WHISTLEBLOWERS BOOK OF 1001 SECRETS:
Consumer News You Can Use
Second Edition
A book from the Society for Consumer Advocates and Mavens, by Glenn Cole.
Copyright © 2010 by Glenn Cole. All rights reserved.
Published digitally in 2011 by DGC Consumer Publishing, LLC, a Florida corporation, at Smashwords.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4524-6847-1 (ePub and multiple formats edition)
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or publisher. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. Readers and users of the information and opinions in this volume assume the risk of their use. The information and opinions contained herein does not constitute legal advice.
LICENSE NOTES, Smashwords edition: This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be resold or given away. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
Dedicated
to the
American
public.
Not
knowing is
what makes the
American
public the
American
public.
Protect yourself! Before you purchase or consume anything discover here what they do not want you to know.
AUTOMOBILES, TRANSPORTATION AND VEHICLES
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF ALL TOPICS
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Advertising and Marketing Ad-nauseam
Advertised
Brand Wars
Advertised No Payments Til Next Year
Advertised
Product "Undersizing"
Advertising Agencies &
Audience Ratings
Advertising Creates Unattainable
Ideals
Advertising People And Ethics
Advertising That
Deceives
As Seen On TV Product Hype
As-Seen-On-TV Stain Removal
Products
Before And After Testimonial Pictures In
Advertisements
"Carrot And Stick" Advertising
Scheme
Commercialization In America
Consumer Magazines And
Journals
Donating A Car To Charity
Drug Company Research
Advertisements
Factory Serviced Marketing Gimmick
"Free"
Credit Report Advertisements
Generics And Grocery Store
Brands
"Good Cause" Ads And Name Endorsements
Heart
Smart Label Sellout
Hypercommercialism
In Sales Don't Bitch A
Bitch A Hard sell
Liberation Via Consumption
Milk Mustache
Ads
Negative Option In Advertising
Negotiating Catalog and
Retail Prices
New and Improved and Packaging To Price
"New
and Improved" Products
Popular "Come-ons" Used In
Advertising
Price Fixing
Product Value or Rip-off
Risk-Free
Trial VS. Free Trial Offers
"Search Engine Advertising
Pay-Per-Click" Fraud
"Sell Before You Buy"
Scams
"Shock" Advertising
Shop-at-home Via
TV
Smokeless Chewing Tobacco and Alcohol
Sound-alike and
Nonprofit Companies
The Advertiser's Suggested Retail Price
The
Dirt On Multi-purpose Household Cleaners
TV Infomercial
Testimonials
Why Milk?
Wrinkle Cream "Before" and
"After" Photographs
Women As Commodities Body Packaging
AIRLINE INDUSTRY
Air Traffic Controllers And
Drug Use
Airline Coach Seating
Airline Delays
Airline
Inspections, Security and The FAA
Airline Killer Cargo
Air
Transportation Maintenance and Security Concerns
Cargo
Planes
Commercial Airline Pilot Fatigue
Discount Airfare Broker
Consolidator
FAA Inspectors
Helicopter Pilots
Hidden Fees
When You Fly Commercial Airlines
Liquids In Luggage On
Airlines
Lowest Costs Days For Commercial Airline Tickets and
More
Napping Airline Pilots
Passenger Plane Patch Job
Repairs
Protecting Film From Airport X-rays
U.S. Armed Forces
Cargo Planes
ANIMAL CRUELTY
A Day In The Life Of A Research
Animal
A Day In The Life Of A Downed Farm Animal Going To
Slaughter
American Pets Sold To Meat-Eaters
Animal Hospitals
and Humane Shelters
Animal Killer Captivity
Animal Protection
Intellectualism
Animal Rights Laws and Reality
Animal
Trappers
Anti-horse U.S. Bureau Of Land Management
Archery
Hunting
Blooding Greyhound Racing Dogs
Bloody Caribbean
Tourism
Burn Research Institutes
Carriage Horse
Rides
Chimpanzees used in advertisements
China Fur Farms
Torture and Supply U.S.A and Canada with Fur
Collusion and The
U.S. Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
Commercial Fish Nets
Dairy
Cow Farming
Dancing Bears
Day To Day Living For Circus
Elephants
Discarded Or Stolen Pets and Animal Baiting
Discarded
Sheep By The Wool Industry
Dolphin-safe Labels On Tuna Cans
Dove
Releasing Ceremonies
Down Silk and Wool Industry
Elderly Pets
In Kennels
Entertainment Animals
Exotic and Wild Animal Fur
Coats
Exotic Bird Meat
Fishing Rodeos
Foot Disease Killing
Zoo Elephants
Free Range Or Cage Free Farm Animals For Human
Consumption
Government Sponsored Wild Animal Kills
Health
Charities and Medical Schools That Still Fund Live Animal
Experiments
Helicopter Coyote Hunting
Humane Farm Animal
Slaughter Or Torture?
Humane Rodeos?
Hunting On National
Wildlife Refuges
Indian Bullfighting
Invisible Pet
Fences
Korean Dog and Cat Meat Eaters
Kosher and Ritual
Slaughtered Meat
Lives Taken For Fur Fashion
Longline Fishing
Weapons Of Destruction
Milk and Dairy Companies
Monkey Photo
Opportunities
Monkey Rentals
Museums Of Natural History and
Science and Big Game Trophy Hunters
Non-Nutritional Doggie
Snacks
Performing Chimpanzees
Pet Cremations
Pet Health
Insurance
Pet Wipes, Glue Traps and Cat Litter Boxes
Pets On
Commercial Passenger Airlines
Pig and Chicken Farms and Deer
Reduction
Pig and Chicken Slaughter
Pigs In A Madhouse
The
Pig Picture Of Greed, Neglect and Inhumane Treatment
Puppy Mill
Pet Stores
Risky Cats and Dogs
Salmon Fish Farming
Save
Animals and Boycott Paper Products
Shellfish Poaching
Shooting
Elephants Saves Them From Poachers
Shrimp Tuna Industries’ Fine
Netting
South Africa's "Killing Of The Bull"
Suicide
Horse Races
Summer Camp Horses and Rodeos
Surplus Zoo
Animals
Swordfish Depletion
Taxpayer Paid Elephant
Hunts
Thanksgiving Turkeys and Presidential Pardons
The Legal
But Cruelest Show On Earth
The Truth About Expensive
Leather
Throwaway Pet Dumps
Tortured Factory Farmed
Chickens
Trophy African Lion Hunting
Unsuitable Pelts Of Fur
Trade Animals
Unwanted Pet Dogs and Cats
Unwanted Zoo
Animals
U.S. Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
USDA Allows The
Torture Of Chickens, Turkeys and Rabbits
USDA Meat Inspectors and
Slaughterhouse Workers Testimonials
Vehicle Antifreeze, Pets and
Animals
Walking Horse Industry and "Soaring"
Wild
Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act
Wildlife Documentary
Filmmakers
Zoo And Animal Attraction Fallacies
Zoo "Petting
Zoo" Animals
AUTOMOBILES AND VEHICLES
All-Wheel Drive (AWD)
Vehicles
Auto Accident Hoax
Auto Body Shops and Tow Truck
Tricks
Auto Brake Shops
Auto Insurance And Body Shop
Repairs
Auto Rustproofing
Auto Tire Separation and Car
Crashes
Auto Tires That Fail Prematurely Or Lose Air Pressure
Auto
and Planned Obsolescence
Automakers Top Ten List and Reliability
Concerns
Automobile Oil Changes and Lube Shops
Automobile Tire
Wear and Tire Inflators
Buying New and Used Cars
Car and
Vehicle Battery Prices, Codes and Warranties
Car Buying Services
and Auto Brokers
Car Rental Collision And Damage Waiver
Car
Rentals
Car Washers
Certified Used Cars and Rebuilt
Wrecks
Commercial Bus Terminals
Deadly Auto Air Bag
Deployment
Deathtrap Railroad Passenger Cars
Donating Cars To
Charity For Tax Deductions
Full Factory Equipped New Cars
Gas
Pumps
Gas Station Employee Double Billing
Gen-3 Automobile Seat
Belts
Global Navigation Positioning Systems (GPS)
Grey Market
Exotic Auto Sales
Highway Traffic Guard Rails
Imitation
Replacement Auto Body Parts
Killer Unlicensed Drivers
Long-term
Six Year Car Loans
Pickup Truck Bumpers and SUV Brakes
Problems
With First Year Newly Designed Car Models
Railroad Track
Failure
Railroads
Road Raider Car Mechanics
School Bus and
Big Rig Truck Drivers
Seat-back Failures
Self-Serve Car
Wash
Service Provider Consumer Complaints
Small Damage Auto
Collisions
Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) Bumpers
Static
Electricity and Exploding Gas Tanks
The Ins and Outs When
Negotiating The Price On A Vehicle
The Myth Of High Gasoline
Prices
Trucking Firms and Truck Rentals
Unsafe Charter
Buses
Used Rental Or Fleet Cars
Valet Vandals and Auto
Burglaries
Vehicle Anti-Theft Devices
Vehicle Identification
Number (VIN)
Why Vehicle Gas Prices Vary From Station To
Station
Amtrak Commuter Trains
BUSINESS, INDUSTRY AND SALES
Be Your Own Boss Business Opportunities
Collection
Agencies For Businesses
Consignment Stores and Services
Corporate
Arrogance and Power
Corporate Crime Pays
Corporate Good Cause
Pretenders
Corporate Taxes and Intangible Taxes
Corporations
Under Investigation
Deep Discount Department Stores
Going Out
Of Business Sale
Going Out Of Business Sales
Pay Phone and
Vending Machine Biz Opps
Price Quotes Over The Telephone
Public
Relations (PR) Firms
Semiconductor Manufacturing
Store Rent
Leases For Small Businesses
Work At Home Business Opportunities
BUYER BEWARE
Abdominal Exercise Equipment
Air Conditioner
Clean and Tune Service
Beer Brewer Secrets
Buying A Pearl
Necklace
CFL Compact Fluorescent Lights
Cheap Hummingbird Food
Alternative
Computer Software Salespeople
Deceptive Bed Sheet
Thread Counts and Fabrics
Disposable Digital Camcorders
Estate
Planners
Extended Warranty Loophole When Purchasing
Appliances
Flea Market Merchandise
Food Preparation Cutting
Sheets
Front Door Security Devices
Fundraising
Charities
Genuine Native American Jewelry
Hair Restoration
Products
Hearing Aid Sales Come-Ons
Hearing Enhancers
Heat
Detection Fire Alarms
Home Smoke Detectors
Lawn and Garden
Water Hoses
Lottery Clubs
Mini Sewing Machines As Seen On
TV
Moving Brokers Found On-Line
Odds Of Needing Extended
Warranty
Positive On-Line Reviews
Pre-paid Telephone
Cards
Product Purchases Cancer
Products Offering
Rebates
Professional Builders Associations
Professional
Shoppers
Sellers Cost To Consumers
Service For A Fee
Soaps
and Antibacterial Soaps
Special Low Cost Deals On Internet
Services
Theme Park Discount Ticket Brokers
Therapeutic
Pillows
Vending Machine Sales Routes
Warranties Secret Implied
and Recalls
Wasted Space In Product Packaging
Water Resistant
To 100 Feet Watches
Waterproof Sunscreens, Lotions and Sun Blocks
CHILDREN AND FAMILY CONCERNS
Adoption Doctored Birth Certificates
B. B.
Guns
Chaperoned Spring Break Vacations For High School
Students
Child Abuse Charges
Child Support Payments and
Alimony
Children and Power Windows In Cars
Children Facing
Systematic Desensitization
Commercial Culture and Sexualized
Children
Consumerism and The Children
Counterfeiting Kids
Crib
Death Protection Products
Defective Baby Cribs & Crib Deaths
In Hotels & Motels
Foreign Adoptions
Hostess Job
Opportunities Overseas
Largest Toy Recall Ever
Missing Children
Charities
Playground Store Operated Play Zone
Selling Violent
Video Games To Children
Spanking Children
Teenage "Rave"
Parties
Toys and Toy Boxes
Unsafe Toys
CONSUMER ALERTS
911 Cell Phone
Emergencies
Autopsies
Bank Debit Cards
Bogus Jewelry
Appraisals
Bug Zapper Devices
Carpet Cleaning Services
Casket
Purchases
Cell Phone Theft
Cell Phones and Auto Gas Station
Pumps
Checkout Counter Price Scanners
Clubs Or Lounges
Sprinkler Systems
Computer Repairs
Copycat Charities
Dead
Body Transport Services
Drive-thru Window Robberies
Electric
Garage Door Openers
Elevators
Escalators
Finding Low Prices
On-Line
Free Money and Free Electricity
Furnace Repair
Services
Getting a "Live" person On The Phone When
Calling Companies
Hair Growth Products
Hidden Agenda Of Health
Charities
Hotel and Motel Bedspreads
Landlord Theft and
Peeping-toms
Medical Alert Alarm Systems
Nightclub and Dance
Club Lounge Fires
Picking Lottery Numbers and Lottery Clubs
Power
and Light Meters On Homes
Problem Life Jackets
Products Made In
The USA
Public Pay Telephones and Phone Cards
Responding To
Internet Spam
Self-defense Sprays
Self-storage
Facilities
Shopping For A Bundled Internet, Home Phone And TV
Service
Smokeless Chewing Tobacco and Alcohol
Street Corner
Hungry Homeless Beggars
Stun Guns Or Tasers
Swimming Pool
Chlorine
Swimming With The Dolphins Programs
The Unknown About
Identity Theft
Tips For Online Auctions
Tobacco Nicotine and
Toxicity
Toothpastes That Whiten May Not Whiten
Truck and
Trailer Rental Come-on
U.S. Department Of HUD Scam
Video
Recorder Cell Phone Peeping-toms
What You May Not Know About
Protecting Your Identity
Where To Buy Appliances and When To Get
Good Deals
CRIME AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
American Pedophiles Adopting
Benefits Behind
Bars
Bounty Hunters
Cameras in Courtroom
Car Jacking
Crimes
Cash Register Auditors Crime
Courthouse Jury Identity
Theft
Criminal Forensic Lab Investigators
Defense Attorneys and
The Justice System
Dock Workers At Shipping Ports
Extradition,
Jailbreaks and Bail Jumpers
"Fake" Police Preying On
Women
Felons and Ex-convicts Doing In-home Service
Calls
Fingerprint Evidence Court Convictions
Granny
Burglars
Gym and Health Club Parking Lots
Hotel and Motel
Security
How to Deal With Cops Who Have No Search Warrant
How
To Help Stop Violent Crimes In The U.S.
Jury
Nullification
Military Adultery
Nurse Thieves
Police Blue
Code Of Silence
Prison Officials
Safe Haven For
Criminals
Satellite Tracking Violent Parolees
Serial Arsonists
Firefighters
Student Athlete Sexual Assaults
Underground Baby
Adoption Networks
U.S. Federal Prosecutes
Valet Parking
Attendants
DRUGS AND SUPPLEMENTS
All Natural Remedy For
Depression
Arthritis Pain, Drugs and Supplements
Betablockers
For High Blood Pressure
Birth Control Pills and Patches
Black
Market Pharmacists
Brand-name Drug Companies Pay-off Generic Drug
Companies
Chromium Picolinate For Fat and Muscle
Date Rape
Drugs
Drug Research Money
Folic Acid
Ginseng Herbal
Supplements
Herbal Supplements and Surgery
High Cost
Prescription Drugs
Life-saving Prescription Drugs
Legalized
Marijuana In San Francisco
Mail Order Prescription Drugs
Meridia
The Weight Loss Diet Drug
Misleading Betacarotene
Supplements
Multivitamin Bargain Brands
Nicotine Control
Patches
Over-the-counter Heroin
Pharmacy
Technicians
Pharmaceutical Industry Gifts To Physicians
Premarin
(Womens Hormone Drug)
Questionable Vitamin Supplements
Tea
Antioxidants
Toxic Cows and Bovine Growth Drugs
Under-prescribed
Pain Killers
Vitamins
Vitamin and Dietary Supplement Pitfalls
EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS
18 Month Career Colleges
& Schools
Bogus Grades and School Transcripts
College Grade
Inflation
College Tuition Government Loans & Ad
Contaminated
School Lunches
Home Schooling Children
Property Taxes &
Public School Districts
Public School Vouchers
Public Teachers'
Unions
School Lunch Menu Advertisements
School
Overcrowding
School Volunteer Teachers Assistants
Students
Cheating For Grades
U.S. Department Of Education
University
Economics Departments
Vocational Trade Schools
ENTERTAINMENT AND THE ARTS
Actor Workshop
Audition Fees
Concert Ticket Brokers
Deceptive Bestseller Books
Bookstores
Entertainment TV Shows and Morality
Fashion Model
Culture
Hollywood Movie Ratings System
Motion Picture Movie
Companies
Movie "Trailer" Promotional Films
Music
Record Label Marketers
Poetry Contests Millions Of Prizes
Radio,
TV, Film Screen Test Services
Talent Scouts and Modeling
Agencies
Too High Priced Concert Tickets
Vanity Book Publishers
ENVIRONMENT
Anti-environment
Environmentalists
Green Brands Of Paper Towels
Non-ecological
Economists
Over fishing, By catch and Shark
Attacks
Overpopulation
Save Animals and Boycott Paper
Products
Snowmobile Pollution In National Parks
The Future and
Extinction
FINANCE AND BANKS
$5 To $10 Minimum Purchase On
Credit Cards
Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
Bank CDs, Mutual
Funds & Phantom Banks
Bank Credit Cards and Pay-offs To
Colleges and Universities
Banks Sharing Your Private
Information
Best Time Of Day To Buy Stocks
Bond Fund
Investments
Credit Card Billing Errors & Your Rights
Crooked
Wall Street Stockbrokers
Deceptive Mortgage
Professionals
Disputing Credit Card Charges
Economic
Growth
Federal Reserve Bank
Financial Planners
Financial
Planners and Consultants
Initial Public Offering (IPO)
Insider
Trading
Insider Trading and Dumb Money Investors
Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) Agents
International Lottery
Investor
Protection Buy Back Policies
Money Loan Companies
Mutual Fund
Managers
Predatory Money Lenders
Predatory Mortgage Brokers &
Money Lending Traps
Scandalous Tax Shelter Loopholes
Stock
Options Nightmare and The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Stock
Sales Telemarketers
Stock Market Stock Promoters
Stopping
Payment On Checks
Tax debt and Divorced Women
Using Property As
Collateral On A Loan
Viatical Commercial Paper Investments
Wall
Street Investors Pitfalls
Wall Street Stock Swindlers
When To
Buy Stock Mutual Funds
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Adulterated Milk And Dairy
Products
Baby Milk Formulas
Bagged Pre-Cut
Salads
Bio-engineered And Genetically Modified Food Supply
Bottled
Water
Cancerous Meat
Cereal Bars, Fruit Bars & Energy
Foods
Cereal Prices Rise as Cereal Boxes Shrink in
Size
Contaminated Food And Beef
Contaminated Refrigerator
Food
Deadly "Listeria" Contamination In Processed
Meats
Deep Fry Cooking Equipment
Fake Wheat Bread
Famous
Vegetarians
Farm Raised Salmon Vs. Wild Salmon
Fattening
Cooking Oil Sprays
Feeding Cattle To Cattle
Food-borne
Illnesses
Food Distributors & Food Contamination
Food
Labeling Doubletalk
Food Preparation Cutting Sheets
Food
Slander Laws
Good Cow Meat Or Bad Cow Meat
Grocery Store
Cons
Grocery Store Free Food Samples
Hamburger Hell
Home
Delivery Food Services
Light Beers
Low Fat Frozen Diet
Meals
Mail Order Food And Meals-to-go
Meal Replacement
Foods
Meat, Dairy, And Food Drug Lobbyists
Meat & Dairy
Products, Politics & Illness
Meat And Poultry Plague Of 21st
Century
Meat Packers, The USDA, And Ecoli
Mercury Emissions And
Contaminated Fish
Oat Bran
Oats And Good-for-you Cereals
Old,
Out-dated Eggs Sold As "Fresh"
Organic Food Labels &
U.S. Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
Organically Grown Fruits And
Vegetables
Pesticide Residue And Food
Pie Crust, Yogurt,
Shrimp, & Peanut Butter
Pig And Chicken Farms & Deer
Reduction
Pop-up Cooking Thermometers
Processed Foods And
Preservatives
Raw Shellfish
Recalled Meat Not Getting
Recalled
Reduced Fat Or Lean Beef
Scientifically Formulated Dog
Food
Sick Fruits And Vegetables
Slaughtered Farm Animal
Meat
Soft Drinks Contribute To Broken Bones
Soy Milk Producers
Vs. Cow Milk Producers
Street Food Vendors
Supermarket
Not-so-fresh Meats
Tainted Tofu
Trans Fats Food Labeling
U.S.
Center For Food Safety & Nutrition
USDA And Dirty Meat
Supply
Vitamin Deficient Milk And Low Fat Milk
Wild Salmon May
Not Be Truly Wild
Why Processed Health Foods Cost More
FRAUD
Auto Body Shop Fraud
Badge Related
Fundraising Fraud
Car Leasing "Give Up" Insurance
Fraud
Carnival Games
Charter Fishing Boats And
Taxidermists
Discount Under-weight Gold Jewelry"
Doctors
Recruiting Drug Addicts For Medical Billing
Free Health Screenings
And Check-ups
Funeral Homes Stealing Body Parts
FURNACE REPAIR
FRAUDS
Hospitals Cooking The Books
Medicare Fraud And Medicare
Insurance
Mortgage Fraud & Insurance Claim Fraud
Motorized
Wheelchair Medicare Fraud
Simulated Psychic Power TV Shows
Staged
Auto Accidents And Claims
DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809, 284 or
876
Utility Company Round-off Larceny
Waiters And Waitresses
And Credit Card Fraud
Working Moms Cheating Taxpayers
GAMBLING
Blackjack Players Beware
College
Sports Bribery
Gambling And Stock Market Win Systems
Gambling
Casino Security Guards
Poker Playing
Personal Injury lawsuits
at Indian-Run Casinos
Redeeming Winning Tickets At Racetracks
Slot
Machines
GOVERNMENT
1st Class US Mail Postage Vs.
Priority
Chemical Warfare
Ethnostate
Federal Job Training
Programs
Food And Drug Administration (FDA)
Government Employee
Re-location Service
Government Reform, Pensions, Foreign
Aid
Government, Special Interests & Welfare
Government
Wasteful Spending
Imperial Government & The National
Debt
Insider Stock Trading & U.S. Congress
Iraq Immigrant
Re-location Service
Military "Hazing" And Cadets
New
Drug Safety Approval by Food and Drug Administration
Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Seized Property Auctions
Social
Security "Crooks"
Tax dollars used for Art Museums
The
Presidency, War & Calculated Chaos
U.S. Armed Forces
U.S.
Bureau Of Land Management (BLM) Destroyers Of Life
U.S.
Congressional "Double-dipping"
U.S. Council For Energy
Awareness
U.S. Embassies
U.S. Energy Department
U.S. Federal
Safety Standards
U.S. Government And Diet Related Diseases
U.S.
Government-Created Enemies
U.S. Government Defense
Contractors
U.S. Government Inspections And Auctions
U.S.
Government Withholding Tax
U.S. Military Credit Cards
Unfair
Distribution Of Wealth
We May Never Win The War On Aids
Welfare
Cheating
HEALTH, NUTRITION AND FITNESS
Aerobics Music In
Health Clubs
Bicycling And Impotence In Men
Bodybuilding
Cancerous
Diets
Cellulite Removers
Commercialized Diets And Brain
Power
Common Cold Prevention
Constipation And All Natural
Laxatives
Conventional And Alternative Medicine
Deceptive
Nutrition Facts
Exercise Myths
Fitness Instructors
Heart
Attacks And Strenuous Exercise
Heart Attacks At Health And Fitness
Centers
Lifetime Health And Exercise Club Memberships
Osteoporosis
And Dairy Foods
Sports Creams, Ice Packs, And Heat Rubs
Sunscreens
Contributing To Skin Cancer
Teeth Whitening Product Abuse
Toxic
And Nontoxic Worrying
Vitamin E Supplements Research
HISTORY
Current Day Militia
Revolution of 1776 and the
Next Revolution
The South Will Rise Again
Unofficial History of
American and Corporations
HOME AND REAL ESTATE
Air Duct Cleaning
Services
Assumable Home Loans Court Judgments
Buying A Home Or
Land In Certain Areas
Estate Sales
Flower Bulbs And House
Paint
High-End Kitchen Ranges Versus Less Costly Kitchen
Ranges
Home Builders Contributing Termites
Home Builders,
Remodelers, And Realtors
Home Burglaries
Home Inspectors
Selling A Home Faster
Home Improvement Home Center Contractors vs.
