Will there ever be a time when the little-guy can breathe a sign a relief knowing that Corporate America isn't trying to swindle them over at every corner?

@1NOX1 Not any time soon I'm afraid. People do it to themselves though.. The way the system works the good honest folks don't make it very far up the corporate ladder.

Bush has a knack of putting idiots in charge.

Examples: himself, Michael Brown, Bernard Kerik (thank God his attempted nomination got scuttled), Ben Bernake, Miachel Baroody, and now this broad.

They can't impeach this president fast enough.

Folks, you are in the middle of a declining empire. Enjoy the ride. Everything goes downhill from here.

He can't appoint anyone who would...you know...actually try and REGULATE.

They wouldn't last 6 months.

[abstract]

... the Charnley Reptile has shown resistance to Atrazine, Thionex, and many [unnamed] pesticides. It seems to thrive on nicotine sulfate, an insecticide used in the 17th Century to ward off the destruction of the 'Corporate Cronefly'. A distinguishing mark of the hermaphroditic Charnley Reptile is noted by the arch over its left eye as well as a seeming 'smirk' on its 'face'. The Charnley Reptile actually vocalizes a hissing sound and when closely examined, auditory recordings uncover more of a 'cccpssscc' call.

I dig the raised eyebrow. Is this her MySpace profile picture?

just keep telling yourself... just one more year.. no more bushy

This is the yet another classic Bush administration move. This is how they address problems like last years Chinese lead toy scandal. But what scares me is every year these industry hacks are working as hard as they can to pass laws intended to stand in the way of progress and the greater social good so they can make money for themselves and the companies that they will coincidentally be working for when they leave office.

P.S. To all the Bush fans out there keep chanting USA#1, waving your Chinese made flags and talking about how good the economy is. Thank you for 8 years of the most corrupt administration in American history.
(o o)
ooO--(_)--Ooo

This truly has been the most anti-consumer presidency in anyone's memory. One can only hope a John Edwards-type (perhaps, hmm, John Edwards?) is nominated for Attorney General and the government finally starts working to protect the consumer instead of the corporation.

Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

OK so she went to the same finishing school as Hillary and is a bit of an industry shill. But she hasn't been on the board of Wal-Mart as well, has she?

Whatever happened to working in the public's interest?

Then we can appoint Harriet Myers as the Surgeon General. It all falls into place...
* Lead becomes part of daily recommended vitamins & minerals
* Smoking actually prevents cancer
* Global warming good (think real estate boom in northern Alaska)

* Last minute repeal of Amendment 22!

Four more years! [2004.georgewbush.org] Call me kooky!

of course, then we need that pill from 'On The Beach' or 'Children of Men'...(Quietus - You Decide When)

Geting your leftie on today, Ben? Why not just change the name of this site to "Kosist" instead?

I didn't even notice the raised eyebrow in her picture. That's intense.

@olegna: I believe that is an invisible monocle she is wearing.

Maggie Gyllenhaal's long lost evil twin sister?

In other news, Sneaky McFox has been appointed to chair the Commission on Henhouse Security.

Industry hack? Did you read her bio? Ben, do you even understand what that means? If a person who has a PhD from MIT, has chaired NAS panels, and runs his or her own consulting businesses generally is an "industry hack", I think almost anybody would qualify as one.

I think we should just appoint everyone from the Monsanto board of directors to every office possible. And then we should just all kill ourselves.

@burgundyyears: Great pedigree, but look who's she's gone to bed with (figuratively)!
It's like she's been selling it on the street corner to any industry that needs a qualified voice to defend something they've screwed with.@olegna: I say it's an old high school yearbook picture. Black & white, strand of pearls.

@Jthmeffy: You can download a clock for your computer desktop that gives you a countdown of days, hours etc. until he is out of office.
Go to [www.backwardsbush.com]
He'll be out of office but never completely gone. We will be paying the price for a long time. Some the rest of their lives.

That's actually a color picture, she's just naturally a wee bit wan. CPSC = Cold Pale Scary Creepy

Reminds me a little of Cheers' Lilith Sternin-Crane.

I guess scientists are too busy to fuss about getting their hair done?

@Flibbetigibbet:
I note, with no small measure of amusement, that you didn't even try to argue with the assertion made in this post: that this Administration has a history of hiring anti-consumer sycophants to do this job, and this is yet another in a long series of inappropriate appointments effectively putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. An irrefutable pronouncement to say the least.

Instead, you merely resorted to name-calling with the wingnut boogeyman du jour, and making it known that you don't appreciate that your chosen ideology isn't affirmed with every second of every day.

Don't worry, I've taken the liberty of calling the waaaambulance for you.

@Pop Socket:
Heheh. Sneaky McFox. Nice.

I'm sure she'll do a heckuva job.

Is it us, or is she pretty cute in that picture?!

@topgun: Yeah, but even the tobacco industry needs experts to consult with. Being retained by a defendant/defendant's lawyers does not in any way mean you agree with what they did/are doing. Consulting != shilling.

Now if, say, she went before Congress, raised her right hand, and said nicotine is not addictive on their behalf, THAT would be shilling/industry hack behavior. But the WaPo wasn't able to dig that up so I doubt it ever happened.

I'm also unsure about the article's ideas that this is a temporary appointment. CPSC commissioners are actually fairly independent and appointments generally carry over across administrations until their expiration date. The next administration can't simply dismiss them all and appoint their own. That's not how CPSC appointments work.

@thefrontpage: No, she's pretty cute :)

Yeah, but she's a reptile. Stare at the pic-- lizard tongue at any moment