Feds swarming garage sales and church bazaars?
posted at 4:37 pm on August 21, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
When our founders created the federal government, I’m pretty sure they didn’t anticipate having its power reach into their carriage houses. Thanks to a particularly asinine piece of legislation called the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act, though, we now have federal inspectors threatening to start investigating yard sales and church bazaars. They say they’re just going to focus on thrift stores and Craigslist … for now:
If you’re planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you’d best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products.
The initiative, which targets toys and other products for children, enforces a new provision that makes it a crime to resell anything that’s been recalled by its manufacturer. …
The crackdown affects sellers ranging from major thrift-store operators such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army to everyday Americans cleaning out their attics for yard sales, church bazaars or — increasingly — digital hawking on eBay, Craigslist and other Web sites.
Secondhand sellers now must keep abreast of recalls for thousands of products, some of them stretching back more than a decade, to stay within the bounds of the law.
And I’m sure that Thomas Jefferson and James Madison would be especially proud of this report from McClatchy:
Staffers for the federal agency are fanning out across the country to conduct training seminars on the regulations at dozens of thrift shops.
Yes, because when America was founded by men like John and Samuel Adams, George Washington, Jefferson, and Madison, it was to ensure that we could send federal inspectors “fanning out across the country” to stop people from reselling their old junk.
What did we ever do before the CPSIA protected the US through its throngs of federal nannies? How did we ever survive garage sales in the past 233 years? Oh, yes: we used our common sense as consumers. Gee, those were the good old days, weren’t they, when our government treated us as though we had a lick of intelligence and maturity?
I’m not the only one waxing nostalgic, either:
“Many toys have small pieces that could be dangerous,” she said. “My son played with army men, Lego blocks, all kinds of things with little parts. A toddler can put anything in his mouth. Parents need to have common sense. Ultimately, the parent needs to really evaluate and be watchful of what the child is playing with. We as consumers have to be careful. It really comes back to us.”
Nonsense, Nancy! We’re not qualified to make our own decisions and exercise our own discretion any more. We need CPSIA federal inspectors to get between us and those dangerous thrift stores, Craigslist entries, and church bazaars.
It’s the era of Hope and Change! We’re all idiots! And that’s why the government is here to help.
Blowback
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Intentions amount to squat when comparing them with results and/or consequences.
Communism, in fact, was sold on its ‘good intentions.’
anuts on August 21, 2009 at 8:27 PM
Yes… and the road to Hell is paved with them.
Or, so I hear.
jana on August 21, 2009 at 8:29 PM
The only ones worth a damn at night…
Jeff2161 on August 21, 2009 at 8:30 PM
I, for one, am so relieved that the government is here to make sure I don’t do anything to hurt myself or others. I just can’t be trusted with common sense. You know deep down, you can’t be trusted either.
/ Nanny state.
Geronimo on August 21, 2009 at 8:39 PM
A complete backdoor way to screw Christian charities of all kinds. Bring it on, obamatards. You’re just fodder in a George Romero movie.
Western_Civ on August 21, 2009 at 8:43 PM
Think of the children!
keep the change on August 21, 2009 at 8:50 PM
They come to my garage sale they better have a warrant or Mr. Glock will usher them off my property.
bill30097 on August 21, 2009 at 9:02 PM
That is the problem with you idiot f’ing liberals…
The unintended consequences of damn near every one of your programs is much worse that the problem to begin with. We need an island that has no sharps or danger or risk so we can export all these nanny-state doo-gooders.
I hate those people.
daesleeper on August 21, 2009 at 9:04 PM
I’m feeling like an extra in a John Carpenter movie…
Jeff2161 on August 21, 2009 at 9:14 PM
Actually, the bill was passed by a Democrat Congress, but signed into law by W. I can’t find info. about the vote count in the House and Senate, but if I remember correctly I think it was almost a unanimous vote in both. I believe the original bill sponser was Bobby Rush (D – IL 1st).
reallyfive on August 21, 2009 at 9:18 PM
The nanny state has officially arrived.
