On The Mark -- Hypocrisy Decade

I've never realized I would have so much material to work with...

An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended that two previously recalled painkillers, Bextra and Vioxx, be returned to the market. These drugs had been pulled from the market for their direct link to heart attacks and strokes.

Ten members of this advisory panel received money in the past for consulting and other purposes from the manufacturers of this class of drugs. Not all of these 10 advisory members voted in favor of returning the drugs to the market; however, it's been reported that those who did vote "yes" tipped the scale.

Are there not enough physicians in this country that we can't have a completely independent panel to make this decision? Many drug researchers receive money from the FDA (a practice that needs to stop), but I'm sure it would have been possible to find some who haven't named their sailboat "Pfizer."