FDA Threatens To Raid Cherry Orchards By William Faloon

by William Faloon As Americans struggle to eat a healthier diet, the FDA has taken draconian steps to suppress information about foods that reduce disease risk. While various agencies of the federal government encourage us to eat more fruits and vegetables, the FDA has issued an edict that precludes cherry companies from posting scientific data on their websites. This censorship of published peer-reviewed studies denies consumers access to information that could be used to make wiser food choices. Tobacco products kill 450,000 Americans each year.1 Few people understand, however, that poor dietary habits are responsible for more deaths than tobacco. Considering the plethora of toxic foods advertised on television, it is easy to understand why so many consumers eat themselves to death. Just imagine if all you ate is what you saw advertised in the mass media. The government stopped protecting the tobacco companies long ago, but the FDA continues to take actions that steer Americans away from certain fruits and vegetables that have proven disease-preventive effects. FDA Intimidates Cherry Growers There is not much profit in selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Growers of such foods cannot afford to advertise their produce in a meaningful way. Fortunately, the advent of the Internet has allowed cherry growers to enlighten the public about scientific studies showing that nutrients contained in cherries have significant health benefits.2-15 Until recently, consumers could learn of the health benefits of cherries just by logging on to a cherry company’s website. Some individuals might be impressed enough with this data to actually buy cherries at the grocery store instead of trans fat-laden snacks being advertised every second in the mass media. On October 17, 2005, the FDA banned information about cherries’ health benefits from appearing on websites.16,17 The FDA sent warning letters to 29 companies that market cherry products. In these letters, the FDA ordered the companies to stop publicizing scientific data about cherries.18 According to the FDA, when cherry companies disseminate this information, the cherries become unapproved drugs subject to seizure. The FDA warns that if those involved in cherry trafficking continue to inform consumers about these scientific studies, criminal prosecutions will ensue.17 Why Americans Don’t Eat More Fruit The processed food industry has earned enormous profits by loading cheap and dangerous foods with sugar, salt, preservatives, trans fats, saturated fats, and other unhealthy byproducts. Processed foods taste good to most people and are quite inexpensive compared to fresh produce. In order to convince the public to switch from toxic foods that damage the arterial wall, mutate DNA, and induce age-related disease, those who sell fresh fruits need to inform the public about the benefits scientists have discovered about plant foods.19-37 Fresh fruit can be expensive and it spoils relatively quickly. Many consumers have developed a taste addiction to processed foods, and find it challenging to switch to a healthier diet that costs more and is not as pleasing to the palate. By censoring scientific information about cherries, the FDA is in effect shutting down an opportunity for more Americans to learn about the remarkable health benefits that have been discovered about this fruit. Do Cherries Prevent Cancer? In a warning letter to Friske Orchards of Ellsworth, MI, the FDA recites the following information contained on this orchard’s website:38 “Tart cherries may reduce the risk of colon cancer because of the anthocyanins and cyanidin contained in the cherry.” The FDA goes on to say in its warning letter: “These claims cause your product to be a drug as defined in section 201(g) . . . Because this product is not generally recognized as safe and effective when used as labeled, it is also defined as a new drug in section 201(p) . . . Under section 505 of the Act (21 USC 355), a new drug may not be legally marketed in the United States without an approved New Drug Application . . .” As you will read in the article titled “Why Is the FDA Picking on Cherries?” we reveal the data that substantiate the cancer-preventive and other health benefits that scientists have discovered about cherries. Interestingly, the FDA is not denying the veracity of this information. Instead, it insists that a new drug application has to be approved before the public can be informed about the scientific data supporting cherries. The FDA also asserts, without any basis, that cherries “have not been recognized as safe and effective when used as labeled.”38 According to the FDA’s interpretation of the law, cherry growers are engaged in criminal conduct by relaying findings that have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Whether you or other Americans develop cancer does not appear to be a consideration of an agency whose written mission statement includes the following: “The FDA is responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their health.”39 As Life Extension documented many years ago, the FDA does the opposite of what it pretends to do. Instead of “helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use foods to improve their health,” the FDA has gone to extreme lengths to deny American citizens the right to learn about scientific studies substantiating the health benefits discovered about cherries (and other fruits). A Medical Atrocity! In November 2004, Dr. David Graham, associate director for science at the FDA’s Office of Drug Safety, testified before Congress that Vioxx® had caused 88,000 to 139,000 excess cases of heart attack and stroke.40 Dr. Graham severely criticized his own employer (the FDA) for intentionally covering up information about the lethal side effects of Vioxx®. As you will read in this month’s issue, the FDA is greatly concerned that cherry companies are disseminating scientific data showing that cherries are more effective than FDA-approved drugs in alleviating arthritis inflammation and pain. The FDA is willing to throw cherry growers in jail for suggesting that their fruit may safely alleviate arthritis discomfort, yet the irrefutable facts are that the FDA intentionally concealed the dangers of Vioxx® for years, thereby causing the needless death of tens of thousands of Americans. Who are the real criminals here? The FDA says it is responsible for “protecting the public health” by assuring the safety of drugs. It does not take much brainpower to see that the FDA’s purported mission is nothing more than a hoax to protect the economic interests of the pharmaceutical giants. It would appear that the FDA is concerned that if too many arthritis sufferers discover that eating cherries could alleviate inflammation and pain, the multibillion-dollar market for anti-inflammatory drugs would be detrimentally affected. Pharmaceutical industry profits have been spared for the moment by the flagrant acts perpetrated against cherry companies by