A Thank You to Congressman Posey for Autism Hearing
By Katie Wright
Thank
you to Congressmen Posey!
I love the Sunshine State! Congressmen Posey asked the toughest questions of CDC and NIH representatives at the recent Congressional Oversight Autism Hearing. Posey and showed incredible leadership in his passionate advocacy for families affected by autism. I know I speak for millions of Americans affected by autism when I thank Posey for giving a voice to our children.
Congressmen Posey is unequivocally pro vaccination. He is pro vaccine safety but anti government waste. Posey knows that our research dollars are too few to squander.
Wow, is Congressman Posey a watchdog for your autism research dollars! Until now the CDC has never been held accountable for autism researcher Dr. Poul Thorsen’s $1 million embezzlement of our research dollars. Thorsen was among the leading authors on 22 NIH /CDC studies. For almost three years the CDC has refused to explain how Thorsen stole this money and what steps have been taken to ensure this does not happen again. Who among us would keep their jobs if someone we were supervising stole over a million dollars? Who among us would keep our job if we refused to explain why an employee stole a million dollars?
Over and over again we were told by Dr. Coleen Boyle that CDC autism research may be laborious but is flawlessly done and held to the highest standards. Yet Thorsen, the premiere autism/ thimerasol researcher, author of the of the most widely cited vaccine / autism study is an indicted felon. In fact Thorsen’s studies were so unethical and poorly designed and executed that they would never be published today. Yet the CDC proudly stands by Thorsen’s work. And this is the crazy part- they expect consumers to stand by Thorsen ‘s work as well!
Dr. Boyle’s claim that Dr. Thorsen was just one of many investigators is disingenuous. Please, Thorsen ran the whole Danish operation. Thorsen was the head of the CDC sponsored North Atlantic Neurological Epidemiology Alliance. NANAE received over $5 million from the CDC. Thorsen was, unequivocally, the boss.
Because it is more than reasonable to assume that a corrupt and greedy man wanted by the FBI would not adhere to the strictest ethical and methodological, research standards, Congressman Posey asked if Thorsen’s seminal autism research had been validated by outside independent researchers. After about 5 minutes of hemming and hawing Dr. Boyle finally admitted,” no.”
Hmmmmm….Let’s think about this for a moment. When the British government believed that Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s work was fraudulent they immediately sued him, held a trial, took away his license and removed all his research from the literature. Oh, and by the way, wow was the CDC up in arms over Wakefield’s research! Oh yes, the CDC was outraged! However, when a corrupt CDC autism researcher is indicted for misappropriation of funds (which the CDC does not even dispute) we are told that Thorsen’s work remains of excellent quality and that there is no need to independently validate his research findings. In fact, Thorsen continues to work in the field, although wanted by the FBI.
Is it just me, or is something not adding up?
Congressman Posey asked if there is a need more independent vaccine research. Boyle answered , “no.” Why deal with the problem when you can get away with ignoring it, I guess? Boyle cited how IOM reports that failed to find a correlation between the MMR and autism. The IOM is a private medical organization that does not represent the public. Many IOM members also have significant ties to the vaccine industry. Autism parents are concerned that the totality of the world’s most aggressive infant and toddler vaccination schedule may be triggering autism. The IOM studied the MMR and thimerasol, that’s it. Oh, and by the by the way, the IOM’s report relied heavily on the work of our friend, Dr. Thorsen.
Congressman Posey asked if the CDC has studied the autism status of unvaccinated vs. vaccinated children. Naturally Boyle answered, “no.” There are tens of millions of home schooling families in this country who do not vaccinate their children. The CDC refuses to study these children. As a result autism families are sponsoring a vaccinated and unvaccinated study out of our own pocket. How crazy is that? Like we have extra money to spend on the autism research that the govt refuses to do. Yet it has come to this.
The CDC never wants to discuss why the United States has the world’s most aggressive vaccine schedule. But guess who did? That’s right Congressman Posey! He asked the hard hitting, penetrating questions that the public cannot get answered. Posey asked why we have the world’s most aggressive infant vaccination schedule yet we only have the 34th highest infant mortality rate. Guess who is ahead of us: Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Cuba and Portugal. We certainly spend much more on medical care than these countries. And guess what else we sure vaccinate a lot more.
When asked why we have such a high infant mortality rate yet such a high vaccination rate Dr. Guttmacher said, “vaccines save lives!” Antibiotics save lives but should we take 10 different kinds at once? Food is essential for life but do we shovel done breakfast, lunch and dinner in one sitting? Cancer screenings save lives! Therefore men and women should get colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer and skin cancer screenings all in one day? Commonsense tells us no.
