George Bush has decided to take a stand and show the world where he draws the line — at children having healthcare. But as Steve Benen notes today, he’s working the other side too, weakening Federal regulatory efforts to protect them from harmful substances like lead in children’s toys:
“The overall philosophy is regulations are bad and they are too large a cost for industry, and the market will take care of it,” said Rick Melberth, director of regulatory policy at OMBWatch, a government watchdog group formed in 1983. “That’s been the philosophy of the Bush administration.”
Except, whadaya know, the market hasn’t been taking care of it.
[]
Alexa Engelman, a researcher at the Center for Environmental Health, said, “They knew this all along and they didn’t take action on it. It’s upsetting to me. Why are we, as a country, protecting the companies? We should be protecting the kids.”
Well, we should be, but the administration has a philosophical problem with government regulations. If that means more kids are exposed to more lead, well, it’s the market’s problem.
That is the Bush Administration ethos in a nutshell, a relentlessly unpragmatic vision that prizes short term business profit over all else. The cost of regulating lead in children’s products is absolutely minuscule compared with the long-term costs to society of dealing with the fallout (lead poisoning is the number one environmental illness in children). But just like the war in Iraq, it’s a problem that C+ Augustus plans to dump in the lap of future Presidents.
It’s nice to think that we might one day see a President who isn’t dedicated to the self-fulfilling principle that all government is bad. Totally aside from the complete amorality of the present situation, the cost of this reckless and irresponsible Republican spending is just too much for a country with a crumbling infrastructure to bear.
Carpe dium, Dems.
Related posts:
- YOYO, or The End of Compassionate Conservatism
- FDL Action: Public Option Whip Count — Day 5
- Principled Conservatism: American Conservative Union Caught Whoring Itself Out to Highest Bidder
- Actual Action At the House Rules Committee On The Health Care Bill: Stupak Amendment To Get Floor Vote
- FDL Action: Mike Ross/Blanche Lincoln Ad Garners Widespread Attention
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ein
zwei, Gsuffa?
Small typo Jane, should be weakening.
Whoo hooo! I’ll always remember my first.
Hi Jane!
“Weaking”
Now, would that be “wrecking” or “weakening?” I believe it works either way.
Good afternoon all.
It is almost as though Bush’s AIM is to bankrupt and destroy the country and the people.
PJ @ 1:32 pm – it’s dry here. (I probably will not be the third person to post a comment on this thread.) :)
TexBetsy @ 6
yeah “almost.”
We’re channeling today. That’s the other topic I posted about.
Can we please have some more, Jane?
We need to read more progressive healthcare posts on a more regular basis, and we need to support progressive healthcare bloggers, because for the most part, it’s right wingers who are visiting those blogs – not progressives.
SufiLizard @ 4
Congrats!
Here in Texas they’re building an elementary school on property that has belonged to a chemical company. Great plan, eh? Good for the children.
TexBetsy @ 6
Well, Grover Norquist said the government should be small enough to drown in a bathtub. Left unsaid is the fact that we are the government.
It escapes me why the Beltway Democrats aren’t shouting from the rooftops about poison toys, poison toothpaste and poison pet food. It’s all a direct result of BushCheneyCo’s belief in market forces — just like mine safety and bridge repair.
Won’t a PrezCandi please tie this all together?
TeddySanFran @ 13
Because they’re lacking in spine and courage?
“If that means more kids are exposed to more lead, well, it’s the market’s problem.”
But, but, doesn’t the market understand that killing the customers is bad for business?
As a parent, this really makes me ill. My child’s life is subject to “market forces?”
“C Augustus” !!!
Bravo Jane! What a moniker!
OT..Carpe dium..carpe diem? Probably a TexBetsy question.
JF @ 16
Be glad you don’t have an elementary school child in a Leander TX school.
Efforts to Crack Down on Lead Paint Thwarted by China, Bush Administration
via CommonDreams.org by CommonDreams.org on Aug 21, 2007
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration and China have both undermined efforts to tighten rules designed to ensure that lead paint isn’t used in toys, bibs, jewelry and other children’s products. Both have fought efforts to better police imported toys from China. Now both are under increased scrutiny following last week’s massive toy recall by Mattel Inc., the […]
mc @ 15
Au contraire. Think of all the money to be made in future health care, nursing homes, new drug therapies for afflicted individuals, due to late intervention.
Creating problems is the surest way of having problems to solve (for a profit, of course).
We’ve been having a lively discussion about SCHIP over at my place, too; what’s funny is that the conservatives’ only argument is that “social*zed medicine” would be bad because, well, it has something to do with “social*sm” and we all know that’s bad just … cuz.
Edited and released by Mods
montag @ 21
cynical, eh?
Ooops I posted on the wrong thread. Sorry. Well, if you WERE talking about SCHIP and not lead, that would have been relevant but never mind.
I will now slink off to my corner.
