Be INFORMED

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Peanut Corporation of America Knowingly Sold Salmonella Tainted Peanut Butter...

   and so the CEO and the rest of the higher ups should all be prosecuted as terrorist because this outbreak is basically an act of terrorism. They should also be charged each with 8 counts of murder for the victims who have died from the Salmonella infection. This company should never see daylight again.

Oregon Live

Federal officials said today that the company at the heart of the salmonella outbreak sold peanut butter or peanut paste even after tests showed it was tainted with salmonella.

The Food and Drug Administration found 12 instances in 2007 and 2008 when the Peanut Corporation of America actually identified salmonella in its own product but then put that on the market, sometimes after it was retested by a different lab that found no bacteria, said Michael Rogers, director of field investigations at the FDA.

Scientists have found four different strains of salmonella since starting this investigation: two at the company's Blakely, Ga., plant and two in King Nut peanut butter.

Only one strain, salmonella typhimurium, which was found in Austin Toasty Crackers, has made people sick with peanut butter in Oregon.

  The feds say that even more food items will be recalled due to this mess and also pointed out that contaminated items will not necessarily have the Peanut Corporation's name on the label.

   As of today, Tuesday Jan 27, almost 200 products have been recalled. this kind of sucks a bit because many of the products are some of my favorites, and I'm starting to lose a little weight from lack of munchies. What's one to do?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Salmonella Found At Georgia Peanut Plant

   U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found Salmonella  contamination at a peanut plant in Georgia, as was expected.

               News Daily

"We expect the lots of recalled products to continue to expand," Dr. Robert Tauxe of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a conference call.

    The Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) facility in Blakely, Georgia isn't producing any more products and hasn't been for some time now. the company has recalled all peanut butter and peanut paste produced at the plant since July 1, 2008.

   Somebody is in some pretty deep shit over this, to be sure.

Wal-Mart Union Propaganda

   First off, I'm out of power thanks to this shitty weather and I'm running on a little generator now and then. My posts will be very few until power is restored. Those of you in Kentucky and the surrounding states, be careful in this crap an watch out for yourselves and your neighbors.

Here's a story of a meeting which took place back in June of 2008 between Wal-Mart's higher level employees and some of their supervisors from various store locations in the district.

   The meeting was about Wal-Mart and the "Employee Free Choice Act", which the company is dead against because the act would give their " associates " the right to vote either for or against union representation. Wal-Mart is scared to death of having this law passed, as are many other companies, because they know that in most cases the workers would vote to unionize.

                                       Original Article
by exotrip    Mon Jan 26, 2009       
It was a beautiful, warm day in June. Clear blue sky, fresh air. I pulled my car into the parking lot of the hotel. Funny that we always have these meetings at hotels. Something seems sleazy about having company meetings where hookers do business. But we wouldn't want the regular associates listening in, would we?

I rush in and follow the signs to the meeting room. I am relieved, I am not late. Not that I was giddy with anticipation or anything. I just hate walking into meetings that have already started. I see the company has provided doughnuts and coffee, but I don't grab anything. I was on a 3rd shift schedule, so I had been up already, and had had a chance to grab some breakfast. I look around and spot one of my coworkers. Kevin* had been working all night, all the way up to the meeting. I was fortunate, in that I had the night off and could sleep in before the meeting. I would have hated working the night before one of these meetings. They can be so long and monotonous.

While most of the associates in attendance had no idea what the meeting was about, I had a pretty good idea. A few months ago, I was checking on the company intranet to see if I had any "learning modules" to complete. I spotted a module that immediately made the hair on the back of my neck stand up-- "The Employee Free Choice Act". Uh oh, I thought. I clicked on it, and saw that it was not a regular module, but rather a page where you had to confirm you attended a meeting. I told some of my close coworker friends what was up, that we would probably have to attend one of the company's anti-union spiels. We were not looking forward to it, let me tell you. Most of us DESPISED the company, and everything it stood for.

So now, we are at last at the promised meeting. I see that Bill* and Charlie* are going to be leading the meeting/propaganda. Charlie is the local market's HR guy. He handles personnel issues concerning the local area, encompassing 9 stores (the market). Bill is also there. Bill is the actual market manager (IE, everyone's boss, including store managers). Bill is the kind of guy who loves to drop by his stores incognito, walk around for a while, and then find the managers and tell them how shitty they do their jobs. NOT everyone's favorite guy. Now, I like Charlie. He is a good guy, who actually cares about the associates. Whenever one of the associates has a problem with a manager, Charlie swoops in to let the manager know he better treat us right. I consider him to be an ally-- well, as much an ally as any Wal-Mart shill can be. Bill, is an enemy. Whenever he is in a room, you can be sure that bad things will follow.

We start off the with the excruciatingly long introductions. Everyone has to introduce themselves, the store they work at, and the department they supervise. After that, we finally get to the business at hand. Charlie gets right to the point. "How many of you have heard of the Employee Free Choice Act?" If my memory serves me right, no hands went up. I of course, knew what it was. But I didn't want to make it seem like I knew too much. No sense in being the class know-it-all when it might cost me my job down the road. He explains what the act does, changing the way union organizing drives are conducted. This is where Charlie and the truth part ways. From here on out, it's all lies.

The way Wal-Mart likes to scare associates away from organizing is to attack the union itself. In their brainwashing video, they show organizers as slick, professional bullshitters. Sort of like used car salesmen or ambulance-chasing lawyers. You can visualize the stereotype. They then show actors (I wonder if they are SAG actors?) posing as associates in hypothetical situations. In situation A, we are a happy, non-union store. In situation B, the evil union has taken the store over. The first hypothetical situation is about a spill in grocery. One associate asks another to guard a spill while he cleans it up. Ok, a normal everyday occurrence. Then we see what happens when THE EVIL EVIL UNION has taken control. The associate now says "We can't clean this spill, the maintenance workers are under a union contract. Only they are allowed to do this work. Further, for attempting to do this work in violation of the contract, you can be fined up to $20000". Uhhhh, WHAT!?!? I look around the room, to see if the room is actually buying this malarkey. Then in the next situation, the store manager and a supervisor are deciding on who would be a good associate to promote to department manager. No one has ever consulted ME on promotions, but whatever. Then we see what would happen if THE SATANIC BABY EATING UNION were in the store. Now the slimey shop steward is in the meeting, and he vetoes the store manager's suggestion for a promotion. Mr. shop steward then goes to tell the most senior member in the department (who coincidentally is also the most unpopular) that he has the job. Um, yeah sure. I bet if real unions had micromanaging power like that, GM, Ford, and Chrysler would not be up shit creek right now.

After the non-sense is over, Charlie goes into the politics of EFCA. This peaks my curiosity, as Wal-Mart has never discussed politics with the associates in an official capacity, as far as I know. He talks about the gains the Democrats made in the 2006 elections, and how they already tried to get EFCA passed (to help their union friends-- slimey!). The GOP filibustered, and Bush threatened a veto, so EFCA was dead for the moment. But there was a presidential election coming. "Now, I am not here to tell you how to vote. But if the election were to go the wrong way, we may end up having EFCA as the law of the land. Remember that when its time to vote." We all look around at each other. "Is he telling us how to vote?" Kevin asks, with a tint of anger in his voice. I see others whispering to one another. This was clearly controversial with the room. And I can't imagine what the African-Americans in the room must have been thinking, but none of them really spoke up in response. After that, the associates got more vocal. "Why don't you just give us better benefits?" "This is a rich company, why can't you pay the associates more?". Charlie had his pre-recorded talking points ready. Like how we must remain competitive, and other non-sense from the company that pulls in $400 billion in sales globally.

An eternity later (it was actually probably 2 hours), the meeting ends. We all shuffle back to our cars, so we can clock out and get the hell out of there. Some associates are still talking amongst themselves about what just transpired. But what was lingering in my brain was something Charlie said. Something that made my stomach sick. "To combat the union, we are having meetings with every level of the stores. We already had meetings with the salaried managers. We are currently conducting meetings with you supervisors. And soon, we will start having meetings with the hourly associates." I thought about all those hourly associates. People who have spent decades building this company. People who will now be subject to Wal-Mart's bünd meetings. People who have no skills, and so much to lose if they were to be fired. My friends. I felt powerless in that meeting. I wanted to stand up and scream "You are all damned liars and you know it!". But I kept silent. What good would it have done. Now, all over the country, thousands will know the cruelty of Wal-Mart intimidation and union-busting.