Independent Contractors
Home Insulation Contractors
Home
Property Tax Assessments
Household Waste And Rubbish
Lawn Power
Blowers
Mistakes to Avoid When Mowing Your Lawn
Mortgage
Experts And Brokers
Moving Companies & Long Distance
Movers
Picking a Painter
Questionable Contractors
Real
Estate Agents & Mortgage Lenders
Real Estate Agents'
Contracts
Reselling Undeveloped Land
Toxic Waste & Chemical
Cauldron Homes
Using Discount Brokers when selling your home
Water
Pipe House-sitter Or Robot
INSURANCE
Auto Insurance Company Claim
Denials
Auto Insurance "Paper Car" Fraud
Easy-to-fake
Deaths For Insurance Claims
Federal Flood Insurance
Health
Insurance Companies
Homeowners Insurance Not Paying
Claims
Insurance Sales Tactics
Janitors Insurance
Kickbacks
Hike Your Insurance Premiums
Life Insurance Death Benefits To
Charities
Long Term Health Care
Long Term Health Care
Insurance
Low Stock Prices & Rising Insurance Premiums
Motor
Club Roadside Assistance & Auto Insurance Premiums
Rip-off
Crop Insurance And Subsidies
Ten Insurance Policies You May Not
Need
LAW AND POLITICS
Arbitration Clauses In
Contracts
Attorney Theft And Lawsuit Guidelines
Class Action
Lawsuits
Congressional "Gag Rule"
Cops And Collars
For Dollars
Court Rulings
Diplomatic Immunity
Diplomatic
Immunity And Foreign Aid
Divorce Attorneys
Federal Disabilities
Act Shakedown
Federal, Public And City Prosecutors
Filing A
Complaint Against A Cop
Good Policy Or Smart Politics
Gun Laws
And Sniper Terrorists
Hiring An Attorney
Hypocrite Politicians
And Public Schools
Lawsuit Settlements Against Big
Tobacco
N.A.F.T.A. Chapter 11 Provision
Police High-speed
Chases And Helicopters
Political TV Airtime Purchasing
Political
TV Public Service Announcement (PSA)
Politician Travel Junkets &
Perks
Politics As A Blood Sport
Presidential Debates, Trust And
Sin
Psycological Competency Hearings
Public
Defenders
Random-assignment Court Case System
Restrictive
Laws
"Rock" Logic Or Political Bombast
"Scare
Calls" Made By Politicians
Sealed Secret Court
Settlements
Selective Enforcement
S.L.A.P.P. Lawsuits
Small
Claims Court
Small Town Police Radar Speed Traps
Soft Money For
Political Campaigns
Sperm Donors Having To Pay For Child
Support\
"Tax The Wealthy" Political Ploy
The Farm
Bureau Of The United States
U.S. Mining Laws
Unethical
Judges
Unethical Lobbyists
Your Vote Will Never Count!
MEDICAL MATTERS
Abortion Clinics
Ambulance
Chasers And Cappers
Ambulance Medical Emergencies
Are Men's or
Woman's Restrooms Free of Germs
Assembly-line Veterans Hospital
Care
"Baker Acted" Into A Psychiatric Hospital
Blood
Banks
Body Parts Harvesting And Tissue Parts
Broken Hips Over
Age 65
Cancer, The Workplace, & Cancer Clinics
Cataract
Prevention
Cholesterol Drugs And Home Testing
Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome Confusion
Compounded Drug Medications
Condom Disease
Plus How To Get A Man
Critical Care Nurses
Crooked
Chiropractors
Dangerous Doctors
Deadly Superbug Germs In Gyms &
Sports
Dentist Anti-plaque Systems
Dentist Tooth Sealants
Dirty
Water At Dentists Offices
Doctor Drug Abuse
Drug-free Remedy
For Depression
Emergency Room Medical Sub-Contractors
European
Medical Cures And Remedies
Euthanasia
Eye Transplants And
Theft
Experimental Blood Being Used on Unsuspecting
Patients
Fertility Clinics
Flyin' Free Medical Care
For-profit
Hospitals And Double Billing
General Practitioner (GP)
Physicians
Getting Out Of The Hospital Alive
Guilty
Gynecologists
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
Hearing
Aids And Hearing Aid Stores
Heart Disease And Medical
Incompetence
Heart Healthy Treatment And Uncommon Signs Of A Heart
Attack
Hepatitis C
HMO Mental Health Care
Hormone
Replacement Therapy
Hospital And Doctor Errors
Hospital Billing
Errors
Hospital Infections Killing 50% of those Infected
Hospital
Medication Mistakes
Hospital Patient Deaths And Illness
Hospital
Secrets That May Hurt You
Hospital Serial Killers
Incontinence
Products
Internet Medical Information
Killer Nurses
Latex
Allergies
Liver Detox & Living Cell Therapy
Mad Cow
Disease
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Marijuana
Medicine
Medical Cat Scans
Medical Clinics
Medical Consent
Treatment Forms
Medical Credential Kickbacks
Medical
Malpractice Lawsuits
Medical Mistakes
Military
Physicians
Misdiagnosed Cancer And Pregnancy Tests
Misdiagnosed
Melanoma
Non-surgical Hair Replacement
Nurses Aides And
Surgical Assistants
Nursing Home Contracts
Nursing Home Costs &
Protecting Wealth
Nursing Homes
Organ Donors
Organ
Transplant Sales
Pain Treatment For The Terminally Ill
Patients
vs. Clinical Research Patents
Personal Medical
Records
PHARMACISTS' DEADLY ERRORS
Physician Care
Physician
Fees
Podiatrists
Psychoanalysts
Psychotherapy
Questionable
Anti-Wrinkle Injections
Questionable Home Health Care
Questionable
Psychotherapists
Risky Chiropractors
Skin And Bone Organ
Donations
Sudden Death Heart Attacks
The Earth's Revenge
Tongue
& Lip Piercing And Tooth Loss
Ultrasounds And Vasectomies
Used
Dentist Braces
What they don't want you to know about natural
cures
Whiplash Treatments
Women, Brassieres, And Cancer
Women
Smokers
MISCELLANEOUS
1986 NASA Space Shuttle
Challenger's Final Minutes
Arbitration Clauses In Contracts
Bingo
Parlors, The Races, And Jai Alai
Boat Ownership
Bodyguards
"Buy
'Til You Die"
Charity "Drop Boxes"
Cigarette-makers
Smuggling Cigarettes
Crooked Veterinarians
Dog Attacks
Elevator
Panic Buttons
Fireless Cigarettes
Food Stamps
"Con-game"
Foreign Exchange Student
Lawbreakers
Fortunetellers
Free Film For Life Of Camera
Come-ons
Funeral Sales
Gun Silencers
How To Get A Cop Fast
When You Call One
Immigrant Welfare And Green Cards
Immigrant
Work And Student Visas
Inventors And Their
Inventions
Jewelers
Liquor Land
Lottery Redemption
Mail
Order Brides
Making Money Stuffing Envelopes
Male And Female
Matchmaker Services
Maps Are Collections Of Lies
Matchmakers
And Video Dating Services
Microbeers
Midwives Selling U.S.
Citizenship
Mounted Cowboy Bull Training
Nanotechnology Can
Rule The World
Orchid Shows
Own Your Own ATM Bank Machine &
Steal
Pawnshops
Personal Computer (PC) Problem Solving
Prepaid
Calling Card Pitfalls
Professional Guardians
Reptiles As
Pets
Sex Disguised As Massage Therapy
Single-use And
Rechargeable Batteries
Snake Repellents
Solar Heat
Sales
Store-bought Household Cleaners
Toothpaste
NEWS AND MEDIA
Biased TV News and the Daily
Newspapers' Political Polls
Cable TV Monopolizing Content For
Profit
Consumer Rights Organizations
Disguised TV And Magazine
News Stories
Double Speak And Technical Talk
Freedom And
Commercial Virus
Instant Replays On TV
Liberal Bias In Network
TV News
Minority Owned Broadcast Stations
News Media creates a
product and may not represent reality
Newspapers And
Newsprint
Objectivity And Women TV Reporters
Planted News
Quotes
Public Broadcasting (PBS) And C-span
Secondhand
Journalism & Commentaries
Selective Sampling
"Talking
Head" TV News Reporters
The News About The News
The
Unreality Industry:TV News
Toxic TV News Media In A Toxic
Society
TV And Radio Audience Ratings
TV And Radio Talk
Shows
TV Culture
TV Home Shopping Channels
TV News
900-Number Call-in Surveys
TV News "Exclusives"
TV
News Interviewers And Interviews
TV News Managers And
Management
TV News Sensationalism
TV News Skin Contouring
Camera
Why We Hate The News Media
OBSERVATIONS AND MYTHS
Astrology And I.Q.
Tests
Camera Pictures And Microphones
Civility, Honesty,
Weakness, Success, Sin
Being Led "Like Cows To
Slaughter"
Death Of Reality
Example Or
Exception
Experience Used As An Argument
Extinction Of Mankind
And All Species
Facts
Fishfinders
Generation Z
History,
Truth, Reality, And Logic
In Your Face Quotes
Making A Fair
Judgment
"The Missing Link" From Monkey To Man
Moral
Decision Making
Mysticism And Science
Myths Of
Darwinism
Positive Thinking
Public Ignorance
Radical
Honesty
Rational Thought
Reason
Scamming Yourself And
Illusion Of Fact
Scientific Funding, Science And Religion
Slave
Traders
Solar Flares From The Sun
Southerners And Race
Relations
Spiritual Resistance, Activism And The Law
The
American Dream And Progress
The Good Life
The Human Brain
The
Hypocrisy Of Activism
The Myth Of Sharing Public Vs. Private
The
Rhetoric Of Sophists
Theories Of Knowledge
Therapy For The
Soul
Thinking In The Past
Those Who Rant And Rave
Truth In
America
TV Media-speak , TV Images & Affluenza
Waiting For
Pay Phones And Parking Spaces
Why We May Never Win The War On
Aids
Your Money Or Your Life
PRODUCT SAFETY
Air Cleaning Devices
Builders'
Power Nail Guns
Chemical-laden Cigarette Tobacco
Dangerous
Aerosol Insecticide Foggers
Defective Running Shoes
Dryer
Appliance Fires
Electric Garage Door
Farm Raised Catfish From
China
Fire Hazard Wood Stain Products
Furniture Fires
Hair
Dyes With Lead Contents
Home Mini-blinds And Ozone
Generators
Ionizing Air Cleaners
Microwave Oven
Explosions
Motorized Snow Shovels
No Product Lasts Forever .So
When Do You Toss It Out?
Poisonous Gas Heat
Product Lifetime
Guarantees and Product Safety Standards
Product Safety
Recalls
Sodium-free Bottled Water
Store-bought
Sunglasses
Toxins In Plastics
RELIGION: QUESTIONABLE RELIGIOUS MINISTRIES
FINANCIAL PRACTICES
Catholic Priests And The Church
The Devil
At Work
Sex Abuse And Religious Clergy
RESTAURANTS AND FAST FOOD
Cheese, Cheeseburgers, And Shakes
Contaminated
Restaurant Ice Cubes and More
Dining Out Safely At
Restaurants
Fast Food Restaurant Contamination
Fast Food
Restaurant Cooking Oils
Restaurant And Bar Food Deceptions
Free
Pizza Delivery
Heart-clogging Deli Sandwiches
Restaurant Food
Preparation And Fat
Restaurant Lite Menu
SECURITY AND TERRORISM
401K Pension Funds Aiding Terrorists
Airline
Baggage
Airport Security Personnel Felons, Criminals & Illegal
Immigrants
America's Underground Tunnel Terror
Bacteria
Warfare
British, U.S., & French Terrorists
Coupon-clipping
Terrorists
Fake American Marriages Sponsor Terror
Homeland
Security Terror Pitfalls
Martyr Suicide Bombers
Neighborhood
Gang Recruiting And The U.S. Military
Nuclear Terrorists
Park
Rangers And Terrorists
Russian Weapons Of Mass Destruction
Terror
On The High Seas
Terrorist Underground Banking
Terrorists &
U.S. Chemical Plant Security
Terrorists Hidden Internet
Messages
Terrorists Smuggling Nukes
Terrorists' Stinger
Missiles In America
Terrorists and Nuclear Reactors on College
Campuses
The "Other" Terrorism
The Perfect Terrorist
Nuclear Bomb
U.S. Port And Federal Building Terrorism
SOCIETY AND CULTURE
The Alphabet
America:
The Number One Consumer
American Commercial Consumer Culture
Drug
Culture In America
Easy Way to Catch Spouse going to Topless Bars
and Strip-Clubs
Ecocide
Ecology-shock And Media-shock
Free
Speech For Sale In America
Negotiate For Everything
New Global
Network And Oppositional Culture
Privacy Issues
Pit Bull Dog
Fighting Sport, Human Gladiators And Now Cannibalism
Society And
Social Will
The New Age Of Faith In Science
The Year 3000
The
True Cost Of Consumer Culture
Violence In The Media
Western
Logic And "Fuzzy" Eastern Logic
SPORTS
Collegiate Wrestling
Doping In Olympic
Sports
Golf Equipment Used By The Pros
Professional Wrestling
Secrets
Professional Ballplayer Salary Caps
Sick And Dying
Soccer Players
Tax Dollars And Professional Sports Teams
The
Doping Of Amateur And Pro Sports
STATISTICS AND STUDIES
Averages - The
Misleading Statistic
Clinical Study Results for Product and
Services Claims
False Random Samples
Gene Patenting
Government
Consumer Confidence Index
Human Guinea Pigs And Researchers
Humans
Used As Research Guinea Pigs
Psychological Research
Studies
Round-off Syndrome Research Statistics
Scientific
Publishing
Secret Statistical Language
Statistical Truth
Test
Statistics Lie
Tobacco Industry Payoffs
SURGERY
Antibiotics before surgery and Drug resistant
infection
Doctors Office Surgical Anesthesiology
Fake Medical
Licenses And Safer Out-patient Surgical Procedures
Hair
Transplants
Harmful Hysterectomies
Leaking Silicone Breast
Implants
Summertime Hospital Surgery
Surgery Nightmares And
Secrets
Surgery Seminars And Medical Licenses
Surgical
Awareness
Surgical Fires
Unnecessary Back Surgery
Unnecessary
Surgeries
THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY
Beauty Contests
Cosmetic Plastic Surgery
Pitfalls
Cosmetics And Hair Care
Dandruff Shampoos
Discount
Cosmetic Surgery
Moisturizers Soaps Wrinkle Removers
Nail Salon
Infections
Nail Salons
Saline Breast Implants
Tan
Naked
Tattoos, Nose Piercing, And Body Piercing
Thermal
Reconditioning (TR) Hair
UVA and UBA Protection Sunscreens
Women's
Cellulite Products and Services
THE WORKPLACE
401k Company Pension Plans
Car Washes And
Immigrant Workers
City Employee Injury Claims
Company Email And
Voice Mail
Company Pension Risks Or Rip-offs
Convenience Store
Employee Security
Employee Rights
Employee Second
Income
Employer Mental Health Benefits
Employment
Interviews
Exotic Job Offers In Exotic Locales
Illegal
Immigrant Subcontract Workers
Job Finding In The Newspaper
Classifieds
Overseas Job Opportunities
Retirement
"Cheats"
Salespeople And Their Managers
Sick
Buildings
Surveillance In The Workplace
The Myth Of Outsourcing
Labor
Workplace Survival And The Government
Your First Name
Determines Your Success
Your Job Depends On Your Credit Rating!
TRAVEL AND RECREATION
All-inclusive Cruise Line Packages
Cruise Line
Crime And Health Care
Cruise Ship Detours
Cruise Ship
Fires
Hotel and Motel Electronic Door Key Identity Theft
Hotel
Guests Getting Hit For High Extra Fees
New Ways to Gouge Hotel
Guests
Parasailing Tourists
The Advertised "Hype" on
Golf Balls
Tourist Thieves
Tour Operators And Tour Bus
Drivers
Travel Protection And Cancellation Insurance
Travel To
China And Korea
Two-stroke Jet Ski And Outboard Engines
Unsafe
Charter Buses
Vacation Packages Hotel Rooms Cruises
Water Jet
Skis And White Water Rafting
Dedicated
to the American public....
not knowing is what makes the American
public the American public!
Advertising
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Ad-nauseam
Advertising has ascended to a position in American culture and society as the most pervasive and powerful influence. Who knows, before long everything in America may have a sponsor's logo attached to it, even the flag of the United States!
No one really seems to care anymore because consumers have become so conditioned to it all that hardly anyone even notices anymore! Most every object and environment these days carries advertising or some form of it and most every moment of time is calibrated by advertising now and will be even more so in the future!
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ADCULT USA: THE TRIUMPH OF ADVERTISING IN AMERICAN CULTURE BY J. TWITCHELL
Advertised Brand Wars
Consumers often buy the highly promoted, brand name product "on sale". Other brands may be just as good and even cheaper but consumers may not find them easily because the most heavily advertised brands buy and thus dominate most retailers' high traffic shelf space and display areas!
If other brands cost less but cannot afford high traffic shelf space, many consmers may tend to assume the heavily promoted brand is the "better deal". Smaller competitors may end up getting driven further and further out of the competition!
Critics charge that "shelf space" may be going to the highest bidder instead of exclusively only going to the brands consumers want more of! Every retailer, from bookstores to grocery stores, has the opportunity to charge product sellers a fee for shelf space.
Consequently, entrepreneurs with new, better, less costly, innovative products may get shut out of available shelf space due to not being able to afford expensive shelf space fees, called "slotting fees". Guess who really ends up paying these fees? Consumers, of course, by way of higher and higher product prices!
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ABC-TV 20/20 11/10/95
Advertised No Payments Til Next Year
This advertised sales gimmick may actually mean that the specific details of this particular offer may be so unattractive that the merchant expects that customers will "cave-in" to the salesperson's "switch pitch" switching potential customers away from the advertised offer and into the deal or sale the merchant REALLY wants to sell most!
These type advertised offers are most often used to try and create more store traffic to get potential unsuspecting customers in the door who in turn would get grossly overcharged for the merchandise if they opt for the "no payments 'til next year" deal versus if they were to buy the same or similar merchandise today!
If this is not the case the "no payments 'til next year" sales gimmick may actually have so many "strings" attached or undesirable conditions attached to the advertised offer to make it not so desirable to the potential customer so, again, the salesperson will have an easier time to "switch" the customer into the deal or merchandise the salesperson needs to sell most!
Advertised Product "Undersizing"
Undersizing is when a product package and price stay about the same but the content size or weight DECREASES without consumers really realizing it. Of course, this can result in windfall profits for the product manufacturer.
Advertised "Puffery"
"Puffery" is the gross exaggeration about the abilities of a product that consumers should neither take seriously nor believe according to advertisers! For example, this is when a product package or signage promotes one thing yet the small, fine print elsewhere tells the real story like true ingredients or conditions the consumer has to understand upon purchase of the product.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: CONSUMER REPORTS MAGAZINE AUGUST 1995
Advertised Test Results To Prove Claims
Test results may be more rhetorical and persuasive than accurate! For example, a product advertised as "healthy", due to some magical test results, may be questionable because there is no real legal definition of the term "healthy" used in advertisements, consequently most any product may possibly be found to be healthy by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) standards!
Study results, clinical test results even taste test results may be used to support certain claims in ads yet may skirt real science altogether! Despite heavy FTC rules and regulations, any test results may lead to unsubstantiated exaggeration by advertisers who may rarely ever get caught exaggerating or even policed for that matter!
An ad may claim a product has been extensively tested using sound, scientific methods and procedures while upholding only the highest standards, yet later, these same claims may be proven to be deceptive. However, possibly not before the advertiser has raked in huges profits, then and only then will the advertiser be asked by the FTC or voluntarily change the ad's copy and deceptive claims. Oftentimes it takes years for the FTC to catch up to advertisers using misleading claims especially when consumer health and safety issues are not possibly being compromised by the advertiser!
For example, a high fiber, low fat cereal may claim to possibly contribute to reducing the risk of some cancer and or heart disease, but what is NOT revealed is it also may possibly NOT reduce any risks of
cancer and/or heart disease! Consequently, you could make this same claim about many food substances that are known NOT to possibly contribute to cancer and/or heart disease!
As long as the advertiser does not link any of an ad's claims to a scientific study or test results the advertiser may NOT have to prove an ad's claims to anyone by FTC standards!
For example, if one paper towel claims to absorb more than others it may simply be bigger in size so, of course, it will likely absorb more! Or if 4 out of 5 doctors, dentists or any professionals, that actually work for and get paid by an advertiser, say they recommend a certain product but only 5 doctors were even surveyed then it is a fair claim by FTC standards to claim that 4 out of 5 doctors recommend this product! If these same professionals endorse an advertiser's test result claims then an advertisement can convincingly state that 4 out of 5 professionals recommend a certain product. Unfortunately, in "good" science no statistically valid scientific conclusion can ever be drawn from a small survey of 5 professionals especially when the ad insinuates that 4 out of 5 professionals EVERYWHERE are made out to seem to be recommending a certain product by the way the advertisement's copy is written!
Blind taste testing is not much better. To claim that more people prefer a certain brand only takes a small fraction over 50% to be able to get away with claiming that MORE people prefer some brand over some other. Also, taste testing may be as accurate as coin flipping! Many folks find out they do not know their taste buds as well as they "think" they do! Advertisement "Dramatized" Testimonials
Some advertisements for products and services contain testimonials from so-called "satisfied" customers and/or users of the product. However, the ads may carry some hard- to-read, hard-to-find, hardly even noticeable, small, fine print somewhere on the ad stating "dramatization" or "testimonials dramatized".
Nationally advertised, over-the-counter or doctor prescribed products and services have been known to "re-create" so-called satisfied customer testimonials by hiring professional paid actors to re-enact the satisfied customers! This is legal just so long as you put or "hide" somewhere in the ad that the paid actor is actually a "dramatization", meaning re- creation, of the so-called real life satisfied customer testimonial. The problem is no one ever really knows if the satisfied customer testimonial is legitimate, for-real or even exists at all. The product advertisers essentially police themselves when it comes to what is said and shown in their advertisements.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: CONSUMER REPORTS MAGAZINE AUGUST 1998
Advertising Agencies & Audience Testimonials
Some advertising agencies may be notorious "double-billers" and thus have a license to steal. An agency may negotiate a lower ad cost for his client advertiser from certain media, like radio and TV stations, but the ad agency may not pass the savings on to their client advertisers who pay the advertising bills in the first place, and instead the ad agency unethically, but not illegally, may pocket the windfall profits he overcharges the client advertisers!
For example, the ad agency may "negotiate" a $1000 cost per TV or radio spot for his client advertiser but instead may bill the client advertiser $2000 for the exact same spot which is what the TV or radio station may typically charge for the exact same spot on its published advertising rate card! The ad agency keeps the $1000 he overcharges his client advertiser plus keeps the 15%, or $150, on every $1000 worth of radio and/or TV spots he sells his client advertiser which is the typical commission earned on the spots he sells his client advertisers when recommending which radio and TV stations to buy commercial airtime on! This can all add up to windfall profits for the ad agency since agencies may buy hundreds of spots at a time for their client advertisers and many agencies have 20 to 40 client advertisers or more!
Client advertisers using ad agencies should always 'question "ad agency generated invoices" for commercial media advertising space in newspapers or radio and TV commercial airtime. Always demand to see the "media generated invoices" that are routinely sent out by the specific media being bought for client advertisers. These media generated invoices are the ONLY invoices that client advertisers can trust!
Is it no wonder why advertising is one of the most profitable industries with the least amount of overhead expense ranking right up there with the insurance industry in being able to potentially rake in huge profits? Also, ad agencies may even end up wasting 1/2 of their client advertisers' advertising budgets but no one, including the client advertiser, can ever really figure out which half of their ad budget is being wasted!
Advertising salespeople working for radio and TV stations throw around their station audience ratings and statistics like they are gospel. The ratings are used to extract as much advertising money as possible from client advertisers. However, these same radio and TV station sales managers turn right around and may complain about how the audience ratings' sampling procedures are unfair and based on "biased" statistical collection procedures.
Radio and TV ratings may attempt to measure audience size and demographic make-up, but may bear no relationship to actually who will see, hear or respond to the ads which is all the client advertisers really care about anyway!
By the time the radio and TV station audience ratings gets published of who is listening to or watching which broadcast stations or cable TV networks, like many statistics used by many industries, these statistics, once published, may already be outdated, invalid, obsolete and unreliable! Consequently, buying radio and TV advertising airtime based solely on so-called audience ratings is like "walking backwards into the future" when planning an advertising budget and campaign. Forecasting the public's fickle entertainment habits is like relying on the "fickle finger of fate".
To produce, perform and sell advertising print space and/or radio and TV spots to client advertisers day in and day out 365 days a year requires one to be able to "lie while smiling" even though most advertising salespeople may not like to admit it.
Advertising Agencies & Audience Ratings
Satisfied customers may not create as much profit potential as unsatisfied ones in the advertising jungle! Why? Advertisements reinforce insecurity in consumers to make us feel like we are never free of self-consciousness, dissatisfaction, insecurity, desperation and unending absorption and needs to consume, consume, consume! Moreover, if we allow ourselves and our children to be influenced by advertising we are may never be free from the drive to seek an unattainable perfect appearance or sex appeal.
This vanity may restrict freedom of the mind as we may become slaves to consumerism, which is just what advertisers wish for, instead of consumers becoming free from consumerism!
We are encouraged to measure men and women against these unattainable ideals. Ads suggest we can attain these ideals, as well as satisfaction, if only we buy, buy, buy! Remember, discontent feeds the fires of our commercial consumer culture.
If you buy into advertising with all its psychological mind games it covertly and overtly plays on consumers then there can rarely be consumer satisfaction which is why the marketplace is ever- changing and disposable, consequently keeping the marketplace forever profitable!
Being born and raised in a capitalist, consumer culture intense self-scrutiny becomes automatic as does feelings of low self-esteem, lost self-regard and limited personal horizons, not to mention the
need for self-imposed starvation.
Too many of us unceasingly compare our own unimproved reality to the magazine models' "airbrushed perfection" who then offer to sell us "perfection for a price" through surgery, cosmetics, weight loss plans and so forth.
This process may be a deliberate marketing scheme perpetuated on potentially the most emotionally vulnerable segment of the public....women and young girls! Many ads are seemingly created to help make sure all men and women remain self-conscious, dissatisfied and discontented, with women being viewed by advertisers as the weakest, most vulnerable link in the advertising "food" chain.
Even the pervasive awareness of "cellulite" was said to be put forth and promoted unceasingly by the women's magazine industry in the early 1970's to possibly add insecurity to women's lives which will require an endless line of beauty and exercise products, treatments and services that women will be easily persuaded to buy in order to help "fix" themselves! Yet this may just be another example of how image and insecurity may possibly be created.
However, REAL satisfaction is to be liberated from the "desire to desire". Why desire to be bought and sold?
If we simply laugh at the advertisements that come before us helps insure that the advertiser's persuasive gimmickry CANNOT work its potentially costly magic. Consequently, consumers may be less likely to buy into advertisers' propositions of persuasion that constantly bombard us.
Ads potentially create idols, possibly demonic by nature, as well as create the myth of perfection. Women in particular may tend to become obsessed more easily compared to men concerning their appearance....some say even "possessed!"
Why are maybe 9 out of 10 women dissatisfied with some part of their anatomy? The women's magazine industry, propped up by the beauty and cosmetics industry, may be the responsible beasts with all their persuasive advertising and magazine articles being the ammunition used to rule women's minds and emotions!
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ADBUSTERS MAGAZINE SPRING 1996
Advertising Creates Unattainable Ideals
It is crooked as a dog's hind leg! Ad logic is call "pecuniary logic" meaning the advertisement's words or copy, headlines and claims are stated as though they are true and/or factual but they are not really meant to be believed!
The goal of advertising is to grab your attention just long enough to try and convince you to spend, consume, try something, accept something, and the bottom line is to extract money from you at some point in time, preferably sooner than later!
Advertising copywriters are especially good at leaving out crucial information which if had been known by you, the consumer, would too often make the advertiser's claims virtually meaningless!
Advertising Logic
You would like to think advertising people are "hip", young-minded, rebellious geniuses working at the cutting edge of American culture. However, many of those who make this career choice are not always proud of their chosen career and some of the more "thinking" individuals in advertising are troubled by the ethical neutrality of the business of advertising. Consumers should be demanding to know why the advertising industry shamelessly promotes endless, meaningless, unnecessary consumptive behavior as well as "killer" products, all of which too often also happen to be targeted toward children!
Even advertising associations and consumer advocacy magazines have not even held the industry accountable. For a clear conscience, should advertising people only work for advertisers whose products you would gladly have your own children consume? Advertising people should maybe ask themselves, "Do I really want to spend the best years of my life urging people to consume questionable products or do I prefer to "sell-out" for the almighty dollar?"
Too many advertising people may justify their job of advertising questionable products and services by claiming that it is the government's role to determine which products and services should or should not be advertised. As long as the products or services are legal, it is the advertising agencies' responsibility to do the best job possible to advertise its clients' products and services.
There is something ethically wrong with this statement but so is the fact that there is some medical researcher somewhere earning maybe $35,000 a year searching for medical cures and new medicines while the so-called creative advertising person conjuring up slogans like, "Where's the beef?" or "It's bubblicious!" is sitting pretty somewhere making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year!
Can those working in the advertising business even be ethically responsible and morally benevolent considering all the pressures inherent in a capitalist society and the advertising industry itself? Advertising agencies are pressured to try and keep advertisers advertising no matter what or advertising people may lose their jobs. With all the inherent pressures in the advertising industry, the demands, deadlines, politics and so forth, can there ever really be much room for ethical decisionmaking? So is it any wonder that in public opinion surveys for credibility and ethical behavior that advertising people rank at the bottom of the rankings along with attorneys, used car salespeople, slumlords and child labor sweatshop owner/operators?
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ADBUSTERS MAGAZINE WINTER 1997
You would like to think advertising people are "hip", young-minded, rebellious geniuses working at the cutting edge of American culture. However, many of those who make this career choice are not always proud of their chosen career and some of the more "thinking" individuals in advertising are troubled by the ethical neutrality of the business of advertising. Consumers should be demanding to know why the advertising industry shamelessly promotes endless, meaningless, unnecessary consumptive behavior as well as "killer" products, all of which too often also happen to be targeted toward children!
Even advertising associations and consumer advocacy magazines have not even held the industry accountable. For a clear conscience, should advertising people only work for advertisers whose products you would gladly have your own children consume? Advertising people should maybe ask themselves, "Do I really want to spend the best years of my life urging people to consume questionable products or do I prefer to "sell-out" for the almighty dollar?"
Too many advertising people may justify their job of advertising questionable products and services by claiming that it is the government's role to determine which products and services should or should not be advertised. As long as the products or services are legal, it is the advertising agencies' responsibility to do the best job possible to advertise its clients' products and services.
There is something ethically wrong with this statement but so is the fact that there is some medical researcher somewhere earning maybe $35,000 a year searching for medical cures and new medicines while the so-called creative advertising person conjuring up slogans like, "Where's the beef?" or "It's bubblicious!" is sitting pretty somewhere making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year!
Can those working in the advertising business even be ethically responsible and morally benevolent considering all the pressures inherent in a capitalist society and the advertising industry itself? Advertising agencies are pressured to try and keep advertisers advertising no matter what or advertising people may lose their jobs. With all the inherent pressures in the advertising industry, the demands, deadlines, politics and so forth, can there ever really be much room for ethical decisionmaking? So is it any wonder that in public opinion surveys for credibility and ethical behavior that advertising people rank at the bottom of the rankings along with attorneys, used car salespeople, slumlords and child labor sweatshop owner/operators?
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ADBUSTERS MAGAZINE WINTER 1997
Advertising Symbolism
We live by symbols and even die by symbols as the history of cigarette advertising has revealed to many of us. This is why "culture jamming" may be such a vital exercise for activists to help ensure that the consuming public becomes aware of the potential consequences of its consumptive buying behaviors. When "meaning" must be found in "marketing images" at the expense of rational, unemotional thought a not-so-good product's "meaning" can be re-created into a deceptively pleasing image by the advertiser's marketers to help ensure that the public stays confused about its true meaning!
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: ADBUSTERS MAGAZINE FALL 1997
"Puffery" used in advertising is exaggeration to some of us but just plain lies to the rest of us! If an ad's claims cannot be substantiated or backed up with scientifically proven valid and reliable research results and/or statistics or numbers then an ad's claims may be suspect and everything else in between substantiated claims and unsubstantiated claims is called advertising "puffery" and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) generally may allow it to go on forever unless they receive numerous complaints from consumers or competitors selling the same or similar products and services.
Legitimizing ad "puffery" opens the door to subterfuge, positive misstatements, innuendo, subtle half- truths and omissions. The benefits of lying in advertising and the resulting profits derived from being able to get away with using unsubstantiated claims in ads far outweigh any risks of getting in trouble with the FTC.
Because of the large volume of falsehoods or lies that dominate the field of advertising the FTC only seems to be able to focus on the most blatant offenders of unsubstantiated ad claims and lies while most "puffery", trickery and deceit too often go unchallenged which is why in America is it always "buyer beware!"
Instead of publicizing the awards for the year's "best" ads, why not publicize the year's most "misleading" ads? However, the media's primary source of income is advertising so never expect them to bite the hand that feeds them!
For example, the TV news networks pick on the tobacco industry concerning consumer health issues even though food critics contend that consuming meat, dairy and processed food products may be more harmful than tobacco use. Is the news media letting the meat and dairy industries get by without a constant barrage of criticism on health issues because tobacco is not allowed to advertise on TV anymore? Remember, the meat, dairy and processed food industries help keep the TV networks in business with their huge TV advertising expenditures!
Additionally, when you see "ready in seconds" promoted in big letters on a food product package or in an ad it may actually mean the product takes up to 600 to 800 seconds to cook which you may not find out about until you read the cooking instructions on the package label.Some ads even have the audacity to exclaim 200% savings! However, in reality you can never have more than 100% of anything at one time. Math abuse is common in ads to try and create more than there really is. Twisted logic and distortion of numbers are often used by advertisers, who are better known as practitioners of public persuasion.
Pictures of food are allowed to be deceptive just so the food looks good. Hamburgers are often photographed raw with only their edges and outside browned so they look big and fat then the burger is actually branded just to make it look like it just came off the grill.
