On Monday October 14 I attended what was advertised as a movie about homeopathy.  It was listed in the email that goes out to all staff, faculty and students at NUNM, the National University of Natural Medicine.  I was one of two staff present, the other one being there because she was required to for her job.

I attended this event because I am writing a book about homeopathy, or rather about the culture and psychology that surrounds it.  I am not a believer.  The people who at the event made the assumption that I was, and I made no effort to dissuade them.  I presume that NUNM hosts these events because Boiron donates money, but I could be wrong.

The man who greeted me at the event was the same man I had called to RSVP.  He was nice enough but he had terrible breath and I had to steel myself not to take several steps back whenever he spoke.  He also had a huge pot belly.  When I walked in the door he was telling his own conversion story, about how 30 years ago he'd been sick and had exhausted all the options given by conventional medicine.  Then he'd tried homeopathy and gotten better, and he had never looked back.  It is this kind of uncritical conversion story that gets repeated ad nauseum by homeopathy believers.  I believe they need to repeat it, to hear themselves repeating it, to maintain their belief.  His breath turned my stomach and his story gave me no reason to respect his critical thinking prowess, so I escaped as quickly as possible, but not before I learned that he is a rep for Boiron, one of apparently just two for the entire west coast.  The other rep was also present and made no better representation of the health that can be attained by way of homeopathy.  She engaged me in conversation for a little while, marketing her ND practice in PDX and eating M&M's one by one.  If this is the best Boiron can do for reps they are definitely going down.

They were giving away free pizza and the host had asked me on the telephone what my favorite kind of pizza was.  I answered jalapeno and anchovy, but when I got there my favorite was not.  Apparently the restaurant did not have anchovies and only jar jalapenos though fresh are easily available.  All but one of the huge stack of pizzas were gluten free, however.  I suppose they think that all naturopaths avoid gluten.

The talk that came before the movie was supposed to be a summary of the regulatory status of homeopathy in the US, but really it was an advertisement for Boiron.  The focus was on Boiron's efforts to influence the FDA's position, on a great personal connection that Boiron has in the FDA, and on how the FDA regs don't really stop the sale of homeopathy.  I was somewhat irritable because being in the supplement business I know a little bit about how the FDA has impacted OUR sales of homeopathics, and the Boiron rep was clearly ignorant of that situation.  We've discontinued all sales of LM's (compounded liquid homeopathics),  remedies made from DEA-regulated drugs (opium, etc), and nosodes (remedies made from diseased material, like medorrhinum).  These changes have been in response to shifts in the FDA's stance. 

There was also angry mention of the Australian analysis of everything known about homeopathy which resulted in them dropping it from their publicly funded healthcare program.  They decided it was not effective for treating any condition.  France and other countries have dropped homeopathy from public funding due to lack of evidence, but the speaker at this event insisted that the Australian assessment was biased and wrong and would be reversed.  Yeah, right.

I learned little from this presentation but I did eat some pizza.  It was OK.

More interesting than the update about regulation was the bit that they said about the "grant" that Boiron had provided to the CEDH (Center for Education and Development of Clinical Homeopathy) to start a "Clinical Homeopathy" program, with the subtitle "Integrate Homeopathy Into Your Daily Practice".  It isn't really a grant, it is an expenditure on a marketing effort intended to brainwash more people into believing.  The CEDH exists to separate the name Boiron from the "educational" program. 

In the first "module" of the 4-part educational program they have 22 students enrolled, most of whom are NUNM students.  This makes sense as a lot of people enter naturopathic school already sure about homeopathy and intending to use it.  It also makes sense because shifts in the ND curriculum have removed all five of the homeopathy classes that I was required to take, and instruction in homeopathy is supposed to be blended in with the subject matter in "blocks" that address organ systems one at a time.  According to the students the majority of professors are not teaching much, if any homeopathy, and yet homeopathy is still on the ND clinical board exams.  The students are panicked about the exams and seeking training in homeopathy outside of the NUNM ND curriculum.  Boiron and the CEDH are taking advantage of this situation to secure their future market.

After the talking they finally started the movie, a good hour after the email had said it would begin.  Entitled Magic Pills, the movie is another brainwashing effort along the lines of Just One Drop.  This one attempts to directly address all the complaints that skeptics have about homeopathy, talking about confirmation bias as a reason that scientists won't even consider homeopathy, and repeating the usual homeopathy hypnotic anchor of "it works" (kind of like "build a wall" for Trump).  They also expressed quite a bit of anger at moles such as myself who do not believe but show up to their events and practices wanting to gain information to undermine their efforts.

From my perspective Magic Pills was a weaker piece of brainwashing than Just One Drop but the believers in the scant audience were nodding along.  The use of the title was an effort to take one of the phrases used by skeptics and turn it into a hypnotic anchor for the believers.  I was keeping a tally of all the mentions of "it works", all the testimonials by lay people, medical professionals and PhD's, and all the conversion stories.  These are the standard approaches of homeopaths in getting people to believe.  In the future it might be worth tracking "magic pills" references.  Skeptics should be aware that believers may have been brainwashed to specifically resist the terms that they are using.  Repetition is one of the essential tools of hypnosis/brainwashing.  I had to leave before the end which could be have been more powerful than the anti-skeptic lead-in, but I confess I did not regret leaving.  I had to take a shower when I got home.

"If I seem unduly clear to you,
you must have misunderstood
what I said."
--Alan Greenspan,
quoted in Reason.com

You can’t escape that much of what we do in medicine doesn’t make patients better. We work in a system that is driven by perverse incentives: we get paid more for doing more to patients. It’s got to stop.
--Dr Steve Nissen

Of course the corporations with an interest in keeping Americans in the dark (and unconcerned) about what is going on spent 3x (or more) on very slick and convincing media to get that result. But we the people are not completely ignorant or apathetic. So we vote with our dollars. I have cut out several items from my regular shopping list, and am finding good alternatives. Being flexible gives us power. Our ability to BOYCOTT companies that resist labeling laws makes it possible for influence the market. Teach your family about this, and you increase your influence.

Quite a few of the manufacturers that oppose labeling GMOs also make items that are labeled “organic”. GMO food ingredients are mostly grains grown by large scale agricultural businesses that use millions of tons of herbicides and pesticides. "Organic" foods are supposed to be free of GMO ingredients. We can reduce our intake of toxic pesticides and herbicides by eating "organic" foods, however if these GMO supporters have brands labeled organic, we need to pick and choose in order to hit them in their pocketbooks the way we want to.

I just knew that "o" organics (at safeway) wasn't a brand I wanted to buy. I am disappointed to stop buying Larabars (I was in on that when it was still a small company). There are a few others that I would sometimes buy, so this list has influenced my grocery expenditures. I hope it does too.

A few brands and products to avoid: • PepsiCo: Naked Juice, Tostito's Organic, Tropicana Organic • Kraft: Boca Burgers and Back to Nature • Safeway:"O" Organics • Coca-Cola: Honest Tea, Odwalla • General Mills: Muir Glen, Cascadian Farm, Larabar (I’ve switched to Kind bars) • Con-Agra: Orville Redenbacher's Organic, Hunt's Organic, Lightlife, Alexia • Kellogg's: Kashi, Bear Naked, Morningstar Farms, Gardenburger • Smuckers: R.W. Knudsen, Santa Cruz Organic • Unilever: Ben & Jerry's • Dean Foods: Horizon, Silk, White Wave.

If you see something in that short list that you buy every time you go to the grocery store, maybe it is time to do a little research and figure out an alternative that suits you.

I think everybody
should get rich and famous
and do everything they ever dreamed of
so they can see
that it's not the answer.
--Jim Carrey as quoted in Forbes.com

I am participating in a mastermind group.
The purpose is to reprogram our thinking (conscious and subconscious) regarding money.
L defines "paradigm" as a set of habits that is like the elephant you are riding.
Draws the distinction between conscious and unconscious mind.
Linking sense of smell to feelings and deep memories..
"Money can't talk, but it can hear, call it and it will come."
Carry a $100 (or several) in your wallet, not to spend, just to have.
Homework: read chapters 1 and 2
Do the exercises suggested in the chapters
Create a list of expenses for how I'd like to live
Life insurance

It ain't what you don't know
that gets you into trouble.
It's what you know for sure
that just ain't so.
--Mark Twain

Today on MoveOn they're soliciting for signatures on a petition to make Walmart pay its workers better. Moveon says it's an outrage that Wallyworld employees have to use public services for healthcare because can't afford better. What isn't mentioned is that they spent what they had on vehicles and fuel, guns, alcohol and cigarettes, mobile phones and flatscreens. And a roof over their head.

Minimum wage is law. No company can hire you over the table for anything less. Walmart can pay minimum wage and if people apply for and accept that job, they have made a deal with that company. If they don't like it, they can quit, get another job. If there isn't another job, they can start their own business, or be useful to a family business or take care of an aging elder. They can run for office, start a protest, try and change the minimum wage. There is no shame in doing these things. The shame is in doing nothing. I just don't know how far from nothing this petition is. Having a grievance is not the same as having a solution.

When the economy contracts, families get closer. The resources that we do have get shared with those we care about. The death rate went down in the Great Depression, perhaps for this reason.

I can't get on board with political efforts to increase "jobs" because what "jobs" means is working for large corporations which will strike the best deal they can get for everything including manpower. It's the game, and winning for the 1% means never having to worry about a job. The worker never wins. The worker is a cog in a machine that cares nothing about him and will replace him the moment he begins to crack. The safety net may ease his passage a bit, but it is easy to get caught in.

To be trapped in the safety net is to lose your self respect, to become depressed, to want to die. This may be why so many white American men commit suicide. Middle-aged white guys commit suicide more than anybody else. Perhaps the veterans are driving that statistic.