That is why it is so important that Congress and President Obama pass the Employee Free Choice Act. No one should have to live their lives feeling defeated and powerless. No one should have to hold their head low just to feed their families. This is not just about fair pay and health insurance. Its about dignity. Its about respect. Its about being able to go to work, without having to be afraid anymore.

Solidarity.

Names with asterisks were changed to protect people's anonymity (especially mine). I know longer work for Wal-Mart. I have since moved on (thank God) and can now feel safe telling my story. Thank you for reading.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Salmonella Outbreak: January 26,2009

                   CDC

As of 9PM EDT, Sunday, January 25, 2009, 501 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 43 states.

Infection may have contributed to eight deaths.

Although we cannot yet say the outbreak is over, the numbers of new cases have declined over the last two weeks.  The outbreak appears to have reached its peak in December and is now in decline.

Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated in Canada from Austin brand peanut butter crackers purchased in the United States. Officials in Canada have identified the Salmonella found in these peanut butter crackers as the outbreak strain.

Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated from Austin brand peanut butter crackers in Canada. Further tests are pending to determine if the Salmonella Typhimurium in these crackers are the outbreak strain.

More than 180 peanut butter-containing products produced by a variety of companies may have been made with the ingredients recalled by PCA.  The list of currently recalled products can be found on the FDA website*.

Karl Rove Subpoenaed By House Judiciary Committee...

   and that ain't no joke! The architect of the " permanent Republican majority ' really has no choice of ignoring this subpoena and of not appearing before the committee, headed by Chairman John Conyers. Karl Rove no longer has former president Bush/Cheney to cover for his ass with their " executive privilege " claims, nor does Rove have the  " absolute immunity " cover either. That position was tossed out by U.S. District Judge John Bates.

Huffington Post

On Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) issued a subpoena to Karl Rove, requiring him to testify regarding his role in the Bush Administration's politicization of the Department of Justice, including the US Attorney firings and the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The subpoena calls for Rove to appear at deposition on Monday, February 2, 2009.

snip

"I have said many times that I will carry this investigation forward to its conclusion, whether in Congress or in court, and today's action is an important step along the way," said Rep. Conyers. Noting that the change in administration may impact the legal arguments available to Mr. Rove in this long-running dispute, Mr. Conyers added, "Change has come to Washington, and I hope Karl Rove is ready for it. After two years of stonewalling, it's time for him to talk."

  This is going to get pretty interesting to those of us who keep track of this sort of activity. No doubt, that by now Rove has called every major law firm in the world, hoping to avoid this committee, but that ain't gonna happen. At least, I hope not.

John McCain: Still Stuck On Conservative Talking Points...

  so I would guess that Mr. McCain didn't get the memo from the voters back on November 4th,2008 when he got his ass kicked in an election. Oh, that would have been the election for president which he lost.

   Mr McCain was on Fox News Sunday being questioned by the ever Republican leaning Chris Wallace, so, as you can imagine, it was interesting.

  First we start with proof that McCain really is out of touch with Americans.

   From a video clip which Wallace puts up for McCain to watch, we have McCain saying:

MCCAIN: The message that the American people are sending us now is they want us to work together and get to work.

  So after the clip Wallace has a question for old John.

WALLACE: Given that belief, what do you see as your role towards President Obama?

MCCAIN: I view it as the loyal opposition -- help and work together where I can, and stand up for the principles and the party and the philosophy that I campaigned on and have stood for for many years.

  I have a problem with this answer because McCain says nothing about standing up for the American people in this country. It's all about the party and their principles, few that there are.

   Let's get to the economy, shall we?

WALLACE: Let’s talk about the economy. We’ll get to national security in a moment.

The president is pushing an economic stimulus package of $825 billion that raises some of the issues that were at the heart of your campaign against Barack Obama -- $275 billion in tax breaks, including money for people who don’t pay income taxes; $550 billion in spending, including $200 million to re-sod the National Mall, $360 million to fight sexually transmitted disease.

As that package now stands, can John McCain vote for it?

MCCAIN: No. We need to make tax cuts permanent, and we need to make a commitment that there’ll be no new taxes. We need to cut payroll taxes. We need to cut business taxes.

  Again with those permanent tax cuts! Give it a fucking break, John-boy, will you? Your party has sucked billions out of the U.S. Treasury with those tax cuts to big business. Money which any real government could have used for real issues. How do you keep the government running without taxes John. Oh, that's right. Privatize it, right?

