They won’t touch that $Million

The people at Healing Touch clearly have more important things to do than collect an easy $1 Million. As I reported last Monday, I emailed the Executive Director/Hospital Based Program Lisa Anselme, and the Research Director Diane Wardell with the following:

I note you are giving certification in Healing Touch. 

Could you please point me to some independent tests showing that HT works, and what its benefits are?  You may be aware that the James Randi Educational Foundation (http://www.randi.org/research/index.html), has offered $1 million to any Therapeutic Touch practitioner who can validate TT using scientific principles and methodology.  Such a test would be independently administered, of course.  Would be interested in applying?  I’m sure the money would be useful for further research funding, and the publicity would encourage more people to get involved.

Thanks and regards

No reply from either of them. Strange, you’d think a million dollars would be useful to fund more treatments, if nothing else. Perhaps they’re too busy, or already have enough money. Must be something like that. Couldn’t be because they know they would fail any proper scientific test because it’s all nonsense. Certainly not that.

Pity. 

Of course, if an inquisitive person wanted to press them on why they didn’t reply, they could still email Lisa and Diane. Post your replies here.

Comments

[Kelly]

FYI: I think this TT business comes from the desire for nurses to be able to administer treatments independant of physicians (e.g. the whole Nursing Diagnosis model). An admission that TT was not based in science would paint nurses in an ill light and would undermine nursing's ability to devise and administer treatments w/o an MDs approval.

[Jeff Medkeff]

Good deal posting the e-mail addresses - we need more brazen confrontation like this. But the subject lines you have encoded for them (mentioning easy, million, and $, are highly likely to trigger spam traps. The gambit would be more effective with a re-written subject line!

[Don]

I recently pointed out the same opportunity (to make a quick and easy $1 million) to some woo-woo guy from the Ramtha cult, after he had responded defensively to my skeptical post to their "What the Bleep" Web page.

Surprise, surprise: I was informed that JZ Knight, who allegedly "channels" the 35,000-year-old spirit of Ramtha (but doesn't look a day over 60! How does she do it?!), isn't in the channeling business for the money and wouldn't stoop to submit herself to a scientifically-verifiable test. As if that would somehow tarnish the integrity of her powers. When of course it would do the opposite.

Indeed, I would join the Ramtha club myself if scientifically valid tests demonstrated that she's not just a charlatan who is blowing smoke up the asses of all her followers. I ain't holding my breath that that will happen soon.

In the meantime, Randi's prize goes unclaimed ...

[BronzeDog]

I was informed that JZ Knight, who allegedly "channels" the 35,000-year-old spirit of Ramtha isn't in the channeling business for the money and wouldn't stoop to submit herself to a scientifically-verifiable test.

What, do they not want to donate that money to the Katrina relief effort? Or to medical research? Or to starving children? And convince skeptics while doing so?