September 28, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Of course, if the children aren’t working out, or if the thought of rebellion against your authority rankles you, just get a pet. Everyone else is. At this rate, there will soon be colleges for pets to attend. They already have pet equivalents for most child-rearing objects and situations, even pet health plans.

Keep in mind that pets, like kids, still ingest things they should not without your approval, and will stay out late and leave home without warning if ignored for too long or at the wrong time.

Imagine that. Let the government pay for health care for your kids, while you pay for health care for your pet.

News item: Pet Supply industry forecast to be $41 billion in fiscal 2007, 2nd after the leader, Electronics.

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September 27, 2007 by crazyopinions.

If the kids survive lead poisoning, perhaps they will live long enough to commit suicide or merely mutilate themselves. Now they are taking their pierced, cut and tattooed selves into the woods and finding new things to ingest which aren’t yet illegal. Nothing common like banana peels. Merely weeds such as Salvia and Jimson Weed, or anything the ‘Net serves up as the cool-new-drug-of-the-moment.

What is missing here, the common denominator, a missing link, the overlooked thread which news never reveals [or chooses to ignore]?

Parents. Families. The sad fact is that with the new society evolved over the last 50 odd years, the “extended family” has replaced the “nuclear family”. the problem with “extended” anything, is that by definition, they are stretched thin. Add to that the reality of the new self absorption, navel gazing and narcissism of parents and siblings [can you say “reality show”?], and presto!

New Reality: Children Raise Themselves [qualifications not required]. After all, we just don’t have the time.

Oh, in case you are hit with a case of the guilts, and become a “helicopter parent”, it won’t substitute for the real thing.

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September 25, 2007 by crazyopinions.

50 Years After Sputnik, some “Space Age”!

What happened? The future seemed so bright even back in 1970’s, when we left the Moon for good. The space shuttle just doesn’t cut it. You must have some chutzpah, and some awesome goal to hit. Otherwise, if you cannot capture the public imagination, there won’t be any tax dollars going to NASA anytime soon.

Of course, there now is an emerging private sector [think Space Ship One and the X Prize] which is willing to start the venture where man has gone before.

Can they be prodded to follow James T. Kirk, to “go where no man has gone before”?

In the New York Times, in essays related to the Sputnik anniversary, we find these comments: “Some space age,” writes an author. “NASA works for the [US] president, and curiosity alone doesn’t loosen purse strings”.

Tell all the new billionaires of the world to get off their duffs, and start investing in space travel to the planets and moons.

For as little as $10 billion you can make your mark in history. Let’s see, buy Facebook, or travel to Mars?

We’d take Mars any day.

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September 24, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Amazing. Racism? In a small, poor southern US town? In 2007?? If you’re surprised, don’t be. Let’s list the present day symbols and realities that shed light on race relations in America:

- In the town of Jena, the 85% majority whites run the school board and the school. If there is no way to hold them accountable, there must be countless lawyers willing to take on a 1964 revisit of civil rights to further their careers at little or no charge. Or, the NAACP should surely help out where they are REALLY needed, in the South.

- Race relations in the US have come a long way since 1964, but they won’t go any further. Those who are able to deal with equal rights do so, and those who cannot will not be “educated” or “enlightened” into becoming color blind. Some of this is an ignorance gene in the DNA, and it can be masked by economic factors, but it will always exist.

- The issue includes all races, and the US media only plays up the black vs. white incidents with such vigor. Consider Iraq, where US mercenary groups and the US military treat civilians as less than human, mere “collateral damage”. Some of this is just War Is Hell, but it is oh so much easier to handle when They Are Not Like Us.

- Other races are permeating US popular culture as never before, both in quantity and quality. Unlike the mass immigration in the 1800’s and 1900’s of Europeans, who assimilated into the culture, this new wave is “in your face”. Pop culture and media feed the frenzy, and hope they provoke a reaction.

This “in your face” is what happened in Jena. A black [hip-hop/gangsta/rap] posse went looking for revenge on a white [pickuptruck/hillbilly/billybob] because of the perceived school board inequality of justice, compared to the suspended white noose hangers.

“Free The Jena Six”? Hardly. Tell David Bowie to save his money for something worthwhile. Either suspend the Jena Six, or prosecute all equally, Blacks and Whites. Under no moral code should anyone go “free”.

Part of the race problem that CAN be solved, is everyone accepting responsibility and consequences for their actions, and STOP BEING VICTIMS. Stand up and be heard; don’t resort to the tactics of your enemies!

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September 21, 2007 by crazyopinions.

In one of his many moments of candor on the Iraq War, Defense Secretary Gates admits during an interview that he “doesn’t know” if he would have started this war, if he knew then what we know now.

Why is it so earth-shattering to hear a politician or public official speak with either truth or common sense? The fact that this is this even a news item, says volumes about the USA grip on reality.

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September 20, 2007 by crazyopinions.

The coming recession and meltdown is now likely to spread across the Atlantic. This is because the staid BOE has agreed to cut interest rates in order to prod a US-like economic recovery on the back of easy credit. Oh well, at least the Brits won’t have a real estate bubble to worry about.

Meanwhile, the Fed admits this move is only to postpone the effects of the US mortgage crisis. “Recent developments in financial markets have increased the uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook,” Bernanke said. We’re not lowering them to manipulate the stock market, really we’re not.

Quick! Buy Gold!

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September 20, 2007 by crazyopinions.

We have no sympathy for OJ, but we can empathize with his sorry state of affairs. Trying to retrieve lost pieces of his storied past, he falls into a self-made trap. Now a Las Vegas DA out to make a name for himself [can you say “book deal”?] will attempt to put him away for life, on charges far more ludicrous than the first OJ go-round last century.

After looking into the collectibles dealer he is alleged to have “robbed” [and more], it seems like a case here of criminal-on-criminal crime. Shady behavior on all sides, in a shady hotel room, in shady Las Vegas.

We say, let what happens in Vegas, stay in Vegas. Please, don’t let us know about it!

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September 19, 2007 by crazyopinions.

It is now official. Muslim Islamic radicals admit, through their most public hero, that they are all parasites. Well, not even THAT good, since a true parasite makes sure it doesn’t kill its host. Actually, Islamic radicals are a different type of parasite, called a parasitoid. Imagine declaring war on the entity [Pakistan] that protects and preserves your way of life. Gee, what a great idea!

If you have ever seen the movie Aliens, the developing aliens are parasitoids. Parasitods are different from normal parasites because they kill their hosts. Ergo, Islamic radicals are Aliens!

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September 18, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Here we go again, and this time it isn’t just Spinach, now its the specialized lettuce. It’s a common perception that common Iceberg Lettuce hasn’t any nutrients compared to specialized varieties, but at least so far, it won’t kill you!

Would eating organic lettuce have prevented this problem? No! You need to be careful with any bagged salad, organic or nonorganic, due to the additional handling required to process it with human hands, and the fact that leafy vegetables are grown ON THE GROUND. A head of lettuce, by comparison, has never seen daylight until you cut it open, or peel away the outer leaves.

The last outbreak in 2006, was traced to a next-door cattle ranch. We think they were using some REAL organic fertilizer, aka “cow patties”!

For a refesher course on this issue, with a history of past recent outbreaks, here is a little background (from about.com, Urban Legends):

===========

May, 2006: Lettuce & Spinach Borne E. Coli

In an outbreak in Minnesota, health experts suspected E. coli 0157:H7, a bacterium usually associated with eating undercooked ground beef.

The real culprit, however, was bagged salad, the No. 2 cause of E. coli-related foodborne illness. Infection presents with stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (the condition that leads to kidney failure). Patients typically become ill two to five days after eating contaminated food.

The CDC issued a warning about bagged salad risks and a voluntary recall for specific brands. In the meantime, 26 people in three states had suffered lettuce-induced illness.

