Of course he did. Mr. Musk is now throttling (limiting the reach) of posts that refer to other social media platforms. As X becomes the laughing stock of the misguided museum, and users are streaming away from the dead bird, Mr. Musk is laughing with Rogan about their good fortune and their fortunes. If you think they care about you. If you think Spotify’s billionaire king is helping the music business. And if you think Trump would be good for the economy, the planet, the “America first” agenda…
Free speech is not the plan for Twitter.
Twitter was purchased as a direct lever to influence the 2024 elections. Worried about Russian interference? We’ve got billionaires in open view warping their platforms to help the GOP as it flounders with an ex-president who is going to jail for a long time. Not to mention, his co-conspirators. Let them all fry. But, if you’re still floundering on Musk’s rebranded sex app, X, at X.com, it might be time to take a break from the statusphere.
Leaving X and Facebook for August has been a great awakening for me. The time suck of not-social media has been amazing. I’m now looking at my consumption of The New York Times front page during the day, and my end-of-day treat of an MSNBC tv news injection. But, it’s not good for your brain to get all riled up about the economy, the dying planet, or the “real housewives” of anywhere. The media wants you riled up. The news media, on both sides, are not all good people. I’m bored with the guests on MSNBC. It’s always the same talking heads on Ari and Rachel. As CNN reboots itself to try and recover some market share, the cable news environment is hard.
If we could kill BIG PHARMA television ads that would be great. (a turn towards my real beef, today)
Like alcohol tv ads 10 years ago, pharma ads for the “new miracle drug” are poisonous. Sure, they are probably what’s keeping cable news, streaming cable, and streaming news alive. I counted and between the awful Balance of Nature ads (not big pharma, big vitamin grift) and pharma drugs for HIV, shingles, bipolar depression, and (panacea of all possible drug honey pots) weight loss. They can’t sell Ozembic “for weight loss” but they can claim “15% of users reported weight loss while using…” Now, the people who need Oz for the health diagnosis it was designed for diabetic blood sugar management, can’t get it because all of the overweight, or slightly overweight people want to inject themselves to get thin. They’ve created their own drug shortage by overselling “off-label” treatments.
That alone should be enough to kill pharma ads from our eyes. The harm these drugs do is calculated. If you know anything about medical trials they are not built to study the long-term impact of the drugs they are trying to bring to market. For the most part, these trials, use poor or homeless people to test reactivity and side effects. The studies can even offer housing while the trials are underway. So, a marginalized population with underlying mental and health issues are the guinea pigs we’re using to see if this new drug hurts people or makes them thinner and happier.
Trusting the pharma industry is like trusting the alcohol industry. They serve the same god: profit. And if you think the Sacklers are the only villains in this story, well, get your Google on.
Pharma is evil. They are not looking out for healthy solutions. In fact, they are making up reasons for using their drugs that are “novel.” It’s part of how they apply for new patents and trademarks. The novel use of a new anti-depressant requires some new “feature” that they can test (in flawed drug studies) and promote after FDA approval. Well, remember how Oxy made it through the system? Cash infusions. Much like what’s happening to all of the Supreme Court justices. Of course, they took the free trip, the free private jet ride, and the courtesy purchase of their mom’s home by an “interested party.”
If we don’t clean up our politics and lobbyist control of politics we’re going to roast ourselves just like the frog in ever heating frying pan. Our planet is on fire and we’re debating the safety of a drug that does horrible things to your body and metabolism so that you can drop those pesky 20 pounds. What we should be selling is not a pill of fruits and veggies. We need to be selling the health awareness and habits that will keep people off Ozembic for weight loss and more importantly diabetes.
Pharma wants to keep you sick and wants to keep you reaching for a pill rather than a lifestyle change. Losing weight is hard work. Most of us would rather take a pill and keep eating queso and drinking tequila. But that’s not how our bodies work. I’ve been doing an alcohol-free August and I’ve dropped 20 pounds. No injections of an off-label diabetic drug. I’m even lessening my risk of heart disease, stroke, and obesity. I’m just paying attention to what I eat and when I eat it. No drug. Just better food, better sleep, and better exercise. Rest. Repeat.
Pharma needs to leave our television influencers. Just like hard alcohol ads were banned, I’d say pharma-porn carries just the same risk that alcohol did back in the 90s. The application of toxic substances to make us feel or look better. Pharma is literally coming up with “novel” uses for old drugs. Giving them new names and new dancing mascots. And here’s the evil part of pharma marketing that doesn’t get much exposure to the harsh light of day. Pharma also builds the “patient community sites” that appear to be at arm’s length from the companies themselves, but it’s a ruse. Sure, they have MDs on the board. They may even carry articles (native ads) written by doctors talking about the safety of the drug.
I worked in that industry for about six months. I learned the evil from the inside.
Let’s take PHARMA to the proverbial woodshed and knock the crap out of their access to the American eyeballs they require to develop and market drugs to us for new and improved diseases and potential outcomes. Oh, and if you can understand the 30-second blurb of side effects and cautions in a tv ad, you’re better at listening than I am. The side effects suck, people. The side effects of vain people taking Ozembic are just starting to come out in the actual news, rather than some sponsored study by the manufacturers themselves.
Pharma Out of TV. POT. And Twitter X into the garbage bin of billionaire playtoys.
Speak out. Vote. Save yourself and the planet.
John McElhenney — let’s connect online
Facebook & LinkedIn & The Whole Parent
Please check out a few of my books on AMAZON.
Especially this one, about living a creative life of intention and joy. No mention of tv or pharma
