Mammon category archive
The Electronic Medicine Show 0
FBI arrests coronavirus snake oil salesman for wire fraud.
Natch, he was hawking his phony cures via videos on “social” media.
The Robber Barons Are Casing the Joint 0
At the Inky, Maria Panaritis explains.
The Art of the Con, Going Viral Dept. 0
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the epidemic of scams designed to feed on the fear of COVID-19. Here’s a bit about one of them; follow the link for the lengthy litany.
“It will seem legitimate to people who have heard in the news that those distributions might be coming,” said Jonathan Sasse, marketing executive at First Orion, an Arkansas company that builds scam protections for mobile-phone users. “And often times, where scammers are very successful is if they’re dealing with a too-good-to-be-true thing like an offer of funds in times of desperate financial conditions.”
As the saying goes, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
Senatorial Privilege 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice comments on what he calls the “COVID Four,” the four (so far) Senators who have been revealed to have sold shares of stocks coincident with receiving secret briefings about the coronavirus. A nugget (emphasis added):
The Vacuum, Going Viral Dept. 0
The San Francisco Chronicle’s John Diaz states what COVID-19 has made even more obvious, obvious at least to those outside the Fox News/AM talk radio bubble. A nugget (emphasis added):
The president of the United States has been trying to hoodwink us from the start as if we were just another group of suckers being pitched on one of his properties. This time, however, the Trumpian snake oil was at a severe cost to our health, our jobs and our 401(k) balances.
Follow the link for the rest.
Bait and Switch 0
What happens if you are ill and get unknowingly referred to an “out of network” health care provider?
Why, you get to shake the fee hand of the market.
The Disinformation Superhighway 0
At The Seattle Times, Ev Ehrlich recalls the optimism that accompanied the creation and early growth of the internet, the belief that it would become, in Al Gore’s words, the “information superhighway.” He argues that the reality is less than optimal, if not downright dystopian. A snippet (emphasis added):
Practice Precautions–Updated 0
He left one out: Scrub away whataboutism.
Aside:
We went out for Sunday breakfast at our usual haunt, then dropped by the near-by Aldi for some odds and ends. It’s good thing we weren’t shopping for toilet paper; the shelves were bare. Frankly, I don’t get it, I don’t get it at all.
In related news, I recommend this story about a hand sanitizer profiteer. His explanation of how he’s really really not price gouging, but rather is performing an essential public service, is just too self-serving darling for words!
Addendum, the Next Day:
Mr. Essential Public Service has chosen to donate his hoard of health supplies in the light of the less than favorable publicity.
(Misplet wrod correxted.)
The Medicine Show, One More Time 0
New York State has issued a cease and desist order to stop televangelist Jim Bakker from selling magic snake oil reputed to combat coronavirus.
Apparently, it’s been found to be a grift of God.
The Abandoned 0
Alternet reports on the growing incidence of deaths of working class American from suicide, alcoholism, and substance abuse and suggests that they are symptoms of a larger sense of despair from having been left behind abandoned by the economy, even as the rich get richer and richer. Here’s a bit; follow the link for the rest.
To make matters worse, Leonhardt and Thompson assert, the U.S. suffers from “by far the world’s most expensive health care system”— which “acts as a tax on workers” and “fails to keep many people healthy” either physically or mentally.
Health Care in a Health Scare 0
David discusses the financial implications facing individuals as regards coronavirus testing and treatment in our predatory for profit health care system.
How Stuff Works, Gypsy-Cabs-with-an-App Dept. 0
At NJ.com, Edward Escobar explains the con behind the gagged “gig” economy. A nugget: