To Neal, the investment in T-UP, Inc. was not about money. In fact, he only drew a salary long enough to recoup the start-up money he provided. His real purpose was the hope of doing something good.

Neal had spent most of his business life working on highly sensitive military technologies. While Neal was proud of the work he had done for his country, the notion of devoting his time and attention to something that would help save rather than perhaps destroy lives appealed to him.

Despite Neal's good intentions, this proved to be a fateful decision. It would open the door for my family to fall victim to a perverse combination of callous political opportunism, bureaucratic over-reaching, and media sensationalism.

What Neal did not understand when he agreed to help Hoffman was that the more successful the treatment was, the more likely it was that he would eventually come under attack. Indeed, what was happening to Neal was not unique. Rather, it was consistent with a pattern of behavior that can be documented over at least five decades. It is a pattern characterized by intimidation, suppression, and the exercise of raw bureaucratic power. Ultimately, it is a pattern that runs roughshod over the principles so basic to American democracy.