Poetry, Ideas, Random Thoughts and Debates on ALL subjects imaginable…..

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a site, quite by accident. A link to it was in the signature of someone on a forum that I frequent. The site that I happened on was www.stopsylviabrowne.com, created and run by Robert S. Lancaster; who is, admittedly, a skeptic. Here is his intro on his website:
My name is Robert S. Lancaster, and I am the creator and webmaster of this web site.

I am a skeptic. That means that I require evidence of something before believing it. And, with controversial topics such as psychic phenomena, I would require very compelling evidence indeed.

So, given that:

1. Sylvia Browne steadfastly avoids any scientific testing of her purported powers.

2. Her performances on television seem to be indistinguishable from “cold reading” (a method used by stage magicians and phony psychics to simulate “real” psychic powers).

3. Her track record of “psychic predictions” (as put forth on her web site and on television and radio appearances) appears to be no better than that obtained by educated guesses.

Given all that, I firmly believe that Sylvia Browne has not shown that she has “real psychic powers”, and that she should either prove them, or stop pretending she has them.

I have thought exactly that for several years. But I had been “outvoted” by nearly everone that I know. Even my own mother is a fan.  My own brother was ear hustlin’ as I was telling a friend about the site, and he stuck up for her.  He tried arguing that the only reason that Mr. Lancaster didn’t put up information on Sylvia Browne’s successes was that he has a biased opinion, and that Mr. Lancaster didn’t look very hard for “good articles” about “a selfless woman who never charges anyone”.  Obviously, my brother doesn’t know what he’s talking about, as Sylvia Browne charges $700 an hour for her phone readings.  I believe that my brother needs to look at Mr. Lancaster’s articles, located at http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/.

I was telling my friend about www.stopsylviabrowne.com  because she saw me writing this article, and mentioned how her mother had a reading with Sylvia Browne over the phone.  She said that everything that Sylvia Browne said was wrong and rude.  I will try to get her on here as a guest writer.

As for www.stopsylviabrowne.com , after reading everything on his site, I contacted Mr. Robert S. Lancaster via e-mail. Here is the e-mail and his response:

——– Original Message ——–
Subject: **IMPORTANT**
From: pixiedustglimmer@aim.com
Date: Wed, June 25, 2008 2:24 am
To: [edited for protection]@StopSylviaBrowne.com, [edited for protection]@StopSylviaBrowne.com

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Pixie, and I wish to subscribe to anything you put out about Sylvia Browne. I cannot stand that woman, she is a quack and gives people with actual “psychic” talents a bad name. I am SO glad that my significant other and I aren’t the only ones that feel that way. I have had a hard time finding people that do not adore that rude fake. My own mother is a fan of Sylvia Browne. More people should read your site, they would be in for a rude awakening. I, myself, have been pointing out some of the very same things that are mentioned on your site. I have put a link to your site on my personal MySpace page.

I also wish to do a blog piece on your website. It is not a MySpace blog, though I would like to write a piece referencing your site on my personal MySpace as well. It would be good for you, to get even more readers. As I’m seeing the blog right now, it would be referencing your site heavily, with several of the articles copied into it. Your site would get all of the credit for writing the articles, of course, as they were published on StopSylviaBrowne.com by you. And it would be a recurring blog, because of the updates on your site. My blogs would all have a link to your site, and maybe you could put a link to my blog in your site.

Please, reply. Let me know if I may reference your site in my blog. I would like to write my piece as soon as possible. Feel free to contact me via the below methods. You have my permission to use this letter for your site, should you choose, including my name and contact information.

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Pixie

MySpace:
www.MySpace.com/SweetAndSassyGoddess

My Blog:
www.poetryideasrandomthoughts.today.com/

His reply:

Pixie:

Thanks for writing, and for subscribing to the site Updates notifications.

Sorry for the delay in responding, but I am just now catching up on email after having been out of town.

Please feel free to reference my site in your blog. Thanks for doing so! But I would ask that you not copy entire articles, but just excerpts from them, and links to them.

By the way, while I was out of town, I saw Browne’s show at the Excalibur. An article about it is now up on the site.

Best regards,

Robert S. Lancaster

Webmaster,

www.StopSylviaBrowne.com

Here is the link to the article about the Sylvia Browne show at the Excalibur

http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/ispeakwithbrowne.shtml

Mr. Lancaster has also created a “scorecard” for Sylvia Browne’s Missing Person and Homicide Readings, located at http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/scorecard_missingmurdered.shtml

I have personally read each article that is on the scorecard, and checked all of it out, also.  I have yet to find a case where Mr. Lancaster is inaccurate.  Please, feel free to contact me if anyone has any information on any case where Sylvia Browne was correct.

Mr. Lancaster says this on his website: 

I have yet to find a single, documented case where Browne was substantially correct - or of any use to law enforcement - in any of her readings regarding missing persons or homicide cases.If you are aware of any such case, please let me know. I will research it, document it, and add it to this web site.

Mr. Lancaster also has this posted on www.stopsylviabrowne.com :

Analysis

So far, Sylvia Browne’s reading was largely wrong in every single one of the cases which were subsequently solved (and it should be noted that her readings apparently played no part in the cases being solved).

This does not coincide with Browne’s oft-repeated claim that she has an “87% accuracy rating.”

Here I will repeat an invitation which I have made many, many times on this web site:

If you are aware of any missing person or murder case regarding which Sylvia Browne performed a reading on the Montel Williams Show, and in which she was later proven to be largely correct, please send me whatever information you can recall regarding the reading. I will gladly research it and write it up for this web site.

In the year this site has been open to the public, I have made that invitation multiple times on this site, as well as in Sylvia Browne-friendly web forums, and in replies to dozens of people who have emailed me and accused me of ignoring “all the cases she got right.”

I am not ignoring them. I cannot find any.

Conclusion

I think that Sylvia Browne’s record in these cases speaks for itself

More to come in the days that follow.  I’m tired, with a migrane, and my brother is a dick (blasting Rock Band).  The next blog on Sylvia Browne will be some of my favorite articles from http://www.stopsylviabrowne.com/articles/scorecard_missingmurdered.shtml

As always, thanks for listening y’all!!

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