Rather than asking random internet voters to decide who should be Leader of the Free World, how about this one: Should Montel have psychic Sylvia Browne on his new show?
For those who don’t know who this is about, Montel Williams is an ex-talk show host best known for having gullible tripe on every week — in particular, the odious, awful Jabba the Hut Sylvia Browne. Williams is apparently getting a new show (don’t ask me why, as far as I’m concerned he’s a cut-rate version of Oprah, who’s rather awful, too), and a few people are wondering if it’ll be as credulous and phony as his old one.
Anyway, after that dull debate last night, we need something really stupid to lighten the tone.
Success!!
I voted no, but was definitely tempted by “it makes no difference.”
Is it really fun to see her fail the 500th time?
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Never heard of any of those folks…
Hey,what makes you say the debate was dull?? I thought it was great !!
Darn right,you betcha,Joe Sixpack !!
Uri Geller, John Edwards, Sylvia Brown, James Van Praagh and that idiot animal psychic should be arrested and imprisoned for for fraud. Anyone who allows them on their show and takes them seriously is a total hack (I’m talking to YOU Dr. Phil McGraw and you too, Idiots of The View).
In the immortal words of Noel Coward: “Some people should be beaten regularly… like gongs.”
Voted no.
Regarding the debate, someone needs to tell her it’s pronounced “new clear science” – and not “nucular science”.
IMO – Biden did really well. I saw fear behind her smile a few times. That woman will make a horrible leader for America. She talks so often about soccer moms – me thinks she should stay as one.
Oh, that’s the guy from those PPA commercials I see on CNN. Interesting …
Alex, -wrong thread for a debate post mortem . Let’s keep the cross contamination to a minimum, ok?.
Why do an actual poll? Can’t he just ask Sylvia what the votes are all going to be?
Unless I’m mistaken, the immortal words of Noël Coward, offensive though they might be, were, “Some women should be beaten regularly… like gongs.”
Dog-gone-it, you bet’cha that was one exciting debate!wink,wink. There you go again, PZ, I’m not gonna say another word about your poll, Joe Six Pack. You can take that all the way to the hockey game. Some of the other pitbulls are talkin’ about the lipstick on your cephalopod! wink,wink. Gawd bless ya!
Years ago, I used to work mornings with the television running in the background. Montel Williams was one of the regular talk show programs on the roster, and my general impression was that his show usually focused on helpful advice for troubled teens and families, and there wasn’t a lot of sensational stuff. His persona was that of a sympathetic and helpful counselor, and the audience was supposed to relate to the problems, and consider the solutions. I never paid all that much attention, but, on the whole, from what I could tell he seemed fairly level-headed.
That must have been before he started regularly exploiting bereaved, grieving, and desperate people by allowing so-called psychics on, and giving them both a platform, and whatever credibility he had earned through his previous work. Shame on him.
Ummm, who gives a shit?
A pointless post of a pointless poll. Slow news day I guess.
If you’ve got something better to do, go do it. No one’s forcing to you read it.
I am so glad that I haven’t the faintest clue what’s being discussed here. My far-seer is relegated to the basement, where I use it to view DVDs and the Food, Skiffy, and History Channels (well, W.U. views other channels, but I don’t know what they are; I run away when they get switched to). Sometimes PBS, like when there’s Dr. Who or Sally Lockhart (mmmm…. Billie Piper…. mmmm….). ‘N stuff.
TBF, I’ve heard and seen sounds and images related to this “Montel” character, and other cultural, er, “stuff,” but I close my eyes, poke my ears, and shout “la-la-la-…” whenever there is a chance of contaminating the ol’ cerebral cortex with action potentials related to that whole hyperspace.
BTW, I do crash the godder-polls whenever instructed. I do have a clue there. A really, really big clue. A cluelelagh, if you will.
Area Man Constantly Mentioning He Doesn’t Own A Television
Well, “No” is beating “Yes” like a gong – 79% to 14% (7% who cares).
I was hoping for a “No – Montel should not have a show” button.
Not just ‘no’, but ‘hell no!’
She’s dangerous to people who actually believe her tripe. For instance.
Can we please stop using the phrase “Leader of the free world” sometime soon? Not that it was ever appropriate, but the USA long ago forfeited any right to such pomposity. After preëmptive war, suspension of habeas corpus, extraordinary rendition, and torture, the person who would be president should first go about trying to be the leader of a free country. Thanks.
I’ve got five browsers but only two of them got to vote. Clearing cookies didn’t do any good, so obviously the site looks at some other identifier. I have DHCP, so turning off my wireless link, resetting the modem, then restoring the wireless link gave me a new IPA, and I was able to vote again.
