Cynical or paranoid? Either way, I blame Washington

Reading two unrelated stories this weekend, I found myself thinking through the potential conspiratorial nature of the content.  Normally, I would just chalk it up to paranoia brought on by lack of sleep.  These days, however, I’m not so sure.

by Michael Naragon

Over the past couple of weeks, my U.S. history class has been working through the 1960s and early 1970s.  We’ve discussed the Kennedy assassinations, the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., the 1969 Moon landing, and Watergate.  As a result, much of our conversation has centered around conspiracies and potential conspiracies, about which, of course, the students love to talk.  For example, there are some in the class who have been convinced that the United States never reached the Moon, but instead filmed the “landing” on an elaborate sound stage.  Most of them, it seems, also believe that John F. Kennedy was shot by more than one assassin.  We have gone through evidence and watched raw footage, and I ultimately leave the conclusions up to them.

Regarding our current political climate and my discussions on this blog, I try to keep my focus on the major issues–health care, environmental extremism, immigration, general Government encroachments–and stay away from Obama’s citizenship status and other such diversions, though there have been times where I couldn’t resist.  However, two stories this weekend raised red flags for me, and, at the risk of being labeled a “kook” or “paranoid extremist,” I’ll relay the stories and my concerns with them.

First, out of the Washington Post.  In the fallout of the Toyota brake “crisis,” we have the introduction of a bill that would reportedly improve highway safety.  This new safety would be achieved by allowing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to more easily force recalls of products, by imposing a “vehicle safety user fee” (translation: tax that will ultimately be paid by consumers), and by raising the ceiling of fines that the NHTSA can levy against companies that produce a recalled vehicle.  Also included in the legislative draft is the provision that automakers would be required to install a aircraft-like monitor in each new vehicle.

The draft contains a wide array of provisions. Some require new safety features, such as the black boxes — called event data recorders — and brake override systems that allow a driver to stop a car even when the throttle is stuck open.

This “black box” provision worries me.  I was concerned last summer when the federal government annexed General Motors, including their subsidiaries such as OnStar, which has all sorts of Big Brother implications.  Now, this same federal government may be requiring all automakers to install monitors that, allegedly, only monitor the telemetry of the vehicles in case research data is needed for a recall.

I wondered initially if the government’s harsh treatment of Toyota was undertaken to damage the competition, now that the President and Congress were in the automaking business.  Now I’m beginning to wonder if this wasn’t another in the growing list of “crises” that has allowed this administration to take steps toward more government control over our lives.  Imagine if these “black boxes” were GPS equipped, allowing officials to monitor every move made by anyone they wished to watch.  You can see the Orwellian potential of this seemingly harmless safety law.

Potential conspiracy #2 comes from the pharmaceutical world.  McNeil Consumer Healthcare, manufacturers of Tylenol and Motrin, has agreed with the Food and Drug Administration to recall most of their line of children’s over-the-counter medications, including Children’s Tylenol, Children’s Motrin, Children’s Zyrtec, and Children’s Benadryl.  According to the press release:

McNeil Consumer Healthcare is initiating this voluntary recall because some of these products may not meet required quality standards. This recall is not being undertaken on the basis of adverse medical events. However, as a precautionary measure, parents and caregivers should not administer these products to their children. Some of the products included in the recall may contain a higher concentration of active ingredient than is specified; others may contain inactive ingredients that may not meet internal testing requirements; and others may contain tiny particles. While the potential for serious medical events is remote, the company advises consumers who have purchased these recalled products to discontinue use.

So, no adverse medical events.  May contain a higher concentration of active ingredient.  May contain inactive ingredients.  May contain tiny particles.  Potential for serious medical events is remote.  And yet they’re all being recalled voluntarily?  Is this fallout from the Toyota “crisis” and other major companies have gotten the message from the federal government loud and clear?  Or has the federal government decided to, for some reason, crack down on OTC drugs that would normally allow parents to keep their sick children home from the doctor?

As parents ourselves, my wife and I were not terribly concerned about the H1N1 virus because, had any of our children gotten the flu, we could have used drugs like Tylenol to keep their fever down at home, if necessary.  Now, many of those drugs have been removed from the shelves, leaving only, presumably, generics and chewable forms of the drugs to be purchased.  Any sort of medical “crisis” that might emerge now will force shortages and price increases on the drugs that remain.

Again, these could be the paranoid ramblings of just one man with a blog.  But considering the current climate in Washington, how should one interpret such government actions?