That Socks!

Apparently, the Department of Agriculture is practicing safe socks.

I was browsing through the latest entries to the Federal Register (a masochistic thing to do I know) and noticed an isignificant little item that I wanted to bring to your attention.

The United States and China signed an agreement at the behest of the Domestic Manufacturers Committee of The Hosiery Association, the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the National Council of Textile Organizations, and the National Textile Association to:

...limit imports of socks from China from November 1 through December 31, 2005.

Please tell me that I'm not freaking nuts and that there is some logical, rational reason to limit sock imports from China for two months? I have my suspicion that American textile companies are simply trying to raise their Christmas profits by restricting supplies of socks to retailers to domestic sources only.

I know I ask this question frequently, but I'm going to ask it again and again: Is this a proper function of government? You know my answer.