Alfresco on August 21, 2009 at 9:18 PM
Thank god NAFTA allows a certain bit of dolphin in every can of tuna.
Jeff2161 on August 21, 2009 at 9:22 PM
Two little-appreciated sorts of good intentions are cruel pity and pious cruelty.
Kralizec on August 21, 2009 at 9:46 PM
Thank god NAFTA allows a certain bit of dolphin in every can of tuna.
Jeff2161
OK that’s just silly. You’re thinking Cockroach parts in chocolate.
Dolphin Safe Tuna means the nets have hatches that allow the dolphins to swim free. I’m sure even non-dolphin safe tunas don’t actually clean the dolphins and add their meat to the can.
KZnextzone on August 21, 2009 at 9:53 PM
Okay pal . . . you want to pull those lawn darts over?
You’re under arrest!
For what?
For selling these at your garage sale, that’s what!
Next time, pal, stick to a quick round of Cornhole!
P.S. “Lawn Darts” were absolutely of the great, fun games of all time . . . just don’t try to catch ‘em in mid-air!
Trochilus on August 21, 2009 at 9:57 PM
That’s a joke right?? Just meant to stir things up a bit, right?
Yeah,, good intentions,, the same kind Hitler had.
JellyToast on August 21, 2009 at 10:01 PM
Good intentions? This bill makes it harder for lower income families to purchase second-hand toys and clothes for their children. The pocketbooks of real Americans are being pinched by this ridiculousness, and you want to praise the good intentions of the idiots that passed this bill?
Slublog on August 21, 2009 at 10:04 PM
More stupidity from the same idiots that invented seat belts and made kids on bike wear helmets. Gawd I was born 50 years too late.
Jeff from WI on August 21, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Rev 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
44Magnum on August 21, 2009 at 10:40 PM
It’s for the children!
Sure, prison stinks, bankruptcy sucks, but…it’s for the children!
PattyJ on August 21, 2009 at 10:46 PM
One difference between us and Dem: we realize that the nanny is going to end like “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” instead of “Mary Poppins”.
Laura in Maryland on August 21, 2009 at 10:51 PM
I saw some very old toys at our local flea market last weekend. These were really for collectors, I don’t know if they would be confiscated or the vendor would be required to put them away. I guess in East Tennessee, an attempt to confiscate would start a real big fight.
Pelayo on August 21, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Well I will have my garage sale on the road to Hell.
WashJeff on August 22, 2009 at 12:32 AM
It is none of their business, period.
Vashta.Nerada on August 22, 2009 at 12:35 AM
Your mother cares about your intentions. Maybe your friends do. The universe only gives a damn about the consequences of your actions.
The key flaw of liberalism is the complete inability to learn from past mistakes, thus y’all keep trying the same horrifically failed policies and fall back on your intentions. I DON’T CARE what your intentions are, you are already HARMING ME because you don’t understand economics. I’m GOD-DAMNED SICK of your crap.
Someday, a thousand years in the future, we’ll figure out the magic trick to get some info through the left’s thick heads.
Merovign on August 22, 2009 at 1:16 AM
Ed, thank you for continuing to cheapen the argument with this type of garbage. :: ))
Observation on August 22, 2009 at 1:40 AM
OMG…I didn’t think they’d really do this!
Holy friggin’ cow!
Dr. ZhivBlago on August 22, 2009 at 2:19 AM
Dr. ZhivBlago, you’re not pessimistic enough by a goodly margin. It’s going to get worse.
This is book burning without being obvious. Welcome to the world of Fahrenheit 451.
{^_^}
herself on August 22, 2009 at 5:20 AM
Like I said,,, China threw defective products at Americans so our glorious congress acted by passing this Orwellian mess attacking Americans as well!
Congress cannot fix crap! This started because of anti-freeze in toothpaste and other defective, dangerous products coming out of CHINA!!! CHINA! NOT FREAKING YARD SALES ON THE FRONT LAWNS OF AMERICAN HOMES!! IT WAS CHINA!!
