Author and speaker Michael Franzese was born into Mafia life as a second-generation member of the Colombo crime family. Called one of the biggest mob earners since Al Capone, he left mob life behind after meeting his wife and serving eight years of a ten-year prison sentence. In the first half, he talked about the lessons he's learned from organized crime, his work around the world mentoring thousands of at-risk youth, and how the values of our democracy and those of Mafia culture are separated by a thin line that's quickly disintegrating. Large organizations are subject to corruption, Franzese commented. He pointed to the issue of lobbyists controlling interests with big money, and politicians beholden to financial contributors.
People say to him, 'the mob should be running the country; they would do a better job.' But he disputes that notion. "You want an institution by the people, for the people, to be running the government properly. And I don't see it. It's getting worse and worse. It's so mob-like," he remarked. Regarding at-risk youth and teens that get involved with gangs and guns, he associates the problem with a lack of proper guidance, and the breakdown of the family. Franzese also talked about how the RICO statute effectively reduced the Mafia's power in New York but that crime families still exist.
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In the latter half, journalist Scott S. Smith was joined by Sandra Wells to discuss their work bridging the paranormal and religion, and their travels around the world including mind-expanding experiences and discoveries. Smith talked about his new article for FATE magazine on Uri Geller-- both he and Wells praised Geller's latest books on dowsing and using one's psychic powers. Smith, who wrote the book "God Reconsidered: Searching for Truth in the Battle Between Atheism and Religion," suggested that our world "is certainly governed by entities good and evil," but "neither side is perfectly powerful" in our dimension, including the aliens that abduct people.
Smith cited the case of Prof. Thomas Mails, who was an atheist but experienced seeing a monk suddenly appear at the end of his bed, telling him, 'you're going to serve God no matter what.' He subsequently devoted his life to writing about Native American religion. Smith, who considers himself a Gnostic Christian, described the shamanistic path he developed for himself, which involves a meditation reaching out to his guardian angel and deceased loved ones for assistance, and calling on the divine powers to enlighten him. Many cultures around the world believe in a higher power, he continued, but as an impersonal god that is not involved in daily affairs.
News segment guests: Charles R. Smith, Christian Wilde