In her typical humorous manner, she informed her coworker of the latest work developments and the growing ambient abuse. They chatted keeping the quick-witted quips rolling. After a hearty laugh her coworker said, “You should be a comedian.”
“No,” she answered, “I don’t have enough material and I don’t want to work here that long.”
Flash Fiction Friday is hosted by g-man. You may also visit Flash Fiction Friday 55′s, a blog dedicated to hosting 55 Flash Fiction Friday posts.
From the executive summary of an FDA report on Bisphenol A (BPA):
Coupling together the available qualitative and quantitative information (including application of uncertainty factors) provides a sufficient scientific basis to conclude that the Margins of Safety defined by FDA as “adequate” are, in fact, inadequate.
The FDA has gone from their April 14, 2008 view of BPA levels are too low to cause any health effects
Based on our ongoing review, we believe there is a large body of evidence that indicates that FDA-regulated products containing BPA currently on the market are safe and that exposure levels to BPA from food contact materials, including for infants and children, are below those that may cause health effects.
to their new and, depending on your point of view, improved October 28, 2008 statement that BPA won’t hurt you right away.
Consumers should know that, based on all available evidence, the present consensus among regulatory agencies in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan is that current levels of exposure to BPA through food packaging do not pose an immediate health risk to the general population, including infants and babies.
Apparently the FDA based their original BPA is safe view based on three studies industry funded studies and just ignored those Henny-Penny-The-Sky-Is-Falling independent reports. Thanks for doing your job and looking out for us little guys FDA! But don’t worry, they aren’t swayed by money, big business, lobbyists…
NIH reaffirms BPA concerns
08 September 2008
The ACC (American Chemistry Council) has launched a major campaign to defend BPA, including one effort that helped killed a California state bill aiming to ban all but trace amounts of BPA from the food and beverage containers of babies and young children.The trade association publicly suggested that any ban on BPA would threaten food safety and increase grocery costs. On 29 August, the California State Assembly rejected the bill by a 35-30 vote. Fifteen of the state legislators were absent or didn’t vote.
‘California’s legislators made the right decision for their consumers,’ said ACC’s Steven Hentges. ‘Products targeted by this bill have been affirmed to be safe by government bodies around the world based on the science, most recently by the FDA’.
There was some criticism, however, of industry efforts to defeat the bill. ‘It is a very powerful lobby,’ says Scott Belcher, a University of Cincinnati pharmacologist. ‘With the worldwide production capacity at over 6.4 billion pounds per year, BPA is an important chemical and an important money maker.’ The US chemical industry produces roughly 2.3 billion pounds of BPA annually, and the chemical’s global market is estimated at $6 billion
Whatever kickbacks were being passed around must have stopped or no longer covered the cost of gas for FDA scientists to drive to work, or maybe the severely underfunded agency is finally able to properly address BPA.
FDA ignored evidence when calling BPA safe
Updated 10/29/2008 11:55 PM
By Liz Szabo, USA TODAYThe scientists took the FDA to task for basing its safety decision in August on three industry-funded studies. Another government agency, the National Toxicology Program, decided many other independent studies deserved consideration. The toxicology program concluded last month there is “some concern” that BPA alters development of the brain, prostate and behavior in children and fetuses.
The expert panel also found the FDA underestimated how much BPA babies ingest on several counts. For one, the agency failed to consider the cumulative effect of being exposed to BPA from dozens of products, a fundamental error that “severely limits the usefulness” of the FDA’s safety estimate.
An advocacy group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, believes BPA is too toxic to use in baby products at all. The group formally has asked the FDA to remove BPA from food and beverage containers.
This report from Chemistry World talks about the effects of BPA:
BPA linked to heart disease and diabetes
16 September 2008
Animal studies have long suggested that low-level chronic exposure to BPA can lead to reproductive and developmental problems, such as breast and prostate cancers, as well as the early onset of puberty. A report from the National Institutes of Health found ‘some concern’ about the effects of BPA on foetuses and children. But the FDA says it has not been proven that typical human exposures pose a safety risk. And in July the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that the chemical appears safe at current dosages since humans metabolise and eliminate it more rapidly than do the rats used in scientific research.Although it is complicated to work out a ‘safe’ level of BPA exposure, Galloway says her paper raises doubt about whether the current guidelines set by US and European governments are adequately protective. ‘We are seeing the effect of concentrations lower than the level currently recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),’ she told Chemistry World. The EPA’s safety limit is 50 micrograms/kg bodyweight per day, which is also the tolerable daily intake according to the EFSA.
