<e>
Originally published May 23 2007
Even I can read between the lines on this one with my eyes CLOSED.
There are many EXCELLENT healing agents on this planet NOT made by Big Pharma - how many are going to be left for us to use ...?
Read between the lines on the FDA's CAM Guidelines
Technorati Tags: FDA. CAM guidelines, corporate PROPOGANDA, more reasons to feel bad we live in an EMPIRE
Originally published May 23 2007
Even I can read between the lines on this one with my eyes CLOSED.
There are many EXCELLENT healing agents on this planet NOT made by Big Pharma - how many are going to be left for us to use ...?
Read between the lines on the FDA's CAM Guidelines
by Mike Adams
If you've been following the debate over the FDA's new CAM Guidelines
that threaten to destroy natural medicine by regulating herbs,
supplements and even vegetable juices as
"unapproved drugs," you've no doubt heard the opposing opinion by some natural
health commentators who claim the guidelines say nothing new. Some are
even saying the CAM Guidelines are a "non issue" and represent "no big
deal."
As much as I appreciate the efforts and comments of others in the
natural health world, I strongly disagree with their assessment on the CAM
Guidelines. Here's why: Their assessment of the threat of the CAM
Guidelines is based on a fatal flaw -- the assumption that the FDA will only
look at these guidelines as a theoretical document and not take direct
action on them. And as we've all seen, once guidelines are translated
into action by any governmental organization, they immediately undergo
an expansion that takes their application far beyond whatever original
intent was written in the document.
For example, when the RICO Act was initially passed (Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) in 1970, lawmakers insisted it would
only apply to organized crime gangs. You know: mob bosses and their
henchmen. But guess what? The term "Corrupt Organization" has been expanded
to mean almost anything, and now the RICO Act is being applied against
corporations, industry trade groups and even police departments!
(Deservedly so, no doubt, but still far outside the original idea of the
law.)
When the Patriot Act was frantically passed by a terrified nation in
2001, it was loudly proclaimed the Act would only target "terrorists."
But guess what? The Patriot Act has been used against American citizens
engaging in petty crimes. It has even been used to label animal rights
activists "terrorists" for merely attending meetings that sought to free
animals from corporate torture experiments (testing cosmetics,
chemicals and the like).
I'm fairly certain that when lawmakers signed the Patriot Act, they
weren't thinking of abortion rights protestors and animal rights
activists, but laws have a way of expanding their scope far beyond their
original intent. Thanks to the Patriot Act, the very act of sitting in a room
with a friend and discussing the evils of the American government can
get you labeled a terrorist engaged in a conspiracy (if anyone happens
to be listening, of course).
Now let's consider the FDA's CAM Guidelines in which the agency states
it could regulate vegetable juice as a drug as long as the juice is
sold with the intent to improve health. The document specifically mentions
massage oils and herbs as being subject to regulation, too. If this
becomes adopted as the primary regulatory philosophy by the agency, the
application of this thinking will inevitably expand.
Today, the FDA says it won't be attacking natural health clinics,
breaking down doors with armed agents and arresting the healers inside. The
quiet, behind-closed-doors practice of using medicinal herbs,
homeopathic remedies, nutritional supplements or even Bach Flower Remedies will
be tolerated... for now.
But then, one day a new tyrant will lead the FDA, and he (it's always a
HE) will interpret the CAM Guidelines in a new way. He'll say the
guidelines clearly spell out that the FDA should be regulating ALL
naturopathic remedies in order to "protect consumers." And he could unleash a
new wave of medical tyranny, reauthorizing the SWAT-style FDA raids we
saw in the 1980's and 1990's, all while claiming the CAM Guidelines
document blazed the trail by spelling out specific examples of what needed
to be done.
Just like the RICO Act and the Patriot Act, the FDA's CAM Guidelines
could one day exceed their intended purpose and be used against Americans
in ways we never imagined possible.
How do you boil a frog?Those commentators in the natural health
movement who are telling you there's nothing to worry about here are
regretfully failing to see where this is all headed. The FDA, you see, is
smart enough to know it can't just announce a massive, sweeping ban of
everything in the world of natural medicine. Too many people would march in
the streets. So it has to first test the waters with a "line of
thinking" document in order to gauge the public reaction. That's the real
purpose of the CAM Guidelines document. It's really just a test to see if
anybody's paying attention.
If that passes muster and the public outcry isn't too loud, the next
step is to start issuing regulations and taking actions based on that
line of thinking. The FDA might increase the number of threatening legal
letters sent to supplement companies or raw juice fasting retreats. They
might even conduct a raid on some easy target (like the "Cocaine"
energy drink company) to see if the public can stomach that sort of
aggression action. With each action, they are testing the waters to see if they
can get away with yet another expansion of their power.
They undermine your health freedom the same way you boil a frog: Put it
in a pot of room temperature water, then crank up the heat slowly. By
the time the frog realizes he's being cooked, he's too close to dead to
jump out. This is the sort of health freedom trap being set for the
American people by the FDA. And those who say this is all no big deal are
essentially treating you all like frogs and saying, "Come on it, the
water's fine!"
Don't be fooled. If the FDA wasn't trying to test the waters with
something new, there would be no reason to issue the CAM Guidelines in the
first place. Those comments from organizations and individuals in the
natural health industry who are saying there's "nothing new" in these
guidelines are ignoring the primary tactic being used by the FDA. The FDA
is laying the groundwork to censor or regulate every substance used in
natural medicine, and the CAM Guidelines document is a "playbook" that
reveals how this might unfold.
This is how it's done by arrogant government departments: Float an idea
piece, write regulations, then start applying those regulations until
they become accepted as "the way things are done." At each step, the FDA
is gauging the public reaction, or even trying to slip it all under the
radar so they can later claim something like, "Nobody complained
before!"
Learn to read between the linesFriends, we've all got to operate as
critical thinkers today. You can't just take these documents at face
value and think the FDA is going to abide by the letter of the law. It's
important to ask youself, Where is the FDA going with this? Why did they
go to the trouble to float this document?
Think about where this is heading. Why would they spell out the example
of regulating vegetable juice if they didn't plan to someday enforce
such regulatory ideas? The FDA has already proven it is the enemy of
health freedom. It is entirely consistent with the agency's past behavior
to believe it will continue to march towards banning, censoring or
regulating out of existence any substance that competes with pharmaceutical
profits.
The CAM Guidelines spell it all out, plain as day. Reading between the
lines on this one isn't even very difficult. And I dare say that only a
fool would believe the FDA feels any obligation whatsoever towards
protecting the health of the public.
It's the same story with the Reagan-Udall Foundation. Also recently
passed by the U.S. Senate is a bill that would "revitalize" the FDA and
create a Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration
that could earn royalties licensing drugs or medical devices. Depending on
whom you ask, the creation of this foundation either puts the FDA in
business with Big Pharma, or is "no big deal" and has nothing to do with
licensing drugs or medical devices.
Once again, I remind readers to read between the lines. At its
inception, the Reagan-Udall Foundation may, indeed, not pursue the licensing of
drugs, but its activities will inevitably expand into areas not covered
in the original language of the law. It is naive to believe that any
governmental organization will simply halt when it reaches the boundary
of whatever power has been granted to it. All governments and government
organizations seek to expand their power. It is a natural law of
bureaucracy.
Want the ultimate example? The entire U.S. government was supposed to
be operating on power granted to it by the people. The U.S. Constitution
specifically said that all powers NOT granted to the federal government
are reserved to the people (the States). But look around you. Do you
see a government that feels it owes its power to the people? Do you see a
government that humbly serves the people, or that keeps its hands off
powers not directly granted to it by the Constitution? Not a chance. Our
government RULES the people. It has take the power granted to it by the
U.S. Constitution and expanded it into an empire that now rules over
the very people it was supposed to serve.
For anyone to believe that the FDA (or its foundation) will refrain from
engaging in its own expanding power grab is remarkably naive. Be
warned: The FDA's CAM Guidelines are a blueprint for increased FDA typranny
over the people, and a game plan for destroying alternative medicine.
that threaten to destroy natural medicine by regulating herbs,
supplements and even vegetable juices as
"unapproved drugs," you've no doubt heard the opposing opinion by some natural
health commentators who claim the guidelines say nothing new. Some are
even saying the CAM Guidelines are a "non issue" and represent "no big
deal."
As much as I appreciate the efforts and comments of others in the
natural health world, I strongly disagree with their assessment on the CAM
Guidelines. Here's why: Their assessment of the threat of the CAM
Guidelines is based on a fatal flaw -- the assumption that the FDA will only
look at these guidelines as a theoretical document and not take direct
action on them. And as we've all seen, once guidelines are translated
into action by any governmental organization, they immediately undergo
an expansion that takes their application far beyond whatever original
intent was written in the document.
For example, when the RICO Act was initially passed (Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) in 1970, lawmakers insisted it would
only apply to organized crime gangs. You know: mob bosses and their
henchmen. But guess what? The term "Corrupt Organization" has been expanded
to mean almost anything, and now the RICO Act is being applied against
corporations, industry trade groups and even police departments!
(Deservedly so, no doubt, but still far outside the original idea of the
law.)
When the Patriot Act was frantically passed by a terrified nation in
2001, it was loudly proclaimed the Act would only target "terrorists."
But guess what? The Patriot Act has been used against American citizens
engaging in petty crimes. It has even been used to label animal rights
activists "terrorists" for merely attending meetings that sought to free
animals from corporate torture experiments (testing cosmetics,
chemicals and the like).
I'm fairly certain that when lawmakers signed the Patriot Act, they
weren't thinking of abortion rights protestors and animal rights
activists, but laws have a way of expanding their scope far beyond their
original intent. Thanks to the Patriot Act, the very act of sitting in a room
with a friend and discussing the evils of the American government can
get you labeled a terrorist engaged in a conspiracy (if anyone happens
to be listening, of course).
Now let's consider the FDA's CAM Guidelines in which the agency states
it could regulate vegetable juice as a drug as long as the juice is
sold with the intent to improve health. The document specifically mentions
massage oils and herbs as being subject to regulation, too. If this
becomes adopted as the primary regulatory philosophy by the agency, the
application of this thinking will inevitably expand.
Today, the FDA says it won't be attacking natural health clinics,
breaking down doors with armed agents and arresting the healers inside. The
quiet, behind-closed-doors practice of using medicinal herbs,
homeopathic remedies, nutritional supplements or even Bach Flower Remedies will
be tolerated... for now.
But then, one day a new tyrant will lead the FDA, and he (it's always a
HE) will interpret the CAM Guidelines in a new way. He'll say the
guidelines clearly spell out that the FDA should be regulating ALL
naturopathic remedies in order to "protect consumers." And he could unleash a
new wave of medical tyranny, reauthorizing the SWAT-style FDA raids we
saw in the 1980's and 1990's, all while claiming the CAM Guidelines
document blazed the trail by spelling out specific examples of what needed
to be done.
Just like the RICO Act and the Patriot Act, the FDA's CAM Guidelines
could one day exceed their intended purpose and be used against Americans
in ways we never imagined possible.
How do you boil a frog?Those commentators in the natural health
movement who are telling you there's nothing to worry about here are
regretfully failing to see where this is all headed. The FDA, you see, is
smart enough to know it can't just announce a massive, sweeping ban of
everything in the world of natural medicine. Too many people would march in
the streets. So it has to first test the waters with a "line of
thinking" document in order to gauge the public reaction. That's the real
purpose of the CAM Guidelines document. It's really just a test to see if
anybody's paying attention.
