Grout sealer: recall didn't really work

If you're a DIY kind of person and have done tile recently, make sure you don't have any of this stuff. After being recalled, the company was slow to remove it from shelves and then sent a replacement product with the same dangerous chemical.

The story goes on to discuss the failure of oversight from the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

The men Bush defends

Paul Wolfowitz has been near the center of the neoconservative capture of Washington under President Bush, first as an architect of the Iraq invasion in the Defense Department and now as the head of the World Bank.

However, serious allegations have arisen that Mr Wolfowitz used his position at the head of the Bank to get a significant raise for his "companion," done while he was heading up an anti-corruption drive to weed out the bank's aid recipients.

A special committee [of the World Bank board of directors found] that Mr. Wolfowitz broke bank rules, ethics and governance standards in arranging for, and concealing, a pay and promotion package for his companion, Shaha Ali Riza, in 2005.

Wolfowitz has responded to the charges:

He promised to change his management approach by relying less on advisers from the Bush administration, restructuring his office, delegating more to managers and placing “more trust in the staff,” according to the text.

[However, he has also protested that] he has unfairly been "caricatured as a ‘boyfriend’ who used his position of power to help his ‘girlfriend...’" [Furthermore,] “I implore each of you to be fair in making your decision, because your decision will not only affect my life, it will affect how this institution is viewed in the United States and the world,” he said.

And how will it look to the world and reflect upon the World Bank if they don't fire a guy who has relied heavily on the Bush administration, placed too little "trust in the staff," and used his position of power to reward his girlfriend? Good riddance, Mr Wolfowitz. It's only a matter of time before you get your medal.

Creationism is to Science Education as ______ is to Sex Education

If you guessed "Abstinence," give yourself a point and pat yourself on the back; you now understand sex education better than Congress.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports today that abstinence programs had literally no effect on the number of sexual partners or the age of first sexual experience of teens in the programs versus those taking conventional sex education courses. This report is far from the first evidence; there are numerous studies showing the ineffectiveness of abstinence education. In fact, some abstinence programs not only fail to restrain sexual activity, but cause youth to be less likely to use contraception.

And yet, here's what the original newspaper story had to say about the funding for these ineffective programs:

Congress will consider renewing funding for abstinence education.

Hopefully that means Congress will consider more abstinence education funding like President Bush considers becoming pro-choice.

A commander who supports his troops?

There are many things that could be said about the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed army hospital and the subsequent sacking of the hospital head. In this case the Onion's three talking heads say it best.

It's disgusting to realize that our Commander in Chief's commitment to "supporting our troops" really was just a political slogan. He should take heed to Amy Lemeiux of Eagan, MN, whose letter to the editor earlier this week nailed the issue on the nose.

Donning a magnetic yellow ribbon or wearing red on Fridays to "show support for our troops" is as about as effective and supportive as spitting in the direction of a forest fire, pointing to the saliva as evidence of your support and condemning everyone who didn't spit.

Let's try supporting our troops in ways that are meaningful -- like trying diplomacy before resorting to more violence and providing medical care for them when they return.

Amen.