Congress is good for nothing but a place to throw your kitty litter! And the fact that Bush signed this freaking law is just another indication of how and why we ended up with Obama and a Dem controlled congress!!
What in God’s name are they doing in DC??? What??!! They are actually sending out agents to scour the nation’s yard sales looking for defective toys while real crimes are being committed right in the Capital!!
If they find that an illegal cabbage patch doll was sold at some yard sale what will they actually do??? Are they going to bring in the SWAT teams???? Are they going to throw Joe and Susie Yardsale down on their lawns and put their boots on their throats??? Point a gun at the face??? Take them away in chains???
JellyToast on August 22, 2009 at 8:32 AM
Why dont they use all those “inspectors” to investigate all the products China send here that contain LEAD!!!! This is the dumbest thing Ive ever heard.
becki51758 on August 22, 2009 at 8:32 AM
Great minds think alike! lol
becki51758 on August 22, 2009 at 8:33 AM
There, fixed it for you
psrch on August 22, 2009 at 9:13 AM
I figured it was Eric Holder’s thugs trying to block any sales of Depression glass to hide any reminders of where Zero is leading us.
viking01 on August 22, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Well, that would take all the fun out of owning a knife.
SagebrushPuppet on August 22, 2009 at 9:31 AM
So I can blame Bush for this law?
Good. Thank you.
SagebrushPuppet on August 22, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Just keep piling it on Feds and you’ll get to see the sleeping giant wake up nice & close.
roy_batty on August 22, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Federal Agents Raid Garage Sale!!
This morning on a tip from an anonymous source, Federal Agents raided a Garage sale in progress. There was quite a crowd of buyers. As the black vans squealed into view, agents poured from the back with “Cease and Desist” orders in hand. People were ordered to lie down on the ground in a prone position. Anyone with a plastic bag was ordered to hand it over for Inspection. Agents covered the perimeter to assure no one escaped. Pandemonium ensued, children were wailing as their parents were hauled off and searched for “illegal toys and goods”. The Homeowners were issued a warrant, and told to appear before the Bazaar Czar for Prosecution. Agents then started to dismantle the well displayed goods, and flung ‘suspect’ goods to one side for later distruction in a landfill. As shocked people were allowed to go, I could hear them muttering under their collective breaths…..what was said is unrepeatable. This picture has become the norm now on a Saturday morning. Soon all Garage sales will be termed ‘Illegal” and shut down for the public good. Future arrests are a likely scenario, as CPSIA Agents crack down on these very dangerous and bothersome sales.
I asked one Agent why this was happening, and I quote,
” It’s to protect the public from itself Ma’am, these people have absolutely no knowledge of how dangerous used toys and books and clothing and appliances can be, we have to do this, it’s for their own good.” Unquote.
So, fellow Americans, there you have it. Just another day in the neighborhood, as Federal Agents crack down on these criminals, all to make our lives safer. I for one am thankful for this Government intervention. I truly don’t know how I ever managed to survive buying used goods.
I just want to say, Buyers Beware!! And as for you Sellers, your time has come…..Muuaahhh!!!!
Onward Forward and Upward!!
RoxanneH on August 22, 2009 at 9:41 AM
I interviewed for one of these jobs but passed on it when they mentioned I might have to work a few weekends.
PatMac on August 22, 2009 at 9:43 AM
It would be cool if they did, though…
Count to 10 on August 22, 2009 at 9:51 AM
So, now it’s a criminal offense to be a collector of these rare items? Sounds like Obamanizm to me!
Cybergeezer on August 22, 2009 at 10:05 AM
See what happens when the camel gets it’s nose inside the tent. Love to see them inspect that multi-state yard sale every summer. Guess that would create a lot more government jobs.
Kissmygrits on August 22, 2009 at 10:14 AM
“The tuna doesn’t taste as good as it used too!”
Coronagold on August 22, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Up against the garage wall grandma, you’re going down!
Jeff from WI on August 22, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Many hispanics do business at swap meets. This could backfire with a key Democratic voting block.
