Intuitive Scamming for Health--HuffPo does it again

Just when you think the Huffington Post can't get any more inane and idiotic, just when you think your synapses might be starting to heal, they come out with another post that simply makes your ears bleed.

Sure, HuffPo regularly comes down on the side of superstition, for example in the vaccine manufactroversy; and sure, they sometimes veer into the lane of deceptive medical infomercials. But I sort of held out hope that they wouldn't resort to hosting potential fraud.

Fraud, you say? Well, not clearly. But, just as we in the Midwest know that when the sky turns that certain shade of orange-green we should probably head for the basement, there are certain signs that point toward an impending rip-off.

You see, most people realize that psychics are scams, or at best, entertainment. But for some reason, if you take a supernatural claim that would normally be dismissed, and dress it up in a white coat, well, people eat that shit up.

And a recent piece in HuffPo does just that. I would love to be charitable, but that would mean assuming that both the author and the folks at HuffPo are bat-shit insane. But I don't think I can be quite so charitable, given the big quote on Ms Ruth's home page says, "You will never find a better investment, ever, than that of knowing yourself--your real self and all your possibilities."

And how does one make such an "investment"?

A basic in-person reading is $115 and lasts 30 minutes. I tape it for you. Longer readings are $145 for 45 minutes, $170 for an hour, and so on. You decide when you are here when you are done.

Heh. Well, maybe with the market the way it is, she's on to something. I can hear it now:

Ruth: I see...a disturbance of your aura. It's...yes, have you or someone you know had a kidn...heart problem?"

Mark: "Yes! My dad had a kidnheart problem!"

Ruth: "And he...died?"

Mark: "ZOMG! Yes!"

Ruth: "And you, you may have..oh, look at the time!"

HuffPo is hosting an embryonic rip-off; they are giving ink, or bytes, or whatever, to someone using one of the oldest tricks on Earth to separate people from their money. They just keep getting better. Wait till you see what they do with Jim Carrey...

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There are a couple of good snarky comments on her article, and the approving comment by "PlaceboStudman" is a wonderful snapshot of woo.