two out of three doctors agree
threat level: orange
"Two-thirds of the scientists questioned by the Department of Health and Human Services' inspector general said they lacked full confidence in the FDA's ability to monitor side effects of prescription drugs after they hit the market," according to Reuters. "Nearly 20 percent of U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists surveyed in late 2002 said they were pressured to approve or recommend approval of a medicine despite their reservations about the drug's risks or effectiveness, according to documents made public on Thursday." But who cares? CNN is ignoring the story in favor of Bin Laden, Bush's "Social Security as WMD" sales pitch, and other critical stories like "spilled bees on highway a honey of a mess", a surfer killed by sharks, Elvis, and the rising price of Hershey bars.
Americans are taking prescription drugs at record rates, and Vioxx alone is suspected of causing 55,000 deaths. This story should be front-page news everywhere, but your news media don't give a damn. We are right to consider capturing bin Laden and destroying Al Qaeda top priorities (and conspicuous Bush Administration failures), but this illustrates perfectly how effectively the War on Terror is being used to distract Americans from other threats to their lives and well-being - threats that have already taken many American lives. The foxes are in charge of the henhouse at the DEA, but big deal! At CNN this story's not even in the Top Ten. Take a look at what they're presenting instead:
CNN News Headlines
• Bush: Time to overhaul Social Security
• Saddam meets with attorney for first time
• GOP senator joins Rumsfeld critics
• Birth control study flawed, new analysis finds
• Mom charged in death of 4-year-old at motel
• CNN/Money: Hershey chocoholic beware: Prices going up
• Spilled bees on highway a honey of a mess
• Horror as surfer killed by great white sharks
• Promoter buys Elvis estate for $100 million
Fox News ignores the story, too, as does ABC. NBC buries it under "Health News". Only those Rather-loving Communists at CBS are leading with the story. But who listens to them anymore?
