The Convenient Smear — Separating Spin From The Facts

Al Gore’s home in Nashville’s exclusive Belle Meade district, Tennessee. Photograph: Rusty Russell/Getty Images

The Convenient $mear — Separating Spin From The Facts

After getting an interesting comment last night about this whole Al Gore Smear, I decided to try to find the facts, and write a post on what I found. The only problem was, as usual, the same incomplete and inaccurate “talking points” where flooding the Internet. So, I decided to sleep on it, and pick up the search in the morning. Like I said, I started my quest after getting a comment on another post — a comment with a twist — the twist being; spinning the “Al Gore Smear” with “How to get out of Iraq”. I have to give “kudos” to this spin…..at least he wasn’t just repeating the same old “talking points”, even though I don’t agree with it…..I think you should check it out, since it was the inspiration for my wanting to get to the actual facts. So, thanks Errant Mind, you are a very interesting fella, and I do appreciate your point of view, I just don’t agree with it.

I put a picture of Al Gore’s home at the top of this post,in order to show that not only is it much larger than the “average” home, but it is also being used for several offices, and employing many people. So, to compare what the energy bill of Al Gore’s home/office is, to an “average” home in America….Well, you might as well be comparing the apple to the tree.

Al Gore is trying to do a good thing, and it is clear that the “right” is trying to discredit him as much as possible, because of their fear he may run for President. They don’t want there to be a “Giuliani Effect” within the Democratic Party and Al Gore…..Their fear is driving them to smear. So, it should be obvious why they are doing it, but why shouldn’t we (democrat & republican) buy into it? Because, whether or not people believe in the Global Warming issue, we do need to start using alternative fuels in order to minimize our dependence on foreign governments and foreign oil. As we continue to consume and buy oil from these foreign governments, we are also funding terrorism that is targeting us, (America, both democrat & republican).

Here are some interesting articles, that address both the reasons behind the smear, as well as the facts relating to the smear. I hope you find it helpful, in separating the facts from the fiction.

—————————-

A Far Too Convenient $mear — see full article at THE HUFFINGTON POST

This afternoon, a group calling itself “The Tennessee Center For Policy Research” sent out a press release denouncing Vice President Gore for the size of his household electrical bills.

Let’s start right there. How did they get the utility bills? They also didn’t have the courtesy to ask Vice President Gore about them (despite their hollow claim of being non-partisan.) And why would a “think tank” possibly care about what Al Gore spends on gas?

Actually, let’s start with a more basic question. Who are these people? Well , a quick check of Alexa reveals their web site gets no traffic. Are they legitimate? Well, again, they claim to be non-partisan but only link to far-right and conservative groups so regardless of what their status is with the IRS, this is a conservative, strongly-leaning Republican organization.

This group drops the pebble in the lake and now the machine really goes to work.

Front page of Drudge Report at 5:16 reports this press release from a group no one has ever heard of, who may or may not have stolen Al Gore’s utility bills. Now, the lie has legs.

In the last twenty minutes, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has updated its website TWICE - both with radio interviews. The damage is being done as we watch.

The echo chamber is engaging. Instapundit, Hot Air, Free Republic, WorldNetDaily, TownHall and several others are echoing and amplifying the $mear. RedState, Captain’s Quarters. More here and here, here, here, here, here, here, here. Wizbang.

OK, now of course ABC News is picking it up.

A comment at DailyKos: “Hannity got the memo as well and he and Annthrax Coulter are hammering Gore for the same thing tonight.”

Tennessee Center’s President Drew Johnson comes straight out of the right’s network, coming from Exxon-funded American Enterprise Institute and the right-wing-funded National Taxpayers Foundation.

They are part of the right’s State Policy Network. According to PFAW,

“SPN is a national network of state-based right-wing organizations in 37 states as well as prominent nationwide right-wing organizations. Through its network SPN advances the public policy ideas of the expansive right-wing political movement on the state and local level.”

As of Feb. 16, the Tennessee tax dept. considers them “not a legitimate organization” because of their misrepresenting themselves involving questions about the group’s opposition to a state crackdown on drug dealers.

See more on the above article at THE HUFFINGTON POST

—————————-

How Green is Gore?

Gore purchased 108 blocks of “green power” for each of the past three months, according to a summary of the bills.

That’s a total of $432 a month Gore paid extra for solar or other renewable energy sources.

The green power Gore purchased is equivalent to recycling 2.48 million aluminum cans or 286,092 pounds of newspaper, according to comparison figures on NES’s Web site…….

The Green Power Switch program isn’t all that Gore and his wife, Tipper, are doing, said Kalee Krider, a spokeswoman for Gore.

They use compact fluorescent lightbulbs and are in the midst of a renovation project that includes having solar panels installed on their home to reduce fossil fuel consumption, she said…………Their car? A Lexis hybrid SUV. — read full article How Green is Gore

——————————————–

Al Gore’s Bloated Gas And Electricity Bills

———————————————–

ALSO SEE: My previous post on Global Warming with many links that cover both the facts and the criticism.

———————————————-

Condi Goes Too Far — Olbermann: Secretary Rice’s Comparison of Saddam to Hitler is Not Accurate — Check out the video and let me know what you think.

WATCH THE VIDEO — AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.
Oh….the media. When I saw this last night, I knew I had to put it on the site to get your comments.

To the conservative readers……..Try to get through it, I know it will be hard, but it is factual……and I promise to put something up on this site in the near future that will make the liberals skin crawl. Deal? Because, I really want to know what you guys have to say about this too. Thanks.

So, here it is…………..

SPECIAL COMMENT - Countdown - Updated: 11:14 a.m. ET Feb 27, 2007

On “Fox News Sunday” Feb. 25, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paralleled World War II with the state of Iraq when discussing what would happen if Congress were to revise the Iraq authorization:

We already know about her suggestion that the president could just ignore whatever congressional Democrats do about Iraq.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 8 MINUTE VIDEO — IT’S MUST SEE TV

——————————————————————————-

Let me know what you think on some of the other issues facing our country by using the WHAT DO YOU THINK LINK now featuring:

picture by © bluemoont

Is Our Food Safe? Why The Risk Of Tainted Food Is On The Rise?

This is from MSNBC — You can see the complete article at: RISKS OF TAINTED FOOD RISE

From spinach to peanut butter
The latest big recall involves peanut butter believed tainted with salmonella, a bacterium found in feces that can cause severe diarrhea. The outbreak has sickened at least 329 people in 41 states since August, federal health officials say.

Food safety experts say it would be impossible to know whether increased numbers of inspectors and inspections would have prevented the outbreak, linked to Peter Pan and Great Value brands made by ConAgra Foods Inc., or other recent food poisoning scares.

The FDA had last inspected ConAgra’s peanut butter plant in Sylvester, Ga., in February 2005 and had found no problems, agency spokesman Michael Herndon said.

Firms that produce high-risk foods more susceptible to contamination, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, are supposed to be inspected every year, unless they have a good safety record. Then inspections are done every two or three years, Herndon said.

——————————————-

As bad as this sounds, I found statistics that are even more troubling.

From the CDC:

To better quantify the impact of foodborne diseases on health in the United States, we compiled and analyzed information from multiple surveillance systems and other sources. We estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year. Known pathogens account for an estimated 14 million illnesses, 60,000 hospitalizations, and 1,800 deaths. Three pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are responsible for 1,500 deaths each year, more than 75% of those caused by known pathogens, while unknown agents account for the remaining 62 million illnesses, 265,000 hospitalizations, and 3,200 deaths. Overall, foodborne diseases appear to cause more illnesses but fewer deaths than previously estimated.

and also this:

An estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness are reported each year in the United States, and while the vast majority are mild and cause passing symptoms, some cases are more serious, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. — read full story

———————

I’m not sure what the “real” statistics are…….but, WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG TO DEVELOP A VACCINE FOR FOOD BORNE ILLNESS? — just kidding.

Joking aside, this seems like a serious problem. What can be done about this?

ARE WE SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS? — What does it mean to support the troops?

by © msmac9

What does it mean to support our troops? Are we talking the talk, and not walking the walk? I’ll admit, I am one of the people that believes the best way to support the troops is to bring them home. But that aside, the troops need much more support than just some empty words. Words can make for excellent “sound bites” in a news program, but words don’t save lives, words don’t fund programs, and ultimately words do not support our troops. If they (the troops), are lucky enough to come home alive, then as veterans they will receive even less support. Shouldn’t the people supporting this war, be doing more to make sure that when these troops get back, they will still be supported? Or, will just supporting them with words be o.k. then too?