Thank you Congressman Posey for standing up for a more rational and commonsense based approach to vaccination. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to get the most out of autism research dollars and making the CDC and the NIH more accountable to the people they serve.
Thank you Katie, and Thank you Congressman Posey!
Posted by: laura | December 20, 2012 at 09:49 AM
Thank you so much for your work. My family is not personally affected by autism, but I've been following this topic from the sidelines for several years, even before I had a child. I just wanted to say thank you and let you know that the information is reaching people far and wide.
Posted by: Erin | December 20, 2012 at 09:07 AM
Katie, Brian earlier wrote about how CDC scientists collaborated with Poul Thorsen in a fraudulent denial of an association of autism and Thimerosal (mercury) preservative in infant vaccines.
So imagine John Dillinger listed a co-author of a published paper along with an employee of that same bank that had been robbed by Dillinger--18 months after indictment for the robbery.
We don’t have to imagine. Look at this paper coauthored by Diana Schendel and Poul Thorsen published 18 months after his indictment.
Diana Schendel is a CDC scientist and employee of the Department of Health and Human Services. Poul Thorsen is an industrial scientist and the number one most wanted by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22773292
https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/index.asp
https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/fugitives/profiles.asp#thorsen
It must be very difficult for Congressman Bill Posey, or anyone, to imagine that this federal agency is in charge of protecting our children.
Posted by: Jim Thompson | December 18, 2012 at 05:39 AM
Screwing with the CDC is like offending the king, off with our heads..today's news..thimerosal given clean bill of health, pediatricians asking for it's return...sickening..is it backlash from daring to catch them in their lies..Paul Thorson cleared mercury as safe..he and the CDC that paid for his lies..win.
Posted by: barbara j | December 17, 2012 at 10:45 PM
Tonights news had the US budget in big box graph fomrs.
Guess which agency is way ahead of everything else - spending about 3 billion dollars a day
HHS.
Posted by: Benedetta | December 17, 2012 at 08:18 PM
Way to go Florida!
Posted by: Andrea | December 17, 2012 at 06:27 PM
Hurray, Katie, for still being in there after so long, and telling us so much important detail that my husband and I couldn't get to. Maybe, maybe it's turning.
Posted by: Grannyblue | December 17, 2012 at 06:03 PM
This is just fantastic. Finally someone who demonstrates courage and leadership. It's a huge relief that someone will even ask the questions aloud in a public forum.
Posted by: Lisa | December 17, 2012 at 05:18 PM
Thanks Katie, our sons need your strength passion and never quit attitude! you truly represent all of us parents stay strong and keep fighting Tim
Posted by: Timothy P. Dwyer | December 17, 2012 at 04:15 PM
Right Brian, Congressman Buchanan was amazing as well.
Both asked the hard hitting questions their constituents want answered.
Posted by: Katie Wright | December 17, 2012 at 12:53 PM
Katie
Well said. We should not of course forget the farce that the CDC hired the IOM to review the safety of the vaccines and then effectively the IOM went back to the CDC (and its international network) to arrange the studies, with of course the infamous remarks at the IOM closed meeting of lead committee member Marie McCormick (chair) and Kathleen Stratton (study director of the committee):
Dr. McCormick: "...[CDC] wants us to declare, well, these things are pretty safe on a population basis" (p. 33)
Dr. Stratton: "...The point of no return, the line we will not cross in public policy is pull the vaccine, change the schedule. We could say it is time to revisit this, but we would never recommend that level. Even recommending research is recommendations for policy. We wouldn't say compensate, we wouldn't say pull the vaccine, we wouldn't say stop the program." (p. 74)
Dr. McCormick: "...we are not ever going to come down that [autism] is a true side effect..."(p. 97)
http://www.putchildrenfirst.org/media/6.4.pdf
So, in fact, the whole thing was an expensive, time-wasting charade: the IOM were not independent and the studies were not independent. And they knew perfectly well that the results would be damning if the studies were honestly conducted.
John
Posted by: John Stone | December 17, 2012 at 10:43 AM
My line up for the next autism hearing:
Marshlyn Yeargin-Allsopp,
Chief, Developmental Disabilities Branch, NCBDDD, CDC
to speak on CDC relationship with Poul Thorsen and Thorsens role in the vaccine studies.
