TV ads

The American Medical Association has asked Congress to ban medical advertising on TV. Lots of luck with that given the strong opposition of the drug\companies and broadcast industry. In my opinion, these ads make little sense anyway. If you have to ask your doctor about an effective drug, why are you going to a doctor who doesn't already know about it? Doctors are supposed to keep current on best treatments, and drug companies are very aggressive in informing doctors about their products.

On TV ads generally, there is one set that is particularly annoying. They encourage talking to your kids about underage drinking, a good cause. But the theme is the postponing the conversation and then a scene mourning the child's death. Very poor taste.

On the other hand, there are some excellent ads. The Geico ones, of course. And Land Rover has a couple of good ones. They each feature a damsel in a bit of distress and a man in a Land Rover coming to help.

Flint

The Federal and State governments rightly are responding to the lead poisoning crisis in Flint, MI and will provide financial help for the costly corrective measures. There must be criminal proceeding against those who caused the introduction of lead poisoned water, failed or refused to fix the problem, failed to detect the lead, or misled on the facts present. Aside from any jail time, they should pay fines that are high enough defray a good part of the cost of relief efforts.