The problem with the Health Freedom Movement in the US, sometimes, is that it has grown too big. It is too successful, and somewhat bored.
Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
With, literally, Millions of Health Freedom Fighters operating; handling political, government, health care, practitioner, and product issues, sometimes it just becomes something that is just there, like a mountain range by the sea.
So, let’s talk about the Health Freedom Congress of 2014, held at Hamline University in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 26th and 27th, with a “Meet and Greet” held on the 25th at the Hilton Airport Hotel. There were NO doldrums here – for more than one reason. There was even drama.
The 2012 Congress, a gathering of the leadership, was, to tell the truth, mind-numbing for the attendees. There were forty (40) “A” listers (Voting Members) and one hundred twenty (120) Delegates, plus observers. It was unwieldy. I, personally, was bored out of my skull…
So, I didn’t go in 2013 – and neither did most of the “A” list.
But this year I got a call from my friend Peter McCarthy from Texas, who said to me, “Let’s go there. We need to get this back on track.” Peter, and Radhia Gleis, together, head the 55.000 member Texas Health Freedom Coalition. If memory serves me right these two brought twenty-eight (28) somewhat disparate groups together into one fighting unit supporting each other’s interests and concerns – instead of fighting amongst themselves. (are you reading this “Autism Leaders?”) Fifteen minutes in the bar with Peter McCarthy, retired Air Force War College graduate, will give you a sense of why all those groups decided to work WITH Peter and Radhia instead of the opposite. Then Radhia starts to talk and it dawns on you why what could have been a disparate set of groups stays together. Each of them is a power unto themselves. Together, should make their enemies cringe long before they engage. And engage they do. They are not a DEFENSE. Like me, Tm Bolen, they are OFFENSE.
Peter and Radhia, like almost all of the “A” listers, and now, some of the “Newbies,” are my friends. Peter and Radhia brought a very interesting “white paper” to the conference. I strongly advise that ALL Autism Leaders ask them for a copy of what is basically a War Plan – an assault on the opposition, specifically identifying targets. We don’t usually write this stuff down and distribute it. We just do it.
Elissa Meininger, the former twenty-five year head of the extremely successful Oklahoma Health Freedom Movement decided to come too, and chime in. So, it was soon becoming old home week.
But Minnesota attorney Diane Miller, the head of the group hosting the leadership meeting was about to frustrate us. She had anticipated our grouchiness and had set up a new way to engage leaders. She had, it turns out, called in Washington DC attorney Jim Turner, the head of Citizens for Health and Voice ForHOPE, Jim brought in HOPE’s Executive Director Denise Lewis Premschak to run what’s called “Open Space Technology.”
I was absolutely against it, at first. Why? I have seen that process used by government agencies to neutralize Citizens’ groups by bringing them in and letting them talk to each other, thinking they are accomplishing something, when they are merely blowing off steam, not getting what they need. But, I decided to go along and watch to see what happened.
And, it worked very well. Very well. I stand corrected. The photo on the left is of Marcella Piper-Terry addressing the assembly. The photo on the right is me in the front, then Amanda Just, Barry Segal, Bob Reeves, and Marcella-Piper-Terry, arriving at the Congress, held at Hamline University, on the first day.
I sat in on the Autism group discussions – and listened, not so much to hear what I already knew, but to try to discern Autism parent’s feeling about the problems while they were sitting in a different environment – Health Freedom. That was important on different levels, for two reasons:
(1) I, Tim Bolen, had brought ALL of these autism groups to this assembly. In 2012 I brought AutismOne, CoMeD, and Canary Party (now Health Choice) . Then in 2014 I brought Barry Segal (FocusAutism), Bob Reeves (Brian Hooker’s attorney), Marcella Piper-Terry (VaxTruth.org), and Dana Gorman (Thriiive.com). So they were ALL right there in 2104 in the Health Freedom atmosphere, breathing Health Freedom air, and feeling Health Freedom POSITIVE energy.
(2) For three years I have been attending the autism community, watching how they operate (and not operate) and I reached a shocking conclusion, – one I want all of Health Freedom to chew on. It is this: They are so beaten down THEY DO NOT BELIEVE AUTISM IS SOLVABLE. Everything they do, everything they try, is based on that premise. They have adopted a victim mentality. They are defeatists. They cannot organize. They fight amongst themselves, ruthlessly.
So, I asked some of them to come and play with the big kids at Health Freedom – and some of them did. Why is that important? Because, sometimes I want to scream at them. And, sometimes, in my newsletter, I do scream at them.
Why would I scream? Because autism is fixable. And, they are NOT listening. It is that simple. So, I put them into a room with people who wake up every morning and fix problems, hoping that attitude will rub off.
On the second day of the Congress it got EVEN MORE INTERESTING – culminating in National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)’s Barbara Loe Fisher’s hard-hitting presentation – which I will tell you about below.
But Working with a Disparate Group that is Accustomed to Killing and Eating Each Other Has it’s Own Problems…
In autism – They Fight Amongst Themselves, Ruthlessly – sometimes to the death, so to speak.
Just prior to the Health Freedom Congress a small batch of them, from Health Choice (yes, the same ones I had brought to the Health Freedom table in 2012), was, it seems, attempting to have me, Tim Bolen, FIRED from Health Freedom (yes, there is a disconnect with reality in the autism world). In their mind (smile here) Diane and Jerry were the “BIG Bosses” of Health Freedom, since the term “Health Freedom” is on their letterhead. (sigh…) so there was an email campaign.
But, let’s move away from small amusement, and get to the meat here.
In autism, in ten years, time after time, every point in time a group comes forward with a good action plan it gets derailed, and it is always the same people, or one person, that derails it. Then, almost as a given, the proponents for action get discredited, and pushed away from leadership. Believe it. The stories I am told are consistent. Then in November of 2102, I, myself, watched it happen over control of the hearings in front of the US Congress Oversight and Government Reform committee. Then, just recently, I watched it happen again with what is called “The CDC Whistleblower” story.
As you might guess – I am not going to let this go.
I have a smaller newsletter designed just for the autism leadership community. It is called “Autism Leadership Council,” and I use it to provoke even more information on what’s happening, in an attempt to get to the bottom of the question “Why is the autism problem not being solved?” And provoke I do…
In the most current one I was talking about the hi-jacking, and ruination, of the CDC Whistleblower story and comparing that hi-jacking to what happened at the November 29th, 2012 Congressional hearings. But before I give you the tour, I need to show you who and what I mean, in the “Ken and Barbie” reference. Read first, please, this older article called “The Autism Community Simply Cannot Help Itself… The Reasons Are Legion…“ Scroll down to the “Ken and Barbie” section and all will be explained.
In my “Autism Leadership Council” newsletter I had said:
“As many of you will recall, on November 29th, 2012 at 2:00 PM in the Rayburn Building in Washington DC the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired, now, by Darrell lssa, Republican from California, HELD another hearing on Autism – the first in ten years. And, it was a farce.
Originally that hearing was being set up for Brian Hooker, and others on his team, to testify. But, as Jake Crosby so aptly explained in his article SAFEMINDS STEALS THE SHOW – LITERALLY, something else was afoot ending up with Mark Blaxill (Ken, of the Ken and Barbie Duo) testifying, so-to-speak, alongside of a bag of ninnies, and, in reality, saying nothing.
Blaxill’s so-called testimony was total pablum. NOTHING like Hooker, and company, would have done. In my view, we LOST TWO YEARS because Blaxill wanted to be on camera.
More, what went on in the Lobby, just prior to that hearing, between Mark Blaxill (Ken), Jennifer Larson (Barbie) and Blaxill’s wife, publicly challenging the twosome on “their relationship” is the kind of thing bad movies are made out of. Ken (Mark Blaxill), I am told, is now in the midst of a very angry divorce over his relationship with Barbie (Jennifer Larson). And, I am told Mark Blaxill’s autistic child is no longer holding Mark’s activities back, for the child is with their mother.
Seriously people – Autism is NOT a Ken and Barbie play date.
Pink is not the autism color.
If you want the help of the VERY EXPERIENCED Health Freedom Movement, and you should, you need to run a real campaign, with real strategists interested in solving problems.”
Sometimes, I’m Told, I’m a Little Rough On People…
Go ahead and laugh…
One of the interesting side-notes at the Health Freedom Congress was that Health Choice head Jennifer Larson (“Barbie” in my articles) had told me, in an email, that she, and her husband, were going to confront me at the Thursday night “Meet and Greet” at the Hilton Hotel over my portrayal of her as “Barbie.”
Gee, I’ve never been “confronted” before (sarcasm intended).
The photo on the left is at the beginning of the “Meet and Greet,” and includes, starting at the top left, Bob Reeves, Marcella Piper-Terry, me, Amanda Just, Barry Segal, Dolly Segal, and Camilla Reese.
The photo on the right has Barry Segal walking towards Camilla Reese, and I, who were talking by the computers, while “Barbie” and her husband wait an hour and twenty minutes to “confront” me. See her body language in the picture? She looks more than a little pissed. You have to take a number, you know, to confront me, as I was busy “Meeting and Greeting.” Nobody told her, I guess. My sense of humor popped up and when that happens, there is just no controlling it.
“Barbie,” it turns out was upset over my use of certain phrases like: “Autism is not a Ken and Barbie play date” and “Pink is not the color of Autism.” My suggestion that her “Health Choice/Canary Party ” group sought more to have their picture taken with a Congressman, APPEARING to do something, rather than actually accomplishing anything, like Health Freedom groups do, seemed to upset her.
The photo to the left is “Barbie” confronting me. Notice the Barbie pink dress?
The photo on the right is much more interesting. It is, starting on the left, of Patti Carroll, Jennifer 
Larson (“Barbie”), Ellisa Meininger, and me. I think Barbie was stunned to hear Elissa talk, humbly, about her running probably one of the best State Health Freedom campaigns ever (Oklahoma), for twenty-five years, and not having photos of her (Elissa) and the various Governors, Congressmen, Senators, etc. readily at hand.
In another part of the email sent to me from “Barbie,” she said “And really to be honest… no one in our community cares what anyone is doing in their own beds anyway.”
Well, I take issue with that. I have, in my mind, a vision of Health Freedom Movement’s Clinton Ray Miller and his wife of sixty-five years, greeting us all at Health Freedom meetings. Jan and I have only been married for forty-nine years this October 23, so we are sort of in that arena too. Ethics and morality are kind of a cornerstone in Health Freedom.
A cornerstone.
At The Conclusion of the Health Freedom Congress…
Smile here. You don’t think I am actually going to publish the conclusions, do you? First of all, the report from the two day Open Spaces session is not ready. Secondly, some VERY GOOD decisions for action were made, and remember that all of the “enemy” reads me. Why warn them? But I will say that I am pleased. And, I am not easy to please.
This event was the best I remember. It took me three days to recover, and digest.
Go Ahead and Be Jealous My Friends…
I had lunch, on Saturday, with Barbara Loe Fisher, and her husband Paul Arthur. And, they are just as nice, and as genuine, as they look in public. REAL people. I liked them instantly. They belonged at a Health Freedom event.
Barbara put on a terrific presentation at the dinner on Saturday night. I didn’t take notes for I did not want to miss a thing. But, for sure, her new material was incendiary.
It could be said that Barbara’s presentation included EVERY up-to-date portion, and sub-portion, of the US vaccination issue. She told me earlier that she was going to put together her presentation in a good video very soon. This was the RIGHT place for this new message.
Stay tuned. The fun is increasing. We are well on our way.
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate