Archive for March 20th, 2007

Speechless

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

Read this article taken from wfaa.com:
Pet Killers

WASHINGTON – Seven animals died in tests of suspect dog and cat food by the manufacturer after complaints the products were poisoning pets around the country, the government said Monday.

A federal investigation is focusing on wheat gluten as the likely source of contamination that sparked a recall last Friday of 60 million cans and pouches of the suspect food, said Stephen F. Sundlof, the Food and Drug Administration’s top veterinarian.

The ingredient, a protein source, is commonly used as filler.

Agency investigators are looking at other ingredients as well. The wet-style pet food was made by Menu Foods, an Ontario, Canada-based company.

Menu Foods told the FDA it received the first complaints of kidney failure and deaths among cats and dogs from pet owners on Feb. 20. It began new tests on Feb. 27.

During those tests, the company fed its product to 40 to 50 dogs and cats and some seven animals – the mix of species was not immediately known – died, Sundlof said. The contamination appeared more deadly to cats than to dogs, he said.

The recall now covers dog food sold throughout North America under 51 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands, including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The food was sold under both store and major brand labels at Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers

I can’t describe how reading something like this news article makes me feel. It makes me want to call up my old friend Frank Castle and send him on up to Canada. I’m not saying that to be witty or humorous, either. I’m serious.

We’ve all read about the danger certain kinds of pet food is posing to our animals. It’s scary, but I’m sure all of us have emptied out our cupboards of the stuff. I had some of it here that my roommate and I are pretty sure was causing Cecil the Cat’s stomach problems that he’s had in the past. We no longer give him this food, and he’s been fine…but looking at him sleeping over on the couch makes me wonder how a company like this can willingly kill a cat like him. What kind of people are these that are testing this food to see if it will kill these animals?

There’s got to be another way of testing it. I’m no scientist, but I’m sure one could easily come up with a way. We don’t need to be killing animals to prove something will kill an animal. I, personally, know that a bullet will kill a cat but don’t have to shoot one to prove it.

My old French teacher, Mr. Townsend, used to tell our class that we made his “blood boil.” Now, I know how he felt.

Four Years Ago Yesterday.

Tuesday, March 20th, 2007

A war began.
The cost has been high. 3,213 U.S. deaths currently confirmed by the D.O.D. with another 24,042 officially listed as wounded. 5 more deaths await D.O.D. confirmation. Number of those deaths that came after Bush told us “Mission accomplished”: 3,079. The death toll for non-U.S. coalition troops is listed at 257. There have also been between 59,326 and 65,160 civilians killed by military action.
No link to the 9/11 attacks have ever been made to Iraq, no WMDs found and Bin Laden has been forgotten.
All this time wasted and all these lives lost and we still don’t have a light at the end of the tunnel.

The Democrats are pushing for a troop withdrawal. The Republican side argues back with their standard “the terrorists will win” bullshit to try to instill more fear into the nation and keep us behind them like a herd of scared sheep.

All this and what amuses me the most is, while less than one-third of Americans support the war, Bush threatens to veto any measures passed to push through a troop withdrawal.
The fuck?
Last I checked he was elected by the people of this country to work for the people of this country. Basically a civil servant with less requirements and more power.

Now, I’m not saying that Bush should just cave in and pull all the troops out now but I think he should at least be coming to the table. Problem is, he knows he is on the way out and the Republicans along with him. By not making any decisions about the war the Democrats will have a giant hole to dig out of when they take over the White House.

So that is what it takes? 4 years and a ton of deaths to give the other team a wedgie.