Tag Archives: Politics
Purdue Pharma and the Sackler Family were exposed in 2007. Why was it ignored?
Where was the outrage?
Marianne Skolek Perez, Investigative Reporter
(MYRTLE BEACH) Consider how many lives could have been saved if those responsible for the prescription opioid epidemic had been charged under RICO. Why should they have been charged and what exactly is RICO? Here is a simplified definition for those not familiar.
The Deadly Side of Irvine That Nobody Wants to Address
The El Toro Marine Corps base has left more than it’s saga behind.
Tim King Global News Centre
(SALEM, Ore.) - Irvine, California, is a pricey piece of California paradise on the surface, but underneath, a city of deadly cancer clusters, with a sea of toxic carcinogens flowing beneath its streets.
Marine Corps f-4 jet
This is south Orange County, a place where people have plenty of money and success, but whether they know it or not, the people of Irvine are also part of a dirty, well kept secret.
Rudy Giuliani succeeded in keeping Purdue Pharma out of prison resulting in thousands of deaths!
Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, pleaded guilty in federal court in 2007 to criminal charges that they misled regulators, doctors and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction and its potential to be abused. The disgraced privately held Purdue Pharma, owned by the billionaire Sackler family, brought in “big guns” to negotiate the monetary settlement and hired Rudy Giuliani to avoid prison time. Judge James Jones presiding over the sentencing imposed community service hours at a drug rehabilitation center to the three CEO’s of Purdue Pharma. They were Michael Friedman, President, Howard Udell, Chief Counsel (now deceased) and Paul Goldenheim, MD. With Giuliani’s shrewd legal skills utilized, Purdue Pharma continued to make billions of dollars while their created prescription opioid epidemic raged out of control.
FLASHBACK: Is Senator Joe Manchin of WV a “hero” or a “hypocrite” in the prescription opioid epidemic?
Manchin’s state, West Virginia, has the highest rate of overdose deaths in the country
Marianne Skolek-Perez Global News Centre
(MYRTLE BEACH) Last week I received an email from a mother who lost her child to the prescription opioid/heroin health crisis crippling every state in the country. The email read “I hope to get an appointment to see Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia when I visit Washington, DC — I think he gets it.” But does Manchin “get it” in the sense this mother thinks?
U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and her sordid investigation!
Claire McCaskill and Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch is working for the wrong side…
Marianne Skolek-Perez Global News Centre
(MYRTLE BEACH) Someone may want to inform Senator Claire McCaskill that her recent call for an investigation into the prescription opioid epidemic was already launched by the U.S. Finance Committee in 2012 and as of 2017 there is still no report. So why would McCaskill demand action on an epidemic killing in the thousands every year when she is aware the waters are not unchartered? Let me try to enlighten those people, including McCaskill, why not everyone is buying what she is selling.
Democratic Party has its work cut out at the state level
It behooves the Democrats to concentrate some of their efforts toward electing democrats at the state and local level as that’s where many future candidates hone their skills for later runs for national office.
Ralph E Stone GlobalNewsCentre.com
(SAN FRANCISCO) The Democrats elected Tom Perez for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairmanship. After winning the vote, Perez appointed Keith Ellison as the Deputy Chair. Perez and Ellison each pledged to rebuild state and local parties, including in Republican-dominated states. The Democrats have much work to do at the state and local level where laws are passed disfavoring Democrats.
Senate Should Confirm Gorsuch to Supreme Court
President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court,
Neil Gorsuch. Photo via Wikipedia.
Gorsuch’s confirmation will bring the Supreme Court back to four conservatives, not a majority of five.
Ralph E Stone GlobalNewsCentre.com
(SAN FRANCISCO) The Senate should confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court if he is found to be qualified. I understand the Republicans refused to even consider Merrick Garland, Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, even though Obama had ten months left on his term at the time. I also understand had Hillary Clinton become president, the Republicans indicated no nominee of hers would be confirmed either.
Trump issues draconian Executive Order banning persons from seven Muslim countries
On 9/11, the nineteen terrorists who attacked America that day, fifteen were from Saudi Arabia, two were from the United Arab Emirates, and one was from Lebanon. This means that only two of the seven countries on Trump’s list produced terrorists who have actually perpetrated attacks on U.S. soil.
Ralph E Stone GlobalNewsCentre.com
(SAN FRANCISCO) During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump issued a statement saying, if elected, he would issue “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our representatives can figure out what’s going on.” Now, Trump has followed through on his campaign promise by issuing an executive order suspending visa entry of persons from seven countries that have predominately Muslim populations. The banned countries are Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.
Is the U.S. Senate responsible for thousands of deaths in sealing their fact finding report on drug epidemic?
Leahy.senate.gov
How many lives could have been saved — especially our young people if in 2007 Patrick Leahy had replied to me “We are taking this epidemic seriously and are launching an investigation to stem the loss of life to addiction and death.”
Marianne Skolek-Perez Global News Centre
(MYRTLE BEACH) On May 9, 2012 the U.S. Senate Finance Committee announced an investigation into the prescription opioid epidemic waging a war of addiction and death throughout the U.S. Their investigation was to be focused on the American Pain Foundation (they closed their doors when the investigation was announced), the Center for Practical Bioethics, and five other organizations. It also targeted three leading opioid makers: Purdue Pharma (OxyContin), Endo Pharmaceuticals (Percocet), and Johnson & Johnson (Duragesic). The Senate Finance Committee demanded to see documents and get answers to their questions.
The word is “credibility” not “stigma” in the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic!
Anderson Cooper photo courtesy: CNN
This past week CNN broadcast an Anderson Cooper interview on the prescription opioid/heroin epidemic at a Town Hall Meeting.
Marianne Skolek-Perez Global News Centre
(MYRTLE BEACH) CNN has been accused by the U.S. Pain Foundation, a lobbying group for pharma in catering to the needs of chronic pain patients in their use of long term opioids, at stigmatizing the pain patients. Paul Gileno, Founder and President of the foundation was “deeply troubled and disappointed by the one-sided, biased discussion surrounding pain medication that completely disregarded the voices of people living with debilitating pain” during the broadcast.
Prescription Opioids and Heroin - Our Kids are Dying!
addicthelp.orgOxycontin
Every time the word “stigma” is used in describing addiction, the pharmaceutical industry and their heavily funded pain foundation lobbying groups uses the word “stigma” to describe the chronic pain patient being denied long term addictive opioid treatment.
Marianne Skolek Global News Centre
(MYRTLE BEACH) In the 14 years I have been writing about the prescription opioid crisis which has evolved into a heroin epidemic, my frustration level has elevated. In July 2007, I testified in front of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee about OxyContin and the criminal conviction of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin. My testimony is shown here:
