Because the GOP is all into deregulation, that’s why. They’ve gutted the consumer protection statutes and bureaus (note: the CPSC under Bush actually doesn’t want to do it’s job) and left it up to the businesses themselves to behave responsibly. Mother Jones explains what has happened as a result: What happens when manufacturers are left to police themselves Zenith projection … Read More
Hal-Lead-Ween
Halloween might be really scary this year, thanks to China. Exhibit A: A US retail outlet on Tuesday pulled hundreds of sets of Halloween costume teeth from sale amid fears they could contain excessive levels of lead. "Due to possible lead contamination, this product (Ugly Teeth) has been recalled," Factory Card and Party Outlet said in a statement issued on … Read More
Scientific Breakthrough Conquers AIDS?
I’m surprised nobody is covering this: With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The so-called ‘combination therapy’ prevents HIV from mutating and spreading, allowing patients to rebuild their immune system to the same levels as the rest of the population. To date, it represents the most significant treatment … Read More
War vs. Children’s Health
A day after the White House through Dana Perino said they weren’t concerned about the newest CBO estimates that the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will cost the treasury over $2 trillion dollars, Perino this morning says that Bush will veto the newest SCHIP bill coming from Congress this week. The reason? Because Congress hasn’t justified why $35 billion more over … Read More
Alternate History
Via The Telegraph, this is the speech that was written for President Nixon, in the event that the Apollo 11 landing — the first manned landing on the Moon — failed: Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men, Neil Armstrong … Read More
For Your/Future Reference
With health care dominating the news, here’s a handy guide to the various health care policies and programs offered by the ’08 Presidential Candidates. Not suprisingly, the Republican’s idea of "health care" reform boils down to tax cuts for employers, as well as certain individuals to defray the costs of insurance. Democrats are more in favor of expanding programs like … Read More
Worse Than AIDS
Oh, great: CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) — More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph "superbug," the government reported Tuesday in its first overall estimate of invasive disease caused by the germ. Deaths tied to these infections may exceed those caused by AIDS, said one public health expert commenting on the new study. The report … Read More
Meet Bethany Wilkerson
Just like they did with the Frosts, no doubt Malkin & the right wing smear machine will start attacking the Wilkersons for this… ….but family doesn’t seem particularly concerned. For the record, the Bo and Dara Wilkerson say they make $34,000 in combined income from restaurant jobs in St. Petersburg, Fla. They rent their house and the couple owns one … Read More
Two Americas
As some say, the rising tide is only lifting the yachts. The Pew Research Center reported this week that the public is quickly becoming aware of the perverse economic polarization of society: Over the past two decades, a growing share of the public has come to the view that American society is divided into two groups, the “haves” and the … Read More
Yes, Even More On The Frosts
The attacks are still going strong from Michelle Malkin. Here’s what she wrote today: Mark Steyn, presumably taking his marching orders from Mitch McConnell (snort-snort), hits the nail on the head once again: Mr Frost works “intermittently”. The unemployment rate in the Baltimore metropolitan area is four-percent. Perhaps he chooses to work “intermittently,” just as he chooses to send his … Read More
This Is Getting Good [UPDATE: Michelle Declines]
I promised myself I’d stop writing about the Frost thing, but I love this — an Ezra Klein challenge: Let’s Debate "It’s militant leftist bloggers," writes Malkin, "who wouldn’t know a good-faith argument if it bit them in the lip." Let’s have a good faith argument. I will debate Michelle Malkin anytime, anywhere, in any forum (save HotAir TV, which … Read More
Yet Even More On The Right Wing Attacks On The Frosts
The Baltimore Sun covers it. It has a nice picture of the Frosts in front of their home, which conservative bloggers (attacking them as rich fat cats) say is worth $400,000. From the article: Bonnie Frost was driving children Zeke, Graeme and Gemma in Baltimore County in December 2004 when the family SUV hit a patch of black ice and … Read More
Right Wing Bloggers Attack 12 Year Old Kid
It all began when the Democrats tapped a 12 year old kid, Graeme Frost, to speak on the Democrat weekly address. Bush had just vetoed SCHIP, the bi-partisan bill designed to deliver funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Graeme was a beneficiary of SCHIP, having suffered severe injuries (along with his sister) in a car accident several years … Read More
Nathan Tabor Not On Board With SCHIP
Let’s dive in, shall we? Starting with Nathan Tabor’s title… Massive expansion of SCHIP: A move toward socialism Ooooh. "Socialism". That scare word the right hasn’t let go of since McCarthy. Bugga-bugga-bugga! I venture to guess that most self-proclaimed rank-and-file conservatives don’t even know what "socialism" even is. But they know it’s baaaad, because they keep hearing about it in … Read More
Avoiding The Burgers
Last week, the USDA issued a Class I Recall (Health Risk: High) for 331,582 pounds of ground beef. Then they expanded the recall to 21,700,000 pounds of ground beef. How much hamburger is that? A lot. 21.7 million pounds of ground beef just happens to be an entire year’s worth of production. Topps Meat Company LLC has expanded its recall … Read More