Dear America,

Oh America, we are in the midst of a spin machine and it's enough to make me want to throw up.

Okay, today there was this big announcement about the largest FRAUD settlement to date, featuring Pfizer, in the amount of 2.3 Billion Dollars...oooooh

There was pomp and circumstance, Kathleen Sebelius for a brief appearance, the FBI, Associate Attorney General and what seemed like all upper echelon of the Department of Justice, and a four year investigation was coming to a head -- or so you thought. In reality, it was all OLD NEWS.

There was nothing new discovered here. Pfizer took it's medicine months ago, nine months to be exact, and marks nothing more than a publicity stunt and administration slight of hand.


Admittedly, the actual investigation was not entirely over until now, but for all intents and purposes this announcement -- made by the guilty party, Pfizer, all on its own -- was made January 26th, 2009 in conjunction with details of it's purchase of another troubling drug manufacturer, Wyeth, for 68 Billion Dollars.


It would appear that all of the investigation was accomplished within the Justice Department under Bush's watch, even though by the looks of it today Obama and his mob have rushed in to claim ownership; emphasizing the very fact that fraud is running rampant, requiring his administration to control it now before its too late, along with force feeding a Health Care Bill that will ultimately take over our helpless souls. Open your mouth and say ahhhhhhh no.


Enough already. We don't want Universal health care and no amount of cajoling and manipulation and spin will change our minds, are you listening?


Bearing all accountability, Pfizer took Bextra off the market entirely in 2005. In response to whether or not there was actual evidence of any harm to anyone with the administering of the drug, Bextra -- which is an anti-inflammatory, rheumatoid arthritis pill-- for uses other than what the FDA approved it for, the Justice Department said it was "irrelevant." The lawsuit and primary issue of the Justice Department was in relation to the big, bad drug company, Pfizer, for taking advantage of marketing a product to doctors in an unscrupulous manner, even though as a general rule the drug assisted other ailments while keeping a track record of moderate success with both doctor and patient.


Yes, drug companies should be monitored.

Yes, it is all good that this investigation brought to light a liberal use of a patent beyond its legal FDA approval. Drug companies should be accountable for every little detail and purpose of each and every pill popped in our mouths for the sake of our health.

But tell me if I'm wrong, if the entire premise on the nature of creating and bringing to market medicine requires experimentation, or trial and error, is the discovery of another favorable use other than the original intention really so bad? For goodness sakes, the entire industry relies on little white mice, petri dishes, or volunteers and trial groups to accept the risks along with the benefits of maybe finding a cure. It is the nature of the beast.

Yes, we want to be assured that this drug is used for this reason in this dosage for this long; but what if this drug is discovered to cure other things? Is it truly necessary to cut off our nose to spite our face?

And really, I have to believe drug companies have within their rank and file people who want to help other people; people who want to find the cure for cancer, or AIDS, or the Swine Flu. I have to believe that. At the risk of going back to my naivete, I believe in the good in people.

You know, the amount of money spent by drug companies is great. The number of years leading to the actual production of one pill is long and tedious. For the many successes, there are many more failures.

And yes, I believe it is right and just for our government to insure our safety in the manufacturing and administering of it all. While after today's news conference it would appear a renewed vigilance questioning the value of our free market, our American ingenuity in research and invention, and the benefits of the rare and true capitalist society, and with that in mind we should be extremely cautious venturing down that road.

And to complicate matters even more, as we have seen through decades of fraud and malpractice suits stemming from all points of the health care industry -- doctors, insurance companies, drug research and production, or even, heaven forbid, patients themselves -- we know first hand the real cost of lawsuits; and the real harm is seen through what we are experiencing today. WE, the everyday citizen, are the one's who carry the true liability. Ultimately, somebody has to pay for it...for the billions a drug company makes and loses in a day, it will pass on those costs to the one paying for the prescription.

WE lose while ATTORNEYS win; nothing new about that.

But the thing is, the timing of this news conference just kills me. Talk about transparency.

That's really all I want to say.

Make it a Good Day, G

PS You know what happened a hundred years ago -- before drug companies and health insurance -- we died. Now...we sue, then die.