It’s the dirty little secret of the U.S. Military, and the whole of the United States — As the richest and most powerful country in the world, we don’t want to help the poor, the hungry, or the homeless, and in many cases that is exactly where our veterans end up. Although veterans comprise only about 34% of the general adult male population, 40% of the homeless population is comprised of adult male veterans. It is estimated that on any given night in America, about 300,000 veterans are homeless. That doesn’t seem like support to me. Could we be doing anything to support them?

ALSO SEE: Article titled — Iraq War Veterans Already Joining Homeless Population from the new standard news

If all this isn’t bad enough, most of us think that the people going into the military will at least get a solid education when they get out, since this is one of the very publicised benefits to joining the military. The fact is, that less 15% will receive a college degree, and most could have gotten more money for college without enlisting from a Pell Grant or Stafford Loan. The percent that will get a degree does not include the 25% of enlistees dishonorably discharged or the 33% who leave the military early, all of which will receive no money at all. This means that if you include all people that actually enlisted, less than 8% will get a college education. Wow, I figured all or most wouldn’t get an education, but even I didn’t think the numbers were that low.

Another little tid-bit I found disturbing, especially as the mother of a high school student, is that part of the “No Child Left Behind Act” requires that all schools must give recruiters total access to their students. Of course the school can “opt-out”, but in doing so they also “opt-out” of federal funding. So, wealthy schools with wealthy students can say they will not allow recruiters any access to their students, but poor schools have no choice but to give total access to their students, or they will lose their funding. Shocking! Not really. Below are a few of the many articles related to this subject.

[There's no Promise Like a Government Promise...The fine print on the back of the enlistment contract makes it clear that no promise made by the government has to be kept.........You're Not Out Until They Say You're Out....Despite the stated length of enlistment, usually 4 years, recruits can be kept in the military indefinitely, or called back from the reserves many years later as we’re seeing now with the current back door draft (a.k.a. “Stop loss.”) Even those who've been severely physically and mentally injured are being called back] –see full article TRUTH VERSUS FICTION — What Recruits Are Not Told When The Enlist

[The military has always drawn heavily from the poor, who, in many cases, have few other options for career development than to pick up a gun and hope for the best. We’ve all seen the ads: “Do more before nine a.m. than most people do all day, see the world, become a doctor, learn to be a pilot”…the promises of the military go on and on. And the commercials are effective—a recent survey found that “money for college” was the main explanation given for enlisting in the military. Given the role of the GI Bill in building the middle class after World War II, these ads have history, in addition to sleek production, behind them. The tragedy—or crime, depending on how you look at the situation—is that the military can no longer deliver on its promises........Some veterans may end their education with a two-year degree or certificate, and others may decide to raise a family—but clearly, the college degree at the end of the rainbow is not all that easy to achieve. In making this point, some veterans point to the byzantine bureaucracy they’re forced to navigate to attain benefits, while others simply say that there is not enough money provided to pay for college.......The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the GI Bill currently only covers 60 percent of the costs at a public four-year school, while the GI Bill originally covered all education costs. Similarly, the GI Bill hasn’t provided subsidies for veterans with spouses and children since 1977. ]– see full article DYING FOR AN EDUCATION

by © cordump2001

————————————————————————————

ALSO SEE: A SOLDIER’S HEART — BY FRONTLINE/PBS

SUPPORT THE TROOPS: BRING THEM HOME (A TIME/CNN ARTICLE)

Military Families Speak Out

George Bush Not Supporting Troops

————————————————————-

If you are reading this and you are a veteran that needs assistance, or you are someone who would like to help make a difference in the lives of veterans — his link was just made available to me….and looks very helpful. Rebuilding Together and Countrywide Volunteers Provide Home Improvements for Injured Soldier

IF ANYONE ELSE HAS LINKS ON HOW PEOPLE CAN GET INVOLVED AND HELP OUR VETERANS…..I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO POST THEM.

———————————————————————–

This is a comment from this post that I thought was worth making available to all that read this:

——————————————————————————————

Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

——————————————————————————————

The HPV Vaccine — The Flu Vaccine — The Chicken Pox Vaccine — What We Know, And What We Don’t Know.

I wanted to address some of the additional things that have been brought up in the “comments” over the last few days, regarding the issue of vaccines.

