[Ninong]

" The EPA says concentrations of lead in the air have dropped more than 90 percent in the past 2 1/2 decades."

Oh, my! What can we do to reverse this dangerous trend before it's too late? Lead is good for you, especially if you're very young, everyone knows this!

Fortunately, President Bush, in his extremely finite wisdom, has decided that it's time to do something.

"WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is considering doing away with health standards that cut lead from gasoline, widely regarded as one of the nation's biggest clean-air accomplishments."

I wonder which group of conscientious citizens brought this dire situation to his attention?

"Battery makers, lead smelters, refiners all have lobbied the administration to do away with the Clean Air Act limits."

Thank God the battery makers, lead smelters and refiners are looking out for us. What would we ever do without them to advise us on matters of health?

"But Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the incoming chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, called on the agency to 'renounce this dangerous proposal immediately,' because lead, a highly toxic element, can cause severe nerve damage, especially in children."

They're not even in power yet and the obstructionist Democrats are already trying to throw their weight around.

"Soon after lead was listed as an air pollutant 30 years ago, the Carter administration began removing lead from gasoline. Other big sources of lead in the atmosphere are from solid waste, coal, oil, iron and steel production, lead smelters and tobacco smoke."

Next thing you know they'll want to eliminate tobacco smoke!

"Exposure to lead can also come from food and soil. Lead is one of six air pollutants the EPA is required to review every five years to make sure the health limits are protective enough. The others are ozone, soot, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides."

Now that concentrations of lead in the air have dropped by more than 90%, it's time we listened to our contributors friends in the pollution energy industry and relaxed these unnecessary restrictions on free enterprise.

"The health standards for air pollutants are intended to protect children, elderly and other 'sensitive' populations, keep up visibility and limit damage to animals, crops, vegetation and buildings."

What the hell do they mean by 'sensitive' populations? Sounds like something out of the mouth of a San Francisco liberal to me! Besides, the elderly are beginning to run up the deficit by living too long and drawing too much social security and Medicare benefits. A little more lead in the air might help lower the deficit.

"The EPA has repeatedly missed the deadlines set under the Clean Air Act, incurring the legal wrath of environmental groups."

I figured the commie liberal environmental groups would figure into this somehow. If it weren't for the Sierra Club, we might have been able to wipe out the redwood trees by now.

"In July, a Washington-based trade group for all U.S. lead battery makers wrote a top EPA air quality official to urge that the agency remove lead from its list of air pollutants."

Yes, lead should definitely be removed from the list of air pollutants but we will need to act soon before it's too late. At the present rate of decline, all the lead in the air could be gone before we realize what's happening.

This calls for an affirmative action program to promote more lead pollution. I trust Our Leader will figure a way to do this in spite of the objections of the liberal Democrats who think the federal government has a right to control air pollution.

I found this outrageous statement on the official White House website:

"Lead is a persistent and highly toxic substance that can cause a range of environmental and health problems. It has an especially harmful impact on the health of children and infants." --Statement by the President, April 17, 2001.

That must have been a statement left over from that previous president, the one who couldn't keep his zipper closed. Notice the date. It's less than three months after the inauguration of our glorious Christian leader, who has restored "honor and dignity to the White House" and enhanced our standing in the world community. Thanks to his wise and beneficient foreign policy, we are beloved around the world as never before in our history.

[greenbean36191]

When you realize he was a sensitive infant back in the days before unleaded gasoline, it explains a lot...

[zhenya]

What the hell do they mean by 'sensitive' populations? Sounds like something out of the mouth of a San Francisco liberal to me! Besides, the elderly are beginning to run up the deficit by living too long and drawing too much social security and Medicare benefits. A little more lead in the air might help lower the deficit.

Easy there, young fella...I almost dropped my teeth on the floor reading this nonsence...