We need to have a commitment that after a couple of quarters of GDP growth that we will embark on a path as we’ll say -- called Gramm- Rudman -- to reduce spending to get our budget in balance.

We’re going to lay an additional 2 trillion, basically, dollars of debt on future generations of Americans. Is there going to be a point where foreign countries such as the Chinese stop buying our debt?

WALLACE: As it stands now, though, you’d vote against it.

MCCAIN: Well, look. I mean, I am opposed to most of the provisions in the bill. As it stands now, I would not support it.

WALLACE: Would you filibuster it?

MCCAIN: Well, let’s -- I mean, I want us all to sit down and negotiate. The Republicans have not been brought in to the degree that we should be into these negotiations and discussions.

So far, as far as I can tell, no Republican proposal has been incorporated. Maybe there has been. I just may have missed it. But clearly, we need to have serious negotiations.

   We already know what the Republican ideas are John. The same as they have always been. More tax cuts and less regulation. the conservative cry throughout the ages. Give us a fucking break.

  When asked about the torture issue and Eric Holder's answers on the possibility of prosecutions to those who may have been involved in this mess, McCain did have the same answer all Republicans, and many Democrats have had.

WALLACE: The president’s choice for attorney general, Eric Holder, said the other day at his congressional hearing that waterboarding is torture, and he left open the possibility that lawyers or CIA officers who participated in some of these activities could be liable to criminal prosecution.

How do you feel about that, the idea of the possibility of investigations and even criminal prosecution of people who were doing what they were told to do during the Bush years?

MCCAIN: I think it’s time to move forward. I believe that waterboarding is in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and I’ve said it for years. But it’s time to move forward.     ( my emphasis )

  Let's move forward and forget about the illegal activities of the Bush administration so that the next group can screw us even more.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Salmonella Outbreak: Latest Recall Updates

   but first, thanks to  Jill Richardson for doing a lot of the legwork on this Salmonella outbreak. She is from whom I get much of the list updates.

                                  La Vida Locavore

Meanwhile, Kellogg Co. issued a voluntary recall of two varieties of ShopRite brand peanut butter sandwich crackers because they contain peanut paste produced by PCA and had the potential to be contaminated. The two recalled sandwich crackers are: ShopRite Peanut Butter on Toasty Crackers, all sizes; and ShopRite Peanut Butter and Cheese Cracker Snacks, all sizes.

The two products are manufactured by Kellogg for ShopRite, which has stores in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Whole Foods Market announced a similar recall of its Whole Foods Carob Energee Nuggets distributed to stores in California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada

Jewel-Osco, a division of Supervalu Inc. and leading Chicago supermarket and drugstore chain, recalled its Happy Tails multi-flavored dog biscuits. Like humans, salmonella in pets can cause diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain. It can also be transferred to other animals or humans.

Note: This is NOT A COMPLETE LIST of all recalled foods. This is only the newest foods recalled.

(If you notice - there are a number of brands with identically named products being recalled. A company called Nash Finch makes desserts that are sold under several brand names - even though they are the same exact foods! Any list that starts with "Peanut Butter Grand Brownies" is by Nash Finch, regardless of the brand.)