Disturb the Universe on August 22, 2009 at 10:36 AM
The use of swarm reminded me of something
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
Declaration of Independence
panzerkardinal on August 22, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Haven’t you cynics noticed all the people dying in the streets after leaving garage sales with toxic hedge clippers? Some compassion, please.
Skipper50 on August 22, 2009 at 10:45 AM
OH, THE HUMANITY!
Disturb the Universe on August 22, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Article 1 Section 8
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;
To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
To provide and maintain a Navy;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Don’t see nothin bout pesterin no yard sales.
Akzed on August 22, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Well, this is one stupid move.
AnninCA on August 22, 2009 at 11:28 AM
the meat is always sweetest around the blowhole….
CatchAll on August 22, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Why does our government hate the poor? Why do they hate books?
This filth passed with a huge majority and of course Bush signed the POS.
This government must go.
Rae on August 22, 2009 at 11:45 AM
lead! LEAD!!! We’re all gonna DIEEEEEE!!!
Parley on August 22, 2009 at 11:45 AM
If we’d had this bureaucracy during the 1800s, the West would never have been settled, because they would have worried that someone would get bitten by a snake, or that we would destroy snake habitat.
The operating principle seems to be “We have to protected from ourselves and our environment must be protected from us.” This is madness. “Progressives,” indeed! They’re nannies!
flataffect on August 22, 2009 at 11:56 AM
When does to government come in to check that the toilet seat is put down after guys use it?
OMRA: Obama Must Regulate All!
profitsbeard on August 22, 2009 at 12:16 PM
There needs to be a federal lead-ass inspector for any bureaucratic jerk that shows up at anyone’s yard sale. This inspector’s job will be to determine the exact amount of lead that was just pumped into the bureaucratic jerk’s backside by the said yard owner’s Mossberg.
jimmy2shoes on August 22, 2009 at 12:34 PM
When I was a kid (dating myself), we had lead toy soldiers — not only lead-painted (probably), but made of lead. It’s amazing we are still alive! This is just another crock to keep the Feds firmly ensconched in our lives.
Christian Conservative on August 22, 2009 at 12:48 PM
You’re not gonna get me Flatfoot! I got the whole joint rigged with Tickle Me Elmos! One wrong move and BOOM! You’ll die laughing.
RadClown on August 22, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Note that many of those thrift sales and shops are CHRISTIAN associated, how it is that many civic and Christian organizations raise money that they then use to…assist others.
The monster known as Obama’s Faith-Based Czar is striking out at those believers in God who he loathes.
Lourdes on August 22, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Hhmmmm….seems to me there was a way that our predecessors dealt with intrusive federal officials…. oh yah, I remember now: like this!!
Amendment X on August 22, 2009 at 1:16 PM
Reallyfive, I’m on the board of an assistance center. We also resell clothes and other things in order to fund the center.
Here’s a link you can use: http://www.recalls.gov/cpsc.html. You can see the recalls by type of product as you get into the site a few clicks.
Jimbo3 on August 22, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Yes, actually. And I am totally serious.
I use two ‘recalled’ cribs in my home. One is for my adult daughter who is disabled, but small for her age. Small as in, about the size of a 7 year old, but far too big to injure herself putting her head through the rails, which is why it was recalled. It is NOT the government’s place to forbid my neighbor to sell this used crib to me.
Another I bought at a thrift shop and took apart, using the wooden sides and ends to hang vintage linens from- it looks very lovely and poses no danger to anybody. It is NOT the proper function of the government to prevent me from buying an old crib from my thrift shop- and yet, this law makes it ILLEGAL for anybody to take apart a recalled crib and resell the parts for the purpose of hanging vintage linens on them or even to remake them into a lovely bench and then resell the bench.
This law is completely idiotic (and, while I hold no brief for Bush, he did try to fight the law, and ended up signing it when it was passed by a veto proof majority).
DeputyHeadmistress on August 22, 2009 at 1:34 PM
This thread reminds me of this:
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes made with Lard, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren’t overweight.
WHY? Because we were always outside playing that’s why!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.. No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Play stations, Nintendo’s and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD’s, no surround-sound or CD’s, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms.
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn’t it ?
chewydog on August 22, 2009 at 1:44 PM
Federal Agents
Raid Garage Sale!!MissingFederal Agencies are still searching for a group of Federal Agents sent to raid a garage sale in orthern Georgia. The person holding the garage sale, Carol Gwinnett, says that they never saw any agents. Neighbors, the closest of who live a quarter mile away says they noticed nothing unusual that day. The husband of the person holding the garage sale, George Gwinnett, saw nothing but said he was inside holding a meeting of his local NRA chapter. The mystery continues…..
bill30097 on August 22, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Reallyfive:
Kyl, DeMint, and Coburn consistently voted against it (it went through several versions and came up for different votes) They are the only ones who did so. Ron Paul voted against it ONCE (he likes to claim he’s the only one who did, but, in fact, his no vote was meaningless as it occurred over some procedural issue early on, and he didn’t vote at all on the final version). More here.
I can and do, and very easily.
As I wrote in one of those links:
DeputyHeadmistress on August 22, 2009 at 2:02 PM
When yard sales are outlawed only outlaws will have yard sales.
God forbid someone have an estate sale selling something not Big Brother approved. Eric “Clouseau” Holder would put the corpse on trial and demand contempt charges for any deceased failure to respond to interrogation.
viking01 on August 22, 2009 at 2:31 PM
You brought tears to my eyes because I lived through those days in the 40′s and 50′s. We all had such innocense then. I wish my child and grandchildren could have known that life. Gone forever and I miss it dearly!
silvernana on August 22, 2009 at 3:04 PM
George Gwinnett, saw nothing but said
he was inside holding a meeting of his local NRA chapter. The mystery continues…..he did happen to have a table with some fine SWAT shirts, cuffs and other goodies for sale out on his lawn next to the lava lamp and old VHS player. Priced to sell.JellyToast on August 22, 2009 at 3:07 PM
UUmmmmm Lard white bread real butter bacon cupcakes….
KZnextzone on August 22, 2009 at 3:34 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w3ZENhUlDU
bill30097 on August 22, 2009 at 3:43 PM
I was born in ’53, but even I remember as a kid what it was like to live in a truly free America. If this younger generation had any idea how great it was, and how truly repressive and evil it has become, we would have a real FIGHTING revolution going on right now.
Jeff from WI on August 22, 2009 at 3:49 PM
And liberals believe that the government wouldn’t try to regulate food consumption and other behavior if we had socialized medicine.
Ampleforth on August 22, 2009 at 4:24 PM
Another law thought up by the high minded, and enacted by the feeble minded.
Pelayo on August 22, 2009 at 4:58 PM
This would make a very funny movie. I’m thinking Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. Keep the jokes coming, folks. I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time.
blr2449 on August 22, 2009 at 7:14 PM
Chewydog, I was born in ’49 and this is definitely NOT the Amercia I grew up in. Sadly.
blr2449 on August 22, 2009 at 7:16 PM
I knew this was coming! Last year I read they were going to do away with any old toys or books at 2nd hand shops and garage sales that might contain lead or other dangerous materials. The main reason they will do it now is as a means to collect taxes. This will be an untapped area to collect extra $$ for the government. How lovely.
di butler on August 22, 2009 at 8:01 PM
I do. I think of the country we are going to leave them as well.
When the best that can be said about something is that the intentions are good. Shoot to kill.
darktood on August 23, 2009 at 2:41 AM
the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products.
Get out of my freakin’ face. Isn’t that the whole point of garage sales? To buy something for cheap that may need some repair we will do ourselves?
The Feds better crack down on selling bricks. Because you can bang your head into them. Let me demonstrate on the nearest Federal agent.
George Orwell on August 23, 2009 at 3:22 AM
What’s depressing is that there are, apparently, real citizens who are willing to do this wankpaddle regulatory madness as agents of the Nanny State. An army of diminuitive dictators.
George Orwell on August 23, 2009 at 3:25 AM
Cash For Clunkers expanded to spend trillions in rebates to trade in thinks like those old baby clothes and that 35 year old Craftsman circular saw, at your friendly neighborhood garage sale.
Jeff from WI on August 23, 2009 at 6:42 AM
.
So, let me get this straight. I can’t go to my retiring neighbor’s garage sale a buy some quality seasoned tools made with pride in the USA. Nope. I’ve got to go to a store and buy some total junk made in China laced with lead and who knows what other nasty poisonous substances. (all of which have been outlawed here in the US for decades). .
.
Oh and think of all the GREENHOUSE GASES to make the and ship and deliver the new product from China.
.
And what about our landfills…..
.
Where’s the outrage from the greenies??
JeffVader on August 23, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Yes, I would go out to the barn, walk through all the manure and saddle up my horse and ride it all by myself to the lake about 2 miles away through all the open fields with cactus and rattle snakes and go swimming all day long and come back when I got hungry. It is amazing that I lived to graduate high school. How I ever survived from getting e-coli or getting stomped to death or bitten by a snake or drowning is a mystery to me. Wait, I remember now. We were taught as kids to use common sense, something that is totally lacking from today’s generation and the government.
jistincase on August 23, 2009 at 11:48 AM
It’s also about rent-seeking corporations who fill the Corporatists’ campaign coffers, grabbing more power and control, and the BushBama consumption mentality.
Remember, folks:
“Debt is the lifeblood of our economy. We desperately need to get more American families deeper in debt.”
–Barack Obama
Rae on August 23, 2009 at 2:51 PM
CPSIA (HR 4040) was signed into law by George Bush Aug 14, 2008.
In the House there were 192 Republicans who voted for it.
and
32 Republicans voted for it in the Senate.
…. just in case you forgot that the Republicans and Democrats take turns doing the same job.
popularpeoplesfront on August 24, 2009 at 1:22 AM
The solution is the free market. Why wouldn’t individuals just not use products from China? This, in turn, would hurt Chinese companies, and that would teach them a lesson. You don’t need government.
Libertarian Joseph on August 24, 2009 at 5:54 AM
We won’t have to worry about federal agents closing in our yard sales. They will offer rewards and “incentives” for any of our neighbors to call the toll-free number to denounce us to the authorities. Then it WILL be 1984.
Sarah2053 on August 24, 2009 at 10:14 AM
They have to assume that, after all the majority of Americans fell for “the biggest fairytale” in US history. Even the guy who said that and his wife are working for Big Fairytale now. I don’t know, maybe it’s in the water, but something is dumbing down America… look at Bill Maher, he still thinks the president is a genius.
Michelle Dubois on August 24, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Forget yard sale Nazis.
Concentrate on the real evil of this administration.
What are you going to do when you realize you have to beg, on your knees, to some faceless, unaccountable, socialist bureaucratic healthcare hack for chemotherapy for your six-year-old daughter who doctors say has terminal leukemia?
Knowing that Obama’s mad doctor Ezekiel Emanuel wants to deny such care for those deemed ‘nonproductive’ and not worth the cost of treatment?
You haven’t seen fear until you realize that Obama wants absolute control over your life and death and those you love.
Tailgunner on August 24, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Good grief, you people are impossible to actually discuss issues with.
I posted that I agreed that this was a bad idea, just for different reasons – fiscally-conservative reasons – than the wrongheaded ideas Ed Morrissey has.
Yet no fewer than TEN responses come from one line of my comment. I said that the bill stems from good intentions. TEN of you took that one line out of my response to try to make a zinger out of it.
None of you managed to notice that I had already pointed out that the good intentions failed to lead to good legislation in this case.
I mean, you all want to single out this line:
Without reading the very next two sentences:
None of you actually addressed the substance of my comment. You just wanted to pile on to show how poor your collective reading comprehension is. Truly pathetic.
orange on August 24, 2009 at 2:38 PM
Or…
Or, perhaps they just disagree with your basic premise that the bill was spawned of “good intentions”.
Basic reading skills indeed.
hawkdriver on August 24, 2009 at 7:58 PM
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