The Politics Of Health: Feature Article
Senators Chose Big Pharma Over the Best Intrests of U.S. Citizens
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Byron Richards, CCN
The Senate has sold out the American people. Anyone voting for change in the last election can now plainly see the shenanigans of a Democratic-controlled Senate. Under Republicans no FDA reform ever took place. Big Pharma owns so many Republicans that all meaningful legislation to curtail the deaths and injuries of American citizens at the hands of Big Pharma and the FDA had been completely thwarted for the past six years. Under Democratic control sweeping FDA reform favorable to Big Pharma was proposed and the majority of meaningful reform was blocked or seriously watered down. Which is worse? As Kennedy stated in his opening remarks today, S1082 (the Kennedy/Enzi FDA bill) was an “elaborate scheme.”
The final passage of S1082 was never in doubt (final vote was 93-1). In fact, Kennedy and Enzi gave Big Pharma a 40 yard head start in a 100 yard dash; it wasn’t much of a contest. Their legislation perpetuated the user fees allowing Big Pharma to buy mob-like protection from the FDA. The bill created the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA to hold FDA-related patents and allowed the FDA to license technology to drug companies – thus turning the FDA into a drug company with vested interests in specific medicines. None of these blatant conflicts of interest, which are also primary safety issues, seemed to bother any senators at all.
Hypocrisy Gone Wild
The bill claimed to be a safety bill and all arguments from either side on any issue were always presented as safety related. Thus, every Senator was using the same set of words to describe both sides of the issue. Each side claimed the other was using the safety term hypocritically, resulting in a bewildering debate. All of this was staged to confuse the public and perpetuate a myth that safety legislation was being meaningfully debated.
What was really being debated was the extent to which the Big Pharma monopoly would be allowed to continue, an issue that was too politically incorrect to describe publicly. The debate was actually about how sharply Big Pharma’s exorbitant profits and reckless behavior would be curtailed compared to how many Americans would be exposed to injury and death at the hands of Big Pharma.
Earlier in the week a fight broke out between a contingent of Democrats lead by Senator Kennedy (D-MA) and a larger contingent lead by Byron Dorgan (D-ND). However, when the Kennedy clan joined the Republicans their odd Big Pharma-sponsored coalition held an advantage. This group of Senators undermined the free market and perpetuated the high cost of drugs in this country compared to all others countries – a 50 billion dollar gift to Big Pharma.
Double talk became the order of the day. On the one hand it was funny to watch, as Democrats attacked each other. On the other hand it was sad to watch, as this pathetic debate will result in window-dressing reform, with enough Big Pharma loopholes to drive a Mack Truck through. Attempts by well meaning senators to correct flagrant flaws in the legislation were either watered down to the point of nonsense or blocked entirely.
Many key issues were not addressed, such as the FDA’s legal position to prevent citizens from suing drug companies, the massive (and oftentimes illegal) off label promotion of drugs by the legion of Big Pharma sales reps, medical journals that are full of fraudulent Big Pharma promo pieces that misrepresent the safety and efficacy of drugs currently on the market, and a large percentage of doctors on the take from Big Pharma.
Big Pharma Wins Key Amendment Votes
On the final day it all boiled down to two keys votes. One vote was on the Grassley amendment #1039 which would have given true power to scientists in the FDA responsible for regulating the safety of drugs already on the market. The FDA and Big Pharma were adamantly opposed to this amendment. The vote was Big Pharma 47 – Americans 46, defeating the amendment. This vote was not only a sell out of Dr. David Graham and other FDA scientists who have gone to Congress as whistleblowers to save American lives, it was an “acid-test” vote on who is truly on Big Pharma’s payroll.
Click here to see how your senators voted.
The other key vote came on the Durbin amendment #1034. This amendment sought to prevent Big Pharma from placing “experts” on FDA Advisory Committees – which make the final decisions on the safety of drugs. Durbin argued the obvious point that hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake as well as the lives of Americans and that such flagrant conflicts of interest must be stopped. He pointed out that the FDA Advisory Committee that ruled on the safety of Vioxx had 10 “experts” on the Big Pharma bankroll, resulting in over 50,000 deaths. Kennedy and Enzi argued that these conflicts of interest were necessary and a fact of life and needed for science to progress??? The vote was Big Pharma 47 – Americans 47, and in this case the tie went to Big Pharma and the amendment was defeated.
