AG Conway Update and Wikipedia

Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power. George Bernard Shaw

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - On September 10, 2009 I wrote an article entitled "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." It involved Attorney General Jack Conway of Kentucky accepting a $50,000 check from an organization called NADDI (National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators).

A couple of weeks ago, I did an article on NADDI's ties to Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, and their conferences being held at the finest hotels in the country.

What was interesting about the "Seed Grant" of $50,000 from NADDI is that the State of Kentucky is suing Purdue Pharma for the devastation in Kentucky of OxyContin death, addiction and abuse.

The State of Kentucky lawsuit is currently tied up in Federal Court in New York and when it is remanded back to Kentucky, the victims of OxyContin will have their voices heard in court.

On October 15, 2009 -- a little more than a month after my article was printed on Conway accepting a check from Purdue Pharma through NADDI, Conway asked a federal judge to remand to state court a suit accusing Purdue Pharma of failing to warn about the risks associated with the controversial painkiller OxyContin -- arguing that the drug maker improperly joined the suit with unrelated patent and antitrust actions.

According to Conway's suit, Purdue Pharma misled medical providers and consumers through misrepresentations or omissions regarding the appropriate uses, risks and safety of OxyContin in violation of state law.

My article never suggested that Conway -- who is currently running for U.S. Senate -- had personally taken the $50,000 check from a $10 billion dollar pharmaceutical corporation, Purdue Pharma. If anything, I'm sure it will buy alot of file cabinets to house the records of all the victims of OxyContin in Kentucky who have been made into drug addicts - or died - because of the criminal marketing of the drug. I was more concerned with how it would play out in a courtroom when Purdue Pharma's high powered attorneys stand up and say "If we're such bad guys, why did Attorney General Conway accept a $50,000 check from our funded organization NADDI?"

And my favorite Conway quote is "Purdue Pharma attempted to muddy the waters." In case you don't realize it Attorney General Conway, convicted criminals always muddy the waters. You should be very aware of that fact as the top law enforcement official in Kentucky.

Since AG Conway is running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky, I thought it appropriate to insert my "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" article in his Wikipedia write-up. Unfortunately, Wikipedia had the following comment to make after they deleted the link to Conway's biography.

"The State of Kentucky and the previous Attorney General is suing Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin for the devastation and destruction of life to addiction and death. AG Conway accepted a $50,000 check from an organization named NADDI which is funded by Purdue Pharma. salem-news.com/articles/september102009/oxycontin_wolf_9-10-09.php

I believe this statement is problematic in that it implies that Conway got the money as a personal donation when the source says it was funding for a state program. Even more problematic, the source is also the opinion of an activist of an organization with an apparent legal conflict with Conway according to the opinion. Also, this Salem News is not the existing The Salem News newspaper of Massachusetts but, according to the website, a web-only publication, and I don't believe it is independently established that it is a reliable source. Hekerui (talk) 22:46, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Now I find Wikipedia problematic in saying the statement "implies that Conway got the money as a personal donation..." The Salem-News.com article clearly stated that the NADDI Seed Grant "would fund new drug diversion efforts in Eastern Kentucky and allow the task force to expand into other areas of the state." Nowhere did it imply a "personal donation to Conway -- or a legal conflict with Conway." Rather it stated fact.

Then the "editor" for Wikipedia goes on to say "this Salem News is not the existing newspaper of Massachusetts ...... and I don't believe it is independently established that it is a reliable source." I question "Hekerui" as a reliable source to be editing for Wikipedia. It was never alluded to that the Salem-News.com was from Massachusetts.

For "Hekerui's" information, below is an explanation of who Salem-News.com is, the types of professionals who write for them -- and their goals for a strong ethical and moral code that should "guide all journalists."

Welcome to the most unique and interesting news group in the nation. Salem-News.com is also the first exclusively Web news organization in the world. Not a blog, but a full service multimedia news site staffed by award-winning professional journalists and a wealth of diverse writers from all over the U.S. and also in places like Canada, Vietnam and Mexico. Salem-News.com was created as a present and future answer for the needs of a wide range of news consumers in Oregon, across the nation and around the world.

Salem, Oregon is one of many locations in the U.S. of 250k or more, that are not adequately supported by a local television market. We see the 'New Media' revolution as an opportunity to bring more news to these areas and also as a venue for emerging and veteran journalists, and we want it to be more than just an extension of the existing overly commercial mainstream news market.

Our goal is to provide news and information that is honest and up to the minute, without compromising a strong moral and ethical code that we believe should guide all journalists. You will never see certain types of advertisement here, like big pharma, because we refuse to do business with them, and our writers are clear about that.

Hopefully the new U.S. Senator for Kentucky will "unmuddy the waters" for all the victims and their families of OxyContin and return the $50,000 check to NADDI/Purdue Pharma. It's not like it will be an embarrassment to Conway -- he is trailing in the polls. Hopefully, the victims of Kentucky's epidemic of OxyContin will have a clean hand to shake when the election is over for U.S. Senate in their state.

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Salem-News.com Reporter Marianne Skolek, is an Activist for Victims of OxyContin throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2007, she testified against Purdue Pharma in Federal Court in Virginia at the sentencing of their three CEO's who pled guilty to charges of marketing OxyContin as less likely to be addictive or abused to physicians and patients. She also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007. Marianne works with government agencies and private attorneys in having a voice for her daughter Jill, who died in 2002 after being prescribed OxyContin, as well as the voice for scores of victims of OxyContin. She has been involved in her work for the past 7-1/2 years and is currently working on a book that exposes Purdue Pharma for their continued criminal marketing of OxyContin.

Marianne is a nurse having graduated in 1991 as president of her graduating class. She also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.