Sure it’s deadly, but at least it’s cheap!
By Gina Spadafori
August 23, 2007
This, ya gotta watch. I mean, people, see the benefits here!
“Best” part:
I think people should be careful what they wish for. [...] If … China is to start making, say, toys that don’t have lead in them, or food that isn’t poisonous, their costs of production are going to go up. And that means prices at Wal-mart here in the United States are going to go up, too. So … I would say China is our greatest friend right now. They’re keeping prices low.
Honestly, if you don’t laugh you’ll cry. And of course to be fair I gotta say Erin Burnett was surely slapping her forehead over her own idiocy when she walked off the set. I mean … she couldn’t have really have meant that, could she?
{speechless}
Comment by straybaby — August 23, 2007 @ 9:19 am
Quality costs more- this is NEWS?
This is some big flash of enlightenment?
How stupid ARE people?
Does long term melamine and other toxins exposure cause brain damage?
If so, how much has this talking head consumed? Is she taking it in the VEIN?
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 9:22 am
I had heard about this but hoped it was just a rumor. It is beyond unbelievable - and this woman is still anchoring??? I think the melamine and assorted toxins we have been inundated with have affected her brain. Impossible to believe someone was born that stupid. Has anyone complained about this? She should be removed from her job. She can always do PR for China and WalMart.
Comment by Carol — August 23, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Just when you think you’ve met the stupidest person alive, someone goes and raises the bar again!
Comment by Andrea 2CatMom — August 23, 2007 @ 9:41 am
What an idiot!
Comment by Lois C. — August 23, 2007 @ 9:45 am
What an idiot! Are you sure that she is not a member of Congress, or works for the FDA!?
Comment by John — August 23, 2007 @ 9:47 am
I can’t believe she would say something like that!!
CNN ran a few short blurbs this morning on the toxic products from China and said there seemed to be a new recalled item each day - today, the Sponge Bob Square Pants journals and address books that have lead paint in the spiral bindings.
Apparently there was a several month’s long investigation into working conditions in the toy manufacturing plants, and what was discovered was deplorable: filth, child labor, 14 hour days, 7 days per week, 10 workers living in one dorm room, little food to eat, etc. The investigator said it was due to the U.S. CEOs wanting goods produced for the cheapest prices, and that, therefore, the workers salaries and conditions suffered.
Where are the moms in all of this? I would think nothing short of a Chinese-made toy boycott of the big 5 toy companies this Christmas/holiday season would be in order.
Comment by petlover — August 23, 2007 @ 9:49 am
It’s amazing that Erin can even dress herself in the morning.
Attention. WalMart shopper.
Comment by Nadine — August 23, 2007 @ 9:54 am
Yeah, that cheap cat food is a real bargain, ask anyone who paid the vet bills. Or for cremation.
Oops, I forgot, it is a big secret that pet parents who suffered terrible vet bills and dead pets and those who are paying every single day to give surviving pets the expensive care they will need for life, we are somehow “not news” to this woman. We paid, oh boy did we pay, and are paying yet but somehow THAT fact is not making it into the “news”.
Are the pet food companies good at the cover up thing or what?- ya gotta hand it to them, the jerks are world class at cover up, if “somehow” not at making nonlethal pet food.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 9:57 am
Banner advertising on Yahoo yesterday: “Purina meets FDA, USDA & AAFCO Standards” - followed by something like “trusted for 100 years.”
That’s really not saying much for themselves. John Q. Public needs to be informed exactly about this hype and those deficient standards. The word hasn’t spread far and wide enough yet.
Comment by Nadine — August 23, 2007 @ 10:04 am
$3,000 for two cans of Science mela-Diet. Plus $125 for the cedar box.
Comment by Nadine — August 23, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Petlover -
Was wondering too where the outcry from all the moms is. Are pet owners the only ones with the smarts to protest and voice their opinions?
Comment by Carol — August 23, 2007 @ 10:21 am
Quoted in an interview with her somewhere on the internet:
The guys who run nuts and bolts companies - like the companies that inject air into diapers - really know what’s going on. So you could sort of say that I took to business news like a fish to water.
Comment by shibadiva — August 23, 2007 @ 10:24 am
MSNBC has joined the ranks of the business channel. All I hear is how good the expansion is in the China market and how great for the global economy,etc.,etc. No talk about how it’s killing us. It was interesting last week when they interviewed the CEO of Mattel. He said his company wasn’t the only one making toys there and how cost is impt. The interviewer asked him about cost vs lead contamination and shouldn’t they be checking…he replied something about cost??? Profit, it is all about the profit.
And than they discussed the possible trade war looming and what would happen if China demanded payment on all those loans we have with them..
I would like Ms Burnett to know my costs so far have been $3500.00 and counting for my survivor dog.
Katie
Comment by Katie — August 23, 2007 @ 10:39 am
Mom Connection blog?
Comment by Nadine — August 23, 2007 @ 11:05 am
Katie
Comment by Katie — August 23, 2007 @ 10:39 am
Didn’t it make you feel all warm and fuzzy to see the vets cuddled up to the FDA_AND_Duane and read the transcripts from this?
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/ja.....70901s.asp
Everyone who sees this is disgusted by the vets and feels more betrayed. Then they read the transcripts and get even madder.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 11:36 am
I especially like the part where blogs are blamed. :)
Comment by Gina Spadafori — August 23, 2007 @ 11:55 am
I tell ya, looking at the FDA and the PFI and the vets hump each other was as close to ..well..watching snuff porn as I care to get!
Gave me a crawly unclean feeling to read, made me want to wash my hands , repeatedly.
Nasty, just nasty. And not in a good way.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 12:08 pm
Yeh, don’t you just love how it’s our fault for caring about animals. I hate to think how many more would be sick or dead if it hadn’t been for the blogs. News here traveled fast and changed the outcome.
E, I know what you’re saying about the Vets, PFI and FDA. I find that since March 28th, my perception of my vet has changed - a lot.
Katie
Comment by Katie — August 23, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
Katie, I talked recently with someone who WAS going to fund a scholarship at a vet school in her will, not gonna happen now.
Old women love their fluffies and take betrayal very seriously.
Safer to tick off the mafia than an old woman with money.
A LOT of people got their eyes opened and their pocketbooks closed by this scandal.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
Hooray for grandma! She’s more on the ball than a lot of people.
Comment by Carol — August 23, 2007 @ 1:21 pm
And looky here, the SYMPTOMS of the poisoning finally mentioned,
http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING.....od.safety/
5 FREAKING MONTHS TOO LATE and NOT on national TV where it should have been and NO mention of the hideous cost already paid and, you know, just too damned little too damned late to make much of an impression.
Ah, the smell of karma in the morning, I love it so, reminds me of hypocrites twisting slowly in the wind.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 1:39 pm
Think of it as evolution in action (a phrase from a Larry Niven book). At this point, someone as clueless as Erin sounded is likely to be much more at risk than people reading Pet Connection.
Comment by Carol PW — August 23, 2007 @ 1:47 pm
Wow.
I personally prefer poisonous free food and lead free toys, so she can have my share.
Comment by Great Dane Addict — August 23, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
PLEASE, go read the post about MrsP and the fabulous news and GO CALL RADIO TALK SHOWS!!
http://tinyurl.com/2pd7of
You have something to say, right?
People WANT the truth.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
I thought that this must be a hoax, that the YouTube video must be dubbed. Nope. She really did say it. OMG.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249441/
Comment by Laura — August 23, 2007 @ 2:59 pm
I cut and pasted this absurdity and saved the file as idiot only to find that Duane had already grabbed first spot, so I had to name this one:
anidiot2
Comment by Jay — August 23, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
Comment by Jay — August 23, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
i sent the video out. now i have to assure people it was real. good thing laura posted the transcript! lol!~
Comment by straybaby — August 23, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
I’m not surprised her broadcast. Her statements reflect the contemp that much of the corporate controlled news media holds for the general public. People are made to look stupid in commercials, why not feed them stupid news - we’ll buy it, right?
Comment by MFEMFEM — August 23, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
Don’t you think she’s being ironic? We do, obviously, live in a business culture that DOES value profit and low cost over things like safety.
- Paul
Comment by Paul — August 23, 2007 @ 5:27 pm
Someone as clueless as Erin sounded is likely just stupid.She wouldn’t report a recall honestly like this one. She has no interest in healthy pets.
Krasdale Gravy dry dog food recalled over salmonella
7:19 PM EDT, August 21, 2007
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) _ Some bags of Krasdale Gravy dry dog food may be contaminated with salmonella, which could affect both pets and their owners, Mars Petcare U.S., Inc. announced Tuesday. The company is recalling the product and asking pet owners who purchased it to throw it away and bring the bags in for a refund.
The new recall applies to five-pound bags of dog food sold in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania with the UPC code 7513062596 and a “best by” date of July 16, 2008 or July 17, 2008, according to a news release from the company.
The announcement follows a massive pet food recall in March, when an unknown number of pets were sickened or died after eating products made in China that included the chemical melamine _ a contaminant that’s a byproduct of several pesticides.
Salmonella can cause serious infections in dogs and cats. Pets with the infections could be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps and vomiting.
Even healthy animals with the infection can pass it to other animals or humans, who could experience the same symptoms. Salmonella is especially dangerous to children, older adults and people with compromised immune systems.
Food and Drug Administration officials detected salmonella in a sample of the product during a recent review, prompting the voluntary recall from the company.
Two spokeswomen for the company did not immediately return phone calls.
Comment by William Kanitz — August 23, 2007 @ 6:37 pm
I am just left speachless. How could anyone be so ignorant?
Comment by Trudy Jackson — August 23, 2007 @ 6:38 pm
On NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, this last weekend - one of the questions was based on The Poop column in the SF Chronical - they quoted the author as saying he/she was going to carve toys out of wood from his/her own trees.
Comment by Cheryl — August 23, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
Hard to believe CNBC didn’t edit her text. She should anchor a boat - not a “Hardball” segment!
Comment by PM Hill — August 23, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
Must be all the poisons in the foods they’re eating that’s shrinking their brains. I mean I am TOTALLY overwhelmed by the stupidity of some people.
Comment by Lynn — August 23, 2007 @ 8:58 pm
This should be sent to Jay Leno or someone who needs a good joke to tell.
Comment by Sindy — August 23, 2007 @ 9:40 pm
And it looks like MenuFoods printed up some stickers to slap onto recalled food. Wouldn’t want any of that poison to go to waste.
Fabulous.
http://tinyurl.com/3auco7
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 23, 2007 @ 10:32 pm
Just saying no to China
Boycott not easy despite bad news mounting from Far East
Ventura County Reporter
~ By KIT STOLZ ~
http://www.vcreporter.com/arti.....sueNum=138
Comment by Nadine — August 24, 2007 @ 12:41 am
I posted this clip on one of my boards, and another poster said maybe she’s auditioning for a new position now that Tony Snow is leaving his post as White House spokesman!
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 24, 2007 @ 6:28 am
How do we get honest reporting of the news or news with out bias? Look what companys own stock in the media . Some are the same companies in bed with the communist chinese government. Look who are big sponsors on some of the media outlets!
Comment by thomas — August 24, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Apparently there was a several month’s long investigation into working conditions in the toy manufacturing plants, and what was discovered was deplorable: filth, child labor, 14 hour days, 7 days per week, 10 workers living in one dorm room, little food to eat, etc. The investigator said it was due to the U.S. CEOs wanting goods produced for the cheapest prices, and that, therefore, the workers salaries and conditions suffered
Despite what some “free-market” ideologues say slavery IS profitable; otherwise Southern slaveowners wouldn’t have fought a war to keep it going.
Comment by expat — August 24, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Oh, brother!
I can only hope that she has *not* propagated and will not ever in the future: We have enough idiots already.
Comment by MaKo — August 24, 2007 @ 11:11 am
Oh poor China! Cry me a river!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/.....index.html
Comment by The OTHER Pat — August 24, 2007 @ 1:05 pm
How many of you go to church on Sunday?
Have you done your duty by telling the church members about the poison sold at Walmart?
Do you drink at a bar, or bars, on Saturday night? Have you told your drinking buddies about the poison pet food for sale at Walmart? Talk about the knockers on the new waitress later but for 5 minutes you can talk about getting away with murder because you know, we ALL know a killer, it squats there on the corner and KILLS and if you buy a single item from Walmart then you are PAYING them to KILL!
Walmart is begging you, much like a deranged serial killer, STOP ME BEFORE I KILL AGAIN. So I will.
In fact, I am so tired of this crap that I think we ought to stop buying EVERYTHING, from ANY store, for a WEEK, shut down the economy for ONE week, nothing but food and damned little of that. No gas, no NOTHING, just stop, sit home and see if THAT makes the TV news!!
If all I am is a consumer to be fleeced like a sheep to these a$$holes then I can STOP CONSUMING.
From August 30 to September 6 I will spend NOTHING. I have food that is getting older in my cabinets and freezer as it is, this will teach me to buy only what I NEED. I NEED a vacation from spending more than I need anything else.
This is gonna be fun!
More homecooked food, more TIME, cleaner house, husband smiling big for reasons that are not your business, big smile on my face for reasons also not your concern, less traffic stress, I am looking forward to THIS next week!
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 24, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
Now, E, there’s a story line!
Comment by Nadine — August 24, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
>>Comment by E. Hamilton — August 24, 2007 @ 2:46 pm
Hey!
I can do that, too!
I will do that, too!
And nobody can make me buy things :)
Comment by MaKo — August 25, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
Nadine, have you been repaid your expenses? So many have not and are struggling.
I have an idea.
There are sites on the net where people ask for donations (for all sorts of things), I think we need to make a BIG one and have everyone with outstanding vet bills tell their story and we can ask for the help we are just not getting from the companies that sickened and killed our pets!
It will embarrass them a lot, could get us some press and might do some good.
The amount of money this has cost pet owners is staggering and I think we should USE that fact. We are sure paying the damned bills and the pet food companies are blowing us off- I say we USE it.
What do you think?
PS and I want to have a running total going at the site of all the unpaid bills because that is gonna be BIG.
Comment by E. Hamilton — August 25, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
I was hurt by a Chinese product, you can see it all on my site. All I can say for Erin………..
That’s why I watch CNN, they don’t put stupid people on the air.
Comment by Kerry Stiles — August 26, 2007 @ 3:46 pm
The local paper actually carried a front page story with a big picture and the headline MADE IN
CHINA? The story is about dental work overseas generating concern over safety, quality. One company here in Michigan is now putting labels on their orders that says, Made in America. What’s
in the crowns if they’re made in China?
Comment by VJ — August 26, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
If lead paint on your kid’s toys bothers you, you need to contact the President and Congress and tell them to hire someone to start checking on product safety again —
From the Washington Post:
“…What is the Consumer Product Safety Commission doing? According to recent news reports, the agency is “negotiating” a plan with the toy industry to keep dangerous toys out of stores. Not bringing action to enforce the law, not assessing penalties, not writing regulations. Negotiating, because it is too small and underfunded and because it lacks the will to do much else.
The commission has no chairman and has lacked a quorum for months. Without a quorum, it cannot bring a lawsuit, assess a penalty or enact new regulations to address hazards in the marketplace. Congress recently passed legislation to give it a quorum for six months, but after that, if no chairman has been approved, the commission will again be effectively unable to act.
Now is the time to revitalize the Consumer Product Safety Commission. … Judging from the dangerous foods and products that have made their way to consumers, industry is doing an unacceptable job of policing itself. That government regulation is necessary has already been accepted — tainted pet food and pharmaceuticals from China prompted legislation to strengthen the ability of the Food and Drug Administration to keep dangerous items from being imported. Product safety regulation needs similar measures.
First, President Bush should immediately nominate, and Congress should confirm, a chairman with a background in product safety and a commitment to consumer protection.
Second, Congress should pass emergency legislation to ban lead in children’s products. There is no reason to tolerate even a small amount of lead in any product intended for use by children. It should also require pre-market testing of all children’s products before they can be sold in the United States, making those that sell products in this country responsible for ensuring compliance with safety standards….”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....01975.html
Comment by shadepuppy — August 27, 2007 @ 12:24 am
It’s follow the leader—this is the ideology of the Bush-Cheney-conservative-Republican administration and their minions in Congress. Anti-American anti-person to the core. They needed to be gone a long time ago.
Comment by Sandy — August 27, 2007 @ 11:32 am
A FIGHT to find out what killed her dogs;
http://www.consumeraffairs.com.....lls70.html
Comment by William Kanitz — September 5, 2007 @ 7:23 pm