One need not search very long to get a quick picture of Dr. Michaels’ activist background that follows along the same line as the President’s other picks for high ranking socially influential positions. Many of them include individuals educated at some of the most liberal universities such as Columbia University, and or associates with roots in community organizing. Dr. Michaels’ organizational activities have been on behalf of Scientists against Corporations who contend that corporations hire their own scientists to skew the safety records of certain products driven by profits at the expense of public safety.
In reading one of his many publications it appears he believes very strongly in the court system to "address Issues" of Public Health through victim compensation. He talks about the corporate community and their hired guns enlisted to exploit the idea of scientific uncertainty….the art of interpolating research studies. He says “This strategy, which began as a public relations tool, is now applied in the legal and regulatory arenas, constraining the ability of the judicial and regulatory systems to address issues of public health and victim compensation. The US Supreme Court’s 1993 Daubert v Merrell Dow pharmaceuticals, Inc. decision has enabled manufacturers of products alleged to have caused harm to exclude credible science and scientists from court cases. Similarly, the Data Quality Act provides a mechanism for parties to magnify differences between scientists in order to avoid regulation and victim compensation.”
Good for Workers…(Union advocacy groups adore him) or Bad for Business’s? You decide now, and time will tell if you are right or wrong.