Word: snake-oil
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...this country great, or what? Where else could a group of enterprising shills and snake-oil salesmen get together to peddle their wares? This expo was a holistic sort of con game, where remedies were pitched to the self-absorbed, eager but aging yuppies forever seeking longevity. I'm sure H.L. Mencken would agree that the species Boobus Americanus still flourishes. MICHAEL N. CANTWELL Tampa...
What distinguishes Dr. Weil from the snake-oil charlatans is the credibility he has earned by using the best that both traditional and alternative medicine have to offer. As a pediatrician trained more traditionally, I find extreme behavior on both sides--from the scientifically trained M.D. who treats every runny nose with an antibiotic to the naturopathically trained chiropractor who battles against immunization, the best preventive medicine that science has given us. The quality of health care will improve as more middle-ground physicians are trained and enter practice. RONALD S. GRANT, M.D. Tucson, Ariz...
...Dole used to be a competent moderate. How did the G.O.P. transform him into a tax-cutting, budget-busting snake-oil salesman?" JAMES E. FREDETTE San Marcos, California...
...gets Turek roiled is that many of these sensational claims are being made by doctors and scientists who ought to know better. So last week he took aim at those colleagues in the research journal Nature. "There has always been, and probably always will be, public enthusiasm for quick snake-oil cures to complex problems," Turek wrote. But some melatonin researchers, he added, have stepped over "the truth-in-advertisement line by exaggerating the significance of a few selected studies to the point where the public receives an unbalanced and potentially dangerous view of the present state of knowledge." Singled...
Despite the showboating and snake-oil promises, the Zhirinovsky whirlwind offered something new for the people of Shchelkovo. His listeners seemed genuinely charmed by his sense of humor, his flair for dramatic gestures, his bravado. This is, after all, the first time many of them had actually seen their elected representative, and the notion that he seemed to be taking an interest in their affairs clearly disarmed them...