============

PAST LETTUCE OUTBREAKS

E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks associated with lettuce or spinach, specifically the “pre-washed” and “ready-to-eat” varieties sold under various brand and trade names, are by no means a new phenomenon. In October 2003, 13 residents of a California retirement center were sickened and 2 died after eating E. coli-contaminated “pre-washed” spinach. In September 2003, nearly 40 patrons of a California restaurant chain became ill after eating salads prepared with bagged, “pre-washed” lettuce. In July 2002, over 50 young women were stricken with E. coli at a dance camp after eating “pre-washed” lettuce, leaving several hospitalized and one with life-long kidney damage. The Center for Science in the Public Interest found that, of 225 food-poisoning outbreaks from 1990 to 1998, nearly 20 percent (55 outbreaks) were linked to fresh fruits, vegetables, or salads. The following is a chart of several additional outbreaks:

Date
Vehicle
Etiology
Reported Cases
States/Provinces
1 Aug. 1993 Salad bar E. coli O157:H7 53 1:WA
2 July 1995 Lettuce (leafy green, red, romaine) E. coli O157:H7 70 1:MT
3 Sept. 1995 Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7 20 1:ID
4 Sept. 1995 Lettuce (iceberg) E. coli O157:H7 30 1:ME
5 Oct. 1995 Lettuce (iceberg; unconfirmed) E. coli O157:H7 11 1:OH
6 May-June
1996 Lettuce (mesclun; red leaf) E. coli O157:H7 61 3:CT,IL,NY
7 May 1998 Salad E. coli O157:H7 2 1:CA
8 Feb.-Mar. 1999 Lettuce (iceberg) E. coli O157:H7 72 1:NE
9 July-Aug. 2002 Lettuce (romaine) E. coli O157:H7 29 2:WA,ID
10 Oct 2003-May 2004 Lettuce (mixed salad) E. coli O157:H7 57 1:CA
11 Apr. 2004 Spinach E. coli O157:H7 16 1:CA

It is clear that the risks associated with E. coli O157:H7 and lettuce were well known to Dole and the industry prior to the 2005 outbreak. For some time prior to the outbreak, the FDA had been aggressively trying to get the industry to address serious deficiencies that were creating a critical risk to consumers. The response by Dole and many of its industry brethren was woefully inadequate.

In November 2005, the FDA elucidated its past efforts and present concerns in its “Letter to California Firms that Grow, Pack, Process, or Ship Fresh and Fresh-Cut Lettuce.” The letter begins:

This letter is intended to make you aware of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) serious concern with the continuing outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut lettuce and other leafy greens.

The FDA goes on to identify 18 outbreaks of E. coli O157:H7 associated with fresh or fresh-cut lettuce, resulting in 409 illnesses and two deaths since 1995. According to the FDA, completed traceback investigations in eight of the outbreaks—the 2005 Dole outbreak included—were traced to Salinas, California. The FDA further states that the industry’s role in preventing these illnesses is crucial because “these products are commonly consumed in their raw state without processing to reduce or eliminate pathogens.”

The FDA efforts to lead the lettuce industry to safer practices were nothing new. In 1998, the FDA issued guidance to the industry entitled “Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fruits and Vegetables.” The guide is specifically designed to assist growers and packers in the implementation of safer manufacturing practices. On February 5, 2004, the FDA issued a letter to the lettuce and tomato industries to “make them aware of [FDA’s] concerns regarding continuing outbreaks associated with these two commodities and to encourage the industries to review their practices.”

The 2005 Dole outbreak prompted even more industry-admonition by the FDA: “In light of continuing outbreaks associated with fresh and fresh-cut lettuce and other leafy greens, particularly from California, we are issuing this second letter to reiterate our concerns and to strongly encourage firms in your industry to review their current operations.” This November 2005 FDA letter explicitly rejected industry excuses for not having taken prior action. Further, the FDA cited to research linking some or all of the outbreaks to sewage exposure, animal waste, and other contaminated water sources. The research further indicated that industry practices, including irrigation and field drainage methods, may have led directly to the contamination of the lettuce with E. coli O157:H7. As a result the FDA stated that it considers “adulterated” any ready to eat crops that have come in contact with flood waters. The FDA closed by warning industry members that food produced under unsanitary conditions is adulterated under §402(a)(4) of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and that enforcement actions would be considered.

THE DOLE OUTBREAK

“DOLE Classic Romaine is triple washed and ready-to-eat. As a result, it is not necessary to wash the salad prior to eating.”

