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• Zoltanne

  Is this the same kind of intimidation and misconduct that we have witnessed with the Obama Administration for the past 3.5 years? I seem to recall an irate President who personally called Democratic anti-Obamacare Senators into private chambers to change-their-minds.

  Thugs and thieves will always be thugs and thieves.

• DG

  Please this isn't just a problem with the democrats. If you read the dates in the article the whistle blower is talking about behavior in the FDA before Obama took office. and yes I'm sure the behavior has not improved under Obama. Both parties have been captured buy special interest money. The most successful strategy of both the Democrats and republican is divide and conquer while serving the same masters. Sadly it seems a large part of the public is unable to set aside their prejudice and realize neither party serves the public interest and so the games continue

• phillysmart

  You keep telling yourself that DG. If you can't see the nefarious dictatorial nature of Obama and the democrats than you are either brain dead or brainwashed. Another words a loyal democrat

• kingler

  The anti-Obama morons have really come out in force today. As elucidated in the article, the intimidation and misconduct started before Obama entered office. Like most secret scandals, it was cooked up so as to kept away from the prying eyes of the Congress and President. This is possible because the FDA is a long-standing part of the US government and endures through presidencies.

  Alternatively, the President asking US senators to "change their minds" is entirely legal and within his rights. It is entirely different to a drug official taking bribes to pass drugs as safe when he knows they are not.

• Zoltanne

  It's a shame that the only way Progressive-Liberals are able to usher forth commentary is by name-calling.

  To say that Obama did little more than ask Senators to "change their minds" is diminishing the harsh reality that we have seen the Chicago-thug Obama actually do while in office. Persuasive tactics by brute force, threats, and lying are NOT legal, nor are they within Obama's "rights".

  We have three branches of Federal Government. Obama occupies one branch and only one branch, although he blatantly sidesteps the Legislative Branch with his EOs so that he can run his Command Center from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. His ideological Fundamental Change cannot side-step the Constitution or the numerous laws that apply to him and to the Obama Administration. It may be Obama's "vision" but the Presidency does not run because one Marxist has a vision -- there are laws that must be obeyed.

  Need another example of corruption and elitist power under Obama's reign? Look at DOJ's Atty General, Eric Holder. Another shining example of intimidation, misconduct, and unlawful behavior.

  November 2012....We The People will bring about REAL hope and change, not those empty Marxist promises that have brought American down.

• FatBought

  Sweetheart, the only way that things are going to change for you after the election, regardless of who buys the most votes, is if you start opening your eyes and ears to the similarity between both sides of the aisle. Corporations and special interests have long directed this country regardless of who has been in office. That you're so keen to find the misdeeds of one party but not the other really speaks that coming to terms with the real truth may be too difficult or alienating for you. Because, when doing so there is no longer any hero party to hold hopes in, and no single enemy to lay blame upon. It shifts the story from good guys vs. bad guys to being of a few individuals against a massive system....it's hard. The only solace there is lies in making money. Research the industries, companies, and individuals that contributed the most to the winning party, and invest in them. They'll soon be receiving their return in the forms of tax breaks, subsidies, regulation and deregulation. It's a proven system regardless of which way the power and economy swings. This is the new true individualism.

• crazyredneck

  Interesting...this FDA that is suppressing evidence of hazards to users of certain prescription drugs is the same FDA that says a healthy food source like raw milk is dangerous.

• A Concerned Scientist

  Dr. Kavanagh is a true hero for his willingness to take action and speak out, at his own peril, motivated by his obvious desire to simply do his job and protect the Public. The courage of Dr. Kavanagh and other whistleblowers reminds me of a famous quote fom Rober F. Kennedy:

  "Few
  will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to
  change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage
  and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an
  ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice,
  he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million
  different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can
  sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
  Lets hope the recent events will finally turn the tide at the FDA. The FDA needs to be shut down, all of the current managers and lawyers fired, and rebuilt from scratch, under the leadership of a few whistleblowers.

• Fool Me Once

  Another hero is Dr. Marcia Angell, who was the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine for 20 years. After leaving NEJM, she has done considerable writing, and has essentially condemned medical authorities as being 'not to be trusted' - the research, the authoritative doctors, the drug companies.

  I'm with you on the shutting down the FDA, but I'm not sure I want it to be rebuilt - it is too powerful. It is one of the reasons why I opposed ObamaCare - the care provided essentially all came through this pathway, and we all have to pay for it even though most of it is ineffective, expensive, and poisonous. Everybody focused on the act being in the service of the insurance companies, but little attention is on the pharmaceutical companies - they got a monopoly out of it...

• West Winds

  Excellent idea and I think Elizabeth Warren, as president in 2016, could make this a reality. She's got the right kind of pluck.

• FlushTheFool

  HAHAHAHAHA. HAHAHA. HAHAHAHA. HA. Whew, that was cathartic.

• silver fox

  Shut them all down and start over. FDA, EPA, DOJ, UN, DEPT. OF ED, FED. RES. Shut them all down. Make Socialism a crime against freedom, which it is.
  suibne

• Jill Herendeen

  socialism--providing social support to people, instead of the prevailing practice of handing over tax dollars via the FDA, EPA, DOJ, Dept. of Ed., & Fed.Res.--would certainly be viewed by those corporate interests as a crime against THEIR freedom, the freedom of those corporations to be assisted by those agencies in their for-profit rape & pillage of the public...

• Falcon

  When will the rest of the sheep figure out that the FDA has a revolving door with big Pharma. They say cannabis has no medical value. This is like saying cake and gasoline are the same. Meaning it is absolute nonsense. All they do is speak nonsense. Even Harvard admits fluoride lowers IQ now. Hello? Why do people even think they re credible?

• Cincinnatus

  I know that I am wasting my time, assuming that a stoner like you has the necessary IQ to understand this; however, here it goes. From the standpoint of U.S. law, and the scientific method, until a medication of any kind has undergone strict testing of the sort required of other drugs, it HAS NO MEDICAL VALUE. You stoners want to equate smoking yourself into hallucinations with medical treatment. It IS NOT qualified medical treatment. And - it certainly will NOT solve your room temperature IQ problem.

• fritts

  When Reagan took office, one of the first things he did was replace upper management at Food and Drug with the corporate executives of drug companies the agency was supposed to be regulating. Most people don't know it but 600 dedicated FDA scientists walked off the job rather than answer to the very people they were supposed to regulate. The Reagan/Bush gutting of the regulatory agencies was done mostly by "Executive Order" signed by Ronnie. It got so bad that Senator Joseph Biden wrote a scathing letter to the new CEO of America, Inc. advising him that this country has something called Congress and Congress makes laws, not the President. But Americans didn't care, and continued to go along with the deregulation scam created by the shysters who had blatantly turned the government into their own private piggy bank which they began systematically looting (S&L scandal, anyone?) and continue to do so to this day.

• frank verismo

  When you're in government and want to do some truly ugly stuff, make sure the people are fat and happy. Then they won't care. Many people still remember the Reagan era as a golden age - not because it was a great government - but because they were fat and happy.

  Pathetic, really, isn't it?

• penelopepnortney

  You're right, they'll never look beyond the image, and what better one than an actor playing President?

• FlushTheFool

  As opposed to a community organizer playing President.

• MaskedPhrogg

  A Community Organizer who organized in a community that already had organizational structures in place. Doesn't sound like he did much work organizing a place that was already organized. No wonder he's such a slacker. Never worked a day in his life. Just talked his way from one elitist post to another.

• kingler

  Every community has "organizational structures" of some kind in place. Besides, Obama had other jobs besides Community Organizer. He variously worked as a consultant, a firm lawyer and a constitutional law professor.

• MaskedPhrogg

  Is that so? Where is any evidence of any of that?
  No school grades. Nothing ever published while allegedly the editor of the Harvard Law Review. A Constitutional Lawyer who never read the Constitution. Naw, I ain't buyin' it.

• bicfj

  This is true of other departments as well. Interior, Justice, are two that come to mind. They are now infested with cronyism, corruption, inaction and ineffectiveness.
  They have been staffed with corporate, conservative, religious and other special interest civil service personnel at all levels. The new civil service personnel have brought their special interest attitudes and objectives with them and use those attitudes and objectives in their work. Replacing those civil service personnel is next to impossible and the agencies and departments will be plagued with disservice to the public for many years.

• Robert

  That may be so, however what Obama did not do was replace upper management at Food and Drug with people who should be there.

• Landbeyond

  Of course not. He belongs to the same "party".

• JimmyOlsenCubReporter

  It's all part of "job creation". I mean, thanks to Reagan/Bush and their successors, there is more work for undertakers, casket-makers, grave diggers, etc.

• FlushTheFool

  Thanks to Obama there is only more work for Fed Gov employees. Enjoy having your pocket picked.

• Mousedoctor

  Threatening someone's children should be answered with an appropriate pre-emptive strike.