the FDA. Congress Recognizes Problems with FDA As this nation faces a worsening health care crisis that threatens to bankrupt corporations, aging adults, and the government itself, members of Congress are becoming incensed that the FDA is suppressing proven methods to prevent and treat disease. On November 10, 2005, a bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives that would prohibit the FDA from denying consumers access to truthful health information. The name of this bill is the Health Freedom Protection Act (H.R. 4282).41 The original sponsors of this bill introduced it by exposing the FDA’s inappropriate censorship of life-saving scientific information. Here is an excerpt from this historic speech: Because of the FDA’s censorship of truthful health claims, millions of Americans may suffer with diseases and other health care problems they may have avoided by using dietary supplements. For example, the FDA prohibited consumers from learning how folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube defects for four years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended every woman of childbearing age take folic acid supplements to reduce neural tube defects. This FDA action contributed to an estimated 10,000 cases of preventable neural tube defects! The FDA also continues to prohibit consumers from learning about the scientific evidence that glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis; that omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of sudden death heart attack; and that calcium may reduce the risk of bone fractures. The Health Freedom Protection Act will force the FDA to at last comply with the commands of Congress, the First Amendment, and the American people by codifying the First Amendment standards adopted by the federal courts. Specifically, the Health Freedom Protection Act stops the FDA from censoring truthful claims about the curative, mitigative, or preventative effects of dietary supplements, and adopts the federal court’s suggested use of disclaimers as an alternative to censorship. The Health Freedom Protection Act also stops the FDA from prohibiting the distribution of scientific articles and publications regarding the role of nutrients in protecting against disease.42 Citizens Revolt Against Bureaucratic Corruption When Life Extension stated in 1989 that the law had to be changed to allow scientific information about foods and supplements to be freely disseminated, everyone told us that it was impossible to beat the entrenched FDA on Capitol Hill. As we went on national television and radio shows in the early 1990s to expose the incompetence and fraud perpetrated against the public by the FDA, a growing number of health-conscious individuals began to realize the magnitude of the problem. In October 1994, by a nearly unanimous margin, Congress enacted the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), which allowed the public to learn about some of the health benefits attributed to certain nutrients.43 Despite significant losses in the federal courts regarding how DSHEA should be interpreted, the FDA is continuing to dedicate substantial resources to suppressing scientific information about how certain foods may prevent and treat disease. The FDA’s arrogance is appalling in light of the record number of prescription drugs that have been withdrawn because too many users are dying from side effects. In the case of cherries, many of the scientific studies the FDA is concerned about relate to this fruit’s anti-arthritic effect.4-6,44,45 The FDA’s flagrant disregard for the First Amendment and DSHEA is one reason why the Health Freedom Protection Act was introduced. Members of Congress and the American public are fed up with the abuse of power perpetrated by an agency whose track record shows a reckless disregard for human life. What You Can Do to Stamp Out FDA Censorship It is imperative that concerned citizens let their congressional representatives know how important passage of the Health Freedom Protection Act (H.R. 4282) is. I urge all Life Extension supporters to conveniently email their own representatives a new letter in support of the Health Freedom Protection Act. Please do not settle for scientific censorship and bureaucratic fraud! Stand up for your First Amendment rights and tell Congress you want to see H.R. 4282 (Health Freedom Protection Act) enacted into law. To find the name of your representative, visit the Legislative Action Center or call 1-202-225-3121. For longer life, William Faloon P.S. Even if the Health Freedom Protection Act does not pass, your letters to Congress will help block several other bills that would give the FDA even greater power to ban what you are allowed to read and what nutrients you are allowed to consume. So even if you are pessimistic about Congress prevailing against the FDA, it is still important that you let your representative know that you do not want the FDA to be given new draconian powers. DRUG COMPANIES CONTROL FDA The FDA has come under fire by the media and Congress for its failure to protect consumers against dangerous drugs. Life Extension has long contended that large drug companies exert tremendous influence over the FDA. The result is that toxic drugs remain on the market while the sale of dietary supplements (and now even cherries) is impeded by FDA. One reason doctors prescribe dangerous drugs is that pharmaceutical companies persuade the FDA to omit information concerning side effects from the drug’s label. An egregious example of the incestuous control that drug companies exert over the FDA came to light with the Vioxx® scandal. Based on evidence showing increased heart attack rates in Vioxx® users, the FDA suggested putting a cardiovascular warning on the label. Merck, the maker of Vioxx®, vehemently objected. On November 8, 2001, when talks with the FDA were not going to Merck’s liking, the head of Merck’s research department sent an email to his top scientists stating: “Twice in my life I have had to say to the FDA,‘That label is unacceptable, we will not under any circumstances accept it’ . . . I assure you I will NOT sign off on any label that has a cardiac warning for Vioxx®.”46 Vioxx® was withdrawn from the market on September 30, 2004, after a clinical trial showed the risk of heart attack and stroke doubled for patients taking Vioxx® for more than 18 months.47-49 The FDA knew about the cardiovascular risks of Vioxx® years before it was withdrawn, but succumbed to drug company pressure to omit this information from the drug’s warning box. It did appear many months later on the label’s “precautions box,” which is normally too voluminous for anyone to read. The statement by the Merck official that he would “not under any circumstances accept” a cardiovascular warning on Vioxx® provides a startling glimpse into how much control drug companies have over the FDA. Consumers are relegated to ingest toxic drugs while the FDA takes extraordinary measures to censor information showing the anti-arthritis efficacy of cherries.

