I used to have some anger issues, but now they're gone.
OK, that's a lie. They're not gone, but they visit often.

At least not until Friday morning when I got up at 7 to see myself on CBS This Morning. I was mega-pissed after that.

A weed killer called 2,4-D was the subject of testimony before Congressional committee the day before. Leading the charge to have it banned was the Environmental Working Group, which was doing their typical routine of trying to scare people into doing something or other using fear tactics, based either on bad science, or no science at all. It often works. They are very good at this.


As phony scares go, this one seemed embarrassingly amateurish—even for them. The usual horrifying horrifying claims, which look legitimate, at least until you take a look at their "evidence." 


To its credit, CBS This Morning seemed to want another opinion about whether there was anything to the claims. 

So, for about 45 minutes on Thursday morning I answered questions, and carefully explained the science of why worrying about this particular chemical was absurd. You'll see why below.

The segment producer was excellent. He asked great questions, and really understood what I was talking about. He especially loved one particular graphic (also below) that made things very clear, and said it was perfect for their audience, who would see it between 7:30 and 8 the next day.

Well, that was a relief. My first major interview on a network seemed to go pretty well. At the very least, I didn't make a flaming jackass out of myself. I didn't really expect to, since I had spent several hours preparing notes and graphics, and knew the material cold. And I don't think I drooled.

Sometime between the segment producer finished and the actual airing, things changed a bit. It was purely intentional, and CBS showed their real colors.