Happy "Cyber-Monday", whatever that means. The whole ramp up of the Christmas shopping season has a tendency to make me want to go Amish. However, dutiful daughter and mother that I am, I spent part of Sunday at a mall with my father so that he could get my kids some Christmas presents. We ended up buying books and craft supplies because I couldn't find a single toy on my kids' Christmas lists that wasn't manufactured in China. Nothing like a little date rape drug to ring in the holidays, right?

However, Consumer Products Safety Commission head Nancy Nord continues to lie and obfuscate her department's negligence. Campaign for America's Future:

On Saturday, the Washington Post solicited reaction from the Consumer Product Safety Commission about our tragic and shocking new video -- showing Barbie contracting lead poisoning from Ken and demanding the resignation of acting head Nancy Nord.

And the misleading spin from Nord's people is just as nasty as the widespread lead. From the Washington Post:

"I'm not going to dignify the video with any kind of response other than to say it's riddled with inaccuracies," says Julie Vallese, an agency spokeswoman.

The "only one toy tester" claim became popular after the press reported earlier this fall that the CPSC had only one full-time tester. Vallese has been responding to it ever since.

"No one person at the commission has the title of toy tester," she said. Instead, the CPSC employs about 80 toxicologists, chemists, engineers and other professionals whose primary duty is toy inspection.

Tell that to the toy tester.[..]

What does that "about 80" figure really refer to? Field inspectors, not testers.
And there's not enough of them either.

Of course. After reading "Shock Doctrine" I can just imagine that the next wave of recalls will be followed by calls to privatize product testing.