| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Riddick" |
| Date: |
03 Oct 2004 06:51:40 PM |
| Object: |
New Freedom Initiative: Just Say No to Bush's Drugs |
Just Say No to Bush's Drugs
By: Melissa Carr
October 2, 2004
A little-known initiative by President Bush is quietly creeping
through the United States. The proposal is based on recommendations
from the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. It is part of the
broader New Freedom Initiative for the disabled. The Commission
convened in April 2002 and released its report with recommendations on
July 2003. Although this proposal has been largely overlooked by the
mass media, it plans to impact every American citizen in a very
frightening way.
The report points to the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) as
a model on which to base the national mental health agenda. TMAP was a
pilot program under then-Governor Bush that standardized certain
medications for certain mental illnesses in a flow chart fashion. The
report also recommends that every citizen in the United States should
be screened for mental illness, including children. It states, "Each
year, young children are expelled from preschool and childcare
facilities for severely disruptive behaviors and emotional disorders."
It then suggests early detection is paramount in mental health and
"schools can help address mental health problems." Beyond the
classroom, the report suggests screenings should be addressed in
primary care "throughout the lifespan."
So, the commission has determined that everyone should be tested for
mental illness and a flow chart determines which medication should be
used to treat it. Sound alarming? It should, especially upon hearing
what Allen Jones has to say about it. Mr. Jones was employed as an
investigator in Pennsylvania's Office of Inspector General. He was
investigating corrupt activities involving pharmaceutical companies
offering honorariums to state officials. The OIG manager told him,
"Drug companies write checks to politicians—they write checks to
politicians on both sides of the aisle," and changed his assignment.
Jones decided to continue his investigation on his own time. And he
discovered that TMAP, which Pennsylvania adopted in 2002 under
then-Governor Tom Ridge, was in fact driven by pharmaceutical
companies who were lavishing Texas politicians, as well as making sure
their most expensive patented drugs (some with potentially lethal side
effects) were listed as the designated treatments on the algorithms.
Jones released a 66-page whistleblower report about the scandal in
January 2004 and was subsequently fired by the OIG.
Included in his report is background information on each member of the
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, offering valuable insight on
this group of individuals who decided all citizens should be screened
and possibly medicated for mental illness. Among them you will find
Michael Hogan, whose research institute relies heavily on
pharmaceutical company grants. Another is Norwood Knight-Richardson, a
Texas college buddy of Bush Sr. whom he appointed as then-Governor to
the Texas drug and alcohol council during the establishment of TMAP.
Knight-Richardson is also the director of a pharmaceutical delivery
company that has significantly profited from contracts in post-war
Iraq.
The Bush family has direct pharmaceutical connections as well.
According to the British Medical Journal, Bush Sr. was a board member
at Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, and Bush Jr. appointed Lilly's CEO,
Sidney Taurel, as a member of Homeland Security Council.
One might have been able to write off Allen Jones' stunning report as
a conspiracy theory, if it weren't for the lawsuits of Dr. David
Franklin and Dr. Stefan Kruszewski. Franklin, a former Warner-Lambert
(now part of Pfizer) employee, was "paid to lie to doctors" about
prescribing the drug Neurontin in cases where it was neither
clinically safe nor effective. Pfizer pleaded guilty to criminal fraud
and agreed to pay $430 million in fines. That amount pales in
comparison to the $2.9 billion in annual Neurontin sales.
Dr. Kruszewski was hired as a psychiatric consultant for the
Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services. In his current
federal lawsuit, he alleges he was fired after he uncovered corrupt
relations between Pennsylvania politicians and pharmaceutical
representatives. Allegations of fraudulent medication billings to the
United States government were also voiced. Even more disturbing,
however, is his allegation that four children and one adult died while
under the state's care, and all were prescribed lethal combinations of
anti-psychotic drugs. He was denied access to the autopsy records and
later fired.
Illinois has been the first state to adopt the New Freedom
Commission's proposal. All children ages 0-18 and pregnant women must
undergo mandatory mental health screenings. Iowa is moving towards
adopting the proposal. On September 15, Congress voted 95-315 against
a bill to cut federal funding for school mental health screenings.
The implications are astounding. Politicians are bedding with
pharmaceutical companies at the detriment of the American people. But
even more alarming is the concept of forced screenings and the desire
to drug our children. If there are that many children suffering from
mental illness, we need to examine our society to find out why.
Prevention is the answer—NOT doping up young children with
mind-altering psychotropic medications!
If this initiative proliferates, how long before parents of diagnosed
children will be charged with negligence if they choose not to
medicate their children? The New Freedom Initiative is another
anti-freedom policy spawned by Bush that reeks of corruption and
malicious intent, but is disguised a goodwill gesture towards the
disabled. As with the Patriot Act, Bush applied a buzzword, freedom,
and assumed it would enjoy support from the ignorant masses. It is now
the responsibility of every American citizen to stand up and just say
no to Bush's drugs.
References:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7454/1458
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp? ARTICLE_ID=39078
http://www.illinoisleader.com/news/newsview.asp?c=17748
http://www.dhs.state.ia.us/Publications/Block%20Grant%2008-29-03%20FINAL.doc
http://psychrights.org/Drugs/AllenJonesTMAPJanuary20.pdf
http://www.namiscc.org/News/2004/Spring/PfizerGuilty.htm
http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/04/07/07.html
http://www.teenscreen.org/newsroom/downloads/Annualreport3.pdf - Page
5. Legislation for the proposal has already been introduced in
Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada, with governors in Iowa and Florida
also supporting the screenings.
http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=9214&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported
.
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