Comments on: WSJ on Buckyballs: “the government wants to ruin the CEO who fought back.”

By: Hugo S. Cunningham

Hugo S. Cunningham — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:53:59 +0000

Buckyballs are more dangerous than some other things CPSC has banned, but the point about trampolines is a good one. Gastric surgery is formidable, but brain injury or paralysis from a trampoline accident is worse. Why doesn’t CPSC ban trampolines?

By: Fubar

Fubar — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 16:57:02 +0000

Irony, schmirony. Satire, schmatire.

I think we can all agree that CPSC is a travesty of reasonable government.

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 07:14:37 +0000

I guess I can’t really be surprised that people don’t really get satire, or don’t understand what it is. It’s not very common these days.

By: Bob Lipton

Bob Lipton — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 23:03:11 +0000

No, Density. It’s irony. Satire is a literary form that makes use of irony, peribathos and other false-to-face methods, as well as examples of ill-humor like writing about your enemies being dumped in sewers.

Bob

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 21:19:44 +0000

“You’ve been misinformed, Density.”

It’s called satire. It’s a pretty obscure form of humor. You’ve probably never heard of it.

By: Bill Poser

Bill Poser — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 05:28:46 +0000

Given the auto accident rate in the US, I’m willing to bet that deaths of children in auto accidents on the way to Disneyland exceed those from Buckeyballs. Shall we close down Disneyland?

By: Richard Nieporent

Richard Nieporent — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 03:17:15 +0000

If the CPSC were really concerned about injury and death to children, shouldn’t they ban swimming pools and trampolines which are both clearly geared toward children?

An annual average of 390 pool or spa-related drownings for children younger than 15 occurred from 2007 to 2009; about 75 percent (293) of the reported fatalities involved children younger than five.

An estimated annual average of 5,200 pool or spa-related emergency department-treated submersion injuries for children younger than 15, from 2009 to 2011; children younger than 5 represented 79 percent, or 4,108, of these injuries.

http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/News-Releases/2012/New-CPSC-Data-Show-Child-Drownings-In-Pools-and-Spas-Still-A-Leading-Cause-of-Death/

Trampolines are too dangerous for children to use, the American Academy of Pediatrics said Monday. Citing nearly 100,000 injuries in 2009, the academy issued the warning in a statement published in Pediatrics and noted that the safety nets added in recent years don’t make much of a difference.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/trampolines-are-no-place-kids-docs-warn-1B6054327

CPSC is also aware of a total of 22 deaths in the 10-year period between 2000 and 2009.

https://www.cpsc.gov//PageFiles/137868/085%20Trampoline%20Safety.pdf

By: Duck Duck Goose

Duck Duck Goose — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 00:20:59 +0000

You’ve been misinformed, Density.

Take a look at the company’s safety program here: http://www.getbuckyballs.com/safety/.

The CPSC and Buckyballs worked closely together for years to ensure they were not being sold to children. The warnings were approved by CPSC and the program was enforced by the company for years.

Oh, and the product’s were not cheap. They were pretty expensive ($30+) desktoys for adults.

By: DensityDuck

DensityDuck — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 21:53:21 +0000

Flip this around and it's the brave government finally putting the hammer on some bastard fat-cat scumbag who sells cheap, dangerous, Chinese-made trash to children and thinks that he can use the shield of corporate personhood to not only get away scot-free but mock the government afterwards for their selfless efforts on all of our behalf.

By: Walter Olson

Walter Olson — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 16:02:43 +0000

CPSC acted on the basis of reports of 22 injuries to children, some quite serious and many requiring surgery, and no deaths. At the time, 2.2 million sets of Buckyballs had been sold. As to whether that risk should be seen as extreme and unreasonable, and how it compares to other common risks, here are a few links:
http://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2012/CPSC-Sues-Maxfield–Oberton-Over-Hazardous-Buckyballs-and-Buckycube-Desk-Toys-Action-prompted-by-ongoing-harm-to-children-from-ingested-magnets-/ [CPSC view]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliyahu-federman/banning-buckyball-magnets_b_1711110.html [a retailer’s defense]

http://danielsethics.mgt.unm.edu/pdf/buckyballsdi.pdf [effort to present both sides]