Current furor over toys ‘fits’ left’s goals
I am not really “big” on conspiracy theories, but it is hard to ignore the fact that the current paranoia about toys “fits” with other liberal goals (“China syndrome/Slipping confidence in the export colossus,” Aug. 16).
What goals? Big government controlling more and more of our lives. Guess what? Most “normal” people over the age of 55 or so played with toys containing small-parts and covered with lead paint. I am not aware of any greater incidence of “problems” associated with those horrible toys than are experienced now with the sterilized environment the left has diligently attempted to create.
We are told we must raise kids in plastic bubbles; it would be terrible if any of the little darlings should experience a scrape, cut or bruise.
Jim Sullivan, Thornton
Okay, let your family eat lead toys. Did you have lead in your bibs?
Can`t have my money any more.
Liberal agenda, what a stretch there.
Posted by Sharon B. on August 28, 2007 12:26 AMHey, excuse me, "Jim", but I thought you right-wingers hated that bastion of communism, The People's Republic Of China. How come I see so many of you knuckleheads now SUPPORTING this empire of slave labor?
You incredible hypocrite.
I know from the tone of your letter that you would be one of the first to run screaming to Mike Rosen, et al, if any of the teachers in your kid's schools were to breathe a WORD of something "liberal".
"Liberal goals". What are those, pray tell? The desire to not have your kid's toys fillled with POISON?!?!?
WTF is wrong with you people?
Seriously.
Either Jim is childless & intends to stay that way, or doesn't realize the serious complications to children exposed to lead.
Here are just a few:
After being ingested, lead enters the bloodstream and is absorbed and stored in many tissues and organs in the body, including the liver, kidneys, brain, teeth and bones.
High levels of lead can cause serious health problems in your children. Lead poisoning can affect almost every organ system of the body, including:
brain and central nervous system, causing:
lower IQs
headaches
memory problems
reduced coordination
learning disabilities
irritability
hyperactivity
increased sleeping
decreased activity and fatigue
hearing loss
vomiting
slow reflexes
muscle weakness, affecting mainly the upper extremities
seizures, coma, hypertension in high levels
gastrointestinal system, causing:
constipation
diarrhea
abdominal pain
vomiting
poor appetite
weight loss
blood system, causing anemia or low blood counts
kidney problems
reproductive system, causing:
miscarriages
premature birth
low birth weight
I am not suggesting that children be bubble-wrapped - in point of fact, some articles recently have suggested that the US germ phobia and using all those products that kill "99% of germs" is actually a problem in that children aren't developing antibodies to help keep them healthy. There is a major difference between exposing them to germs which might cause colds and exposing them to lead (unless of course it is part of a great right wing conspiracy to help with the dumbing down of the middle & lower classes - see how STUPID that sounds).
Posted by Mary on August 28, 2007 04:38 AMok sharon shane mary did you forget who gave chian the title of 'most favored nation'?
I will give you a clue it was your icon of all wonderful things for us, billy c.
kids today have no idea of what it was like being a kid in our days. we had real field days at school where someone , gasp, won a blue ribbon for being first and the fifth person got a pat on the back and told nice try.
we could play dodge ball, RUN on the play ground, we had all sorts of swings and jungle jims to climb on. we stayed out till our parents called us in when it was dark.
today kids are bussed to school and when they do get to have some free time outside it is very so dull as the schools dont want a john edwards to come in and sue them becasue little suzie fell and scraped her knee. then to home where video games and hundred channel tv awaits.
we even had lead paint on the walls when I was a kid so this is all hype to prove nothing.
I am surprised you didnt bring in your other big agenda items of global warming algore and these kids need health insurance paid for by the government.
please take off your rose colored glasses and look at the real world for once. it was beautiful till you started to control everything that someone can do.
If children are not able to do really stupid things when they are young, they will never develop the judgment to avoid stupid activities as adults.
As children we were able to do things that we were forbidden to do. Some did them and some didn't. Some learned by watching others make mistakes. Others needed to make the mistakes themselves. A minority listened to grownups.
Lead paint is dangerous. Not letting children learn is also dangerous.
Posted by Yaakov Watkins on August 28, 2007 06:32 AMBut if it saves the life of only one child isn't it worth it?
Posted by on August 28, 2007 06:34 AMNo, no, you all have it wrong!
Alberto Gonzales went to China to instruct the companies to use lead based paint. Karl Rove found out that the mission was about to be leaked; that's why he resigned. Gonzales accidentaly gave one of the toys to Nancy Pelosi's grandchild and felt horrible about it. Not because of the lead, but because he meant to give her a subpoena instead of a toy. So Alberto resigned. This has devastated the Bush administration's plans to train fighting pit bulls on the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport. Instead Al Gore and Ted Kennedy are reduced to having eating contests, and are going to introduce legislation to feed lead based hot dogs to Japanese contestants in hot dog eating contests!
Actually, I think Ted ATE the japanese contestant.
But, you see, it isn't the LIBERALS who want to ban chinese toys, it's the Brazilians.
How many zeros in a Brazilian, anyway?
How's this for a compromise: let the children of conservatives eat lead paint?
How about toxic sea food? Is trying to keep that out of the food stream also some some of Clinton plot?
If only you had eaten a bit MORE lead paint as a child, perhaps we wouldn't be subject to such paranoid, insane notions as 'trying to stop lead paint in children's toys is a liberal plot.' Sheesh.
Posted by Oliver on August 28, 2007 07:08 AMThe anti Bush and pro Bush crowds are failing to see the bigger problem coming out of China. It is not only the toys but do you recall the pet food problem, or the toothpaste fiasco? Something is not right here.
To say we have to ban or that we have to let be on imports is not the solution. An investigation into all of the exports from China world wide neds to be conducted. The question is simple ... Where is the quality control for China?
Posted by on August 28, 2007 07:13 AMThe problem with studies, scientific or not, are that in many cases they are what is called, on demand studies. These studies most generally are funded by non-governmental, private interests and, because of that, tend to support the agendas of those interests. Then, if it seems necessary to increase the "evidence" further, the study's results are cherry picked for only the information that supports that agenda and, purposely ignores all that contradicts it.
This is a widely use tactic and is nothing new in the world of money and politics. The thing that is really wrong is not that the studies are suspect and in many cases just plain false. The problem arises when those who contrive this evidence use propaganda to instill false evidence in the public psyche. This tactic is no different than the one used by Joseph Paul Goebbels, Hitlers Nazi propagandist. He put it this way, "----If you tell a lie long enough, it becomes the new truth. "
I'm not trying to promote any agenda, in fact, I am opposed to all agendas that can't stand on there own merits, that need a little, or a lot of messing around with to create the apperance of validity.
It's hard to descern which, so called, scientific studies are factually correct and which have been tinkered with but, if big pharmaceutical companies or hugh billion dollar foundations are involved you can count on them being of the latter kind.
Nothing that involves money or power or control is ever what it seems to be because those three things are more addictive than any drug could ever be and, those who seek them are so obsessed , they will do just about anything to get the power, control and money that is that drug.
The only thing one can do to get at the truth is fully investigate what is offered and, if you have question with part of the supporting proof's of it, rest assured there are bigger and more damning questions hiding behind the appearance of the truth of it.
Posted by Allen Campbell on August 28, 2007 07:30 AMthats right lets spend a few billion dollars to investigate china and then we can feel good and still do nothing.
yawn
If ensuring a basic level of health and safety of products coming into our nation is NOT a role for the Federal government, pray tell then, what is?
Posted by Oliver on August 28, 2007 08:18 AM8:14:
Anmd your point is-----------?
Posted by Allen Campbell on August 28, 2007 08:22 AMI don't know if I should laugh or cry. The things you people say are so incredibly wierd. The fact that my toe-nails broke today must be the fault of the Repu-crat-indies.
