Conference hydra::dejavu

    There are lots of cons and scams around... I wouldn't call any 900
    number.. no matter what it's for..  
    
    They're always sending me stuff... call this 900 number for your free
    trip... call this 900 number to collect your prize... sure... duh...

    ****There is a huge untapped 900 market out there guys!

    I figure that someone could set up a 900 business near a university for
    lonely intellectuals.  Just think about the possibilities!

    	1-900-THE_BARD

    	1-900-PHY-SICS

    	1-900-ART-&LIT

    	1-900-HOT-MATH

     

    In another notefile we were discussing religion, the Waco incident had
    been the trigger. One person wrote a reply in which he said that he had
    been sent out to do some system work for one of the minor TV
    evangelists. It appears that solicitations were sought and any one who
    sent in money got sent a form letter, asking for further donations, and
    a prayer cloth. The prayer cloth was cut from a bolt of red cloth with
    pinking sheers.

    Something like 20 mail bags a day were processed. He read some of the
    letters, many were from poverty stricken people sending him the last of
    their cash so that he might pray for them. Some had a sick relative and
    were unable to meet medical bills, others sent their rent money and
    asked him to pray that they could find work. All he did was take their
    money and send them a scrap of cheap cloth. He was a tax-exempt man of
    god.

    Now what were you saying about Psychic cons? Sounds pretty much the
    same game, parting the gullible from their money.

    Jamie.

    Jamie:
    
    I'm with you all the way.  There is nothing more digusting than those
    religious phonies hiding as tv evangelists.  And I won't buy anyone's
    little peep that we should not judge the whole peck by a few bad
    apples...
    
    that Tammy Faye thing, among othes, was just the tip of one of the most
    corrupt operations hiding under the name of God, I've ever seen.
    
    I especially like the part where marriage is so sacred and they're all
    off screwing around on each other, and then cry on television, begging
    forgiveness.
    
    Since I don't think the ENTIRE human population of the U.S. is stupid,
    I will claim there are a lot of desperados out there.  Who in their
    right mind would b elieve in those phonie hypocrites except someone who
    was so down and so desperate...
    
    similar to those putting faith in being saved by 1-900 numbers...
    
    very sad 
    
    I wouldn't mind seeing the looks on their faces if they ever were faced
    with meeting God for real...
    
    I cna't judge Him, but I don't think He would be too happy with what
    they've been doing...
    
    ;^)
    

    From what I know of the hotlines, they'll take anyone to answer the
    phones and all you're to do is to say whatever pops into your head.
    There's no screening or testing.  Anyone, but then anyone can de-
    velop their psychic powers.  
    
    Funny though, the psychics used to advertise the hot lines are also
    the ones callers want to talk to.  They often won't take just any
    reader.
    
    Joanne

    Having seen the advertisements for the Physic hotline and feeling
    that they were bogus I, nevertheless, called out of curiosity. I have
    had several readings done by skilled readers(IMHO) and I wanted to
    compare the results. I was up late, bored, and figured that this would
    be entertaining at the least. Well..... first I was connected to MY OWN
    PHYSIC who I could call at a later date using her personal ID number.
    Second...I was to ask questions well #159 dealt and read the tarot
    cards. Needless to say I was as cagy as could be because I wanted them
    to be telling me things without my background. We discussed money....
    I'm still broke but I was to have faith that this would change > all I
    needed to do was to have a personal consultation relating just to
    money. I was to have a new lover...very rich...by Christmas 1992. Sorry
    to report that this is not the case. And they couldn't tell me whether
    or not my father was in grave danger because of his health. He has
    several major diseases but still going strong at 76. 
    
    Since that one phone call I get several phone calls a month asking me
    to call them. Plus the old mailout stuff.
    
    All in all I felt.....like so many others....that the 'service' was a
    ripoff. I wanted to call Delia Reese and tell her what I thought of her
    role in the whole matter but I fiqured for her it was a bonus.
    
    p.s. the last 'physic' that called me got some free advise from me. I
    said I had 'strong feelings' that 'something' serious was going to
    happen to them. In fact I thought they should take all their money
    out of their banks and send it to me. They hung up on me!!!!!!!
    
    Paula

    All this stuff, TV evangelists, phone-up physics etc are very sad,
    obviously THEY do not believe in God, otherwise they would not
    be doing what they are doing. It is just plain thuggery, like any
    cheap crim, they are just using God's name in vain, for which one day
    they will pay. Some advice I heard regarding spiritualists etc,
    which I found very useful.

    Rule 1. If anyone asks for money (beyond reasonable expenses) they are
            after your money and are not sincere. Avoid such people.
            It is simple you cannot pay for truth, you cannot pay
            for God.

    Rule 2. Is the person doing the asking an example of the high
    	    ideals which they are preaching. If it is do as I say,
    	    not do as I do, again run.

    Rule 3. Look at the people who have tread the path before you,
    	    have they really changed, benefited, are positive
    	    examples of good.

    	On these three guidelines alone you can probably pick most
    	sharks.

    					Chris 
                                      

    The easiest way of avoiding them is to say "NO" firmly and terminate
    the conversation as soon as it is established that they are talking
    about religion. Just put down the phone, close the door or walk on,
    which ever is appropriate for breaking contact with them, do not engage
    in argument or reasoning, they are completely oblivious to it.

    Mind you having said that I did once have a friend, a dyed in the wool
    atheist, who would always invite them in and spent an entire evening
    chatting to them. They never swayed his views one iota, but as he said,
    "It keeps them away from the gullible who might fall for their line."

    In a strange way this was a truly Christian act.

    Jamie.

  Re -.1 (Jamie)

  Not that strange really ... I often wonder if it is easier to be a true
  Christian if one renounces the orthodox "Christian" church :  by excising
  the dogma, the ritual, the hierarchy, the internal conflicts between sects,
  one is left with the *spirit* of the message ... and that's the bit that
  is important.

  Frank

    I have had several calls lately for solicitors. I use the Jerry
    Seinfeld (comedian) method to handle the calls. I tell them "I'm on my
    way out the door but give me your home phone and I'll call you later to
    talk about it". They always balk at this and then I say "You mean you
    don't want me to call you at home?". They say no, I say "Then how do
    you think I feel?", click. I feel so good. I hate these calls.  

    I never actually experienced telephone selling until I first visited
    the USA. I use the following methods for getting rid of unwanted
    callers.

    1. Hang up by pressing on the cradle rest. Hold it down for a period
    long enough for them to redial, should the phone ring in this period
    lift your finger briefly and replace it. This causes the caller to
    become confused.

    2. Say, "The door bell has just rung, I'll be right back." place the
    phone handset on the table and time how long it takes the caller to
    hang up. This can be turned into a fun family game where you award a
    prize to the person who gets them to hang on for the longest, brief
    returns to the telephone to make encouraging comments is of course
    allowed.

    3. Appear to be slightly deranged. Shoot of at a tangent on a random
    basis.

    4. Get chatty and tell them you family history. If you run out of
    material the history of family pets can also be included.

    The simplest method of having your name removed from mailing lists is
    to write "Addressee deceased - return to sender." on the outside and
    pop it back in the post.

    Jamie.

On a local radio station they did a spoof of the 900 psychic lines and it
went something like this


Mans Voice: (answers) Welcome to the Psychic hot line.

Womans Voice: You will lose a small amount of money in the near future.

Mans Voice: $4.00 will be charged to your phone bill. (hangs up)


Nuk nuk nuk!

Steve

    Why does La_Toya Jackson Host these shows???
    Does she believe in them?Did A phychic"Help"her at one time?
    Does she need the $$$$$$$?

    re .14
    
    Why does La_Toya Jackson host these shows???  It's free publicity!
    Does she believe in them?  I seriously doubt it!  She believes in free
    $$$ though!
    
    Did a psychic help her at one time?  Again, I doubt it, except with
    free $$$
    
    Does she need the $$$$$?
    
    Who doesn't need $$$?  People who have a lot of $$$$$$$$ always think
    they need more!  If they can get it for free, all the better!
    
    Eliz
    
    

    I find the 1-900-???-????. to be an obvious exploitation of 
    those in troubled times, like televangelists. I think a boycott
    of VH1 is in order. 
    
    John

    I don't think VH1 gets troubled people as much as teenagers anxious to
    vote on their rock idols!
    
    I would vote for tossing those hypocrite evangelists off the
    television!  
    
    

    i love to watch the 1-900 si'kick hotlines, it is my favorite show too,
    i laugh so much when i watch it sometime more than when i see the
    simpson and bart with the family, i especially like it when they
    do a re'construction enact of things that happened to show how good
    the si'kicks were.  

    i think we should keep the shows on and we need more of them, this is
    absolutely the funniest shows on tv.  

    i also laugh my pant out when i see the evangelist who asks people
    to send him 1,000 bucks so that they may get it back in multipliers
    and when he reaches out with his hands and say he feels someone out
    there right now is having a heart problem and they need to call right
    away to his phone, i one time shocked on a piece of corn flex listening
    to this i could not stop laughing.

    i love American TV, much more funny than the British Tv i used to watch
    when i was in Liverpool by multipliers and multiples.

    \bye
    \nasser