Victory can be so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o sweet… I’ll tell you about our latest victory in a minute, but first…
Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
In California we like to have first rate health care. The attitude is “we deserve it.” We’ve got the fifth largest stand-alone economy in the world – and it isn’t by accident. California is vibrant, and we’re into “health” here.
The North American “quackbuster” operation is scrambling for survival – because, among other things, Californians boil them in oil – so to speak.
And, we just boiled a tub full.
Total Victory…
A friend of mine, Shula Edelkind, one of the leaders of the famous Progress in Medicine Foundation (PIMF), just sent out an e-mail to a group I’ve been a member of for a very long time. The e-mail says:
Dear Supporters,
Thank you for your support all these years, both financial and personal.
As most of you know, Dr. Sinaiko won at the Appellate level. The Appellate Court had ruled that the Superior Court ruling was overturned and the Medical Board would have to hear the case again under orders to accept the testimony of Dr. Sinaiko’s witnesses. The Medical Board delayed and delayed, and we were beginning to wonder if they were never going to hear his case again ……. but finally they agreed to withdraw all their charges … as though it never happened …. in return for which Dr. Sinaiko agreed not to sue them.
If you look at the Doctor Finder website now, at http://www.medbd.ca.gov/Lookup.htm you will see there is nothing negative on there. Like it never happened.
It almost seems anticlimactic to end the long battle so quietly, but the importance of this case cannot be underestimated. It was a catalyst, a watershed case, which has changed the history of medicine in California — and thereby the whole country. There is a new law in California which no longer allows a doctor to be persecuted for using alternative medical treatments; the California Medical Association has stood up for the rights of a doctor, opposing the authority of the Medical Board; even the national medical magazines Medical Economics and The Townsend Letter ran major articles supporting Dr. Sinaiko and raising awareness of the criminal behavior of the Medical Board. We fervently hope that this lesson in accountability will not be so easily forgotten by the new members of the Medical Board.
It is now Spring, and Easter, a time of rebirth and new hope. It’s an appropriate time to win a case like this.
Best wishes,
Shula Edelkind
http://www.treatmentchoice.org
Feingold Association
The Sinaiko case is the one that drew Californians together to fight the “quackpot menace” (the quackbusters). The PIMF raised over half a million dollars for the Sinaiko defense. There was never a medical board meeting, or a hearing, where less than 150 freedom fighters showed up (with ONE exception) – and we always brought the media.
Sinaiko’s team enlisted the support of what, perhaps previously, were diverse interests. The Center for Public Interest Law (CPIL), the group that actually wrote the latest revision of the California Medical Practices act, filed an Amicus Brief on Sinaiko’s behalf. So did the California Medical Association, and the American Association of Physicians & Surgeons, etc., etc., etc. The California Health Freedom Movement coalesced over this case – and used the new network to get a whole lot of things done, statewide.
The State prosecutor in the case, one Alfredo Terrazas, made a statewide fool of himself with his courtroom antics, copying the tactics of a Victor Herbert, or a Bobbie Baratz. His legal arguments, in the case, were so bogus, so stupidly written and argued, he made a complete ass out of himself. In the hearings, this nitwit actually “hissed” when he spoke, like a character in a bad “B” movie – I guess he was trying to scare us?
Crackpot Stephen Barrett says on his weirdo website quackwatch.com, about the appeal decision, “I still believe that his license will eventually be revoked.”
And the moon is made of green cheese, Stevie…
We win again – just like we should. We are heading for a health care “Nuremberg…” And, it’s about time…
Stay tuned…
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate