Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: Faith Healing

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

James Lunney is the Conservative MP who has been leading the charge against Health Canada for meddling in the snake oil business.

Since first joining Stockwell Day and his Alliance Party as health critic, he has launched an ongoing battle as an advocate for alternative medicines, believing that they will cut down on wait times at hospitals.

Homeopathy and herbal medicines are fields where there is a lot of potential, and I fully support research money being given to study their effectiveness.

But that is not what Lunney wants. What he wants is for alternative medicines to be reclassified as food so that they don't require the rigorous testing that drugs would.

And these products are being sold as "miracle cures", at exorbitant prices, to unsuspecting customers, while they could have devastating side effects. There is also concern that they might interfere with other medication being taken, and the dispensers of these "cures" are not properly trained or educated in the health sciences.

But what I've found that most do have in common, is radical religious fundamentalism. Even the fascist sites that David Lethbridge found were selling this stuff, still use 'Jesus', when dispensing hate.

I am so frustrated, because I know this is not what religion is supposed to be. Why aren't more of the mainstream churches or the Evangelical Fellowship not stepping in here? If anything turns people off Christianity faster, it will be these crazies who have taken over our government.

It's been suggested that there needs to be a lot more research into Stockwell Day and his troop, and I couldn't agree more, but it's hard, because everywhere you turn it just gets crazier. And I have to be honest, whether I'm following the links to the neo-Nazi sites or the Christian extremist sites, they are no different. They both leave me feeling ill. The horrible things they say about other human beings, is unbelievable.

Have the hate groups just gone underground and now latched onto the Religious Right?

To catch up, these are the previous posts if you didn't see them and thank you to David Lethbridge who led me down this path:

The Health, Wealth and Stealth of Right-Wing Coalitions

The Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: Health Coalitions

The Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: Roots of Change

Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: Religion vs Knowledge

Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: James Lunney and Quackery

When Lethbridge suggested in his article Prescription for Fascism (1), looking into this, I had no idea. Absolutely no idea. I had mentioned in Health Coalitions a groups called the Consumer Health Organization of Canada, who hold annual 'Total Health' fests, though their list of guest speakers reads more like Ripley's Believe it or Not. In 2000, Dr. (?) Len Horowitz delivered a lecture on 'Why I should be locked up'. That's not what he called it, but what he should have called it. After going on about how it was the U.S. military who actually started the Aids virus and lauding his friend Dr. Icke. (Icke is the man who believes that a group of extraterrestrial reptiles, who can take on life forms, are plotting to take over the world.)

The good Dr. Horowitz, was at this health convention to flog his new book Healing Codes for the Biological Apocalypse:

"In this next book, what you are going to realize is that I was divinely guided ... [and] was praying to have the Achilles heel of the Illuminati .... Ultimately, I was praying for the Achilles heel because there has got to be a place, a soft spot, that we can knock the oligarchy off and if you've heard me lecture in the past I've always said, I don't know what it is going to be, but in the very last days there will be something happen whereby Satan and his boys will have the carpet pulled from under them and we win in the end.

"Ultimately, why I went on a 40 day fast is because through this new totally exciting, uplifting, new revelations, new codes, that involve creation, destruction, miracles, healing, miraculous healings, including not only personal, but world. I was then so moved because we had our first what is called a healing celebration event, now if you don't have a healing celebrations flyer because first of all I want to acknowledge John and Libby Gardon for putting this whole event together. These are the directors of the Canadian Consumer Health Organization, who put this together every year and if you know them personally they are extremely loving human beings who are only in this because they understand what the illuminati have been doing to suppress true health care and self care, that is preventative medicine, and that they are totally dedicated as David Icke, as myself, as anyone else is on the front lines." (2)

And the good John and Libby Gardon are two of the people Lunney invited to the committee studying his bill on dropping the requirement to have these 'miracle cures' tested before use. The same John and Libby Gardon who invited the late Eustace Mullins, the man who called Jews "furry insects who drink children's blood", to one of their so-called 'Total Health' shindigs.

I'm feeling a little sick, how about you? Not to worry though, because Lunney has the answer: Pig Pills!

James Lunney and Pig Pills

When Health Canada raided offices of Trucorp in 2003, for dispensing illegal drugs, James Lunney went ballistic. Using his Parliamentary office he fired off a press release waging war on Health Canada, suggesting that people now may die if they can't get their hands on the pig pills.

I shouldn't really joke, because there is a chance that the stuff they are selling might have some merit. However, they flog is as a cure for all mental illness, and that's a dangerous thing. I should mention though that recently, the creators of this stuff also made the claim:

"...this product can grow back brain cells, and because the Creator is a lot smarter than scientists, 90% of poor health would disappear ... Will it help everyone? YES IT WILL....”It's a God given answer!” (3)

The trade name for it is EmPowerplus and it has helped hyperactivity and less serious mental disorders, but the problem that Health Canada had was that it had not been properly tested, and they had sent the company warning letters in the past, but they continued to distribute the mixture.

Brad Evenson, the medical advisor for the National Post wrote a lengthy article on the product and it's founders, who came up with the idea after using vitamins and minerals to cure pigs from "ear-and-tail-biting syndrome". Having had experience with mental illness in their families:

The company is now known as Truehope Nutritional Support Ltd. Devout Mormons who wanted to help other families like theirs, the two men vowed to set up so-called Synergy Houses to feed and care for people with bipolar disease, schizophrenia and other mental illness. (4)

Along with the success stories, there are also some tragic ones, and selling a medication as a miracle cure can not only provide false hope, but also create devastating results when people go off their medications as prescribed by medical doctors. Neither man behind the company have any medical training. And none of the people who sell the product from the call centre, are medical professionals.

And along with the treatment, which can run into thousands of dollars, they also offer 'spiritual guidance'. Not for free mind you. One young man spent $ 600.00 in a single month for this support.

It would appear that this is a version of faith healing with a twist, and while there is potential here, they have to go through the normal channels. Do we really want medications on the market without proper trials and labelling?

I'd like to say that James Lunney is the most dangerous member of Harper's caucus. I'd really like to say that, but unfortunately, I can't. And this is not about persecuting Christians or not allowing people to hold personal beliefs, but when they are in government, they have to at least be rational. I can't believe that this is happening, but they were given four years of free rein because nobody wanted to question their religion. And now look at the mess we're in.

Marci McDonald's book The Armageddon Factor*, brought up so many important issues, but I think she could immediately start working on a second edition. Stephen Harper not only allowed this to happen, but encouraged it for power, and now I don't think he knows what to with them. I certainly know what to do with him. Send him to see Dr. Icke.

Footnotes:

*The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada, By: Marci McDonald, Rndom House Canada, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-307-35646-8 3.

Sources:

1. Prescription For Fascism: Alternative Medicine and Right-Wing Politics, By David Lethbridge, April 2001

2. Total Health 2000 - March 2000 - Toronto Convention Center, Healing Codes for the Biological Apocalypse, Guest Speaker Len Horowitz

3. Truehope Conference in Shiloh, Ohio, Founders David Hardy and Anthony Stephan presentation, September 16, 2009.

4. Pigs Will Fly, Every good product needs a good legend. By Brad Evenson, MD Review, February 2004

Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: James Lunney and Quackery

A CULTURE OF DEFIANCE: History of the Reform-Conservative Party of Canada

Dr. Stephen Barrett is a retired American psychiatrist, author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), and the webmaster of Quackwatch. He runs a number of websites dealing with quackery and health fraud, focusing on consumer protection, medical ethics, and scientific skepticism. (Wikipedia)

He publishes a list of 'Questionable Organizations' and the Consumer Health Organization of Canada made his list of one of those he would treat with considerable distrust.

I posted on them earlier as one of the groups that David Lethbridge cornered, as a possible front for fascist activities, given the people they bring to their "health" fests.

