You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand what's going on here

Welcome to the U.S.A., where the men are strong, the children are happy, and the women have rocket fuel in their breast milk.

Scientists at Texas Tech University have reported that perchlorate, a toxic component of rocket fuel, appears in the breast milk of vitually all American women, in levels that are, on the average, 5 times greater than in cow's milk. Perchlorate affects the thyroid gland, which means that babies are the most vulnerable to its effects. An impaired thyroid gland in an infant can cause neurological problems that lead to lower IQ's and learning disabilities.

There is also perchlorate in our food and water supplies, which should come as no surprise to anyone. The EPA has just issued a safety standard of 24.5 parts per billion. A couple of years ago, the National Academy of Sciences recommended 1 part per billion, but the Bush administration ignored the recommendation. The assumption (and I'm not so sure that assumption is a correct one) is that 24.5 parts per billion is safe for adults, but now there is a question about whether it is safe for infants.

The average amount of perchlorate found in human breast milk was 10.5 parts per billion. The Department of Defense, at one time, was pushing for a standard of 200 parts per billion because, you see, it is very expensive to clean up perchlorate from the environment. Given what we have seen for the past four years, there is no reason to expect the so-called Environmental Protection Agency to call for a lower perchlorate standard any time soon, but it wouldn't suprise me if it called for a higher one.

If you see one of those new Republican mothers today, be sure to tell her how baffled you are that she has conspired to poison her baby.