Webcomic: "Did you hear something?"

Webcomic: "Dust Ourselves Off..."

Webcomic: Change (inauguration eve)

AP: Federal Inquiry Into Salmonella Outbreak Widens

Looks like the FDA is finally starting to get a handle on the latest contaimination of our food supply...


From the AP:
"Federal officials have confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies. The outbreak has sickened hundreds of people in 43 states and killed at least six. Stephen Sundlof, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety center, said, “This is a very active investigation, but we don’t yet have the data to provide consumers with specifics about what brands or products they should avoid.” The investigation extends beyond peanut butter to baked goods and other products that contain peanuts and are sold directly to consumers. Health officials say as many as one-third of the people who got sick did not recall eating peanut butter."

Factory Workers vs. NFC Title Game Ad

This afternoon I watched the NFC Championship game. I hate all teams involved, but since the Eagles are playing and Donavan McNabb doesn't know the rules, I was hoping for a tie. Alas.... no. However, while I was watching the game I noticed something. Before halftime I counted no less than eight GM or Chrysler commercials and somewhere around 14 for the game itself including Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, etc.. .

Am I dreaming? Is the financial crisis over? Did I imagine GM, Ford, and Chrysler executives traveling to Congress in corporate jets to beg for money?

I am not dreaming. The financial crisis is real and the Big 3 are smack dab in the middle of it with declining sales and an unsustainable business model. Given the fact that the American tax payer just bailed out two of the big three for something like $25 billion, can someone explain to me why I saw any commercials for any of these "impoverished" companies during the NFC title game no less? I have no idea what it costs to advertise during the NFC championship game but I'm guessing its in the tens, if not hundreds, of thousands per advertisement. These are the same companies that complain their legacy costs are too great to be competitive without significant give backs from the United Auto Workers. How many factory workers can you pay with what it costs to run one 30 second add during the NFC title game?

Anyone see a serious problem with this?

I think I'm really pissed because I had to watch commercials like this 14 times:

Webcomic: American Idol

Quick Thought: Reagan, big government

As we are about to witness President Elect Obama's inauguration, I had this thought: As Wall Street melts down and economic growth slows to a crawl due to a general lack of government regulation, will these words, spoken by President Elect Reagan in 1981, live in infamy?

"Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem."



A few other Reagan quotes:

"Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

I'm really annoyed with Peanut Butter.

I'm really annoyed with Peanut Butter.

The FDA has announced that no one should eat dog food... I mean tomatoes... I mean peanut butter because of salmonella poisoning somewhere in some food processing plant somewhere in America or the world. Can the FDA (link) please get their shit together? I've decided that despite all the problems we have economically here in America, the one thing that President Elect Obama needs to fix is the Food and Drug Administration. We take for granted how important government regulation is until the stock market explodes or we can't eat a basic staple of many people's diet, including my own children.

Lock it up FDA.

B A N A N A S.

Worth reading:

The banana is dying. According to this article within the next few decades, bananas will be extinct from a "cancer" like illness called Panama Disease.

"Below the headlines about rocketing food prices and rocking governments, there lays a largely unnoticed fact: bananas are dying. The foodstuff, more heavily consumed even than rice or potatoes, has its own form of cancer. It is a fungus called Panama Disease, and it turns bananas brick-red and inedible.

There is no cure. They all die as it spreads, and it spreads quickly. Soon -- in five, 10 or 30 years -- the yellow creamy fruit as we know it will not exist. The story of how the banana rose and fell can be seen a strange parable about the corporations that increasingly dominate the world -- and where they are leading us."

The article makes some inserting points about how evil fruit corporations have brought this upon themselves through horrendous business practices.

That shit is B A N A N A S. Sorry... couldn't resist. (Fast forward to 2:34 if you live under a rock.)

Some awesome crap about chocolate.

I like chocolate. There, I said it. The darker, the better. I sorta heard that it helps my heart or something. Don't care, that's not why I eat it. This article, however, makes me happy. Who knew bacon and cheese/chocolate went so well together.

Ecosalon
From Cavity Care to Cold, Hard Cash: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Chocolate

Things we should regulate.....like child rearing.

Some people should not be parents. Exhibit A: The BBC has an article about this young boy (7) who refuses to eat anything.... as in... he's never eaten ANYTHING. He gets fed through a tube and has for his entire life.

""He gets artificially fed through a tube in his stomach and he gets all his nutrients through that overnight."
Through the years the family have tried various methods of persuading Tyler to eat, visiting a long line of doctors and psychologists along the way.
The amount of milk that Tyler gets at night was gradually reduced to induce hunger and hopefully force him to eat.
But, already small for his age, he would just dramatically lose weight.
It has now been decided that the best thing to do is wait and see if he eats of his own accord.
Tyler said: "I'd like to not have a tube and be like big boys in my class.""

As a parent, I have to wonder WTF is going on in this house. To me, this is child abuse. The article claims there is nothing physically wrong with the child. That means there is something wrong with the parents. Why, in God's name, would you permit this behavior?

Link:
Boy, 7, has 'never eaten a meal'

It's not fast food... we're just fat.

Interesting article here in U.S. News and World Report claiming there is no link between fast food and America (and the world) getting fat. Moreover, taxes and other incentives used to force restaurants into healthier choices (i.e. better oil, less salt, etc) will only hurt their business and not make us, the fat public, healthier.


"The results find no evidence of a causal link between restaurants and obesity, and the estimates are precise enough to rule out any meaningful effect. Analysis of food intake micro data suggests that although consumers eat larger meals at restaurants than at home (even after accounting for selection), they offset these calories at other times of day. We conclude that public health policies targeting restaurants are unlikely to reduce obesity but could negatively affect consumer welfare."

Link:
Nope, McDonald's Isn't Making Us Fat
James Pethokoukis

Study Here