Democracy Now! August 23, 2002

9:00-9:01 Billboard: Heartfelt advice, hefty fees : Actress Lauren Bacall and others promote drugs on national television, but don t reveal they re getting paid by drug companies Jeb Bush s new child welfare head?: spanking that causes welts is ok; women should think of work outside the home as bondage We don t seem to learn and we don t remember our own history : On the 75th anniversary of the execution of anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, a conversation with Howard Fast 9:01-9:06 Headlines: 9:07-9:20 HEARTFELT ADVICE, HEFTY FEES : ACTRESS LAUREN BACALL AND OTHERS PROMOTE DRUGS ON NATIONAL TELEVISION, BUT DON T REVEAL THEY RE ON THE PAYROLL OF DRUG COMPANIES Several days ago a story appeared in the New York Times that goes like this: In a rare interview, Laruen Bacall appeared on the NBC Today program in March, telling Matt Lauer about a good friend who had gone lblind from an eye disease and urging the audience to see their doctors to be tested for it. It s just it as frightening because it it can happen very suddenly, she said. Ms. Bacall then mentioned a drug called Visudyne, a new treatment for the disease known as macular degeneration. She never revealed that she was being paid to tell the story, and neither did the network, NBC. The list of who is on the payroll of drug companies is impressive. Actresses Lauren Bacall and Kathleen Turner. Actors Rob Lowe and Danny Glover. Talk show hosts Larry King and Montell Williams. Figure skater Peggy Fleming. All of these celebrities have appeared on top-rated shows to discuss medical problems and often directly recommended a drug. But viewers usually never learn that these pitches are mere paid advertisements financed by the drug companies. According to the Wall Street Journal, actor Rob Lowe fetched upwards of $1 million for his role in a so-called public education campaign about treating infections caused by chemotherapy. The money was coming from Amgen, the harmaceutical firm that manufactures the drug Neulasta which cures the problem. On April 22 he appeared on Entertainment Tonight and The Rosie O Donnell Show to discuss how his dad, Chuck Lowe, suffered from the ailment. Public health officials have expressed grave concern for years with the ambitious promotional campaigns of drug companies. But the Food and Drug Administration says everything that firms like Amgen and Pfizer are doing, is legal. The FDA has long been accused of being sympathetic to the drug firms it regulates. Earlier this week, the Agency asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to overturn a ruling that would have barred certain television ads for the drug Paxil. The judge had ruled drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline misled consumers by saying Paxil is not habit-forming. Some 35 patients said they suffered withdrawal symptoms such as nausea, fever, and "electric zaps" to their bodies. The Plaintiffs attorney Karen Barth told the Associated Press, "The fact that the FDA is now trying to step in and advocate on the side of the pharmaceutical company is disgusting to me. Well, today the New York Times is reporting that CNN will begin to reveal any connections between guests and pharmaceutical companies. Guest: GARY RUSKIN, executive director of Commercial Alert Contact: www.commercialalert.org Guest: Sidney Wolf, director of Public Citizen s Health Research Group Contact: www.citizen.org/hrg/9:21-9:40 JEB BUSH S NEW CHILD WELFARE HEAD?: SPANKING THAT CAUSES WELTS IS OK; WOMEN SHOULD THINK OF WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME AS BONDAGE Florida Governor Jeb Bush last week tried to squash a potential threat to his re-election campaign by immediately naming a new head to the state s scandal-ridden child welfare agency. Bush appointed Jerry Regier to lead the agency less than 48 hours after Kathleen Kearney resigned. Under Kearney s leadership, the agency admitted it had lost 4-year-old Rilya Wilson without noticing for more than a year. Hours after Bush made the surprise appointment, reporters at the Miami Herald typed Regier s name into the popular web search engine, google. They discovered Regier had co-authored an essay in 1989 published by the California-based Coalition on Revival, called The Christian World View of the Family . In it, Regier writes that spanking which causes ''bruises or welts'' is acceptable punishment. Among some of the essays additional highlights: Women should work outside the home only if the family is in a financial crisis and should consider the work bondage. * The radical feminist movement has damaged the morale of many women and convinced men to relinquish their biblical authority in the home.'' * Gays shouldn t be parents * Christians shouldn t marry non-Christians * Divorce is acceptable only when there is adultery or desertion * Abortion is wrong. He also urges Christians to take ``whatever actions we can, within our biblical and constitutional limits, to realign county, state, and federal legislation regarding family issues in order to make it conform to the Bible's view of reality and morality.'' Jeb Bush s spokeswoman claimed the governor wasn t aware of Regier's writings before the appointment. And Regier himself claims he didn t write the essay. He says his name was on the front cover of the essay because he was the co-chair of the committee that wrote the essay GUEST: BJ Medley, director, Oklahoma NARAL, The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League CONTACT: www.naral.org GUEST: Karen Geevers, president, Children s Advocacy Foundation (Florida). Her organization is suing Florida s child welfare agency. 9:41-9:58 WE DON T SEEM TO LEARN AND WE DON T REMEMBER OUR OWN HISTORY : ON THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EXECUTION OF SACCO AND VANZETTI, A CONVERSATION WITH HOWARD FAST On this day 75 years ago, August 23, 1927, two Italian-American anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartalomeo Vanzetti were executed in Massachusetts. They were sentenced to death on charges of murder and robbery but many historians consider the case to be the most unjust and politically charged murder case in U.S. history. To quote from Emma Goldman, Sacco and Vanzetti died, as the entire world knows today, because they were Anarchists. That is to say, because they believed and preached human brotherhood and freedom. As such, they could expect neither justice nor humanity. For the Masters of Life can forgive any offense or crime but never an attempt to undermine their security on the backs of the masses. Therefore Sacco and Vanzetti had to die, notwithstanding the protests of the entire world. On this the 75th anniversary, the protests continue. Activists around the world are commemorating the execution with public rallies and teach-ins today. In New York a four-hour memorial will be held in Union Square beginning at 5 p.m. We are joined now by the author Howard Fast who wrote The Passion for Sacco & Vanzetti in 1953. Guest: Howard Fast, author of The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits