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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (63250)	12/8/1999 7:00:00 PM
From: Ish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

<<The Clinton administration plans for the first time to intervene in litigation against the gun industry, >> What absolute bullshit. Any regulation is the job of Congress. Looks like the sucker moms have turned this country from a democracy into a dictatorship in 7 years by electing a king who rules by EOs and is above the law.

To: jlallen who wrote (63250)	12/8/1999 10:05:00 PM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

Who's next? The drug companies.

To: jlallen who wrote (63250)	12/8/1999 10:26:00 PM
From: DMaA	Respond to of 67261

Who's next? How about the toy industry? Hell what does it matter as long as they're profitable. You can't even call these predators vultures. These animals only go after the healthy. Published Tuesday, December 7, 1999 Hatch criticizes Mattel toy settlement shipment Conrad deFiebre / Star Tribune Minnesota's part of a national antitrust settlement with the toy industry got off to a rocky seasonal start Monday when a shipment of toys for poor children arrived including items that Attorney General MikeHatch deemed of questionable value. A semitrailer load sent by the toymaker Mattel to the Toys for Tots warehouse at Fort Snelling included hundreds of "collector's cases" for Hot Wheels toy cars, but no cars that fit them. Many other toys in the shipment appeared to be at least two years old, and thus perhaps less appealing to kids. Hatch said that similar problems had been noted with Mattel toy shipments to other states involved in the $56 million deal. "They ought to get a little charcoal in their public-relations stocking for this," Hatch said of Mattel. "We will reject any substandard toys they've sent us. The agreement says the toys are to be current and viable." Mattel spokesman Glenn Bozarth said many of the toys were set aside in October 1998. That's when four firms originally agreed to the settlement. "We were prepared to deliver them then," Bozarth said from the company's headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. "But we were asked to wait a year." He added that the company has offered to ship more toys to replace those deemed unacceptable. Mattel, Hasbro, Little Tikes and the national retail chain Toys "R" Us agreed to the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit filed in 1997 by 44 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The suit alleged that Toys "R" Us used its market power to force toymakers to limit sales of some popular toys to discount warehouse clubs. In some cases, the clubs could obtain only "combination packs" of toys, making it difficult for shoppers to compare their prices to those charged by Toys "R" Us, the suit said. In agreeing to the settlement, the firms admitted no wrongdoing. Final approval of the accord is pending before a federal judge in New York, but some defendants started shipping toys in time for the 1998 and '99 holiday seasons. Minnesota's share of the settlement, after payment of administrative costs, is $628,000 in toys and $219,000 in cash, Hatch said. The money is to go to a charity or unit of government for toys or educational materials. Most of the overall settlement is to come from Toys "R" Us in a three-year distribution of $27 million in cash and $13.5 million in toys. Mattel's share is $4.9 million in toys -- $85,000 worth to Minnesota -- and $3.3 million in cash. Hasbro gave out $3.6 million in toys last year -- $61,800 of it to Minnesota -- and is paying $2.4 million in cash this year. Little Tikes agreed to provide $789,750 in toys and $526,500 in cash. Hatch said settlement proceeds are going to toy programs for poor children because of the difficulty and cost of locating affected Toys "R" Us shoppers over a 10-year period. He said Toys "R" Us, Hasbro and Little Tikes have carried out the settlement well, but he criticized Mattel for sending out "junk." "What good is it for a poor kid to get a collector's case, but no toy?" he said. "It's wrongfor them to dump their old inventory through this settlement." Bozarth, however, said the company intended nothing like that and will make good on its commitments with new toy shipments. "In the end, more children will benefit, which is what this is all about," he said. startribune.com