As lead paint is not nearly as prevalent as it was, say 30 years ago, it would still go a long ways towards explaining Bush’s personality problems as a child.
Of course, his momma dropping him on his head repeatedly would too.
TexBetsy @ 22
Moi?
How about pragmatic realism, instead? (!)
It’s just stunning.
When it comes to children, our most sacred resource for the future, that the government would discard regulations to protect them in the name of profit.
nor can the market take care of it.
corporations are required to make decisions on behalf of their investors, NOT on behalf of society
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE TRADE
free trade devolves into robber baron economics, big bussiness buys small bussiness, lateral and verticle monopolies and the economy collapses
this is the meme, this is what we have to do, DISABUSE these idiots WHENEVER they claim “the market will take care of itself”
there is no such animal as an unregulated market, it’s corporate propaganda hypnotising people into voting against themselves and their children
Steve-AR @ 18
Carpe Diem.
OT-Make up your mind, Freddy…
http://www.nysun.com/article/60925
carpe dium? sieze the day? If that is correct Jane, you have to be kidding! the dems seizing anything except their you kniw whats and playing with them while rome burns! They are so full of shit they can no longer breathe!
Whats this I hear- leahey is gonna wait till labor day now? Give me a break!
Just throw in the towel folks- the dems are blowingit. BIG TIME!
How about a peep re SCHIP! How about a comment or two re levins’ stupidity!
Nah- what the hell for. Too Late!
either we all better head for the exits or we had better learn how to say- Ya suh! Ya suh!
Bunnypants has had it in for these programs since he was the Imperial Governor of Texas.
Alert: shameles blogwhoring alert from 2003, sorry about that, but hey it talks about the late great Molly Ivins too.
jim oconnor @ 17
Great one, Jane! ROFLMAO!
Would that make Cheney Brutus?
Absolutely unconscionable…
Oh, and BTW all government is bad unless it can make war and spy on you. Right?
do-si-do @ 32
Et Tu?
Peterr @ 28
Carpe Dum Dum
Why does George Bush Hate other peoples children?
Why does George Bush Hate coal miners?
Why does George Bush Hate US soldiers?
Why does George Bush Hate the environment?
Why does George Bush Hate public education?
Why does George Bush Hate the US Constitution?
Why does George Bush Hate maintaining the nation’s infrastructure?
George Bush is a bitter old hater.
GOP: “Lead paint is good for children! It’s a family values thing.”
“George Bush has decided to take a stand and show the world where he draws the line — at children having healthcare.”
Shorter Junya: “No Reg is a Good Reg. Eat Lead Teletubbies!”
Paint chips with Catsup it’s a sort-of low-carb kids snackfood for poor kids, just ask the GOP/FDA.
jim oconnor @ 17
Charles Pierce was the first one I saw designate him as Emperor C-plus Augustus.
do-si-do @ 36
That would be me! If it isn’t in my “Latin for the Illiterati” book, then I am hopeless.
montag @ 25
Montag, I fully agree with your realism/cynicism. I feel the same way about Iraq. Break it so we can fix it.
Plus, you can’t rush a masterpiece!
why do they put lead in paint?
What’s a little lead in kids’ toys and anti-freeze in toothpaste? There is MONEY to be made here, and it just doesn’t matter. After all, the Imperial President doesn’t use such things, so they don’t matter, do they?
We don’t have kids, but it’s my job to make sure that other people’s kids (like the adorable Peanut,) have an environment that’s safe and healthy. If the Democrats don’t think it’s their job, we all need to hold their feet to the fire until they do so.
-S
Now you have thrown my switch. Kids and lead based paint. Why is this stuff still on the market? If there is an after life and I happen to end up in the same place as George W. Bush, I will chase him across eternity
Ed*ard Teller @ 44
so when our kids eat it, we can say “c’mon kids, get the lead out!”
Ed*ard Teller @ 45
It’s a Repug thing. They use paint to hide the lead.
there continues to be the suggestion from Pelosi, Dodd and some commenters here that IMPEACHMENT would be bad for the Democrats at the polls in ‘08.
so, Why do i think exactly the opposite?
why do i see the voters (”29%”) more disgusted with this lawless, ruthless, venal regime than not?
why do i believe that IMPEACHMENT would BRING votes to the Democrats?
Why doesn’t IMPEACHMENT sound like LEADERSHIP in the face of this corrupt, crony-robber-baron subversion of OUR government?
first we impeach Abu Gonzo;
then cheney AND shrubya.
hence: PELOSI ‘07
please tell where i am wrong?
please?
Ed*ard Teller @ 44
In the US at least, it is now banned. They used to do it to make the paint last longer and adhere better.
Someone figured out that killing your customers, even when done over long periods of time, is bad for business.
Now if someone would just tell George.
Heh, CIA IG report; Tenet never had comprehensive plan for dealing with AQ or OBL! Heckuva job, Georgie! Certainly merits a medal of freedom…!!!
Yeah, I think that Charles Pierce did come up with that moniker,he used to use it all the time when he guest-wrote for Eric Alterman. C Augustus indeed.
Ed*ard Teller @ 45
From Wiki
Lead paint is paint containing lead, a heavy metal, that is used as pigment, with Lead(II) chromate (PbCrO4, “chrome yellow”) and lead(II) carbonate(PbCO3, “white lead”) being the most common. Lead is also added to paint to speed drying, increase durability, retain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture which causes corrosion. Paint with significant lead content is still used in industry and by the military. For example, leaded paint is sometimes used to paint roadways and parking lot lines.
Lead in paint
How cruel!!
dakine01 @ 41
From what I saw of his grades, a C-plus average is a bit generous.
From what I’ve seen of his performance to date, he didn’t learn a goddamned thing, no matter what his grades at Yale were….
yellowdog jim @ 50
Sounds so right to me.
Ed*ard Teller @ 44
Lead is used as pigment, with Lead(II) chromate (PbCrO4, “chrome yellow”) and lead(II) carbonate(PbCO3, “white lead”) being the most common. Lead is also added to paint to speed drying, increase durability, retain a fresh appearance, and resist moisture which causes corrosion. Paint with significant lead content is still used in industry and by the military. For example, leaded paint is sometimes used to paint roadways and parking lot lines. (from wikipedia)
I have no doubt that there are actual “market fundamentalists” in the conservative movement, but I think most members of the administration believe it about as much as they believe in the religious fundamentalism they pander to in public.
The two are very similar — in both cases they pretend to have an ideological commitment that lets them ignore all evidence to the contrary, and they probably know full well that what they’re espousing won’t work (market forces produce results, but not the ones the people need), but it provides an explanation for the base of why their looting is a good thing.
CTuttle @ 52
we brought this up one story down and I am at odds with the report and the assesment that the cia was inadaquate because of tenet
we know as a fact president bush was warned with presice intel informing him of the impending attack, he knew where, when, new york and washington, who, bin laden, what targets,financcial and political structures, how, highjacking planes, why, bases on holy ground, the weapons, commercial airliners as missiles
tenet made it a point to go out of his way, informing the president, rumsfeld, rice, “everyone’s hair was on fire” and they were certain something big was going to happen
an almost identical pdb was given to clinton, who created a template that averted the attack
it was this president that failed, he was warned, tenet warned him, the entire cia warned him and the president knew what worked in the past to prevent the attack
instead he took vacation
I’m sorry, this is a shiney object diverting the fault from the administration on to bush
not gonna work
Slothrop @ 38
That was one of Bushes first exec actions. He removed the Clinton nominee for the lead advisory board (who was a world expert on Lead and children) and replaced him with a Tulsa pediatrician who made a living testifying in court for the lead industry. This guy’s “line” was the usual Republican bullshit. “There is still scientific doubt that lead causes neurological harm in children.”
CTuttle @ 52
Tenet deserved the Meatloaf of Freedom award.
Executive summary link to CIA report
I hope you all catch Stewart and John Oliver’s bit on Trade with China. Oliver, senior plaything analyst, was great.
So what are Chinese children doing while American kids are lazing about playing with their toys that should be kept in their original packaging so that they can be sold for ten times their original value on eBay?
They are busying working on decorating American toys with lead based paint!
something like that….
N=1, I had a meeting today with the marketing representative of a Tenet Hospital in NC and emailed her a link to your website. She was unaware of the Medicare policy changes in regard to hospital errors that result in infections & ulcers.
Ed*ard Teller @ 44
It was a cheap, durable coating before the advent of synthetic organic plasticizers.
That’s part of its problem today–it lasts and lasts and lasts.
Those elected officials who fail to do their constitutional duty are complicit with this vicious, vicious dictatorship.
Up from the last thread. Hillary has claimed in KC before the troops that the surge is ‘making progress’, at least in Anbar. She is going to kill us with her eternal triangulating. Her modus: move to public opinion where she thinks it is. Don’t try to move it where she thinks it ought to be. Ticket for disaster when your party seems incapable of controlling the media or the public agenda. You’d think she learned something from her residence in the White House.
The market takes care of things in some, perhaps many situations. There are those cases, though, where every company knows what *ought* to be done, but doesn’t want to do it alone.
My memory is slipping, what with moving and all, but I’ve got this story in my head of a tech-type company all but begging for some regulation, so that there’d be (a) consistency in the market, (b) certainty of what is and isn’t legal, and (c) better service/safety/etc. for the customers. His company wouldn’t make the change on its own (it would put them at too much of a disadvantage relative to everyone else), but desperately wanted the whole industry to do it — and the best mechanism for that is government regulation.
Does this jog anyone else’s memory?
Steve-AR @ 60
Don’t these people realize that their own children and grandchildren will have to live in the world they are creating? Or do they believe that only us peasants will have to deal with these problems? I think a lot about no clean air, no clean water, no safe food – then what?
perris @ 28
The links between lead poisoning and criminality/violence have been well established recently. Maybe the free market they’re referring to above are the privatized prisons which contribute so generously to GOP campaign coffers.
Mad Dogs @ 48
Slothrop @ 38
“Let them eat paint!”
Ed*ard Teller @ 45
It obviously did not hurt Dubya, so they kept using it!
Diane @ 64
The CMS website and the Medicare.gov websites don’t have anything about it yet. It must have been released to the t=press separately. It should be out there by the end of the week, according to the report from Robert Pear at the NY Times.
Too bad more people didn’t read “Shrub”, Molly Ivins & Lou Dubose before they voted for a loser they thought was on their side.
Too bad more people didn’t see the video of bush joking about not finding wmds before voting for him again.
Carpe diem. Do you really expect the democrats to carpe diem? No, they are biding their time till they can carpe the big bucks away from the republicans. They don’t care about anyone’s diem any more than the republicans. They are gambling away the diem of all the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan so they can carpe the lobbyists when they have their own big surge in the next election. If the democratic leadership carped any diem, bush, cheney and gonzales would already have been impeached and imprisoned. The only diem the vast majority of democrats and all republicans want to carpe is the $per diem$ they can carpe from lobbyists and earmarks. They couldn’t carpe less about doing the right thing for the country. They’ve proved that at each test since the election. We’ve have got to continue to carpe their seats in Congress until we get the right people there. Before C Augustus reigns down on us.
Bush thinks more sick kids means less kids he has to educate, so therefore they won’t get left behind.
Twain @ 68
I think they either believe Armageddon/Rapture will have occurred and/or they can buy the way out for their kiddies. Ugh.
Peterr @ 68
the market can only take care of itself where there are regulations in place to have a playing field in the first place
otherwise there is anarchy, no bussines would allow competition, they would either burn the other bussiness down, buy them out or undersell them so they go out of bussess
there must be regulation…from there bussiness can take care of itself, so long as the rules are in place that makes it financailly practical to take society’s needs into consideration
From the Gavel: KKKarl’s ASSets
Steve-AR @ 18
Should be carpe diem.
Ed*ard Teller @ 44
White Lead oxide is used as a colorant to a medium like linseed oil, another white colorant is titanium oxide (a more brilliant white but considerably more expensive). Other colorants are added to basic white paint to create the large spectrum available. White lead was the least expensive way to make basic paint. There is also Red lead, used at one time for marine paints which inhibited algal growth as well as barnicle attaching to hulls of boats but is no longer available generally, being highly toxic. Red lead’s replacement is a very soft paint that sloughs away anything attaching to the hull, and is incredibly expensive (the price of non-toxicity).
Oklahoma kiddo @ 47
Good Kiddo, I very much doubt you and George will end up in the same place…….but I DO like that image!
It’s all a matter of priorities. War and profits, or national health. And if we’re too stupid to understand that. So be it.
ironranger @ 76
Democrats Motto (should be):
CARPE SCROTUM!
JF @ 16
Uh huh. Not to mention that market forces can hardly work when the market/consumers don’t know there are toxic materials in the stuff they buy because there are no damn regulators!!!
Hillary and McCain at the VFW Convention yesterday, from the KC Star (the convention is here). Obama spoke today, and Bush comes to town to screw up traffic and speak tomorrow.
A taste of the Star’s coverage of Clinton:
I was more impressed with the quotes from listeners at the end of the second page, especially these:
[emphasis added]
Go Marjorie! I’m guessing she’s had enough.
Lead in paint and on children’s toys is dealt with in this no nonsense article today in the NY Times.
The Pernicious Allure of Lead
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08…..wanted=all
And with his wrecking health coverage for middle class kids, we see he doesn’t stop at trashing the constitution. He trashes all who are not part of his ruling class.
And that includes middle class kids, now.
As a parent of 2 toddlers, I believe protecting them from dangerous elements is a matter of National Security. Period. I do not care if those dangerous elements are a jihadist or a corporatist. Here we have a perfect example of Republicans failing in the National Security area once again.
Update on Hillary and her cash in visit to Arkansas yesterday..
In case you’re counting
One very telling comment from that blog post
I grew up in the neighborhood mentioned.. This is a very normal description of large Dem social functions in LR. All african american valet service for social events at home.. Hockersmith is Hillarys interior designer, btw.
Twain @ 68
Considering only your own short-term advantage is a general characteristic of modern right-wing radicals. That, and a denial of the existence of problems that can only be solved by regulation. I don’t pretend to understand it.
I can remember TV ads about the dangers of poisoning from lead based paint back when *I* was a kid.
Backwards through history, folks. That’s the direction we’re going in.
And since regress is the opposite of progress, I hereby christen boosh and all of his ilk as The Regressive Movement.
Redshift @ 90
If you understand greed, you do understand it, after all.
Why does the Republican party hate America’s children?
h/t to AZ Matt, way back upthread, but Bush is outa here…it’s all the Republicans who should be manacled to these questions.
Ah but I beg to differ just a bit.
It’s nice to think that we might one day see a President who isn’t dedicated to the self-fulfilling principle that all government is bad.
Junyah et al don’t believe all gov’t is bad necessarily. Some gov’t is good. For example how bout all those gov’t no bid contracts awarded to his and Cheney’s bidness buddies at the expense of the American taxpayer. Gov’t is great when it’s for things like bailing out your brother’s failed savings and loan and ripping off the middle class taxpayer’s for the benefit of your corporate cronies.
emal @ 94
I don’t think these views are mutually exclusive. The link between them is privatization.
perris @ 78
I think this administration has pretty clearly demonstrated that what they believe is not “no regulation,” but “regulation for sale to the highest bidder,” aka crony capitalism. It’s the worst of both worlds; government puts its finger on the scale to aid those who least need it, and distorts the level playing field making it harder for the market to do the things it actually does do well.
yellowdog jim @ 85
“If you’ve got ‘em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.”
I don’t think most staunch republicans connect the dots. They think the market will correct (toxic toys, food, etc.) BEFORE it harms their families. They don’t seem to believe that the market might not correct until after it kills or permanently damages one of their kids, if ever.
Don’t republicans teach their kids the look before you leap mantra?
Deregulation has been around long before Reagan but he popularized it. Ronald Reagan had his PR people hammer at the public that government is bad, bad, bad and that corporations were good, good, good. Deregulation (lawlessness) will be corrected by market forces. The problem with the American economy was regulation, tying the hands of businesses. Forcing them to perform badly. Well, maybe they perform badly because they have a flawed business objective.
Now where did this concept come from? Another off-the-wall idea with no data to back its effects, weaknesses, and viability thrown before the country as “smart economics”. If you can’t prove it on paper, arguing all the pros and cons, it shouldn’t go out as public policy. Another brilliant Think Tank idea Reagan adopted. We’ve been stuck with this madness ever since.
This follows AEI’s architecture of the Iraq War. And what excuse did Wolfowitz give, “We had a flawed premise”. Huh! You find that out when you vet your premise in honest debate and critical thinking.
I have little patience left to deal with shallow brained clowns architecting political, foreign, economic policies.
oddmommy @ 92
Heh, Repressive, too…!!!
This Administration does anything to avoid regulation of an industry. From Bush on down they are corporate whores, whose entire philosophy to “governing” is “if it’s good for industry its good for America.”
They call golf courses “wetlands” because they have ponds. They call pollution permits the “Clear Skies Initiative.” They say the jury is “still out” on global climate change because petroleum industry scientists say more research needs to be done. And the regulators that are appointed are shills from the very same industry they’re supposed to regulate!
Of course, they say that the amount of lead in paint is so miniscule that it doesn’t need to be regulated, hence the “market” will take care of it.
Ahhh, I’m headed for a rant so I’ll just leave it at that.
If lead can harm children, and children are U.S. citizens; weakening Federal regulatory efforts to protect children from harmful substances like lead is no different than aiding and abetting an enemy threatening the lives of citizens.
Which presidential candidate cares most about our most important product, children?
these days, I find that all roads lead to a rant.
Knut Wicksell @ 67
Clinton is showing a total absence of leadership. This is not presidential material. Sad.
Go Edwards.
Agencies such as the FDA, the CDC, USDA and Consumer Product Safety Commission are there to balance the interests of producers and manufacturers with protection of the public safety. When George Bush actively undermines and dismantles those protections, he is not securing Americans from real and present dangers.
Americans have the authority to hold elected officials accountable for responsibly administering the agencies that government directs to protect the safety of the food supply, the safety of manufactured goods, and the safety of workers. The nation’s public health is also to be assured via safe potable water supplies, adequate sanitation systems, and the assurance of preventive mechanisms to prevent and to contain outbreaks of communicable diseases.
No one has the right, the power or the authority to do willful and intentional damage to the function, efficacy and efficiency of those agencies. Not Congress, not the courts and not the President or the Vice President. Not a political party. Not a group of people, not the military and not the citizenry.
No one.
Quality Control oversight of products while being manufactured went the way of Customer Service. The difference is you have a better chance of no QC killing you.
It is that old Capitalistic concept – put all competitors out of business, degrade your product because consumers have no one else to buy from, and, take the money and run.
LS @ 102
Not if you are a laissez-faire capitalist. Your corporation is a person who cannot be questioned nor go to jail.
oddmommy @ 104
Heh, well put.
The concept is, in the GOP view, that some kids are at birth, qualitatively better than other children.
I dunno about y’all but first I vowed to avoid buying anything made in China (as hard as that is apparently getting) and now I’m really thinking for my own good I need to be buying less and less and less (not that I’m a big shopper anyway).
I am only one member of society: it occurs to me that many others are feeling this way too. This could have a market effect.
Overall though we have already poisoned ourselves beyond belief. EVERYTHING has carcinogenic ingredients these days. I know because to keep my health on an even keel I have to avoid 95% of this crap. It’s not easy.
And it is evil to allow children to be exposed to things that make them sick while forcing their families to pay and pay and pay for care. This is a conflict of interest.
More despicable Republican behavior – but this one might spend a little time behind bars:
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/60365/
PeanutButter @109
I just headed to my stash of Dutch dark chocolate for that very reason.
Response to #104
Since Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate I know of that is advocating withdrawal from the WTO; that’s your answer;)
This is a conflict between the well being of our children and all other citizens and the moral bankruptcy of the Bush administration.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 111
and in a remarkable coincidence, intrinsic quality of children is strongly correlated with family income and party membership.
it’s amazing how those things just work out right.
As a Latin teacher I say:
cave asinum, frutex delenda est.
Metaphorically speaking, of course. A professor can only fantasize.
edteller at 44 says-”why do they put lead in paint?”
along with the other reasons listed, it makes paint dry quicker……changes the consistency…….also ’sprays’ better, etc……and adherence, as peterr mentioned.
also a cheap ingredient…….
John Johnson @ 115
That sounds good. I dislike the WTO.
fdl reader @ 111
Yep. I hate buying new things unless absolutely necessary. I try to buy things as locally as possible. I’ve been starting to grow more edibles for myself, and look for ways to live more simply.
I recently caught on cspan in the middle of the night a woman speaking to Young Republicans. She was Kellyann Conway, pres of The Polling Co. She was giving her buckup republican spiel when she sorta slipped saying she was “happy more people don’t vote”…then immediately said, “Well, I’ll just say, that’s their perogative”.
They don’t believe every american has a right to vote.
The only way we’ll see a President who isn’t dedicated to the self-fulfilling principle that all government is bad is if there are no more Republic Presidents for a while. The current set of Republics are determined to pretend to be Reagan. They see anti-government as proof of their Reagan-ness, regardless of the effect on the nation.
LS @ 113
What EIS? We don’t need no stinking EIS!!! Heh, F*ck the fish, can’t have our profits going up in smoke…!!! 8-(
lee5 @ 117
Yes… isn’t it.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 111
That’s certainly how the Bush family sees itself.
CTuttle @ 123
One thing that does seem to be happening is that judges are putting their feet down.
While I have no children, may I humbly suggest folks consider buying toys from someone other than Mattel and other big name companies?
I can recommend Joy’s Waldorf Dolls, HearthSong, Chinaberry and Magic Cabin.
Joy’s dolls are made here in the US, and the other 3 companies are very selective about the merchandise they offer.
LS @ 127
that’s when we get a judge that wasn’t appointed by this administration, there will be plenty of these cases dropped by those appointees
oddmommy @ 92
Bush’s apparent aim is to return the U.S. to the harrowing conditions described by Upton Sinclair in his 1906 novel “The Jungle”.
Yeah, bring it on. Lead paint for babies. Hot dogs containing rats, rat feces and parts of humans.
lee5 @ 116
And, is another reason why certain children shouldn’t be subjected to those clearly deficient public schools, and why, when certain parents don’t put their children in public schools, they feel entitled to have the government subsidize their children’s education at the private school of their choice, via vouchers.
Jonathan @ 130
We’re already there. If you haven’t done so, read “Fast Food Nation.”
The concept of Free Markets is a Republican ruse. What happened to the Airlines after 9ll? They got a big fat bailout from Dubya. How does war profiteering jibe with Free Markets? What about private prisons? They operate on public funding same as the war machine. Its corporate welfare for the rich and free markets for the rest of us.
LS @ 103
Well … since bush has decided not to honour his oath of office to protect the constitution in favour of his “job to protect the American people” it would be nice if he could at *least* do that competently and protect the American children. Damn right.
‘k, now I’m getting really mad again.
peanutbutter @ 120
I just don’t buy products for export to the American market from China. Never have. I’ve protested the downfall of the American apparel industry since the eighties. So, I check very carefully and purchase far less. I’d rather have less and feel good about what I have than buy a bad knock-off.
Correction – I do have something from China I searched out deliberately. It is a purple clay tea pot that is wonderful for making green tea and I do love China black tea. Also, they used to produce the finest silk in the world. Now those farms have been converted into cabbage farms because it is easier to grow cabbage than something as labor intensive as silk worms. Now silk is of poor quality. Another fine endeavor gone.
Jonathan @ 130
Perhaps by accident because there’s no way Bush ever read that novel.
Brisingamen @ 128
When I was a kid, we’d make our toys! We would hike 15 miles up the mountain in the snow and freezing rain, chop down the tallest tree with a butter knife, and carve it up into lincoln logs and little blocks! And we liked it!