The founders of the group Libby and John Gardon, have defended their choice of guests, suggesting that the controversy is good for business. At the time they were speaking in particular, of the late Eustace Mullins, one of the most controversial anti-Semites in the United States. He referred to Jews as furry insects who drink the blood the children.

What was telling was the fact that Libby Gardon called Mullins a friend. She said she has known him for 15 years and described him as gentle and caring. Eventually the Jewish community banded together and Mullins speech was cancelled.

David Lethbridge had suggested that the connection between some of these so called 'Health' experts with their miracle cures, and neo-Nazi fascist organizations, needed further research, especially since some of the names also link to our current government.

So I did a bit of googling to see if there was any merit to that, and indeed there appeared to be. One of the names that cropped up on a regular basis was that of James Lunney. Lunney was a friend of Stockwell Days, who was encouraged to run in 2000, with Day's new Alliance Party (formerly Reform Party). He was given the health critic post while in opposition, but instead of making health his focus, he instead became an advocate for the snake oil vendors, many of whom have been exposed by Dr. Barrett.

Lunney introduced Bill C-420 which has been tossed around for a bit, an attempt to move these "miracle" cures from the restrictions of what he refers to as the "regulatory regime" and move them to food, claiming they are mostly just vitamins and food products. (His favourite EmPowerplus sells for $74.95 a bottle)

The Standing Committee on Health, dealing with the issues surrounding Bill C-420, called in some experts, and one of these experts was Libby Gardon. Another was Trueman Tuck, a purveyor of some of this stuff, whose mission statement is:

“God created Sovereign Spiritual / Human Beings as children of God. God's children cannot and should not claim to have sovereign supremacy with their creator. The Sovereign Children of God created artificial entities, which are all sole or aggregate corporations including rulers, governments, parliaments, senates, judges, etc. THEY do not posess [sic] any sovereign supremacy and cannot and should not claim to be equal or greater than their creators.”

Trueman of the Tuck clan (aka Trueman Tuck), is a son of God and a Sovereign Spiritual / Human Being that is purpose driven to educate, assist and defend the unalienable rights, freedoms and liberties of other sons and daughters of God.

Did I mention that Trueman Tuck was a bit of a nut? But more importantly he dispenses 'herbal' medicines but has no medical degree or training, and even offers legal advice to other 'herbal' medicine businesses, calling himself an "Attorney-In-Fact", when in fact, he is not an attorney at all. He is a salesman. A salesman providing 'expert' testimony to the Standing Committee on Health. That's how low we've sunk.

Wrapped up in all of this is such a maze of organizations, you'll be needing some "herbal magic" just to keep your head from exploding. Most have 'Freedom' and 'Health' somewhere in their titles and are run by people like Gardon and Tuck. This is not to say that Health food stores, etc. don't have a purpose. They clearly do and homeopathy is definitely something that needs to be researched extensively as an alternative to chemical therapy. However, I believe that anything with 'cure' or include the suggestion of a 'cure', need to be regulated by Health Canada. Lunney and his pals do not.

Quackwatch has exposed another dubious character who has been making the rounds, when they discovered that his books and products were being sold on a Neo-Nazi website.

Dr. Cassim Igram, aka Dr. Oregano, Cass Ingram, is a frequent guest .. in Canada. On November 20, 2003 he appeared again on the Michael Coren TV show on Canada's foremost Faith-based family TV cable network CTS-TV. We told Michael that Ingram's products were being sold by at least one neo-nazi web site, but he ignored us completely. In fact, he mentioned at the beginning of the show that people had e-mailed him to basically complain about the show before it aired.

Three days later, Cass Ingram appeared at a rally at the OISE in Toronto to raise money to help pass Bill C-420. On that panel was Trueman Tuck, Helke Ferrie, and MP James Lunney. It seems that the "freedom" to sell nutraceuticals is heavily entwined with right-wing politics around the world. Some of these agendas are anti-gay, anti-semitic, anti-tax, etc. A few years ago the Consumer Health Organization's Total Health Expo, where Cass Ingram regularly appears, was in the spotlight because Eustace Mullins, a self-proclaimed rabid anti-Semite was cancelled after numerous complaints were filed.

... Ingram still wanders around North America proclaiming that he has the answer to SARS, toxigenic E. coli, and other ills despite all of this? Hmmm.........Could it be it improves his bottom line? ... Now Trueman Tuck has hooked up with Nick Jerch in another attempt to support nutraceutical misadventures.

I checked out the website they mentioned; Free American, and it is extremely racial. They have a video touting Hitler as a hero and promote a book claiming that "2000 years ago the bible told us of the coming of the New World Order as the English Beast, the mark of the beast and warned us about the Jews who would say they are Jews but are not. Jesus told us they were liars and of their father Satan." This is quite a racket.

Now I don't believe that Lunney or Tuck are involved with any of that, and as David Lethbridge reminds us: "Wherever we find tendencies to irrationalism and conspiracy-mongering, there we find fertile ground in which fascism can grow, or a movement which fascism can exploit. These tendencies are rife within the ever-expanding and overlapping alternative medicine, New Age, and tax refusal* circles." (2)

But there is another element that binds these groups together: "faith healing". That's up next.

Footnotes:

Trueman Tuck also runs a site TaxTyranny.ca

Sources:

1. Cass Ingram's oregano oil products and books sold by neo-nazi web site, Quackery Watch Canada

2. Prescription For Fascism: Alternative Medicine and Right-Wing Politics, By David Lethbridge, April 2001

Health, Wealth and Stealth Continued: Religion vs Knowledge

When the scientific community discovered that our science minister Gary Goodyear did not believe in evolution, they were in shock, as were most Canadians. How could a man who did not believe in science, be our science minister? It boggled the mind.

And then to add insult to injury, another Harper MP stood up in the House of Commons to deliver the knockout punch.

Armed with the knowledge that exists today, Charles Darwin may not have written the theory of evolution, Nanaimo-Alberni MP James Lunney told the House of Commons this week. "Any scientist who declares that the theory of evolution is a fact has already abandoned the foundations of science," Lunney said in the House on Thursday. Given what is known today, he added: "Darwin would be willing to re-examine his assumptions." (1)

Any scientist who accepts fact as fact, is not a scientist? What just happened here?

An American scientist picked up the story and posted a reply: "Not so smug now, are you Canada."

I confess, we residents of the USA sometimes have a bit of an inferiority complex when we compare our citizenry to those of other nations of the world — we look like such a collection of idiots next to places like Iceland and Australia and New Zealand and Germany and England and Canada ... Of course, none of those other countries are entirely exempt from having dumbasses pontificating on science, so we can still occasionally take a cheap, desperate shot at some furrin' loon.

... Mr Lunney's choices of objections, reveal that he has read the erroneous creationist literature, but has never examined the scientific debunkings of his claims. I have heard this claim that creationists use the same evidence to argue for creation. It is not true. They select a narrow subset of the evidence that superficially supports their claims, and then ignore the broader array of evidence that completely undermines them. (2)

I know I'm not so smug now. We were a laughing stock. But this brings up the question, if someone believes something, do you have to respect that belief, even when it is proven to be untrue? Even when it's absolutely ludicrous?

Lunney went from a virtually unknown backbencher to a media sensation overnight, but not in a positive way. He is a member of our government and he had just stood up to go on record as claiming to believe in a myth. He's allowed to believe in that myth. I have no problem with that. But he is not allowed to publicly announce that myth as fact when he is representing a country whose residents don't share in his myth. It simply makes us look bad, but more importantly, alarms everyone in the scientific field, from researchers to science teachers.

However, what I have since discovered about Lunney, is that his belief in creationism over science, is only a tip of the iceberg. This man is also heavily involved in the quackery industry. And no not because he's a chiropractor. Chiropractors are not quacks. But this one is.