Seriously, do you think name-calling, finger-pointing and extreme ignorance of FACTS is, in any way, shape or form, going to solve ANYTHING?????
Oh my god(dess/allah/buddah/krisna). You have reproductive organs and voting privileges. Now THAT'S a scary thought.
Posted by Sheila on August 28, 2007 08:24 AM08:18
Once again, look at the big pharmaceutical companies. Only blackmarket drugs get passed them, any others imported into this country they almost always have a vested interest in.
Posted by Allen Campbell on August 28, 2007 08:28 AMIsn't everything a vast left-wing conspiracy?
Posted by just sayin' on August 28, 2007 08:28 AMWhere in the world did Jim Sullivan get the ridiculous idea that it is only liberals who consider lead to be harmful to children and who want to ban it? Such nonsense.
Concern about the toxic effects of lead goes back to at least 1920. It has been banned in house paint since the 1970s. You won't find any reputable conservative who thinks that ban should be lifted.
Some history from http://www.leadlawsuits.com/index.php?s=community
"1971, EPA's first Administrator, William D. Ruckelshaus, declared that "an extensive body of information exists which indicates that the addition of alkyl lead to gasoline...results in lead particles that pose a threat to public health."
"No U.S. public health official or government – federal, state or local –advocated restricting the use of lead in house paint until 1949, when public health investigations in Baltimore first identified the risks to children from chipping and peeling lead paint in poorly maintained homes. The federal government did not ban the use of lead-based house paint until the 1970s."
"In late 1948, public health investigations in Baltimore first identified the risks to young children of chipping and peeling interior lead paint in poorly maintained homes. "
"As the New England Journal of Medicine noted in a 1947 editorial, lead paint was no longer used on toys and cribs, "the public has been amply warned of lead hazards," and, thus, lead poisoning was "almost wholly confined to those who are exposed in industry."
"In 1933, the American Public Health Association wrote a publication responding to reports of childhood lead poisoning. The association recommended not using lead-based paint on baby toys, beds and carriages."
"During the 1920s and 1930s, children diagnosed with a condition known as “pica,” or an abnormal appetite for nonfood substances, were reported as having persistently chewed the lead paint off their cribs and toys and sometimes woodwork. Doctors initially recommended that the correct approach to this risk was for children with pica to be closely supervised and for parents to be educated about the risk. In the 1930s, that recommendation began to include eliminating lead from paint used on toys and cribs, and for parents to be educated about the risk of repainting such objects with lead paint."
"In 1951, Dr. Huntington Williams, Baltimore Commissioner of Health, adopted a regulation that banned the use of lead pigment for interior use in that city. It was the first regulation adopted by a government in the United States. The federal government did not act to ban the sale of lead-based house paint until the 1970s."
Posted by Truth on August 28, 2007 08:32 AMI'd be tempted to believe that Jim's letter was an attempt at snark or satire except my experience indicates that wingnuts have very little sense of humor, and even less creativity.
Posted by patrick on August 28, 2007 08:43 AMSo now we have the Republican update of the Marie Antoinette philosophy. Let them eat lead.
Posted by JJA on August 28, 2007 09:06 AMHow about we change our purchasing habits. The Walmartization of America has come back to bit us in the butt. I single out Walmart because they are the largest toy seller in the country. Made in America when Sam owned the company is now made in China, Honduras, Taiwan since his death. We allowed it to happen cause we bought and still buy the junk. Stop buying it until they change the way they make it, or another competitor does it better. Low price = low quality = dangerous products. Unless we change the way we do business, companies never will.
Posted by on August 28, 2007 09:25 AMAs far as business is concerned China is becoming Libertarian Heaven.
No regulations,
No inspections,
No minimum wage,
No labor laws,
No unions.
What happens? The same thing that happened in America, in the mid 19th to mid 20th century, when this country was Libertarian Heaven.
Dangerous products,
contaminated food,
slave wages,
hazardous working conditions.
Hey libertarians, we tried it once here and China is trying it now, your adolescent-boy fantasies just do not work in real life.
Posted by Colorado Dave on August 28, 2007 09:34 AMYaakov,
Were your comments toungue in cheek? Or is it OK to let your child unknowingly consume Kool-aid laced with poison and tell them about it after they've consumed it? Is this a way to learn?
Posted by Stan Broyles on August 28, 2007 10:09 AMThe letter writer said it all. As a child he had lead toys. He probably ate them. that lowered his i.q. Now he is a Republic who sees conspiracies everywhere.
Seriously, the government can`t make us buy "Made in China"
sharon what politican party has more invetigations going all the time? every five seconds reid or queen nancy want to start to investigate something or another. wasnt it hillary who coined the term right wing conspiracy?
Posted by on August 28, 2007 11:50 AMThis shows the stupid fallacy of rethuglicon free market ideals.
A little mental retardation isn't going to show up a day after bringing the toxic toy home from Mal-Wart. The consequences of poor decisions aren't always immediate or obvious to the individual market decision maker (consumer), but when studied in large groups over years the effects are obvious. Because the individual consumer is UNABLE to make informed decisions, government regulations MUST be the substitute.
I hope all you Rs who hate regulations have been to third world countries to see the effects of unregulated capitalism: Construction sites where a bystander could easily fall into a pit. National parks with rails so low you could tumble off a cliff. Traffic choked with 2 stroke scooters belching black smoke loaded with either a stack of hogs in crates, or a family of four including a baby in diapers hanging off the back. Sewage in drinking water.
The free market only cares about delivering the cheapest product to the most people, and the other associated costs like safety that don't contribute to the bottom line are ignored. This is where the proper role of government is to protect its citizens.
Boy, all that mature name calling sure accomplished a lot. I assume intelligent discourse is a lost art on these boards?
Both parties have a leadership which dances to the big money. Yet, they are able to keep the sheep pointing fingers and howling at each other in a way to keep them from pulling together and demanding change from our so-called leaders. No wonder it's a never changing shoveling of crap down our throats -- they keep us harping on each other and giving them a pass because they have either a D or R after their name. They're both worthless.
Posted by on August 28, 2007 12:07 PMFamily values for conservatives only extends to what is allowable to broadcast on the TV and the radio because regulating our culture to the appropriate level for a five year old does not cost money. Making sure that consumer goods from China are safe costs money, making sure that every child in this country has adequate health insurance costs money, making sure that our public education system is preparing our children to become productive workers costs money.
Posted by Sean on August 28, 2007 12:25 PMI am not really “big” on conspiracy theories, ..."
Jim Sullivan, Thornton
"It seems reasonable to point out that everyone connected with this article has past or present ties to the Republic of Boulder. Or, translated: More hogwash from the lunatic fringe."
Jim Sullivan, Thornton
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_5237497
Posted by Repugnants are Liars on August 28, 2007 12:35 PMAnon at 11:50. Capitalize names. Show some respect, punk.
Posted by Sharon B. on August 28, 2007 12:44 PMI don't see this as a left/right issue. We do way too much trade with China. We don't make anything anymore; we just consume.
I recently purchased a new baseball glove since my old one was stolen. After checking out all the gloves at the store, I noticed something that bothered me: Every single glove was made in either China or Philippines, except one.
The Nokona baseball glove was double the price of the other gloves ($150). But, it was nice. And best of all, it had a little American flag tag on the inside that read, "Made in the USA". I bought it.
Sadly, I had no such luck with buying baseballs; all of them were made in China.
Anyway, I felt great about buying an American made glove even if I paid more for it. I have even been toying around with the idea of starting a recreational baseball/softball league that uses strictly American-made products and wooden bats. Does anyone know where I can find American-made baseballs?
Posted by John II on August 28, 2007 12:45 PMHey Sharon,
What's a Republic? Short for Republican? Why call them that? Is it because Democrats are called Democrats? What is Democrat short for? A Democratin?
The original letter is so stupid I can't even comment on it.
I did however, find something that made me laugh last night. I think regardless of political philosophy, we can find humor in this.
Article IV Section 4 of the US Constitution:
"The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. "
Wouldn't it be both a hoot, and scary as hell at the same time, if some knucklehead decided that no state could be controlled by Democrats, because Republicans must run government (totally tongue in cheek, but the Keith's and UnAmerican's of the world would probably bite).
Boring letters today.
Hey John II,
Valle is 100% American:
http://www.vallebaseball.com/Baseballs-s/28.htm
They have everything you could want for playing ball.
Posted by Dan2 on August 28, 2007 01:01 PMThe fact that THIS issue was warped into a partisan attack demonstrates to what length so many people will go to the attack the other side. Jim's arguments lack any credibility as he has not demonstrated any research, history, data, or conclusions to support his argument.
"I am not aware of any greater incidence of 'problems' associated with those horrible toys than are experienced now with the sterilized environment the left has diligently attempted to create."
Do you have data to support this conclusion, Jim? Just because you have not personally died from sucking on a lead-painted toy does not make you an expert by any means. What evidence do you have, exactly, that "lefties" across the nation have formed a secret cabal to recall millions of toys? Even in an "Austin Powers" movie this would be far-fetched.
We're not expecting an annotated discertation here, Jim, but even a weblink supporting your findings would be enlightening.
Excellent! You're the man Dan2. Thanks.
Posted by John II on August 28, 2007 01:42 PMAny time!
Posted by Dan2 on August 28, 2007 02:03 PMDan 2,
I'm just surprisd tjat the principal Curator of Petrified Constitution Park and Museum didn't jump in with at least a column on the very subject of how the Constitution - as he thinks it ought to be interpreted - DID prohibit Democrats from State Government; and/or were a "threat" calling for "militia action", or some such.
A short while ago, on another line of postings, he was calling for "revolution", and "taking to the streets", to effect whatever hare-brained isterpretation of Constitutional law was his hobby horse at the time. And certainly, protecting children from lead intake, by way of a government bureau insisting on recall of dangerous toys, falls into the category of things not carved in Stone - or on exhibit in the fossil section of his little preserve.
Oh! Well! We can be grateful for the peace and quiet anyway.
We've all heard of turning mole hills into mountains; but the author of this letter outdoes them all. So much ado about nothing!
Posted by Old Grouch on August 28, 2007 02:04 PMWell, since you brought it up, Old Grouch...
Relying on a federal government bureaucracy to test every single toy imported into this country probably causes more problems than it solves. Consumers will buy (or eat) anything because they feel it has been tested and approved by the government. They have substituted their common sense and rational apprehension with a blind faith in the government.
Without the consumer protection wing of the federal government, private groups (Consumer Reports) would emerge to do a better job of evaluating consumer products. Consumers would exercise much more caution with the products they give to their children.
Posted by John II on August 28, 2007 02:54 PMPerhaps the whole issue rests on two things:
the responsibility of the government to insure the safety of the people
the responsibility of the people to inform themselves and make reasoned decisions.
Rush had a lot of fun with "don't lick Barbie" a while back but there is a reasonable point to be made anyway.
Toys are divided by purpose and purchaser or the person for whom it is purchased.
A child young enough to put toys in his mouth is at a greater risk than an older child with the same toy. Those who ignore the age/maturity divide increase the risk. Rush missed the point because a girl old enough to play with a Barbie is usually old enough to not put it in her mouth enough to create a great danger. The purpose of other toys is to be held or thrown or something else. Never could see Barbie though. I wanted my own tool set. Individual responsibility and oversight needed here.
The safety and health standards the government sets are those some group with expertise and authority decided upon for some reason. Most standards tend to err on the side of caution. For some of us that side is WAAAY off to the side of reason, but that is for argument sake not regulations.
Lead paint on toys is dangerous. The level of danger might be debatable for individuals but the national standard can only be upheld, modified or discontinued. It can't be changed every other day.
The other contaminations and recalls illustrate that the government (Please don't ever remind me I said this) seems to be doing a good job of staying in the middle by allowing the importation of goods AND recalling or refusing entry to those that fail the standards.
Cost is the key. I often buy , well I used to anyway, my kitchen supplies at a restaurant supply house. I pay for a large wooden spoon the same amount I'd pay for a much smaller and flimsier spoon at most stores including Wal-Mart. Both are labeled as foreign made. My cast iron pans came from the thrift stores. (Sometimes the stores have new kids doing the pricing and the cast iron is bargain basement priced.) Taiwan cast iron and American cast iron look alike. Pick them up and the American ones are much heavier. I have both kinds, but I end up using the American stuff because it has a better finish and, after seasoning, is much easier to clean.
People can choose to buy one baseball glove for 150 dollars or buy three for fifty dollars each. Doesn't create much of a problem for the people who can afford the more expensive glove. You only need one glove anyway. People need more than one pair of socks or one shirt or dress or...you fill in the blank. Wal-Mart and the dollar stores have captured the markets of those with little to spend and those who want more for what they spend. Wal-Mart was never all American and never claimed to be. I used to deliver to Wal-Mart warehouses all over the country. Their statement was they bought American whenever practical. They ordered American if they could get the same or better quality for the same general cost to them. If not...we picked it up at the dock warehouses and took it from there.
American workers are protected by safety laws environmental laws and many other regulations. Some businesses are also unionized. Those things add to the quality of the workers' lives in theory at least. That costs extra money for the manufacturers and is added to the cost of the goods produced. We can choose to pay that higher price or not.
If we choose not to pay it we take a chance. Simple as that.
As for it being a conspiracy.. I think it is. Somewhere out there is a conspiracy of idiots who want to make ua all as nuts as they are by finding subversion in butterfly wing patterns or their equivalent. I'm going to start a conspiracy to ignore them so they'll get frustrated and go bang their tinfoil covered heads against the nearest solid object. Anyone want to join? No dues. Even have a name for it: "The Conspiracy Conspirators Conspiracy."
Support Americans - buy American. Plain and simple.
Posted by Tbone on August 28, 2007 03:28 PMJohn II, If you don`t need brand new stuff, thrift stores have baseballs, bats, even sports equipment made in England and France. Not new but "Made in U.S.A" .
Even antique stores sell American goods for less than what you paid.
Dan2, James Jones has taken to calling members of the Democratic Party, members of the Democrat Party. This insults some people, so I suggested we use the same method.
Members of the Republican party are now Republics.
Takes all the sting out of an insult if a person doesn`t get miffed by it.
Lame letters today, but the time wasn`t a complete waste for me, I got to call someone a punk, finally.
Remember Keith writing about the Constitution with a small cap c?
Someone wrote "Use caps on Constitution, punk, show some respect" and for some reason that really hit me as funny.
Keith whined back and defended himself, that made it even better.
God, I`m getting nostalgic for posts of April and May.
I need to get out of the house!
Posted by Sharon B. on August 28, 2007 03:39 PMAnd the winning post is:
"So now we have the Republican update of the Marie Antoinette philosophy. Let them eat lead.
Posted by JJA on August 28, 2007 09:06 AM"
What is being ignored in this shot guns full of irreverent rabbit pellets war of absurdity is that the manufacturers of toys, and others by the thousands, have out sourced, (God I hate using these terns), there production and manufacturing to places, like Cina, that have no laws regarding materials that can be used precisely because that lack of government control along with lower wages, some say slave labor, isures a higher profit for them.
If you think public safety has ever been the primary consideration of big business, look at the safety track record of Big Pharmaceutical companies and how their powerful political influence on the FDA has resulted in drugs being put on the market that kill people in much less time than lead based paine ever will. Why that happens, I think, would be a question for the senate ethics oversight committee, but that's an oxymoron isn't it?
The freemarket place refers to the lack of price restrictions not the lack of quality control, for it is quality that sells, or use to be anyway, and inferior products fail for one simple reason, they don't last, requireing you to buy the product again. Nice trick eh.
There are a multitude of things out there in the big wide world that are dangerous in one way or the other and it is up to you to decide how you want to live your life. It's called personal responsibility folks and no government anywhere has lasted long by regulating freedom of choice to the point of religious zeal. I fear people have lost the idea that they are resposible for themselves in giving their free choice away to government regulation because they just don't want to bother with being accountable for their own actions or omissions. That, in a nut shell, is what is called tyranny friends.
Ask yourself this; do you really want dishonest and corrupted legislators, out of control bureaucracies and government agencies, driven by private interest's influence, regulating your life or, do you still cherish the idea that you are a free human being paying taxes to support the freedom loving country our forefathers had the guts to create in spite of a world full of tyranny and oppression?
Posted by Allen Campbell on August 29, 2007 07:40 AMT-BONE: Several years ago, my family and I TRIED to 'buy American' for Christmas. We wound up exchanging very few gifts as they were nearly impossible to find in a reasonable price range.
Since then, I have given up on the holiday completely, but for different reasons.
Posted by Sheila on August 29, 2007 08:37 AMI'm not quite sure what Allen Campbell's point is but I'd like to borrow whatever he uses to determine if the drugs he takes are unsafe. Apparently, in Allen's eyes I've been making the mistake of relying on people like the FDA to tell me that rather than exercising my right to determine for myself if drugs are safe.
But I've got to run. I'm busy conducting some tests, using the chemistry set I bought at WalMart, to see if this new drug the doctor prescribed is safe.
Posted by Truth on August 29, 2007 09:05 AMTruth suggested:
"Apparently, in Allen's eyes I've been making the mistake of relying on people like the FDA to tell me that rather than exercising my right to determine for myself if drugs are safe."
If that's the case, then I'd have to agree with Mr. Campbell. You have been making the mistake of relying on the FDA, Truth.
Expecting a massive government to monitor everything that may harm us leads people into a false sense of security.
Eliminate the FDA and allow private groups to analyze drugs, toys, etc. Consumers would then be much more proactive in researching various drugs.
The most successful private group product analysis is, in my opinion, in the financial industry. A low rating from a company like Moody's can cost a company billions of dollars. Because of this enormous consequence, companies strive to maintain and improve their ratings. A similar concept would fill the void left by the abolishment of the FDA.
Posted by John II on August 29, 2007 04:51 PM"But I've got to run. I'm busy conducting some tests, using the chemistry set I bought at WalMart, to see if this new drug the doctor prescribed is safe. "
Yup, that's the problem.
There are a myriad of things that are too urgent, too complicated, or to expensive for the man in the street to test or evaluate. The best that you or I can do is rely on a properly funded government body to do it for us.
Give me a break - protecting children is a "lib" plot. Yes, we all grew up with more dangers: no seat belts, no helmets, lead paint, etc etc. I have never seen statistics on how many of us were harmed or killed because of it. Since I didn't have seat belts or helmets then, should I not care about protecting my grandchildren now. Use some common sense people - this is not a Democratic or a Republican plot. This is simply another way to protect our children - & yes sometimes we even go too far at that. But that doesn't mean that we should ignore every chance. As momma said, many of these decisions should be based on the age & maturity of the child - & maybe the intended use of the toy. Some of the comments here should be related to the age & maturity of the "adults?" writing them.
Posted by Carol on August 30, 2007 08:04 AMWhoever put lead paint on baby bibs, knew those bibs would end up in the babies mouths. Or they didn`t care enough to check the paint, which is notorious for lead.
Not buying Chinese.
Posted by Sharon B. on August 30, 2007 12:35 PMMaybe Mattel & the other toy companies should open factories here in America, & hire American workers to make their toys. That way they would have some quality control & there would be a lot more jobs for American citizens, who buy their toys.
Posted by Carol on September 12, 2007 06:52 AM