The Department of Agriculture says not to worry about the largest recall of beef in U.S. history because - get this - you and your kids already ate most of it. Talk about closing the door after the sick cow has left the barn. More inspectors are needed.

Instead of strengthening the government’s regulatory systems, the Bush administration spent years cutting budgets and filling top jobs with industry favorites. Evidence of their failures keep mounting: contaminated spinach, poisoned pet food, tainted fish.