Chinese toys not so fun

Mattel the toy manufacturer we all remember from our childhood, has announced they are recalling 83 types of preschool toys that were made in China. No kidding. Something made in China that isn't up to USA standards. That is so rare.

My sarcasm drips from this post, but we really need to get involved in this epidemic. Stuff from China is just not really working out for Americans recently. There needs to be some sort of oversight of imports from China and it needs to start now.

Lead based paints on preschool toys...umm are you joking? What is the first thing little kids do when they get a toy? They try to eat it. Lead paint on preschool toys...not a good idea.

Whoopi on "The View"

I don't care about this, but it's an FYI for when you're around the watercooler. Whoopi Goldberg has joined female chat show "The View". I'm sure that someone somewhere will mention this to you and you will not care, but at least you will know. Yay.

The Sunni saga continues

Today the Islamic Dawa party, the party of Iraqi PM Maliki issued a statement asking the Sunni majority party the Accordance Front to reconsider their withdrawal from the cabinet.

This is starting to get interesting and I am truly curious to see whether or not Maliki and the others in the Iraqi government can convince the Sunnis to come back to the cabinet. If they do, it could signal a positive move toward some serious legislation and political improvement. If Maliki fails things will either stay status quo or disintegrate into complete political gridlock.

Complete political gridlock...where have I heard that before...oh yeah, right here in the USA.

Democrats stalling

The Democratic leadership in Congress is holding off on votes for spending bills until after their traditional summer break. President Bush unloaded on Congress today explaining his side of the story.

The bottom line is that the Democrats are being just as bad as the Republicans have been at playing partisan politics and "surprise!" nothing is happening in Washington. Yet another example of our representatives ignoring what the American public wants.

Honest to everyone?

I saw this guy on Fox News Channel the other day and I was really intrigued. The theory of Radical Honesty is interesting, whether or not it works has yet to be seen. Apparently it works for Brad Blanton, Ph.D. and I think it is worth looking into (if for no other reason than curiosity).

I think that being completely honest all of the time could be quite liberating. The problem I see with it is that if the people you are around are not being completely honest...then you're in trouble. In that case the, "Yes honey, you look great in that dress" comment should be a trusty stand-by in your arsenal.

Important step for Darfur

The commitment of 20,000 UN troops to the Sudan is an important step to try to stop all of the killing there in Darfur. It is also interesting to note that it is African countries committing a large amount of troops to help in the effort.

This kind of help is something that the African continent has been trying to focus on for many years. African nations have been trying to to break the bonds of colonialism by dealing with continental problems "in house" if you will. I believe that this is a positive way of doing things and that the increased communication and help between African nations will be good for the continent as a whole.

Rummy sticking up for himself

I think we can all admit that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has not always had the best of luck. Nor has he always made the best decisions. But I think that ultimately he is a pretty decent guy. A US House panel questioned Rumsfeld along with some other generals involved in the Pat Tillman screw-up yesterday.

According to accounts, Rumsfeld was pretty calm during the whole thing except when Rep. Kucinich (D, OH) decided to accuse him of a "cover up". That seemed to upset Mr. Rumsfeld, who adamantly denied any such accusations.

It was indeed a big screw up with the whole Pat Tillman situation. But dragging this out as long as it has been is starting to tarnish the memory of a great patriot.

Bridge collapse

I don't believe that you can turn on the news today without seeing something about this story. The bridge in Minneapolis, MN that collapsed yesterday evening has killed anywhere from 4-11 people so far (according to preliminary reports). Unfortunately, authorities are expecting to find more as today's recovery effort continues. This is truly a tragedy. We can only hope that it was a structural problem and not a terrorist attack.