Category: Wasting your time

The toy companies that moved their production to China in order to save money apparently didn’t calculate the full costs of offshoring. Testing their products for lead is just too expensive, they argue. They have successfully lobbied to delay lead testing rules for children’s toys. Joseph Pereira and Melanie Trottman of the Journal report:

Under pressure from manufacturers, federal regulators have postponed for one year certain testing requirements for lead and other toxic substances in toys and other children’s products.

But unless Congress acts, retailers and manufacturers still won’t be allowed to sell products that don’t comply with tougher lead standards that are set to take effect on Feb. 10. “Congress will need to address that issue — the CPSC cannot,” Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said in a statement.

The stay allows manufacturers, which have been hit hard by the recession, to put off costly product testing for levels of lead, used to stabilize the plastic in products, and phthalates, which are chemicals used to soften plastic. The testing rules were supposed to have taken effect on Feb. 10 as well.

So, let’s just hope that there’s no lead in the toys you buy your kids in the next year. Oops, wait a minute. There is lead in them. All you have to do is test to find it:

Friday, the Center for Environmental Health, an advocacy group in Oakland, Calif., said it found several Valentine’s Day stuffed-animal toys sold by Rite Aid Corp. and Longs Drugs, a unit of CVS Caremark Corp., with lead exceeding the new national standards that take effect on Feb. 10. The lead levels found in one of the stuffed-animal toys were more than 15 times the new federal limit, the Center for Environmental Health said. “There should be something to back up a claim that the products are safe, but without testing and certification there’s no assurance,” said Charles Margulis, a spokesman for the group.

In good Denialism blog form, the San Francisco Chronicle’s C. W. Nevius has urged readers to just ignore this week’s anti-abortion protest in San Francisco. He makes a good point:

This is the fifth year in San Francisco for the “Walk for Life.” Bolstered by supporters who are bused in from all over – this year’s bus schedule lists departures from Yuba City, Bakersfield, Fresno, Reno, Clovis and Chico, among other cities – the anti-abortion group stages a march in liberal San Francisco and then expresses shock and disappointment when they are jeered and booed.

It’s a scam and a setup. Nothing gets media attention like two groups facing off against each other. And, frankly, on the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the anti-abortion groups are becoming a tired story. They claim huge numbers for this walk – their estimate last year was 25,000 walkers, although The Chronicle story had the total at 10,000 – but there isn’t much of a news hook unless there’s some controversy. They’d probably get more people if they marched in Indiana, but in San Francisco they can garner much more publicity.

Amen! Stay inside on this Bay Area rainy day!

A blog note: I apologize for the sparse blogging on Denialism Blog. The semester has just started for me, and I am teaching a new course that is taking a huge amount of time. MarkH is flying around the country interviewing. This week he was in San Francisco, where instead of blogging, we ate at Chapeau and the Slanted Door, and went to the gun show. Yes, the gun show. It was hilarious. We bought beef jerky there, considered getting a crossbow to shoot some Ligers, and stocked up on dental tools and compasses for survival post apocalypse.

If you want to get an idea of how crazy the Wall Street Journal editorial board is, read Friday’s oped by their senior economist, Stephen Moore. The title itself says a lot: ‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years.”

Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read “Atlas Shrugged” a “virgin.” Being conversant in Ayn Rand’s classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only “Atlas” were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I’m confident that we’d get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.

[…]

In one chapter of the book, an entrepreneur invents a new miracle metal — stronger but lighter than steel. The government immediately appropriates the invention in “the public good.” The politicians demand that the metal inventor come to Washington and sign over ownership of his invention or lose everything.

The scene is eerily similar to an event late last year when six bank presidents were summoned by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Washington, and then shuttled into a conference room and told, in effect, that they could not leave until they collectively signed a document handing over percentages of their future profits to the government. The Treasury folks insisted that this shakedown, too, was all in “the public interest.”

Eerily similar? This flawed, unnuanced comparison illustrates the pathology of both the Cato Institute and the Journal!

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I couldn’t be more thrilled to see that Rebecca Skloot has joined scienceblogs. I remember reading her article on HeLa cells and thinking it was the best science writing I’d ever read.

So, sorry for the late announcement and welcome to Rebecca!

As many of you may know, I’m not a Christian. That’s right, the whole Jesus thing kinda passed my by. It’s not that I have anything against your Lord, I just don’t give him much thought.

Except now. This is the time of year when people wish me a Merry Christmas, then back peddle, embarrassed, as if they had just told me to perform some anatomically unlikely act on myself.

So, I’m telling you all right now:

It’s OK to say “Merry Christmas” to this Jew. I realize that I’m a minority around here, and while there are certain things about being in a religiocultural minority that are problematic, having someone wish me a practically secular holiday greeting just doesn’t rate getting me annoyed.

Trust me when I tell you that people manage to find far more offensive things to say at any time of the year.

Now let’s remember that on this federal holiday (declared by President U.S. Grant along with New Year’s Day and Independence Day to give federal employees some days off), there are a whole lot of people still working. We may enjoy an easier drive to work (absent snow and ice), but we work just the same. In my little bit of life, it’s hospital employees who deserve special kudos. Most of them are, as my daughter would say, “Christmas people”, and have sacrificed important time to take care of sick people.