Click here to see how your senators voted.
Two-faced senators threw a dog bone to those promoting safety, as a second Grassley amendment that called for stiffer civil penalties against Big Pharma wrongdoing was approved.
The Senate has punted when given a major opportunity to protect the health and well being of Americans. S1082 is the best “safety” legislation that Big Pharma money could buy.
The Voice of Health Freedom was Heard
Many thousands of Americans flooded the Senate with objections to a clause relating to the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA, which could be used to target dietary supplements by evaluating them as drugs for safety purposes. While Enzi refused to change the language, we created such an uproar that assurances are officially in the Congressional Record that this legislation is not to be used to harass dietary supplements.
And we headed off a potential attack by Durbin – who for some reason is always trying to get vitamins classified as drugs (more safety hypocrisy). Key to this effort was myself writing for NewsWithViews.com, Mike Adams writing for NewsTarget.com, and John Hammell of the International Advocates for Health Freedom. Support also came from many other groups who forwarded the message. All of our efforts resulted in the following testimony on the floor of the Senate as reported in the Congressional Record.
May 2, 2007:
Mr. HATCH. My office has been inundated by calls from people throughout the country who believe that this legislation, specifically the provision establishing a Reagan-Udall Institute, will overturn the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994. That has not been my reading of the bill, but I wonder if other Senators have heard similar concerns?
Mr. HARKIN. Yes, I have received a good many calls as well. And, I have to say that I would be very concerned, as I know the Senator from Utah is, if anything in the bill we are considering, S.1082, would overturn DSHEA, a law we fought side-by-side to see enacted.
Mr. ENZI. It might be helpful if I explained the provision you are discussing, as my office has received many calls as well and I believe the callers are not informed about this matter. Subtitle B of title II of S. 1028 establishes the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration. That simple purpose of that nonprofit Foundation is to lead collaborations among the FDA, academic research institutions and industry designed to bolster research and development productivity, provide new tools for improving safety in regulated product evaluation, and in the long term make the development of those products more predictable and manageable.
Mr. KENNEDY. That is exactly the purpose of the Foundation, which was included in the drug safety legislation Senator Enzi and I introduced last year. The Foundation will be financially supported by industry and philanthropic donated funds. A chief scientist at FDA will promote intramural research and coordinate it with efforts at the Foundation.
Mr. HATCH. That explanation is very helpful. What, specifically, would the role of the Foundation be with respect to dietary supplements?
Mr. KENNEDY. Let me make absolutely clear that the Reagan-Udall Foundation will in no way override, overturn or conflict with the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. Nothing in this bill would have that effect.
Mr. ENZI. Yes, we took great pains to make certain there would be no conflict with DSHEA. Regarding foods, and dietary supplements are generally regulated as foods, the general directive of the Foundation is to identify holes in the evaluation of food safety and identify ways to address those deficiencies through collaborative research with industry.
Mr. HARKIN. So to make this absolutely clear, what you are saying is that the bill we are debating would in no way interfere with consumers’ access to dietary supplements?
Mr. HATCH. To add to that point, it seems that the language could, in fact, help dietary supplement consumers, because it would allow collaboration between government and industry to conduct research on issues that might be helpful to supplement consumers?
Mr. KENNEDY. Yes, that is the case.
Mr. ENZI. I agree with Chairman Kennedy’s assessment.
Mr. HATCH. I thank you for those assurances and that clarification.
Mr. HARKIN. This has been a very helpful discussion, because Senator Hatch and I could never support legislation that would interfere with DSHEA and we are glad to receive the assurances of the chairman and the ranking Republican on the committee.
On May 1 we sent out another urgent call to action because Durbin was planning an end run around DSHEA that would further attack dietary supplements. Once again the people flooded the Senate and on
May, 3, 2007, Senator Hatch responded to the concerns we raised. The Congressional Record states:
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, a number of questions have been raised about how the Durbin amendment on food safety, adopted yesterday by a unanimous vote, would affect regulation of dietary supplements….
For the edification of my colleagues, section 201ff of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, FFDCA, contains the definition of dietary supplements. That definition includes a proviso that supplements are to be considered foods, except in the instance when a product makes a drug claim. In other words, by Federal law, dietary supplements are generally considered to be foods.
It is for this reason that the language of the original Durbin amendment establishing a new adulterated food registry could have been read to apply to dietary supplements.
This raised problems for me, and indeed for our colleague Senator Harkin, since we had spent more than 2 years working with Senators Durbin, Kennedy, and Enzi to draft, pass and enact the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 109-462. That law authorizes a new program so that reports of serious adverse events related to the use of a dietary supplement or over-the-counter drug would be reported to the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, on a priority basis.
As I said, the Durbin amendment contemplates a new adulterated food registry. Under the provisions establishing that registry, reports of adulterated foods would be made by many, if not all, of the same parties who are required to file reports of serious adverse events associated with the use of dietary supplements under Public Law 109-462. And so passage of the Durbin amendment could be seen to supersede the law we enacted last year for supplements, which I am relieved to hear was not the intent of our colleague, Senator Durbin.
Consequently, the amendment we adopted yesterday contains language that Senator Harkin and I suggested to make certain that dietary supplements would not be covered by the new food safety language and thus last year’s law would not be superseded. To reassure those who are interested in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, DSHEA, I wanted to take a moment to outline those changes.
First, there is new language in the section establishing the adulterated food registry to express the sense of the Senate that: (1) DSHEA has established the legal framework to ensure that dietary supplements are safe and properly labeled foods; (2) the Dietary Supplement and Nonprescription Drug Consumer Protection Act has established a mandatory reporting system of serious adverse events for nonprescription drugs and dietary supplements sold and consumed in the United States; and (3) the adverse events reporting system under that act will serve as the early warning system for any potential public health issues associated with the use of these food products.
In addition, language contained in the Durbin amendment modifies the definition of supplement contained in 201ff of the FFDCA so that supplements will not be considered foods for the purpose of the new adulterated foods registry. This in no way would alter the time-honored conclusion of the Congress that supplements are to be considered foods. On the contrary, all it would do is exempt supplements from the registry.
These changes, all contained in the amendment which was approved yesterday, make clear that there are no new dietary supplement requirements in the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act. It is my hope this will reassure the many who have expressed concern that Congress was inadvertently repealing Public Law 109-462.
The voice of the people has been heard. Let us not forget these promises nor let the FDA forget them – as the questionable language regarding the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA still remains.
Waking up the American public to the larger issue of drug safety is a much more challenging task. Kennedy and Enzi are claiming that the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA is nothing but a friendly non-governmental research foundation. I will fully document in a subsequent article that this is not the case. It is actually the tool by which Big Pharma and Big Biotech will lock in their profits for the next 50 years, as FDA joins them in the drug development and marketing business. This is one of the greatest safety threats in the history of America.
The battle now moves to the House and then to a conference committee. The legislation is being ramrodded through before the general public knows what is happening. Mainstream media, a primary client of Big Pharma, is intentionally failing to explain the true meaning of S1082. There is still time for Americans to determine their fate.
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The shocking death of Tim Russert last Friday has left an entire nation wondering what happened. He was a model patient, doing everything his doctors asked. All major media have run articles trying to explain the nuances and difficulties in treating coronary artery disease. These articles find little fault in Russert’s care, trying to create the idea that his heart attack was just too hard to predict and that all that could have been done for him was done. I beg to differ. His death represents the failure of standard medical care to produce a positive result – an occurrence that is all too common in today’s world.
Legions of well wishers look on as Senator Ted Kennedy struggles for his life, fighting against one of the most difficult types of brain tumors. Ironically, it may be the drugs he has so adamantly promoted that are the straw that broke the camel’s back, leading to his brain tumor.
