Unhealthy agenda

With the disrespect the current U.S. administration has shown toward medical science, it’s a wonder Bush didn’t have to get Cheney to gnaw those polyps out of his ass—though in light of recent testimony of former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, that day might still come.

According to Carmona, the policy of politicizing science was exemplified with “The Call to Action on Global Health,” a study lauded by Carmona’s peers but stymied by Office of Global Health Affairs head William Steiger.

The report links poverty, disease and malnutrition with social and political instability, and suggests the U.S. make health care a focus of their foreign policy. Carmona testified at a House committee hearing that he was told to alter the report to reflect administration policy. He refused, and the report was denied release.

Steiger, whose medical qualifications include a doctorate in Latin American studies and being Bush Sr.’s godson, says he blocked the report because of “sloppy work” rather than politics. He then went on to explain that “a document meant to educate (Americans) about health as a global challenge… should at least let Americans know what their generosity is already doing in helping solve those challenges.”

by Scott Saxon