Opinion by Consumer Advocate  Tim Bolen 

Tuesday, October 4th,  2011

I've been working on this story for months.  There are so many parts and paths to it, and the information I have gathered is so shocking, it is simply difficult to write. 

Maybe it is taking so long because I don't want to be the messenger. 

And, I am going to have to break this story up into several parts.

Starting Point...

A man named Brian Hooker PhD has recently filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Washington DC against the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demanding that the CDC quit stalling on his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and provide him with the public information he is looking for.  Hooker has been making specific FOIA requests to the CDC since March 11, 2005 on the subject of the CDC's five "Thimerosal in vaccines studies." The CDC claims, falsely, that these five studies prove the safety and efficacy of Thimerosal.

Hooker had adequate reasons to be suspicious of the CDC, and their Thimerosal position.  I will give you those details in another article.

Hooker is a scientist and knows how studies are supposed to be done.  When he examined those five CDC studies he found a number of serious credibility issues with every one of them.  So he began asking questions, and it wasn't long before the CDC shut the door.  Illegally.

The CDC simply did not want a real scientist asking them pointed questions.

Hooker wants the details, including all communications between the parties involved in the studies' communications (letters, emails, etc.).  He has accumulated, over time, a massive amount of information on the subject, and is insistent on getting, and examining, every last piece of paper, email, whatever.  The CDC is falling all over itself trying to keep records away from Brian Hooker.

Hooker has a thirteen year old son with Autism. As usual, Brian Hooker's son was just fine prior to being vaccinated.

I have seen what Brian Hooker has already gathered and on the basis of that alone I can easily reach the conclusion, as you would, that:

What I am going to tell you about in this article is that the anti-vaccination movement is absolutely right in their concerns about the vaccine situation, and, in fact, many parts of the movement would be far more upset if they knew what I NOW KNOW.

The situation is far worse than you can imagine.

So, let's begin...

Where we are...

There is a massive vaccine construction based in the United States that controls an integral part of the world-wide health care offering.  That construction is, rightfully so, a major subject for argument.  That "vaccine construction" is made up of an unholy alliance between Federal/State agencies and the vaccine industry.  It operates without ANY oversight.  None.  All efforts to even monitor it are blocked.  All efforts.

To balance that there is, world-wide, a significant "anti-vaccination" movement made up of very solid, concerned people.  This movement, itself, is diverse in its interests and focus.  Often there is disagreement among advocates about the problems and possible solutions.

What everybody, whether pro-vaccination or anti-vaccination, knows, and recognizes quite well, is that since the implementation of an increased mandatory childhood vaccination schedule, major health problems have arisen within the population base served by those vaccinations.  The point - the more vaccines there are the more problems we have.

And, as Anne Dachel of Age of Autism (AOA) says, those problems are affecting our society at large.

According to the anti-vaccination movement there are many different concerns about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.  Those advocates, rightfully, make demand of the government agencies put in place to monitor health programs to INVESTIGATE and FIND SOLUTION to those issues.  And that's where the problem becomes exacerbated - those agencies.  They are not doing what they are supposed to be doing.  They are NOT really investigating and they are certainly NOT finding solutions.  They are doing exactly the opposite.

There is something else, entirely, going on here.

Let me simplify the problem by breaking it down into its components...

Every government agency is set up by simple formula.  In short, when an agency is created by Congress, or any other means, it is given a Mission, funding, and oversight.  That agency is subject to standard US law, including those laws set up to regulate all agencies.  And, the employees of that agency are expected to perform their duties according to the law, and the Mission of the agency.

(1)  Mission - "THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves."  The CDC is part of the HHS.

(2)  Oversight - One basic policy that agencies must conform to is "oversight." There are several ways agencies are subjected to oversight, but the one we are interested here we will call  "basic citizen oversight,"  demonstrated by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or the Data Quality Act (DQA).  In short, "we the people" have the right to examine an agency's daily activities.  And, we can do that in several ways.  One of those is by FOIA Request.

The idea of FOIA, and similar laws in individual States called "Public Records Acts" is fundamental.  As an example, just below, is an excerpt from the State of California Public Records Act, enabled by California GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 6250-6270.  It says:

6250.  In enacting this chapter, the Legislature, mindful of the
right of individuals to privacy, finds and declares that access to
information concerning the conduct of the people's business is a
fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.

6251.  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the
California Public Records Act.

Every State in the US has similar law in effect.  You can read the entire California Public Records Act by clicking here.

It is easy to see that "we the people" intended, right from the beginning, to control our agencies by observing their daily activities - and that we mean to observe those agencies on a "right now" basis.

In a FOIA situation, for instance, the government agency is required, by law, to respond within twenty (20) days.

Twenty (20) days.  Not six (6) years as in the Hooker v CDC case...  Keep reading.

Why did "we the people" set in place such laws?  Because, simply, "we the people" know, quite well, that we need to control government agencies.  In order to control them we need to know, on a daily basis, what they are doing.

Often we hear the statement about an agency being "out of control."  An agency hiding what it is doing from the public, unless "we the people" authorized them to hide certain things, is certainly "out of control," for that agency has removed a primary control mechanism.

If an agency is, in fact, "out of control," then it is reasonable to assume that every action it undertakes is NOT in the interests of "we the people."  Why else would they operate in that manner?

(3)  Malfeasance - Another important factor is the understanding of what the legal term "malfeasance in office" means in regard to Public employees.  Malfeasance is considered to be a corrupt act, a crime, and is punishable by imprisonment.  A simple explanation is below, an excerpt from the Louisiana State Law:

A.  Malfeasance in office is committed when any public officer or public employee shall:

(1)  Intentionally refuse or fail to perform any duty lawfully required of him, as such officer or employee; or

(2)  Intentionally perform any such duty in an unlawful manner; or

(3)  Knowingly permit any other public officer or public employee, under his authority, to intentionally refuse or fail to perform any duty lawfully required of him, or to perform any such duty in an unlawful manner.

B.  Any duty lawfully required of a public officer or public employee when delegated by him to a public officer or public employee shall be deemed to be a lawful duty of such public officer or employee.  The delegation of such lawful duty shall not relieve the public officer or employee of his lawful duty.

C.(1)  Whoever commits the crime of malfeasance in office shall be imprisoned for not more than five years with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.

(2)  In addition to the penalty provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a person convicted of the provisions of this Section may be ordered to pay restitution to the state if the state suffered a loss as a result of the offense.  Restitution shall include the payment of legal interest at the rate provided in R.S. 13:4202.

(4)  Intentional Obstruction of Justice - Constance V. Vecchione writing for the Massachusetts Bar of Overseers talks, below, about the spoliation of evidence.  Why is this important?  Because the Courts have held that the Exemption (Exemption b5) rule that CDC uses to deny requests parallels the Rules for Discovery in Civil cases.  Vecchione says:

US Courts are taking destruction or withholding of evidence seriously with both serious civil and criminal penalties.  Vecchionne also says:

Beyond civil sanctions, lawyers and clients should also take note of applicable criminal statutes. The federal crime of obstruction of justice is defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1503 to include conduct that, among other things, corruptly endeavors to obstruct or impede the due administration of justice.

More, US Attorney General Eric Holder, on orders from the President, issued a 59 page legal opinion in 2010 on the use of Exemption 5.  You can read the whole thing by clicking here.  In short, the CDC has no legal leg to stand on withholding information. Just below you will find the opening lines to the Opinion:

"Exemption 5 of the Freedom of Information Act protects "inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency." Courts have construed this somewhat opaque language to "exempt those documents, and only those documents that are normally privileged in the civil discovery context."

When administering the FOIA, it is important to first note that the President and Attorney General have issued memoranda to all agencies emphasizing that the FOIA reflects a "profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government" and directing agencies to "adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure."

(5)  CDC Funding - 10 billion dollars a year from taxpayers - and there is severe criticism.  Watch this short NBC video called CDC Misusing funds.  More, take a look at the Congressional Report they are talking about called "CDC Off Center."  The report's first page says:

"A review of how an agency tasked with fighting and preventing disease has spent hundreds of millions of tax dollars for failed prevention efforts, international junkets, and lavish facilities, but cannot demonstrate it is controlling disease."

Where's the Beef?

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a US government agency relied upon by, not just the US, but by the entire civilized world, to give guidance and leadership on Planet Earth's health issues.  It's opinions and strategies are never questioned and, for various reasons, primarily its control of funding, the CDC, in the US, sets policy on health issues from Washington DC, right through individual State's Public Health structures, down to each and every American citizen.

It's pronouncements are as from God.  And if you are in the health care system, you better be a believer.

In the world, most governments look to US CDC policy, assuming, as we have now found out is simply not true, that the US CDC really is a truthful, knowledgeable, source for health information.  Especially on vaccines.

It is, we have found, anything but truthful and knowledgeable.

In roughly 1998 certain management employees at the US CDC became aware, through their own official investigation, that there were significant problems with the use of Thimerosal (mercury) as a preservative in vaccines, and that those problems were being exacerbated by the increased vaccine schedule.  One of their top researchers was telling them so and had given them a Draft Report.  Decisions were made to cover up the report, keeping it away from the public eye.

More, because of what happened next, those CDC employees went on to hire one fake "study" after another countering the results of the original Draft Report.  The author of the first of those studies, the so-called Danish Study, is now being indicted for fraud in the US.

Worse, those high level CDC employees, to cover up what was happening, violated, and conspired to violate, several major US laws designed to prevent rogue employees from just this sort of activity.

Those CDC employee's actions had horrible consequences - for a whole world believed them, and relied on their words to establish their own vaccine policies.

The consequences in terms of Autism, alone...

By US government calculations 104 million children, a year (4 million in the US and Canada, and 100 million in the rest of the world), are born into the world covered by the US CDC recommended Childhood Vaccination Schedule. 

Autism - We know, for instance, that since the increased Childhood Vaccination Schedule went into effect that Autism rates in the US went from one in ten thousand (1 in 10,000) to one in one hundred ten (1 in 110).  A disaster.  The CDC response - "we don't know why that's happening."  A lie - they did know, and they do know.

Most countries do not yet keep comparative records regarding autism and/or neurological issues.  We can only, using the US numbers, extrapolate.

Children are a nation's largest asset...

So let's ask the question "How many children were actually affected?"  Let's do the numbers...

World wide (not counting the US and Canada) - From 1998 to 2011 - Autism - (1 in 110) = .9% of 100 million children  = 900,000 children - every year.

Let me say that again - 900,000 children, world wide, EVERY YEAR from 1998 to 2011, became Autistic, for a total of eleven million, seven hundred thousand, (11,700,000) children between 1998 and 2011.

Supposedly, Thimerosal was removed from US/Canadian Childhood Vaccines in 2004.  So, from 1998 to 2004, using the same formula, one hundred eighty thousand (180,000)  US children became Autistic.

Making the World-wide Autism Grand Total - From 1998 to 2011 = 11,880,000 children.

And, that's not the worst of it.

The one in six numbers...

What?  One out of six?  I was looking through Kennedy's stuff to see where HE got those numbers, and what I found was a page (Kennedy's source) called "AUTISM   A. L. A. R. M." which says:

And, right there on the top page it says:

Autism is prevalent
• 1 out of 6 children are diagnosed with a developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem
• 1 in 166 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
• Developmental disorders have subtle signs and may be easily missed

Listen to parents
• Early signs of autism are often present before 18 months
• Parents usually DO have concerns that something is wrong
• Parents generally DO give accurate and quality information
• When parents do not spontaneously raise concerns, ask if they have any

Act early
• Make screening and surveillance an important part of your practice (as endorsed by the AAP)
• Know the subtle differences between typical and atypical development
• Learn to recognize red flags
• Use validated screening tools and identify problems early
• Improve the quality of life for children and their families through early and appropriate intervention

Refer
• To Early Intervention or a local school program (do not wait for a diagnosis)
• To an autism specialist, or team of specialists, immediately for a definitive diagnosis
• To audiology and rule out a hearing impairment
• To local community resources for help and family support

Monitor
• Schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss concerns more thoroughly
• Look for other features known to be associated with autism
• Educate parents and provide them with up-to-date information
• Advocate for families with local early intervention programs, schools, respite care agencies, and insurance companies
• Continue surveillance and watch for additional or late signs of autism and/or other developmental disorders

In short - the CDC not only knows about the problem, it has discussed it and made recommendations.

The One in Six Numbers...

Doing the numbers:  Once again since most countries do not keep records we must extrapolate from US numbers.

One hundred four million (104,000,000) children born every year times thirteen years = 1,352,000,000 children born, worldwide, between 1998 and 2011.

One in six translates to 16.7 %.  So 16.7 % of 1,352,000,000 children =  225,784,000 children.

In other words, according to this government agency website, world wide, 225,784,000 children have been "diagnosed with a developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem.

Two hundred twenty five million, seven hundred eighty four thousand children have a "developmental disorder and/or behavioral problem?"

That's the equivalent of two thirds of the population of the United States.  And the CDC, the supposed health experts, say "we don't know why that's happening."

So who exactly is this CDC?

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).  It's Mission, given to it by legislation, is supposedly, as follows:

CDC Mission

High sounding words - right?  It would be even better if any of it were true - which it is not.  The reality is something totally different, making the CDC in its entirety, an enemy of the American people.  In fact, America's worst enemy.

In short, Americans cannot trust ANYTHING the CDC says or does.  It has no credibility, whatsoever.  Why?   It has made certain that it is accountable to no one, and that it has to explain itself to no other entity. Certainly not to the American people.

How do I know this?  Because I am in possession of legal documents designed to force the CDC to, once again, answer to the American electorate.  I'll show you these documents shortly, and explain them in detail.

In 1998 the CDC Staff compiled a Draft copy of an exacting internal CDC study on vaccines which clearly pointed out all of the dangers of those vaccines, in detail, with explanations of why that was true.  CDC management went into shock, forced the head of the study out of the CDC, changed the data and the findings of the study, and brought it out as proving the opposite, even using the original researcher's name on the now faked study's title.

That started a brouhaha.  The original researcher would not back down, and loudly, via email, complained about CDC management putting his name on the fake study, reversing his original findings.  He did so by addressing the largest, at the time, meeting of the CDC and what they call their "stakeholders," with the REAL results of his study at a place called Simpsonwood, and the reactions to his address had far reaching results

It is those email communications, and others like it, where Brian Hooker began to unravel the CDC plot.

Congressional Oversight ignored...

In 2003, even the US Congress began to smell the CDC stink and investigated.  A Report, after a three year investigation, prepared by the Staff of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness Committee on Government Reform United States House of Representatives called "Mercury in Medicine –Taking Unnecessary Risks" made startling conclusions.  Like this:

A. Findings - Through this investigation of pediatric vaccine safety, the following findings are made:

1. Mercury is hazardous to humans. Its use in medicinal products is undesirable, unnecessary and should be minimized or eliminated entirely.

2. For decades, ethylmercury was used extensively in medical products ranging from vaccines to topical ointments as preservative and an antibacteriological agent.

3. Manufacturers of vaccines and thimerosal, (an ethylmercury compound used in vaccines), have never conducted adequate testing on the safety of thimerosal. The FDA has never required manufacturers to conduct adequate safety testing on thimerosal and ethylmercury compounds.

4. Studies and papers documenting the hypoallergenicity and toxicity of thimerosal (ethylmercury) have existed for decades.

5. Autism in the United States has grown at epidemic proportions during the last decade. By some estimates the number of autistic children in the United States is growing between 10 and 17 percent per year. The medical community has been unable to determine the underlying cause(s) of this explosive growth.

6. At the same time that the incidence of autism was growing, the number of childhood vaccines containing thimerosal was growing, increasing the amount of ethylmercury to which infants were exposed threefold.

7. A growing number of scientists and researchers believe that a relationship between the increase in neurodevelopmental disorders of autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, and speech or language delay, and the increased use of thimerosal in vaccines is plausible and deserves more scrutiny. In 2001, the Institute of Medicine determined that such a relationship is biologically plausible, but that not enough evidence exists to support or reject this hypothesis.

8. The FDA acted too slowly to remove ethylmercury from over-the-counter products like topical ointments and skin creams. Although an advisory committee determined that ethylmercury was unsafe in these products in 1980, a rule requiring its removal was not finalized until 1998.