• frank verismo

  It's not complicated. The multinational pharma corporations are larger economic entities than many small countries. They rely on sickness for their business. The ultimate threat to that business is a healthy population, with no need of their services. If you can stand the thought, put yourself in their position. How would you guarantee ever-increasing profits?

  You would first ensure that you, like the banks, were 'too big to fail'. What this really means is that you become big enough to be vitally important to the functioning of any given nation's economy. You then use this power to undermine any regulatory forces that may challenge your position. This can be achieved largely by the simple mechanism of self-interest. You can rest assured that most people inside the machine will not threaten their own livelihoods by mounting any meaningful challenge against you - which is what makes Dr. Kavanagh's whistleblowing so praiseworthy. It is exactly this kind of inside information that leads to the eventual downfall of these colossal parasites.

  Once upon a time these companies may have started out with the best intentions. But the idea that they are still in business to somehow benefit mankind instead of themselves is a fairy story best left on your childhood bookshelf.

• fritts

  Fantastic report. People need to wake up to the fact that there is no regulation of the food, drugs and personal care products in their houses. Regulation is a myth. The elites who own this country and the people in it, own government, including the FDA, as well. Believe it or perish.

• Wigglesworth111

  No, there is a ton of regulation, but the process is thoroughly corrupted. The housing market is no different.

• Jill Herendeen

  There's plenty of regulation--but it's directed at keeping (non-rich) people from inventing & marketing their own cures, or GROWING their own cures, or keeping themselves healthy in the first place (e.g., being able to get raw milk easily, or get foods that aren't GMOs). Read Dean Baker's CONSERVATIVE NANNY STATE (available on google). Read Ellen Brown's FORBIDDEN MEDICINE. I believe the correct term is "corporate welfare."

• Black Eagle

  The FDA is the closest thing we have in the USA to a Gestapo-type organization. They use SWAT teams to smash down natural healing clinics, and have burned the books of doctors expressing opinions which go against the "standard practice" as circumscribed by the National Pharmaceutical Industry... oops, I mean the National Cancer Industry... oops I meant the National Cancer Foundation (whew!). Do an internet search on "Anti-Constitutional Activities of the FDA" for a short summary. If it were abolished tomorrow, the nation's health would improve, and health care costs would decline -- even as many "believers" would continue to line up at hospitals to get their toxic "meds".

• frank verismo

  Whether a drug works or not is now irrelevant.

  The only issue of importance is whether it's approved.

  Approval means it will be rolled out across the marketplace.

  The Pharma industry's 100,000+ lobbyists can then go to work on your doctor.

  Your doctor won't know if it works or not. Only that it's 'approved'.

  Good luck.

• Cheri Carpenter-Lundstrom

  I guess it is time for me to transmigrate as I am truly tired of this time and place. Is there no one who would be honest and true? To suggest that the drug makers would try to pull the wool over the FDA's eyes is to suggest that the prostitute would say she loved her latest John. We all know what is going on and we pay for it every day. The medical community has lost its way and there is very little if any confidence left for any of these players. We pay for poisoned food so that Monsanto can make a profit then we pay for poisonous drugs to pretend that we are treatng the effects of eating the poisonous food. More people are killed than are ever even harmed by natural supplements. My life was destroyed first by prednisone then they gave me Aldara which caused vasculitis and now I face a kidney transplant with no recourse against my oppressors.

• FreeThe TruthNow

  It's time to legalize nature.

• ganymede1

  I think people should realize that the pharmaceutical and medical industry is doing more harm than good. Yes, some drugs are life saving, most aren't. Heavily promoted blockbuster drugs come on the market and are taken off after a few years, after thousands of people have been damaged or died, and billions have been made and large fines paid. It's an incredibly corrupt situation. My advice is to eat lots and lots of vegetable and get good exercise. If you get sick, it's best to educate yourself about other ways to get better than taking heavy duty experimental chemicals in pill or lquid form.

• Doter

  Agreed, and name one drug that has cured any illness...not treated, but cured. They want to "treat" you so you have to keep coming back to them for a fix for your illness, curing you makes you independent of them and their drugs.

• MaskedPhrogg

  Exactly right. Modern medicine treats symptoms. What so many don't pay attention to is all the symptoms modern pharma causes. Suddenly the need for one drug leads to the need for three others to treat the side effects of the first that does little more than relieve some uncomfortable symptom(s). A cynic might label it a "business model." Not all drug pushers stand on the corner under a streetlamp. Most of them have degrees from esteemed universities and plush office space to peddle their wares.

• Mark Wright

  This is appalling. There are a lot of people who work at the FDA who should be in prison. And they are not the people who could be described as whistleblowers.

• NadePaulKuciGravMcKi

  FDA has been in the pocket of Big Pharma for quite a while now.
  
  Dr Ron sez Awake From Your Slumber

• NadePaulKuciGravMcKi

  extortion blackmail bribery

• LandonS

  Wow what a great interview. I can't imagine working for the FDA, it seems that the organization is just a giant scam put together. They tend to work for the industry rather than safety of the American Citizens. They seem like they do their job half ass.

  I think Levaquin (Fluoroquinolone) drugs need to be investigaged. I was given Levaquin last year and 3 days into taking the drug I started developing muscular pain and nerve pain and burning. It's been over 1 year and during that time my foot, knees, eyes, ears, shoulders, and back have connective tissue damage.

  I would just be sitting there and my legs would start burning or just by lifting a 10lb weight I would get frozen shoulder. Went to 100's of doc appt's and no one could figure out what it was. It was Levaquin. There are 1000's of patients out there like me, the FDA has recieved over 20,000+ compliants and still 0 ACTION.

  When I take a drug I expect that it's been reviewed and warnings are given to me. But in this case not only are warnings hidden, FDA and J&J haven't even informed doctors of proper use of the medicine nor the REAL side effects.

• FFlintstone

  .....One more problem that Obama failed to address. He's got plenty of time to work for illegal immigrants; he just can't be bothered with problems that don't affect his voting base.

• CwV1

  Look at the dates, folks.
  By the end of the BushCheney interregnum, most of the agencies of the USG were packed with cronies. In the last year of BushCheney, many of the political hires were converted to Civil Service, that is, permanent hires, nearly impossible to get rid of.
  In some cases, like DoJ, this was a rearguard action to prevent members of the outgoing misAdmin. from being prosecuted.
  The hangover from that action is one of the reasons that Obama has had such a hard time getting his agencies to work at all.
  Whenever you read about an executive branch agency dysfunction, look closely at it. 99 out of 100, it will be the result of the BushCheney mining (as in Land Mines) operation.

• respectful

  Don't be so eager to give Obama a pass on this. See my comment above. The financial scandals and the Bradley Manning / Wikileaks case are within Obama's control. Note that almost nothing has been done to bring the banksters to justice, even though ample evidence is available, and their thievery has caused the worst nightmare in millions of people's lives. Accountability is the obverse side of persecuting leakers and whistleblowers. We know which side Obama is on, and it's not ours.

• penelopepnortney

  And the fact is, Obama doesn't even need to make some huge stand. All he has to do is back off, make some nice noises about letting the process work the way it's supposed to (you know, the typical blather for when people don't want to take some action). But he's been aggressive on this, so I agree with you that, especially considering his inaction with the financial mobsters, it shows which side he picked and it ain't ours.

• XYZConsult

  If you think that the FDA is wielding it's governmental powers over our food supply like it's some eugenics monster out of a sci-fi horror movie - you'd be about right. This has been coming since that specific 1962 Club of Rome meeting, where the CODEX AL. for Food as a Weapon/Food to control populations plans were initially drawn up. CODEX Al. went into effect a few years ago, and everything good about our food supply is being stamped out.

• Wigglesworth111

  This is why I don't take drugs unless it is my only hope of survival.

• Bull Slam

  It is with inexpressible dismay but a total lack of surprise, that I read this fascinating interview. Scientists threatened with death or the death of their children??! The corruption in our government agencies, not only those which are eminently visible, such as the FDA, but also those which are designed to be invisible, by their gross criminality, which in many cases constitutes treasonous acts and policies against the people they are intended to serve, is finally intolerable. And just as intolerable, obviously nothing will change unless Congress and/or the White House take sudden and forceful action. And that prospect is, at best, unlikely.

  There is only so much on which the Occupy Movement can focus. I mention the Occupy Movement because they, at least, unlike Congress and the Supreme Court, not to mention (the previous and present) White House, have not been bought and paid for. The Occupiers may be dirty and lacking in leadership, but just now, such critique is irrelevant. They tend to be honest and they are fed up and they are letting America know it. That is how you can tell them from the infiltrators.

  The good people of this country can no longer afford to wring their hands and whine! That time is over. It is time to come together and demand, and I mean get out in the streets and DEMAND CHANGE! Not the "change" which Obama promised and then dismissed once he got in office. But real and substantial change which serves the people and not the oligarchy.

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