Fortune Tellers Finally Free

The Vermont town of St. Johnsbury has lifted its decades long ban on fortune telling, finally allowing card readers, bone casters, and other self-deluded individuals to make a living through nonsense and trickery. Said tarot card reader Maria Pawlowski, "It was very oppressive to have to refrain from something that was as natural to me as breathing." Of course, playing with Pokemon cards is as natural as breathing to many twelve-year-olds, but that doesn't mean you should fork over any cash to them. Of course, the ban was put in place to protect people from fraud, but for some reason fortune tellers have been able to reclassify their frauds as "personal beliefs" that deserve protection. The move to lift the ban was led by psychotherapist Jean O'Neal, whose practice of feng shui, she felt, would have been illegal under the old law. I don't really see her point, since feng shui is the Chinese belief that rearranging furniture increases luck and happiness and has little to do with fortune telling. Still, I have mixed feelings about lifting the ban. Fraudulent medical practices, for example, should be banned since they can lead to real harm. People who tell diabetics to throw out their insulin for some homeopathic water droplets should be thrown in jail. But fortune telling is really nothing more than a carnival novelty. It's an affront to reason, but it shouldn't necessarily be an affront to the law. The good news here is that O'Neal has allowed Pawlowski to practice her tarot readings in O'Neal's feng shui environs. So local residents can get all their bullshit in one stop. More details here.