9. The FDA and the CDC failed in their duty to be vigilant as new vaccines containing thimerosal were approved and added to the immunization schedule. When the Hepatitis B and Haemophilus Influenzae Type b vaccines were added to the recommended schedule of childhood immunizations, the cumulative amount of ethylmercury to which children
were exposed nearly tripled.

10. The amount of ethylmercury to which children were exposed through vaccines prior to the 1999 announcement exceeded two safety thresholds established by the Federal government for a closely related substance – methylmercury. While the Federal Government has established no safety threshold for ethylmercury, experts agree that the methylmercury guidelines are a good substitute. Federal health officials have conceded that the amount of thimerosal in vaccines exceeded the EPA threshold of 0.1 micrograms per kilogram of bodyweight. In fact, the amount of mercury in one dose of DTaP or Hepatitis B vaccines (25 micrograms each) exceeded this threshold many times over. Federal health officials have not conceded that this amount of thimerosal in vaccines exceeded the FDA’s more relaxed threshold of 0.4 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. In most cases, however, it clearly did.

11. The actions taken by the HHS to remove thimerosal from vaccines in 1999 were not sufficiently aggressive. As a result, thimerosal remained in some vaccines for an additional two years.

12. The CDC’s failure to state a preference for thimerosal- free vaccines in 2000 and again in 2001 was an abdication of their responsibility. As a result, many children received vaccines containing thimerosal when thimerosal- free alternatives were available.

13. The Influenza vaccine appears to be the sole remaining vaccine given to children in the United States on a regular basis that contains thimerosal. Two formulations recommended for children six months of age or older continue to contain trace amounts of thimerosal. Thimerosal should be removed from these vaccines. No amount of mercury is appropriate in any childhood vaccine.

14. The CDC in general and the National Immunization Program in particular are conflicted in their duties to monitor the safety of vaccines, while also charged with the responsibility of purchasing vaccines for resale as well as
promoting increased immunization rates.

15. There is inadequate research regarding ethylmercury neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity.

16. There is inadequate research regarding the relationship between autism and the use of mercury-containing vaccines.

17. To date, studies conducted or funded by the CDC that purportedly dispute any correlation between autism and vaccine injury have been of poor design, under-powered, and fatally flawed. The CDC’s rush to support and promote such research is reflective of a philosophical conflict in looking fairly at emerging theories and clinical data related to adverse reactions from vaccinations.

More, the Congressional Report made Recommendations - which were BLATANTLY ignored.  As follows:

B. Recommendations

1. Access by independent researchers to the Vaccine Safety Datalink database is needed for independent replication and validation of CDC studies regarding exposure of infants to mercury-containing vaccines and autism. The current process to allow access remains inadequate.

2. A more integrated approach to mercury research is needed. There are different routes that mercury takes into the body, and there are different rates of absorption. Mercury bioaccumulates; the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) clearly states: “This substance may harm you.”

8. Studies should be conducted that pool the results of independent research that has been done thus far, and a comprehensive approach should be developed to rid humans, animals, and the environment of this dangerous toxin.
3. Greater collaboration and cooperation between federal agencies responsible for safeguarding public health in regard to heavy metals is needed.

4. The President should announce a White House conference on autism to assemble the best scientific minds from across the country and mobilize a national effort to uncover the causes of the autism epidemic.

5. Congress needs to pass legislation to include in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) provisions to allow families who believe that their children’s autism is vaccine-induced the opportunity to be included in the program. Two provisions are key: First, extending the statute of limitations as recommended by the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines from 3 to 6 years. Second, establishing a one to two year window for families, whose children were injured after 1988 but who do not fit within the statute of limitations, to have the opportunity to file
under the NVICP.

6. Congress should enact legislation that prohibits federal funds from being used to provide products or pharmaceuticals that contain mercury, methylmercury, or ethylmercury unless no reasonable alternative is available.

7. Congress should direct the National Institutes of Health to give priority to research projects studying causal relationships between exposure to mercury, methylmercury, and ethylmercury to autism spectrum disorders,
attention deficit disorders, Gulf War Syndrome, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

So, where are we going with this?

The problems caused by the CDC employees that covered up the Thimerosal issue are just about beyond belief.

It is time for a formal investigation of certain key people now, or formerly, at the CDC. 

More coming.

Stay tuned. 

Tim Bolen - Consumer Advocate