America: China's Playground

Okay, so we've all heard about the imports from China. We're all aware that Chinese imports has risen 20% this past year alone, and we're all aware of the "defects" that are popping up in our chinese imports. It seems as if the government has lost total control. Meaning? We scorn China for exporting tainted Chinese goods, but we heavily rely on them for the majority of our so-called "American Made" products. What's even more disturbing is that the FDA normally inspects about 1 percent of all food and food ingredients at U.S. borders which means that it does tests on about half of 1 percent on all imported foods. And official vigilance has been going down — for two reasons.

First, food imports have increased dramatically, from $45 billion in 2003 to $64 billion three years later. Second, the "food" part of the FDA has been getting smaller.¹

For instance, let's talk toothpaste. FDA tests found antifreeze chemicals in Chinese imported toothpaste which inturn left the agency unsure if the items were "counterfeit." Is there any question? *ROLLS EYES* Okay, here's the proof. Five-ounce tubes of toothpaste labeled Colgate and sold in discount stores in four states are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical, according to the importer (aka "CHINA").

A Food and Drug Administration official, Doug Arbesfeld, confirmed that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label. But he said the agency is unsure if it is really Colgate or a counterfeit. ² Like I said previously... Is there really any doubt?

In a statement released by the above FDA official, “We are aware that toothpaste is something that’s been counterfeited in the past... We don’t want to alarm people unnecessarily.” Alarm us unnecessarily?! What is this? "What the American citizens don't know, won't hurt them?" Come on! Get real, for crying outloud!

According to a news article from MSNBC at least 51 people died in Panama since October after taking medicine contaminated with diethylene glycol. The substance was found in cough syrup and other medications made in a Panama government laboratory from a falsely labeled shipment that workers thought was glycerin. The chemical was traced to a Chinese company. ² (Hello... I think that statement included the word "CHINA.") Diethylene glycol, or DEG, is a thickening agent used as a low-cost — but frequently deadly — substitute for glycerin, a sweetener commonly used in drugs. ² (And apparently toothpaste!) But it didn't say toothpaste... Read on, my skeptical viewer.

Nicaraguan police seized 6,000 tubes of a Chinese-made toothpaste suspected of containing a chemical that killed at least 51 people in nearby Panama last year, the health minister said Sunday. All U.S. imports of Chinese toothpaste were halted last week to test for diethylene glycol — a chemical commonly used in antifreeze and brake fluid.

²

What more does the American government need??? They obviously know that Chinese imports are often times "infected" or "tainted," so why do we keep allowing Chinese imports to control our daily lives? Answer: HA! Just ask your government. I don't have the answer... your government does. And if that isn't convincing enough.... China now supplies 80 percent of the world's ascorbic acid — vitamin C. It's used as a preservative and nutritional enriching agent in thousands of foods. One-third of the world's vitamin A now comes from China, along with much of the supply of vitamin B-12 and many health-food supplements, such as the amino acid lysine. ¹ And that wonderful "Chinese Tea" that you've been consuming right and left? Here's another scary thought to think on:

When William Hubbard (ex-employee for the FDA) was at the FDA, he heard all kinds of stories about foreign food processors, like the one a staffer told him after visiting a Chinese factory that makes herbal tea.
"To speed up the drying process, they would lay the tea leaves out on a huge warehouse floor and drive trucks over them so that the exhaust would more rapidly dry the leaves out," Hubbard says. "And the problem there is that the Chinese use leaded gasoline, so they were essentially spewing the lead over all these leaves."
That lead-contaminated herbal tea would only be caught by FDA inspectors at the border if they knew to look for it, Hubbard says. ¹

***TO BE CONTINUED***

"GOOD WILL" or Good Fortune?

Okay, so I'm cruising though town, and I decide to stop in at the local Goodwill just to have a look at what they have. I've been at this particular store on many occasions, so what I'm about to tell you isn't really news to me, just more of a "overkill" of what already has been happening.
For starters, let's take a look at the basics of the Goodwill foundation:

"The clothing and household goods you donate are sold in over 2,000 Goodwill retail stores and on our Internet auction site, shopgoodwill.com."