 

Truth About Impeachment (video)

 

John Conyers is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. It’s his job to initiate and oversee the process of impeachment in the House of Representatives. He wrote a book called “Constitution in Crisis,” which came out two years ago and details the impeachable offenses of the Bush administration.

He is now incredibly refusing to move ahead with impeachment of the most impeachable administration the United States has ever seen. He says it would be detrimental to Democrats and the party’s chances of winning the White House.

John Conyers is lying. He knows better.

Exactly one year ago, Dennis Kucinich introduced Articles of Impeachment against Cheney. They have been sitting in the Judiciary Committee collecting dust ever since.

Contact John Conyers. Tell him to honor his oath to the Constitution and do the job the people expect of him.

johnconyersjr@gmail.com

john.conyers@mail.house.gov

John Conyers
United States House of Representatives
2426 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-2214

Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072

Details on removing Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker:
http://www.petitiononline.com/everyma…

Thanks to David Swanson from After Downing Street. His comments in Ojai, California - 4/22/08:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/nod

 

In a stunning admission, top officials at the Veterans Health Administration confirmed that the agency’s own statistics show that an average of 126 veterans per week —6,552 veterans per year—commit suicide, according to an internal email distributed to several VA officials.

Brig. Gen. Michael J. Kussman, the undersecretary for health at the VA, sent the email, dated Dec. 15, 2007. Kussman had inquired about the accuracy of a news report published that month claiming the suicide rate among veterans was 18 per day.

“McClatchy [Newspapers] alleges that 18 veterans kill themselves everyday and this is confirmed by the VA’s own statistics,” Kussman wrote. “Is that true? Sounds awful but if one is considering 24 million veterans.”

In an email response to Kussman, Ira Katz, the head of mental health at the VA, confirmed the statistics and added “VA’s own data demonstrate 4-5 suicides per day among those who receive care from us.”

This week, in a federal courthouse in San Francisco, that email will be cited as evidence that the VA has failed to properly treat veterans who suffer from PTSD and veterans who are suicidal. Those allegations were made in a class-action lawsuit filed against the VA by two veterans advocacy groups, Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, alleging a systematic breakdown at the VA has led to an epidemic of suicides. 

The organizations claim the VA, which has a backlog of 600,000 benefits claims to sort through, is unprepared to deal with cases of posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and has turned away veterans who have sought help for depression at VA hospitals. Some of those veterans later committed suicide, according to the lawsuit.

The groups want a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction to force the VA to immediately treat veterans who show signs of PTSD and are at risk of suicide.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can develop in a person who witnesses, or is confronted with, a traumatic event. PTSD is said to be the most prevalent mental disorder arising from combat.

According to a copy of the lawsuit filed in July 2007, “more than any previous war, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to produce a high percentage of troops suffering from PTSD,” due to the widespread use of improvised explosive devises, multiple rotations, the ambiguity of fighting combatants dressed as civilians, and the use of National Guard members and Reservists.

Those claims are now supported by a comprehensive study released by the RAND Corporation last week stating that about 300,000 U.S. troops sent to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from major depression or PTSD, and 320,000 received traumatic brain injuries.

Early Warnings Ignored

Prior to the U.S. Invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the VA issued a report to Pentagon and White House officials saying that it expected that the number of U.S. troops who would suffer from PTSD would reach a maximum of about 8,000.

But Paul Sullivan, the executive director of Veterans for Common Sense, told lawmakers those estimates were extremely low. He continued to sound early warning alarms about the extent of PTSD cases and the likelihood of veteran suicides during numerous appearances before Congress over the years. 