  • ABC Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
  • Arbonne
    • Figure 8 Peanut Butter Chews Expiration Date 10/2009
    • Figure 8 Peanut Butter Chews Expiration Date 11/2009
  • Arizona Gold
    • I love Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
    • Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
  • Avanza Supermarket
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Baker Jo's Peanut Butter
    • Monster Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
    • Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
  • Chef Jay's
    • Peanut Butter Tri-O-Plex Brownie ("Best Buy" 06/Sept/09 thru 16/Jan/10) 85 gram
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Tri-O-Plex Cookie ("Best Buy" 06/Sept/09 thru 16/Jan/10) 85 gram
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Tri-O-Plex Lite Bites Cookie ("Best Buy" 06/Sept/09 thru 16/Jan/10) 57 gram
    • Peanut Butter Tri-O-Plex Cookie ("Best Buy" 06/Sept/09 thru 16/Jan/10) 85 gram
    • Peanut Butter Tri-O-Plex Duo Bar ("Best Buy" 06/Sept/09 thru 16/Jan/10) 100 gram
  • Econofoods (excluding Wisconsin stores in Sturgeon Bay, Clintonville, Marquette, Holton and Iron Mountain)
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Family Fresh Market
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Family Thrift Center
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Food Bonanza
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Gigi's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 3 lb. corrugated box
  • GNC Triflex Peanut Butter Soft Chews 60 count containers
  • Gourmet Cookie Dough
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
    • Peanut Butter Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
  • Jimmy's Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough 15 lb, 20 lb and 25 lb
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies 4 oz, 12.5 oz, and 18 oz.
  • One Smart Cookie
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough 15 lb, 20 lb and 25 lb
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies 4 oz, 12.5 oz, and 18 oz.
  • Ovens of Ashley Monster Cookie Dough 3 lb. pails
  • Parker
    • Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup 1442 (Man. on 11/6/08) 30 pound case
    • Peanut Butter Cookies & Crème Organic Bark 2348 (Man. On 10/3/08) 10 pound case
    • Peanut Butter Milk Blend 2310 (Man. On 7/31/08) 30 pound case
  • Pick'n Save (Ohio stores in Van Wert and Ironton only)
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Prairie Market
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Rain Creek Baking Company
    • Michael's Baklava Assortment
    • Baklava Assortment
    • Peanut Butter Princesses
    • Peanut Butter Turtle Shells
    • Peanut Butter Turtles
    • Hand Crafted Baklava
  • Shurfine Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream 1.75 QT
  • Sinbad
    • Baklava & Sweets
    • Galleta estilo Baklava
    • Special Baklava Assortment
    • Sweets Baklava & Sweets
    • Sweets Caffe Sweets
    • Sweets Enrobed Peanut Butter Baskets
    • Sweets Enrobed Peanut Butter Princesses
    • Sweets European Baklava Assortment
    • Sweets Peanut Butter Princess Baklava
    • SinbadSweets.com 12pc Peanut Butter Princess
  • SunMart Foods
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar
  • Trader Joe's
    • Sutter's Formula Cookies 16-ounce
    • Nutty Chocolate Chewy Coated & Drizzled Granola Bars 7.4-ounce
    • Peanut Butter Chewy Coated & Drizzled Granola Bars 7.4-ounce
  • Wholesale Food Outlet
    • Peanut Butter Grand Brownies
    • Peanut Butter Rolls
    • Rolls and Cakes Iced with Peanut Butter Cream
    • Mini Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Monster Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Peanut Butter Cookies
    • Scotcheroos
    • Puppy Chow snack mix
    • Peanut Butter Rice Crisp Bar
    • Special K-Bar

Additionally, the AP reports recalls for:

  • Archer Farms (sold at Target)
    • Milk Chocolate Monster Chewy Soft Baked cookies
    • Double Peanut Butter Chewy Soft Baked cookies
  • Sam's Choice (sold at Wal-Mart) Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter cookies.
  • Dough-to-Go cookie dough (California)
  • Jane Dough cookie dough (Washington, Nevada, and Arizona)
  • Auntie Ono cookie dough (Hawaii)
  • Nutrilite
    • Vanilla Pretzel Energy Bar
    • Peanut Butter Energy Bar
    • Chocolate Nut Roll Energy Bar
    • Product Intro Kit

Then there's ANOTHER recall... but not due to the peanut butter thing. It's a totally separate food safety oops... but I figured I might as well include it here too. Also from the same AP article.

  • Stonewall Kitchen
    • Chocolate Hazelnut Sauce
    • Chocolate Peanut Butter
    • Coffee Caramel Sauce
    • Dulce Le Leche Sauce
    • Barefoot Contessa Espresso Dulce de Leche
  • Simply Enjoy (Stop & Shop and Giant stores)
    • Coffee Caramel Sauce, square glass jar, 13 oz.
    • Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce, square glass jar, 12 oz.

See the FDA Site for the complete list. As is usual in America, at least 1 lawsuit has been filed in this case. I'm sure that many more will follow. Maybe this is where the next round of government bailouts for business will be heading.

A Bush History Lesson...

since the conservatives and some Democrats keep pushing for even more tax cuts to business. This is also a look at the Bush performance, by the numbers.

Would that the rest of us could forget so quickly. While we are now looking forward to changes with the Obama administration, we're currently living with the world W wrought. For the last eight years, conservatives weren't just digging a hole, they pulled out a squadron of excavators that have put craters all over the national map. 

A lot of the numbers are familiar, but with the departure of the economic mangler in chief, it's worth a quick review just to get a look at the scope of the task ahead. 


That's 3% in just the reported unemployment rate, which represents a 71% growth in unemployment. It's no surprise that this number is up during Bush's term. Here's a name that's likely to be repeated several times before we're through: Herbert Hoover. As in

Bush has presided over the worst annual job creation record of any president since Hoover.

The rising unemployment doesn't begin to capture the misery generated on the jobs front. Heading into November, Bush was barely in positive territory for job creation over his eight years, and with December's disastrous numbers, he may have been the first since Hoover to go negative. And then there are the folks who have simply given up on getting a job over the last eight years, those who have settled for being chronically employed, and those trapped in part time positions with limited income and benefits.  All of which leads us to the next number.

If you look up the median income, a first glance makes it appear that families are making about $7K a year more now than when Bush came into office. That's until you figure in inflation. With that taken into account, American families actually lost ground. Of course, that's the median income across the board. For CEOs, income increased 223% in 2007 alone. But hey, all those massive CEO salaries, and the $120 billion in bonuses the top five Wall Street firms handed out in five years were surely worth it. Paying for the best, trickle down, etc. etc.

That's the kind of solid conservative thinking that got us where we are today.


Remember when Bush decided to use the "political capital" of his rousing 2004 "mandate" to push for moving Social Security funds into the market? As all of us watch our 401ks sink into the west, along with hopes for a comfortable retirement, we can be cheered at least to the degree that the Republicans didn't get their hands on the Social Security funds. Oh, and here's that phrase again: not since Herbert Hoover has the market suffered so badly under an administration. Bush's bad showing once again demonstrates that Republicans are bad for the stock market. The GOP notion of taking away all the rules and letting the market run wild has produced some good years, and also the worst years in market history.

As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index* would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to $300,671 at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years.

So maybe we could have people invest some of their Social Security funds in the market... so long as we have only Democratic presidents.


Despite an unprecedented expansion of areas open to drilling, despite billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil companies, despite lots of fine rhetoric about energy independence, US Crude Oil Production fell 13% during Bush's term. Why? Because drilling your way out of an oil shortage is impossible. It takes decades to bring significant new production on line, and the massive reserves that show up in news stories are often far above the amount of oil that can actually be recovered. United States oil production peaked over three decades ago and despite all the drilling we've done since, we're now cranking out about half of what we produced in 1970. Drill offshore? Go ahead, but US production will decline. Drill the Arctic Refuge? It'll still decline. US oil production at the end of the Obama term will be significantly lower than it is today, no matter how many exploration rigs are mustered. That's not to say that oil companies won't make huge rafts of cash off any new discoveries. They will. It just won't translate into any improvement in the nation's oil dependence.  Speaking of which...


See the story there? It's not just that we replaced our own declining production with more imports. It's worse. Oil imports are up 1.4 million barrels a day. US domestic production is down 800,000 barrels a day. Result? We'e in a much weaker position that when Bush Oil Company took over the nation.


Any Republican who ever again pretends that Democrats are the big spending party, or who claims that Republicans favor a balanced budget, should take forty lashes from the horsewhip of truth. Democrats handed Republicans a balanced budget. Then Republicans -- Republicans in charge of the House, of the Senate, and of the White House -- conspired to utterly wreck the tough negotiations that had made the balanced budget possible in favor of handing over bundles of cash to their high dollar donors and indulging their data-free ideas. Economic theories based on a napkin sketch didn't work under previous Republican regimes, and they didn't work this time.

Bush wasn't just a Republican president, he was the Republican president. Bush was the guy who took everything on the GOP platform seriously. He went to bat for every idea that ever got the official elephant nuts seal of approval. The record that resulted isn't just a measure of Bush's incompetence, it's a measure of just how bad Republican ideas are in practice.

Republican insistence that the market could be self regulating wrecked the market... as it has every time it's been tried.

Republican insistence that rewarding folks who already had loads of cash was the best way to spark the economy failed to make things better for the average American and widened the gap between rich and poor... as it has every time it's been tried.

