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Shame on Orrin Hatch - The Patron Saint of Quack Medicine

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  • Shame on Orrin Hatch - The Patron Saint of Quack Medicine

    My son recommended this book to me recently:

    Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine

    http://www.amazon.com/Do-You-Believe...0578761&sr=1-1

    I am about halfway through and it is a really good book. A page-turner. At the same time, I get pretty upset reading it. At the beginning of the book, it charts the history of medicine and shows how horrible things were just a century ago with a vast industry of snake oil salesman preying on the general public. It shows how we gradually started moving to evidenced-based medicine and started using double-blind clinical trials to sift the legit cures from the fraudulent cures. We made steady progress with the development of the FDA and a series of laws and regulations to protect the public from medicinal scams.

    In the early '90's some major legislation was proposed that would have put the final dagger in quack medicine, making it illegal to make fraudulent claims about the healing powers of any kind of health product. Sadly for all of us, it backfired and the quack industry put the dagger in the FDA. As the legislation was making steam, the tycoons of the quack industry gathered at a large estate in California and planned what to do in order to protect their multi-billion dollar business. They decided to fund a massive campaign to stop the legislation and a core part of the strategy was to buy off a number of senators to lead the fight in Washington. The main target was our very own Orrin Hatch, who was already a fan alternative medicine and was already bought off by the supplement industry in Utah (many of which are also pyramid schemes). In a classic case of cronyism, they donated massive amounts to his campaign and he led an effort that not only killed the bill, but he wrote and successfully passed a bill that carved out a special exception for certain types of quack medicine. If your drug can be classified as a vitamin, herb (plant-based), etc (a few other criteria - can't remember the full list) then you can make ANY claim you want without any consequences whatsoever. Cures cancer? Sure, whatever. If your claim gets debunked by clinical trials, no problem. Just keep on committing fraud and lining your pockets with the money from desperate sick people and Orrin Hatch has your back. I wonder how many people have died because they wasted their money on fraudulent cures when they could have been using something that actually works. It is disgusting.
    "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
    "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
    "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

  • #2
    Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
    My son recommended this book to me recently:

    Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine

    http://www.amazon.com/Do-You-Believe...0578761&sr=1-1

    I am about halfway through and it is a really good book. A page-turner. At the same time, I get pretty upset reading it. At the beginning of the book, it charts the history of medicine and shows how horrible things were just a century ago with a vast industry of snake oil salesman preying on the general public. It shows how we gradually started moving to evidenced-based medicine and started using double-blind clinical trials to sift the legit cures from the fraudulent cures. We made steady progress with the development of the FDA and a series of laws and regulations to protect the public from medicinal scams.

    In the early '90's some major legislation was proposed that would have put the final dagger in quack medicine, making it illegal to make fraudulent claims about the healing powers of any kind of health product. Sadly for all of us, it backfired and the quack industry put the dagger in the FDA. As the legislation was making steam, the tycoons of the quack industry gathered at a large estate in California and planned what to do in order to protect their multi-billion dollar business. They decided to fund a massive campaign to stop the legislation and a core part of the strategy was to buy off a number of senators to lead the fight in Washington. The main target was our very own Orrin Hatch, who was already a fan alternative medicine and was already bought off by the supplement industry in Utah (many of which are also pyramid schemes). In a classic case of cronyism, they donated massive amounts to his campaign and he led an effort that not only killed the bill, but he wrote and successfully passed a bill that carved out a special exception for certain types of quack medicine. If your drug can be classified as a vitamin, herb (plant-based), etc (a few other criteria - can't remember the full list) then you can make ANY claim you want without any consequences whatsoever. Cures cancer? Sure, whatever. If your claim gets debunked by clinical trials, no problem. Just keep on committing fraud and lining your pockets with the money from desperate sick people and Orrin Hatch has your back. I wonder how many people have died because they wasted their money on fraudulent cures when they could have been using something that actually works. It is disgusting.
    Wow. I'll have to check that out.
    "Guitar groups are on their way out, Mr Epstein."

