The Thriving Spoils System

The Egregious Actions Involving Women's Health at the FDA
Dr. Norris Alderson was appointed to head Women's Health at the FDA. The FDA quickly removed his name from their list of Directors and denied that he was ever appointed. Why the scramble? Well, some say it is inappropriate to appoint a man to the position when so many qualified women are available - oh yes, and because Dr. Alderson is not an MD but a Veterinarian. WHAT???

The position became vacant on 8.31.05 when Dr. Susan Wood resigned complaining of politically motivated decisionmaking by the Commisioner, Lester Crawford - who thankfully resigned yesterday (9.23.2005). Decisions by the FDA are primarily based on scientific findings, but recently those findings have been completely ignored. Wood explained that "It was very unusual for the Commissioner of the FDA to overrule the recommendation of all of the professional staff" and yet that had become the practice.


Worried about the cost of Oil?
The Bush administration will look into it for you. The Federal Trade Commission will now be investigating oil prices. The man assigned to head the investigation is a former attorney for ChevronTexaco.

FEMA
You all know that Michael Brown was the Head of an International Arabian Horse Association which qualified him for his role as the director of FEMA.

Other Appointments:
A former timber lobbyist was appointed the head of the Forest Service; A former utility lobbyist was appointed to head the Clean Air Division of the EPA; A former lobbyist for an Agricultural Industry giant Monsanto, was appointed as the number 2 person at the EPA; A former lobbysit for the American Petroleum Institute was appointed to the Council on Environmental Quality.

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For more information see the following sites:
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=202508&pub=1&div=Opinion
http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/Lbushmonsanto.htm
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/20050920/fda_shenanigans.php