Change

Remember when candidate Obama used to rant and rail against Bush for shackling science inside Federal agencies?

Confirmed: US government spies on federal staffers

So, did you expect change?  Did you expect that perhaps an FDA under Obama might actually worry about the health and safety of Americans, instead just protecting and promoting the profits of the Big Health Corporations?

According to the FDA, staffers had their computer activity monitored and logged over concern that employees were disclosing trade secrets. Those agents, however, argue that they were spied on to ensure that they were not reporting internal corruption to Congress. And while the Post’s expose examines the government’s attempts to chill any employee’s attempt at blowing the whistle on wrongdoing, it only begins to open up what great lengths the feds are willing to go to.

In January, six FDA scientists filed a lawsuit against the agency in US District Court over claims that they were unlawfully spied on after approaching Congress with their concerns that their office was allowing the approval of medical devices that posed a risk to the public. When the Post reported on those claims at the time, they unearthed emails dating back to early 2009 that showed that the FDA had intercepted emails between agency whistleblowers and congressional staffers.

“Who would have thought that they would have the nerve to be monitoring my communications to Congress?” Robert C. Smith, one of the plaintiffs, told the Post at the time.

So, is that the "Change" you voted for?  A massive (and expensive) crackdown on whistle-blowers to make sure that news that potentially unsafe medical devices are being approved for the market.

There were other options for "Change" on the 2008 ballot.  By this point, its obvious America chose the wrong one.  But, those options will be on the ballot in 2012.  To get "Change", all you have to do is to vote for someone different this time.

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