The State of Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing (DRL) has, officially, dumped the “quackbusters” as their consultant on health care issues. This ends a ten year reign-of-terror within Wisconsin where, previously, health care investigators, and prosecutors had been trained to use the dubious website “quackwatch.com,” or “ncahf.org” as resources for health information.
Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
A CBS News “I-Team” report, titled “State Drops Case Against Alternative Medicine Doctor,” pretty well sums up the end of the quackbuster reign in Wisconsin State health politics. The TV broadcast started out to say “The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board unanimously voted by phone Friday to put an end to the state’s nine-year-old case against a Green Bay doctor.” Then it said “It’s a victory for freedom of choice, and I think it’s a victory for complimentary and alternative medicine and, quite frankly, I think it’s a victory for Dr. Kadile, personally,”
CBS, previously, in a two-part special investigative report, had hammered the quackbuster operation.
The Wisconsin State Journal, the State capital’s leading newspaper, had even more to say about the quackbusters’ Wisconsin demise. In an article titled “Board Allows Chelation Therapy” by health reporter Patricia Simms, who, earlier, had been threatened with a lawsuit by quackbuster Robert Baratz, The Journal reported that “The case reflects a national battle fiercely fought between alternative and complementary medicine advocates and those who deride procedures not used in traditional Western practice. Still to be decided by Administrative Law Judge John N. Schweitzer: who will pay the costs of the prosecution, including at least $65,840 in expert witness fees charged by Robert Baratz, a Boston dentist and doctor.” They also said “Federal officials estimate that at least 800,000 visits to receive chelation therapy are made in the United States every year.”
Simms, and the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper, were apparently undaunted by Baratz’s lawsuit threat.
DRL quackbuster employees under heavy fire…
Two Wisconsin DRL prosecutors who advocated and promoted “quackbuster” thinking on health care issues, Arthur Thexton and James Polewski, have come under heavy fire from Wisconsin health advocates, Legislators, news media, patient groups, and now – management of DRL. – proving that citizen action can, and will, beat quackbusters every time. An official government study conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2001 found that 88% of adult Americans believed in Alternative Medicine, while less than 1% bought into the quackbuster promoted fallacy that AltMed had no benefit, allegedly because it wasn’t “scientific.”
Three top quackbusters, it has been revealed, were paid consultant fees by the State of Wisconsin for their so-called “expertise” in health care – John Renner, Stephen Barrett, and last, but not least, Robert S. Baratz. It was Baratz’s virulent assault on AltMed practitioner, the popular Green Bay MD Eleazar Kadile, and his wife Genia, that provoked Wisconsin health care activists to draw the line, and decide to put a stop to quackbuster influence in their State. Baratz, in a wild-eyed emotional delivery, had accused Kadile of killing two patients, and causing a stroke in a third because “he used chelation therapy.” Baratz’s claims against Kadile were so revolting, and so angering, to the America’s leading-edge health practitioners that it wasn’t hard to raise defense funds.
In the end, DRL rejected Baratz’s foaming-at-the-mouth assertions about chelation therapy and other AltMed offerings, and dropped all charges previously filed against Eleazar Kadile based upon Baratz’s so-called testimony.
Baratz, whose emotional outbursts shocked even hardened courtroom watchers nationwide, railed against the Kadiles for four days of testimony. Defense attorneys, after watching video recordings of Baratz, had no problem convincing the Judge in the case, to listen to three days of “cross-examination” of Baratz, on his credibility, alone. That “cross-examination” took place on July 15th and 16th, of 2003, where the Judge listened to only one-and-a-half days of questions before shutting down the remainder, and ordering the sides into negotiations. There is a transcript of that proceeding available to anyone who needs it, by clicking here.
One of the Wisconsin DRL prosecutors, James Polewski, openly bragged (on video) about his membership in the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), an organization whose crackpot view of health care he had openly sworn to uphold, and promote. Polewski has since given up that membership after pressure was put on the DRL to force Polewski to “represent the interests of the State of Wisconsin, not a weirdo fringe group operating out of a cardboard box in the back room of it’s president’s (Robert Baratz) hair removal, and ear piercing, salon.”
The NCAHF, which holds a non-profit corporation status in the State of California, where it originated, was once based at Loma Linda University, but was rudely evicted from there after California health activists pointed out to Loma Linda that Loma Linda’s good name was being sullied by the relationship.