A cooked turkey may be painted with oil to give it that mouthwatering, just-out-of-the-oven-look. Ice cream may actually be huge clumps of mashed potatoes because it will look richer and creamier than real ice cream and will not melt under the hot lights when taking hours shooting the pictures for the ice cream ad. Pictures of milk in ads may actually be melted ice cream because it looks creamier when photographed.
More and more advertising tricks are being devised to breakthrough a consumer's defensive layers. One trick is to get a well-paid audience and produce what looks like talk, news and entertainment shows and even sitcoms (situation comedies) which function as program length commercials! This tends to blur the line between commercial and non-commercial program content.
Since smoking continues to decrease in the U.S., more and more people are lighting up overseas! Why? Maybe it is because of marketing gimmicks which are allowed overseas but would be unheard of or banned in America! Today, most anything goes overseas when it comes to marketing American tobacco!
For example, you can get away with placing American cigarette-makers' logos inside traffic signal lights so that every time the light turns green the logo lights up! You can also use empty cigarette packs to get free passes to events, clubs or attractions. Cigarette advertisements overseas may even promise "the taste of freedom that's truly American!" Even the U.S. military overseas may be offered under priced cigarettes compared to prices found in America. It also just so happens that some of America's heaviest smokers are in the military! Remember, during World War II the U.S. military was given free cigarettes. Could this have been done to help ensure that soldiers would get "hooked", so to speak, so cigarette-makers would enjoy huge profits when soldiers came home and had to start buying American tobacco products.
Just because the U.S. Congress is trying to keep tobacco-related diseases from spreading at home is no reason for tobacco companies to keep these diseases from spreading worldwide!
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: FT. LAUDERDALE SUN SENTINEL NEWSPAPER 4/5/98
As-Seen-On-TV & Not-Sold-In-Stores Advertised Sales Pitches
Unlike days gone by when a TV ad stated the above phrase, it REALLY meant the product is not sold in stores, instead, these days this sales pitch most likely means, Soon to be in stores everywhere! Today, the integrity of the as seen on TV, not sold in stores statement has been diluted because if a product sells well on TV, you will likely eventually see it in retail stores and quite possibly at a reduced price compared to what it costs when responding and purchasing it off the TV. So why immediately respond to the ad you see on TV and pay the sometimes costly shipping and handling charges when quite possibly, soon you may find the product, or something similar, in a store for less?
In addition, if a product advertised exclusively on TV does NOT end up in retail stores, possibly the product may have been a disappointment to consumers who did purchase it off the TV and the product may not be as beneficial as the TV ad portrayed the product to be and not perceived by consumers to be worth the TV advertisements asking price!
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: DIRECT RESPONSE TV MAGAZINE DECEMBER 1996
A product being sold for $19.95 is usually worth no more than $5-$6 wholesale. However, all the ceaseless superlatives used to describe products being hawked on TV you would think they were worth a lot more.
The secret of why products sell so well on TV may be based in neuroscience! This means a carefully scripted TV commercial or 30 minute infomercial can actually pump up dopamine levels in a consumer's brain basically taking viewers on a psychological roller-coaster ride.
The ride starts with a problem you may not have known you even had which is then dramatized followed by a fantastic, easy solution then a series of even more amazing product benefits, bonuses and giveaways. All this leads to a thrilling unbelievably low price. After this wild psychological ride it takes the viewer's dopamine levels in the brain approximately five minutes to drop back to normal levels. This is why TV commercials and infomercials most often ask the viewer to respond "right now" or in the next three minutes if the viewer expects to reap all the extras of the advertised offer.
Critics contend that maybe half of all 30 minute infomercial products actually deliver on their promise, maybe 30% of the products advertised actually do what they say they do but may be costly and the rest of the products advertised may be nothing more than overpriced junk!
Beware of all the hype! For example, if a product promises to "hold 150 pounds in weight" may actually only hold 50 pounds if the product comes in a package of three! Do you understand the logic here?
Products that promise to "chop, slice and dice" may not always do so. Products that promise to eliminate grease and residue on cookware may be overpriced compared to simple soaking cookware overnight in hot water with dishwashing liquid.
If the TV ad promises a $40 value then gives you a second identical product free then the real value of the product is no more than $20. Beware of buying additional products, accessories and refills "before" you know whether the product even works or not.
More times than not you can find the same product advertised on TV these days already being sold in the big box deep discount stores like Walmart or Walgreens for the same price you see advertised on TV but without having to pay for shipping or handling.
If a product promises "no mess" this does not mean absolutely no mess! If a product is supposedly "ultra-soft, thick and luxurious" maybe expect some surprises like the fabric possibly starting to disintegrate or fall apart after a few wash cycles in the washing machine. Products that promise "to loosen stubborn ground-in dirt" do not expect it to perform in every conceivable situation. If a product promises "no more scrubbing" it may only do a fair job in too many instances. If a product promises to "flatten and firm you stomach in just weeks" and "takes just minutes a day" to do so do not forget it also always comes with a nutrition plan of healthy eating noted in the small fine print to accomplish the fantastic results. Too many exercise gimmicks and gadgets do no more than a brisk walk would accomplish and the nutrition plan is so strict that doing the nutrition plan alone and you would accomplish the desired fantastic results without even using the exercise gimmick or gadget, so why even buy the device?
If a product promises to "blast through debris, clogs and sludge" do not expect it to work perfectly on all debris, clogs or sludge! If a product promises to perform "regardless of conditions" do not always expect it to perform for very long. If a clean up type product claims to "hold 20 times its weight in liquid" this does not mean all types of liquids, consequently you may find a good sponge to work just as well.
If a product promises to "sculpt your entire body in just minutes a day" and "build lean ripped muscle"
and "develop a tight sexy body" the time it takes to burn even one pound of fat may actually take weeks! If a product promises that it can "support hundreds of pounds" or "has the strength to pull a fully loaded 18-wheeler" it may do so but possibly so can other products for less cost.
If a product promises to "prolong the life of fruits and vegetables" if you store them in the "revolutionary" advertised storage bag you may find just as satisfying results using much less costly, typical food-storage bags.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: CONSUMER REPORTS MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2010
As-Seen-On-TV Real Estate Buying Infomercial Shows
When you see a TV show touting the idea of buying beautiful homes for just a few hundred or few thousand dollars what you do not know is the home was possibly purchased for pennies on the dollar when it was condemned. What the TV show does not tell you is whoever bought it for pennies on the dollar had to put up to $100,000 into the condemned home just to fix it up and make it look like the beautiful home you see being touted on TV as being bought for pennies on the dollar!
Furthermore, once you purchase the "buying real estate real cheap" program after viewing the TV show, what they also do not tell you is you may likely get a call from someone who works in association with the TV show and they will try to sell you on more personalized lessons of how to buy real estate real cheap, personalized lessons which could cost you thousands of dollars! Then if you fall for this angle someone may then call you and try to sell you some low priced but, in reality, overpriced real estate which will seem to be offered at a pretty cheap price, as far as you can tell but, in actuality, may be overpriced by up to 500% of its real market value!
As-Seen-On-TV Stain Removal Products
The products advertised on TV which remove stains may lighten the stains but may the stains may not completely go away as portrayed in the TV advertisement. What they may not tell you is the product does not always work on all stains and the results you get on your own at home may vary widely compared to the demonstration you saw advertised on TV.
Baldness Remedies, Transplants & Color
Spray paint baldness remedies do not advertise that if you get caught in the rain the spray-on dye, you sprayed on your balding scalp to make it look like you have more hair than you really do, may actually come streaking down your face when wet! The spray-on stuff may also leave unsightly brown spots wherever you rest your head. Remember, most everything in advertisements and on TV tends to look better in the ads than it does when viewed up close and in person! This includes cover-up baldness remedies including hair pieces and bad hair transplants.
A "botched" or bad hair transplant can still cost you up to $25,000 and result in "Barbie- doll" hair that seems unnaturally stiff, unmanageable, hard to style, appears artificial- looking and/or shows a visibly twisted hairline. Selecting a truly qualified hair transplant doctor is the most critical task.
Some hair transplant doctors should possibly not even be allowed to advertise they perform hair transplantation procedures. Some of these doctors claim they can repair or correct bad hair transplants yet so-called corrective transplants may also be "botched". For the victims of "botches" everyday becomes a bad hair day. If a hair transplant or repair calls attention to itself it may be considered a bad hair transplant. State regulations for quality control may have yet to catch up with the hair transplant industry. Most any incompetent doctor, from podiatrists to dentists, can get into this very lucrative "cash cow" business and take a weekend "crash course" then start advertising for hair transplant clients! No state certification or long term training is required! Furthermore, do not always rely on the "before and after" pictures supplied by the doctors. For one thing they may not even be