Robert,

Thank you for the link to the full-text of the S.843 "Combating
Autism Act of 2005."

As a lawyer, you certainly appreciate the brilliance of the
opposition's maneuver. It is sinister, cynical and clever--a
powerful combination. What options did Santorum et al. leave us?

1. Oppose the total bill--And we confirm our official "crackpot"
status and are instantly the bad guys.

2. Support the bill--And we provide our tacit agreement that
thimerasol and the toxicity issue shouldn't be high on the autism
agenda and probably shouldn't be there at all.

3. Work for an amendment to the bill that would prioritize
research/treatment centered around the toxicity hypothesis--And we
allow ourselves to be co-opted and marginalized to a side argument,
with geneticists, behaviorists and neurologists taking center stage,
the money and the public ear.

There can be little doubt that this is an attempt by the some in
government, in the guise of the federal health bureaucracy, to take
over autism research, debate and services in this country, and in so
doing to minimize the role of heavy-metal toxicity for political and
legal reasons.

By co-opting non-thimerasol groups like NAAR, the NIH cloaks itself
as the "good guy" on the side of parents and kids while achieving
their political goals--to protect the federal health bureaucracy
from the truth coming out.

The truth is what most in this group agree on: That officials and
scientists charged with overseeing the health of our nation's
children were corrupted by Big Pharma money and their own egos. The
result is the greatest health catastrophe of our time, one that has
profound implications for our nation's well being and security. And
one that is far from over.

I will study the bill and encourage others to do so as well to look
for effective ways to respond and positions to take. For those just
joining this thread, here are two web links for viewing the bill's
full text:

http://www.theorator.com/bills109/s843.html
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.843.IS

David Taylor



--- In EOHarm@yahoogroups.com, Robert J. Krakow <rkrakow@e...> wrote:
> David,
>
> You pose precisely the concern I have about this bill. On the face
of
> it appears ok, but the devil is in the details and the execution.
NIH
> scientists, more appropriately, HHS bureaucrats control the
research to
> which the funding is directed. Since HHS is heavily invested in
vaccine
> production, in particular NIAID, it is doubtful they will allow
money
> to invested to uncover the truth about Thimerosal.
>
> That is why we need to get this bill amended to better direct the
> research. Sen. Santorum resisted such a request when I asked him
point
> blank face to face whether we could target Thimerosal and MMR
research
> in this funding bill. Obviously, the legislation can do this,
contrary
> to what he said, because the bill contains provisions delaying the
very
> research we need.
>
> You have answered the question why the key research we need would
be
> delayed for more than three years. There are powerful forces who
do not
> want it done. We at NAA (I am on the Board) will follow Laura
Bono's
> excellent identification of this defect in the bill, and we will
find
> others as we analyze the bill.
>
> At A.R.M. Political Action we intend to take up this issue as one
of
> the first issues we work on. As we will be unconstrained by
> restrictions on lobbying we hope to be the voice of all of us,
that is
> if we win your trust and support. I know my colleagues at NAA have
been
> supportive and will be working closely with us on this issue.
>
> So, yes I think NAA will be a leader on this and A.R.M. hopes to
be
> there to carry the ball politically on this.
>
> Any further thoughts you have on the bill are welcome. You can
find it
> at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html then type in "Combat
> autism" or the bill number, which is S. 843. I will also email the
pdf
> of the bill to you privately.
>
> Bob K.
>