Those of us who are old enough to tune into the ridiculous
network news on, say, CBS, for example, are treated to a few minutes of news
whilst being berated by a slew of ads for neuropathic pain, high blood
pressure, testosterone, Viagra, and Cialis among other bromides to cure
septuagenarians, octogenarians, and other people of a certain age through the
miracle of medical science, who by now, should be dead, or by the time they have
finished the “newscast,” wish they were.
The network news with, for example, Scott Pelley is usually
an inane conglomeration of human interest stories, snowstorms, heat waves,
tornadoes (depending upon the season) and people who rescue dogs, cats and
other creatures fortunate enough not to be subjected to the insulting prattle
serving as a vehicle to sell products that should not be advertised at
all. This, all bolstered by an
unusually sappy Steve Hartman human interest story about someone who is usually in a
wheelchair who has learned to play the oboe through the same straw he uses to
operate his transportation.
Fortunately, this only appears as the last segment on Friday night, when
the mercies of the DVR allow a quick fast forward to spare us the last insult
to even those with a modicum of intelligence.
“Talk to your doctor. It may be low T” Folks, more like, Talk to your doctor
about how you can suffer a heart attack, stroke, shortness of breath, insomnia,
rage, depression, suicidal impulses, prostate cancer, and various other side
effects of this hormone, which naturally declines during the aging
process. This is a blatant snake
oil pitch, and there seems to be no restraining it, because the Supreme Court
says that restrictions on commercial speech violate the first Amendment. These folks watch the CBS news, I can
assure you.
Testosterone medications are marketed simply because they make
money. There is no public
policy reason to allow drug companies to cynically hawk these medications, no matter how
beneficial, to the general public.
These are products to be evaluated by physicians. The information concerning the
medications during the “sale” phase of the ad, differs from the voice during
the “warning” phase of the ad. It
is conceived and designed to deceive the public, no less than the tobacco
companies which lied about the dangers of tobacco.
The 1950s ads about the “T” zone and more doctors smoking Camels
than other brands have simply morphed into a different phase of marketing. And now the phase is low “T” instead of
the the “T” zone.
Testosterone marketing is no less a danger to the public and
it is clear that the marketing of it will eventually lead to a plethora of
claims for the foreseeable harm that it causes.
Thoughts on the Presidential aspirations of a certain New
Jersey Governor.
“Nearly all men can
stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
Abraham Lincoln
Governor Christie is in trouble, and deservedly so. His transparently false denials and his
tossing his friends to the wolves speak volumes about his dubious
character.
There was something disingenuous about his two hour apologia
marathon, something that did not ring true. His disavowal of his friendship with his high school friend,
his denigration of his friend's status in high school as opposed to his own, rings a bell about those who are
supposedly pristinely qualified for public office, who travel under the mantle
of “plain speaking,” and who generally are exposed by the other Lincoln maxim
of fooling some of the people some of the time but not fooling all of the
people all of the time.
Now there is a feeding frenzy among the press and subpoenas
will soon reveal that Mr. Christie is probably a fraud as well as a bully.
Sometimes America is fortunate enough to learn why some men
are not presidential timber before
they are elected.
That is not to say that
politicians are not as flawed as the rest of us, or that they are saints, but
some are more flawed than others and that is something we should be glad to know
before the campaign even starts.
The Likud and the Boycott by the
European Union
The Palestinians and the upcoming
EU boycotts of Israel may have more of an impact on Israeli policy toward the
eventual necessity of the two-state solution than all of the previous wars and
violence perpetuated by Arab nationalists. Although Israel received rockets in return for their exit
from Gaza, they may be faced with, in the eyes of the right wing government, an
even more undesirable alternative.
The impact on Israeli business and employment if the boycott takes
effect.
This may have more
influence on Israeli political decisions concerning the West Bank than the
foolishly conducted violent Palestinian intifadas.
It seems like the Netanyahu
government wishes to create a de facto annexation of the territories.
This, as I have written previously
represents more of a threat to Israel than ending the occupation. If the EU carries out the boycott,
there are many in Israel, including the newly popular potential prime minister,
Yair Lapid, who believe that the 350,000 settlers will ultimately have to
return to Israel, in exchange for NATO peacekeepers and what possibly might
become a stable peace.
There are many Israelis who think
that the climate has now changed enough to give peace a chance. Many Jewish
American supporters of Israel agree.
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