Whenever I see an online ad promising “something for almost nothing,” I remember these two words:“Trump University”

“That’s over and done with,” you might say. It was a scam. It was tried and tested in court.

“It’s not something I ever needed to worry about.”

What if tomorrow you saw the headline:

Trump University Exonerated!

You may be concerned, as I am, that this business model, if not by the same name, has already been resurrected.

Consider the Facebook ads I’m seeing (because I have certain health concerns):

New cure for tinnitus without prescription drugs!

Don’t eat these three foods or you’re at risk for cancer!

This secret formula can regrow cartilage!

Your health is at cancer risk unless you follow these three steps!

This superfood will lower your blood pressure!

Don’t let your dog eat this!

If you get hooked by any of this click-bait come-ons, you will:

Watch a 20-minute video that never discloses the answer to the headline until the very end.

End up in a pitch for a bottle of pills, composed of an exotic blend of rare, highly refined Amazonian plants.

Feel so lucky you saw this before the Government wiped it from all websites because they DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW.

If you have second thoughts or want confirmation, you will be presented with a web page of information that cites 30-50 research white papers in its footnotes. If you are so enterprising as to click any of those sources, you will find a possibly legitimate medical research study, which relates, however distantly, to the topic, but offers no substantiation to the specific claims or product made in the pitch,

When the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Drug Administration disappear or are weakened, there will be no credible experts to warn us about bogus claims and products. (There will still be some in the EU - go there!)

So when you see an ad like this, just think of those two chilling words:

“Trump University!”

Oh, and if the Federal Department of Education disappears, scholastic standards will revert to the states, the quality and credibility of which may vary, depending on how much the electorate is willing to spend on schools (maybe, not much). Consider the following hypothetical Teacher Certification Test, which has only two questions:

Are you over the age of 18?

Do you pledge unreserved support of ___________________?

If ou answered YES to both questions! Congratulations!You are now a CERTIFIED TEACHER in the State of ___________________.

Here’s a fictionalized story about the first wrongful death case ever brought against the LAPD—1981. George Floyd died much the same way. Not much has changed.

It was a bad idea for two angry cops to storm into this guy’s house and arrest him for the crime of “talking back.”

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