More About the Local Psychic Case

Well, I thought that all was over about the local psychic case, but this letter of the editor was featured in today's Times Leader. I previously submitted letters to the editor in order to inform the public about the dangers of psychics and specifically challenged Baron to a public demonstration of her abilities.

Missing woman’s mother clears the air on psychic

I would like to clear up some things about my daughter, Phylicia Thomas. First, psychic Carla Baron has never asked me for a dime. She helped me to bring cadaver dogs, which did make some “hits” on property on Golf Course Road, Sweet Valley. The woman who trained the dogs did not believe that the authorities would listen to me, so she went with me.

My daughter meant everything to her family and friends. Her killer probably is still walking around freely.

We are still looking and will never give up.

Justin Vacula said...

I understand that your daughter is very important to you and that the situation is tragic. You're desperate for answers, want justice, and will seemingly do anything for help. Contacting a psychic is not a viable option by any means. Psychics are frauds and should not be taken seriously. Baron and every other psychic has not demonstrated that they have psychic abilities. Psychics offer false hope and take advantage of people. Why hasn't Baron accepted my challenge to demonstrate her abilities or the James Randi Challenge. She's afraid to do so and is hiding. This demonstrates a great deal of deception, cowardice, and evasion. I hope that you and other rational readers will see the light and agree with me. Psychics who don't offer their services as entertainment are dangerous individuals who take advantage of others and make us credulous. Do some reading...especially Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things." We need skepticism, rationality, and critical thinking.

May 18, 2010 at 1:59 AM

Psychic LTE Published [Times Leader]

http://www.timesleader.com/opinion/letters/MAIL_BAG__ensp_LETTERS_FROM_READERS_04-28-2010.html

I’m not against people who present psychic services with the very clear purpose of entertainment.

I’m not against parents who want help to find their children.

I’m not against people who seek psychic services and who understand that the services aren’t “real.”

What I am against, though, is people who say that they have supernatural powers and don’t offer their services as entertainment. Self-proclaimed psychics offer false hope and can exploit people who often are in very desperate need of assurance, are very afraid and are desperate to find missing persons.

Pauline Bailey, a resident of Pittston, recently contacted psychic Carla Baron with sincere hopes of finding her missing daughter. According to Baron’s website, phone sessions range from $155 to $310. I’m not sure whether the Pittston resident was charged for the services of Baron, but there is little doubt that other individuals have been charged.

There is no compelling evidence that people have supernatural powers. If psychics such as Baron do have powers, they should submit themselves to experimental testing and prove their abilities. Until this is done, everyone should be very skeptical.

I have challenged Baron to a test of her psychic abilities and also have referred her to James Randi’s “The One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.” As of this writing, she has not responded to my message.

Psychic LTE Published [Citizens Voice]

Original Link is here:

http://citizensvoice.com/opinion/letters/psychics-good-for-entertainment-but-not-for-serious-matters-1.740314

I'm not against people who present psychic services with the very clear purpose of entertainment.

I'm not against parents who want to find help to find their children.

I'm not against people who seek psychic services who understand that the services aren't "real."

What I am against, though, is people who say that they have supernatural powers and don't offer their services as entertainment. Self-proclaimed psychics offer false hope and exploit people who often are in very desperate need of assurance, are very afraid, and are desperate to find missing persons.

Pauline Bailey, a resident of Pittston, recently contacted psychic Carla Baron with sincere hopes of finding her missing daughter. According to Clara Baron's Web site, phone sessions range from $155 to $310. I'm not sure whether or not the Pittston resident was charged for the services of Baron, but there is no doubt that countless other individuals have been charged.

There is no compelling evidence that any people have supernatural powers whatsoever. If psychics like Clara really do have powers, they should submit themselves to experimental testing and prove their abilities. Until this is done, everyone should not accept her claims and be very skeptical of her abilities.

I have publicly challenged Clara to a test of her psychic abilities and have also referred to James Randi's one million dollar supernatural challenge. She has not responded to my message and has blocked me on Facebook. What is she hiding?