“The scope of PTSD in the long term is enormous and must be taken seriously.  When all of our 1.6 million service members eventually return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, based on the current rate of 20 percent, VA may face up 320,000 total new veterans diagnosed with PTSD,” Sullivan told a Congressional committee in July 2007. If America fails to act now and overhaul the broken DoD and VA disability systems, there may a social catastrophe among many of our returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.  That is why VCS reluctantly filed suit against VA in Federal Court...Time is running out.”

Sullivan has urged Congress to enact legislation to overhaul the VA.

“Congress should legislate a presumption of service connection for veterans diagnosed [with] PTSD who deployed to a war zone after 9/11,” Sullivan told lawmakers last year. “A presumption makes it easier for dedicated and hard-working VA employees to process veterans’ claims. This results in faster medical treatment and benefits for our veterans.”

 

MORE HERE:   http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_jason_le_080421_va_confirms_18_vets_.htm

Dear friends, Shocking headlines from the past week have left me deeply concerned. The world is in a hunger crisis. In just three years, the price of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice has almost doubled. If we don't do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into deeper poverty. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "The rapidly escalating crisis of food availability around the world has reached emergency proportions." Violent protests have already taken down the government in Haiti. Similar expressions of frustration and fear have broken out in a dozen countries from Cameroon to Uzbekistan, with experts warning that 33 countries are at risk of social upheaval because of rising food prices. The question is what can we do now? This summer, the leaders of the eight wealthiest nations (known as the Group of Eight or G8) will gather in Japan to set a global policy agenda. That agenda must include emergency action against hunger and long-term commitments to tackle the causes of this crisis. Click the link below to send the following petition to President Bush asking him to rally the G8 to end the hunger crisis as part of an aggressive anti-poverty agenda: http://www.one.org/hungercrisis/o.pl?id=293-3442675-pqQ5b6&t=2 President Bush, The soaring cost of staple foods and the resulting hunger crisis has caused riots from Haiti to Bangladesh, threatens hundreds of thousands of people with starvation and could push one hundred million more people deeper into poverty. Please build on your recent commitment by taking immediate action to: 1) Prioritize issues of global poverty, including the world hunger crisis on the agenda of the G8 Summit this July in Japan. 2) At the summit, secure commitments for additional resources for all types of food assistance and increased agricultural productivity in developing countries. For the world's most vulnerable people, there is no margin for survival. Today in Bangladesh, a 2 kilogram bag of rice costs a poor family half their daily income. If prices keep climbing, they will stop eating. By clicking this link, you'll add your name to our petition calling on the G8 to take action to break the cycle of hunger. http://www.one.org/hungercrisis/o.pl?id=293-3442675-pqQ5b6&t=3 The hunger crisis is a critical part of the anti-poverty agenda we're asking the G8 to take action on. The nations of the G8 need to keep their promise to increase development assistance to poor countries and double aid to Africa. Combined with trade policy changes and support for anti-corruption initiatives, these resources will help poor countries to build better health systems, fight preventable diseases, and achieve education for all. But without solving the hunger crisis, we won't be able to make progress in these other vital areas. The G8 can start by making sure that the right kinds of food assistance reach people in need even while prices are skyrocketing. Last month, the World Food Program issued an "extraordinary emergency appeal" to donor countries. On Monday, President Bush pledged $200 million on behalf of the United States, which we applaud. This is a step in the right direction, but will not end the crisis. It may not even be enough to keep food programs at their current levels. The G8 should meet this need and must ensure that food assistance providers have the resources and flexibility to be able to buy food in local markets. The hunger crisis is not going away. Prices will keep rising and more people will go hungry unless we make historic investments to help impoverished countries grow more food. Food assistance needs to be matched with investment in agricultural development to break the cycle of hunger. A comprehensive approach is needed to increase agricultural productivity in poor countries including infrastructure investment, improved technology, and better access to water, seeds, tools and fertilizer. World Bank President Robert Zoellick estimates that, if left unchecked, global food shortages could set the world back seven years in the fight against extreme poverty and global disease. We must urge our leaders to take action, and call for action from other donor countries, before hunger derails the progress that we've made to end the suffering caused by extreme poverty and global disease.

Please sign and forward as this is crucial for so many. I know because I just lost my Primary Care Dr. of 6 years because he will not be taking Medicare anymore. And I had a very hard time finding a new one that would take Medicare. Thank you all for what you do and I just know you will have the heart to sign this one, Dreama R.

Baby Boomers Set to Lose Access to Medicare Services on July 1!

With over 3.2 million baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare by 2010, doctor payment cuts will create a medical care crisis!

Congress made a solemn promise to supply more affordable medical care to older Americans. But now they're making it harder for them to get the care they need.

In three short years, the first wave of baby boomers will turn 65. How many of these vulnerable Americans will be forced to travel farther to see a doctor, or go to expensive emergency rooms - not a doctor’s office - for routine care?