One good thing about Montel Williams; he smokes (and I don’t mean tobacco). :-0
PZ, I’m a bit disappointed in you sticking in a jab at her weight. Now, I’m no Sylvia Brown fan *AT ALL*, but there are a ton of things to attack her for that aren’t tied to her appearance.
After listening to my very Republican coworkers go on about Palin and how hot they think she is (“I like how she looked last night, and I’m not talking about her speech!”), I’m getting very tired of women being tied to their looks, related on if you like them or not. (Yes, men get this treatment too, but not on the scale that women do.) Just not cool to do, and it lowers your argument to the lowest common denominator.
I didn’t take that as a jab at her weight. I took it as a jab at her overall disgustingness as a creature.
What? An opportunity to plug what I find to be the perfect skeptical website (other than in terms of, perhaps, layout), Stop Sylvia Browne? Excellent!
Seriously, people, I’ve you’ve never been there before, go. Robert Lancaster, who put it all together, is probably one of the most well-organized and determined skeptics out there. He already laid low one scammer (see Stop Kaz; that woman really can’t operate in the English-speaking world because of him), and has publicly hampered Sylvia in the last couple of years. Robert himself is currently laid up with serious medical issues, but the info on his site is worth its weight in gold, and presents the way we all need to approach skepticism: politely, thoroughly, and backed up by cold, hard, damning facts.
In personality, morals and appearance.
The whole package.
after that dull debate last night
That’s why I only watched one minute of it. Politicians are boring.
Because she’s female or because she is overweight? Hop off the oversensitive bus, most of us are no oil paintings either but that should not preclude us from calling this Miss Piggy a toad if it is an apt description.
Try this funny, if frighteningly realistic, flowchart of Palin’s debating technique.
I think I miss the Montel/Sally Jesse/Jenny whatserface afternoons of mindless entertainment and pointless shows about weird sexual relationships and make-overs that only last until the credits roll. Jerry Springer, too, for that matter.
There was just something low-brow about it all that appealed to me. Whether it was new age woo or self-help shams, I’d sit and watch them. I remember when Oprah mucked about with all the same kind of junk episodes, too. I wonder if she thinks much about her past performances or if it’s all Tolle the troll and the power of now…
PZ
How DARE you insult the great Jabba the Hut in that way! May the Great Darth Vadar smite you in his mercy! Have you not seen him kill a man by holding his hand out? They even made a movie about it. Geeks the world over are now offended by your blasphemy! Soon the dark overlord will be launching a massive letter writting campaign to UMM to have you removed as a professor or as a human being.
May the force be with you…
The P
PS, I tried to make as many spelling and punctuation mistakes as I could, but it is harder than it looks.
Small quibble: That should read “Montel Williams is an excruciatingly self-important talk show host best known for having gullible tripe on every week..”
It seems the worst someone’s critical thinking skills are the more widely inflated their ego.
Unfortunately there’s no option for “Yes, Sylvia Browne is a very interesting social phenomenon.”, so I declined to vote.
@Deacon #8, well obviously they already know the answers, but you still have to do the poll.
I have serious problems with the expression “Leader of the Free World”. I get the irony here, but this makes me cringe each time I hear/see it. Could the non-american part of the free world get to decide who their leader is? You know… the FREE thingy!!
Ah! Old Sylvia is a skeptical specialty of mine. I have personally steered 14 people away from her, and I think I’ve got about 9 John Edward saves, although there’s some overlap between those two sets.
I was going to correct you on the John Edward (no “s”), but the former senator did get rich on lawsuits involving poor science.
Is Uri Geller still filling audience seats? I thought he was pretty much done outside the core woo circles.
How DARE you insult the great Jabba the Hut in that way!
He was a piss poor crime boss. Smart gangsters kill their enemies and THEN bring them out to the desert.
I actually heard Sylvia Browne’s on air gaffe with the coal miners that died a few years back. I sometimes fall asleep to Art Bell’s show because I enjoy it as woo/sci-fi theater, and I was listening that night. I use that event in my deprogramming spiel to her (soon to be former) believers.
I don’t understand the point of the poll. They’ve had her on before. Did the ratings go up or down for her appearances? There’s your data to make a decision.
Oi gets headaches if’n you don’t ask the questions after oi’ve answered ’em.
You mean the ROW (rest of the world)?
After last night’s debate, I’d be inclined to agree…*
*For the humour impaired, yes it’s a tasteless crack at pitbull-hockey-mom
Dull debate, PZ? Maybe you should’ve watched the Canadian Leaders Debate — Gilles Duceppe flipped off Stephen Harper!
Not only is Montel getting a new show but Dr. Mehmet Oz is getting his own show too, so there’ll be plenty of woo this season.
Montel’s show was funny because of her. Vote yes!