One signer of the Declaration of Independence (Dr. Benjamin Rush), who was also George Washington's physician, predicted the following. "Unless we put medical freedom into The Constitution, the time will come when medicine will organize into an undercover dictatorship." As a chronic lyme patient, I have become very aware of the almost total control that the pharmeceutical companies, the insurance industry and government agencies already have over our healthcare decisions. Most of us can no longer freely choose the doctors we want treating us. Doctors who are thinking for themselves and who are prescribing preventative or curative treatments, instead of only symptomatic treatments, are being ostracized and persecuted. Hundreds of thousands of sick, disabled and dying people are intentionally being denied proper testing, diagnoses and treatment. Many feel that this is due to the greed of the pharmeceutical companies and perhaps the depopulation goals of the bureaucratic elite. The later isn't such a far fetched idea. Henry Kissenger himself, in his National Security Memorandum, advised the President that there were 13 countries in Africa which were growing much too rapidly, were threatening the availability of certain resources, and that we needed to either decrease the birth rate or increase the death rate. Not too long after this proposal, the World health Organization visited these countries with free smallpox vaccines. Several years later 60% of the people who recieved these shots, presented with the AIDS virus. A similar scenerio took place in NYC. Hepatitis B vaccines were given out free to promiscuous gay men. Soon after, 60% of this population also came down with AIDS. People in a democratic society should have the freedom to purchase any type of natural or synthetic remedy, hire the doctor of their choice, and be able to make the final decision as to what tests they recieve and which labs will do their testing. All this should take place without government interference. Most adults are totally capable of managing their healthcare decisions without the government dictating and controlling the most basic and intimate issues of their lives. Doctors who write our prescriptions are managed by corporations and government agencies, which really do not have our best interests at heart. Therefore, I feel that certain prescription and other medical laws, need to be revised or perhaps need to be done away with completely. We would still need physicians to advise and direct us but the ultimate decision as to what we put in our bodies, should be made by the individual. This is one of the most basic of freedoms. We have been conditioned to accept the government in the role of parent , protector and babysitter. The more we allow the government (which is essentially a conglomeration of corporations) to make our decisions for us, the more rights we lose. It is all made to seem as though certain controlling laws are solely for our benefit and protection. Lyme Disease, it's testing, diagnoses and treatment, is a perfect example of total deception and intentional misdiagnoses. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this travesty, I will list a few of the many disease labels which have been assigned to patients, many of whom have eventually been tested and found positive for borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of lyme disease. Most of these patients improve with antibiotics, along with natural treatments, and are able to arrest their degenerative disease process. Some of these labels are: Arrythmia, Arthralgias, Arthritis, ADD, Autoimmune Dseases, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Depression, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, Sleeping Disorders, Alzheimer's, ALS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Scleroderma, Peripheral Neuropathy, Lupus.....and the list goes on. I suggest that people conduct searches on the internet....Pubmed, or just a general search, which would include their specific disease name and or symptom(s), along with "Lyme Disease". I think you may be very surprised at what you find. Many of these so called separate diseases have no known definitive tests, causes or cures. Labels are just handed out according to symptoms and the type of specialist you may be seeing at the time of diagnoses. In fact, most chronically ill patients recieve many different diagnoses from varied specialists. Required characteristics or markers, for all these condtions, must not be very specific. As I mentioned in a previous article, this confusion prevents proper treatment and covers up the fact that Lyme Disease is not only epidemic in our society, but pandemic. Treatment rests on the premise of correct testing and diagnoses. If testing is inaccurate then diagnoses and treatment will be invalid. Patients will only recieve symptomatic treatments, which often cause additional health problems, and then require more drugs. This obviously benefits the pharmeceutical companies. Lyme Disease, it's testing, diagnoses and treatment, is an extremely controversial subject. Intelligent and open minded people are questioning why this should be so. The medical community already has an educational model to go by. Syphilis is a spirochete, is a close cousin of the Bb spirochete and behaves in a very similar way. Syphilis is pleomorphic (changes form), is known to be congenitally transmitted, sexually transmitted and it sometimes requires open ended antibiotic treatment, just as the Bb spirochete does. Why then are not these aspects being vigorously investigated, concerning Bb? Often one hears the excuse that the medical community is stodgy and slow to accept change.. This may be partially true of the lower levels of the general medical community. Most doctors rely on the idea that what they learn in medical school and read in the peer reviewed medical journals, is all truth, based on sound medical research and impartially presented. Unfortunately this is pollyanna wishful thinking. The upper echelon of the NIH, CDC and other government agencies, which play a large role in educating our doctors, many times, have agendas other than what they would have us believe. As I mentioned before, these organizations don't always have our best interests at heart. Several government institutions have patents on microbes which many of us are infected with. They know what segments of the population are infected with these microbes but they fail to educate the Red Cross, doctors, health departments or the public, as to what diseases have these organisms present or as to the successful treatments available. If patients who are cognitively impaired, due to neuroborelliosis, can figure out what appears to be happening, then I'm sure that the highly educated researchers and administrators at the CDC, NIH, etc, must also have a clue as to the real magnitude of this health crisis and perhaps the real reason behind it. Researchers and doctors have been taught that Bb is an ancient microbe and that it is just now being recognized for the problem that it is. Considering the fact that most doctors do not recognize or "believe in" the symptom complex presented by Bb infection, leads one to conclude , that if indeed this organism has been around for thousands of years, there must be something new and perhaps more pathogenic, involving current strains. Certain microbiologists agree there is something unusual about Bb and that what we are experiencing is extremely hardy, pathogenic, tenacious and may involve more organ systems than the historical variety of the lyme spirochete. It is suspected that the current strain(s) may be genetically modified. One prominent microbiologist said to me "This bug is just too damn smart!" It is a known fact that mosquitoes have been genetically engineered to become more efficient vectors for certain diseases. West Nile Virus may be one of these diseases that has had some help from scientists. Ades Japonicus, an experimental strain of mosquito, is said to be one of the most efficient vectors of West Nile Virus. Therefore, it doesn't seem beyond the imagination that ticks may have been manipulated in a similar fashion. Bb, the causative agent of Lyme Disease is pleomorphic. This means that it can mutate into several different forms and as a result, is able to evade the immune system, antibiotics and consequently can make testing very difficult. It can go into hiding and lie dormant for varied periods of time. The medical community recognizes the problem of pleomorphism and the resultant difficulty with testing. Why then do they take the stand that if you test negative, with current testing, that you simply don't have lyme? Millions and millions of dollars are collected each year for charities involving all these so called separate diseases. Supposedly research is looking for causes and cures for all these "unrelated" diseases. Where are all these causes and cures? Where are any of them? All I am noticing are more and more emerging conditions with new labels and only symptomatic treatments. I personally know several people who were misdiagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. A good friend and now a member of our lyme disease support group, was misdiagnosed with M.S. for 10 years. During these 10 years she lost a very young child to what she now believes was congenital lyme disease. She was treated with chemotherapy drugs and other M.S drugs, but only continued to decline. She was finally treated for lyme with long term antibiotics and has regained many of her functions. She recently acquired her old hospital records which stated that 10 years ago her spinal fluid and blood had tested positive for lyme. The records state that the same blood was supposedly retested and found to be negative. She was then handed the label of M.S.. She was never told that she ever tested positive for Lyme. My friend of course was shocked . She encouraged others who were diagnosed with M.S to be tested for lyme. Several other M.S patients , that she knows,have now tested positive for lyme and are slowly improving on antibiotics. My friend is a very caring person and naturally wanted to share these findings with the Mulitple Sclerosis Society. At first, those she called seemed interested and wanted her to come speak at a conference. Evidently when this information travelled to those with influence, she was told that she couldn't come and share her story. I have also been told by a reliable source that an M.S. organization was instrumental in shutting down the work of a very prominent microbiologist who was finding lyme spirochetes in many Multiple Sclerosis patients. Yale, which is one of the main forces behind the nontreatment of Chronic Lyme patients, has been diagnosing an unusual amount of M.S in those with neurological problems. Other doctors in the area....especially those who specialize in pain treatment, are questioning the huge number of patients, diagnosed by Yale, with M.S. I believe the time has come to decentralize our healthcare. This may mean chaos for a while but I feel the process is inevitable. We need to become more involved on a personal level with researchers and others who are involved with the health and well being of our nation and the world. I feel this is the only way to discern their integrity and true motives. Instead of pouring all our hard earned money into the huge conglomerate charities, where we have little control or knowledge as to where our money goes, it would seem much more productive and assuring to support the private researchers of our choice. Our health is one of our greatest treasures. At this critical time in human history, we need to educate ourselves, investigate, trust our intuitions, and work together for positive change. Most Lyme tests available, are looking for antibodies, our body's reaction to the lyme spirochete. As I mentioned before, the lyme spirochete is very adept at evading our immune system by changing it's forms and therefore, testing that relies on detection of antibodies, is very unreliable. I recently discovered information on a fairly new test which looks for the actual cell wall deficient form of Bb. It locates the actual germ and therefore is very accurate. It is called the Bowen Q-RiBb test, developed by Dr. JoAnne Whitaker and Eleanor Fort. These researchers are finding this organism in a very large segment of the population. I have spoken with Dr. Whitaker several times and was very impressed by her integrity and genuine sincere interest in bringing out the pandemic nature of this disease. She has witnessed so many people being misdiagnosed with other disease labels, such as, M.S, FM, ALS, CFS, etc. It is an unimaginable situation that so many people are falsely diagnosed and as a result, do not recieve proper treatment. People are dying because of this misdiagnoses. Lida Mattman, who is a microbiologist and the author of "Stealth Pathogens", has studied spirochetes for fifty years. She believes that touching can spread lyme disease. The spirochete is found in tears, which means that it can contaminate the hands and anything they touch. Scientists are finding that the lyme spirochete is very hardy and can reman viable for long periods of time. Could this possibly be a mode of transmission for Bb within families? Often entire families are ill. One member may be diagnosed with lyme, another may be diagnosed with ALS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ADD, Fibromyalgia, etc. More and more patients with these labels are testing positive for lyme, mycoplasma and other tickborne coinfections. When treated with proper antibiotics, for a sufficient length of time (often several years is needed), a large percentage are improving. What is needed, of course, is accurate testing and more clinical diagnoses. This means tests are used as an adjunct to clinical diagnoses and not as the main determining factor. The main criteria for diagnoses and treatment should be based on the patient's history and symptoms. However , it appears that doctors have come to rely so much on test results that they can't seem to give a clinical diagnoses without a test to back it up. Or perhaps it is the pressure of malpractice or "management" by the corporations that has shaken their confidence. In any case, this is a great disservice to the patient who is seeking diagnoses and treatment. Sandi Lanford, a lyme advocate, states the following facts concerning the Bowen Test. "Positive Bowen Q-RiBb tests have been challenged but no other test has been able to prove these results to be incorrect. There have been no false positives, for when patients are treated, based on the Bowen results, the patients have shown remarkable improvement in their symptoms. It is also difficult to dismiss the accuracy of Dr. Whitaker's Q-RiBb test, as she has an impressive background in the developement of flourescent assays, evident in numerous published research studies.. The results of the original Bowen Q-RiBb were duplicated by Lida Mattman's lab in Michigan. Dr. Mattman was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1998 for her work on Stealth Pathogens. She is a very highly respected microbiologist. On 316 same draw blood samples, 316 cultured specimens grew out the organism Bb and the Q-RiBb test was positive for all 316. The culture method is the Gold Standard for making a definitive diagnoses of an infectious disease.. This statement means that out of 316 blood samples drawn for this particular test, the Bowen lab blood samples came up 100% positive for Bb. The Mattman controls ,from the same blood samples ,were also 100% positive. The Mattman controls duplicated the Bowen Q-RiBb results." The Bowen Lab is a research lab and depends on grants, donations and profits from testing, in order to stay in operation and conduct more research. It is my opinion that if this test is more widely used, the results may blow the lid off the lyme pandemic coverup. It is very important here to stress that lyme is not just a tick borne disease. Mosquitoes have been found to be loaded with this organism. It has also been found in mites, fleas, well water, African dust, tears, semen and breast milk. Lyme support groups are reporting that those who recieved labels such as MS, ALS,CFS,FM, etc, were tested with the Q-RiBb test, found to be positive for lyme, and then treated, are improving. These results only confirm my long held suspicion that Bb and other microbes, such as mycoplasma, are running rampant through our society. It appears that this situation is being allowed to occur. It is fairly obvious that everything possible is being done to thwart proper testing, diagnoses and curative treatment. The Michigan State Attorney's Office recently told Dr. Mattman to stop helping doctors diagnose Lyme Disease with her testing, and was threatened with time in jail or a fine of 5,000 dollars a day. Dr. Mattman says that it is getting more and more difficult to find human negative controls, in the U.S., to supply blood free of borellia. It appears that the government and certain "charity" organizations, don't want the public to become aware of this information. Recently state police arrived at her lab with handcuffs and tried to find evidence that she was still conducting this work. Fortunately, they didn't find what they were looking for. However, despite lack of evidence, Dr. Mattman has had to discontinue her very valuable work and leave her lab. This isn't about promoting a certain lab for financial gain. I really believe that the future of our country may hinge on discovering what the Bowen Lab test results are telling us. Our country is becoming more and more disabled and most people don't even realize it. We are told so often that we are the healthiest nation in the world that we actually believe it. Most people I know are not healthy. Everyone, even the young, seems to have some sort of condition. Many people have several overlapping conditions. This is NOT normal! Is there a common cause? I think we better find out before it is too late. For more information on the Bowen Test, please visit www.bowen.org Bowen Research & Training Institute

Marjorie Tietjen writes for The Journal Of Degenerative Disease, a nonprofit quarterly magazine of The Common Cause Medical Research Foundation. Her primary focus is on investigation into why there are so many emerging diseases, why the symptoms of these diseases overlap to such a degree, why there are no cures, only treatments and what role Governments and corporations play in all this. All of her major essays can be viewed at http://www.congregator.net/medicalnews/tietjen/index.html. She may be contacted via E-mail at daystar1952@yahoo.com She encourages reproduction of this material provided it remains intact, including this statement.