 

Even though Merck has said it will stop spending money in a continued pursuit to make it’s HPV vaccine mandatory - Merck has already been successful in it’s “consumer mis-information campaign“. Since there is already enough confusion and concern about this vaccine and cervical cancer, the success of Merck’s vaccine is essentially guaranteed.

We have short memories in this country, and since the media is in the practice of repeating and re-repeating ‘talking-points’ masquerading as ‘facts’, this is not going to change anytime soon.

Never the less, I took some time today to gather some information on vaccines, that you may or may not be aware of. We need to stick together as the collective consumers of this country, and help open each-others eyes to the deceptions being put in front of us by Corporate America.

So, a little bit more about the HPV vaccine.

Although 90 percent of cervical cancer is believed to be caused by HPV, it is still only about 4% of people with HPV that will get cervical cancer. And, it is my opinion that this vaccine, will cause women to have a false sense of security about cervical cancer and not have routine PAP tests, as well as possibly make them feel they do not need to “protect” themselves from other STD’s as well as AIDS.

————————————-

[Drug-industry analyst Steve Brozak of W.B.B. Securities has projected Gardasil sales of at least $1 billion per year _ and billions more if states start requiring the vaccine. "I could not think of a bigger boost," he said.] — read entire article

——————————————————————-

In its product manufacturer insert, Merck states that “Vaccination does not substitute for routine cervical cancer screening. Women who receive GARDASIL should continue to undergo cervical cancer screening per standard of care.” Merck also states that “The duration of immunity following a complete schedule of immunization with GARDASIL has not been established.” — see complete article

———————————————————-

Below, Meryl Nass, MD, whose medical expertise includes vaccine safety, epidemiology and biological warfare, provides insight into the medical and ethical concerns — and the unanswered scientific questions about Merck’s Gardasil vaccine. Among the issues addressed by Dr. Nass:

• Unlike infectious diseases that spread in schools — like polio and measles — HPV is only transmitted sexually. Why, then, is Merck seeking mandatory vaccine orders? Is it deliberately to usurp parental rights and responsibilities?
• Since boys transfer the HPV virus to girls, why don’t boys get vaccinated? Why are only girls being pushed to take the vaccine?
• There are over 30 HPV viruses. Of these, 10 may cause cancer. Merck’s vaccine is effective for only 4 of these potentially cancerous viruses. Therefore, PAP tests are still essential to detect cancer and save lives, as well as condoms, which remain the safest, most effective method for preventing HIV transfer and numerous sexually transmitted diseases.
• The oversell of Gradasil is likely to mislead those vaccinated to think that they are safe when they are not. This has the potential of increasing both STDs and cancer. — see complete article

——————————————————————————–

This is not the first time the pharmaceutical companies have gotten away with this type of thing….the chick-pox vaccine and the flu vaccine are other examples of this. These are illnesses that seldom cause death in the average person, except in the very young, the very old, and the very sick……so those are the people that “really” need this type of vaccine. But, it wouldn’t be as profitable for the pharmaceutical companies, if they were not getting as many people as possible to get these vaccines. This is why it is so important for them to put a large amount of effort into “convincing” the American people of the urgent need for these vaccines.

————————————————————————

Take the FLU VACCINE –

What the public didn’t know in the fall of 2003 — the supposed spread of a deadly flu epidemic and a shortage of flu vaccine was little more than a joint government/ industry PR campaign — an operation that greatly increased flu vaccine makers’ profits while scaring the bejesus out of millions of Americans.

Across the country, people, especially children, were dying earlier in the flu season and in higher numbers than the experts had seen before. At least that’s what they said, and since they were nationally respected experts with impeccable qualifications, no one questioned them, nor the high-ranking government health bureaucrats who shared the microphone with them at press conferences about the flu. After all, what would these well-meaning people have to gain personally by misleading the public about the flu?

As it turns out, quite a lot. All it took to ignite a media feeding frenzy over the flu was a few well-placed suggestions by a few well-qualified people that this season could turn out to be far more deadly than usual. The media did the rest.

What the public wasn’t told was that the handful of experts who drove the story, by predicting doom and gloom in national news reports, either worked directly for the flu vaccine companies or served on the boards of special interest groups whose activities those companies funded. The public was also never told that the same pharmaceutical companies, which had peppered Congress with millions in political contributions over the last three years, were pressuring the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — and ultimately its sub-agency, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) — to increase the number of people who bought their vaccines. — see the complete article

————————————————————————-
What about the Chicken Pox Vaccine?

