Only in America

I was up late working tonight and had the tv on. First I saw an infomercial for seminars for the National Grants Conference showing how to get government grants i.e. free money. Normally I would pay no attention and change the channel but former Congressman J.C. Watts was on the commercial and some guy who was a former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Of course my first thought was what is J.C. Watts doing in an infomercial? I thought he was a rising star in the Republican Party? So naturally I thought perhaps this commercial had some credibility. They hawk a seminar in your area which is “free” teaching you how to get “free money” from the government. Government is your friend and since you pay taxes, you deserve this money. Sounds intriguing. So I did a quick internet search and found out (no surprise) that at the seminar they try to entice you to buy a kit for $999 that tells you how to obtain these grants and loans. Of course they don’t mention that you probably won’t qualify for most of these and that the information is readily available for free from the Small Business Administraion and banks. In case you are interested in throwing away $1000 and a few hours of your life, here is their website.

When that commercial ended, on came another one with Tammy Faye (Bakker) of all people and some guy who looked really familiar hawking a book about natural cures. His name is Kevin Trudeau. This guy could sell you the Brooklyn Bridge even though you already know it’s not for sale. I was mesmerized by his technique and delivery. I again did an internet search on this guy and was amazed at what a slime ball he is. Check out this web page exposing all of his cons.

This is his image on Wikipedia. He looks familiar because according to this site:

Kevin Trudeau is the ultimate persuader. Not too long ago - before he became the world’s greatest marketer of natural cures - he used to be the world’s “foremost authority on memory improvement training.”* He claimed his methods could cure brain damage, increase reading speed beyond 10,000 words per minute, and develop photographic memory.*

I remember those memory commercials. He has also been to prison for fraud, been sued numerous times, and was issued an injunction by the FTC for fraudulent claims. In an agreement with the FTC, Trudeau agreed to pay a $2 million fine and was banned from participating in informercials except,

for truthful infomercials for informational publications. In addition, Trudeau cannot make disease or health benefits claims for any type of product, service, or program in any advertising, including print, radio, Internet, television, and direct mail solicitations, regardless of the format and duration.

Yet, there he was on tv tonight. How did he do it? Apparently this guy is very clever. He got in trouble with the FTC for claiming that coral calcium could treat and/or cure cancer. So instead of selling a supplement, he is now selling a book that promotes natural and herbal cures. He still makes outlandish claims about curing diseases but because it is in a book, he is protected by the First Amendment. My favorite journalist, John Stossel, totally destroys him in this video. It’s a must see. He bashes the pharmaceutical companies saying that are not interested in curing disease but only making money from drugs. Hmmm, the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn’t you say?

Technorati Tags infomercials, Kevin Trudeau, J.C. Watts, John Stossel, scam, con, snake oil