Jack & Jill Politics

I’d like to know this won’t kill me

As one of those 50+ million uninsured Americans, I’d like to know if I have to go to the doctor’s office, and get prescribed medication, the medicine that is designed to either improve or maintain my good health is NOT GOING TO KILL ME.  I just got an email in the mail advising if my doctor has prescribed me AVANDIA (diabetes medication), I should call a lawyer and get in on a class-action suit to sue, because AVANDIA is being linked to creating heart disease:

Avandia lawsuits are personal injury cases in which patients injured after taking the Avandia prescription medication seek compensation from GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Avandia. Whether filed as an individual claim or an Avandia class action case, Avandia lawsuits can win settlements for affected patients by proving that:

A patient’s injuries were caused by taking Avandia.

GlaxoSmithKline knew about severe Avandia side effects and failed to disclose them to the FDA and the general public.

And, if that isn’t pissing you off, peep this:

Avandia patients who develop one (or more) of the following conditions will likely have a viable legal claim and will be entitled to compensation for their injuries:

congestive heart failure

heart attack

liver toxicity

severe allergic reaction

stroke.

Shyt.  Thank God, I’m NOT on this drug, but I’m praying for those who are on it, because in addition to trying to manage their diabetes, they NOW have to worry about dropping from a heart attack or stroke from this medication.  But if I have to see a doctor, I should not have to worry about if he prescribes me medication, that the meds are not going to KILL ME.

Way back in the day when the Food and Drug Administration was worth a damn, Big PhARMA could buy up all the congress critters they wanted, but Big PhARMA still had to get past the FDA in order to bring their drug to market.  This process took years, but during that process, the medications were tested until the FDA staff would recommend the meds to their own families.  IOW, it was not the fast turnout you now see from the FDA.  While the process was SLOW, very few people died from taking medications it certified for consumption, either.

GeeShrubya gets the White House (damn if he didn’t steal it and told us to kiss his ass), and the first things that gets relaxed at the FDA is the process for approving medications for consumption.  And damn, if at least within six months to a year of the medication being approved, that shyt has to be yanked off the market because more serious medical complications cropped up.  For example:

Fen-Fen – supposed to help you lose weight (contrary to those who would howl “Get off your Fat Asses and exercise” a lot of obsese people can’t get to that point without further endangering their health.  So Fen-Fen was rushed to market and hailed as the new “weight-loss miracle” which, within a few years, was found to develop defects in the heart valves of the people who were taking it. (Technically, this went down on Clinton’s watch.)

NUVA Ring (Birth Control) supposed to free women from having to take the Pill, but instead, it’s found to create blood clots, pulmonary embolism and strokes.

ZICAM – supposed to either prevent you from catching a cold, or lessen its duration.  But if it’s going to cost you your sense of SMELL on a temporary or permanent basis, you might be better off staying at home with bowls of chicken soup, asprin and hot toddies liberally laced with Christian Brothers brandy or Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.

Hell, for you PETA-DOG lovers, instead of harassing Michael Vick for returning to the NFL, you should be getting your knickers in a twist over Fido’s Heartworm medication, cause even FIDO isn’t safe.

Other medications such as Lipitrol, Levitra, Lisinopril, have been recalled since their advent on the market.  PhARMA corporations like GlaxoSmithKline, Wyeth, Sanofi-Aventis, and others, have been in the news because of lawsuits against them, suing for damages caused by the medications they manufactured.  With relaxed standards of medication approval at the FDA, Big PhARMA has made a mint and would like to continue this cash cow at the people’s expense, if NOT THEIR OVERALL HEALTH.

So, when I engage in debate discussion about the health care option, I do so with the fact that who really benefits from the legislation if it passes without a public option?  A whole lot of Congress Critters trying to either derail this legislation or water it down so they can claim a toothless victory and use it as a campaign platform are already taking major league payola from Big PhARMA:

Here’s a few of those Congress Critters taking payola – the rest are at Open Secrets. Org:

Rep. David Scott, D- GA

Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-GA

Rep. Joe Baca, D-CA

Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-CA

Rep. Mike Ross, D-AR

And there are 47 others.  What surprises me is that there are a few labeled “progressives” on this list, but not when it comes to taking payola.  These mofos do not DONATE this kind of cheddar because they’re feeling generous.

They do it because they expect to write and pass the legislation that allows them to do whatever the hell they want, without ramifications or penalty.  Don’t get it twisted – the Congress Critter is only the Conduit to legislative passage, and Big PhARMA pays for the mule to ride in on.

Another reason to push for that Public Option: YOUR LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT.