We understand why Wyeth would pursue this line of reasoning—after all, if they win, then it will put an end to personal lawsuits against drug companies. But if Wyeth got its way, the result would require a huge expansion in the FDA's role in bringing drugs to market and monitoring them afterward, because the FDA would have to shoulder the burden of responsible drug testing and labeling. If the FDA took over this responsibility, it would have to balloon to an enormous and almost certainly unwieldy government agency, and it would likely slow down the time it takes to bring new drugs to market.

On the other hand, it's quite possible that the FDA would simply hobble along in an underfunded, understaffed state, paralyzed by bureaucratic jams and strangled by politicians and the lobbyists who feed them.

This is why we think Wyeth is being duplicitous, by arguing for one thing—greater federal regulation—while knowing that in reality, having only the FDA to answer to will mean less risk of being held responsible for mistakes, incomplete research, or inappropriate marketing.

We're sure Wyeth would love to have it both ways, with limited regulatory oversight combined with the protection of a federal agency that's largely toothless. We hope the Supreme Court tells Wyeth to pay the Vermont woman her $7 million—and to label its drugs more clearly if it wants to avoid such payouts in the future.

"Consumer Issues Top Supreme Court's Docket" [NPR]
"Plainfield Pianist's Case Could Affect Nation" [WCAX] (Thanks to Michael Belisle!)
(Photo: Getty)

Here's the letter he sent to Disney describing what happened on his visit last month:

My name is Adam Roca, and I recently visited Blizzard Beach Water Park on August 14, 2008. On one of the rides, I became ejected from my tube and stuck on the ride. In addition, one of my legs became awkwardly stuck underneath me. In attempts to free my leg and move down the slide, I applied pressure on my other leg to free myself. My ankle turned sideways and I fell down the remainder of the ride.

At the bottom of the slide, I called to my girlfriend for help. She told the lifeguard we needed help, and was ignored. Being a trained lifeguard herself, my girlfriend got into the pool to help me away from the slide. She pulled me to the stairs, where she again demanded help. The lifeguard said she was phoning someone. After several minutes, she said that someone would be coming with a wheelchair to assist us.

In the meantime, people kept coming down the slide and haphazardly running into my leg. More time passed, and the lifeguard said the wheelchair had been moved, so we had to wait longer for someone to come and help.

In total, I waited more than 15 minutes, writhing in pain at the bottom of this water slide. Once the person came with the wheelchair, I was assured that the nurse at the on-site medical center would be able to assist me.

At the center, the nurse simply asked if I was able to bear weight on my ankle. When I replied that I was not able to, she handed me a brochure and said I could go there to get X-rays. I told her that I didn't have health insurance and this wasn't an ideal solution. She said it was up to me, and that they couldn't do anything else for me. I told her I was at least hoping for some ice and maybe some ibuprofen, and she complied.

We then drove straight to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, a place where we knew I would be treated regardless of insurance status. They took X-rays and informed me my ankle was broken. I was then referred to a orthopedic doctor and set up an appointment. Within the next business day or two (either 8/15 or 8/18 around 2 pm), I called Blizzard Beach and filed an injury report and issued a complaint against the staff at the park.

At the doctor's appointment, Dr. Klein confirmed I had broken my fibula, and in addition, I tore my ligament on the other side of my ankle. He said that I would need to get surgery to heal properly so that I could walk again. I had surgery on 8/22/08 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and I had a metal plate permanently screwed into my leg.

I have spoken to several lawyers since the accident. They seem fairly confident that at least a claim can be made to recuperate some of the money lost due to my ever-increasing medical expenses (at the moment, they total more than $13,000). Without medical insurance and living below the poverty level, I know this serious debt will mire my possibilities in the future.

I know Disney prides itself in providing entertainment for working families that's safe and memorable. I would very much like Disney's help in this time of need. I would particularly hope Disney would take responsibility for its loyal customers while they are on its very property.

Adam, we're actually surprised Disney didn't contact you to resolve this. If your letter doesn't get a response, check out our post on how to write an Executive Email Carpet Bomb, and look here for Disney email addresses.

The only information Minoru has to go on to reconstruct the last, sad hours of his new laptop's life are the status tracking updates:

• Apr 22, 2008 3:36 AM On FedEx vehicle for delivery
• Apr 22, 2008 5:24 PM At local FedEx facility
• Apr 23, 2008 1:10 PM Shipment exception / Unable to deliver

Wow. So now I'm really disturbed. I called FedEx, and the rep tells me that the package is damaged, and they will not deliver it. I demanded more information, and she switched me to her manager. Ceci Watts at Cincinnati call center was absolutely 0% helpful. You could tell she handled this type of calls frequently. All she could repeat was the same stupid line no matter what I said or asked. This isn't word for word, but it's pretty much how it went:
 
Me: So was the package on the truck at 3:36 AM or not?
Ceci: It was a miscellaneous scan.
Me: What does that mean?
Ceci: It was a miscellaneous scan.
Me: So what does it mean? "On FedEx vehicle for delivery" sounds like it at least made it to the truck for delivery. I would like to know if the package made it to the truck, and when and where the package was damaged.
Ceci: That's irrelevant.
Me: It's relevant because I need to know why I don't have my package.
Ceci: It's irrelevant.
Me: So was it a lie? Are you saying the status was a lie? It never made it to the truck?
Ceci: It was a miscellaneous scan. It doesn't matter.
Me: This is ridiculous.
 