Republican insistence that giving the oil companies billions would result in a burst of domestic production failed... as it has every time it's been tried.

Republican insistence that the market alone would position us for our energy future left us more vulnerable to those who control overseas oil resources... as it has every time it's been tried.

Of course, there are plenty of other numbers to track. Illegal signing statements. Violations of the Constitution. Americans and non-Americans killed in an unnecessary war.

Still, you have to give the Bush administration at least one "A" on the grade card. The guy was great at recess.

Employment Statistics: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Oil Statistics: Energy Information Administration
Income Statistics: Census Bureau
Stock Market: Google finance
US Debt: Treasury Department

Screw The republicans

  John McCain was on Fox News today still spouting the usual conservative shit about the economic stimulus package needs more tax cuts and whatever. I'll deal with his comments later in another post.

Screw Republicans     DailKos

by ThatPoshGirl   Sun Jan 25, 2009

President Obama and Congressional Democrats are still trying to satiate Republicans and win their support for the President's stimulus package.  The stimulus package includes, among other things, funds to improve infrastructure and create jobs, and an increase to pell grant awards.  In the last few days key Republicans including John McCain and Kay Bailey Hutchison have come out against the stimulus package.  McCain told Fox News today that he "disagrees with most provisions in the package," and Hutchison says she is "worried" about the package.  Neither has given any specific reasons why they don't support it.

I say "screw the Republicans."  President Obama has a 68% approval rating, and America can't wait for Republicans to finish licking their wounds and get over themselves.  Who cares what the Republicans think?  It is their policies over the last 8 years that have put us in this position.  Why do we care what they think?

President Obama doesn't need the support of Congressional Republicans to pass the stimulus package.  He has the support of the American People.  He is our President, not the Congresional Republican's president.  It is time to quit worrying about being nice to Republicans and put our mandate to use.  The window of opportunity is too short to screw around with them.

Hannity, Limbaugh, Republicans: Shut The F#%K Up...

  we don't want to hear it! The non-stop crying and bitching about the Obama administration spending what may be trillions of dollars to help rebuild our country as well as our economy, is nothing but a farce on your part. Why all of this sudden concern over government spending and deficits, when you had no problem with Bush and his gang spending money on two wars,bailing out Wall Street, and cutting taxes so that his wealthy friends could make more money and the rest of us could eat shit and die?

   Does it really upset you that some of this money being spent will be going to rebuild our infrastructure and to help out the backbone of this country, the middle class and lower level ( no insult intended ) workers?  It must bother you that the Republican line of thinking ( such as it is ) is no longer being accepted by the American public. We do not wish to hear your shit any more. We've had enough of your lying. We've had enough of your cronyism. We've had enough of your corruption. I for one, have certainly had enough of your bullshit " family values " because when you look at the past eight years with the GOP pretty much running things, you have no values other than " steal it all."

  On that note,here are a few more words of wisdom?

Your way failed.  Big time.  Like "F-" failed.  Of epic proportions.  The tax cuts failed.  The neverending sinkhole of money for Iraq failed.  Torture failed.  Indefinite detention of "enemy combatants" failed – even shot down by a Supreme Court where 7 of the 9 Justices were republican appointees.  Big money handouts to the oil companies failed.  Big money handouts to the financial institutions failed.  Deregulation failed.  Ignoring the infrastructure failed (bridge in Minnesota or Hurricane Katrina, anyone). 

And because of it, you lost.  Badly.  Twice in a row.

So guess what?  You don’t get to call the shots.  You don’t get to suddenly decry spending – when it is going to infrastructure, energy policies and the middle class.  You don’t get to perpetuate the approval of torture.  You don’t get to bury evidence, to allow subpoenas to be ignored, or to dictate who gets tax cuts.

You had your chance, and blew it.  Big time.  And because of it, you got smacked down.  Hard.  End of story.

So stop whining.  Stop lying.  Stop with the strawmen and the ad hominem attacks.  That era is tired, and frankly is inching closer and closer to being over.  Obama knows it.  More and more Americans know it.  And more are realizing it every passing day as they see what a responsible, engaged and smart administration can do – and the reaction that they are getting around the country and world.

Wake up and realize it, or continue to make an even bigger mockery of yourselves than you already are.  Which, frankly, is fine by me, since that will marginalize you even further as this country slowly gets back on its feet.