It's true that Goodwill sells clothes and household appliances, but did they tell you that it would cost you an arm and a leg to shop their stores?? Like I said previously, I've been in this particular Goodwill store on many occasions only to be a little bit surprised at how pricey the clothing items were. Shirts were usually around $3.99 and up, and jeans and other dress slacks were around $5.50. Not bad, really. But that was before. When I walked in the next time, prices has risen to about $5.50 per shirt and about $7.99 for jeans and other pants. Of course, if any clothing article had a nice little designer tag on interior of the item, they tacked on a few more extra dollars. How nice of them.
Now, just for the record, like I stated up top, I'm not a radical, or anyone who's out to criticize good folks for the heck of it. This is simply to tell others about what's going on and how I think it should be changed. And about Goodwill? I am so proud of what they've done in the past, and especially their mission statement:

"Goodwill Industries will enhance the quality and dignity of life for individuals, families, and communities on a global basis, through the power of work, by eliminating barriers to opportunity for people with special needs, and by facilitating empowerment, self-help, and service through dedicated, autonomous local organizations."

Wow. What a statement. That's praiseworthy by my standards. If anything, Goodwill is one of the most helpful organizations in America. We need more places like Goodwill to turn to. I can't express how much I am thankful for people that step it up a notch and get involved with their community. I'm just honored that they'd even put such a store in my area. BUT. Here's the rub. We know that all the clothing and appliances that are in their stores are donated so why the heck are they as pricey as Wal*Mart? Seriously... that's supposed be where everyone can afford the items in their stores and purchase items to help better their quality of life. Back to my original thought, why are they so darn pricey??? When I, and by no means am I a millionair or poverty striken (although I have compassion and I pour my heart out to those who are less fortunate than I, and I send up many prayers for them) but when I won't even buy something from Goodwill cause their prices are too high for me, and quite frankly, I wouldn't even give you x amount for what they were asking cause the quality was worser than a local garage sale, I think something ought to be said.
I don't know if this was just a bad shipment that came in or what, but I do know that no "normal" citizen could buy anything from that store. I was in a shopping mood too. Not that has anything to do with it (well, if you're a "laydee" like me, you know what I'm talking about!) but still the fact remains that the prices were outrageous.
Now for the pros. The people at that particular Goodwill store were more than happy to help me with anything I needed, and they were friendly, willing to get involved, and it's a happy atmosphere for anyone who walks through their stores. That is something that I will credit to their name and let everyone know that I've never met a Goodwill store worker that was "having a bad day." I give them two thumbs up for that! Infact, I give them the utmost appreciation for what they do. I think they just need to fix their prices better so the average citizen can come and shop. It's a fact that Goodwill does numerous acts of "good will" hence their name, and it is a fact that they are some of the most willingest people I've ever met when it comes to helping others. But, Goodwill's prices are outrageous to the normal citizen to come in and shop at and the quality of clothing they are selling isn't even worth it, albeit the contents of the store's shelfs are donated. But, also with that thought in mind, they should be considerate of the quality and the prices and keep prices at a "reasonable" level. It's a fact that Goodwill is getting pricey and normal folks can barely afford their products, and that my friends, is an intolerable fact.