    Upon rejecting the Beatles, Dick Rowe told Brian Epstein of the January 1, 1962 audition for Decca, which signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes instead.

    Comment


    • #3
      As part of Hatch's legislation, they set up an alternative to the FDA that tests these protected alternative medicines. It is called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). However, unlike the FDA, they are not required to test these medicines prior to sale the general public. And if the medicines are found to be bogus, there is no requirement whatsoever to pull them from the market (unlike regular meds). The NCCAM simply buries the results of the study in a journal somewhere and the industry rolls on. Here are some things that have been debunked by the NCCAM in recent years via double-blind clinical trials that you probably never heard about:

      Ginko Biloba - Top-selling natural cure for dementia and memory enhancer. Hundreds of millions in sales per year. Completely ineffective.

      St. John's Wort - Wildly popular cure for depression. Safe and natural! Also completely ineffective.

      Garlic - Natural way to lower your cholesterol. Total waste of money.

      Saw Palmetto - Top-selling natural treatment for prostate cancer. Has absolutely zero effect.

      Echinacea - Treats the common cold. $130M per year in sales. Total scam.

      Megavitamins - Large doses of vitamin E, C, etc are supposed to load your body with antioxidants and make you live longer and healthier. In fact, they actually make you LESS healthy. They increase your risk of cancer and heart disease by up to 30%.

      Thanks, Orrin! Hope you enjoy all that money.
      "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
      "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
      "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

      Comment


      • #4
        There is no such thing as alternative medicine, natural medicine, holistic medicine, mainstream medicine, etc. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work.
        "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
        "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
        "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
          There is no such thing as alternative medicine, natural medicine, holistic medicine, mainstream medicine, etc. There is only medicine that works and medicine that doesn't work.
          I have worked in the headquarters of two different MLMs. The distributors of these companies are about as slimy as they come. I don't have a problem with the overall way the organizations are organized (if people are stupid enough to sign up for a program where they think they can get rich selling $18 bottles of shampoo that are the equivalent of the 88 cent bottle of Suave found in any grocery store, then more power to them). However, I do have a major problem with the out and out lies that people tell in order to entice others to sign up.

          Before I went to law school, I told a distributor that I had given my personal number to that I was leaving the company to go to law school. I may as well have told him that I ran over his dog the previous night. He was devastated. He tried to convince me to join his down line because if I did he would have me earning more in one month as a distributor than I could in a year as an attorney. After checking....the dude had made like $50 the previous month (and who knows how much of his own resources he had spent making that whopping $50). I can assure you that my annual salary does in fact exceed $50.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quotation-Tim-Minchin-medicine-work-humor-Meetville-Quotes-156728.jpg

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by imanihonjin View Post
              I have worked in the headquarters of two different MLMs. The distributors of these companies are about as slimy as they come. I don't have a problem with the overall way the organizations are organized (if people are stupid enough to sign up for a program where they think they can get rich selling $18 bottles of shampoo that are the equivalent of the 88 cent bottle of Suave found in any grocery store, then more power to them). However, I do have a major problem with the out and out lies that people tell in order to entice others to sign up.

              Before I went to law school, I told a distributor that I had given my personal number to that I was leaving the company to go to law school. I may as well have told him that I ran over his dog the previous night. He was devastated. He tried to convince me to join his down line because if I did he would have me earning more in one month as a distributor than I could in a year as an attorney. After checking....the dude had made like $50 the previous month (and who knows how much of his own resources he had spent making that whopping $50). I can assure you that my annual salary does in fact exceed $50.
              :thumbsup:
              "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
              - Goatnapper'96