When will we get results?
FDA criticised by its own experts over bisphenol A
04 November 2008The FDA is unlikely to resolve the BPA safety issue quickly. The agency doesn’t have to officially respond to the Science Board report until February, by which time a new president will occupy the White House and a new Congress will be installed. The agency says its reply could include anything from a call for specific research proposals to the implementation of some type of BPA ban.
Consumer tips to avoid BPA exposure from the Environmental Working Group.
I’ve seen a lot of chatter about BPA in baby formula and found this information through the Environmental Working Group stating that powdered formula does not appear to contain BPA even if the can may be lined with BPA.
BPA does not appear to leach into powdered formula. The Canadian government recently published testing results showing no BPA in any of 56 powdered formulas sampled, and the tests include the same companies that make the formula sold in the United States (Cao 2008). Previously little was known about BPA in powdered formula. Three of the 4 major formula companies had told EWG that they used BPA in powdered formula containers or gave us conflicting answers. FDA recently analyzed 2 types of powdered formula containers and concluded that there was no BPA epoxy lining the metal portions of cans.
More on safer products for feeding your baby from the Environmental Working Group:
EWG’s Guide to Infant Formula and Baby Bottles: Guide to Baby-Safe Bottles & Formula
Last night Kurt and I were watching one of George Carlin’s old comedy acts. I’ve seen them all before. I’m a huge fan of Uncle George and was in a odd daze for a couple days after his death. Kurt thought that he had found an act that we hadn’t seen yet, but it turned out he simply didn’t rate it on Netflix. It didn’t matter. I love Carlin. I may not laugh at every bit like I used to, but I appreciate and enjoy it just the same. The comedy bit we heard last night had the seven dirty words skit plus three add on words and an informative history of the word fuck. It turns out, according to Uncle George, that the word fuck in old English originally mean to hit something as with a stick. It has somehow morphed into a sexual word. Some people combine sex and violence as Uncle George acknowledges, but it seems odd to marry the two with one word, unless describing a specific act. Towards the end of his fuck tirade he says,
“The person who thought up the slogan, ‘Make Love, Not War,’ . . . his job was over that day. He could’ve retired at that moment. If it would’ve been me, I would’ve walked away. So long, I’m goin’ to the beach. You guys work it out.”
“Now I have a slogan, too. It’s not as euphonious. It doesn’t roll off the tongue. It’s ‘Make Fuck, Not Kill.’ Substitute the word ‘fuck’ for the word ‘kill’ in all of our writings. I’d love to see it. Just for awhile. Just for a year or so. And we would change.”
He gives some examples of the switched words like, “my horse broke his leg, guess I have to fuck him now”.
Another comedian I like to watch is Jeff Dunham. He’s a ventriloquist with several puppets. My favorite is Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Achmed is easily upset by audiences that laugh at jokes told about him and will say, “Silence! I kill you!” Except that it sounds like, “I keel you!” which is what we currently yell at our cat when he sits just outside our wide-open bedroom door and meows incessantly. Thanks to the two comedians, we’ve decided it might be more effective if we yell, “Silence! I fuck you!” as our threat to the cat.
We also decided that instead of yelling, “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you” when we’re upset at each other or the cat we shall kill and then fuck. It seems only humane.
Yesterday I went to my parent’s house to make tamales with my mom. In the morning, I cooked the chicken, which makes chicken stock at the same time, de-boned the chicken, and then made the tamale filling with the shredded chicken. All the while I had a toddler who kept alternating between hanging onto my pant leg, going for the cat food on the floor, and demanding food from the confines of her booster seat. After I finished that task, I put the baby gate up at the front door and made trips from the kitchen to the car. I checked off that I also brought food, formula, diapers, booster seat, and baby gate up to grandma’s house to make tamales. Babies need a lot of shit!
I planned this whole thing relying on Sophia sleeping on the way up to grandma’s house. Though it would be a short nap, at least it would be a nap. My darling daughter stayed awake, quiet, but most assuredly awake through the whole trip until I was literally blocks from grandma’s house. Ok, fine. I’ll stealthily take her out of the car seat, tip-toe up to an empty room and quietly set her down. Nope, she’s awake. Shit.
Sophia stayed awake the WHOLE day. She pointed out exactly where grandma needs to baby proof her house about every five seconds, but she didn’t fuss. While I was assembling tamales, Sophia actually amused herself for half an hour with a small empty plain brown cardboard box. MYGOD she really is my child.