Ceci insisted that there's nothing they can do for me, even though they destroyed my package. My laptop was fine until it entered that mysterious 14-hour window on April 22. It was in FedEx's hands, and it somehow got damaged, and who knows where it is now. The only option for me, Ceci said, was to contact Apple. So even though it's almost impossible for anybody else to be responsible for the matter, they're refusing to correct the situation or be helpful about it in any way. Now I have to take my own time to contact Apple, Apple would have to investigate it, then send me another computer.

Hello Consumerist,
 
After reading your articles on Canada banning BPA filled baby products and hopefully soon the US, I did some research and was shocked to find the ever popular "First Year's Breastflow" baby bottles I bought for myself last Christmas at Target were not BPA free. Nor has the "First Year" company done anything to remedy the BPA in their wide variety of baby products. Thank goodness my little girl hasn't been born yet and the bottles still sit in her nursery waiting to be used.
 
I figured they'd own up if confronted about it and provide a refund since A) they haven't been used and still sit in their original boxes and B) they should feel some sort of remorse for not making BPA free baby products. I know Target isn't going to care since it's been 90 days and who knows where the receipt is anyways. I don't think it necessarily needs to be solely Target's issue anyways, "First Years" needs to take responsibility for selling products with the BPA chemical and hopefully if more parents catch on and email in, they might actually recall their products and start making safer items for our kids.
 
So I sent in an email to customer care and got this bs canned response about how they don't care. Any advice on how I can get this taken care of and actually read by someone of importance? Thanks!
 
Sincerely, Portia

From: CustomerService Date: Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 7:39 AM Subject: Re: Care and Safety Question or Feedback for LearningCurve.com Customer Care   Thank you for your inquiry,   If you are unhappy with your purchase, the company has established return policies with retailers who buy our products directly. Please return the product along with your receipt to the place of purchase for an exchange or refund. The exchange is subject to the discretion and return policies of the individual retailer.   Thank you, Consumer Services

Internet providers, including Time Warner Cable Inc., Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., as well as Google Inc. and Yahoo! Inc., which provide e-mail services, declined to comment. Several said it's the first time they've heard about the issue.

Kate Dean, executive director of the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association —-- a trade group whose members include AOL, Verizon and Comcast —-- said it will respond to Mortenson's petition, but declined to make any comments until then.

Some companies, such as Yahoo! and Google, allow their e-mail users to forward incoming mail to another address. There are other companies, such as Pobox.com, that also provide an e-mail forwarding service.

Richi Jennings, an analyst with San Francisco-based Ferris Research, said he imagines that the FCC could mandate that companies provide a free e-mail forwarding service, but doubts that it would

"Such a forwarding service would cost the service providers money in network bandwidth, server utilization and operational overhead," he wrote in an e-mail. "Service providers typically operate with low margins, relying on volume to make acceptable profit."

Government considers mandating Internet service providers to forward customers' e-mails [AP]
(Photo: bingbing)

Life without plastic requires a few components:

• Budget: Every month, NCN writes out a comprehensive budget: "I divide my salary into three major categories - Give, Save, Spend - and then I break those categories into smaller sub-categories. For example: Give - Tithes, Offering, Charity. I then allocate, on paper, all of the funds that I receive for the month into those sub-categories. I spend every dollar, every month, on paper, before the month begins."
• Payments and Spending: NCN makes payments either through his online account or with plain checks. For internet purchases, he uses a debit card.
• Transfers: NCN dips into his high-interest savings account once per month. We do the same, and enjoy the financial discipline imposed by limited trips to the cookie jar.

How I Live Without Using Credit Cards - My Simple System For Living On A Budget [No Credit Needed]
(Photo: danesparza)

We suppose we could leave a comment in the single post that has been made on the blog (and we have), as the comments are vetted by the author. We encourage Mr. Langert to add some methods for the blog-reading public to actually initiate conversation.

But first, maybe he should talk to us about those sundaes. (Bloody sundaes.)

Sure, it's full of maudlin corporate sensitivity speak, with pretentious post titles like "Confessions of a Horse Whisperer." It's still a great move. This is exactly the sort of thing more companies should be doing—engaging in an actual ~dialogue with its customers. Given that so much criticism of companies is coming from the blogging community these days, it's excellent to see a company deliver more than a token tug job to placate the plebs. This isn't some static page posing as a blog—it appears to have comments and trackbacks and everything.

There's lots of great reasons to hate McDonald's. Nothing Morgan Spurlock says, because he's full of shit, but you can take them to task for loads of other things, including the fact that their fast food is nigh-inedible offal. But opening up a forum to address those complaints is a great move by McDonald's. Here's hoping they keep it up.