The Politics Of Health: Feature ArticleThe Politics and Profits in Keeping Americans SickSunday, November 12, 2006Byron Richards, CCN 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.
In a losing battle Big Pharma’s largest election expenditure, half a million dollars, was spent on Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) who promised to preserve the Medicare scam, whereas his opponent, Bob Casey Jr., regularly attacked Medicare Part D as a giveaway to Big Pharma. Santorum has been on the Big Pharma payroll for some time, previously receiving over $250,000. In addition to helping pass Medicare Part D, he has aggressively lobbied other Senators to prevent re-importation of U.S. drugs at cheaper prices from Canada and Europe. It was a sad day in the Big Pharma camp to see Santorum bite the dust. Expect to see Big Pharma help re-inflate his sails for a presidential run in 2008. Big Pharma tried but could not keep Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) in office and their attempt to support Mark Kennedy (R-MN) failed miserably. Third on the Big Pharma Senate list was Joe Lieberman (I/D-CT), receiving $240,000 this election season, matching his entire previous Big Pharma handout. Lieberman does not like to see drug companies sued when they injure and kill Americans and is a supporter of speeding dangerous and unproven drugs onto the market. These are also top FDA and Big Pharma priorities. Big Pharma is a major employer in Connecticut. Backers on the House side who helped push through Medicare Part D were Nancy Johnson (R-CT) and Mike Ferguson (R-NJ). In the past, Big Pharma has rewarded them with the largest House handouts (Ferguson $371,000 and Johnson $338,000). They were also in the Big Pharma top ten for this election (Ferguson $239,000 and Johnson $171,000). Ferguson won and Johnson lost.
Big Pharma could not stem the Iraq-war-induced Republican bleeding, which ended up giving Big Pharma one massive migraine headache. While the opposition may have scored a touchdown, Big Pharma still has quite a lead. It is aggressively planning its next steps to perpetuate the fraudulent profits of the sickness industry, ensure it can injure Americans without penalty, eliminate competition from dietary supplements, and undermine your right to be healthy.
Hatch is a key player in the Big Pharma camp and has been on their payroll for a long time. His 30 years in Washington has enabled his family and former staffers to develop elaborate lobbying relationships with Big Pharma and dietary supplement companies, quite profitable all around. Hatch has been instrumental in selling out the American patent system, a con job that undermines American sovereignty and has been used by Big Pharma to generate billions in profits at the expense of the American taxpayer. On the health freedom issue it is hard to tell whose side Hatch is on. He has seemingly been a friend to the supplement industry, helping to pass the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA). Since June of 2006 he has been acting like a used car salesman for horrendous Adverse Event Reporting (AER) legislation for dietary supplements, legislation intent on selling out your health freedom. Possibly he is doing this to protect his tarnished image, as large contributors to his campaign such as Herbalife, Xango, and the now defunct Metabolife have a history of stretching the law and giving the industry a black eye. Possibly he is doing this because what Dick Durbin (D-IL) would do to the supplement industry, if left to his own devices, is even worse. And possibly he is doing this because Big Pharma is paying him to do it. The current bill in question is called the Dietary Supplement and Non-Prescription Consumer Protection Act (S.3546). The bill was designed primarily by Durbin. It was introduced by Hatch. It was co-sponsored by another former supplement “friend,” Tom Harkin (D-IA), as well as Big Pharma supporters Kennedy and Michael Enzi (R-MT). The bill now has a house version (HR.6168), introduced by Rep. Christopher Todd (R-UT).
In a nutshell the bill seeks to reverse fundamental principles of law established by DSHEA, forcing supplement companies to defend the safety of super-safe dietary supplements (supplements are far safer than food). The legislation is completely unnecessary. It is a major step in the Big Pharma plan to eliminate therapeutic nutrition from the free market, taking over the industry. Many larger supplement companies are going along with it thinking it will eliminate their competition from smaller companies within the industry and protect them from “Democrats gone wild.” The legislation is written in such a way that the debilitating and deadly side effects of Big Pharma drugs can be blamed on dietary supplements. Supplement companies will unfairly and intentionally be tied up in frivolous litigation.
Big Pharma’s gift to Kennedy is understandable. He has always hated health freedom and health options other than Big Pharma, opposing DHSEA from the beginning. Kennedy holds a key position on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, responsible for Big Pharma and FDA matters. Kennedy and Enzi have been working for months with Big Pharma and the FDA to concoct a false safety bill called Enhancing Drug Safety and Innovation Act of 2006 (S.3807). Instead of creating an independent office within the FDA to monitor drug safety, this legislation creates a new office within the FDA to act as a drug company! It will be named the Reagan-Udall Institute for Applied Bio-Medical Research and it will be funded by special interests in Big Pharma and the biotech industry. Its job is to sponsor the fast track approval of risky medications onto the market. The legislation pretends to address safety issues, acting as a smokescreen to appease the public while actually providing cover for Big Pharma’s riskiest and most dangerous drugs currently in the pipeline. Kennedy is planning to sneak this bill through in the coming lame duck session.
