I’VE BEEN, WELL, NOT EXACTLY CRITICAL of the claims that the Bush Administration is politicizing government science, but quick to point out that this is a problem that’s been around, well, forever. (Insert obligatory reference to CDC gun-violence studies here.) Nonetheless, I’m disturbed at this report that the CDC is no longer promoting condom use as a response to STDs, even though condoms are highly effective against AIDS. Sure, they’re not perfect protection against everything. But then, seatbelts aren’t perfect protection either, and they promote those.

The problem, of course, is that once the science is politicized and the public health community forfeits much of its public trust, well, the door’s open. I’d like to see the public health establishment focus more on science and less on politics. But then, I wanted that five years ago, too.

UPDATE: Reader Dick Dalfiume emails that concern over the guidelines is overstated, and sends this link to the actual CDC page on the subject. I have to say that I agree with him that the story exaggerates the degree of the change.