My recent post on Billy Mays has really had me reflecting on this great TV pitchman. From his humble beginnings as a hawker on the Atlantic City boardwalk, Billy built his company from nothing into a multi-million dollar enterprise. In the course of doing this, he made himself and OxiClean into household names.
Reading up on Billy, I was amazed to see all of the products that he helped bring into the public spotlight. He sold us the Awesome Auger, the Big City Slider Station,the Ding King, the Gopher, the Grater Plater, the Hercules Hook, the Jupiter Jack, Kaboom! Cleaner, and all types of Mighty Putty.
He sold us Orange Glo, the Quick Chop, the Tool Band-it, the Turbo Tiger,the Vidalia Slice Wizard and Zorbeez cloths.
In spite of his successes with this myriad of products, I think that Billy will always be remembered as the ‘OxiClean Guy’. Billy sure knew a lot about white powder
Not only was Oxi-Clean a runaway commercial success, it was an absolutely brilliant business idea. You see, OxiClean is a relatively simple chemical that was around for years before anyone ever heard of Billy Mays.
Oxi-Clean is really just sodium percarbonate, which is an oxygenating bleach. Anyone can buy this chemical in bulk for around 50 cents a pound.
But Billy had a brilliant idea – take a simple chemical, give it a catchy name, advertise the hell out of it on TV, and then sell it at a ridiculous markup.
This brilliant idea helped make Billy Mays millions.
What in the world could have ever inspired him?
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Who doesn’t love Yogi Berra – all time baseball great and part time philosopher? As a boy, I practically grew up in his bowling alley, which he owned in partnership with fellow Yankee great Phil ‘the Scooter’ Rizzuto.
Yogi became well know for his Yogi-isms – little philosophical pearls of wisdom and sayings that, at first take, don’t seem to make much sense. However, after you think about them for a while, they start to make a lot of sense.
Some of my favorites include:
"90% of the game is half mental."
“95% of short putts don’t go in”
"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded"
“Pair up in threes”
"It ain't over till it's over."
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"Thank you for making this day necessary."[
"You can observe a lot by watching."
"I really didn't say everything I said"
…and my all-time favorite:
"It's déjà vu all over again"
Yesterday, I actually experienced déjà vu all over again. I just happened to catch a news report on regarding comments made by Rep. Steve Cohen (Dem-Tennessee) Rep. Cohen pointed out that, when talking about National Healthcare, Republicans used the same Spin Doctoring techniques that the Nazis used. According to Cohen “They say it's a government takeover of health care, a big lie just like Goebbels. You say it enough, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie, you repeat the lie and eventually, people believe it. Like blood libel. That's the same kind of thing. The Germans said enough about the Jews and the people believed it and you had the Holocaust. You tell a lie over and over again. And we've heard on this floor, government takeover of health care.”
Republicans are now criticizing Cohen for “calling them Nazis”. In truth, it seems that Rep. Cohen was just pointing out how our representatives manipulate public opinion by using the same propaganda techniques that were employed by the Nazi Party. And, for the record, the conservatives don’t have an exclusive on these techniques – I have seen both parties use them with equal regularity and effect.
The thing that really struck me was that Rep. Cohen’s speech seemed to be taken, in some parts, almost word for word, from one of my earlier blogs. In case you missed it, here’s where you can read it for yourself:
Ok, I think that the likelihood is very small that Rep. Cohen or one of his speech writers lifted material for that speech from my blog. However, it was reassuring that I’m not the only person who sees how public opinion is being manipulated by Spin Doctors. I would bet that the reason why his fellow Congressmen and Congresswomen are so upset with Rep. Cohen is that he let the cat out of the bag about Spin Doctoring. You see, once the public recognizes the tools that are used to sway their opinion, those tools lose their effectiveness.
Rep. Cohen is relatively new to Congress, having only served the last four years. Maybe this whole speech was a rookie mistake. F*cking newbies – you’d think that they would read the FAQ section before they accidentally go and blow it for everyone!
As you might guess, I have very strong feelings about the art of Spin Doctoring. I think that everyone should be aware of this technique so that they can start seeing through it. In fact, here are my three posts on this subject to date:
The bottom line here – as I’ve said before – is that we have to start cutting through the smokescreens and the BS and identify the real issues if we have any hope of making significant progress in the whole health care issue. Therefore, I’m thankful that Rep. Cohen for making the American public aware of how they are being manipulated by the professional propagandists.
