The Politics Of Health: Feature ArticleFDA Poised to Change the Health & Well Being of All AmericansMonday, August 14, 2006Byron Richards, CCN 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. Piloting this sinking ship is Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D., a Bush family friend. Since last October, he has been the temporary head of the FDA. We are now in the midst of his Senate confirmation process to be the permanent head of the FDA (a vote is expected mid September). Von Eschenbach is up to his eyeballs in Big Pharma and elite political connections, making his confirmation likely. Once the Plan B political hurdle is overcome, von Eschenbach plans to transform the FDA into a drug company. To avoid consumer confusion the FDA should change its name to something more fitting, like the Fast Drug Approval organization. Flanking von Eschenbach is the thirty-three-year-old Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Gottlieb has no experience in drug safety and little clinical experience as a physician. Rather, he is an expert at promoting biotech stocks on Wall Street. He has numerous financial connections with drug companies. Standing in the way of Wall Street profiteering is a small group of scientists hiding in a back room at the FDA. Not surprisingly, prior to joining the FDA Gottlieb spent considerable energy lambasting the agency for not approving drugs fast enough. Several years ago, as a member of the neo-con think tank known as the American Enterprise Institute, Gottlieb was invited into the FDA to rewrite its policy! Talk about a Trojan horse. Now that Gottlieb is second in command at the FDA, he has made it clear he doesn’t want the public to know when there are problems with drugs. While the FDA continues to aggressively harass safe and effective nutritional supplements, warning letters to drug companies have dramatically declined. The FDA agenda is favorable to Big Pharma and the sickness industry. It is harmful to the personal health and health options of Americans. Gottlieb represents energized youth willing to implement the von Eschenbach plan to strengthen the sickness industry monopoly for the next fifty years. At von Eschenbach’s recent Senate confirmation hearing he was quick to point out that Scott Gottlieb would be instrumental in implementing the new FDA plan, referring to him and a few other FDA executives as “my greatest asset in leading the FDA.” Frankly, that is an incredibly scary thought. Not everything is running smooth as glass. Gottlieb was recently and very publicly embarrassed for the FDA’s lax approach to safety. Von Eschenbach’s going away party from the National Cancer Institute (he was heading both the FDA and NCI) had to be canceled, because the invitations asked for gifts—a violation of federal law. And, when the FDA was given its own health checkup after nine months of von Eschenbach leadership, it was found to be suffering from ED (Ethical Disease), perverting science for political and financial benefactors.
President Bush has learned that the best way to bring rapid change to the FDA is to appoint to its top positions harsh critics and former adversaries of the agency. The FDA purpose to provide consumer safety is being stamped out of existence.
For example, Bush knows all too well that stem cell research will move forward with or without his blessings. Thus, with his ratings so low, his veto several weeks ago was nothing more than a political attempt to placate part of his fan base. Now he finds his FDA appointee on the abortion hot seat. Is Bush wielding his influence to scuttle Plan B? Of course not, the White House is silent. It is far more important to Bush that his drug-peddling friend gets into permanent power than it is to do something meaningful for what he pretends to believe in. Hillary Clinton, as sly a politician who has ever existed, is more than happy to hold Bush’s feet to the hot coals. Hillary to George, “Give me Plan B and I’ll let you have von Eschenbach.” George to his fan base, “There was nothing I could do about it. The FDA is an independent government agency.” Both Hillary and George want von Eschenbach approved, he is an ideal FDA chief for both of their warped healthcare agendas. The ones suffering in this game are Americans and their health. The suffering is not trivial; we are talking about broken lives and dead patients in the hundreds of thousands.
The Plan B decoy is a diversion so that no real questions are asked of von Eschenbach. How many Americans actually know anything about Andrew von Eschenbach?
Any reasonable person examining the von Eschenbach track record would never allow him in the front door of the FDA. As a major advocate of Big Pharma, he is the exact type of person that the FDA must monitor and regulate so as to protect the American public. Having him as the head of the FDA is a gigantic conflict of interest. He was born October 30, 1941, apparently in Philadelphia, PA. Obviously of German heritage, this places his birthday at the height of World War II. Who was his father? What was his occupation? What were his connections to Germany? All we seem to know about his father is that he died of prostate cancer. These are fair questions, since the FDA is currently colluding with the German government behind the backs of Congress and the American people, crafting Codex rules to eliminate effective nutritional supplements and health options from the market (read Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA’s Betrayal of America). What are von Eschenbach’s current connections to Germany, the German government, and German drug and biotech companies? Why is the FDA operating in secrecy with foreign governments, including Canada and Mexico? What is going on? Von Eschenbach had a long career at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. During his tenure he rose up the administrative ranks, eventually in charge of the operation. And this is where the serious problems began. He was involved in starting a nonprofit organization called the National Dialogue on Cancer (which has since adopted the name C-Change). This is not an innocent group of cancer advocates. It is the Bilderbergs of American health. Meeting in secret, this elite organization plans and plots how to use the health resources of our federal government to forward the agenda of Big Pharma, especially relating to cancer care. They operate outside the scrutiny of Congress, yet are interwoven into the fabric of our federal government. Instead of approving von Eschenbach, Congress should be investigating this national health fiasco and diversion of public funds to private interests. There is a reason our government has spent billions of dollars on cancer research and nothing much has happened. Where did all the money go?
The major elite leaders of C-Change are the parents of our current president, George Sr. and Barbara Bush. They are the ones who invite members to participate in their elite clique. Of course, we must not forget that the Bush family wealth was created by the president’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, who made his fortune financing the build up of the Nazi war machine before Congress shut him down. George Bush Sr. has sat on the board of Ely Lilly. You get the picture. C-Change is an old boy network of elite Big Pharma and related interests (including big tobacco!).
C-Change is intimately connected with big tobacco. They have hired various PR firms that work for big tobacco. While these firms have been engaged in helping tobacco, they are at the same time helping to write policy that is intended to influence how our federal government spends money treating cancer. The shady history and connections of C-Change and the tobacco industry have been documented by the Cancer Letter. Von Eschenbach has been a major player in C-Change since its inception. Parlaying his political connections, in January of 2002 our current president appointed him the head of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). All of a sudden, the fox was in charge of the henhouse. Even worse, he actually had a waiver signed by Tommy Thompson, the head of Health and Human Services, allowing him to remain on in capacity at C-Change while he headed the NCI! The waiver specifically spells out and acknowledges that a drastic conflict of interest already exists, “Furthermore, the NIH and NCI interests in the Dialogue [C-Change] are considerable, both from the scientific and financial standpoint. NCI has already engaged with many of the Members [of C-Change] in grant, contract, or collaborative efforts….Finally, the agency already has determined through support of the Dialogue’s Members [C-Change], that, to a significant degree, the interests of the Department and the interests of the Dialogue [C-Change] both can be furthered through the performance of Dr. von Eschenbach’s official duties.” During his tenure at NCI, while remaining as vice-chairman of C-Change, he undermined basic scientific research on cancer, instead directing funds to his pet projects for new biotech drug research. He created the unrealistic expectation that cancer would be cured by 2015, devoting billions of dollars to pie-in-the-sky genetic research that will have little benefit for many decades. Of course, these research dollars went to his C-Change friends. His conflicts of interest are so obvious and extensive that everyone is becoming numb to them. Interviews with NCI scientists show that the agency has been technically crippled under von Eschenbach leadership. No effort is spent to clean up the poisons in the environment that are the cause of cancer for so many Americans. After all, that would cause a decline in the cancer business and reduce the profits of the sickness industry. While von Eschenbach was busy corrupting the NCI for the profits of the elite, in October of 2005 President Bush also placed him at the top position in the FDA! Apparently, both were part time jobs. Sure enough, von Eschenbach announced that the top priority of the FDA is speeding new drugs to the market, and eliminating safety studies that prove effectiveness, in favor of new genetic technology. The goals of Andrew von Eschenbach have never changed, only his job titles. He is entirely predictable. Is this what Americans want running a safety agency? The bottom line is that very soon the FDA will base effectiveness of drugs on protein signals inside cells evaluated in a lab by a supercomputer. Effectiveness will no longer be based on such obvious outcomes as living longer or improved quality of health, based on controlled studies. Be defining safety and effectiveness on gene signal manipulation, the FDA will have a far lower standard for safety and effectiveness, enabling massive numbers of dangerous and toxic drugs to enter the market for human experimentation. Surely, this has C-Change members jumping up and down for joy, the echo being heard up and down Wall Street—and soon to be heard across the morgues in our country. In order to carry out the von Eschenbach health vision of America your DNA will need to be in an FDA owned database. The FDA would also like radio frequency chips in your arm that contain your medical information (as well as your location). Do you trust them? It is likely that men and women of our Congress will rubber stamp the von Eschenbach approval. I think we should all pay attention to exactly who votes to confirm Andrew von Eschenbach. And I think they should stand trial when the FDA-condoned death toll, already in the hundreds of thousands per year, sharply increases. It is not too late for Americans to call their Senators and tell them, “Vote no on von Eschenbach, we need an FDA chief who puts safety first.” Americans are being plunged into a high tech Dark Ages of healthcare. The Big Pharma juggernaut is on a rampage. The American population is asleep at the wheel, forfeiting their own health and the health of their children and grandchildren. All the while pretending they are doing something meaningful by having a war over abortion and right to life issues. Thus, I write this article as a commentary on American history. Looking back in ten, twenty, or fifty years there will be a new congressional inquiry. This one will be centered on the massive numbers of deaths of Americans at the hands of Big Pharma and the FDA. It will make the Vioxx scandal look like a Sunday afternoon picnic. The congressional leaders, under pressure from millions of adversely affected patients and families of the injured, will be forced to examine the sordid monopoly of healthcare in America.
The FDA will be painted as the corrupt agency it has always been. The appointment of Andrew von Eschenbach will stand out as the seminal turning point, the progression to stage four cancer of the American health system. And the leaders of tomorrow will scratch their heads wondering about the leaders of today. Rules and laws will be crafted to placate the angry public, apparently to prevent such dangers from ever happening again. These rules will be twisted and avoided (for a small fee) by those they seek to regulate. And the politicians will look in the mirror, look in their wallets, and realize nothing has changed.
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In an unprecedented change of posture the New England Journal of Medicine has reversed itself on the issue of whether Vytorin causes cancer. In the initial release of data back in July NEJM stood by Merck and Schering-Plough, who hired an Oxford consultant to rule that a 50% statistically significant increased risk of cancer was by chance. I pointed out in an earlier posting that such statistical manipulation, based primarily on the opinion of the Oxford reviewer, was ridiculous. NEJM has had a sudden change of heart and now agrees with me.
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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