NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #16/NN_1992_16.iso/spool/sci/med/14322

Internet Message Format | 1992-07-22 | 3.7 KB

Xref: sparky sci.med:14322 talk.politics.drugs:5272 pnw.general:1596
Newsgroups: sci.med,talk.politics.drugs,pnw.general
Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnewsh!cbnewse!doctor1
From: [e-mail] (patrick.b.hailey)
Subject: Re: FDA still at large
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 08:14:05 GMT
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Keywords: FDA, unconstitutional illegal action,single-issue blindness
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Lines: 61

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Kurt Cockrum) writes:
>You have met the enemy and it is you!...illegal action,single-issue blindness
  ...
>Look.  You can investigate all the government agencies you want... It
>doesn't make a *damned* bit of difference.
  ...
>There is a *war* going on out there, one of the government against its own
>citizens.  It's a lot slicker and less bloody (so far) than the one in El
>Salvador, but no less of one. You seem to think that the problem is just
>one of an over-zealous regulatory agency persecuting the (slightly)
>unorthodox.  Did it ever occur to you that the various governmental
>gung-ho actions over the past few years are part of a pattern?
  ...
>While you squabble and snipe at each other in your righteous PC-ness, you
>are getting picked off, one by one.
  ...
>Break out of your ... single-issue shells and get a look at the big picture!

Believe him when he tells you this.

The t.p.d folks are sick of me saying this, but for the benefit of the other
newsgroups this has been crossposted from:

PLEASE look into the Libertarian Party.  We oppose agency "law" (ha!) on the
face of it.  It is *meant* to be unconstitutional, that is its *purpose*.

We want to take the guns away from most of the government.  In the case at
hand, that means that the FDA would be welcome to test and approve all the
drugs, foods, food additives, etcetera that it wants.  But if your doctor,
Consumer's Reports, or even just lowly, stupid old you decide that  something
would be good for you, the government can't send men with guns to tell you you
can't have it.

So, if your doctor doesn't work as hard at making the pharmaceutical companies
rich as he does at making you well, he or she won't be condemned to having the
full force of government come down on him/her.  The president and congress can
still buy stock in the pharmaceutical companies if they want to, but they
won't be able to force you at gunpoint to buy the stuff they make.

As another example, if you have a fatal disease and have only 6 months to
live, and you read about some treatment in France that is working wonders, you
could actually have it, if you want.  The FDA could certainly tell you that
they don't know yet if it's safe.  But they couldn't force you (or your
doctor) at gunpoint to withhold treatment so that your last 6 months are safe
months.

The Libertarian Party is the country's fastest growing political party.  We
are further along in our push for 50 state ballot access this year than Perot
was when he backed out of his little challenge.  And it's the only chance I
see of addressing the whole problem.  Not that it's perfect, or that I agree
with the party 100% on all issues.

The LP can be reached at [phone].  But if you reply to this post via
e-mail with your U.S. mail address, I will be glad to send you an information
packet, and you'll get it much quicker from me.  It's a smaller, uglier,
photocopied info packet, but it's still clear and readable.  It's free, so
what have you got to lose?

   Thanks awfully,
              Patrick