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In July, I wrote a blog on TownHall.com about Bisphenol A (BPA) in which I brought to your attention the behavior of many major media outlets with regard to their accusations against BPA, which is a chemical used to make lightweight, versatile, durable, high-performance plastics. In that piece I identified that contrary to those that claim that BPA is dangerous and hazardous to all, new research was telling an opposite story:

… After years of hand-wringing, biased media reports and witch hunts about BPA -- a new Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) report out of George Mason University (a non profit, non partisan group) has found that the risks were misleading and caused unnecessary public anxiety.

As the report noted,  "A handful of scientists and environmental activist groups claim that bisphenol A is the biological equivalent of global warming, and its presence in plastic bottles and can linings is endangering “millions of babies.” Their message – and their accusation that the Food and Drug Administration has been swayed by industry-sponsored studies and has ignored vital scientific evidence – has led Congress to ask the agency to re-examine the safety of the chemical. A decision is expected by the end of the summer."

... Of course, if someone claims your product harms babies, they don't really need to prove it.  The accusation is so incendiary that the mere suggestion could bankrupt most companies -- which, of course, is the point if you are trying to sell a "safer" plastic product.  In short, it's a "scare racket"…

And yet, many popular media outlets continue to baselessly attack BPA as a dangerous and unsafe chemical.

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In recent years, several fathers’ rights organizations have offered father-only parenting programs and groups, and studies have shown that these help men become more responsive and engaged with their children. But a new randomized, controlled study conducted by the Pruetts and the Cowans found that the families did even better if mothers were brought into the picture.

...notably, the families in the couples group did best. They had less parental stress and more marital happiness than the other parents studied, suggesting that the critical difference was not greater involvement by the fathers in child-rearing but greater emotional support between couples.

News of the raid comes from Marcel Reid and her colleagues at ACORN 8, an association of former ACORN leaders and board members. Many of the individuals involved with ACORN 8 were fired from ACORN for demanding a forensic audit following an embezzlement scandal involving Dale Rathke, brother of ACORN co-founder Wade Rathke.

Attorney General Buddy Caldwell has served a search warrant at the ACORN office at 2609 Canal Street, according to Tammi Arender Herring, a spokeswoman with the office.

Investigators in khaki pants and polo shirts loaded several dozen computers and other electronic items into an SUV. They are also carrying records out of the building on handcarts.

The large office building sits at the corner of Dorgenois and Canal. ACORN staffers were given no notice that a search would be conducted today, Herring said.

From WDAM in New Orleans: 

Assistant Attorney General David Caldwell said a warrant was obtained to seize computers, hard drives and other documents after ACORN attorneys said two unidentified former employees took computers and other items when they left the organization.

Caldwell said investigators will copy records and hard drives, then return them to ACORN.

He said the original allegations of embezzlement were made last year by ACORN board members who were fired after they asked for a forensic examination of the group’s books.

ACORN fired the longtime director of its Louisiana chapter last month, citing a lack of accountability.

Whole story here.

The ‘longtime director’ of ACORNS’s Louisiana chapter is Beth Butler, the longtime companion of ACORN co-founder Wade Rathke.

Stay tuned--I'll try and keep you updated as more info becomes available...

ORLANDO, FL -- Orlando Police say they have arrested the suspect in the downtown Orlando shooting that left one dead and five injured.

Jason Rodriguez was arrested at his mother's residence without incident.

People streamed out of the 16-story Legion Place office building around lunchtime and some told local television stations they had barricaded themselves inside their offices.

You will remember that President Obama’s economic advisors indicated that with the passage of the so-called ‘stimulus package,’ unemployment levels would not exceed 7.8%. Now, as we stare down the face of unemployment levels of 10.2%, it begs the question, Mr. President, where are the jobs?

The heat is happening behind closed doors as the U.S. House prepares for a Saturday showdown vote on health care. Access is everything. By keeping Members of Congress in Washington, D.C., this weekend, Democratic leaders keep them away from angry constituents back in their home states, where the Members normally would depart from Friday to Monday. (Note: The tactics aren’t different from what Republicans sometimes used when they held the majority.)

The first step is to keep Congress in town. The second is to keep them monitored and available for whenever leaders want to summons them for backroom meetings—sometimes to discuss and sometimes to pressure and browbeat and offer deals. A “buddy system” is sometimes assigned so a fellow Congressman from the party’s whip team keeps tab on each undecided member’s whereabouts, their cell and other private phone numbers, the places they tend to hangout between votes, and similar information.
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