If that passes muster and the public outcry isn't too loud, the next
step is to start issuing regulations and taking actions based on that
line of thinking. The FDA might increase the number of threatening legal
letters sent to supplement companies or raw juice fasting retreats. They
might even conduct a raid on some easy target (like the "Cocaine"
energy drink company) to see if the public can stomach that sort of
aggression action. With each action, they are testing the waters to see if they
can get away with yet another expansion of their power.
They undermine your health freedom the same way you boil a frog: Put it
in a pot of room temperature water, then crank up the heat slowly. By
the time the frog realizes he's being cooked, he's too close to dead to
jump out. This is the sort of health freedom trap being set for the
American people by the FDA. And those who say this is all no big deal are
essentially treating you all like frogs and saying, "Come on it, the
water's fine!"
Don't be fooled. If the FDA wasn't trying to test the waters with
something new, there would be no reason to issue the CAM Guidelines in the
first place. Those comments from organizations and individuals in the
natural health industry who are saying there's "nothing new" in these
guidelines are ignoring the primary tactic being used by the FDA. The FDA
is laying the groundwork to censor or regulate every substance used in
natural medicine, and the CAM Guidelines document is a "playbook" that
reveals how this might unfold.
This is how it's done by arrogant government departments: Float an idea
piece, write regulations, then start applying those regulations until
they become accepted as "the way things are done." At each step, the FDA
is gauging the public reaction, or even trying to slip it all under the
radar so they can later claim something like, "Nobody complained
before!"
Learn to read between the linesFriends, we've all got to operate as
critical thinkers today. You can't just take these documents at face
value and think the FDA is going to abide by the letter of the law. It's
important to ask youself, Where is the FDA going with this? Why did they
go to the trouble to float this document?
Think about where this is heading. Why would they spell out the example
of regulating vegetable juice if they didn't plan to someday enforce
such regulatory ideas? The FDA has already proven it is the enemy of
health freedom. It is entirely consistent with the agency's past behavior
to believe it will continue to march towards banning, censoring or
regulating out of existence any substance that competes with pharmaceutical
profits.
The CAM Guidelines spell it all out, plain as day. Reading between the
lines on this one isn't even very difficult. And I dare say that only a
fool would believe the FDA feels any obligation whatsoever towards
protecting the health of the public.
It's the same story with the Reagan-Udall Foundation. Also recently
passed by the U.S. Senate is a bill that would "revitalize" the FDA and
create a Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration
that could earn royalties licensing drugs or medical devices. Depending on
whom you ask, the creation of this foundation either puts the FDA in
business with Big Pharma, or is "no big deal" and has nothing to do with
licensing drugs or medical devices.
Once again, I remind readers to read between the lines. At its
inception, the Reagan-Udall Foundation may, indeed, not pursue the licensing of
drugs, but its activities will inevitably expand into areas not covered
in the original language of the law. It is naive to believe that any
governmental organization will simply halt when it reaches the boundary
of whatever power has been granted to it. All governments and government
organizations seek to expand their power. It is a natural law of
bureaucracy.
Want the ultimate example? The entire U.S. government was supposed to
be operating on power granted to it by the people. The U.S. Constitution
specifically said that all powers NOT granted to the federal government
are reserved to the people (the States). But look around you. Do you
see a government that feels it owes its power to the people? Do you see a
government that humbly serves the people, or that keeps its hands off
powers not directly granted to it by the Constitution? Not a chance. Our
government RULES the people. It has take the power granted to it by the
U.S. Constitution and expanded it into an empire that now rules over
the very people it was supposed to serve.
Government power always expands just as sure as sewage runs downhill.
For anyone to believe that the FDA (or its foundation) will refrain from
engaging in its own expanding power grab is remarkably naive. Be
warned: The FDA's CAM Guidelines are a blueprint for increased FDA typranny
over the people, and a game plan for destroying alternative medicine.
---------------------------------
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Technorati Tags: FDA. CAM guidelines, corporate PROPOGANDA, more reasons to feel bad we live in an EMPIRE
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