Larry K Pickering,EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Advisory Committee on Immunzation Practices (ACIP)
Senior Advisor to the Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Immunization & Respiratory Diseases
Atlanta, GA
Pickering is Executive Secretary of ACIP which is the CDC's advisory committee that approves vaccines to the already bloated childhood schedule. I'd like Pikcering to answer questions on scientific evidence behind the clustering of vaccines that shows this approach is safe.
I'd also be interested in hearing from FDA officials like
FDA's Deborah Autor Deputy Commissioner for Global Regulatory Operations and Policy
Autor is very knowledgeable about overseas drug manufacturing. In the US, we get 80% of the active ingredients in our drugs from overseas drug suppliers and that includes vaccine ingredients. Ms. Aroura can speak about globalization and the ongoing and serious security problems with the US drug supply chain and rampant counterfeiting and chemcial substituting that puts us all at risk.
Read Ms. Autors statement on global product security here:
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/OfficeofGlobalRegulatoryOperationsandPolicy/GlobalProductPathway/ucm2025625.htm
Here is an excerpt:
"In short, globalization has fundamentally altered the economic and security landscape and demands a major change in the way FDA fulfills its mission to promote and protect the health of the American people. Just as public health leaders have long recognized that disease knows no borders, FDA in crafting its vision for the next decade knows that product safety and quality no longer begin or end at the border.
This rapidly changing environment, and a desire to move from a posture of intercepting harmful products to anticipating and preventing the arrival of such goods, has prompted FDA leadership to develop this “Pathway to Global Product Safety and Quality.”
Throughout history, FDA’s primary tools for product safety and quality have been inspections at production facilities and ports of entry. Over time the agency has developed additional methods for protecting the public, including laboratory sample analyses for select product categories (e.g., foods) and product safety reporting systems.
Yet the safety of America’s food and medical products remains under serious threat. Imported vegetable protein contaminated with melamine has sickened and killed American pets, and milk tainted with melamine killed and injured children in China. Contaminated heparin, diverted and counterfeit glucose monitor test strips, glycerin contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG), and low quality titanium destined for medical implants have all raised public health concerns. Peppers, eggs, peanut butter, pistachios, spinach, and cookie dough have all been associated with serious disease outbreaks in recent years. Many of the crises were due to, or exacerbated by, the regulatory challenges of globalization."
Posted by: Sarah | December 17, 2012 at 10:10 AM
Yes! Thank you to Congressman Posey and all the others! I said it on another post but it deserves to be said again- you guys really brought your A game and it was much appreciated. As an educational assistant I am so used to only the parents or teachers and a few doctors advocating on this issue. It is so nice to start and see other people caring! You have renewed my faith in government. Thanks!
Posted by: Jen | December 17, 2012 at 09:54 AM
Surely the CDC was aware of the low incidence , different vaccine content and schedule in Denmark when marketing for this study. Yep, marketing for outcome! Our taxes continue to pay for duping the American parent.
Posted by: barbara j | December 17, 2012 at 09:36 AM
@Bob Moffitt, you realize, of course, that Dr. Boyle couldn't even state the current number of vaccines on the CDC schedule. How many years before she's considered a perpetrator?
Posted by: Zed | December 17, 2012 at 09:35 AM
Well said Katie. I about jumped out of my chair when he used the words "humongous scumbag" in relation to Thorsen. About time someone begins the push back on this. Now we need the snowball to become an avalanche.
Posted by: Mary R. | December 17, 2012 at 09:04 AM
Bob Moffitt - Could you email me off-line regarding the co-conspirators in the Thorsen indictment? I'd appreciate it.
Brian Hooker - brian@dream-big.us
Posted by: Brian Hooker | December 17, 2012 at 08:52 AM
Great work, Katie! Thank you for recognizing my hero, Rep. Bill Posey! He and his very gracious and amazing colleague, Rep. Vern Buchanan, went out on a limb for our community purely and simply because they had constituents who contacted them regarding this issue. That's the way that Congress is supposed to work, right?
As far as Dr. Boyle is concerned,... I don't think the Oversight committee is quite done with her yet.
Posted by: Brian Hooker | December 17, 2012 at 08:50 AM
Too bad Congressman Posey didn't ask Dr. Boyle if she knows the identity of the "known and unknown" co-conspirators that were indicted at the same time as was Dr. Thorsen?
Surely the head of the CDC has a responsibility to identify any employee under her direct supervision that is a KNOWN co-conspirator of someone who absconded with a million scarce research dollars .. dollars by the way .. that Dr. Boyle bears direct accountability for .. yet have been stolen from the taxpayers of the United States?
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | December 17, 2012 at 08:12 AM