My mom and I experimented with substituting 2/3 of the Crisco we usually use with olive oil. I think it tastes a lot better and I know it’s a lot healthier. After we’ve used up all the Crisco we have left, we’ll probably switch to 100% olive oil.
My dad and I talked about the election. He couldn’t believe how fast it all went. He didn’t expect to know so quickly.
My parents live in a small city in a Hispanic neighborhood. They’re within a mile of a community college and blocks from an elementary school. My dad said after Obama was announced president elect that he stepped outside. The neighborhood was quiet, but in the surrounding area, he could hear shouts and cheers. It’s really amazing. I’ve always thought of picking a president as choosing between the lesser of two evils, not so this time. I really have high hopes for Obama. I know he’s inheriting a huge fuckin’ mess, so it’ll be slow going, but I really think he has our best interests in mind.
My mom commented about Rev. Jesse Jackson crying at Obama’s speech. I joked that of course he cried, he wanted that spot for himself. Jesse could never make it, not in 1984, 1988, not now, nor anytime in the future. His whole platform would be about a black man making it in a white world, which fractures the crowd. That only captures a small percentage of the population because it even alienates other minorities. Obama obviously brought us all together and has the attention of the world. His election is being compared to the fall of the Berlin wall and Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon.
Obama victory sparks cheers around the globe
By JOHN LEICESTER
Associated Press Writer
People across Africa stayed up all night or woke before dawn to watch U.S. history being made, while the president of Kenya – where Obama’s father was born – declared a public holiday.In Indonesia, where Obama lived as child, hundreds of students at his former elementary school erupted in cheers when he was declared winner and poured into the courtyard where they hugged each other, danced in the rain and chanted “Obama! Obama!”
Many expressed amazement and satisfaction that the United States could overcome centuries of racial strife and elect an African-American as president.
“This is the fall of the Berlin Wall times ten,” Rama Yade, France’s black junior minister for human rights, told French radio. “America is rebecoming a New World.
“On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes,” she said.
In Britain, The Sun newspaper borrowed from Neil Armstrong’s 1969 moon landing in describing Obama’s election as “one giant leap for mankind.”
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When I hear Obama speak about his tax proposals it’s all pretty clear to me.
- Middle class families will see their taxes cut – and no family making less than $250,000 will see their taxes increase. The typical middle class family will receive well over $1,000 in tax relief under the Obama plan, and will pay tax rates that are 20% lower than they faced under President Reagan. According to the Tax Policy Center, the Obama plan provides three times as much tax relief for middle class families as the McCain plan.
- Families making more than $250,000 will pay either the same or lower tax rates than they paid in the 1990s. Obama will ask the wealthiest 2% of families to give back a portion of the tax cuts they have received over the past eight years to ensure we are restoring fairness and returning to fiscal responsibility. But no family will pay higher tax rates than they would have paid in the 1990s. In fact, dividend rates would be 39 percent lower than what President Bush proposed in his 2001 tax cut.
- Obama’s plan will cut taxes overall, reducing revenues to below the levels that prevailed under Ronald Reagan (less than 18.2 percent of GDP). The Obama tax plan is a net tax cut – his tax relief for middle class families is larger than the revenue raised by his tax changes for families over $250,000. Coupled with his commitment to cut unnecessary spending, Obama will pay for this tax relief while bringing down the budget deficit.
But for some reason McCain/Palin hear three different plans and say that Obama keeps changing his own definition of “middle class” family.
McCain Delivers Remarks in Miami, Fla.
CQ Transcripts Wire
Wednesday, October 29, 2008; 11:10 AM
Senator Obama has made a lot of promises. First he said people making less than 250,000 dollars would benefit from his plan, then this weekend he announced in an ad that if you’re a family making less than 200,000 dollars you’ll benefit — but this week, Senator Biden said tax relief should only go to “middle class people — people making under 150,000 dollars a year.” It’s interesting how their definition of rich has a way of creeping down. At this rate, it won’t be long before Senator Obama is right back to his vote that Americans making just 42,000 dollars a year should get a tax increase. We can’t let that happen.
Whatever dumbass. It’s called misspeaking. You know, like when your VP playmate running mate thought she was in the Northwest when she was actually in New Hampshire. The McCain tax policy would be difficult to make a numerical blunder on because he isn’t giving specific numbers. Hell, McCain doesn’t even know if the fundamentals of the economy are strong or in crisis.
FactChecking Debate No. 3
October 16, 2008
Updated: October 17, 2008McCain was wrong to say Obama’s March 2008 vote for a budget resolution “increases” anything. Budget resolutions set targets for taxes and spending; actually raising or lowering them requires separate legislation.