The latest stone thrown at the 200-billion-dollar-a-year cell phone industry came from a study by neurosurgeon Vini G. Khurana entitled Mobile Phone-Brain Tumour: Public Health Advisory. His meta-analysis of existing cell phone studies may not contain a lot of new information; but his rather alarming message was carried by media around the world: “there is a growing body of statistically significant evidence for a relationship between the overall length of use of a mobile phone and the delayed occurrence of a brain tumor on the same side of the head as the ‘preferred side’ for mobile phone usage.” He claimed a 2-4 fold increased risk following 10 years of regular use.
On April 2, 2008 CNN spent the day bringing awareness to the problem of autism. Larry King’s segment, which included Jenny McCarthy along with a panel of guests, was particularly enlightening. My hat is off to Jenny, a celebrity mother who is making it quite uncomfortable for the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to ignore parents of autistic children seeking answers. Why does a mom have to do the work of the CDC? The answer is rather simple: our government’s zeal to insist on too many vaccines while ignoring the actual risks is the driving force behind the autism tragedy.
The Senate is about to approve legislation (Mothers Act – S.1375) which mandates the indoctrination of pregnant and nursing mothers into the use of extremely dangerous psychiatric medication. We already know this class of medication poses serious health risks to both mother and baby. Consequences to the baby are now proven to cause nerve-related changes that can adversely affect health for a lifetime.
Immediate Consumer Action is Needed to Stop Mothers Act
The Mothers Act is pending legislation that will indoctrinate hundreds of thousands of mothers into taking dangerous psych drugs. It is a great example of how the Big Pharma lobby controls Congress to the detriment of health, as well as needlessly and dramatically inflating the costs of our health care system for everyone. Like any piece of legislation it purports to address a troubling issue – in this case the mood distress of mothers following birth known as postpartum depression. It is true that 10% - 15% of women need some assistance in dealing with this topic – but the majority of them sure don’t need it from Big Pharma. That is the Big Lie.
It now appears that the FDA Chief Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D. has committed perjury before Congress. Unlike Roger Clemens, who also seems to be putting his foot in his mouth before Congress, von Eschenbach’s actions appeared to have allowed unnecessary deaths to Americans – hardly the mission of the FDA. By contrast, Roger Clemens is simply causing death to his own reputation. Hopefully Congress can quit wasting taxpayer money on baseball and get to the bottom of what is really going on at the FDA.
Several high profile human cardiovascular drug experiments have turned into disasters for Big Pharma. These findings are sure to shake the misguided consumer confidence in drugs as a mainstay of preventive cardiovascular health. Hanging in the balance are billions of dollars of fraudulent drug sales based on the flimsy argument that changing numbers (blood sugar, cholesterol, or blood pressure) with the use of toxic drugs is somehow the same as actually being healthy…
Women across the country are being duped to consume billions of dollars worth of bone poisons under the false pretense that if they take them long enough they will not develop osteoporosis. Even the FDA is becoming alarmed by the side effects of these bone drugs. The biggest selling drug in this class is called Fosamax, made by Merck – the very same company that killed thousands of Americans with Vioxx while hiding cardiovascular risks from the FDA and patients. Does anyone trust them?…
Considering that tens of millions of Americans now take statins to lower cholesterol, the following headline was conspicuously absent from the major media this month: “Statins Found to Turn On Gene that Causes Muscle Damage.” It’s now a fact of science; a new study shows that taking statins destroys your muscle to a greater or lesser degree. And let’s not forget that the heart is a muscle.
On November 29, 2007 the FDA made a rather surprising, almost honest announcement. It said that it could not protect Americans from the dangers of drugs. A 56-page report by its Subcommittee on Science and Technology stated the FDA “suffers from serious scientific deficiencies and is not positioned to meet current or emerging regulatory responsibilities.” This blistering report on the life-threatening shortcomings of the FDA was released with the stamp of approval of the head of the FDA, Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach. The flagrant disregard for human health by the FDA…
Oprah has done an immense favor to millions of American women by helping them understand that a malfunctioning thyroid gland may indeed be part of their weight and health problems. After writing openly about her thyroid problem in the October 2007 Oprah Magazine, she then went into the nature of thyroid problems on her TV show.
The United States Health Freedom Assembly met October 12 – 14, 2007 at the William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, MN, a gathering of many of the top state, federal, and international health freedom advocates, organizations, and industry. The meeting took on a tone of extreme importance as the FDA has issued policy and obtained broad new regulatory authority over health freedom in the past 12 months. The FDA is seeking to undermine the law known as DSHEA (Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994), the cornerstone of health freedom in America. Emboldened by its new powers the FDA is now poised to trample the first amendment rights of companies and Americans who seek to explain or understand how nutrition can support health. The FDA campaign has begun.
On Wednesday, July 11, 2007 the House passed HR.2900 without allowing the Ron Paul (R-TX) amendments to protect dietary supplements. Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), John Dingell (D-MI), Henry Waxman (D-CA), and others falsely proclaimed that they were doing America a favor by passing this sweeping FDA-supported legislation that grants the rouge agency more power and money, and even transforms it into a quasi drug company.
The FDA, emboldened by its transformation into a drug company, has embarked upon an anti-American plan of interfering with business and intentionally eliminating various dietary supplement companies from the market. The FDA announcement came on Friday, June 22, 2007 under the guise of a final rule for dietary supplement good manufacturing practices (CGMPs). Within this 800 page rule the FDA states, “We find that this final rule will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.... Establishments with above average costs, and even establishments with average costs, could be hard pressed to continue to operate. Some of these may decide it is too costly and either change product lines or go out of business.... 140 very small [less than 20 employees] and 32 small dietary supplement manufacturers [less than 500 employees] will be at risk of going out of business.... costs per establishment are proportionally higher for very small than for large establishments....The regulatory costs of this final rule will also discourage new small businesses from entering the industry.”
Under the false pretense of improved food and drug safety the FDA is re-inventing itself as a kingpin drug company. This charade has so far hoodwinked virtually all members of Congress. The Senate has already approved this FDA transformation. The House will bring similar legislation out of committee next week, with a vote in the full House likely in July.
The Andrew von Eschenbach FDA era is upon us. The Avandia scandal is the tip of the iceberg. Is anyone ready? The words “illicit financial collusion” have been replaced by the politically correct term, “collaboration.”
The penalty in China is death, in America its business as usual. Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China’s FDA, was sentenced to death for accepting $832,000 in drug company bribes and for dereliction of duty. Like China, our country is in the middle of a drug and food safety crisis. Why is FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D. getting a free pass? Why did the Senate just pass legislation (S.1082) that gives von Eschenbach significantly more power to do whatever he pleases? And exactly what is it that von Eschenbach is doing?
Senate Attempts Damage Control – House Braces for Onslaught
Senators were taken off guard by the public outrage over the passing of bill S.1082 with language that can be used to seriously harass dietary supplements by enabling the FDA to apply drug-related risk analysis to the safety of food and food ingredients (and thus dietary supplements).
The FDA is Acquiring New Powers to Suppress Alternative Health
Your right to have free access to safe and highly effective dietary supplements is under an intense multi-pronged FDA attack. On May 14, 2007 the Supreme Court sided with the FDA by deciding not to hear the case of Nutraceutical v FDA, letting stand a federal appeals court ruling that permits the FDA to use drug-related risk/ benefit analysis to determine if a nutrient is safe.
The Senate has sold out the American people. Anyone voting for change in the last election can now plainly see the shenanigans of a Democratic-controlled Senate. Under Republicans no FDA reform ever took place. Big Pharma owns so many Republicans that all meaningful legislation to curtail the deaths and injuries of American citizens at the hands of Big Pharma and the FDA had been completely thwarted for the past six years. Under Democratic control sweeping FDA reform favorable to Big Pharma was proposed and the majority of meaningful reform was blocked or seriously watered down. Which is worse? As Kennedy stated in his opening remarks today, S1082 (the Kennedy/Enzi FDA bill) was an “elaborate scheme.”
For approximately four days Americans lived in a delusional state that they may soon pay drug prices the same as every other country in the civilized world. Euphoria over breaking the Big Pharma monopoly turned to disgust as the chameleon, Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), changed sides and lead a contingency of Democrats against fellow Democrats lead by Byron Dorgan (D-ND). By passing the Cochran amendment the Dorgan amendment is poisoned and will no longer be effective. Maybe Democrats are now learning what Republicans have known for some time – you can’t trust Kennedy.
