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Posting about Public Citizen, their latest email

Posted: Nov 16, 2013



	Can you handle some good news? Because as part of Public Citizen, you just had a good week. Let me back up a step. In the emails I send you, I often mention that this organization gets a lot of work done. But sometimes even I am struck by the sheer scope and impact of what the several hundred thousand of us who make up this collective project called Public Citizen accomplish together. Take a few minutes to at least skim this update. I think it will make you very proud of the work that you and Public Citizen are doing. PATENTLY ABSURD Thanks to you, untold thousands of injuries could be averted and lives could be saved as a result of Public Citizen’s work to improve generic drug safety. This is an incredible story, so stick with me as I go through the particulars. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case in which a patient who developed a severe neurological disorder after taking a generic drug sued the manufacturer for failing to warn her of that danger. Public Citizen filed an amicus brief in that case on behalf of the patient. The court, unfortunately, concluded that FDA rules — which require generic labeling to mimic that of brand-name medications — left the generic company no choice about its labeling. But generics account for some 84% of all prescriptions. And they’re vital to keeping health care affordable for the majority of Americans. With the Supreme Court granting them immunity, though, generic drug makers have no incentive to investigate and report safety problems related to the drugs they sell. Well, even though a Supreme Court ruling is often the end of the story, Public Citizen was just getting started. And we found a remedy. In 2011, we petitioned the FDA to change its rules and allow generic manufacturers to alter drug labeling. Earlier this year, we issued a bombshell study showing that the FDA itself finds potential hazards many years, or even decades, after some drugs have been on the market and that there are hundreds of prescription drugs that exist ONLY in generic form. Our research highlighted the importance of incentivizing generic firms, which dominate sales for so many drugs, to monitor the safety of their products and to be held accountable for failing to warn of hazards. Eight days ago, the FDA granted our petition and proposed a rule that would enable generic manufacturers to change product labeling, finally closing the safety gap. Of course, the generic drug industry will fight against this commonsense and potentially life-saving rule. But Public Citizen is not about to back down now. NO FAST TRACK TO “FREE” TRADE On Wednesday, Public Citizen was instrumental in two developments that could at last derail a proposed “free trade” pact — the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has been described as “NAFTA on steroids” — that threatens to undermine many public-interest safeguards on which we all rely and to provoke more offshoring of U.S. jobs. The pact is being negotiated in secret among the U.S. and 11 other countries. And while 600 official U.S. corporate trade advisors have access to the draft agreement, the public and the press have been locked out. First, 151 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a letter opposing “fast track” — an extremely anti-democratic Nixon-era scheme that transfers Congress’ constitutional trade authority to the president. Fast track meant the White House could make “trade” deals that rewrote vast swaths of our laws with little or no consultation with Congress, which was then required to vote on the deals with limited debate and no amendments allowed. Without fast track handcuffing Congress and keeping We the People in the dark, neither the Trans-Pacific Partnership (at least as it currently stands) nor other bad trade deals the Obama administration is pursuing (including one between the U.S. and the European Union) are likely to ever go into effect. The letter — which followed similar letters from 27 House Republicans — was signed by three-fourths of House Democrats, including a broad collection of senior leadership. Since it goes against what President Obama wants, it wasn’t exactly easy for them politically. Public Citizen originated the strategy that led to this outpouring of opposition to fast track, despite a common view that such an approach could not succeed. And, with allies, we organized countless lobby visits and district-by-district grassroots and grasstops campaigns. We proved — again — the value of aiming high, thinking outside the box, not conceding principle and policy priorities, and doing the tough work. Second, we partnered with WikiLeaks on the release and analysis of the until-then secret draft of a chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership covering intellectual property. The text confirms what we’ve long known: The U.S. negotiators are pushing the commercial interests of Big Pharma and Hollywood, with the goal of expanding those industries’ monopoly protections. That would mean higher medicine prices for us and limits on our Internet access. Among other things that would be sacrificed to rampant corporate profiteering, the deal would make it far more difficult for countries to address devastating public health priorities, including HIV/AIDS. The release also shows the great number of issues over which disagreements remain, discrediting claims that the negotiations are almost complete. In the Alice-in-Wonderland world of trade talks, such claims create a false sense of inevitability among negotiators. Dispelling them is a key part of derailing bad deals. XL MARKS THE SPOT On Tuesday, Public Citizen issued a report many months in the making about a section of the notorious Keystone XL pipeline being built in Oklahoma and Texas. We showed that a 250-mile stretch of the pipeline is beset with apparent engineering code violations and around 125 “anomalies” — that’s one of the words used by TransCanada, the dirty oil company that is building the pipeline, to mark assorted dents, sags, patches that themselves are peeling, and other problems. The report was literally the result of on-the-ground work — walking along the pipeline, documenting and photographing problems. Yet again, we have demonstrated that TransCanada cannot be trusted to safely build and operate the pipeline, and that there is cause to be gravely concerned about serious spills and environmental degradation if the company is allowed to proceed. But the stakes are far higher than even that. The Keystone XL pipeline — and what it represents about our ongoing national subservience to Big Oil — is both a critical threat to our planet and the hottest issue in environmental policy today. The decision about whether to permit the pipeline’s construction to continue rests with President Obama (and the State Department). And at the moment it’s not at all clear how this will turn out. With the outcome so uncertain, it’s entirely possible that our latest report could help tip the balance. JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE Most organizations would be thrilled if they accomplished one of these things in a year. Public Citizen did them all in a span of just six days. And that’s far from all we did that week. Our business as usual, if you stop and think about it, is downright remarkable. We make great things happen because we refuse to accept the conventional wisdom about what is or is not possible. We deploy an unparalleled diversity of advocacy tools — research, litigation, grassroots organizing, lobbying, communications in traditional and new media, and more — and skillfully operate in all branches of government to achieve what we do. And we have the strength of hundreds of thousands of informed, involved citizens from all walks of life and every corner of the country who stand with us in the fight to preserve and advance progress. I am very proud to work with you on all that Public Citizen does. I hope you feel that same pride.

