The debate over fluoridation of water got some new life last week when the federal government issued new guidelines for the use of fluoride in public water systems.

Maine officials followed up a few days later with the announcement that the state would call for a reduction in the fluoride added to municipal water systems to prevent tooth decay.

Fluoride has been controversial since its introduction into water systems in the 1940s. Generations of grass-roots activists have said it causes everything from cancer to communism.

When faced with a crime as horrible as last weekend’s mass killing in Arizona, it’s human nature to look for a villain as big as the crime.

Before accurate details emerged about the rampage, in which a clearly troubled young man opened fire on U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, gravely wounding her, killing six bystanders and injuring 13 others, attempts were being made to put this act into a bigger political context.

Talk radio, the tea party and un-civil political discourse were batted around as contributing factors in the case even before the media on the scene could consistently report whether the shooter had acted with an accomplice or if Giffords was alive or dead.