Salem or Laurie Cabot’s backyard
I was searching the Internet and I fund this article on the Salem News site.
It looks to me that Miss Cabot is cleaning her backyard on fake fortunetellers. Wasn’t more simple if they just let them be…I mean… if they’re fake, I’m sure they would fade away quite quickly… word would spread and if they’re bad fortunetellers they would’nt have clients… right?
It also looks to me that Salem, the supposed “land of the witches” is becoming “land of some witches” or should I say some psychics?
This reminds me a certain law that was repealed in England in the 50′s…was that to avoid the same thing? Oh no wait…that was to forbid any kind of fortunetelling…well this one is close, this one is to allow some fortunetelling.
And what is this about the criminal record? Are they afraid that people would take a gun and shoot someone while reading?
There is this thing about the one year of operating a business… does this sounds like convenience?
From the list of allow methods of practicing fortunetelling is missing a lot of other even native methods of fortunetelling…
Who provided this list?
Maybe Miss Cabot…after all she have to approve this as she would have to be holding a license too… but how? Criminal record? Well can we think that Miss Cabot is free and clean on that matter? I don’t think so…
So now if I see a fortuneteller with a police-issued identification badge that displays their name, photo and address hanging on the neck I know that’s a real fortuneteller…
This is ridiculous!!! Absolutely ridiculous.
To me it sound like a butch of selected witches just forced themselves to be “The allowed Conclave of Psychics” of Salem… and that’s simply disgusting!
Just read the article below and make your own judgement
“Published: May 25, 2007 12:00 am
Soothsayer statute OK’d, trash fee stands for now
By Chris Cassidy , Staff writer
Salem News
SALEM – City councilors passed new rules for fortunetellers last night, hoping to put an end to what Salem’s official witch has called a psychic “free for all.”
Before being granted a license, fortunetellers must undergo a criminal background check and either live in or operate a business in the city for at least a year.
Psychics must also wear a police-issued identification badge that displays their name, photo and address.
Predicting the future (for a fee) without a license is illegal and punishable by a $100 fine for each violation, under the new rules.
“We’ve come up with a fairly well-rounded ordinance that meets the needs of all these individuals,” Councilor-at-large Joan Lovely said.
City councilors crafted the soothsayer statute to prevent psychics – particularly unlicensed ones – from blatantly bilking consumers, primarily by promising to remove curses or black auras for large sums of money.
Stores can only license up to five readers. Psychic fairs can license up to 20 fortunetellers, but no more than 10 can read at one time.
Fortunetelling, as defined by the ordinance, includes forecasting the future by “spirits, tea leaves, tarot cards, scrying, coins, sticks, dice, sand, coffee grounds (and) crystal gazing.”
Trash fee stays
In other business, things didn’t augur well for opponents of the trash fee paid by commercial property owners.
Despite protests from about 15 tenants and landlords outside City Hall yesterday, city councilors kept the trash fee on the books – for now.”
My witch hat off to you for having the balls to say what you really feel.
On this subject, I find this new Salem city ordinance to be equally absurd. For starters, what criminal check is being done? As someone who is very familiar with the Massachusetts Criminal Records check process, I would wager that a Mass CORI is being done which would preclude anyone who has not lived in Mass from getting a license. This logic fits in with one of Ms Cabot’s earlier statements to the press that foreign nationals should not be permitted to get licenses in Salem. An interesting suggestion Ms Cabot altho as illegal as the local McDonalds barring employment based on national origin. While on the subject of criminal checks, Ms Cabot had also suggested that readers be tested by law enforcement officers so that they can determine if they are a real psychic. She cites that when she was first starting out she read tarot for an officer who was pleased with the results. One wonders if this was the same police officer who cited her for illegal possession of a hand gun so many years ago? Secondly, what would qualify a police officer to determine who is psychic? Perhaps they could predict the dollar amount of the traffic ticket before it is written? Lastly, the laundry list of fortune telling methods that are described in the new law is silly. No tarot cards, no spirits, no tea leaves? Well at least I still know I can fortell the future the good old fashioned Roman way – I can still kill a cow and read the entrails without a license! If there is any silver lining here it has to be that the City of Salem must be the first city in the US to acknowledge legally that the spirit world is real – if it wasn’t how could there be a law to dictate how the spirits should be consulted?