Help save access to health care for older Americans! Tell Congress not to cut Medicare doctor payments >>

If we don't act now, the government will begin steep cuts in Medicare physician payments this July. And according to the American Medical Association, "60 percent of physicians say this cut will force them to limit the number of new Medicare patients they can treat." Sixty percent!

With over 3.2 million baby boomers becoming eligible for Medicare by 2010, doctor payment cuts will create a medical care crisis for America’s seniors!

Sign the petition to support health care for Medicare enrollees >>

Subject: You're fired!

Those are two words that would get anyone's attention. They certainly caught my attention!

But those are the words that millions of Americans could hear if Congress passes the SAVE Act.

The SAVE Act would require every employer in the U.S. to use so-called "electronic employment verification," cross-checking all current and potential employees' citizenship status against databases that the government itself knows are filled with errors and inaccuracies.

And what if the Social Security Administration or Department of Homeland Security get it wrong and can't verify a person's citizenship or right to work using their buggy database? Tough luck. That person is out of a job, with no right to appeal. I thought you would like to know about this and would want to do something about it. To take action, just follow the link below.

http://action.aclu.org/saveact

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation

 

Author Charles Barber discusses Americans' unrealistic notions about happiness. We've medicalized a lot of life issues that aren't mental illnesses.

While we've now become accustomed to the barrage of prescription drug commercials on prime-time TV, it's jarring to learn that this advertising is legal only in the United States and New Zealand. The pharmaceutical industry doesn't just target Americans directly, but also spends roughly $25,000 per physician per year. With the aid of information from data mining companies, a pharmaceutical representative knows exactly how many prescriptions for what medication a doctor has written, allowing the industry to individually target them.

How Americans came to this fraught relationship with the pharmaceutical industry and its drugs -- particularly antidepressants -- is the subject of Charles Barber's new book, Comfortably Numb. A veteran of mental health programs in homeless shelters and a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, Barber trains his eye to the confluence of science and culture that have led to the widespread prescribing of medications once reserved for the most serious cases.

While the field of neuroscience continues to churn out new data about the way our brains work, Barber is quick to remind us how much more is yet to be understood. Barber recently spoke with AlterNet about how less sexy treatments like social interventions and therapies can be just as effective in changing the brain.

Onnesha Roychoudhuri: What led you to write the book?

Charles Barber: When I started in the mental health field in the late '80s there wasn't really a name for what I did. If I talked to professional, educated people, they didn't understand psychiatric diagnoses or medications. Then, 10 years later, people were very up on diagnoses, they were sympathetic to what I was doing, and there was now a name for the field: mental health. Many of them were taking the same medications that my clients were. There was a series of events over the late '80s and early '90s that set all that up. The main thing being Prozac and its cousins Paxil and Zoloft, which became totally mainstream; the TV advertising of drugs in the mid-'90s, well-known figures going public with their clinical depression, and a lot of subsequent pop culture stuff: The Sopranos and A Beautiful Mind, for example. All of this brought psychiatry, particularly medications, into the fore.

OR: Can you talk about your involvement in the mental health field and what it has enabled you to observe?

CB: I fell into the field for a lot of different reasons. I worked in psychiatric homeless shelter programs for about 10 years in New York -- Bellevue being the most well-known. So I was working with the really seriously mentally ill, many of whom had been in and out of prisons and state psychiatric facilities and homeless shelters. What I found was that psychiatry, at least for certain diagnoses, has confused the really serious forms of the illness with the far lesser forms. The best example is depression. Many of the folks that I worked with suffered from severe depression. I make the distinction in the book between big "D" depression and small "d" depression. In its severe forms, it's an absolutely brutal, horrific and malevolent illness where people are at dire risk of hurting themselves.

It's jarring to go to a cocktail party and hear people talking about being bummed out or hear that they're going through a divorce, and their family doctor put them on an antidepressant. There has been a confusion and conflation of this diagnosis that confuses serious disorders with far lesser conditions or, in many cases, life problems. We've medicalized a lot of life issues that are not mental illnesses.

OR: Just to be clear, this book is not about medication as a "bad" thing.

CB: Absolutely not. I think I make clear in the book that for serious disorders, I've seen the medications work really, really well. However, there are often side effects that the field has overlooked and is becoming more aware of these days. And these medications still don't work a good percentage of the time for people with serious disorders. My critique is that the further you get away from serious or moderate disorders, where you're treating nondisorders or marginal disorders with medication, the risk/reward calculus of the medications becomes more iffy -- particularly antidepressants.

When the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft and Paxil first came out, they were considered pretty much side-effect-free, largely because the previous generation of antidepressants had a lot of side effects. But in the past few years, people have become more aware that they have more side effects. These effects are seen most when people are getting on and off the drugs.

OR: You write that, in 2002, more than 11 percent of American women and five percent of American men were taking antidepressants. I was struck by the high percentages, but also the fact that more than 1 in 10 women are on these medications.

