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Today's show featured "Best Of Clark" repeats from recent shows

Since the late 1980s, Clark has thought it's crazy that medications can only be dispensed when a doctor writes a prescription. Many other countries have their pharmacists write scripts and dispense the medication. The FDA is now considering adopting a similar policy. We're not talking highly addictive things like Vicodin or Oxycontin here; we're talking about two-week cycles of antibiotics and other relatively benign medications. Clark loves this idea. Doctors are already overworked and in short supply. Because pharmacists are very well-trained and knowledgeable about medications, it's almost a no-brainer to allow them to pick up some of the slack. The Los Angeles Times reports that Kaiser Permanente pharmacists already have the authority to write and fill their own scripts.

Pharmacists are a vastly underutilized resource. To treat them like clericals who just fill prescriptions isn't Clark Smart. The numbers of primary care doctors are down 50 percent, so empowering pharmacists to write prescriptions is one possible solution to the shortage. Clark knows doctors will be up in arms about his feelings on this issue, so he's ready for the fallout on the Clark Stinks forum! On a related noted, Minnesota has banned pharmaceutical sales reps from giving free gifts and meals to doctors. These kinds of sales practices subtly influence the brand choices doctors make when they write prescriptions. Now The New York Times reports that the pharmaceutical companies have come up with yet another tactic to influence the selection of scripts; they're wooing nurses and office managers since they can't get to the doctors anymore!

Much of the country is suffering from either a shortage or a surplus of water. Clark was recently talking to some TV producers looking for a new angle on the drought story in Georgia. He thought we should be focusing on how to reduce our consumption of the existing water supplies, rather than on the fact that there's been too little rain. Clark believes there needs to be more emphasis on greywater systems. These are methods of water conservation that reduce consumption by about 35 to 40 percent. The idea is simple: Water is first used in the household for drinking, washing dishes and showering. It is then partially treated and recycled for landscaping, for use in toilets or whenever there is a need for non-potable water.

Meanwhile, Clark recently read about a high school in North Georgia that's conserving water by replacing water-based urinals with ones that don't use water. The military base where Clark trains as a volunteer state guardsman did this several years ago too. The filters used in waterless urinals are so efficient that there's no odor. In the home, you can install low-flow showerheads that use a blast of air to simulate a strong stream or use water-conserving toilets. Clark's home has a European-designed toilet that conserves water by having two buttons: One for a minor flush and one for a major flush. As Clark says, this is a G-rated show -- so use your imagination to understand when to use which button! As an aside, did you know that the Las Vegas Strip uses only 3 percent of the water in Nevada? Most of it is being sucked up by home owners trying to have green lawns in the desert. Now there are incentives for home owners to use rocks to landscape their lawns instead of having grass. Once again, the problem is on the consumption side -- not the supply side.

Have you been hearing all about the coming switch to high-definition TV? There's some misinformation floating around that Clark wants to clear up. If you still get your reception via rabbit ears or a roof-based antenna, your old TV will not be obsolete when the switch is made from analog to digital signals in early 2009. That's because you'll be able to get a converter box for around $50 -- and the feds will even subsidize around $40 of it. So there's no need to buy a new HDTV -- unless you really want one! Meanwhile, how you watch TV is going to be changing. Hulu.com is a new website that will make network TV shows available via your high-speed Internet connection. But the really big news that Clark's excited about is that 32-inch LCDs are being designed to hook up to your computer. You can even split the signal so that you don't have to check your e-mail on the boob tube. Clark loves all the changes and choices that are coming -- even though he doesn't really watch TV! We're moving into era where you'll be able to be anywhere in the world and watch the shows you love if you have a high-speed Internet connection.

There are around 150 million Americans on the Do Not Call list. That has really frustrated insurance salespeople who would like to rip off a lot of old folks they're now forbidden to contact. So some marketing companies have come up with lead-generating programs to break the Do Not Call barrier. Here's how they work: The marketing company mails a postcard to a senior telling him or her that there's a problem with their Medicare or Social Security benefits. Some postcards even have the AARP logo or official government addresses on them to suggest credibility. When someone responds to the postcard, they're exempting themselves from the Do Not Call list. Insurance companies then pay big money to the marketing companies for the rights to get those numbers and set up appointments to pitch elders on bad investments.

The Wall Street Journal reports that in one instance, an 83-year-old man fell for this rip-off tactic and was sold nearly $180,000 in annuities that wouldn't mature until he was 90. The salesperson made a commission of around $20,000. Some of the companies that have been involved in these postcard scams include ChoicePoint, American Family Prepaid Legal Corporation, Aviva PLC and many others. In fact, AARP won an injunction against ChoicePoint for using their logo. So if you are a senior or if you have elderly parents, know that these phony postcards are being used to con elders out of their hard-earned money. Clark thinks the real solution here would be to criminalize the sale of variable annuities to people over a certain age.