John Oliver is simply brilliant. Not only does he have an uncanny ability to mix humor with serious social issues, but his videos can be so powerful they impact public policy at the national level.
Although the reforms to civil asset forfeiture announced by Eric Holder are entirely inadequate, it seems clear that his incredible video on the issue (highlighted in the post: “Common People Do Not Carry This Much U.S. Currency…” – This is How Police Justify Stealing American Citizens’ Money) played a role in influencing the national debate.
His latest video might be his best one yet. I haven’t watched anything this good in a while.
We learn many key statistics. From the disturbing fact that 70% of Americans take at least one prescription medication, to a marketing speech for Advair in which the speaker looks and sounds like a televangelist, to revelations that the Department of Justice filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Novartis for taking out doctors to Hooters in exchange for prescribing its drugs.
Watch the entire thing. Genius.
For related articles, see:
How Doctors Prescribing Meds Based on Drug Company Payoffs is Further Evidence of Systemic Failure
Fraud Alert: FDA Allowed Drugs with Fraudulent Testing to Remain on the Market
Deaths from Prescription Drugs Now Exceed Those Related to Cocaine and Heroin Combined
How a $1 Bag of Salt Water Becomes a $546 Bill at Hospitals
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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j oliver and j stewart are both really funny comedians. but their comedy should not be taken as informed comentary. it is misleading comentary.
the comedy is used to defuse people’s anger and make them laugh. usually mockery weakens power. in some cases, mockery can help reinforce power by pointing fingers at symptoms and non-causes .
in this case , the pharmaceutical marketing to doctors simply isn’t the problem. the problem is insurance companies tax funded and state funded business model funneling hundreds of billiions of tax dollars and deficit borrowed dollars to their industry.
the glaring ommission of this obvious fact , the primary cause of a situation is where the money COMES from , rather than the front line gate keepers, is so conspicuous as to really make one ask oneself wetherh john oliver and his network actually work FOR and are PAID BY OR PAID OFF —–of major pharma companies.
you cannot simply mistakenly be this stupid when doing a serious piece on the medical industry. it’s NOT an accident. thinking otherwise makes you a naive fool.
particularly when HBO is a network that is part of the media axis that supports pretty much every regressive new world order policy of enabling war, looting, and financial privatisation by wall street and others.
oliver is a funny guy and probably has no clue what he’s wrapped up in. he , like most entertainers, just wants to get paid.
Not to say that I agree with every one of their commentaries, Jon Stewart’s and John Oliver’s commentaries ARE mostly informed.
Your point is well-taken that comedic commentary about a serious problem can defuse people’s anger, weakening their resolve to do something about it. But when it is about an issue that few even know exists, such as Oliver’s commentary about civil asset forfeiture, it is a good thing. By design, Americans are so distracted by entertainment that they don’t even know these issues exist. So it takes a comedy show to push these issues into the public consciousness. Some of my friends are quite conservative, typically supportive of law enforcement. In their view, a cop wouldn’t confiscate property from a motorist unless it was warranted. One of them sent an email about Oliver’s piece on civil asset forfeiture to everyone.
“pharmaceutical marketing to doctors simply isn’t the problem. the problem is insurance companies tax funded and state funded business model funneling hundreds of billiions of tax dollars and deficit borrowed dollars to their industry.”
I’m not sure what “the” problem is that you’re talking about, but an over-medicated population IS a big problem. Not only does it waste money, but the health side effects adversely affect quality of life. And it leads to more medicating. All that is very expensive.
Health insurance companies’ windfall under Obamacare is a separate issue, but yes, it too is a big problem. Time will tell whether Stewart and/or Oliver comment on it.
I agree. Stewart, especially, I would accuse of being complicit in covering for the NWO. I stopped watching him a long time ago because he was suppressing truth about a lot of important issues. Well, television would probably not tolerate anything else, but my impression was that most of what he said represented his own biases. I am frankly weary of Hollywood elites (with notable exceptions) ridiculing Americans involved in the truth movement, and trying to marginalize anyone who does not hold a pro-NWO point of view.
My first listen to this comedian. Better than the other jokers about and he seems to speak English which is welcome. This video is good because it really hits home how the medical profession does NOT WORK!! Too many vested interests. Some good puns though.
the ignornant and completely brain dead are out there. simply because people who are half way engaged understand that the populatoin is mostly zombified, doesn’t mean that any ‘informative comedy’ is a good thing.
a little information can be a dangerous thing.
zombie mobs armed with a ‘little information’ provided by comedians on msm HBO and VIACOM ( comedy central)
are not ‘informed’ and ‘engaged’ in a good way.
democracy never FREED people, it is rule by the mob.
INFORMED AND ETHICAL PARTICIPATION BY PEOPLE WHO STEP UP is what is good.
half assed comedy doesn’t fix things, it makes things worse. i know that a lot people like seeing ‘zombies’ wake up. but you’re not waking them up mostly if you’re providing misinformed analysis.
DOCTORS AND PHARMA SALES PEOPLE ARE NOT THE PROBLEM.
they are a symptom of a system rigged to provide a steady stream of payments. this system is a legal system defined by law ( well before obamacare –please DO your homework) to provide hundreds of billions of dollars of payments for medicines.
if you want to have an intelligent discussion about this system, the question is to what extent is government money necessary to to directly pay for medicine into the pocket of drug companies.
if you cannot understand why doctors are in many ways VICTIMS of a large corporate institutional system that pays ‘sales reps’ whatever commission is necessary to get them to line up for a job to hawk a product whose sales are backed up by many billions in government guaranteed payments, then you’re not to interesting in actually learning about the issue.
yes, an overmedicated population is a problem, and a bankrupted citizenry totally impoverished by way of cartel style ‘socalist’ looting of the govermnent coffers to pay for ‘necessary’ medicines.
this is the big issue. not doctors enjoying free lunch and sales people being led by the dog collars they sign up for at drug company h.r. departments.