With Grover Norquist claiming he wants the government drowned in a bathtub, it seems lie he is getting his wish. The federal government could not and still will not respond to Hurricane Katrina adequately. The Bush Administation has neglected the poor, those without health insurance and pretty much anyone that isn't his 'base.' Now we have a new travesty wrought upon our kids.
From CNN:
(AP) -- In 2005, when government scientists tested 60 soft, vinyl lunchboxes, they found that one in five contained amounts of lead that medical experts consider unsafe -- and several had more than 10 times hazardous levels.
But that's not what they told the public.
Instead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released a statement that they found "no instances of hazardous levels." And they refused to release their actual test results, citing regulations that protect manufacturers from having their information released to the public.
That data was not made public until The Associated Press received a box of about 1,500 pages of lab reports, in-house e-mails and other records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed a year ago.
Not telling the public the truth is a mantra of the Bush Adminstration, from the very top to the organizations under the umbrella of the government. Twenty percent of those bags tested showed lead levels above federal safety regulations. The CPSC's excuse was that in the tests, the more you wipe the bags there is less lead that shows up. So, moms and dads out there, make sure to wipe your kids' lunch bags extra furiously....since your government sure as hell doesn't care that they are safe in the first place.
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