The chicken-pox vaccine, is not a life-long protection….this can and will proven to be very harmful to unborn children of women who received this vaccine and then are exposed to someone with chicken pox or shingles while pregnant…..the children that began getting this vaccine are in high school now….so it won’t be long. Not to mention, that getting chicken pox as a child is not near the problem as getting it as an adult…..when these vaccines are not protecting these kids anymore….they will be adults. How many 18 to 25 year old people do think are going to go and get a “booster” for chicken pox???? Maybe we are going to have to make them mandatory?

——————————————————————————-

More on the Chicken Pox Vaccine –

No one really knows what the long term ramifications of exposure to this virus in this unorthodox way are. Since it is so new, there is no long term data available. In fact there is no data to even suggest that after ten years, immunity from this vaccine is sufficient to prevent the disease — possibly leaving people vulnerable to getting chickenpox as adults when the risks of this illness are much greater! — see complete report

 

Take, for example, the new chicken pox vaccine. Recently, there was a chicken pox outbreak in a New Hampshire daycare. Of the 25 infected kids, 17 had already been vaccinated. This was quite a surprise to officials at the CDC, who had thought the vaccine more effective and not counted on kids needing booster shots as soon as three years after they received the vaccine. In reality, very little is known about efficacy and safety of vaccines until they are already approved for use in babies and small children. Until the vaccine has been tested on millions of kids, we don’t really know what the rare and serious side effects are. And, until there is an outbreak among the vaccinated, we don’t really know when the vaccine wears off or how effective it really is. However, vaccines have been considered so important to public health in the past decades that these inconsistencies with drug approval have not been considered important or alarming. But what happens when these kids who were vaccinated and given their boosters for chicken pox are exposed to it as adults when many of them won’t have received their recommended boosters? Twenty percent of chicken pox fatalities occur in people over 30 years old. We will have successfully increased the danger of chicken pox, making it into the feared disease that public health officials would have us believe it is for our children. So, on top of changing the epidemiology of the disease from one that only 10 percent of 15-year-olds haven’t gotten, we’re also exposing our small kids to a wild card of possible side effects from the vaccines—whether those are caused by the actual viral material or the list of things that material is mixed with in the shot.
– see complete article

————————————————————————-

Then there is a vaccine being given to babies to prevent diarrhea –

The government warned on Tuesday of potentially life-threatening twisting of the intestines in infants vaccinated against a virus that is the leading cause of early childhood diarrhea.

The condition, called intussusception, is the same that led to the withdrawal of the first rotavirus vaccine eight years ago. — see complete article

————————————————————————

I can’t say who should get these vaccines and who should not. But I think we all need to know that facts, and make educated decisions about whether or not to use these vaccines. We can only do that if we are getting the truth about these vaccines from both our government and Corporate America.

ALSO SEE: The Campaign of Deception — How Corporate America Has Taken Over Our Government

If you have an opinion or any additional information on this topic, I hope you will leave a comment.

——————————————————————————————

Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

——————————————————————————————

 

Merck Admits It Was Wrong To Lobby For Making HPV Vaccine Mandatory

The Associated Press is reporting that Merck will stop lobbying to make it’s HPV vaccine mandatory. Maybe “the people” still have a voice after-all!

Merck criticized by parents and doctors for pushing cervical cancer vaccine

[The drugmaker had been criticized by parents and doctors’ groups for quietly funding the campaign via a third party to require 11- and 12-year-old girls get the three-dose vaccine in order to attend school.] — see full article at MSNBC

[Merck launched Gardasil, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, in June.

Sales totaled $255 million through the end of 2006, according to Merck.

Timing of Merck's push questioned
Last month, the AP reported that Merck was channeling money for its state-mandate campaign through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators across the country.] — see full article at MSNBC

ALSO SEE: What Is Not Being Reported About The HPV Vaccine

AND 10 REASONS WHY THE HPV VACCINE IS A “MURKY” ISSUE

AND More On How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Deceiving Consumers

——————————————————————————————

Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

——————————————————————————————

The Campaign of Deception — How Corporate America Has Taken Over Our Government.

picture by © bosoxfanatic245

THE CAMPAIGN OF DECEPTION — by Catherine Morgan

In researching my articles for this blog over the last several weeks, I noticed a disturbing fact about our government. Well obviously, more than one. But, one in particular, that seems to encompass every major issue this country is facing today. It seems to me that the idea of government being “for the people”, has become a government “for the corporations”. More specifically, for the corporations that are funding political campaigns.

I know, nothing new, this is a problem that has been going on forever. Laws have even been written to try to reduce or eliminate this problem. But, every lawyer knows that laws have loop-holes, and they know how to find them. O.k. — I admit the “lawyer” part is an assumption, maybe not “every” lawyer knows this. None the less, the laws have done little to stop the corporate funding of favors that are going on in our government. That is not even the real problem any more, the problem has ballooned into a “literal” systematic take-over of our government. As far as I can tell, there is NO aspect of our government, that is not being partially or totally funded by special interest groups and multi-million dollar corporations. This is beyond a partisan problem, this is the entire system of government, both Democrats and Republicans. Making it even harder to see any chance that this problem can ever be corrected.

I first noticed this when I was researching the topic of Homeless in America, then again when I was researching The Iraq War, then again with Global Warming, then again with No Child Left Behind, then once again while researching for my previous post on The HPV Vaccine. These are all instances of government policy being dictated by corporations, and this is only scratching the surface. Some others are; Banks being able to give credit cards to people without social security numbers, Medicare and prescription drug plans, the Insurance industry, 99.9% of our foreign policy, WAL-MART, voting machines, and the list goes on and on.

The biggest problem is not even the money that is funding politicians and political parties, in return for favors. The biggest problem is the campaign of deception targeted at the American people, by both the government and the corporations. By that I mean, the release of research, and/or mis-information to the public for the sole purpose of corporate profits. This is in no way a small problem, in-fact this is the “rip-up the pages in the rule book and just throw them in the air out of frustration, wave a white flag, and give-up” kind of problem. At least from my perspective, this seems to be such a pervasive problem, that I see no hope in the possibility of rectifying it.

Well, let me give you some of the information I have come across, maybe it’s not as bad as all that, I could be over reacting, that happens sometimes. I hope you will check out the information, and let me know what you think. Mainly — Is there any hope for our government to go back to being “for the people”? I’m not so good with history, but I think somewhere in the Constitution is says something about that? Maybe someone can enlighten me on that too.

Anyway, here it is:

[Under the administration of George W. Bush, the White House has become the East Coast branch office of ExxonMobil and Peabody Coal, and climate change has become the preeminent case study of the contamination of our political system by money.] — see full article

[Not surprisingly, many of the bills benefit the companies that helped write them. Consider ALEC's "Environmental Audit Privilege," a measure that relieves companies of legal responsibility for their own pollution] — see full article

Corporate Patriotism or War Profiteering?:
[Hundreds of Americans soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice for a war that was sold to the American public by misleading assertions about an imminent threat, weapons of mass destruction, and ties to terrorist groups like Al Qaeda. In November, American taxpayers were asked to foot the bill as Congress passed the Bush administration's request for an additional $87 billion for the ongoing occupation and reconstruction of Iraq. Yet where is the $87 billion going? Mostly to companies with long-standing connections to the Bush administration, including Halliburton and Bechtel, the two contractors that have made the most money.] — see full article

[The pharmaceutical and health products industry has spent more than $800 million in federal lobbying and campaign donations at the federal and state levels in the past seven years, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found. Its lobbying operation, on which it reports spending more than $675 million, is the biggest in the nation. No other industry has spent more money to sway public policy in that period. Its combined political outlays on lobbying and campaign contributions is topped only by the insurance industry.] — see full article

ALSO SEE:

The Political Money Line

The History of The Lobbying Disclosure Act

I look forward to hearing from all of you on this subject. Let me know what you think.

More On Money Spent On Lobbying — from MSNBC

—————————————————————————————–

Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

—————————————————————————————–

What Is Not Being Reported About The Merck Cervical Cancer Vaccine?

WHAT IS NOT BEING REPORTED ABOUT THE MERCK CERVICAL CANCER VACCINE — by Catherine Morgan

UPDATE:  See more information on Gardasil and the HPV virus on my BlogHer  Health & Wellness post at:  Gardasil — The Three Faces of the HPV Vaccine

Did anyone else notice the media passing off pharmaceutical talking points, as actual news? This is a sample of what has been reported in the media; CNN, TIME, and FOX, and MSNBC. I know this happens all the time, but this Cancer Vaccine thing, really takes the cake.

To start with, this is a vaccine that protects against the HPV virus, not cervical cancer. Then, they are trying to make it mandatory that all twelve year old girls be vaccinated, for a sexually transmitted disease. At first, I thought that was the most ridiculous part of this story. I thought that a vaccine was a good idea, but parents should be able to decide whether their child is vaccinated, not the government.

But, the more I listened to the media blitz, the more I realized that something was missing. We heard all about how one of the most important risk factors for cervical cancer is infection with a virus called HPV (human papillomavirus). We also found out that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in America, affecting over 6 million people each year. So, if HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer, we would be crazy not to vaccinate our children, and that is exactly what “they” want us to believe.

The facts are staggering, but why wasn’t anyone reporting the statistics about how many of the millions affected with HPV will actually get cervical cancer? Probably because that wasn’t one of the “talking points” given to the media. It wasn’t easy to find the actual statistics on this, but I finally did. [The number of women in 2006 that will have been diagnosed with cervical cancer is estimated by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to reach 9,710, and 3,700 will have died of it.] I’m not saying that 3,700 deaths from cervical cancer isn’t a lot, but compared to the millions affected with HPV, the percent that will get or die of cervical cancer is a very small percentage.

[It should be stressed that only a very small percentage of women who have HPV will develop cervical cancer; so simply having HPV doesn't mean that you will get sick. ] — SEE FULL ARTICLE

So, why do we need to vaccinate for HPV? Why should vaccination be mandatory? Could it be pharmaceutical profit margins? No, that could not be the case, since this information and subsequent recommendations have been made by a non-profit, federally funded, bi-partisan organization called Women In Government.

[Women In Government is a national 501(c)(3), non-profit, bi-partisan organization of women state legislators providing leadership opportunities, networking, expert forums, and educational resources to address and resolve complex public policy issues. Women In Government leads the nation with a bold, courageous, and passionate vision that empowers and mobilizes all women legislators to effect sound policy.]

Interestingly enough, the companies funding this government organization, are none other than the pharmaceutical companies, who will ultimately benefit from the policies made by this organization.

I just want to know, does the benefit of this vaccine outweigh the risks of this vaccine? Should this vaccine be mandatory for young girls? Isn’t the instance of cervical cancer already going down dramatically in this country because of routine PAP tests?

[Since the Pap test was introduced, the cervical cancer rate has dropped by roughly 70 percent. Experts say the rate would likely have dropped even further if more low-income women and minority women had been screened.]

So, tell me what you think. Are we getting the whole story? Who really benefits from this vaccine, young girls or large pharmaceutical companies?

ALSO SEE: MERCK ADMITS IT WAS WRONG TO LOBBY FOR MAKING HPV VACCINE MANDATORY

TEN REASONS WHY HPV VACCINE IS “MURKY” ISSUE

HPV VACCINE, FLU VACCINE, CHICKEN POX VACCINE…..AND SO ON…

——————————————————————————————-

Let us know what you think on some of the other issues in politics today…..just go the the WHAT DO YOU THINK? link.

——————————————————————————————-

Is Tobacco Use A Constitutionally Protected Right? — Should We Ban Tobacco?

picture by © navybrat22

Another great article and opinion by Bill Kapeles. Thanks again Bill.

Is Tobacco Use A Constitutionally Protected Right? - Should We Ban Tobacco? — By Bill Kapeles

I am an addict. I am addicted to smokeless tobacco. I do not use tobacco anymore, but I will remain a tobacco addict until the day I die. I despise the weed for what I allowed it to do to my body, and the degree of control I gave it over my life.

With that admission, I acknowledge that I have no Constitutionally protected right to use tobacco. Many, if not all, tobacco users would disagree with me. I am curious on how the public at large feels about this issue.

There can be no denial of the negative effects of tobacco use on the human body. There is too much scientific evidence that points to elevated cancer risks, increased risks of heart disease, and other physical maladies that can affect the user. Similarly, the effects of secondhand smoke are also well documented. The innocents in society, like our children, are forced to breathe smoke and the nasty chemicals it contains. They have no choice i