CDC, FDA Are F'ed Up

Don't even get me started on the FDA . . . . I'm going to have to control myself or this post will get completely out of control. I turned on CSPAN this morning and discovered the Peanut Butter Recall hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee. The testimony about FDA and CDC failures in this case was so shocking that I wasn't sure I could stand to listen.

According to William Hubbard, Former Associate Commissioner of the FDA, "The FDA has a food safety system that is a relic of the 19th century." One hundred and fifty thousand food companies are registered with the FDA; 6,000 of them are considered high risk companies. The FDA inspects only 7,000 of the 150,000 firms annually. Furthermore, there is an abysmal lack of communication and cooperation between the FDA, the CDC, the respective state agencies, and the medical community.

By far, the best, most moving testimony was that of Gabrielle Meunier, the mother of a formerly healthy seven-year-old boy who contracted two forms of salmonella from peanut butter crackers. Her son was violently ill, hospitalized for a week, and has lingering problems--including arthritis flares--resulting from the devastation to his body. In her testimony, Ms. Meunier recounts the horrible ordeal of trying to find out what was wrong with her son and, then, trying to get information from the CDC and FDA. Initially, someone (CDC? doctors?) told her she "didn't need to know" about the strains of salmonella her son contracted, even though this is important information in locating the source of the tainted food in her own home.

Diagnosis of the Meunier boy's illness took days, despite the fact that the CDC already had ample data about this peanut-butter-borne salmonella outbreak. Ms. Meunier's passion and anger were obvious as she recounted the insanity of stonewalling and demeaning behavior on the part of the CDC. Most compelling, however, is her determination to advocate on behalf of patients and consumers. As she so rightly pointed out, informed patients and consumers who are able to share information are powerful forces for consumer protection and patient self-help. She suggested--almost demanded--accessible government databases and online communities that would empower people to help themselves.

Empowered consumers and patients, hmmm . . . . How would the FDA, the CDC, and the medical community receive that? Listen: we have to empower ourselves, by whatever means we can. We are far, far too passive about these things. We must apply pressure and demand change and accountability, but we cannot wait for the government and the medical community to empower us. That's not likely happen.

It's Oct. 22; Do You Know Where Your Democracy Is? Protect Your Right to Vote.

Today, a woman from Code Pink was removed from the Mortgage Bankers Association annual convention after she attempted to handcuff guest speaker Karl Rove for the crime of treason. (Video from IReport.) An anchor woman for a major cable news network called the woman's actions "crazy." IMHO, it's far from crazy; it may be the sanest thing I've heard on the news lately.

Speaking of Karl Rove and his influence on our democracy, the Ohio Secretary of State has received death threats for protecting voters' rights as Republicans and their right-wing extremist supporters pull out all the stops in their ongoing attempt to rob citizens of the right to vote.

• CNN story
• Black Box Voting report
• NY Times Op-Ed by Paul Krugman on Republican attemtps to Block The Vote.
• Rolling Stone investigative report: Block the Vote.
  

No matter where you live, your vote may be in jeopardy. According to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., co-author of STEAL BACK YOUR VOTE, the following seven steps can help you protect your vote:

1. Make sure you are registered to vote. A law sponsored by the Bush Administration (Karl Rove, in particular) has resulted in mass purging of previous voter registrations.
   
2. Do not mail in your vote; vote in person.
3. Vote early so you have time to resolve any challenges to your vote.
4. If your right to vote is challenged, do not accept a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are most often discarded.
5. Make sure you have a valid photo ID and take it with you to the polls.
6. Volunteer to register voters and to help get voters to the polls.
7. After the election, support efforts to hold the government accountable and make sure the votes are counted.

The following is an informative and very well-done video by investigative journalist Greg Palast. It's about 15 minutes long and includes an interview with former US Attorney David Iglesias who was fired in one of the politically motivated dismissals for which the Bush Administration is under investigation.


Steal Back Your Vote! from Greg Palast on Vimeo.

Let the people rejoice: Justice may be down, but her heart is still beating.

Law Librarian Blog: American War Criminals Conference Streamed Live This Weekend

The Raw Story: Andover law school convenes Bush War Crimes Conference

Vincent Bugliosi on the Prosecution of George W. Bush (43 minutes):


Free video streaming by Ustream

Reno and Rangel Fight Back

It hasn't made much of a splash yet, but it's big: Reno Files Challenge to Terror Law. I hope the news media picks up on it and stops showing wedding pix of Tom & Katie. (Picture me poking my index finger into my open mouth.)

From the Huffington Post via Yahoo News:

Congressman Charlie Rangel plans to reintroduce a bill calling for the reinstating of the draft under the banner statement: if you're prone to knee-jerking America into war again, you had better be prepared to put your hawk-ass where you hawk-beak is.

You go, Charlie! The Dems apparently shot it down, though. Plenty of chickenhawks to go around....

"... and to the Republic for which it stands"

Oops! I must retract the word "democracy" from a previous post and replace it with the word "republic." This is a republic, and thankfully so. To understand the important difference, see the Capitalism Magazine article by Alexander Marriott.

For some reason, it seems to be primarily right-wing sites that emphasize our republican form of government. Ironically, Republicans demonstrate the least concern about the protections the Republic affords its citizens. Perhaps they are upset that our government has evolved in the direction of democracy (see Amendments XV and XIX, for example) and that many of us passionately believe in democratic ideals.

Yes, we love democracy, but would we really want rule by the majority? I think not. We want neither rule by a majority mob nor rule by minority elitists. The ideas and ideals in our Constitution have made this an amazing country, all of its crimes and failures notwithstanding.

To paraphrase James Madison, the purpose of government is to protect human beings from themselves (collectively speaking). That is, to govern for the common good. It must also police itself, so as to protect its citizens from tyranny. Our Republic was designed--and is legally obligated--to do both.

Long live the spirit of James Madison and the Constitution he helped to craft. For more on Madison's rationale for the need for a republic form of government, see the Federalist Papers, No. 39.

A New Perspective on the Bush Administration

A friend sent me the link to a great post-election (2006) article by Tom Engelhardt, Outlaw Empire Meets the Wave, that has given me a different perspective the Bush administration. Until now, my thoughts about G. W. Bush were captured in a Cafepress bumper sticker: "Drunken Frat Boy Drives Country Into Ditch." I thought of Bush as motivated by ignorance and a narrow-minded political/religious ideology. I've been filled with anger and alarm at what he and the GOP have been doing to this country. In fact, I've always been a staunch proponent of gun control, but in the last few years, I gained an appreciation for the idea of the 2nd Amendment as protection against an outlaw government. I no could longer trust that Americans were safe from their own government.

While I believe there is a lot of truth to all of that, Engelhardt's article has given me a broader view. As I read through it, I began to picture Bush, Cheney, and their posse as motivated toward a 'ginormous' hostile corporate takeover of Planet Earth. That's it. That's the mindset. It's all about blind Corporatocracy. Duh! How could I have missed it? The MBA and CEO....running the country like their own private corporation. OMG. How about we never again elect corporate business people to run a D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y? Anyone who has ever worked in the corporate world understands that corporations don't know democracy.

Thank GOD the citizens of this country still care about democracy. "Corporation" and "democracy" are mutually exclusive concepts, and anyone leading a democracy must be dedicated to the principles of democracy.

For another eye opener, check out Neofeudalism on Wikipedia.

Shame SHAME on The GOP: Military Commissions Act

The Republican party has much to be deeply ashamed of thus far in the twenty-first century. The recent passage of the bill titled, "A bill to authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war, and for other purposes," is one of the most frightening things they have done. You can now be detained indefinitely without a court hearing. This is serious business.

For more information, I urge you to read Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: The Beginning of the End of America.

I urge everyone to vote out of office every single senator and representative who voted for this bill -- and the president who signed it into law. You can see their names here:

Senate vote
House vote