Remember the endangered school lunch program the Newt Gingrich and his Republican cohorts were trying to "cut" back in the mid-90s? The "cut" was a reduction in the rate of increase (if I get a 3 percent pay raise one year and a 2 percent pay raise the next, has my pay been cut?), but that didn't stop the Democrats and much of the media from continually refering to it as a cut.

Well, Democratic presidential contender Howard "The Destroyer" Dean is pursuing the same (flawed) line of reasoning when it comes to President Bush's Clear Skies initiative, according to Ben Fritz over at Spinsanity.

While some environmental activists are upset about "Clear Skies," it's not because the plan would actually lead to increases in pollution beyond current levels. Instead, as The New Republic's Gregg Easterbrook has pointed out, the plan reduces planned pollution reductions in sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury emissions scheduled for future years under the Clean Air Act.

While you can be critical of Clear Skies for not matching or strengthening the planned pollution reductions under the Clean Air Act, it's dishonest to allege that it allows for more pollution.