This beautiful Sunday morning as I ate my breakfast and sipped coffee I thought I would do something different and turn on my television. I pay for the service through Comcast (mainly so I can get high speed internet) so I thought I'd use it for a change. The first thing that came on was a televangelist telling me to "sew my financial seed of $1,000 - Pick up up the phone! If you are involved in a real estate transaction God will favor you if you plant your seed of $1,000 today!" Then the schmuck went on to tell a story of a woman who was trying to refinance her house for 3 years and suddenly, when she pleaded with her husband to "plant their seed of $1,000" to this particular T.V. preacher the bank magically called within 24 hours and told her she could refinance. What a crock of shit!
If that was not bad enough, when I flipped the channel on came Kevin Trudeau - certified snake oil salesman, back on the airways selling his lies. My father, bless his heart, actually bought this freaking book - Natural Cures THEY Don't Want You to Know About and gave a copy to me. YUCK! This was years ago and, in retrospect, I am oddly thankful for the lesson because this kind of quackery is the whole reason I went into science. I am a scientist not a medical doctor, I do not work for a drug company I am not part of this proverbial THEY. I am a skeptic and a free thinker and when I see old people being swindled out of their savings by charlatans like Kevin Trudeau, or Tammy Faye i get MAD! For years my father has subscribed to a "newsletter" from Dr. Julian Whitaker, the only difference between him and Kevin is that he has refrained from the kind of brazen showmanship Kevin has engaged in, which has kept him from being thrown in jail like Treaudeu. Here is Jon Stossel of 20/20 telling the story of this robber. This clip was made in 2007 - now in 2010 this guy is STILL spouting his false message all over the airways, still suckering the paranoid elderly and sick into buying his lies. It is a catch-22 for me here as I am all for free speech, but preying on the vulnerable, preying on the sick and elderly is WRONG! On this Sunday morning I have had my rejuvenation. I am inspired to use MY free speech to combat idiots like Kevin Trudeau. I challenge him to hold himself to the same basic standards as the "greedy" drug companies and funnel at least some of the millions he makes back into actually researching his claims. That is a lot more difficult than buying more airtime and pretending you are on CNN to sell dead trees printed with false hope and lies.
4 comments:
Kevin Trudeau should be in jail any day now. He has already been there twice. Tammy Faye appeared on television with him; she later regretted being associated with him, before she died of cancer. The FDA and others have the power to remove him from television permanently. He is currently facing a 30 day jail sentence and $50,000 for contempt of court in connection with charges filed against him for false claims he has made on television. He had signed a consent decree to stop making such claims.
You know Krip, you are absolutely right about this. There are so many things like this out in the world. It is a shame. I feel similar to most holistic shops. We have one right down the street. It is supposed to be one of the best in the NYC/Long Island Metro area, but right on the front window there is a Donald Trump promotion.
Television is not my favorite. I am guilty of using a television for gaming and some programs. I literally only watch South Park, BBC, NatGeo, CSPAN, NFL and a few others.
The media is a wretched tool. You can see this over the last year or two with politics. If you become the enemy or don't favor a side, no matter what party, you are doomed.
Hopefully Trudeau gets removed soon.
Wow, had never heard of Kevin Trudeau (I live in Ireland so don't get the pleasure of watching QVC or whatever chanels he worms his way on to) but I am amazed he is still able to do his "thing".
And I think "thing" is the way to describe it - it's not sales, it's not medicine it's just a non stop stream of hocus pocus, scare mongering and misleading...
Glad I came across this via a random tweet (which I'll retweet)..others should be made aware and I'd love to see how Kevin would get on in the University of Calgary hehe..
What is vastly upsetting about this topic is when people are tricked by this man or individuals who lack knowledge or hold premature steadfast belief in what this man says. As far as Julian Witaker these letter might not have such ill intent. However, may of these practices take credence away from the brilliance of natural medicine. I believe that if Kevin Trudeau was as wise as Susan Weed or Aviva Jill Romm then people might have a hand in some very sacred and important information. Natural medicine is a doorway into ancient wisdom. Kevin Trudeau is a man who has taken full advantage of the ignorance of the common American but more so has taken advantage of people who seek a more wholesome sense of self. It is a great crime to feed on the needy. Another great crime is that most Americans have been so deeply deprived from the truth that they can not see a lie. Thank you for exposing such an important topic to the public! You are a visionary warrior!
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