Posted by Valerie on September 23, 2010
“Underwriters Laboratories® is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing standards for safety for more than a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 66,000 manufacturers’ products each year. UL’s worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 68 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 102 countries.”
Why do so many think that for every problem, government has the best, safest and most effective answer? (A majority of Americans clearly invested every HOPE for CHANGE in government in 2008–and not for the first time.)
If Congress had done nothing and said nothing about lead in children’s products, we could have expected to meet the twenty-first century’s William H. Merrill. We could have seen him develop and market a sensible, reputable and genuinely valuable testing and identification service for children’s products.
Our loss.
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Filed Under: CPSIA
Posted by Valerie on September 20, 2010
Remember? Our congressmen were too wise in their own eyes to be distracted by our uproar over 2009’s Child Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), too intelligent to be taken in by legions of (their assumption) uneducated (their words) “mommy bloggers.”
The fallout of their coldness, indifference, selfishness and foolishness continues every day, all across the country. Take a look at one of the most recent, tragic stories at Amend the CPSIA and remember that Jolie Fay is a mom like some of us, one of tens of thousands of parents, representing even more children, socially and economically harmed, sometimes economically crushed, by this evil law.
When it was time to speak, we eagerly defended Jolie Fay and so many others, but Congress would not listen. Congress is still not listening, so–for this and many other reasons–it is time for a new Congress. It is time to be clear and firm: ”You don’t listen? We’ll fire you and hire others, and we’ll do that as many times as necessary to find folks who are willing to humbly serve this people. We have had more than enough of those who outrage justice by abusing us.” (CPSIA is a draconian law that affects me harshly, but it is not by any means the only draconian law that affects people harshly.)
My initial specialty as a bookseller was vintage children’s books–special content and special editions. When I sell a vintage children’s book for hundreds (sometimes, thousands) of dollars, that’s my mortgage, that’s clothing and shoes for my kids, that’s utilities paid, that’s food on the table, that’s the necessities of life.
Over the last ten to twelve years, bookselling has become increasingly competitive. Those of us who were selling 15-50 years ago are now vastly outnumbered by those who have been selling for 5 years or less. These new sellers have bar code scanners for newer stuff, but unlike them, we have years of knowledge derived from ongoing, intensive reading, study, and independent investigation.
As the number of booksellers has increased and the congestion at book sales has reached previously unimagined levels, that knowledge has been our edge. Here at Jacobsen Books, we know that God is our provider, and we understand that He uses means. He has enabled us and blessed our efforts to learn.
We know what it means when one Dr. Seuss book has one signature rather than the usual three and another has several tiny white dots in the corner of one picture. (We know what a bookbinding signature is; many sellers don’t.) We are blessed to have the ability to identify extremely valuable books that most modern booksellers immediately pass by, not even suspecting their value, but we can only buy these vintage children’s books for resale if they have not yet been thrown into the garbage by a diligent and obedient sale manager.
As we go to sales now, vintage children’s books are seldom seen in quantity. Innumerable children’s books have been thrown in landfills over the last 18 months or so, making these historical artifacts permanently irretrievable. This loss continues to be a daily occurrence in many areas of this country, wherever libraries, non-profit groups and thrift store owners are knowledgeable about their risk of high fines and jail time under this unjust, unkind, unwholesome law.
It seems that TPTB don’t care about kids or history or collectors or booksellers. I hope but doubt that they realize that this heritage of twentieth century children’s literature is not being “responsibly recycled.” Beautiful writing and lovely pictures are not being shredded and disintegrated to mush to make grocery bags and boxes. These books are molding and distintegrating in landfills, and it is too late to rescue them.
I talked to a major box board company and was told that books are BAD for a finished recycled product because of the glue and sizing used in their manufacture. Books do reach the box board factory, but they are removed from the mix and thrown in the garbage unless covers and spines have been previously removed, a procedure that libraries and thrift stores cannot afford the time or energy to implement.
In my experience, librarians are unaware that books put in a recyling bin are not recycled. We’re bookstore owners. We’ve called recyclers and environmental groups from Chicagoland to Mad City to Milwaukee County and no one has any idea how to get unwanted books recycled as whole volumes, without expensive advance preparation.
We never had space in our landfills for a first printing Cat in the Hat in a nice dust jacket ($4000-7000) or a nondescript but highly valuable Seven Little Stories about Big Subjects set ($2000-3500), but I can guarantee you that there are hardworking booksellers who are willing to sort through hundreds of thousands of books to find such as these, booksellers who have room in their typically lean wallets and tight budgets for that much income.
More, there are collectors who would joyfully preserve these books for the next century and beyond. Certainly, many books like these are now lost forever. CPSIA is an assault on history that is unparalleled in its combination of tremendously wide scope and very low visibility. These deletions from our children’s and grandchildren’s heritage may not be heaped up bonfires, but they are just as destructive.
The designers of this law, who supposedly cared about kids, don’t. Remember? Immediately after CPSIA became law, Gymboree threw 1.7 million pieces of NEW baby and children’s clothes into the landfill. No one had any reason to suspect that these pieces of clothing were unsafe, but Gymboree couldn’t afford to unpack it all and test it piece-by-piece. This left the landfill as their only legal option.
Why didn’t they send this clothing to needy babies and toddlers in other countries? Why didn’t they give it to one of the thousands of missions to the poor, worldwide?
In most parts of the world, clothing is a necessity; it’s cold at least part of the year. I’m no ascetic, not one to despise a sweet, simple luxury. In many parts of the world. ONE PIECE of attractive, brand new children’s clothing is an unbelievable and very precious luxury. I would have liked to see children have those tons of attractive, generally 100% cotton Gymboree clothing!
Some of my own kids never wore a piece of brand new clothing until they were teenagers, unless I bought it at a garage sale with the tags still on, so I certainly wouldn’t begrudge a low-income mama in rural China her one piece of brand new clothing for her (probably) one little baby.
Why did Gymboree, with all its resources, not send this clothing to bless the poor? Understand this: IT WAS ILLEGAL FOR EXPORT. Demonstrably safe, but illegal for sale or export. Such a kindness, such a mercy was and is today preposterously illegal.
Oh, and is anyone on the other side publishing articles raving about measurable improvements in childhood lead poisoning since February 2009 Not at all! We do not have a shred of evidence that there has been any positive impact from this law, for anyone.
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Filed Under: CPSIA
Posted by Valerie on September 13, 2010
I enjoyed Ask the kids: Do you want a big family?, so I thought I’d ask my own kids the same question. (If you click through, be sure to read little Perry’s response at the end! It’s priceless.)
I also answer the question for myself at the end of this post.
Heather, 20
Yes, because it’s what I’m used to, and I like the dynamics of a big family. I don’t think it’s our business to try and regulate the number of children we have, so that is part of it too. I think that making babies is a privilege that God takes pleasure in.
Kristen, 18
Well, I don’t want only one child because they’d be all alone, and it would be very easy to spoil the child. So I want at least two, but I don’t think I could handle more than six. And I think I’d have a hard time naming more than that many children! Yes, there are a lot of names I like, but I wouldn’t want to afflict my children with most of them.
Kelsey, 16
I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it, but “you get what you get, and you don’t make a fit.”
Katelyn, 15
Yes, I would like to have a big family. I don’t really know why I would want a little one, but I never really thought of a number. I guess I’ll be happy with whatever I get. I like children, and I would like to have them as long as I can. If I couldn’t have children of my own, I would probably adopt and I would want to adopt little black babies, because they are SO cute!
Heidi, 14
I want 4 or 6 kids, one of those, an even number, because that’s the perfect number. I have a feeling that without kids a marriage would probably not last very long, but I’m not going to say why.
Alicia, 11
I would like to have an even dozen, because people could say “You’re just like _Cheaper by the Dozen_ and because it IS cheaper by the dozen.
And, besides, it would be so much easier to buy eggs.
You need to have one more kid, Mom, and it needs to be a girl. I think a little girl should be the end of a family, like “big brother and little sister.”
Amalie, 10
Yes, I would. I would like to have 14 or 15 kids because I really like kids. They are really, really cute, and they are fun to play with. And the more people you have, the easier it is to go places, like camping, because you have so many people to help. And if you have 14 or 15 kids, you can’t get lonely.
Erik, 8
I want six kids, because I don’t want too many kids and I don’t want too less kids.
But if you have another kid, it should be a boy.