Oklahoma's Dangerous Dog Laws

Some people might disagree with me here, but I am willing to say that I am ready to "agree to disagree" about certain issues on my site. For starters, I'm talking about dangerous dog laws. Dangerous dog laws, or most commonly referred to as "Pit Bull Dog Laws" are enforced in various parts of the country due to sad stories of children or the elderly, or even the everyday citizen, being attacked by a vicious dog. Not all dog owners are thrilled about these "dog laws," but unfortunately, dog owners can't always control their pets, and sometimes, although unintentionally, dogs evade their owners and take a savage bite out of an innocent by-stander and cause many thousand of dollars worth of pain and suffering and the dog owner is left with a law suit against them and their now dubbed, vicious dog. Not that by any means am I stereotyping any breed of dog for being "vicious," I'm just stating plain fact. Pit bull dogs are the most common breed of dog in the United States today, that inflicts the most injury to normal citizens due to attack and vicious behavior. Apparently, this stands true for even me, a normalized citizen in eastern Oklahoma.
Just 4 days ago, on a Monday, I had noticed that the new renters who had moved in across the street from me, had a pit bull running loose throughout the streets. Albeit that the new renters never seem to be home when their pet is running rampant throughout the neighborhood, that certainly doesn't stop me from taking action against this offense. Offense? What offense? Okay, well... I have a fenced in yard. It's actually 2 lots next door to where I live that is attached to my property. I keep it mowed, and up to par for normal reasons. This dog, the one that belongs to the new renters across the street from my property, is vicious and will bite if come in contact with. While mowing my lawn on my riding lawn mower, the neighbors dog decided to come and "relieve" himself in my yard and persist in chasing me all the way across my two lots, across my backyard, and into my house. Yes, I would defiantly call this dog "vicious." It's not too long thereafter that I'm on the phone calling animal control to come pickup the dog for the shelter. So what happens next? The pet patrol (aka animal control) visits the house where the dog is running around at and all other places, but unfortunately, since the dog is so "vicious," the pet patrol officer won't even attempt to collect the dog. He simply puts his noose back into his truck and roars off, hoping no one saw his ill-attempt at the dog.
So what's left for me and my mowing? A re-attempt, but needless to say, it failed. I was once again running for my safety, back into my house. I called the pet patrol again, but there was no answer. This continued for the next 2 days... calls on the pet and his owner (who was never home) and random checks on the dogs included.
Thursday finally rolled around (I was having a garage sale), and I was fed-up with having to run like a maniac across my field away from a "vicious" dog. Earlier that day, the dog decided to "rest" for a while in my field, right across where I had customers at. I called the pet patrol once more, and requested they take the dog away to the pound. The same, over-weight pet patrol officer arrives at the scene and takes one look at the dog, and drives off just like Monday, all over again. I was furious. I then decided to call the Sheriff, and the only response that I got was "We've had many calls on the dog.. we just can't catch 'em."
Can't catch 'em????? Aren't you the law?? Don't you enforce it with your "Animal Control Units?" Or is that just a big ploy to collect money from taxpayers and once in a while and send out an ill-trained animal control officer to chase around some "vicious" dog?
Finally, the PEST CONTROL.. *SNORTS* pays the house a visit and much to my surprise, he knocks on the door. What a revelation! These city-hired officials actually know how to knock on doors, and chase pets around town! Intriguing! Anyway, to my surprise, the owner slogs to the door after about 5 mins of pounding on his door. I watched with great intrigue at what the "PEST CONTROL" could do, and what the "ANIMAL CONTROL" couldn't. It was just so darn funny... PEST control.. the dog's a PEST???? AH HA HA HA!!!!! So... from my little secret lookout from my bedroom, I could see the PEST control writing what looked to be a citation, or possibly a fine for his pet running loose (and hopefully for it running me through my yard).
Just when I thought that my nightmares about THAT dog was over with (by the way.. the dog was then detained in his backyard... they didn't even take the dog!!!!!), the neighbors to the other side of me decided to let their pit bulls loose and roam freely in their yard, playing roughly with them, aggravating them. That's fine with me... just don't let them run loose. That's a no-no. While I'm conducting my garage sale, the other neighbor's dogs decided to make a run for my garage sale, barking and snarling at me and my customers. They charge down through their yard, through the fence, and OH! The owner re-calls them just in time as they hit my property and my customers. I yelled,"You Better Put Those Dogs Up!" and lost more than a handful of customers. I then re-call the Sheriff about the "vicious" dogs that surround me, and all I got was "I'll look into it." No pet patrol, no PEST control, no nothing but a snively look from my other neighbor. *SIGH*
Today, I haven't seen either neighbor, or any of the intruding dogs. It's a fact that in many states there exists "dangerous dog laws." It's a fact that Oklahoma has none, hence the fact that pit bulls and other "vicious" dogs run freely, taking off body parts as they wish. It's a fact that the city-hired officials are no better off than we, the normalized citizens are when it comes to dealing with "vicious" dogs. The "dangerous dog laws" in Oklahoma does not exist, and that my friends, is an intolerable fact.