Kids today just go to the store and buy their toys…sheesh.
Badwater @ 135
Nor many others, for that matter.
“Well…” Lahoma advises me. “Obviously we need to bring cuddly Grandma Babs and First GOP Lady, Laura Bush into this discussion” about ‘people quality’.
Badwater @ 136
Perhaps by accident because there’s no way Bush ever read that novel.
It was Turdblossom’s fault. When he found a copy of “The Jungle”, he assumed it was his diary.
right on cue for jane’s post, think progress;
Weakening restrictions on lead, a brain poison. What next, mercury, arsenic?
One of these days Repubs are going to figure out that their own families are exposed to these egregiously hideous results of self-serving political decisions. Then we might see a pushback.
One of my many sisters had a husband unemployed for so long they lost their health insurance. Their 3 dogs died in a single week from tainted imported food. I said, and how can it be that you are still supporting the Republican party? Her response, that they are the more “MORAL” party.
We have got to figure out some kind of pushback for people like her. It must include RESPECTING the religious beliefs of people like her and not ridiculing them. But stack up what the Repubs offer versus us. Stem cells versus actual deaths of 18 yr olds in Iraq. Free market = all your pets die from contaminated food. A nod to religion while doing everything to undermine true spiritual and humane values. /rant. For now.
Badwater @ 136
Perhaps by accident because there’s no way Bush ever read that novel.
Or any novel, ever. Moving pictures. Shrub needs moving pictures and they need to get to the point! He’s a busy man.
hackworth @ 133
And the current mortgage situation – who do you think will be rescued, the homeowners or the hedge funds?
egregious @ 142
Arsenic is great!
Went with a friend to Macy’s in NYC just before Christmas 3 years ago.
Bet him that as we walked through the store, he could not find one thing made in the U.S.
I won the bet.
egregious @ 142
Pretending to be religious has worked well for the Bush Republics. Still, they are just pretending so one day their supporters may catch on to that.
“Weakening restrictions on lead, a brain poison. What next, mercury, arsenic?”
You know they tried that already, right?
MayDaze @ 144
Biggest welfare recipients – corporations. Oh, and congressmen who get bills passed by big time corporations.
SufiLizard @ 4
I love your name. How did it come into creation? If you don’t mind sharing.
oddmommy @ 105
C Agustus, indeed.
FunnyD
Rachel Maddow was superb on Washington Journal this morning…
Here’s a stream…
http://www.c-span.org/homepage…..iveDays=30
egregious @ 141
Hmm. Respecting their faith and their values hasn’t exactly encouraged them to do the same toward others. If anything, it has actually encouraged them to hammer the shit out of anyone that doesn’t agree with them–on everything–including voting as they do.
Maybe it is time for some intensive ridicule…. Lord knows there’s enough material to work with.
mc @ 137
mc, you had me goin’ right up to “butter knife.”
Carlyle Group is caught up in the Mortgage implosion:
http://money.cnn.com/news/news…..RTUNE5.htm
I am mad as hell that this asshole would try to kill more children so his friends can make money.
what the hell is going on in our world?
mc @ 148
What’s next is Barbara Bush, the Preznit’s mother, saying “And so many of the people, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so these cheap toys are working very well for them.”
UHMMM, MODS?
I see a scheduling conflict coming.
Have to wonder how well George W. Bush would perform on a test based upon his reading of “My Pet Goat”.
TexBetsy @ 19
Wow. just wow.
on a brighter note – Cassie’s really dressed up her website since I last looked!
QuakerGirl @ 135
You know, I’m not sure the solution is to stop buying Chinese products – these manufacturers in China are contracted by American companies who have a responsibility to exercise some quality control on the import end. These toxic products (that we know about) are coming from China, but who knows what else is being manufactured overseas (or in the US for that matter) that is not being monitored adequately for quality. If the importers actually insisted on quality and verified it, the Chinese manufacturers would be way less likely to cut corners – because they would lose sales/customers as a consequence.
LS @ 155
Good thing Neil Bush has banking experience for the 1980’s S&L scandals.
Bush said to the Iranian people, “You can do better than this current government”.
So can we, so can we!!!
hackworth @ 133
Bingo! And now Paulson and Bernake are saving the lying investment banking scumbags on Wall Street. Greenspan knew EXACTLY how to create that next great ponzi scheme of Hedge Funds and Derivatives. The US taxpayer shmucks are picking up the tab…..again. So generous of the Bush gangstas rewriting the Glass-Steagall Act. In the wake of the 1929 stock-market crash, Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act, which erected what became known as the “Chinese wall” between commercial banking and investment banking. ..In the end, Weill would win—he outlasted Glass-Steagall, and tore down the wall between commercial and investment banking. Thanks in large part to Weill’s influence, Glass-Steagall was repealed in 1999. The change allowed commercial and investment banks to merge and sanctioned the creation of one-stop financial supermarkets such as Weill’s Citigroup, which is a brokerage, a bank, and an insurance company all in one.
http://www.slate.com/id/2074372/
They’re all gonna walk and the taxpayeing serfs are handed the bill.
My opinion about made in china crapola is stop buying it. Americans stop buying that crap and corporate profits are down the drain. Only thing they understand is when consumers stop spending.
The John Edwards press release on this SCHIP fiasco really pointed something out to me – All the children who are not now on SCHIP and have to now wait a year and are diagnosed with leukemia or cancer – well, it’s a death sentence for them. Chemotherapy is not available via the emergency room.
My anger towards this administration compounds hourly.
A hungry child cannot learn.
An abused child cannot learn.
An ill child cannot learn.
What we all learn from this president’s example is how much more loudly actions speak than words.
His words are hollow.
His actions are like bricks, weighing us down.
Citizen Jane @118
From Cassel’s Latin Dictionnary:
Very funny
So what is the MSM reporting today?
Michelle Obama’s alleged swipe at Hillary
in reference to family values, or lack thereof.
Gag me with a spoon.
If that means more kids are exposed to more lead, well, it’s the market’s problem.
Except if you try to sue, in which case the ‘market’ suddenly becomes unacceptable and Rethug ‘tort reform’ tilts the field even more against the consumer.
The question American citizens should be asking themselves before next years November elections is simple:
How many more U.S. citizens, men, women and children, are going to die because of bad Republican policies???
Remember Dick Cheney asking in 1994 how many U.S. soldier’s lives would it have been worth to remove Saddam Hussein from power in the first Gulf War?
Well, now we know, because of the second Gulf War that Dick Cheney had a major hand in beginning behind a wall of lies.
Close to 4,000 U.S. soldiers dead, with tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers injured or maimed for life.
So, the simple question voters should be asking themselves in the next election is how many more lives of U.S. citizens (men, women or children, whether in another war, a hurricane, a bridge collapse, a mining disaster, or because children were denied health insurance coverage) are worth it if they vote for any Republican, whether for president, the senate, the house of representatives, or for local dog-catcher???
I know I’ll only vote for a candidate from the Democratic Party, even if I have to hold my nose in voting for any of the DLC-selected or affiliated Democratic candidates, although I’d much prefer voting for a progressive, liberal Democrat selected and affiliated with the DNC.
Dennis K is the only sane choice — but he will never make it. Short, looks funny, bad hair.
The market failed. So what’s new?
But who else is complicit: “The FDA acknowledges that they do not have the resources to monitor all of the imports into the US … “
It’s not a surprise that Chinese products might be suspect, given “So far in 2007, 60 percent of the recalls we have conducted are of products made in China. So far in 2007, we have done 24 recalls of toys; all of those products have been made in China.”
Since some effort is succeeding, they can’t all be ‘loyal Bushies’.
Maybe if we didn’t spend so much on war, there’d be enough resources for the social good.
War Scorecard
Lyndon Johnson, “war on poverty” – still fighting it, US average income dropping over past five years, credit crisis, little or no citizen savings, mortgage and derivatives markets tanking, poverty is winning.
Nixon, war on drugs – bigger, better and more expensive than ever. Projected $1.2 billion to Mexico, including military firearms, Blackhawk helicopters (only used in Iraq on Sundays?) Plan Columbia proceeds apace, crop spraying more than ever — unfortuantely the farmers on the ground claim 12% success on coca but 88% damage to food crops. More bribes for police and government, lower street prices and better quality — more bang for your buck. US #1 for prison population, 80% of whom in the last decade are low-level users.
Bush, war on terror – implemented al-Qaeda as a growth industry. No oversight on
mercenariescontractors. Where’sWally?bin Laden?Lost the respect of the world but now we can bomb, bomb, bomb Iran and no one will think the worse of us.
War on guns – breaking even on the citizen front. Arming the Iraqi military and police. OK! Except, oops, what happened to those 110,000 rifles and 80,000 handguns? Oh, some of those men are actually militia members and occasionally shooting at coalition troops? Who knew?! Collateral damage on the home front: wrongful shootings by air marshalls, SWAT teams, and ordinary police. And even when they get it right, they end up in the slammer while drug lords go free.
Whoever said “war is the health of the state” ???
Please, someone check out Or. congressman Greg Walden’s latest taxpayer funded propaganda sheet. I can’t make sense out of it. He says the SCHIP bill takes $190 billion from Medicare, to fund the SCHIP program! If that’s true, how the hell can we support that?!?
Jonathan @ 130
“It was the best of times …” — something Milton Friedman would’ve said
Economically they adore the Roaring 20s because business could do whatever it wanted with no government interference — much like a mugger with no cops around.
Well, the Crash showed the flaw in that. Today’s Credit Crisis is pretty similar at it’s roots.
egregious @ 142
Good rant.
But, see I think the problem is education. What she meant to say was that the Republican party is the MORON party. Minor spelling error…all fixed.