Justin Vacula

NEPA Freethought Society

Third Year King's College Student

[Local] Woman Enlists Help of Psychic + I Challenge Her to a Public Test

Psychic asked to assist search

TV star gives reading to woman; her daughter vanished in 2004.

By Jen Marckini jmarckini@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

The mother of a Lake Township woman who vanished six years ago is seeking insight from an internationally renowned psychic.

Bailey, of Pittston, is now hoping to find answers through Carla Baron, a psychic profiler from Los Angeles who stars as a lead psychic detective on truTV’s reality series “Haunting Evidence.” Baron provided Bailey a reading Tuesday night.Pauline Bailey’s daughter, Phylicia Thomas, was 22 years old when she disappeared from her home while her boyfriend was asleep on the bone-chilling night of Feb. 11, 2004.

Baron, originally from Lock Haven, has been working on the case since Thomas’ disappearance. Baron provided what she called a clairvoyant insight on the young woman’s killer.

“I see him kneeling down in the stream,” Baron told Bailey during a three-way phone interview with The Times Leader. “He’s crying – maybe from the release of it all. He didn’t realize what went on until that very moment.”

Baron said she saw Thomas’ killer, a man close to her, blank out. Rocks were placed on top of Thomas, who was battered from a fight with her killer, whose livelihood is selling drugs.

“The rage was so intense he had an emotional blackout from the rage,” Baron said.

Investigators should focus their search in the same area of Hunlock Creek where they found the skeletal remains of Thomas’ friend, Jennifer Barziloski, Baron said.

Barziloski was reported missing shortly after she was last seen outside C Majors Sports Bar, Main Street, Edwardsville, on June 23, 2001.

Two cadaver dogs from the New York State Police led the way through dense woods in Hunlock Township on Tuesday just days after Barziloski’s skull was found.

Both souls are somehow intertwined together, Baron said, and they were disposed of in the same way.

No one has been charged in the death or the disappearances, but police knew both women had a connection to Steve Martin, 32, of Sweet Valley. Authorities had called him a person of interest in the disappearances. He and Phylicia Thomas’ boyfriend were best friends.

Martin hanged himself on Aug. 11, 2005, in the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, where he was serving time in connection with a fatal crash.

“I’m just overwhelmed by all of this,” Bailey said after her reading. “It just seems like forever.”

-----

The local newspaper, the Times Leader, featured this article today. I'm reposting it here because the article will be archived and not open for viewing.

Anyway, this case is a prime example of people not thinking critically and enlisting the help of super-naturalists in desperate situations. First, to get it out of the way and perhaps dismiss the obvious, psychics are frauds. They present no good evidence to back up their claims, have not submitted themselves to rigorous testing, etc. There's no good reason to believe that people have some sort of supernatural channeling powers.

Upon typing this "psychic's" name on Google, I found her website which offers "private phone readings." A thirty minute phone session is $155, a 45 minute session is $225, and an hour phone session is $310.

I easily found that this "psychic" has a Facebook page that she updates and sent her this message:

"Hello, I saw that you were featured in a local newspaper article that was posted on your Facebook page and the Times Leader.

I am a skeptic and atheist activist in NEPA who is a member of the NEPA Freethought Society.

I understand that you are internationally renowned and have a great fan base and acclaim. You should, as a service to others, demonstrate that your psychic abilities are valid so we know that you are truthful and sincere. I'll admit, I'm very skeptical of you and anyone else who claims supernatural abilities because I've seen no good evidence to suggest the supernatural.

James Randi of the JREF has a one million dollar challenge to anyone who can demonstrate supernatural abilities. So far no one has passed this test. You should take the test, "win," and donate one million dollars to a charity of your choice if you really do have powers.

If you don't like Randi, I would be more than happy, as a member of my organization to procure a test of your psychic abilities. If you would like to accept this test, we can work together to form the test, specify the conditions, and host this event in public.

You should have nothing to hide and should be willing to prove your abilities.

I hope to hear from you soon!

- Justin Vacula