A Date-Rape Drug In Toys?

What, do they just have factories over in China filled with dangerous crap and somebody puts on a blindfold and picks out the first thing he finds?

U.S. safety officials have voluntarily recalled about 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots toys contaminated with a powerful "date rape" drug that has caused some children to vomit and lose consciousness upon ingesting the contents.

Scientists have found the highly popular holiday toy contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB (gamma-hydroxy butyrate), U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) spokesman Scott Wolfson told CNN.

"Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression or have seizures," a CPSC statement warned.

"Anyone with Aqua Dots at home should throw them out," CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said. The toy was named toy of the year in Australia and recently made Wal-Mart Store Inc's list of top 12 Christmas toys.

I could do a really cruel joke about Catholic priests and rosary beads, but... whoops, I think I just did.

Seriously, the product safety situation is almost a parody now. While the heads of the CPSC are off on 12-day safaris, conglomerates are literally letting their Chinese manufacturers get away with murder. A date-rape drug? Seriously? What's next, Malibu Barbie with absinthe?

Please Don't Allow Us To Do Our Jobs!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is begging for less money and less staff. Welcome to George Bush's America.

The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency, which polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.

On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.

Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.

At this point, I don't think you can give her the money, as it certainly won't be put to good use - or any use.

What's sad is that this comes at a time when product safety is more necessary than ever. China is getting rid of all their excess lead in our toys, making sticky buns out of cardboard, toothpaste out of antifreeze, and the one regulatory agency that could at least provide a small firewall to this runaway poisoning of Americans doesn't want to do the job. Because actually doing their job might lessen some CEO's balance sheet by a few bucks. The Bush Administration has consistently resisted efforts to regulate products coming in from China. This Nancy Nord is a former US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE official.

This is what they call "drowning government in the bathtub." And furthermore, caveat emptor was never more needed. I'm bringing testing equipment the next time I go to the dollar store.