But let’s get something clear right now. In my opinion, the Spin Doctors who use their skills to mis-lead the American public and promote the agenda of those who wish to continue bilking Americans out of Billions of dollars each year aren’t Nazis.
I think that the term “traitors” is a much more accurate description for these scum.
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I used to be one of your biggest fans. I still use OxiClean in almost every wash. So how could you do this to me???!!!
Okay – a little background for those of you who are arriving late. I was watching the “pitchmen” show on the Discovery Channel the other day. It is a great reality show about those guys who sell all those crappy plastic products on TV. Then I saw it – my idea – being sold and marketed by Billy May’s old company.
Last March,, while blogging about the high cost of prescription medicine, I suggested that what we really need is a medicine cabinet with a lock on it. Missed that blog? Read it here:
So I’m watching the Pitchmen show and – there it is – my idea materialized in 6 ounces of Chinese plastic. OK – it wasn’t EXACTLY my idea – a Medicine Cabinet with a lock on it. What they are selling is something called a ‘Rx Locker” – which is a little locking tub where you can keep your prescription medicine – but the IDEA is pretty much the same.
Well, maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on poor Billy – he probably had already blown up his heart from doing too much coke long before the Rx Locker was ever introduced. (Side Note: Who was shocked to discover that Billy did a lot of coke? Me neither)
Maybe my ire should be directed elsewhere – like at Anthony Sullivan – master Pitchman and Billy’s old business partner. After all, Sully was the guy who pitched this product on TV. Plus, he’s a foreigner, so he is already suspect. Plus, he’s the guy who sold me that cruddy mop at the home show.
BUT WAIT - THERE"S MORE !
Sully isn’t acting alone – celebrity Disc Jockey Kennedy was all ga-ga over this product. (I had never heard of Kennedy before – she’s apparently big in LA. I can see now why she’s so successful – she has a face made for radio). Kennedy then got her friend Dr. Drew Pinsky to act as a spokesperson for it. (You know Dr. Drew from that old MTV show – the one that made Adam Carolla semi-famous).
In fact, it’s beginning to look like a conspiracy to me. Luckily, my blog is like a little Zapruder film. Does anyone have Oliver Stone's phone number?
Maybe I shouldn’t really care about them stealing my idea. After all, they are marketing it all wrong. According to Dr. Drew the Rx Locker is “Designed to act as a deterrent for teens who might take prescription drugs from parents or grandparents and use/abuse them without a prescription”
Yeah, he’s totally missing the boat if he thinks the reason for buying this thing is to keep Junior out of Grandma’s Xanax. That kid could probably hack his way through the Department of Defense’s firewall – what makes you think that a $10 piece of plastic is going to stop him. Besides, the kid is probably smart enough to buy a spare Rx Locker, smash Grandma’s with a hammer to get at the good stuff, and then replace it with the new one, leaving Grandma wondering why her combination keeps changing.
No, the real need is for a more substantial piece of hardware, like a wall safe with a mirror on it like I suggested in my blog. ½” of cold rolled steel will keep Junior out of Gramps pharmacopia – or at least keep him occupied until they get home from Bingo.. Beside, do Grandma and Grandpa really care about Junior stealing some industrial strength laxatives? Not when Grandma’s bottle of Boniva is worth more than their Camry.
Plus, a true combination safe/medicine cabinet has other benefits as well – like stopping nosey visitors from spying your tube of anti-fungal ointment and your box of hemorrhoid medicine.
Maybe I should give Sully a call myself – what do you think? Or maybe I should give Vince a call – I think that he must be out of prison by now after he beat up that prostitute.
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Top is tops – number one is number one – once you’ve reached the apex of your field, no one can claim to be better.
America is known worldwide for the excellence of its higher education – witness the large number of foreign national students at our universities. This year, the best of our best is Harvard University, according to the US News and World Report list. Harvard displaced perennial front-runner Princeton for the top honors this year.
Harvard also scored a two-fer this year. Not only did the University receive top honors, but Harvard Medical Scholl was also named number one.
There is little surprise in this recent ranking – Harvard is almost universally recognized as as being at the pinnacle of higher education. In addition to educational excellence, Harvard is also recognized for its high moral standards as well – Harvard Gentlemen (and Ladies) are expected to represent and maintain the best social and ethical standards.
Agreed?
Well, this makes it especially surprising and revolting that a top professor at Harvard Medical Scholl was caught with his hand in the cookie jar – a cookie jar belonging to Big Pharm.
It seems that leading child psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Biederman of Harvard Medical School failed to report over 1.6 million dollars in funding that he received from the pharmaceutical industry. Dr. Biederman single-handedly increased (by a factor of 40) the diagnosis of childhood Bipolar disorder. He is also, not so coincidentally, a leading proponent of treating children with powerful (and expensive) anti-psychotic prescription drugs.
As a result of this debacle, Dr. Biederman could lose his position at Harvard (not an easy thing to do to a tenured professor). He is also being sued by parents who claim that their children were harmed by the drugs he recommended. And the reputation of Harvard Medical School has a nice new thick coat of tarnish.
How could this happen? Why would pharmaceutical companies exert undue influence on a respected Medical Researcher? Well, this question becomes far less baffling when you follow the money. Here’s a partial list of some of the medications involved in the scandal as well as the monthly costs associated with their use (from Drugstore.com):
Multiply these figures by the thousands of pediatric patients, who take this drug each and every month, year after year, and it’s easy to see how that 1.6 million dollar ‘contribution’ is just a drop in the bucket for the pharmaceutical industry.
More importantly, it becomes clear to everyone just how much influence that Big Pharm has on us and our health (fiscal and otherwise).
Sadly, the aftermath of this incident is beyond tragic. Thousands of innocent children may have been permanently affected by the misapplication of these medications. A renowned professor may have lost his career. And the Number One Medical School in the country has just stepped in a big stinky pile of Number Two.
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Inflation is a fact of life. Most things get more expensive as time goes by. This is especially true in the world of Health Care. And inflation can be found in the most unusual of places.
Consider, if you will, the world of vitamins and supplements. As a long-time proponent of nutritional supplements, I have had to endure the same mantra over and over again from the medical community and its’ minions. It has been explained to me, ad nauseum, that the human body does not store excess vitamins, but passes them out immediately. It was therefore foolish and wasteful for anyone to take vitamin supplements. Almost every doctor I have ever discussed this with had the same contrite saying on the subject:
“All you are doing is making expensive urine”
Regardless of this medical advice, I have continued to take vitamins and supplements over the years. Maybe my urine was more expensive then most, but it wasn’t that expensive. By ordering my supplements via mail order, I was able to purchase them for very little money. Besides, I thought, what do Doctor’s know? Even they admit that they are licensed only to “practice” medicine. Hey Doc - give me a call once you get this medicine thing worked out and you’re done practicing.
Another benefit of using supplements is that they made me feel good about myself. Maybe I don't drive a fancy car or live in an expensive house, but at least I could wee wee like Warren Buffet.
Over the years, it seems that the medical outlook on supplements was starting to ease off. Pediatricians started recommending vitamin supplements for their patients. Expectant Moms were ordered to take pre-natal vitamins. It slowly became medically acceptable for certain patients to have expensive pee.
As the years passed, more and more articles were published extolling the benefits of nutritional supplements, but these were usually dismissed by medical professionals. Research not performed by a big Pharmaceutical Corporation could not be relied upon. Often, these articles were seen as yellow journalism.
Fast forward to the present age, and it seems that it’s now OK to use certain supplements. In 2010, prescription Fish Oil tablets were all the rage. Now, in 2011, the big push is on for Prescription Vitamin D supplements.
The key word thus far is “Prescription”. The same supplements that I have been using for years are now being produced by Big Pharm and marketed through Medical Offices – at a cost often 10-20 times what the same dosage would cost you – without a prescription – from a mail order supplier.
It seems to me that, thanks to Big Pharm, a lot of people are making REALLY Expensive Urine. I’m talking Tinkle that is worthy of Tiffany's.
Even with a prescription plan, the co-payment for these prescription supplements id going to be 3-4 times higher than the cost of buying the equivalent dosage mail order.
The bottom line? If you are buying prescription supplements, you’re just pissing your money away. And contributing to health care inflation at the same time.
And that’s just flushing your money down the toilet.
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Posts
Reading up on Billy, I was amazed to see all of the products that he helped bring into the public spotlight. He sold us the Awesome Auger, the Big City Slider Station,the Ding King, the Gopher, the Grater Plater, the Hercules Hook, the Jupiter Jack, Kaboom! Cleaner, and all types of Mighty Putty. 