Many of us doctors aren’t Christian, but “other”: Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Jain, Druze, Ba’hai—really, you name it, we’ve got it. Sure, some of the doctors are Christian, but medicine is a world-wide fellowship whose identity often supercedes, or at least rests hierarchically near, religious identity. While I’d love to spend the day watching the snow fall with my daughter, there are people at the hospital who need me, who need the nurses, techs, cooks, environmental workers, all of our hospital family. As a non-Christian, I’m pleased to be able to give my time so that my colleagues can be home on what for them is a special day, and many of my non-Christian colleagues feel the same way.

Please, on this holiday, remember that many of us are taking calls, auscultating chests, lancing boils, and otherwise tending to those occurances that, like me, don’t recognize Christmas.

But don’t be afraid to wish me a Merry Christmas. I know you mean it in a nice way. And cookies—I like cookies.

OK, this is a meme that I’ve always wanted to do (at least since this morning). It will involve no tagging, no involuntary contributions, just some cool info sharing.

We all have favorite restaurants, places we can drop in for a favorite meal. What I’m interested in is not the best gourmet places, but the best everyday places. So, I’ll share with you some of my local favorites from the NW Detroit metro area (leaving out some from earlier in my life, as I can’t verify their continued existence).

1) Mr. Kabob, in Berkley, MI. This place rocks. It’s in a damned gas station, but they cook up some wickedly good and cheap mideastern carry out (and you can eat there if you don’t mind the comings and goings of the gas patrons).

2) Redcoat Tavern, Birmingham, MI. This cramped, dark, smoky spot is well-known for one of the best burgers in Michigan.

3) Juilleret’s, Charlevoix, MI. I dare you—I double dog dare you—to find a better breakfast. The french toast is incomparable.

4) Steve’s Deli, Bloomfield Hills, MI: Detroit has great delis. Really, New York, you guys are pitiful. You must have a #4 (corned beef, swiss cheese, coleslaw on rye with russian dressing)—it’s a classic Detroit deli sandwich. (Yes, Star Deli is better, but it’s takeout only.)

5) Athens Coney Island, Birmingham, MI: Coney Islands are Detroit diners. They are often Greek-owned, and have lots of classic Greek specialties, but what they all share in common is the Coney, a natural casing hot dog in a steamed bun with chili sauce (not chili). You gotta do it. (Yes, Lafayette and American are the classics, but how often do you really go to downtown Detroit, even if you live here?)

So go ahead and tell us your favorite hometown eateries—we want to know.

Jeanne Whalen of the Journal reports that European officials are taking a step towards allowing drug marketing:

The European Commission proposed legislation Wednesday that would let drug companies give consumers “objective and nonpromotional” information about their medicines in print and online. Currently, drug companies can’t provide any information to European consumers, except on leaflets found inside drug packaging. The legislative proposals must be approved by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers before becoming law, a process that could take years.

Meanwhile, in the US, it looks as though drug companies have agreed to largely meaningless reforms in advertising. Jonathan Rockoff and Shirley Wang of the Journal report that prescription drug marketers, represented by former congressman Billy Tauzin, have said, “…they will halt advertising that includes promoting prescription drugs for uses that the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved or using actors as physicians without saying so. The guidelines say celebrity endorsers shouldn’t say they use a drug unless they actually do.”

And here’s the big b.s:

Billy Tauzin, president of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry trade group that issued the standards Wednesday, said the aim was to address the concerns of doctors, Congress and other critics while continuing to keep patients informed about valuable treatments.

“Our goal is to constantly look at [the ads] and see if we can improve them, so they are more informative, more educational and less promotional,” Mr. Tauzin said.

How philanthropic!

This is my annual Thanksgiving post (“annual” because I wrote it last year and I’m reposting it this year. It’s companion piece is over at my old place). –PalMD

It’s easy to see what Christmas means to an atheist—another day off work. What about Thanksgiving? This nominally secular holiday is practiced throughout North America by people of most faiths and cultures, and by those of no faith at all. But to whom are we giving thanks? Can “thank” be an intransitive verb?

This question falls into the same category as many ethical questions about atheism, such as “where do atheists get their morals?”, but this is a little different. First, does celebrating Thanksgiving require “giving thanks”?

I’d argue that it does not. To celebrate the joys of family, the harvest bounty, and just not working is enjoyable in and of itself. There is no moral imperative to “thank” anyone or anything. The pure joy of celebration is enough for many.

But thanking people is a good thing. It cements social bonds, creates interpersonal harmony. It’s a good idea to thank your family, your friends, and anyone else who has helped brighten your days. Why do that on one particular day? Why not? Devoting a day away from work to simply thank those around us is probably a good thing.

I am certainly not saying one should not thank God on Thanksgiving…that’s up to you. If you are one of those who believes in a deity, go for it. But remember that there are many ways to “thank” without having to believe in God. While you thank your God, you may also want to thank your atheist neighbor who, despite not fearing hellfire and damnation, returned your mower.

So happy Thanksgiving to both my loyal readers. I’ll be with my family filling my belly—heaven on Earth.