The $42,000 figure also would only apply to single taxpayers, not to couples or families. As we’ve reported, a single taxpayer making more than $41,500 would have seen a tax increase, but a couple filing jointly would have seen no increase unless they made at least $83,000, and for a couple with two children the cut-off would have been $90,000. Regardless, the increase that Obama once supported as part of a Democratic budget bill is not part of his own current tax plan. And Obama was right when he said “even FOX News disputes” McCain’s $42,000 claim. Chris Wallace of Fox News agreed that it was misleading.
Fact check: Plumber Joe’s taxes
McCain has entrepreneurs spooked about tax hikes, but fewer than 2% of small business owners would pay more under Obama’s plan.
By Stacy Cowley
Last Updated: October 17, 2008: 2:59 PM ETThe bottom line: McCain’s claim only works by using an overly broad definition of what counts as a “small business” – and even with that definition, fewer than 2% of business owners would be hit by Obama’s proposed rate increase. For those who are affected, the increase would be levied only on a part of their earnings, not all of them.
Obama the liberal: Let’s look in our dictionaries for a moment.
lib•er•al – Show Spelled Pronunciation[lib-er-uh l, lib-ruh l]
–adjective
–noun
Frankly I don’t see how calling Obama a liberal is supposed to be a slam, so let’s move on to Socialist. We seem to hear this mostly when referring to his health plan, which isn’t socialist. He is opening the plan offered to Senators to everyone so that it reduces the cost as an individual. If you’re already insured by your employer and like what they offer then you can keep it. I for one wouldn’t mind if our health care system went through such on overhaul that it was completely socialized. So many think that it can’t work or that the government is so fucked up that it couldn’t possibly duplicate the health systems that EVERY OTHER INDUSTRIALIZED NATION HAVE EXCEPT THE US! Supposedly, we are the “greatest nation” yet we don’t even provide health care to our own people. I say we take a step back and look at some of our other socialized systems. If something happens to you, do you feel safe calling the police and believe that they will most likely help? You can gripe all you want about speeding tickets or certain unsolved crimes, but for the most part they do their best to make sure they catch the right person, don’t they? Firemen do a great job as well; we have public libraries and public education. If you’re not happy with public education, you can still send your child to private school and that can work for health care as well. There is no such thing as the perfect system that will please everyone all the time, but as someone without any health care at all I view some care as better than none.
Obama the Muslim: I’ll just quote Colin Powel on this one.
CQ Transcript: Colin Powell on NBC’s “Meet the Press”
Oct. 19, 2008 – 2:35 p.m.I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.”
Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim; he’s a Christian. He’s always been a Christian.
But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?
Obama the terrifying terrorist who palls around with radical old hippies:
Republicans play up anti-Obama terrorist charge
Sympathizer Claim; ‘Dangerous’ and desperate strategy, Democrats say
Sheldon Alberts, Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, October 09, 2008The two men sat on the boards of two Chicago community organizations and live in the same Hyde Park neighbourhood. Mr. Ayers hosted a political event for Mr. Obama when he first ran for the Illinois senate in 1995.
Mr. Obama has repeatedly denounced Mr. Ayers’ activities in the 1960s as “detestable,” says he has had no contact with him since 2005 and accuses the McCain campaign of practising “guilt by association.”
The Obama-Ayers relationship has been the centrepiece of a broader effort by McCain aides to portray the Democratic candidate as too “risky” to be elected president, with Ms. Palin leading the attacks.
They sat on two community boards together and live in the same neighborhood, my god he really is palling around with dirty hippie vegan commie-pinkos. *eye roll*
Obama and ’60s Bomber: A Look Into Crossed Paths
By SCOTT SHANE
October 4, 2008But the two men do not appear to have been close. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.”
“If Barack Obama says he’s willing to talk to foreign leaders without preconditions,” Mr. Hayden said, “I can imagine he’d be willing to talk to Bill Ayers about schools. But I think that’s about as far as their relationship goes.”