David, 7
I heard the pastor at camp preaching about Abraham, and I remembered that I wanted as much descendents as all the stars in the world. And I would like to wrestle with them and play with them. And I like being with people and having fun with them. I LOVE kids, and I want somebody to be with so I don’t get lonely. And they can help me do things faster. And I wonder how many weight machines I’ll have in my house, because my kids would like to exercise on them.
When will I be big enough to use the weight bench?
Rebekah, 5
I want a BIG family, because I want a BIG house. I want six little kids and twelve big kids. I love kids because they are cute!
Gunnar, 3
I want a LOT of KIDS, because I LOVE THEM! And because they are fun. (And when I am grown up, I will bring my “sisters” and my boys to visit you at your house.)
The Mommy
Our lives have been very hard in some ways, especially over the last 8 years, but I love having a big family, and I look forward to having many grandchildren, if God pleases.
I wholeheartedly believe the Bible truth that my children are a blessing to me, but far more compelling is the fact that they are a blessing to God. Each of them was especially created for His glory, for His honor, for His praise, for Jesus must forever be praised by millions upon millions of the saints of all the ages.
I like MORE, because Christ is worthy of MORE praise and because joyful fruitfulness in marriage tells a very important truth about the relationship between Christ and His church, especially when it occurs in the midst of difficulty.
Posted by Valerie on November 23, 2009
I’ve taken some time off from blogging due to some illness. I had surgery earlier this month and feel much better than I have in months!
2.1 Million Drop-side Cribs Recalled
Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
This is an attack on American businesses and American families, and it won’t save lives.
When you read about two million cribs dating back sixteen years, don’t think “two million babies.” These cribs have been used for second and third children and passed on to sisters-in-law and sold in garage sales. When you read about two million cribs, think multiple millions of happy, healthy, safe babies.
Four infants suffocated in broken or improperly assembled cribs. That’s an image that my mind reflexively attempts to eject, but with four deaths among multiple millions of babies I can only conclude that these cribs are safe.
Babies die because humans are born and live their whole lives fragile; sadly, it just doesn’t take that much to hurt us. Automobiles, tricycles, homes with stairs, sidewalks, grapes, hotdogs, potato chips, playgrounds, swimming pools, and day care centers are all more dangerous than these cribs!
Stork Craft already recalled 500,000 cribs in January due to mattress bracket failures. (No serious injuries; no deaths.) With both recalls considered, Stork Craft has now committed to mailing replacement part kits to up to 2.6 million consumers.
Is this really best for babies? Think about it. Stork Craft has to cover the legal bills it’s already incurred, whatever law suits crop up now, the replacement parts, the communication and the postage along with possibly dozens of costs that haven’t occured to me.
Where will this money come from? It will come from some combination of laying off employees (no baby or child ever feels the effects of that), decreasing production costs (harmless, certainly), and increasing retail prices (if no crib, then what?).
Is this really best for babies? The government should have left the question open. Thanks to CPSIA, now, these cribs won’t appear in any thrift store or any crisis pregnancy center. No one’s going to go to jail to fence a cheap crib.
I promise you that there are mothers who can’t afford a new crib. Without a safe used crib, and if they don’t take their babies to bed with them, what will they use? A dresser drawer? A cardboard box? A basket not engineered for baby use? The narrow space between a mattress and the wall?
I wish that you could reassure me that no baby could possibly be hurt by this horrible ruling, but you can’t.
I wish that you could reassure me that within five years some social worker won’t be taking a baby because he’s sleeping in a clean cardboard box, but you can’t.
Did anyone mention that the parts in the replacement kits will also eventually wear out or be improperly installed?
What then?
Posted by Valerie on April 20, 2009
Shortly after I learned about CPSIA, I also learned that I was expecting a baby. Along with trying to fight this horrible aggression against my family and against so many other families, I have also been dealing with morning sickness, lack of energy, and exhaustion. Along with the joy that a baby brings, pregnancy can be very challenging, and this one has been more challenging than most of mine.
Now you know why I didn’t just jump in the car and drive to DC for that April 1st CPSIA Rally! (And I was tempted, believe me!)
It’s been a rough three months. So many times I have laid my head on my desk feeling unable to press on with my work day. And then, past the usual work of running our business, supporting our family, it has been necessary to continually write another letter, make another call, or make another post here or there to oppose CPSIA. Tough stuff, really, but who can quit? Families will suffer most when we say the least; pressing on is not optional.