“Quackwatch.com,” it has been revealed, is being operated out of failed MD Stephen Barrett’s basement in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Barrett, it has been shown, had to give up his medical license in 1993 when he was unable to afford the malpractice insurance premiums required by the State of Pennsylvania. Barrett, who claims to be a “retired Psychiatrist,” was forced to admit, in court testimony, that he had seen only nine patients in the last years of his practice, and was no longer working at the State Mental Hospital, where he had worked part-time in a ward for most of his so-called “Psychiatric” career.
Barrett, I believe, is typical of quackbuster leadership, where it is “the norm” to puff up credentials, and qualifications, to make it seem that they know what they are talking about. For instance, Barrett was unable to pass the test to become Board certified in Psychiatry, and IS NOT licensed to practice Naturopathy in ANY State. Indeed, he’s never even taken so much as a correspondence course in the science of naturopathy he claims to know all about – and criticizes vociferously. But Barrett never mentions this in his communications with the public, nor when he’s quoted in the Press.
What’s left to be done?…
A lot…
First, is the fact that prosecutor Thexton is attempting to make good on his threat against Eleazar Kadile, that “if he didn’t sign the stipulation he wanted him to sign, right now (a year ago), he’d prosecute Genia Kadile for practicing as a Nutritionist,” which he, Thexton, describes as a criminal act.
Thexton is basing his so-called “prosecution” on the quackbuster premise that “only licensed Dietitians” can teach Nutrition. Stephen Barrett is, of course, on the Board of the American Dietetic Association. Wisconsin licenses Dietitians, but does not require a license for Nutritionists. New York State, where Genia Kadile gained her certification, licenses both Dietitians and Nutritionists as completely separate entities. Thexton’s premise that those providing information on nutrition needing to be licensed Dietitians would be readily argued by MDs, DOs, Chiropractors, Pharmacists, Nurses, Massage Therapists, owners of Wisconsin’s health food stores, MLM participants, and the nutrition industry as a whole. Dietitians receive NO TRAINING in the use of supplements, vitamins, etc.. Dietitians are propagandized to believe the ludicrous concept that supplements and vitamins are unnecessary, in that food provides for all of human needs.
Second, is determining whether Baratz will have access to the New York ad agency, in an attempt to “spin” the story, nationally. We are waiting to see if one of those “usual” stories that quote Barrett, Baratz, Sampson, and Richard Cleland, from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will start to appear in newspapers and magazines. If the articles DO NOT appear, I suspect we can assume that Baratz has become too much of an embarrassment to those running the quackbuster operation. If they DO appear, we’ll be able, now that we know how it works, to trace the stories back to their advertising agency source.
Third, is the fact that AltMed has had to spend a lot of money defending against this unwarranted attack against its interests by the subversive quackbuster organization – and AltMed wants its money back, right now, and intends to get it. That’s what the next phase of the Wisconsin project is all about – recovering the money from the perpetrators. How’s that going to happen? Easy. Keep reading…
The negotiations between the Kadile defense team and the DRL broke down, and I wrote about it in an article November 12th, 2003, titled“Wisconsin Negotiations Break Down – Trial to Resume…” after DRL prosecutor Arthur Thexton issued an ultimatum that “his stipulation be accepted by 4:00pm on Friday, or we’re going back to trial…” The Defense said “OK, let’s do that…” However, the following Monday, the JUDGE STEPPED IN, and Thexton’s threat was an empty one. The Judge offered the solution of splitting the medical issues, and the cost issues into two different, and separate, hearings, asking the Kadile defense team to make a reasonable offer to settle on the medical issues, and stop the costs from both sides from continuing. Kadile did, and the Wisconsin Medical Board called a special meeting, and unanimously accepted his offer.
The second hearing, the one on the “costs,” is going to be soon scheduled. In it, the Kadile defense team is going to file a “Cross-Claim” for its expenses, and attorney fees. This is allowed by Wisconsin law. Since NOTHING that quackpot Bobbie Baratz said in his writings, or testimony, had any effect in the final “finding of facts,” and the Medical Board dropped ALL charges that had anything to do with Baratz’s wild-eyed accusations, all expenditures and attorney fees dealing with the Thexton/Baratz nonsense will be sought. This amounts to about $300,000. It has already been suggested that both the DRL and the defense go together to recover the money from Baratz and Thexton, and possibly Stephen Barrett, who received $3,500 in this case, supposedly for his “expertise” (insert laughter here) in AltMed.
I’ll vote for that…
Stay tuned…
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate