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Joseph Campbell: "Follow Your Bliss!"
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About the Book and Author: John P. Flannery, II, is a former federal prosecutor from New York City who prosecuted multimillion dollar heroin conspiracies. He believes, however, that our government is dead wrong to prosecute physicians for treating chronic pain patients. “I am ashamed that the Justice Department is doing this,” Flannery says. “There are 75 million Americans who suffer long term excruciating pain – and the government is making it worse”. About the Editor: Holly S. Flannery is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council to defend endangered species, and has edited material before but, she said, "nothing quite like this sad story."
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ORDER:1. From Amazon.com, by clicking on this link - "Pain in America" - and paying Amazon $14.95 plus shipping; or 2. From the publisher Ithaca Manor Press LLC directly, especially if you want an autographed copy, and an inscription you want to suggest, by writing to: Ithaca Manor Press, LLC, Post Office Box 6151, Leesburg, VA 20178, and making out the check for $18.25 (the cost of the book and shipping), payable to Ithaca Manor Press, LLC. If you have any questions, please write to Fulfillment Questions.
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THE ORIGIN OF THIS BOOKby John P. Flannery
There are 75 million chronic pain patients in America and we have a public health hazard because the government has made medical treatment of chronic pain a crime with a long prison sentence. I'm a “recovering” federal prosecutor from NY - as you never get over having that kind of power as a puppy prosecutor. I prosecuted real drug cases with maniac drug kingpins. I worked with former federal prosecutor, Rudy Giuliani (when he was still a Bobby Kennedy Democrat), and prosecuted my fair share of what we called "junk" cases in the Southern District of New York. What the government is doing now, however, is not prosecuting drug cases; it’s creating a public health hazard, and that’s a shame and a disgrace. The Government is scaring doctors from treating patients and the patients, increasingly, are considering suicide as their only alternative, the only "way out" of their interminable and excruciating pain. I wrote this book, "Pain in America - and how the Government makes it worse!" because of a patient who was so badly treated that I couldn't get it out of my mind, couldn't remain silent, and I wanted to tell his story and the story of so many others who continue to be abused by our federal and state government. The Florida court sent Richard Paey (pictured above) to prison for 25 years for nothing more than taking medicine for his chronic pain. Richard Paey was in a terrible accident in 1985 and suffers from multiple sclerosis. When his pain is at its worst, Richard says, "It's like my legs are lodged in a furnace on fire." No surgery, nor alternative therapy, can relieve his pain. No wonder the Florida prison gave Richard more medicine than was the subject of Richard's prosecution; lucky for Richard, the Florida prison doctor got it, and knew that Richard needed the medicine; unfortunately, the Florida prosecutor did not get it. CBS’ Sixty Minutes did a feature story on Richard. Soon after, I argued Richard's appeal before the Florida Court of Appeals; and you can read the oral argument if you wish - Paey Appeal Argument. After 8 months of deliberation, the Court of Appeals said the confinement was unjust. They suggested, however, it was up to the Governor to fix it, to grant him clemency. So we asked Governor Crist to reconsider whether Richard's 25-year maximum sentence wasn't cruel and unusual. We had some good fortune as the Florida Parole Commission recommended on June 7, 2007 that Governor Crist take the first step in considering Richard's petition. Governor Crist decided to grant Richard a full hearing in September 2007 at the State Capitol, and, after Linda and I made our presentations, Richard received a full pardon. As happy a day as that was, it was still a tragedy because Richard and his family had suffered this prosecutorial nightmare for ten long years starting with Richard's original arrest in the case. Because of Richard’s case, I learned of thousands upon thousands who are hurting in America, suffering under this immoral and indefensible policy against chronic pain patients. This book has been my effort to give you a look at what's wrong in this country relating to this public health crisis in a way that is understandable, and in order to help physicians, patients and the public at large make a difference for the better.
John P. Flannery
REVIEWS OF THE BOOK
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Charles Kaiser (former correspondent, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek Media critic, and author, 1968 IN AMERICA, and THE GAY METROPOLIS):
"This is a book about one of America's most important untold stories: the incredibly misguided war the federal government is waging on physicians whose only crime is a desire to heal their patients' persistent pain. As Flannery writes in the introduction, this appalling miscarriage of justice is a product of "ignorance, junk science, misplaced religious zeal, misdirected social policy, and plain old arrogance. The author is one of America's toughest and smartest litigators. He catalogues the government's abuses with the precision of a brilliant former federal prosecutor -- which is exactly what he is."
Tim John (News Director, WAGE Radio (www.wage.com)): “It makes me feel rather powerless in the face of what the late Allen Ginsberg may have called ‘Moloch’ – the devouring beast; Flannery’s Pain in America is a warning against an over-reaching government.”
Joe Motheral (Contributor, Times-Mirror): “Flannery’s credentials and experience with such cases give him special insight …. Flannery discusses how to avoid being caught in a morass of legal entanglements and even jail. He cites the rights that we as individuals have and how to apply those effectively when encountering circumstances involving physical pain.”
Tracey Senate (Reporter, The Brunswick Citizen): “Flannery is a good trial lawyer and provides a convincing argument that these activities by the government need to stop. He believes doctors should be able to treat patients without risking their careers. He believes patients should be able to seek treatment for chronic pain without fear of reprisal."
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"Mr. Flannery is a former federal prosecutor from New York and a former Capitol Hill counsel, now in private practice, and has represented physicians and patients from across the nation. This book is a must-read for anyone who treats or suffers from chronic pain, or who knows anyone who may suffer from chronic pain, or who cares about this public health crisis, to inform them of this grave injustice."
Kenneth D. Christman, M.D. (Surgeon and Past President, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons): “The author, John P. Flannery, has offered us a guided tour into the lives of both patients and physicians who have not only struggled with chronic pain but also found themselves in the cross-fire of federal and state prosecutors. We are indebted to Mr. Flannery for this noble attempt to restore sanity to redress such unconstitutional violations as the government’s intrusion into the practice of medicine.”
Dave Williams (“Dr. Dave”) (Editor, Blue-Ridge Leader and Author, Sin Boldly): “One would think that Flannery, a lifelong devoted Democrat, might go easy on the use of power by the state, but in fact his book is a powerful call to all Americans to beware of encroaching federal control over our individual lives. He quotes Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis: ‘The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.’”
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