Since Saturday night, sorrow and grief have been added to our joy; we lost our dear baby at 12.5 weeks of pregnancy. It appears that our baby died three weeks ago. I say that sorrow and grief are added to joy because we know that our children may life forever. The fact that the grave is not our end or theirs is far from a joyless prospect.
Until this weekend, I’ve been watching for clothing for like-new used clothing for a newborn baby. After each of my babies outgrows the baby clothes, I give them away to someone who needs them. My atttitude has been that baby clothes are cheap and abundant: I can buy more as and if I need them. I have found the most adorable, 100% cotton baby clothes, new or like-new for 50 cents or $1.00 each. I’ll pay up to $3.00 for something really special. I’ll wash everything in baby soap, fold it all, pack it all in the drawers and then be ready for each new baby.
In my several attempts to shop for baby clothes this time around, I found exactly one little newborn sleeper at Goodwill a few weeks ago. I didn’t love the style, so I didn’t buy it. Thrift stores are no longer a source of baby clothing in my area, apparently, so I’d concluded that I’d use garage sales to dress this baby. I hoped that people either would not have heard of CPSIA, would not believe it applies to them, would assume that they wouldn’t be caught with any banned hazardous material–or would simply assess the situation and determine that this is one of those times when government has gone TOO FAR for a free Republic.
For now, I no longer need baby clothes, but other mommies still do. I believe that it’s time for civil disobedience for the children’s sake. If you have baby clothing or children’s clothing or other children’s items, look for a family to use them. I support what Goodwill and the Salvation Army are doing, but please don’t give them clothing that they will be compelled to discard.
We’ve walked this road of loss before, and it’s not easy. It’s been a very difficult three months in many, many ways and for many reasons, and it’s been no fun to add CPSIA to that mix. All things considered, most not revealed, it has seemed to me that I have reached the outer limits of my ability to endure. Maybe not, but I am so very weary.
I tell my children that the greatest thing about little babies is that they have the potential to live forever with Jesus in Heaven. I am not a materialist. I am certain that there is an unseen world as real as this one and that, as millions know and millions more suspect, it has been kindly revealed to us in the Bible.
I suspected that I had lost the baby a couple of weeks ago, but between learning that my baby had certainly died on Tuesday and having a natural miscarriage on Saturday, three of my children were in an accident on Wednesday where the car they were in was completely destroyed. It was a head-on collision with one driver going about 55 mph; the front end of the car is gone.
Looking from car to passengers, the contrast seems miraculous. It’s a goner, and they are still with us. The driver, a friend of ours, has back pain. My second daughter, Kristen, has lots of aches and pains (right shoulder and left thumb the worst). My third daughter, Kelsey, had neck and chest pain, but now just her chest hurts, and she misses picking up her little brother. My fourth daughter, Katelyn, got the worst of the impact. She broke her arm high up by the shoulder. (At first, she thought that her arm had been amputated. At first, those with a wider field of vision thought the shoulder had been dislocated.) Kate had surgery to wire the bone together, and she’s expected to be as good as new. The wires will be removed in three weeks.
Almost 19 years and 11 children, and this is our first broken bone in the family. We’re not big ones for running to the doctor, so Kate’s surgery and night at the hospital were the first time she’d ever seen a doctor or taken medicine. She’s almost fourteen and is amazed and impressed with how kind people in hospitals are.
Over and over again she said, “Everyone here is so nice!” And I would tell her that people generally become doctors and nurses because they like people and like to help people feel better.
Confronted with the 1-10 pain scale the twentieth time and giving a thoughtful response, Kate added, ”I have to say. This chart makes it easier to assess my condition.”
We’re so grateful for air bags, seat belts (the seatbelt bruises and abrasions are drawing impressive choruses of oohs and aahs from the little ones–and are a vivid picture of the force of the accident and its potential to cause serious or deadly injury), and we’re grateful for modern surgical techniques. Most of all, we’re grateful to God who gave us these good gifts and watches over us constantly.
Life brings sadness. It can be very hard, but it is also rich and good. I look all around me and see good gifts. This week, I’m grateful for the lives of three children who have survived.
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Filed Under: CPSIA