MORE ARTICLE HERE:   http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/82455/

I just added my name to the KeepMedicareFair.org petition asking Congress to stop skyrocketing Medicare costs from going even higher, and I'm writing today to ask you to join me!

Did you know that -

• Monthly premiums for Medicare beneficiaries have more than doubled since 2000;

• People on Medicare pay almost a quarter of their own yearly health costs - not including long-term care - out of their own pockets; and

• People on Medicare have to pay all of the costs for services Medicare doesn't cover like eye care, hearing services, dental services, and nursing home care.

Last December, when more than 100,000 people got involved in AARP's campaign to strengthen Medicare, the Senate only passed a temporary fix, set to expire in June.

Today, as Congress is deciding what to do once the temporary fix expires, we want to collect 200,000 signatures on our petition to Keep Medicare Fair. Will you help?

Click here to sign our petition and help me meet our 200,000 KeepMedicareFair.org signature goal.

Your support has never been more important. If Congress does not do the right thing, older Americans will be forced to pay even higher premiums on top of their already skyrocketing out-of-pocket health care costs.

Time is running out, and we cannot let our Members of Congress stand by while Medicare premiums continue to rise. Let them know that you want to keep premiums fair.

Use the link below to help us double our impact and sign the KeepMedicareFair.org petition today!
http://aarp.convio.net/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=111

With your help, Members of Congress will hear from US - and not just the special interests and their lobbyists.

Thank you for your support!

The so-called "war on drugs" has created a national disaster: 1 in 9 young Black men in America are now behind bars.¹ It's not because they commit more crime but largely because of unfair sentencing rules that treat 5 grams of crack cocaine, the kind found in poor Black communities, the same as 500 grams of powder cocaine², the kind found in White and wealthier communities.

These sentencing laws are destroying communities across the country and have done almost nothing to reduce the level of drug use and crime.

Senator Joe Biden is one of the original creators of these laws and is now trying to fix the problem.³ But some of his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee are standing in the way. Join us in telling them to stand with Joe Biden and undo this disaster once and for all:

http://colorofchange.org/crackpowder/?id=1713-297695

At every step in the criminal justice system, Black people are at a disadvantage -- we are more likely to be arrested, charged, and convicted, but less likely to have access to good legal representation, and get out of prison on parole.⁴ While there's no denying that the presence of crack has a hugely negative impact in Black communities across the country, it's clear that the overly harsh crack sentencing laws have done more to feed the broken system than improve our communities.

SIGN THE PETITION Tell the House and Senate Banking and Finance Committee you want a Moratorium on Foreclosures and Evictions NOW!

  ACLU Teams Up with Nationally Syndicated Cartoonist Matt Bors


This week, the ACLU announced the launch of Civil Discourse, a bi-weekly comic strip created exclusively for the ACLU by nationally syndicated cartoonist Matt Bors. Civil Discourse is part of the ACLU's StandUp campaign, an ongoing project that educates younger audiences about today's pressing civil liberties issues.

>> Read the strip.

House Refuses to Pass Unconstitutional FISA Bill

	Take Action.

We knew this fight wasn't going to be easy, but with your help, Congress is finally starting to show some backbone.

Ongoing efforts by the ACLU and its members helped get the House of Representatives to do the right thing and stand up to the administration's fear mongering, including rejecting Bush's unconstitutional spying bill, and, just before Spring recess, passing the FISA Amendments Act -- a far cry from the blank check that Bush demanded so strenuously.

Although we have concerns about aspects of the new bill, it's important to note the House is standing up to the executive branch and its demands to engage in unchecked wiretapping on US soil. Also, the House "compromise" legislation does not grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that facilitated years of illegal surveillance.

While this is a step in the right direction, we cannot stop now. Bush and his allies in Congress continue working feverishly to issue ominous warnings and insist that Congress pass a bill with retroactive telecom immunity. This would prevent court review that could expose the truth about years of illegal spying. Help us keep the pressure on.

>> Take action: Tell your representative to stand strong against a spying bill that harms the Constitution.

>> Read more about FISA.


Extraordinary Rendition Victims Deserve Their Day in Court

The ACLU is appealing the federal court decision to throw out a lawsuit against Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen Dataplan for its role in the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program. Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen, filed by the ACLU on behalf of five victims of the rendition program, was dismissed in February after the government intervened, once again misusing the "state secrets" privilege to avoid legal scrutiny of an unlawful program.

Judge James Ware of the Northern District of California dismissed the lawsuit after the government sought to intervene, contending that litigation of the case would reveal "state secrets" and harm national security. However, the ACLU's lawsuit cited abundant evidence that was already in the public domain, including a sworn affidavit by a former Jeppesen employee and flight records confirming Jeppesen's involvement.

"Extraordinary rendition is no secret. It has been well-documented and the whole world knows about it," said Steven Watt, staff attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program. "It seems the only place we can't talk about this unlawful program is in American courts. Our clients deserve their day in court, and the government and its cohorts should be held accountable for their egregious violation of the law."

>> Learn more about the ACLU's work against extraordinary rendition.


ACLU Urges High Court to Uphold Free Speech Ruling

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Justice Department's appeal on behalf of the FCC in an attempt to reverse the lower court ruling in FCC v. Fox Television Stations, et al, which found the FCC failed to provide adequate justification for its regulations governing the broadcast of "fleeting expletives." The lower court ruled that the FCC's enforcement of indecency findings were "arbitrary and capricious," and ordered the FCC to provide better justification for its new policy.

Contrary to its practice over the last several decades, the FCC recently began leveraging large fines against broadcasting companies for use of even isolated profanities aired on their stations. Last summer, Fox Broadcasting Company asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse two such indecency findings against the company, arguing that the FCC had not historically fined broadcasters for fleeting expletives on live television.

"The FCC's new policy of policing television broadcasts with a vengeance doesn't survive First Amendment scrutiny," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the Washington Legislative Office. "Giving the Commission the ability to leverage arbitrary fines based on a vague set of standards will have a chilling effect on free speech, because broadcasters trying to avoid the penalties will err on the side of caution and begin censoring content that wouldn't actually be considered indecent."

Congress is also considering a fleeting expletives bill, which the ACLU has called unwise, unnecessary, and unconstitutional. The bill would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) ability to prohibit the use of any profanity from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. on broadcast television.

>> Learn more.


Revised Employment Rule Will Hurt American Workers

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) re-released a rule last week that would put American and other authorized workers at risk of losing their jobs. If the "no match" rule were to take effect, it would improperly use flawed social security records for immigration enforcement.

The rule would also require employers to penalize or fire U.S. citizens and legal workers whose social security numbers don't match up with the information in the Social Security Administration (SSA) database.

Last October, a federal court blocked the original "no match" rule saying it would cause irreparable harm to both innocent workers and employers. After the ACLU, AFL-CIO and other organizations brought lawsuits to challenge the original rule, DHS was given until March 2008 to revise the rule. Yet, instead of changing the flawed process, DHS only attempted to explain away the inherent problems caused by relying on the deeply flawed Social Security Administration database to verify legal authorization to work.

The SSA's own Inspector General found that more than 70% of the discrepancies in the SSA database that could generate a no-match letter belong to native-born U.S. citizens. Discrepancies between workers' social security numbers and SSA records can result from many innocent factors including clerical errors, name changes due to marriage or divorce, or the common use of multiple surnames.

>> Learn more about the government's revised "no match" rule.


Ground-Breaking Cases Demonstrate Need to Protect Student's Right to a Quality Education

Two groundbreaking lawsuits recently filed by the ACLU demonstrate a disturbing national trend called the "school to prison pipeline," wherein children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

In Palm Beach County, Florida, the ACLU has charged that the School District violated its students' constitutional right to a high quality education. It's estimated that as many as one in three Palm Beach County students does not graduate on time with a regular diploma, which is well below both the state and national averages.

This case is the first legal challenge in the country that focuses on the issue of low graduation rates and that requires a school district to graduate more of its students. Further, there is a significant disparity between the graduation rates of African-American and Hispanic students and those of white students. The stark difference in graduation rates along racial lines is strong evidence of the school district's failure to satisfy its obligations. The lawsuit, however, aims to improve the graduation rates for all students enrolled in Palm Beach County.

And in another case with national implications, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Atlanta Independent School System (AISS) and Community Education Partners (CEP) for violating students' constitutional right to an adequate public education. CEP is a for-profit corporation paid nearly $7 million a year by the city to run its alternative school, which is among the most dangerous and lowest performing schools in Georgia.

The education practices at the AISS-CEP school range from the bizarre to the blatantly unconstitutional. For example, the school has a "no homework" policy and also prohibits students from taking supplies home including books; AISS-CEP has no cafeteria, no gym and no library; students are subjected to full body pat-down searches every day; and watches, jewelry, purses, combs, brushes, keys, and money in excess of five dollars are all considered contraband and are strictly prohibited - girls are not permitted even to bring tampons into the building.

"Parents and taxpayers deserve better than a system that simply funnels their children through a pathway to prison," said Reggie Shuford, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. "It would be a stretch to even call this a school since there is little to no academic instruction and its students are treated like criminals it is nothing more than a warehouse largely for poor children of color."

>> Learn more about the "school to prison pipeline" and what the ACLU is doing to curb it.

Tell Your Leaders

Robert Lopez served 8 years in our military, fighting in Iraq as a tank commander. He was told he'd get his whole education bill paid for when he got out of the service, but like so many others, Mr. Lopez has faced the bleak reality of a government that has turned its back on its veterans.

That is why Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel proposed the new GI Bill, which would bring back WWII-style standards of providing vets with full tuition, room and board. And that is why 51 senators have signed on, including 9 Republicans like John Warner, giving this GI Bill tremendous bipartisan support.

But it isn't enough. Faced with unprecedented filibusters, the only way to ensure Senate passage of the GI Bill is to get 60 co-sponsors. So far, John McCain has refused. The same McCain who insists he supports our troops. The same McCain who is voting lockstep with the Bush administration (who have also resisted this bill). We need to get John McCain to lead -- to sign now and signal to other Republican leaders that we should be strongly behind our vets.

Click here to watch the video and sign the petition.

Robert Lopez thinks John McCain ought to stand in his shoes to know how difficult it is to be a vet and have to pay staggering education costs. THIS is your call to arms. Pass the video along and implore your friends to sign the petition.

Vote Vets, WesPAC, and Brave New Films feel passionately about giving our veterans the support they rightly deserve. Our government owes our troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan the opportunity to receive full educational benefits. These patriots have fought hard for our government; it's time our government started fighting hard for them.

Sincerely yours,

General Wesley Clark, Robert Greenwald, and Jon Soltz

 

Use Your Voice: Let Olympic Sponsors Know You Want Positive Change

Society & Culture  (tags: Burma, Human Rights, Beijing Olympic )

Cristina
- 17 minutes ago - salsa.democracyinaction.org

YOUTUBE WATCH: Check out AFJ's most recent First Monday Films Episode: One-Sided Debate BLOG WATCH: Learn more at afjjusticewatch.blogspot.com Today on the Senate Floor, Republicans are once again ratcheting up pressure to rubberstamp the president's judicial nominations.  Propaganda is flying fast and furious, often at the expense of the facts. The truth is that President Bush is relentlessly moving forward with his plan to pack the federal courts with judges who will advance the ultraconservative agenda.  The courts of appeal have already dealt numerous blows to organized labor, environmental protection, women's rights, and civil rights, as well as other progressive interests.  It is time for the United States Senate to stand up to the President by ending consideration of controversial judicial nominees to the federal courts.  Ask your senator to tell Senator Reid and Senator Leahy to stop the confirmation of controversial judicial nominees today. GO HERE>  http://ga1.org/campaign/reid_leahy_stop_confirming?rk=idehyOY16MxfE

Host an UNCOUNTED House Party Help PDA Grow and Fix Our Broken Elections Dear friends, Since 2004, PDA has been at the forefront of the election integrity issue--working with PDA advisory board member Representative John Conyers to expose the election irregularities of 2004, monitoring the vote in 2006, campaigning to ban the use of electronic voting machines, and fighting to establish paper as the official ballot of record. Now, PDA is taking their efforts one step further and partnering with us to organize screenings of our film, UNCOUNTED: The New Math of American Elections, in cities across America. UNCOUNTED hones in on the insidious election integrity issues--already recognized by PDA--and holds them up as the single most critical issue facing our democracy. The key to bringing a new integrity to our election process is to spread the word that as long as millions of votes go uncounted in every major election, then our democracy itself is in peril. Since mid-January we've been sounding that alarm with our film and have organized theatrical showings of UNCOUNTED in cities across the county. These screenings often attract hundreds of people in a single night who, after seeing our film, become instantly engaged and motivated to do what they can to solve the systemic problems inherent in our election process. We now look forward to conducting screenings in partnership with members of PDA, who have been working hard on election integrity issues in their communities. In the past, these screenings have proven to be a great opportunity for a host group to offer specific ways to help clean up our elections and for the host group to gain enthusiastic members ready to help them in their efforts. It's a win-win for everyone. I cannot thank PDA enough for working with us to shine some much-needed light on this issue in this extremely important election year. After all, if our vote doesn't count, then nothing else really matters. Together, we can get this one right. David Earnhardt Producer, director & writer UNCOUNTED: The New Math of American Elections To purchase your own "Uncounted" DVD, click here (a portion of sales will go towards PDA). If you want to organize a screening of "UNCOUNTED," please email Vin Gopal at: houseparties@pdamerica.org. UNCOUNTED is an explosive new documentary that shows how the election fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006--and now looms as an unbridled threat to the outcome of the 2008 election. UNCOUNTED is a wakeup call to all Americans. Beyond increasing public awareness, the film inspires greater citizen involvement in fixing a broken electoral system.  See the trailer. Please tell all your friends to sign the Healthcare NOT Warfare petition. Progressive Democrats of America is a grassroots PAC that works both inside the Democratic Party and outside in movements for peace and justice. Our goal: Elect a permanent, progressive majority in 2008. PDA's advisory board includes seven members of Congress and activist leaders such as Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, Thom Hartmann and Rev. Lennox Yearwood. More info: pdamerica.org

TAKE ACTION! George Bush, Please Stop Illegal Expetimentations in America!

US Politics & Gov't  (tags: etition site abuse, americans, bushadministration, bush, cia, constitution, corruption, crime, cover-up, dishonesty, ethics, freedoms, government, Govtfearmongering, lies )

Sheldon
- 11 hours ago - thepetitionsite.com