SOMETHING ELSE I HAVEN'T KEPT UP WITH

In addition to my neglect of the continuing abuses by the national security state post-911, I also haven't paid much attention to the environment and thanx to Kevin Drum, here's a good example:

Is The EPA Confrontational Enough?
Bradford Plumer
December 7, 2010
The New Republic

The EPA just announced that it is asking for a year-long delay in crafting new rules that would lower toxic pollution from industrial boilers and solid-waste incinerators.
[snip]
EPA experts found that cutting toxic pollution could prevent 5,000 deaths and 36,000 asthma attacks each year. (All told, the rule would have cost an estimated $6.4 billion each year while delivering between $138 billion and $334 billion in annual health benefits—not a bad deal.)