Suckers Born Every Minute
Here is some proof that the New York Times advertising department will accept ads for almost anything. Not long ago, I noted that the sports section featured ads for a firm touting human growth hormone and testosterone as panaceas on the same pages that columnists decried the use of these substances by professional athletes.
In Sunday's business section, where Times columnists do the good work of shining light onto all sorts of dodgy investment schemes comes this advertisement:
INVESTORS ARE
INVITED TO CONSIDER
Our Program of:
$2.75 billion to build 213 Unique Hospitals, and $0.54 billion to build 211 Invincibility Schools in 37 countries with highest income per capita.PROPOSED FINANCING TERMS: 15 Year Loan with 10% Interest.
I did not need to consider this "investment" very long—the ad welcomes investor to direct questions to three doctors. One of them is John Hagelin, who would answer questions "regarding Scientific Research validating the projects."
Right. John Hagelin ran for president three times under the Natural Law Party banner. And considering that the party is an offshoot of the Transcendental Meditation movement, getting 84,000 votes to cast a ballot in your favor is no mean feat. But asking investors to throw money at the idea that a "unified field-based approach" to medicine makes both the Natural Law Party and yogic flying look sane.
(I wonder how long it will take Hagelin and company to squeeze money out of dupes by emphasizing that they were featured in the New York Times.)
Labels: John Hagelin, Natural Law Party, stupid advertising tricks, unabashedness
