From the April 2003 Idaho Observer:

SARS, Smallpox, West Nile Virus: Disease Scare Season 2003

by The Idaho Observer

The ancient Greeks had learned by 800 B.C. that the easiest way to control the “commoners” is to frighten them. Since human nature has not changed since ancient Greece, governments still control populations of commoners by exploiting their fears.

Technology may have changed over the years, but the relationship between people and governments never has because we perpetually fall for the same transparent ploys -- fear of foreigners, fear of death and disease, hatred and jealousy for different races and religions. It's as if we are as innately wired to our petty human natures as dogs are innately wired to rolling in things that smell bad.

Today our government has filled us full of fear -- fear of Islamic/Arab terrorists, fear of government and fear of an entire menu of diseases.

Until us commoners rise above our collective tendency to follow our fears, our greed and our jealousies into war, or hell, or wherever our leaders decide to take us, then we can expect the horrors of armed conflict to continue maiming, killing and destroying the fruits of the more commendable aspects of human nature -- our capacity to love, create, and express compassion.

As we await the day “coalition forces” triumphantly reduce the ancient city of Baghdad to rubble and the homes of 6 million innocent people are destroyed to liberate them from one man, we also await the day some scary superbug will come knocking on our door.

If you will notice, with every government-sponsored and orchestrated disease-scare campaign, a few friends of big government make a lot of money and the American people lose a few more of the freedoms they grew up believing were “inalienable.”

October, 2001 -- Anthrax: Shortly after 9/11 government conditioned the nation to suspect all white powder to be anthrax. A few people died, the Bayer Corp. made $millions from the sale of an antibiotic that did not prevent the onset of anthrax if one got it and the strain was traced directly to the U.S. Army's Biowarfare lab in Aames, Iowa. Result: Tighter security and surveillance on the processing of domestic mail.

November, 2001 -- Smallpox: Government warned us that we will all be vaccinated against smallpox because terrorists might unleash the “deadly” disease on Americans. Vaccine producers made $millions producing some 300 million doses of largely experimental smallpox vaccine. Result: The CDC released its Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) wherein, during a declared state of medical emergency, persons can be quarantined, forced to submit to dangerous and experimental medical procedures and their property can be seized or destroyed at the discretion of public health officials.

Spring/Summer, 2002 -- West Nile Virus: Government told us the mysterious exotic brain-swelling disease that first appeared on the North American continent in 1999 and caused deaths and mass pesticide spraying in New York was back with a vengeance killing birds, livestock, wildlife and is moving west. Pesticide companies made $millions as chemicals are sprayed all over the country in an attempt to reduce the mosquito population. Result: Government surveillance of disease outbreaks and government authority to take over communities and subject them to toxic substances increased dramatically

September, 2002 -- Smallpox: CDC released its 49-page smallpox pandemic preparedness guidelines to health departments in all 50 states. Police, public health, national guard, CDC and U.S. Dept. of Heath and Human Services begin coordinating plans to mass vaccinate the entire nation against smallpox. If one case of smallpox is reported, government officials will behave as if the nation is under biological attack; MEHPA provisions were bolstered by the Homeland Security Act and the USA Patriot Act. Result: Feds distributed $billions among the 50 states to help build pandemic preparedness infrastructure that will enforce mandatory vaccinations, mandatory quarantines and property seizures and suspend civil processes during a declared state of medical emergency -- medical martial law.

April, 2003 -- SARS: A “new” form of the common cold that appeared in March is reportedly killing people and is quickly spreading all over the world. NIH begins vaccine research (see pages 12-13). Result: President Bush adds SARS to the list of diseases for which persons may be quarantined. SARS could trigger medical martial law.

Autism? Sudden adult death syndrome?

While the public is being conditioned to maintain irrational fears for SARS, smallpox and WNV, real epidemics -- and their real causes -- are not being reported. According to the CDC, incidence of autism in America's children, which has been scientifically linked to childhood vaccinations, has increased from one in 10,000 to one in 150 in just 10 years. There has been an epidemic increase in numbers of adults simply dropping dead for no apparent reason. Some researchers have linked “Sudden adult death syndrome” to complications of aspartame poisoning.