In May of 2006, after months of research and investigation, I published my ominous findings in the book Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA’s Betrayal of America. Everything I predicted in this book is on the fast track to becoming reality. A majority of Americans, not informed on current events and unaware of the history involved, are silent. Mainstream media, one of Big Pharma’s largest clients, is silent. Only the power of the internet, which rivals the invention of the printing press in significance, is making it possible for individuals to understand what is going on.
There is still time to stop FDA, Inc.
Bill S1082 is a bill that helps fund the FDA with Big Pharma money. It is known all over Capital Hill as Big Pharma-designed legislation. It is running into all sorts of credibility problems. A vote is likely on Monday – delayed due to all the opposition flooding the Senate by “we the people.”
S1082 Update – Tuesday’s Activity. Fight Erupts on Senate floor:
As the Senate continues to debate the Big Pharma-friendly sweeping reform of the FDA a new problem for Big Pharma’s prize Senators has erupted and quickly turned into confrontation on the floor of the Senate. At stake is at least 10 billion dollars per year in exorbitant Big Pharma profits. In one corner is Big Pharma-puppet Orrin Hatch (R-UT), representing the Kennedy/Enzi drug cartel. In the other corner is a majority of Senators lead by Byron Dorgan (D-ND).
The combination of a lack of sun and cold weather invariably strains your mood as well as your metabolism. It is an energy-depleting form of stress, similar to having a daily argument with someone. If your energy systems…
S1082 Update – Monday’s Activity at the bottom of this article.
Bill S1082: The Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act (also called the Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 2007) is one of the greatest scams and con jobs ever foisted on the American public. Current FDA management is grossly incompetent on the subject of drug safety.
A new attack against health freedom, drug safety, and dietary supplements was launched last week by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) with major support from Michael Enzi (R-WY). It is called the Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act (S1082). This legislation was planned over the past few years working hand-in-glove with the FDA’s dysfunctional management and legal team – meaning this legislation was written for the profits of Big Pharma and Big Biotech AT THE EXPENSE OF SAFETY AND HUMAN HEALTH.
Americans are up in arms that our pets are being injured and killed by a toxin sent to America by a Chinese company. Melamine, a toxic fertilizer used in China, is the suspected culprit behind the deaths and injuries to potentially hundreds of thousands of our pets. The FDA assures us that this toxin has not entered the human food supply – does anyone believe in the competence of the FDA? It is only a matter of time before this type of problem happens to humans, as the inept FDA has no control over imported food intended for humans, let alone pets.
On February 13, 2007 the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations opened hearings lambasting the FDA regarding the safety of drugs. The opening statement by Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) set the tone, “It is clear … that the FDA is badly broken. I expect that before we finish this investigation, which is just getting underway, we will discover whether the problems we have found are due to the work of scoundrels, irrational penny-pinching, or because the doors to the FDA “hen house” have been thrown open to foxes. It may be a combination of all three.”
Wall Street, international bankers, President Bush, pharmaceutical companies, new biotech companies, the Rockefeller empire, and the FDA have created a new plan for public health. It is a grand vision based on profit. It will use the FDA and, as needed, the Department of Homeland Security as the regulatory police force that ensures compliance in the name of public safety. Legitimate objections may be overpowered in the name of national security.
- The FDA: An Agency Out Of Control - Part 1 of 2,
The FDA is steamrolling its way to a grand vision of repressive health care based on profits for Big Pharma and new biotech companies at the expense of human health.
Human death means little to the FDA, permitting mass killings of Americans while protecting Big Pharma profits. This year the FDA is being given more money (federal funding up 5% to 1.5 billion) without any accountability or effective Congressional oversight. This means that instead of using the money to meaningfully improve drug safety, the FDA will carry on its pet projects that include forwarding the health component of the Bush administration’s North American Union, limiting health freedom by harassing dietary supplement companies so as to reduce access to safe and effective drug competition, and actively turning the FDA into a drug company.
