Wednesday, December 07, 2016

How very typical of "Time" magazine to choose the wrong person for "Person of the Year."









There was only one vote that matter in the 2016 election and it was the heaviest thumb on the scale.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

I am very happy for Vice President Biden. The Senate passed his moon shot to end cancer. That was admirable for everyone involved and a wonderful recognition of the Vice President and his long years in governance. He had to be one of the greatest moments in his life. 

But, true to form, within this enormously wonderful gesture is the dummying down of the FDA.

December 7, 2016
By Beth Mole

Today, Senators overwhelmingly (click here) passed the massive 21st Century Cures Act with a 94-to-5 vote.

The $6.3 billion, nearly 1,000-page (PDF) health legislation has been in the works since 2014 and spans far-flung issues. One of the bill’s central and most controversial aims is to relax and accelerate the Food and Drug Administration’s drug approval process, which backers argue will usher new, life-saving treatments to patients faster. The bill is also designed to simplify research grants and policy, make mental health a national priority, bolster monitoring of drug-resistant bacteria, provide states with funding to fight the opioid crisis, and support three Obama-era research initiatives, including Vice President Biden’s cancer moonshot....

...Still, not everyone is happy about the political slam dunk. Some Democrats and watchdog groups fear that the legislation will tie the FDA’s hands, allowing pharmaceutical and medical device companies to hustle dangerous and feeble treatments into doctor’s offices and hospitals.
“The legislation includes a grab bag of goodies for Big Pharma and medical device companies that would undermine requirements for ensuring safe and effective drugs and medical devices,” Michael Carome, director of the Public Citizen’s health research group, said in a statement.
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) shared similar concerns. In a statement, Sanders said, “The greed of the pharmaceutical industry has no limit, and this bill includes numerous corporate giveaways that will make drug companies even richer.”...
I think now is the time to begin planning the elections of 2020. The Democrats need to put more people in Congress. The US House has to be weighted to be able in intercede with absolutely crazy ideas. There will be many. Now is the best time to take on the challenge of returning the government to the people rather than a madman's idea of what is best for the world and country, albeit, hidden in hubris and vengeful statements who challenge his new authority.

I remember when "W" came into office, there was an Op-Ed by Nicholas Kristoff that boiled down to "Honey gets you more than vinegar." It was a message, no matter how veiled it might have been, that the new "W" administration would make life difficult for those with opposition to his administration. It was "W"rong of Mr. Kristoff, a magnificently prepared journalist with an education that is unchallenged, as it is today for anyone to wave the white flag in hopes of better treatment. There is no such thing as surrender to allowing such dense hubris to exist as if reality. That is what happened in Iraq. The number of people that have died in the middle east since the inauguration of George W. Bush clearly indicates the price of opposing such leadership brings a very high price. 

I don't care if Mr. Trump attempts to destroy this country by destroying the law. That is treason. If Mr. Trump does nothing but hand out incompetency and lies that is grounds for impeachment. And if none of that holds water, then there is misery for Mr. Trump and his administration every day of their power brokering. I will enjoy every moment.


President-elect Donald Trump’s (click here) transition team is considering a Silicon Valley investor close to billionaire Peter Thiel to head the Food and Drug Administration, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jim O’Neill, the Thiel associate, hasn’t been officially selected, according to the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the decision process is private, and the Trump team could still go in another direction.

O’Neill is a managing director at Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management, and last served in government during the George W. Bush administration as principal associate deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. He’s also a board member of the Seasteading Institute, a Thiel-backed venture to create new societies at sea, away from existing governments....
Another unqualified Wall Street opportunist at the FDA. Mr. Thiel is a philosopher by education and then became a lawyer. I suppose there is a lot to be said about an attorney that philosophizes the law rather than practice it.

He ranks #246 of the Fortune 400 and stated to be worth $2.7 billion. I believe he sold PayPal to E-Bay. (click here) PayPal was investigated by AGs around the country for it's role in online gaming.

Last time the FDA was under attack it was under "W" and it resulted in a Whistle Blower coming forward about the mischief that was a threat to the public's well being. So, be prepared. There will be headlines coming forward that will provide insight to the insanity of the Trump White House. Besides being interesting it will prove further that the American people are not at the heart of the Republican Party.

No one is going to be bombing Iran.

December 7, 2016
By Jackie Northam

Royal Dutch Shell has signed a provisional agreement (click here) to develop oil and gas fields in Iran, a move that could signal energy companies will not be deterred from doing business with the Islamic Republic despite uncertainty whether a Trump administration will scrap a nuclear deal agreed to by world powers.

A spokesman for Shell said a memorandum of agreement was signed Wednesday with the National Iranian Oil Co. "to further explore areas of potential cooperation." The agreement is nonbinding and involves the development of Iran's oil fields in South Azadegan and Yadavaran and the Kish gas field, according to Reuters. The South Azadegan and Yadavaran fields straddle the border with Iraq.

Royal Dutch Shell is based in the Netherlands but has operations in the U.S. It is the largest energy company to venture back into Iran since sanctions were lifted after a nuclear deal was implemented in January. It's a move that could signal the controversial deal will remain intact despite threats to renegotiate or scrap it by President-elect Donald Trump, who has called the deal, signed by six world powers in late 2015, a "disaster" and the "worst deal ever negotiated."...

Another unqualified hubris candidate. The Secretary of the EPA should be a world class chemist.

This is a deadly serious nomination that protects the domestic lives of Americans. The air they breath, the water they drink and the conditions of the land. This JOKE of a nomination is a violation of the PUBLIC TRUST instilled in the President of the USA.

Mr. Pruitt doesn't know squat about the work of the EPA and it's importance in protecting the domestic lives of Americans. This is a completely irresponsible nomination.

I would have thought Mr. Trump would be aware of deadly serious issues that manifested in Flint, Michigan from still yet another "Hubris" Governor. The lead in water in the USA is a national shame and only speaks to the negligence of legislators that hack away at these vital laws and grossly underfunded such as the EPA to inhibit it's influence in the country. 

This further proves the Trump White House does not care about the people of this country, but, only Wall Street and his particular idea of fun. This is gross mismanagement of the federal government.

December 7, 2016
By Nell Greenfieldboyce

President-elect Donald Trump (click here) intends to nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency, according to multiple news reports. Trump's transition team has not confirmed the news to NPR.

As attorney general, Pruitt has made no secret of his disdain for the EPA.

His official biography calls him "a leading advocate against the EPA's activist agenda." He has repeatedly challenged the agency's rules in court, and he has even sued the EPA for an allegedly cozy "sue and settle" relationship with environmentalists. One profile noted that Pruitt would sue the federal government "every chance he can get."

Pruitt, who met with Trump Thursday morning at Trump Tower in New York, has been an ardent defender of fossil fuels and the coal industry. The New York Times has reported that one letter to the EPA from Pruitt was ghostwritten by lawyers for Devon Energy, an Oklahoma oil and gas company....