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by imanihonjin View Post
                I can assure you that my annual salary does in fact exceed $50.
                Originally posted by Pelado View Post
                :thumbsup:
                50 1% of all attorney salaries.
                Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Actually, I'd call him a good representative of the people and the business interests of the State of Utah.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Crap, I just bought a bottle of Echinacea.
                    Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                    "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                    GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      My Dad SWORE by St. Johns Wort.. My Mom probably still has a bottle of it in the house.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                        As part of Hatch's legislation, they set up an alternative to the FDA that tests these protected alternative medicines. It is called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). However, unlike the FDA, they are not required to test these medicines prior to sale the general public. And if the medicines are found to be bogus, there is no requirement whatsoever to pull them from the market (unlike regular meds). The NCCAM simply buries the results of the study in a journal somewhere and the industry rolls on. Here are some things that have been debunked by the NCCAM in recent years via double-blind clinical trials that you probably never heard about:

                        Ginko Biloba - Top-selling natural cure for dementia and memory enhancer. Hundreds of millions in sales per year. Completely ineffective.

                        St. John's Wort - Wildly popular cure for depression. Safe and natural! Also completely ineffective.

                        Garlic - Natural way to lower your cholesterol. Total waste of money.

                        Saw Palmetto - Top-selling natural treatment for prostate cancer. Has absolutely zero effect.

                        Echinacea - Treats the common cold. $130M per year in sales. Total scam.

                        Megavitamins - Large doses of vitamin E, C, etc are supposed to load your body with antioxidants and make you live longer and healthier. In fact, they actually make you LESS healthy. They increase your risk of cancer and heart disease by up to 30%.

                        Thanks, Orrin! Hope you enjoy all that money.
                        I can't remember which BYU professor was hot on ethnobiology, but I think it permeated the department for awhile. Ginko Biloba was certainly sexy when I was there.

                        I'll push back on you about garlic though. Garlic kills HIV!!! Or so my virology prof said...
                        "...you pointy-headed autopsy nerd. Do you think it's possible for you to post without using words like "hilarious," "absurd," "canard," and "truther"? Your bare assertions do not make it so. Maybe your reasoning is too stunted and your vocabulary is too limited to go without these epithets."
                        "You are an intemperate, unscientific poster who makes light of very serious matters.”
                        - SeattleUte

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Katy Lied View Post
                          Actually, I'd call him a good representative of the people and the business interests of the State of Utah.
                          Selected business interests? Sure.

                          People? No way. Unless you think it is a service to ensure that those people are kept in the dark about fraudulent business practices.
                          "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                          "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                          "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                            As part of Hatch's legislation, they set up an alternative to the FDA that tests these protected alternative medicines. It is called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). However, unlike the FDA, they are not required to test these medicines prior to sale the general public. And if the medicines are found to be bogus, there is no requirement whatsoever to pull them from the market (unlike regular meds). The NCCAM simply buries the results of the study in a journal somewhere and the industry rolls on. Here are some things that have been debunked by the NCCAM in recent years via double-blind clinical trials that you probably never heard about:

                            Ginko Biloba - Top-selling natural cure for dementia and memory enhancer. Hundreds of millions in sales per year. Completely ineffective.

                            St. John's Wort - Wildly popular cure for depression. Safe and natural! Also completely ineffective.

                            Garlic - Natural way to lower your cholesterol. Total waste of money.

                            Saw Palmetto - Top-selling natural treatment for prostate cancer. Has absolutely zero effect.

                            Echinacea - Treats the common cold. $130M per year in sales. Total scam.

                            Megavitamins - Large doses of vitamin E, C, etc are supposed to load your body with antioxidants and make you live longer and healthier. In fact, they actually make you LESS healthy. They increase your risk of cancer and heart disease by up to 30%.

                            Thanks, Orrin! Hope you enjoy all that money.
                            I keep telling you, man, that Orrin and all those Utah MLMs with their snake oils are full of sh*t.
                            "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
                            "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
                            "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
                            GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Uncle Ted View Post
                              I keep telling you, man, that Orrin and all those Utah MLMs with their snake oils are full of sh*t.
                              You keep telling me? Does it look like I am not on your side?
                              "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                              "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                              "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                              Comment

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