From http://www.dole.com/Products/Products_Detail.jsp?CatGroupID=4&ID=79, Dole Food webpage

On September 22, 2005 the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Public Health Laboratory (PHL) received an E. coli O157:H7 isolate for confirmatory testing and Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) subtyping. PFGE results were reported on September 26 and uploaded to PulseNet, a national database of PFGE patterns or “fingerprints” maintained at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The pattern derived from digestion with the restriction endonuclease Xba I was assigned Pattern number EXHX01.0238. The isolate was soon tested with a second enzyme, Bln I, and the resulting pattern was assigned pattern number EXHA26.1040. Prior to September 19, the Bln I pattern had not been posted on PulseNet.

Isolates obtained from culture of stool submitted by two new ill patients were received at the MDH PHL on September 23, 2005 and subtyped. PFGE results showed that the two new isolates and the isolate received on September 22 were indistinguishable by two enzymes. By September 29, 2005 isolates obtained from seven more patients arrived at the MDH PHL for further analysis. Public health investigators recognized that an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak was underway in Minnesota.

While laboratory testing was performed, MDH epidemiologists conducted preliminary interviews with patients who were laboratory confirmed with E. coli O157:H7. On the morning of September 28 investigators had identified pre-packaged lettuce produced by Dole Food Company, Inc. as the likely vehicle of transmission for infection with E. coli O157:H7. A supplemental questionnaire focusing on the type and brand of lettuce consumed and where it was purchased, was developed and administered to case-patients previously interviewed and newly identified cases. On September 29 Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) staff collected a bag of Dole lettuce at the home of a case patient and began microbiologic testing for the presence of E. coli O157:H7.

On September 30 the MDH issued a press release advising the public that 11 cases of E. coli O157:H7 had been identified in Minnesota residents who had eaten Dole lettuce purchased from at least four different stores in the Twin Cities area. See Attachment No. 2, Minnesota Department of Health News Release, September 30, 2005. Dr. Kirk Smith, an MDH foodborne disease specialist, advised consumers to discard Dole pre-packaged lettuce mixes with the “Best if Used by 09/23/05” date. Persons with symptoms of E. coli were told to contact the MDH and their physician. Dr. Chris Braden at the Foodborne and Diarrheal Disease Branch at the CDC announced that no other states were reporting outbreak associated cases.

Meanwhile MDA microbiologists continued to process lettuce specimens obtained from households with cases of confirmed E. coli O157:H7. On Monday, October 3 the agency reported that sample number M-05-2310, Lot Number B250215B received on September 30 had tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. The isolate obtained from the sample was sent to the MDH for PFGE analysis. The resulting pattern was indistinguishable to the pattern identified in case-patients. A second specimen, M-05-2318, lot number unavailable, would also yield positive results. See Attachment No. 3, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Laboratory Analysis Report dated 10/20/2005.

News of the positive lettuce specimen prompted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a nationwide health alert regarding Dole pre-packaged salads on October 2. See Attachment No. 4, FDA Issues Nationwide Health Alert on Dole Pre-Packaged Salads. The FDA announcement reiterated warnings expressed in the MDH press release and further described the Dole products associated with illness, Classic Romaine, American Blend, and Greener Selection. Although cases had only been identified in Minnesota, the product was noted to have been distributed nationwide.

It would not be long before cases of E. coli O157:H7 in Wisconsin and Oregon would be recognized. The Wisconsin case was a 12 year old female with E. coli O157:H7 who had a history of eating Dole pre-packaged lettuce. PFGE subtyping showed that her isolate was indistinguishable to the EXHX01.0238 pattern and one band different on the second enzyme pattern. Despite the one band difference, MDH molecular epidemiologists considered the girl to be part of the outbreak concluding that the difference was not enough to preclude the case from being considered outbreak related.

The Oregon case was indisputably associated with consumption of Dole pre-packaged salad mix. A 60 year old Portland resident was hospitalized and laboratory confirmed with E. coli O157:H7 on September 21, 2005. The patient had experienced onset of symptoms on September 18, four days after purchasing and consuming Dole brand “Classic Romaine” salad mix. Michael Roberson, representative for Albertsons’, the grocery store of purchase, confirmed that the chain’s Portland area distributing center had received Dole Greener Selection and Dole Classic Romaine. See Attachment No. 5, email message from Michael Roberson to William E. Keene, dated 10/6/2005. A portion of the salad mix was still in the patient’s refrigerator. A photograph taken of the packaging documents that Ms. Scheetz purchased Dole salad mix with a “Best if Used By” date of 9/23/05, lot number was B250215B. See Attachment No. 6, email message from Bill Keene to Dr. Melvin N. Kramer, dated 10/24/2005. PFGE subtyping showed that the Oregon isolate was indistinguishable by two enzymes to other ill Dole lettuce consumers in Minnesota.

Aware of the potential severity of an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak, the FDA and the Food and Drug Branch at the California Department of Health Services initiated an investigation at the Dole processing plant. Preliminary information indicated that 22,321 cases of Dole pre-packaged lettuce with a “Best If Used By” date of 9/23/05 and a production code starting with “B250” were shipped from a single Dole processing facility in central California to 34 states in early September. Investigators estimated that since each case contained between 6 and 12 bags, approximately 244,866 bags of lettuce had made it to market.

On October 11, 2005 the MDH counted 23 laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 and seven epidemiologically linked cases. Illness onset dates ranged from September 16 to September 30. Two cases had developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS). Oregon and Wisconsin reported one case each. Case control study data show a statistically significant association between illness and consuming Dole pre-packaged lettuce with a matched odds ratio of 6.8, 95% confidence interval, 1.4-31.9, and a p-value of 0.01.

NOTE: you can’t remove E. Coli by washing your salad greens. The only way is to cook them, which isn’t what most people intend when buying fresh salad!

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September 17, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Our old friend Alan Greenspan, financial sage and former Fed Reserve Bank chairman, is about to publish his memoirs. Now, we never put much stock in the hysteria his opinions would generate while he was the Fed Head, but we always thought him to be an intelligent fellow with wit, honesty and candor. This means that his memoirs will be widely discredited from the get-go by all those with some political or reputational capital at stake.A pity, because he is likely to be right on the mark with most of his comments.
This piece puts it all down:

“Greenspan Memoir Links Iraq War to US Thirst for Oil | WASHINGTON (AFP) | Edited For Brevity

Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, for years an inscrutable seer on the economy, is causing a stir by alleging in his new memoir that “the Iraq war is largely about oil.” Greenspan, who as head of the US central bank was famous for his tight-lipped reserve, is uncharacteristically direct, also accusing President George W. Bush of abandoning Republican principles on the economy.

“I’m saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows — the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he wrote in reported excerpts of “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” which is set for release on Monday.

However, in an interview with The Washington Post, Greenspan clarified that while securing global oil supplies was “not the administration’s motive,” it had presented the White House with an opportunity to make the case that removing Saddam Hussein was important for the global economy.

“I was not saying that that’s the administration’s motive,” he said in the interview. “I’m just saying that if somebody asked me, ‘Are we fortunate in taking out Saddam?’ I would say it was essential.”… US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, while explaining his “respect” for Greenspan, rejected the charge that a thirst for crude explained the decision to invade Iraq in March 2003. “I know the same allegation was made about the Gulf War in 1991, and I just don’t believe it’s true,” he said on ABC television Sunday. Members of the US Congress, who by a broad majority also voted to authorize the use of military force against Iraq, also dismissed Greenspan’s assertion…

Greenspan, a lifelong Republican, writes that he advised the White House to veto some bills to curb “out-of-control” spending while the Republicans controlled Congress.
According to The Wall Street Journal, he says that Bush’s failure to do so “was a major mistake.” Republicans in Congress, he writes, “swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither.” “They deserved to lose” in the 2006 elections when the Democrats retook control of Congress, he adds…

In the bombshell memoir, he puts his own spin on the events surrounding the 1987 stock market crash, the bursting of the Internet bubble and the 2001 recession coinciding with the September 11 terror strikes… “After years of talking ‘Fedspeak’ in carefully calibrated congressional testimony, I could finally use my own voice,” Greenspan says with uncharacteristic verve. “I tackled the personal part first, but then started unraveling the detective story about the economy,” Greenspan adds in his blog. “What did all the economic shifts we began to detect in the late 90s mean?”

On Tuesday, investors around the world will be closely watching the Fed for some sign that might help counter the effects of a US mortgage crisis that has rattled markets and led to a credit squeeze. Greenspan is increasingly being blamed by some for the crisis. By keeping interest rates so low for so long, some argue, he helped foster the real estate bubble behind much of the current woes. The former Fed chief said the fall in US housing prices triggered by the subprime credit crisis would likely be bigger than expected. The drop in property prices “is going to be larger than most people expect,” Greenspan told the Financial Times, adding that he would not be surprised if the percentage decline in the United States ended up being “in double digits.”

CR 2007 by AFP”

Go, Alan, go!

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September 14, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Here we are, on the eve of a recession induced by bad credit, energy and food (the last two always left out of the inflation and economic indexes, go figure), and the merry campaign to kill the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) powered automobile is in full swing.

Now don’t get us wrong, the alternative fuel idea is way behind need and demand, but please, technology just isn’t ready. Here come all the half-baked designs!

The latest news is the fresh court decision in Vermont, to allow that state to adopt California emissions regulations. This, in a state with the fewest cars per capita. This paves the way for ten other states top do the same: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New York.

The District of Columbia, New York City, the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense and the Sierra Club were all parties in the lawsuit.

Get ready for the new US recession, triggered by factors noted above, plus Iraq War debt. Now, if any foreigners decide to cash in their holdings in the US bonds that are propping up the US economy, this country is looking at a depression, even a collapse.

Don’t think so? We hope you’re right, but we doubt it.

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September 13, 2007 by crazyopinions.

In a post awhile back, we may have been too flippant, suggesting that kids stop eating their toys. After all, kids will be kids, and purveyors of toys must be ever vigilant.

What follows is an excerpt of a fresh piece from US News and World Report. We believe this sums up the issues at hand rather well:

“China Isn’t the Villain Behind Dangerous Imports | September 12, 2007 05:24 PM ET | Newman, Rick | US News & World Report | Edited For Brevity

There’s plenty of bluster from Washington these days over imported toys and other products that might be dangerous. But for the typical consumer worried about unsafe imports, nobody has been able to answer the simple yet confounding question: What can I do about it?…The answer, unfortunately, is not much.

“Made in China” isn’t the problem. It’s almost irresistible for politicians to bash a monolithic China for foisting dangerous products on unsuspecting American kids. “Made in China has now become a warning label,” Republican Sen. Sam Brownback thundered recently at a congressional hearing.

Great sound bite. Wrong villain. Had Brownback substituted “Made by Mattel” for “Made in China,” he might be closer to the truth.

That’s because the image of shoddy Chinese-owned factories hoodwinking naive American corporations is largely a myth. Most big American companies importing products from China own the factories where those products are made or partially own them through a joint venture. So the companies themselves are on-scene at the source of the problem—or should be—and they represent the first line of responsibility for dangerous components.

Cheap imports are here to stay. Lawmakers can fume all they want about sturdy American-made goods being driven off the shelves by cheaper imported stuff, but it’s not going to change. The world’s economies are far too interconnected to try unraveling them. And while Communist China is always a ready bogeyman, Americans buy products from lots of other low-cost countries—such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia—with home-grown standards no more stringent than those in China. If there’s a safety problem with toys made in Indonesia, will politicians try to score points by blaming the Indonesian government? Or take the offending company to task instead?

It’s also worth keeping in mind that over the past 30 years, there have been similar safety issues with products from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan—countries that are now considered first-rate trading partners that produce high-quality goods. Unless there’s an ominous turn, the same thing will happen with China.

Imports remain a huge economic boon. Scary headlines about cheap imported goods obscure the benefits they bring. There are reasonable arguments on both sides about American jobs going overseas, but one thing that’s indisputable is the cost savings that consumers enjoy from products manufactured at the cheapest, most efficient factories in the world. As imports from China and other low-cost countries have surged, the price of clothing, electronics, building materials, and a lot of other products have fallen, sometimes plunged. “Cheap stuff provides a massive benefit to low- and middle-income families,” Hinrich says. And many American consumers remain quite comfortable buying cheap imports, whatever the risk. But don’t expect any congressional hearings about that.”

Well said; thanks, Rick!

There is of course another larger issue of toy safety that has always existed, with toy designs by US companies themselves leading to death and lawsuits (e.g., Jarts, Infant Hammocks, etc.). But, we’ll leave that for another day!

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September 12, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Yet another earthquake in Southeast Asia, a threat of two simultaneous hurricanes off US coasts. The globe is warming, and weather patterns become more and more unpredictable. Drought becomes more widespread and cyclical, followed by floods. A dustbowl in the US, a replay of the 1930’s, becomes more possible with every passing year.

NASA better get us to Mars soon. I want a ticket!

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September 11, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Here we are on anniversary #6 for 9/11 and past #4 for GW’s shell game in Iraq. We can’t catch this guy [on dialysis in the mountains], but never mind, he doesn’t matter anymore. News flash: he’s a Personality Cult! Unlike my earlier posts on Rove and Gonzalez, Osama Bin Laden DOES matter!.

But hey, we don’t want to touch Pakistan, they’re a sovereign country with a dictator. Iraq is different. Really it is. It’s a democracy [giggle].

Crazy Opinions Prediction: Bin Laden will die of natural causes, and we will still have troops in Iraq.

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September 10, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Oh, for crying out loud! Ever since the introduction of the original Apple II, IBM PC, and PONG, early adopters and bleeding edge types have absorbed the cost of being the coolest before anyone else.

Jobs at least waited for the 1M mark! Stop your whining, dammit. Look at the bright side, you coulda had a Zune…

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September 7, 2007 by crazyopinions.

All hail the general. Didn’t we do this before? Didn’t Westmoreland address Congress to help LBJ continue the Vietnam war 40 years ago? Why must history always repeat itself?

Because some of us continue to ignore history. Iraq is nothing, if not history personified. Why is Iraq such a mystery?

Just imagine, for a moment, foreign troops from half a world away, who believe in a different religion, invade our country to save us from ourselves. We would cooperate and welcome them, right?

Right? [bang, bang]

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September 6, 2007 by crazyopinions.

It’s deja vu all over again! [We’re sorry, Yogi Berra]. The sad lineup of GOP hopefuls who know they are being fed to the scrapheap of history have added to their midst. Fred Thompson, an actor who once had a fling with politics, is now officially in the race for 2008.

So what.

We suppose it is merely wishful thinking that the electorate of the USA will wake up from their slumber and stop idolizing actors. Or do we have it all wrong? Is a politician supposed to be an actor, even a prerequisite for the job?

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September 5, 2007 by crazyopinions.

Okay, now it’s official: if you breathe, you’ll die. If you don’t, you’ll die anyway. Add popcorn dust to the already long list of hazardous inhalables. Or, to be more specific, the artificial chemical butter flavoring diacetyl. Those crazy Europeans, however, have banned the use of diacetyl and its chemical brethren for several years, after it became known of the genotoxic nature of these flavorings. Genotoxins are known to mess with your DNA. But, hey, these foreigners are always overreacting, aren’t they?

Right? [cough, cough]

Don’t even get us started on the chemicals in/on our food…

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September 4, 2007 by crazyopinions.

We are in the 21st century? The USA is a “modern” country? A midwest state, with four distinct seasons and no permafrost should be considered civilized, right? Certainly not backwoods Alaska?

Well, then. The only reason anyone is using “quick” road paving methods anymore is MONEY. The marketers of such “chip seal” paving, and most state DOT’s all hail chip seal as improved road maintenance. Car owners, however, should be outraged. Why the silence? Do you enjoy driving down a perfectly good road on your way to work, only to find that on the way home, the same road has been freshly coated with a layer of liquid asphalt and loose gravel?!

With most new vehicles costing upwards of $20,000, this should be a legal slam-dunk. Would you tolerate it if someone threw gravel at your car from a freeway overpass? Oh, no, THAT is illegal! First add some TAR, then all is forgiven.

Ah, what a modern technological world we live in, as we drive our luxury cars to Mars on our gravel roads…

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