And now you can understand why Big Pharma is giving money to Hatch and Kennedy when they don’t need it.
In 2005 he tried to attach his “safety” legislation to Depart of Defense spending bills, and apparently had the votes to pass it even though there was no similar bill in the House. This led to consumer outcry over the scheme. Hatch and Harkin stepped in, placating Durbin. This is how we arrived at the current situation, with Hatch and Harkin working alongside Durbin to write the new AER bill. Supplement trade groups like the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the Natural Products Association (NNFA), which are now pawns in the Big Pharma game, were brought in during the negotiations to help craft the wording and give the false appearance that a majority of supplement companies, health food stores, and consequently their customers would back the legislation. It is not hard to smell a rotten egg. This is a Durbin bill cloaked in cleverly worded language designed to create massive profits for his lawyer friends and their Big Pharma clients, the chief contributors to his campaign war chest. He also gets a lot of money from the Big Pharma health field, as Illinois is home to the American Medical Association (a group sponsored primarily by Big Pharma). The law firm contributing the most to Durbin is Kirkland & Ellis, a top Chicago-based legal firm with many pharmaceutical clients including Schering-Plough, the makers of Claritin. Kirkland & Ellis are also experts in international patent litigation, a primary tool used by Big Pharma to bilk Americans. This has been going on since passage of WTO trade agreements, lining the pockets of Big Pharma with billions of shady windfall profits. Schering-Plough has spent millions trying to buy votes to extend Claritin patent protection, and Hatch has been a big supporter of their efforts. The selling out of the American patent system is a crime against our citizens and the future of our country. It is a gift to multinational corporations and Big Pharma.
When the money of Big Pharma is involved, party lines are irrelevant. Durbin and Kennedy, both Democrats, and Hatch, a Republican, share a great deal of personal financial benefit from Big Pharma and its related activities. Are those in the supplement industry who mistakenly support the current AER legislation naïve enough to believe these men will do something beneficial for the supplement industry and its consumers? Will Americans watch as these politicians do Big Pharma’s dirty work and help eliminate your natural health options?
The AER legislation (S.3546, HR.6168) is likely to pass unless Americans protest. If our congressional leaders know we oppose this legislation it will not pass, because there is no compelling reason for the majority to vote in favor of it and if leaders know the public is against it that will be sufficient to defeat the legislation in the lame duck session. It will also set the tone for a strong consumer voice opposing Congressional efforts to undermine health freedom in future months (efforts that are sure to take place). Now is the time to act. The Senate version has already cleared the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee which is controlled by bill co-sponsors Kennedy and Enzi. It has been placed on the Senate calendar for debate in the lame duck session. However, none of the Senators pushing this bill actually want debate, as this would open the door to a floodgate of legitimate objections. Rather, it appears Durbin is planning to attach the bill to much larger government spending legislation that must be passed to keep the government in operation, in essence fast-tracking it through the Senate without anyone knowing what happened. It is vital that you alert your Senators on your objection to this bill as well as its inclusion with any other legislation. The House version of the bill has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Senate sponsors have been pressuring the House to fast-track the bill without any debate. However, it now appears the committee will take testimony on the 16th of November.
At the same time this is happening Kennedy and Enzi want to sneak through S.3807, a huge gift to Big Pharma and the FDA under the false guise of consumer safety. This bill does not have a House companion and is not as far along. This bill will not protect consumers from dangerous drugs. It is unclear what stunt Kennedy is intending to pull; however, the scuttlebutt is that something is brewing.
Natural health options are the only real competition to the Big Pharma sickness industry. Yours are in jeopardy. It is time to be heard. The National Health Federation (NHF), the oldest health freedom organization in America, is making it easy for you to express your concerns to your congressional leaders. Your help is urgently needed. It is important to e-mail, fax, and phone starting on November 13th and continuing until the lame duck session is over (at least the entire week, maybe longer). Leaders pay attention when their communication lines are jammed. Click here to take action.
I will be discussing this issue on my new internet radio broadcast, Tuesday, November 14, 8 P.M. (CST). Tune in to TruthInWellnessRadio.com and be informed! Here myself and other experts in natural health discuss the topics that are important to you.
Other Feature Articles:
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.
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