Response to my 12-12-02 message to LUCC students: Joel, Up to this point your nostalgia and call for a brighter future for Life was a appreciated albeit a little syrupy. However it's at this point that you and I will diverge. There is no real way for Life to just exist within CCE. CCE is out to turn chiropractic into it's vision of a third rate health care delivery system right up there after osteopathy. There was no real other reason. Sid was big. Life was big. At the rate Life and Palmer turned out students, the writing was on the wall for CCE and it's years of bullying and dominating the profession through illegal and unethical acts was coming to an end. This action against Life and Sid (and I'm not an apologist for him by any stretch) was clearly a political attempt to eliminate the largest source of subluxation based chiropractors. CCE needs to be brought to their knees and then the guilty punished for such blatant acts which had such far reaching and unintended consequences. Semantics are important. Words are important. You should know that as a chiropractor and certainly from having been married to an Israeli. Try telling anyone in the Mideast that it's only "semantics". Your Rodney King attitude of "can't we just get along" is not the best advice to be given to the profession at this time. I'm afraid that the CCE will need the services of Johnny Cochran if they are to have any chance to get off as the glove fits this time. I'm confused at your pleading for Spizz and your caveat that labels and diagnostic focus is just learning. CCE didn't want to just encourage learning for learning's sake. No. They want to turn us all into primary physicians. That is their vision for the profession and they've acted as if they had a mandate to create it. Take a look as the Georgia board, who have clearly been in cahoots with the CCE, makes it impossible for Lifer's to practice in GA. Yeah, work within the framework. It's not unlike what Sid said to do. He thought he could take them over and look what's happened. I wish that your imploring of CCE to do the right thing now is going to fall on deaf ears. CCE isn't interested in what has happened to the students and community surrounding the college. They have an agenda, have largely been successful to date, but will be brought down. They no longer have the credibility to act as the accrediting body for our profession. They have gone way too far in making a point. While it may have appeared to you as if the battle was one man vs. the CCE, it was a lot more than that. I think you've made some very shortsighted remarks and while I'll be the first to defend your ability to share them with the profession, I'd urge you to reconsider them in light of the actions that Life has to take to survive. Palmer filed suit against the CCE within the last couple of days. Life will in the next few weeks. After that ICA, WCA, and FSCO will be supporting actions against them. The DOE will get an earful and the world will learn of the workings of a few to thwart the many in their quest to help humanity. CCE has done nothing but commit a string of illegal acts. They'll be caught and the profession will suffer for their actions. Reminds me of how the AMA tried to defend their actions by saying they were only protecting the people from those dangerous chiropractors. CCE has committed the same sin. Couple that with their inflated egos, it's no wonder that they'll eventually be brought down. Joel, you might avail yourself of checking out the DECE website in the next few days for updated info. You might also check Palmer's site. In all your writings I've noticed that you try to not take sides but try to remain neutral. I'm sure you have your reasons for doing so. Sid used to quote someone who acted that way by saying that if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything and be good for nothing. So while you may think it okay to remain somewhat impartial and feel like your emails are just a service and shouldn't choose sides so as to alienate some of your readers, I think you should drop the pretenses of niceness and call it as you see it. In spite of all of my opinions that I've outlined above, it's still commendable that you do what you do. I just think you should not try and stay out of the fight. It's that important. My reply with the message repeated below: Thanks for your thoughtful reply to my e-mail message. You deserve a like reply. You are right .. I do write my weekly e-mails and my LUCC opinions evenly across the board. I write to many .. most not supporters of the subluxation and LUCC. I reach them and will continue to do so .. those heeding the call to arms against the CCE will get the message one way or the other. The others not so bent on assisting LUCC or subluxation based chiropractic are just as important and I intend not to lose them. We may agree to disagree but since you brought up my knowledge of the Middle East .. it does avail me to reading between the lines. I will act for inclusion not exclusion which like the Taliban .. which kept women out of school and force young boys in propaganda schools fearful that they may learn too much .. I don¼t want to see DC¼s put in burkas or back to caves. What has our profession done to research the subluxation or rehabilitation of the paraspinal components .. and don¼t tell me a SEMG. Where was Dr. Sid¼s and his supporters when we needed their input and financial support for this .. on the basketball field .. buying more buildings .. supporting unrelated causes? Let me say that I support LUCC but have lost all support for the clan that ran it down. I am sure you heard and spoke with a number of students stuck in the muck but I am sure not as many as me. Not the mothers that have written me or the many students that returned e- mails about the experience they found at Parker .. Logan .. Palmer .. where the chiropractic spirit still thrives and diversity and is cherished without losing sight of the message. Therefore .. to continue my support to the cause (Dr. Sid and the present rubber stamp board) while damning the effect (loss of accreditation) does not bide well with me. The issue of the CCE is not new .. they created the reason I left Sherman after six quarters and transferred to Life. Their agenda was clear from day one and those that opposed it just played games until time ran out. The semi-villains are the ICA and other supportive groups that became an old boys network promoting their individual agendas and products .. asking everyone to spread the word while denying the day it would be stifled rather than growing in numbers and taking the CCE to task. Getting on the anti CCE bandwagon may be better late than never but look at the cost. In reality .. it could have been avoided with some smoke and mirrors just to get another ten years or so of accreditation .. then fixing the break before crashing a hole in the dam. Sherman .. that bastion of straight chiropractic decided not to give in .. they didn¼t initially want to go the CCE way. Fine .. I left as a student to be assured my license and years of helping people. Dr. Sid on the other hand promised (verbally to an assembly of students .. I was there) that he would do whatever it took to be accredited. That was enough for me and we transferred to Marietta the next quarter. Prior to my graduation Life asked students in the labs to take urine samples and draw blood .. in fact Sigafoose¼s son and I paired for drawing blood. Did either of us go down the road of least resistance and become raving lunatic mixers .. no! Sherman eventually relented and went down the road of least resistance realizing that accreditation was the only salvation to provide chiropractors for every community. Maybe you forget that Reggie Gold gave up his DC license since he felt everyone was selling out chiropracTIC and started a six month Spinology school .. well we lost both to foolishness. Instead .. every school should (although now LUCC will do it to a skeleton crew) provide enough philosophy placing the reason we are chiropractors as prominent .. not the tests .. urine .. proctology exams. Problem was .. LUCC really had little philosophy .. there were few bridges between the world of medicine and chiropractic .. it boiled down to rhetoric .. it was all or none .. take it or leave it. I loved the talk and still do the walk but not at the expense of maintaining a viable institution. When Reggie taught my first quarter philosophy class and two hours later taught our first quarter terminology class ..they were an extension of each other. Just words .. semantics. But he placed it in the proper perspective .. this is how and why they look at it and this is why we .. deductive‚vs-inductive. It was just words and methods .. our skills and training differ and learning some further exploration of the huge medical community won¼t hurt. Be real .. we¼ll never steal the heart and minds of the majority but will make a profound effect on the minority that we touch and tell. Losing a school that produced thousands of chiropractors and the residuals from that does and will hurt for generations to come. Is it worth a semantics game? Fighting a word turf war .. primary or not primary physicians .. is not the issue .. Fla DC¼s who practice as you and I do are titled chiropractic physicians .. have they caved in? We have always been primary as far as the insurance companies were concerned and no one I know of ever sent their checks back. Listen .. I appreciate your point of view and would love to continue to embrace it. Battle lines were drawn long ago and the fight was swept under the rug .. well it hit bottom two years ago .. during a year of warning and another year of probation. Asking everyone to suit up and blow the bridges down because of LUCC and CCE .. is the wrong fight. Dr. Sid was the enemy of Life .. his dream was too much and unsustainable. Valiant effort and loads of fun but at the expense of the chiropractic program and now the school. The Palmer fight is worth the battle. They are viable and practical and Dr. Riekman is far more credible. The fight to preserve the philosophy and the mechanics of teaching chiropractic is the issue .. throwing in some words and deeds in the mix (excuse the pun) is not. He will lead the chare to protect the other schools from the fate of LUCC .. but they will have one huge load off their backs .. a huge ego and intransigence. We may differ in opinion and therefore have to leave it at that. The LUCC ‚vs-CCE battle is a lost cause. Salvaging the school and once again having alumni proud to send future students there is the issue. Dr. Sid¼s ghost has to be expunged and the Board has to be revamped for this to happen. Dr. Sid the genius that he is and was had his day .. it lasted too long .. he didn¼t allow a smooth transition with practicality .. now we see the mess and his legacy. Have a Great Day Joel My message to remaining LUCC students: I thank the many alumni throughout the world that have thanked me for keeping them informed about LUCC. Those who have no interest have no idea how the school¼s treatment at the hands of the CCE .. right or wrong .. hurts. The campus offered many amenities .. including a first rate sports facility with many years of championship teams now gathering dust and being entered as a proud mention in the school archives. Classroom buildings that were first used as a warehouse but eventually blossomed into a state of the art learning facility. There were many warts and valid student and faculty complaints there were marginally addressed by the administration .. no better or no worse than most schools. Let¼s cut to the chase .. the implosion of LUCC .. 2100 DC students down to 680 within a year .. give or take a few hundreds here and there .. is a travesty and horrid blight on the history of chiropractic. Whether you have been a supporter of the school or an opponent of their survival .. you cannot deny the growth and sustenance of an institution that graduated thousands of chiropractors assisting their communities worldwide. Sadly .. many of the vilest opponents of LUCC graduated from the institution they so avidly blast. Many state board examiners and association presidents also graduates. Truth be told .. LUCC was huge and became a money pit for an administration that was tall with ideals and short on practicality .. forcing the pumping action for more students .. more money and creating more unrelenting debt. Those who have left .. left for practical personal reasons .. my wishes for their success and a smooth transition go with the them. Those who have remained must do so with eyes and ears wide open. With the transition of administration and the removal of a chronic ego battle .. the school has a future less structured but no less purposeful. I challenge every remaining student to insist on open communications and accountability from the administration and faculty. Years ago when I taught there .. I was asked my opinion why the alumni support was lacking. I e-mailed my opinion with a clear message .. administration accountability and availability .. student participation .. alumni liaisons before graduation .. simply .. communications. Nothing obviously changed except now the school will be more intimate and driven to survive and succeed. You that have remained .. especially those that are in the upper quarters .. I thank you for holding onto what remains of an institution that provided me a diploma .. that allowed me an opportunity to share with their students .. that doesn¼t deserve its present fate. I challenge each of you to work within the framework of the CCE while preserving the philosophy that is the essence of LUCC .. it can be incorporated within the CCE guidelines. Labels and diagnostic focus is all within the realm of learning .. your application upon graduation is your decision as it has been for everyone else. Don¼t get too hung up with semantics .. instead press harder for Spizzerentum .. if you don¼t know the meaning of the word .. then search and like the holy grail .. once found you¼ll be home. I appeal to the CCE to make every effort to make a quick unprecedented and uncharted revisit to LUCC and apply every means to create a fast track towards reaccredidation. The simple brush off of not allowing even a request for reaccredidation until 2004 is unacceptable. Treating LUCC with such disdain is unacceptable. The process of implosion with the scattering of students .. uprooting of families .. financial repercussions of each student and those that supported them is unacceptable. Be that as it may .. what has been done has been done. Let¼s be real .. the fight was between one man and one institution. Only one remains from this long standing battle. The fight is over. The legal battle may just be beginning. Avoid further upset and division in our already divisive profession. LUCC must be viable and will be .. give it a chance to blossom again.