Gaffe's of the week

As I take stock in the week finally having ended I'm compelled to begin this weekend with a compilation of the weeks best news events which......make me so happy.

Thanks be to China

The Mattel Company instructed the Fisher-Price division to recall some 1.5 million of the toys above. It seems that the Chinese manufacturer used too much lead in the paint on the toy. If the paint shed off or was placed in a mouth it could transfer the lead to the child.

I'd like to know the following:

1. How much lead in toy paint is safe?

2. Why when you go to the Fisher-Price toy site do you have to intently search to find the recall information web link, its light yellow, and next to the last possible link.

3. That too much Chinese is a bad thing.

Thanks be to Congress

U.S. Rep William Jefferson (D-LA) won a small battle against the FBI and Justice Department this week in the Circuit Court of Appeals. The three judge panel ruled that the FBI conducted an unconstitutional raid on the representative's office wherein they reviewed and seized legislative documents. The court ordered the return of the legislative documents but not the documents related to the case against him.

Jefferson is accused of receiving up to $500,000 is compensatory kick backs and bribes from various African nations in exchange for pushing through votes in congress and steering contracts. The FBI set up a video taped sting in which it gave Jefferson $100,000 in cash in exchange for a cellular telephone contract grant in the Congo. The bribe was given to him during dinner at a prestigious Washington restaurant. The FBI video-taped Jefferson receiving the suit case of cash and then him placing it in the boot of his car. A few weeks later the FBI conducted a raid on Jefferson's house and office in which they found $90,000 in marked bills in his freezer, wrapped in tin foil - inside Tupperware, and then marked 'Lasagna' on the outside of the container.

Note to all Congressmen and Senators - if you're going to conduct thievery, receive bribes, or do anything illicit, make sure you do it within the confines of your Capital Hill offices. As of now, law enforcement agencies doesn't have the ability to search your offices or 'interfere' with said duties (criminal or otherwise) of the Legislative branch. 

 

Thanks be to Congress (again)

The normally harmonious floor of the House of Representatives boiled over on Friday when House Democrats tried to ram through an agricultural bill that would provide housing benefits and hiring incentives to farms for employing, get this, illegal immigrants. (It would not though provide any of the same funds to American citizens.) The Republican counterparts noticed the effort and postured to challenge the bill. The Dems though shanghai'd the vote and gaveled it to a quick close literally micro-seconds (not kidding) after the vote appeared to be in their favor. This gaveling of the vote to a close caused the Republican's to begin chanting 'SHAME' en masse and then walk out of the chambers. The Democrats finally realizing what impact their actions would have during the 2008 elections then decided to re-open the voting.

 

Thanks be to Presidential Hopefuls   

    Candidate John Edwards this week derided Democratic Presidential candidates to not take and further to return already received campaign contributions from any of Ruppert Murdoch's company's. Some of the thousand's of entities owned by Murdoch give to campaigns on both sides of the isle.

Edwards though refused to give back funds he received from another Murdoch owned company, Harper-Collins Books, for royalties and advances he received last year for penning a book. After the Edwards presser on his demand to other hopeful's, Journalists across the country then questioned Edwards hypocrisy for accepting money from Murdoch on one side and then condemning any opposing candidate who took it on the other.