Bush OKs Tough Product Safety Rules

(CBS/AP)  The federal government would toughen its policing of products from abroad under steps proposed by President Bush on Tuesday after a rash of recalls of dangerous toothpaste, dog food and toys.

Bush said the United States benefits from having an open market and a huge variety of products from across the globe.

However, he said, "We need to do more to ensure that American families have confidence in what they find on our store shelves. They have the right to expect the food they eat, the medicines they take or the toys they buy for their children to be safe."

Acting on recommendations from an advisory panel, Bush proposed that the Food and Drug Administration be empowered to order mandatory recalls of unsafe food products. Currently, the FDA lacks the authority to order recalls, but works with producers on voluntary recalls. "Specifically, the FDA would be empowered to order a recall when a company refuses to recall their product voluntarily, or moves too slowly in removing the unsafe product from the market," the president said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the United States has "among the safest food supplies on the planet. It's not perfect. We can get better. But we're very fortunate to live in a place where these problems are discovered quickly and responded to."

Bush also proposed increasing the presence of U.S. inspectors from Customs, the Border Patrol, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and other agencies in countries that are major exporters to the United States.

Other proposals would strengthen CPSC's authority by making it illegal for companies to knowingly sell a recalled product; by authorizing the CPSC to issue follow-up recall announcements, and by requiring recalling companies to report supplier and delivery information. Further, CPSC would be able to impose asset forfeiture penalties for criminal offenses.

A third recommendation calls for establishing a certification program - likened to a seal of approval - for companies with a proven track record for meeting safety standards. The Bush administration sees that as a powerful tool because it presumably would make certified suppliers more attractive to big retailers.

In addition, regulators would be able to concentrate on countries and companies that don't have a reputation for meeting certification standards

"For many years we've relied on a strategy based on identifying unsafe products at the border," Bush said. "The problem is that the growing volume of products coming into our country makes this approach increasingly unreliable."

He said federal regulators now will focus on stopping dangerous products from reaching U.S. borders in the first place.

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[starleo146]

Impeachment''s not the solution to psychosis, no matter how flagrant. But despite their impressive foresight in other areas, the framers unaccountably neglected to include an involuntary civil commitment procedure in the Constitution.

Still, don''t lose hope. By enlisting the aid of mental health professionals and the court system, Congress can act to remedy that constitutional oversight. The goal: Get Bush and Cheney committed to an appropriate inpatient facility, where they can get the treatment they so desperately need. In Washington, the appropriate statutory law is already in place: If a "court or jury finds that [a] person is mentally ill and ... is likely to injure himself or other persons if allowed to remain at liberty, the court may order his hospitalization."

I''ll even serve on the jury. When it comes to averting World War III, it''s really the least I can do.

[starleo146]

You''d better believe these guys would do it too. Why not? They have nothing to lose -- they''re out of office in 15 months anyway. Aprhs Bush-Cheney, le diluge! (Have fun, Hillary.)

But all this creates a conundrum. What''s a constitutional democracy to do when the president and vice president lose their marbles?

The U.S. is full of ordinary people with serious forms of mental illness -- delusional people with violent fantasies who think they''re the president, or who think they get instructions from the CIA through their dental fillings.

The problem with Bush is that he is the president -- and he gives instructions to the CIA and military, without having to go through his dental fillings.

[starleo146]

Planet Cheney.

Zakaria may be misinterpreting the president''s remark about World War III though. He saw it as a dangerously loopy Bush prediction about the future behavior of a nuclear Iran -- the idea being, presumably, that possessing "the knowledge" to make a nuclear weapon would so empower Iran''s repressive leaders that they''ll giddily rush out and start World War III.

But you could read Bush''s remark as a madman''s threat rather than a madman''s prediction -- as a warning to recalcitrant states, from Germany to Russia, that don''t seem to share his crazed obsession with Iran. The message: Fall into line with administration policy toward Iran or you can count on the U.S.A. to try to start World War III on its own. And when it comes to sparking global conflagration, a U.S. attack on Iran might be just the thing. Yee haw!

[starleo146]

Huh? Iran is now a major threat to Europe? The Iranians are going to launch a nuclear missile (that they don''t yet possess) against Europe (for reasons unknown because, as far as we know, they''re not mad at anyone in Europe)? This is lunacy in action.

Writing in Newsweek on Oct. 20, Fareed Zakaria, a solid centrist and former editor of Foreign Affairs, put it best. Citing Bush''s invocation of "the specter of World War III if Iran gained even the knowledge needed to make a nuclear weapon," Zakaria concluded that "the American discussion about Iran has lost all connection to reality. ... Iran has an economy the size of Finland''s. ... It has not invaded a country since the late 18th century. The United States has a GDP that is 68 times larger and defense expenditures that are 110 times greater. Israel and every Arab country (except Syria and Iraq) are ... allied against Iran. And yet we are to believe that Tehran is about to overturn the international system and replace it with an Islamo-fascist order? What planet are we on?

[starleo146]

That would be with Iran, and you''d have to be deaf not to hear the war drums. Last week, Bush remarked that "if you''re interested in avoiding World War III ... you ought to be interested in preventing [Iran] from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon." On Sunday, Cheney warned of "the Iranian regime''s efforts to destabilize the Middle East and to gain hegemonic power ... [we] cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its most aggressive ambitions." On Tuesday, Bush insisted on the need "to defend Europe against the emerging Iranian threat."

[starleo146]

Forget impeachment.

Liberals, put it behind you. George W. Bush and *** Cheney shouldn''t be treated like criminals who deserve punishment. They should be treated like psychotics who need treatment.

Because they''ve clearly gone mad. Exhibit A: We''re in the middle of a disastrous war in Iraq, the military and political situation in Afghanistan is steadily worsening, and the administration''s interrogation and detention tactics have inflamed anti-Americanism and fueled extremist movements around the globe. Sane people, confronting such a situation, do their best to tamp down tensions, rebuild shattered alliances, find common ground with hostile parties and give our military a little breathing space. But crazy people? They look around and decide it''s a great time to start another war.

[killtheliars]

Watch what the FDA ends up banning. Our kids will still be exposed to toxic paint on chinese made krap, but they will stop any product that may cut inot drug company profits.

[bigsk8fan]

sure bush is concerned about product safety. I have a bridge in new york i want to sell you too.

the devil is in the details. let''s if bush provides any funding to actually oversee this new concern about product safety; or will it be underfunded like the "no child left behind" act?

the problem is that everyone knows george w bush and republicans are hypocrites. so we are waiting for the other shoe to fall.

[brianbwb-2009]

Boy it would seem there are lot of bigots who don''''t like bush. I like bigots as enemies
Posted by alanrobisch2

Come on Al, you have posted your rather generous share of bigoted statements also, does that make you your own enemy?

Actually, now that I ponder it, it does...

[missingamerica]

This doesn''t mean a *** thing, since it is the Administration''s practice that anything released by a Federal agency for public consumption must be reviewed by their representative.

Given their other practice of altering, censoring, or just concealing information if it might negatively affect some corporation''s profits, I repeat:

This doesn''t mean a *** thing.