*gasp*...

*sigh*...

Every day it's something: some new moral horror, heretofore unrevealed perils to our minds and bodies, or yet another blatant betrayal of trust by those we've foolishly empowered to manage our societies... After a while you just throw up your hands in disgust and walk away. Nothing any of us can do about it anyway, they're all crooks, and the world's going to hell in a handbasket. Unless it dramatically affects your own immediate personal life ("It isn't my kid who's been poisoned"), you just become numb to it all. What ever...

Thank heaven for blogs and online discussion boards like these, where we can announce our moral indignation to those who will listen, vent our outrage and commiserate ineffectually with our fellow citizens in abject powerlessness. As if our critique excuses our complacency.

You can't fight the bastards. Only thing to do is just drop out of the whole rat race, pack up and head for the boonies, drop out and try and live off the land. But that's too much bother, and besides, we forfeited our survival skills when we sold our souls to the corporate materialist dream of modern technological comforts and affluence, so forget that idea...

Fuck it. Who cares anyway...

I love how two of the most intelligent responses have been from people in Ecuador and Japan.

If we didn't think Globalization was such a good thing and reward corporations who now carry nearly 100% foreign produced goods (Walmart) with our continued patronage we might not have these problems. Walmart forces its suppliers to provide the absolute lowest cost on items, or they will find them somewhere else. This in turn has an effect on all other products in the same category because they will lose sales to the walmart brand because it is cheaper and Americans will almost always buy the cheaper product.
We protect our corporations and give them tax breaks while they pay us shit, actively work against unionization, buy our politicians, and generally rape us. I seriously doubt China as a country is purposefully attempting to kill us. Its more like our own unbridled capitalist ambitions are.

Ooops! I guess that's why I ended up buck naked on Santa Monica Boulivard with a currious pain in my ass. I thought those Aqua Dots where candy. That's the last time I take candy from strangers.

Ahh, corporations: always thinking of the children. And by "children," I mean "blossoming profit margins." But GBH is fun, right? I mean, it's a very popular toy...

I guess that explains Stewie Griffin's Sexy partys.

While this is mostly correct the drug is GHB for Gamma HydroxyButyrate not GBH what the press also neglects to mention is that it isn't some awful destructive street drug but rather a pharmaceutical drug that has passed through the FDA and now goes by the name of Xyrem (sodium oxybate). While overdose can cause "coma" and the like it isn't a coma in the traditional sense as people don't stay in the "coma" but wake up after a few days they are just unresponsive while sleeping.

Bahahahaha!!!

But on the other hand, WTF am I supposed to buy my kids for Christmas? Seriously, get out there and try and find toys that are NOT from China.

While each of these toy recalls is upsetting and the topic of toy safety deserves to be discussed, why is parental responsibility NEVER considered in any of this? I have two girls under age 3, and there is no way in hell my child could consume several dozen of anything without my or my wife's knowledge. I'm sure the age recommendation on this toy was well over 20 months (which another paper reported the child's age as). Who of us didn't play with far more dangerous toys as kids? What toy ISN'T dangerous or even deadly when you swallow several dozen of them? You have to watch your kids -- it's a fact. Take the poison out of this toy and swallowing a ton of them is still dangerous...

Uh oh... while I was writing this my child swallowed 9 Bratz-doll heads and now she's sick! I'm calling a lawyer...

AH! I forgot about boomerangs!

Date Rape Dots were clearly not ready to be sold. I think once they make the batch more powerful and capable of putting full-grown adults into comas, they'll resume production.

Oh you Japanese with your own knives sticking out of your guts and your obsession with used panties.
Oh! Sorry! Was that a ridiculous generalization? God, I wouldn't want to make one of those! I would look like a complete Jackass!

I love how you worked in the Ron Paul references.

Vote "Broken Clock" '08!

Is that the temporal version of "Broken Record"?

To be fair, at least he was subtle about it.

No, it's an analogy I made a couple weeks ago and thought it might catch on but it doesn't seem to be. That is, Ron Paul is like a broken clock--he works twice a day (in reference to his positions on the War in Iraq and the War on Drugs). And no, I'm not sure he was so subtle, but I think it's even funnier that way.

I actually lol'd, that almost never happens.

When we were first making our toys, painting all our homes; we used lead paint prevalently. Maybe China is going through a stage like we did? And about Mattell, they admitted that they were the ones who fucked up and not the Chinese. Did anyone else stop to think that since the major corporations tend to supply their workshops that they might knowingly be buying lead paint to use in these Chinese factories since the guidelines might not be as strict in China? Or it may be more cost effective for them to go with a lead based paint and thats the reason they use it? Companies cut corners every chance they can to save a penny, so would it really shock you?

Now, the CPSC taking trips at the expense of people they are not supposed to be is definately fucked up. And yes, we should call their integrity into question for everything they do involving these companies because they KNOW they aren't supposed to be accepting trip accomodations and yet they are doing it. It's like being in court, show someone's bad history and your battle is half won. Rule of human law (not legal), even if you do change as a person you are still always going to be suspect. It's sad but true. If these fucktards are taking trips they shouldn't. What the fuck else are they doing or not doing that they need to be doing?

As a people it is our place to question our government and its actions. The moment the government no longer fears the people is the moment we give up any right to freedom or liberty and instead turn into mindless sheep following the demented will of our government. The only way to have a shot at keeping crooked politicians somewhat in line is to question what they do and the motives behind what they do.

I'm sorry to run off onto a tangent...I just really hate the entire Bush administration and always have. I am eagerly counting down the days until he is out of office, or worse. He is one man I really could give a flying fuck what happened to and think the world would be better off without him in a public office of any sort.

Young people as a whole have NEVER really banded together to get their voices heard. We probably never will. We make up too many excuses not to get directly involved in the political mess with the masses and have our voices heard as one. We may bitch about things, but we obviously don't care any further than boards like this. If we did, we would be out there trying to make a difference instead of releasing a righteous fury on message boards or in blogs. There are things we are in dire need of that we should be fighting for, such as more federal funding for college students. The expense for college is going up faster than the government spending for college students. Doesn't that strike anyone as odd since we are the future of this country? Maybe we don't fight since we figure we only have to be in school those 4-8 years and its not something we have to deal with for a lifetime..? I really don't know, and if that is the excuse its a rather sorry one because we do need to get off our asses and start having a voice in our country.