;

What the heck is Public Citizen? - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
Whoever posted this, what is the purpose? Are we supposed to know what this organization is? Is it pro-GOP or pro-dem?

maybe you should do some research - on your own before

[ In Reply To ..]
you start asking inflammatory questions. simple search would have answered all you need to know.

What did you find inflammatory about it? nm - I'm just curious

[ In Reply To ..]
x

It seemed to me like - you were wanting

[ In Reply To ..]
to challenge the OP for some reason by suggesting that the source was not credible or something, or that it must state it self as either rep or dem. that was what I found inflammatory.

It wasn't me. I just didn't see anything inflammatory about a - simple question so

[ In Reply To ..]
I was curious what sparked your response, which imo was a little hostile.

my post was - hostile???

[ In Reply To ..]
I think compared to some of the posts on this board, it was rather tame and restrained. sorry if I thought you were someone else. certainly do not want to accuse you of anything.

oh, and the board is much less hostile lately, which has been "seriously" nice!! I hope it lasts for a long, long time. :-)

It has been nice!! Thank you for your restrained - response ;-)

[ In Reply To ..]
And kudos to even-handed moderating!

no amount of googling will tell use what the OP's point was - other poster (nm)

[ In Reply To ..]

Not the OP, but it looks to me like she wanted to share an interesting article - There not always a point in posting - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
A lot of us come here to share interesting articles we read. This particular article was regarding drugs and serious complications from a generic drug, the FDA, Big Pharma, etc.

I myself post a lot of articles I find interesting. There is never "a point" behind them, just that I find the article interesting, which is looks like that is what the OP posted too, an article she found interesting.

Really, there is nothing sinister going on here.

totally agree - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I don't think there is anything sinister going on at all. I was just responding to the poster who stated "maybe you should do some research on your own...."

So your only interested to know whether is pro-dem or pro-con - before you even read it?

[ In Reply To ..]
Guess you want to make up your mind whether you like it or not before you even read it.

Answer to your first question - "What the heck is Public Citizen?"

1. Go to www.google.com
2. In the space provided type in who is public citizen.
3. Click on the link that says www.citizen.org
4. Click on the link About.

That will answer your question.

P.S. - Thanks for clarifying your party affiliation.

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