The Case of Lana Dale Lewis

In 1996, Lana Dale Lewis went to see a chiropractor about migraines and had a neck alignment. Two weeks later she died of a stroke and the coroner determined that the cause of her death was a tear in the artery at the back of her neck. (3)

After the decision, the lawyer for the family, Amani Oakley, was asked to appear on the Michael Coren show to discuss the findings. The show's producers also invited an expert to join her. That expert was chiropractor James Lunney, Conservative member of Parliament for Nanaimo - Alberni.

After attacking the deceased, and suggesting that she caused her own stroke because of her lifestyle, he made a shocking claim. Her death could have been prevented if it were not for Health Canada, and it's attack on herbal medicines, and that all strokes could be prevented with the use of folic acid.

After the interview, CTS, a faith-based studio that airs the Coren show, refused to release any videos or transcripts of the interview, since it would clearly have been the end of the good doctor's career.

But it turns out that Dr. Lunney's attack on Health Canada in favour of quack medicine was nothing new. He represents the worst of the herbal medicine industry, making outrageous claims about miracle cures for everything from blindness to hair loss. To put it bluntly, the man is a nut.

"I Can Make the Blind See"

In 2001, James Lunney, then Alliance party Health Critic, stated that "a 'parallel' system of private health care services should be available to take pressure off the public system and reduce waiting lists." (4)

By parallel he clearly meant the quackery industry; an industry to which he is a card carrying member. This is not to say that all herbal medicines are bad, but what Lunney promotes is nonsense, mixed with just enough religious fervour, to make believers of innocent victims.

... this product can grow back brain cells, and because the Creator is a lot smarter than scientists, 90% of poor health would disappear ... Will it help everyone? YES IT WILL....”It's a God given answer!” (5)

In 2003, Health Canada raided the offices of Truecorp, a company selling supplements without government approval:

RCMP officers and Health Canada investigators raided the offices of a Raymond-based health product company, alleging it has been selling a nutritional supplement to the mentally ill without government approval.

About a dozen armed officers surprised employees of Truehope Nutritional Support Ltd. at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday when they swept in and demanded everyone in the call centre stop working and back away from their computers. Mounties from Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal then began downloading information from hard drives and rifling through filing cabinets. Officers also backed up vans to the building's doors and prepared to take stacks of documents away. (6)

The news here is not the supplement's claims, which many in the medical profession debunk, but the fact that the company was breaking the law. The stuff being sold as a miracle cure had not undergone adequate testing and was not approved by Health Canada.

So what did James Lunney do about these law breakers? He attacked Health Canada. On letterhead from his Parliamentary office:

War on Natural Health Products Escalates, "What’s next from Health Canada’s Keystone Cops?"
　
NANAIMO—Dr. James Lunney, MP for Nanaimo-Alberni, reacted with outrage to Tuesdays RCMP/ Health Canada raid on a Natural Health Products company in Raymond, Alberta.
　
"Health Canada’s latest attack on the freedom of Canadians to make their own health choices is intolerable. They have resorted to extreme, unwarranted measures to prevent promising, low risk products from reaching Canadians who require them. This bureaucratic interference is out of control; it is contrary to science and to the public interest."

The public interest would be to make sure that a drug is safe to use before it is sold. Lunney instead backed up the industry that was breaking the law. But the story of Lunney and quackery is very complex, so I'm covering it in a separate post.

Coming up Next.

Sources:

1. Darwin would think again, Lunney tells House of Commons: MP says theorist might draw different conclusions if he had today's information, By Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News, April 04, 2009

2. Not so smug now, are you, Canada? By P.Z. Myers, April 3, 2009

3. Chiropractic patient died 'by accident': jury, By CTV.ca News Staff, January 17, 2004

4. "That should be a no-brainer, shouldn't it?", Vancouver Sun, February 21, 2001.

5. Truehope Conference in Shiloh, Ohio, Founders David Hardy and Anthony Stephan presentation, September 16, 2009.

6. RCMP shuts down supplement firm, By David Heyman, Calgary Herald, July 16, 2003