F*ck the FDA

I realize my blog is typically free from profanity, but I think once you read this, you'll agree it's warranted.

Any long-term reader knows that I've put a little effort into researching the drug Lovenox, but it's not often I talk about Heparin, its cheap, unreliable cousin. Where Lovenox provides reliable anti-coagulation at 2 doses a day, Heparin provides unreliable anti-coagulation anywhere from 2 doses a day up to continuous delivery via IV. Heparin's reliability (or lack thereof) can be complicated by various blood conditions, one of which affects my wife. Consequently, the drug is of little importance to me.

Nevertheless, Heparin serves a significant role in almost any hospital medical procedure by helping Doctors and Nurses keep IVs clear of clots. This hits particularly close to home as it was only a couple months ago my daughter had surgery, and I watched them administer Heparin to keep her IV clear. You might also remember what happened to actor Dennis Quaid's twins when the hospital confused two different concentrations of Heparin.

So what am I so upset about, you ask?

Heparin Contamination May Have Been Deliberate

There's been a story circulating about contaminated Heparin coming out of China under the Baxter International brand. Now it seems the FDA has investigated, inspected the factory, and decided that someone was intentionally doing this to increase profits.

So why do I say, "F*ck the FDA?" Glad you asked...BECAUSE THE STUPID, CORRUPT, HYPOCRITICAL, WORTHLESS, MONEY GRUBBING, PIECES OF SHIT said that I couldn't import the same Lovenox from Canada that I buy here at 3x the cost. WHY? Because it could be CONTAMINATED. Well, guess what? The Heparin they stamped with their seal of approval was CONTAMINATED. What's worse is our tax dollars pay for what appears to be a worthless bureaucracy which serves little apparent purpose beyond running up the cost of medications in the U.S.

Is the purpose of the FDA to protect U.S. citizens, or is its purpose to protect pharmaceutical company profits? Read the linked article, and I think the answer will reveal itself.

Earmark Watch

Through a post at Captain's Quarters, Mr Morrissey points us to Earmark Watch, a site who's sole purpose is to help citizens research the wasteful spending of our representatives in Washington, D.C. Take a look and see what sort of games your representatives are playing. After reviewing my own, I'm left wondering if we're running our an experiment with Communism in this country. Why do all of these military technology businesses need government grants? Isn't the basic idea that you develop a product and try to sell it to the armed services, not the other way around?

Captain's Quarters Outs the Porkers

I don't always agree with Captain's Quarters, but when it comes to earmarks/pork, he's right on target. Take a look at his evaluation of pork in the transportation bill.

If you want to be disgusted by politicians yet again...

...read this.

Bush Administration Doesn't Want a Safe Food Supply????

In a million years, I didn't think I'd regurgitate something from the John Edwards Blog, but this article demonstrates just how far the Republican Party and, more specifically, the Bush Administration have come from the ideal of small government.

In short, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef planned to test *ALL* of their cattle for Mad Cow disease. What did the Bush Administration do? They took Creekstone to court in an attempt to prevent them from performing the tests. The reason? Brace yourselves...a possible false positive. The real reason? Probably big meat companies not wanting to pay for tests to remain competitive. The Bush Administration lost in court, but they decided to...wait for it...appeal. Go figure...

On CNN This Morning: Secret Spending of Tax Money

This video has to be seen to be believed:


Secret Spending of Tax Money

Is this really a representative government if our congressional representatives wield this kind of power? My appreciation to Senator Coburn for condemning the status quo and calling out a couple of Democrats for their hypocrisy.

Best Friends: Merck and Rick Perry

We all know shady things happen in American politics, but they're usually hidden well enough not to attract too much attention. Okay, that first sentence may not pass the laugh test, but read on...

It looks like Governor Rick Perry of Texas decided to throw caution to the wind. Reading between the lines in an article on Yahoo titled Texas Requiring Cervical Cancer Vaccine for Girls, you can't help but form the opinion that Merck bought an executive order. What would cause Governor Perry to side-step regular legislative process in the state? Why shouldn't the state representatives vote on the measure?

Beyond the executive order, even the title of the article shows the massive influence being exerted by Merck. This isn't a Cervical Cancer Vaccine...it's an HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) Vaccine, and only a vaccine for a subset of the strains of HPV at that. Some easy googling reveals nobody thinks this is a silver bullet. In fact, one site remarked that it might prevent 70% of all cases of Cervical Cancer.

Before you get the wrong opinion, I think the availability of this vaccine is wonderful. I'm certain 2-3 of my relatives would have benefited from this vaccine if it had been available years ago, but why does the government think they need to make the choice for them?

As the article states, the vaccine has been "shown" to be safe. How will Governor Perry feel when the first major side-effects start showing up in his state? How many deaths will result? Before you manage to say "FDA blah, blah, blah", tell me this. How many of the currently mandatory vaccines are 100% safe?