Over Two Dozen Lies Refuted About Ayers And Obama
John K. Wilson
Posted October 6, 2008 | 08:04 AM (EST)LIE: “They live half a mile from William Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist” and “Just a half a mile from those homes is Louis Farrakhan.”(Hannity’s America, October 5, 2008, “Obama and His Friends: History of Radicalism”)
TRUTH: It’s true, of course, that Obama lives in this same neighborhood, as do tens of thousands of other people who presumably are also guilty by geographical association. The logic of this argument would be, if you live half a mile from a sex offender, then you agree with child molesters.LIE: Obama and Ayers “appeared together at various public engagements…it would seem that they are more than just a little bit friendly.”(Sean Hannity, Hannity’s America, October 5, 2008, “Obama and His Friends: History of Radicalism”)
TRUTH: Appearing on a speaking panel is not a sign of friendship. There is no evidence that Obama had any role in ever inviting Ayers to speak.
“Go vote now. It will make you feel big and strong.” – Bob Schieffer’s Mother
Phthalates are a group of chemicals that mimic the body’s hormones, and may pose long-term risks to the development of the reproductive and endocrine systems that regulate metabolism and hormone functions. Phthalates have been linked to increased instances of early puberty, infertility, and endometriosis.
New safety legislation bans chemical found in soft plastics
November 03, 2008
Beginning on February 10, 2009, the CPSIA permanently bans the use of three phthalates in children’s toys and child care articles: DEHP, DBP, and BBP. Three more phthalates, DINP, DIDP, and DnOP, will also be banned, albeit temporarily, from children’s toys that can be placed in a child’s mouth and from child care articles. “Child care articles” are those products designed or intended to facilitate the sleep or feeding of children age three or younger, or to help such children with sucking or teething.
Phthalates are in everything and are very hard to avoid they are found in adhesives, aftershave lotions, colognes, deodorants, detergents, toys, food packaging, hair gels, hair spray, hoses, lubricants, nail polish, perfumes, raincoats, shampoos, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, and wall coverings. Some tips on how to avoid them and reduce exposure:
How to Avoid Phthalates
2.4.2008 3:14 PM
3 Steps to Help Avoid a Hormone-Mimicking Chemical
- Read the ingredients. According to the organization Pollution in People, you can identify phthalates in some products by their chemical names, or abbreviations:
- DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and DEP (diethyl phthalate) are often found in personal care products, including nail polishes, deodorants, perfumes and cologne, aftershave lotions, shampoos, hair gels and hand lotions. (BzBP, see below, is also in some personal care products.)
- DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is used in PVC plastics, including some medical devices.
- BzBP (benzylbutyl phthalate) is used in some flooring, car products and personal care products.
- DMP (dimethyl phthalate) is used in insect repellent and some plastics (as well as rocket propellant).
- Be wary of the term “fragrance,” which is used to denote a combination of compounds, possibly including phthatates, which are a subject of recent concern because of studies showing they can mimic certain hormones.
- Choose plastics with the recycling code 1, 2 or 5. Recycling codes 3 and 7 are more likely to contain bisphenol A or phthalates.
No recall has been issued yet, but about 400 babies who wore the Carter’s “tagless” clothing developed rashes on their backs. The affected clothes are from the fall 2007 line, which have a solid background. The “tagless” labels with stenciled backgrounds have not been linked to skin rashes.
Carter’s announced on their website, “It appears that a very small percentage of children can be allergic to one or more ingredients in the labels. The solid, rather than stenciled, background on the fall 2007 labels appears to have produced a more pronounced and noticeable reaction among those children who are most allergic to the ink.”
McCain voted 20 times against funding alternative energy sources. Drill baby drill they say. Yet no one mentions that it would take six to ten years of infrastructure building before a single drop is produced. They also neglect to say that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil isn’t enough to bring independence from foreign oil.
Study: ANWR oil would have little impact
Heavy reliance on foreign imports would continue, agency finds
updated 6:45 p.m. PT, Tues., March. 16, 2004The report, issued by the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, said that if Congress gave the go-ahead to pump oil from Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the crude could begin flowing by 2013 and reach a peak of 876,000 barrels a day by 2025.
But even at peak production, the EIA analysis said, the United States would still have to import two-thirds of its oil, as opposed to an expected 70 percent if the refuge’s oil remained off the market.
Flash Fiction Friday is hosted by g-man. You may also visit Flash Fiction Friday 55′s, a blog dedicated to hosting 55 Flash Fiction Friday posts.
During the Vice Presidential debate Palin said, “As mayor, every year I was in office I did reduce taxes.” Personal taxes were lowered, but recently adopted sales tax raised another half a percent. She hired people with low spending in mind, allowing police to charge rape victims for evidence tests, lessening the burden on taxpayers.
Flash Fiction Friday is hosted by g-man. You may also visit Flash Fiction Friday 55′s, a blog dedicated to hosting 55 Flash Fiction Friday posts.