Jon Rappoport, - Jon Rappoport's Blog
Stephan: For some time now my wife and I have noticed the prevalence of drug ads on MSNBC, CNN, and FOX; it is a peculiarity of news channel advertising. Perhaps you have noticed this as well. All these weird drugs for illnesses you didn't even know existed, for instance Peyronie's disease -- look it up.
Then there are the disclaimers telling you very quickly the drug may kill you.
The question we asked was: why are there so many drug ads on cable news? Why would anyone want to take some of these obscure drugs? Does the news audience require unusual levels of medication? Was there some deeper consideration in play?
Here is what I think is the correct answer. It is a nasty little story, and another example of why in the United States we do not have a healthcare system, we have an illness profit system. Why this has gone on largely uncritiqued by media, and why America has become what I consider an uncivilized society.
Television viewers are inundated with drug ads from Big Pharma. It’s a flood.
Have you ever heard of these drugs? Otezla, Xeljanz, Namzaric, Keytruda, Breo, Cosentyz? Not likely. If you have, do you know what conditions they treat? Highly unlikely. But there they are, splashed in commercials.
Why? Who is going to remember to ask their doctor whether these and other obscure meds are right for them?
What’s going on here?
The answer is: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT DRUGS ARE BEING ADVERTISED.
If Pharma can pay enough TOTAL money for ads, for ALL drugs, and dominate the allotted TV time for commercials, it can control the news—and that is exactly what it wants to do.
Pharmaceutical scandals are everywhere. Reporting on them, wall to wall, isn’t good for the drug business. However, as an industry ponying up billions of dollars for TV ads, Pharma can limit exposure and negative publicity. It can (and does) say to television networks: If you give us a hard time on the news, we’ll take our ad money and go somewhere else. Boom. End of problem.
Face it, the billions of dollars […]
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Zaid Jilani, The Intercept - The Intercept
Stephan: The whole student debt trend arises from one simple principle: Students are seen not as the nation's future but as a source of profit. They are there to be milked of their money, or their family's money, like so many peasant cows. If they don't have the money they are there to be turned into debtors to be milked for much of the rest of their lives. It is completely uncivilized, and destructive of wellbeing, as endless social outcome studies show. Here is the latest.
Garry Wills was being only slightly ironic when he 
