I confess to being empathetic to Steve Olson’s views on the public school system in the US. I don’t profess to know the solution to the myriad problems related to public schooling–it’s just too far out of whack for me to consider. Here’s a cut from Steve:

When you read about the problems with American education, you usually read statistics about literacy and dropout rates. But those statistics don’t do the subject justice because the problem with American education is a human story. Every dropout is a human being, every illiterate teenager is an individual, every teen that commits suicide was somebody’s baby, and every kid that’s doing 20 to life is a real breathing person – full of potential.

People are too quick to criticize parents, teachers, administrators, and students. The failure of government education isn’t theirs alone. It’s every American’s fault because we continue to allow the unrestrained growth of government schooling. Haven’t we learned anything from our own experiences in government schools?

It’s very easy for people to bury their head in the sand and ‘let the administrators handle it’. I, for one, am of the opinion that the administrators are failing badly. Be that as it may, there are some places in the country where accountability is coming back in style.

The state of Texas is one of those. There, students have to pass the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills exam in order to get a diploma, in addition to the requisite credits.

In Fort Worth, 600+ students failed the test, and are being denied the opportunity to graduate with their classmates. But many are protesting that “it’s not fair”. You look at the picture above, read the sign, and tell me it’s not fair. “Let are kids walk”?

I received this email message today from a friend and business partner. It quotes an article by Tim Sales, an entrepreneur and business person. If you have anything to do with supplements, herbal products, dietary products, or things related to natural healing or health and wellness, this is important to you.

If you don’t have anything to do business-wise in those areas, this is still important to you. It is an example of government overreaching, prodded by companies that will benefit hugely from the action. Now, I’m all for benefits–but benefits for all, not just some.

I’m grateful for the FDA, as they have been instrumental in keeping some dangerous drugs off the market. Like any every government agency, though, they have their problems, otherwise known as lobbyists. In this case, the lobbyists come from the land of giant pharmaceutical companies who want a government agency to restrict further what you can and can’t buy. The want this not because they are concerned for your health and welfare, which is what they would have you believe, but because their territory is being encroached upon and this is how they react.

Wallace Wattles, in The Science of Getting Rich, explains the difference in thought between operating in the competitive vs. the creative arena. When you engage in business competitively, your focus is necessarily on lack–that there is only a finite pie, and you must do whatever it takes to get your piece of it, preferably the biggest piece possible.

When your thinking is focused on creativity, you are faced with abundance. There is no need to compete because all you need will be created and made available to you.

The big pharmaceutical companies operate from competitiveness. The natural ways are foreign to them, and present a challenge. They’ve chosen not to operate from the creative side, but from the competitive side. Natural health and wellness products and services present a potential loss of business to the companies, and this is their way of competing in that arena.

On the teleclass I held last Monday, I told you I would do some research on issues surrounding the current attacks on vitamin supplements and then send you an email explaining the situation and give you simple steps you can take to help. Here it is.

When I stated this on the teleclass, I didn’t know what I was opening up. It’s more than I thought – what’s new!

How to read this email -The best way to read this is to go all the way through it to the end. I’ve included links under different sections just in case you want more information on it. However, if you click on one of the links, you could be gone for a very long time! I know, I’ve spent a week on it – hopefully so you don’t have to. You need to stay focused on building your business – but you also need to do your part in keeping health freedom.

After weeding through tons of “the sky is falling” types of comments regarding supposed attacks on nutritional supplements, I have isolated three main and real attacks on our health freedom. I’m only going to explain one of them today as there is a SUNDAY NIGHT deadline to act.

All three of these attacks not only are on the supplement industry, but health foods as well! All attacks are an attempt to weaken or replace the DSHEA Act. DSHEA –stands for “Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act.”

This is a law that was passed in the U.S. in 1994 during a previous period when the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) was trying to restrict our access to nutritional supplements. Due to a huge outcry by the American public, Congress unanimously passed the DSHEA Act and it is what gives us the legal right to consume and sell supplements, health foods and juices.

The attacks on DSHEA are coming from multiple directions therefore we must defend in multiple directions, but all attacks appear to be coming from one source, the Pharmaceutical industry – through the FDA.

Health food and supplements are a huge threat to the pharmaceutical industry. Healthy people give little or no money to drug companies. Nutrition and health companies are competition to the Pharmaceutical companies.

A study released in May 2004 from the National Institutes of Health showed that 1/3 of all American adults use some form of alternative therapy, spending tens of billions annually. Those of us who sell nutritional products know this. Americans now spend more on complementary and alternative types of products and therapies than they do on conventional health care professionals. This document has no doubt been seen by the pharmaceutical companies; which is why they have escalated their attack on health freedom.

Let me explain how this happened – it’s important. A grassroots movement is one that is started and continued “by the common people” instead of by politics and businesses. The Health Freedom grassroots movement came about because people did not like the options they were being given by conventional medicine - options like drugs, surgery, amputation, chemotherapy. People decided to look for “alternative” choices. Those alternative choices, such as nutrition, herbs, chiropractic care, raw fruit and vegetable juices, etc., were much more palatable.

Many times people find the alternatives work just as well (if not better) but with no side effects. The Health Freedom grassroots movement has continued to grow to where now 1/3 of adults in the USA are using some form of alternative therapy.

The drug companies will not “roll over” and let this happen without a fight. They are using all resources available to them – money, media and political contacts. But NEVER forget that this started and can be won as a grassroots movement - as long as those that are part of the movement actually fight for their rights.

So how do we fight? We can’t use airplanes, ships, tanks, guns, knives or even rocks. No, this is a strategic game and is rigged in a particular way. The FDA has a boss – it’s called the U.S. Congress and the Senate. We win by communicating to Congress and the Senate. This is not a hard fight at all. It’s as easy as eating a banana. Here’s the game plan on how to win the game of health freedom:

Get enough people to tell their Congressperson and their Senators that we demand health freedom.

That’s it.

Let me describe this in detail because many of us (including me) were asleep when the teacher explained this in school. The State you live in has Representatives and Senators in the U.S. Congress. They were elected by you. If you didn’t vote, you still elected them because you didn’t vote for someone else.

We [the people] tell elected officials what we want by sending letters and by calling their office. Don’t worry, they (the Congressperson) won’t answer the phone but the person who does will “take a message.” When the message is delivered they will do what we want as long as there are ENOUGH PEOPLE stating they want it.

Why?

Have you ever noticed every few years there’s a bunch of red, white and blue signs littering the streets and telephone poles? There may even be some crazy guy dressed in a suit standing at a major intersection in your town waving at everyone with a sign that reads, “Vote for me to represent you in Congress!” That’s the guy! He’s the one you’re writing to (if he won, that is). He’s also the FDA’s boss. He won’t get reelected if he doesn’t do what “the majority” wants.

So that’s our side of the game. Now, let me explain what our opponent (the drug companies) is doing to try to win the game. Our Congressperson doesn’t want to stand in the streets waving at everyone come next election. He’d rather have the money to run state wide advertisements on television, radio, newspapers and magazines so that he’s reelected. So our opponent (the drug companies) is offering to give him some advertising money – if he will vote in favor of more drugs and more FDA regulation.

But, with a lot of people writing and calling him (I’ll say it again, the “majority”) he doesn’t need to advertise because he has word of mouth! He will be reelected because he’s doing what THE PEOPLE want him to do.

Right now – we don’t know how many people are calling him/her and telling them that they demand health freedom. Therefore, YOU have to [at a minimum] call and write your Congressperson and Senators but also YOU BE THE CAUSE that other people do it as well. That’s how we get the “majority.”

Now let me explain what we’re fighting for.

In the broad view, anything that expands the FDA’s ability to regulate supplements and foods has to be fought and beaten. Why? Because the FDA’s actions have proven that they really work for the drug companies and nutritional supplements are unwanted competition for drugs.

Here is the item that requires immediate action:

1. This coming Monday morning, there is a bill scheduled for a Senate vote called the “Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act” (S1082). We have to act immediately on this one.

There aren’t many people who would disagree that the FDA needs “revitalization.” But just like in your personal life, you could sit down and write a plan to revitalize your life and it could do JUST THE OPPOSITE! It could cause things to get worse.

I think that’s the situation with the planned FDA Revitalization Act (S1082).

I feel the biggest problem with the FDA is that it (the whole organization) has a conflict of interest as well as the people (the scientists) who approve drugs have a conflict of interest. People who test drugs at the FDA are allowed to have a financial interest in the drugs they test. Another way there is a conflict of interest is after a drug is approved, the FDA scientist gets a job working for the company who he/she just approved the drug for.

Imagine you’re a scientist at the FDA and a drug company says to you, “I’ll give you 1000 stock options in our company. If the drug gets approved, you’ll be rich.” That’s certainly good for you and is great for the drug company - but it can lead to a situation where a drug like Vioxx gets approved but shouldn’t have. (Vioxx was a popular pain reliever that caused over 28,000 deaths from heart attack before being recalled.)

This new FDA Revitalization Act (S1082) will allow drug companies to pay the FDA 380 million dollars to “speed the approval process.” I feel this creates a conflict where a drug may be approved that may not have been if there wasn’t any financial incentive for it to be approved.

The FDA Revitalization Act (S1082) also will expand the FDA’s authority to ban any food or dietary supplement that it deems “unsafe”, based on their own personal opinions. They could make anything they want appear as a risk – including your favorite dietary supplements that you sell and use to stay healthy.

Watch this video when you have 90 minutes. Please not now – finish this document. It includes an interview from a 20 year veteran of the FDA.

Prescription For Disaster

Here is the punch line -

As long as the drug companies control the FDA, our health freedom is under attack!

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

Before Sunday night at midnight, read an article about this bill here: The Problem with the FDA Revitalization Act

Scroll to the bottom of the article; click on “Take Action Now”; enter your zip code in the form, customize the letter and submit it.

DONE – you see how easy it actually is! You just did the most important thing a person can do for their country. People often thank me for “serving my country.” I think learning what the issues are about and voting is a better way to serve the country than shooting bullets.

NOW, if you are a leader you will cause at least one other person to do what you just did! Don’t just forward the email - you have to actually MAKE it happen – close to action.

Every time a Congressperson or a Senator receives a comment from the public they view it as 13,000 people making the comment because they know that for every 1 person who writes them it represents 12,999 people who will never get off their butt and do something!

Therefore, and this is very important – pat yourself on the back because you did what 12,999 people haven’t done yet.

Huge respect and admiration to you for making a difference,

Tim Sales

Even if I get to the top of the ‘Top Commentator’ list in your sidebar, I’m not a ‘top commentator’. I’m a top commenter. I don’t discuss news, sports events, weather and the like on your blog, and I don’t make commentaries. I write comments. I’m a commenter.