In the middle of the night the House passed a bill at the conclusion of the lame duck session known as Adverse Event Reporting legislation for dietary supplements (S.3546). The bill was pushed through the Senate and the House by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), also known as the Hatch-et-man. Many Congressional leaders were hoodwinked by Hatch to back the bill, as he passed around letters of various trade organizations to imply the bill had wide support amongst stakeholders (it does not). Others were most likely bribed with threats to hold other legislation hostage in the Senate unless Hatch-et-man’s bill was passed in the House.
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson not only rolled over in their graves, they had a stake driven through their coffins by the departing 109th Congress. Big Pharma is now fully in charge of the FDA. Therapeutic nutrition is now marked for elimination from the free market. How did this happen? What does it all mean? Why did the House Democrats, at 3:06 A.M., while Americans slept, stab our people in the back? It is an ominous sign of things to come.
Today I received an e-mail from the Natural Products Association (NPA) asking me to support the Dietary Supplement and Non-Prescription Drug Consumer Protection Act (the “AER bill”). Apparently they do not know I am one of the most outspoken critics of this legislation. I have already posted two articles on this topic for NWV, one in July and one in November. The NPA, formerly the NNFA (National Nutritional Foods Association), is the largest trade association for ingredient suppliers and health food stores. This group, along with CRN (the Council for Responsible Nutrition) has been taken over by Big Pharma and is selling out the supplement industry.
It had to happen sooner or later. On October 3, 2006, after extensive review of all studies relating to cholesterol-lowering benefits by statin drugs, scientists reporting in the Annals of Internal Medicine pulled the rug out from under the current government-sanctioned cholesterol levels for reducing cardiovascular disease. Their conclusion, “current clinical evidence does not demonstrate that titrating lipid therapy to achieve proposed low LDL cholesterol levels is beneficial or safe.”
Last week Americans sent a warning shot into the oversized belly of the Republican Party. Unfortunately for President Bush, Americans turned out not to be the zombies he was counting on. This week Bush is trying to figure out why his public health goons forgot to double the fluoride content in the drinking water prior to the elections. Even Hitler knew this was the best way to make a population docile.
I am amazed by the relentless attack of Big Pharma-controlled media on dietary supplements that help people lose weight. The FDA, colluding illegally with health officials in Mexico and Canada, has weight-loss fraud at the top of their list. The FDA is constantly insinuating that all weight-loss supplements are fraudulent and unproven, and they implore all consumers to beware. As one of the leading clinical nutritionists in this country and owner of Wellness Resources, an independent supplement company, I have over twenty years experience helping individuals lose weight with diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements. I’m more than happy to weigh in on this subject from my experienced point of view.
On October 19, 2006, the FDA fired off twenty-four warning letters to small nutrition companies that made claims they had natural remedies to help with diabetes. At first glance, one might think the FDA was actually doing its job. With tremendous bravado they announced to the world their trouncing of internet fraud. It is interesting how the FDA is now teaming up with Mexican and Canadian health authorities to attack American companies, part of the FDA’s illegal North American Union.
The FDA has created its own monster. Could it be that an FDA advisory panel actually has enough impartial members to be truly concerned about the health and well being of all Americans? No doubt, the top FDA officials were squirming in their boots as five current and past members of the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee went public with their call for sweeping changes at the FDA.
The October 9, 2006, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine contains the article “FDA and Drug Safety: A Proposal for Sweeping Changes.” The lead author is Curt D. Furberg, M.D., Ph. D., an expert in epidemiology and biostatistics and current member of the FDA safety committee. He is a professor at the Department of Public Health Services, Wake Forest University School of Medicine. In an interview by Amanda Gardner, HealthDay reporter, Dr. Furberg states:
Americans are Injured and Killed by Drug
The next Vioxx scandal has now landed on the FDA’s plate. A secret tip to the FDA forced Bayer to admit they had failed to disclose serious safety data. Bayer scientists recently testified before an FDA advisory panel investigating the company’s heart-surgery drug, Trasylol. They failed to mention a new study Bayer commissioned for the drug, one that contained highly unfavorable results.
There he stood, a man with a captive audience of fellow anti-American neo-cons bent on one world government. His mission: to lay out the military and security integration of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The date: September 13, 2006. The place: Banff Springs Hotel, Alberta, Canada. The forum: a secret meeting of the powerful elite, a meeting that all of a sudden become not so secret. The man: Donald Rumsfeld, point puppet for the Bush administration’s planned integration known as the North American Union. This is serious government collusion behind the backs of the citizens of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is government for the elite, not government representing the people.
Over one million Americans have been killed by Big Pharma in the last decade. Tens of millions have been seriously injured. Every person knows someone whose life has been damaged or snuffed out by Big Pharma. Consumers call for improved safety. Politicians pretending to respond to consumer outrage have now introduced legislation that, if passed, would create a new FDA—a Big Pharma FDA. At the same time, good legislation that would begin to address the multitude of major FDA problems has been scuttled.
On Friday, August 18, 2006, the FDA approved a viral cocktail to be sprayed on foods we eat. This is the first time viruses have been approved for use as food additives. The FDA wants you to believe it will be safe to consume these viruses every day for the rest of your life with no adverse health effects. This is a monumental announcement by the FDA, indicating they are throwing all caution to the wind regarding the safety of our food supply.
The FDA is now poised to dramatically change the health and well being of all Americans. Unfortunately, they are headed in the wrong direction—straight over a cliff. The FDA is supposed to make sure drugs are safe and effective; they are mandated to protect the public. However, the top two positions at the FDA are now headed by Big Pharma representatives. The Bush-appointed new FDA leadership is intent on removing any brakes being applied to the drug approval process, quite happy to turn ill Americans into human guinea pigs.
The United States government and especially the FDA have lost credibility in assisting you with your personal health. Instead, they have placed the vast resources of our federal government behind a twisted public health agenda that perpetuates the profits of the elite and the unspoken primary agenda of eugenics. The daily assault on American freedom is now like living in the twilight zone. Public health policy, under the guise of public benefit, is a primary tool of a despotic regime. It is a system designed to convince Americans to hand over their remaining freedoms, as a decayed government grapples to maintain control over its increasingly restless citizens.
By Byron J. Richards, CCN
July 24, 2006
Health is far and away a person’s most important asset. Protecting this asset from accelerated decay is no small challenge. Indeed, the cards are stacked against the individual.
There are many obstacles to health. Our land, water, and air are heavily polluted with disease-provoking toxins. Our food supply contains various adulterations in the form of neuro-toxic pesticides, preservatives, coal-tar derived coloring agents, MSG, genetically modified food (that express the Bt toxin in every cell), excessively processed food, too much sugar/corn syrup and artificial chemical sweeteners, and high-fat junk food. Big Pharma promotes and excessively pushes toxic drugs on society, in far greater excess than their true need.
On July 19, 2006 President Bush employed his first presidential veto, rejecting a bill for the expansion of stem cell research. He told Americans stem cell research “crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect.” A close examination of the issue shows that this is merely a public relations ploy to preserve the profits of struggling Big Pharma and perpetuate the sickness industry at the expense of health improvements for millions of Americans.
The FDA has conveniently used the excuse of looking out for consumer safety to increase their perverse regulatory power, undermine free speech, disrupt commerce, and generally get in the way of helping people improve their health. The “half-truth” of the safety issue is used as a ploy to reduce the rights of Americans, one freedom at a time. Once again, the FDA is seeking more police power to intimidate supplement companies.
- The FDA Lowers The Boom On Citizens’ Rights,
An ominous tone is now set as the FDA embarks upon its second hundred years. New drug labels, which have been in development for years and are intended to improve consumer safety, went into effect on June 30, 2006. In typical FDA fashion, a program that should have helped patients has been twisted. The FDA took this opportunity to sneak disclaimer language on the new labels, seeking to prevent patients from suing pharmaceutical companies if a drug injures or kills.
Today marks the one-hundred-year birthday of the FDA. To celebrate, the FDA plans a gala event at the Harvey W. Wiley federal building. The FDA is touting Dr. Wiley as the “Father of the Pure Food and Drugs Act,” inviting his decedents to attend their event. The FDA is quite proud of the heritage Dr. Wiley has bestowed upon them.
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