more bad news

Two quick notes, in case you haven't been listening: (find or post your own links)

1) The Republican controlled EPA has completely distorted the key scientific findings on Selenium contamination in order to justify- you'll never guess- not having to hold industrial polluters accountable. The government bases its case on a scientific study, but the author of that study has repeatedly told them they've got it wrong.

2) The Montgomery country school system in Maryand adopted a sex ed course 6-0 a bit ago. Now, after radical conservatives have attacked it for - get this - acknowledging that gays and lesbians exist, they voted to ban all mention of such offensive topics. The New York Times, Washington Post and others have various accounts. The reason why this is so bad is two-fold: first, montgomery co. is actually a very good school system, the best public system in Maryland, educating some of the brightest young kids. Second, the blogosphere reports that this is emboldening the radical right to sue school districts all over the country whenever a teacher mentions anything (evolution, homosexuality, critiques of capitalism) that questions the basic social and religious worldview they have attempted to instill/indoctrinate. (I'm apparently quite retrograde for thinking the POINT of education was to question basic assumptions through careful analysis of difference. Oh well.)