he was a woo-meister…but this show confirms it. Even worse, Oz brought in a critic, Katherine Nordal, to assess Edward's psychic readings, and she has since complained about what the show did with her commentary.

In a letter to producers of "The Dr. Oz" show Nordal said, "I provided very balanced responses to Dr. Oz's questions during the show's taping, however, the editing of my responses did not capture my full comments or give viewers an accurate portrayal of my professional view on John Edward's methods. Instead, it seems that 'The Doctor Oz' show intentionally edited my responses in a way that gave the appearance of my endorsement of Edward's methods as a legitimate intervention."

Keep that in mind, skeptics, if you're ever asked to participate in one of these scammy shows: they want you for window dressing, to give an air of critical evaluation to their games, but they won't hesitate to mangle your words. We already know that psychics are liars and con artists, why should we expect them to treat anyone honorably?

And then…oh, man, this is evil ghoulishness. Edward did one of his typical fishing expeditions, saying someone who had lost a child was present, and getting a gullible victim to volunteer for a little torture and exploitation.

This was unbelievable.

His next victim (patient?) was a middle-aged man who rose to his feet when Edward suggested someone had lost a son. As the reading continued, Edward informed the grief-stricken parent that the car accident that claimed his son's life was in fact a suicide.

"I've never known that he committed suicide for sure," said the grieving father, "but I believe it."

Edward is making this stuff up as he goes along; he is taking the grief of a heart-broken parent and twisting it and making it harder, sharper, more painful. And he's getting paid for it.

Jebus, but I hate these amoral psychopaths, these molesters of memories, these exploiters of tragedy.

And Oz is an enabler, the monster's assistant.