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An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.

The program has already come under fire for being booked and presented in probable violation of Michigan laws related to sex-education programming. A Michigan Messenger investigation found that two districts — Homer and Olivet — failed to get the program approved by the sex-education advisory board and the school board, while Marshall schools failed to get approval of the state board of education. All three district failed to provide parents the opportunity to opt their youth from the school assembly, as required by Michigan law.

Based on a review of the presentation, called Wise Choices and presented by Barb and Rick Wise, Michigan Messenger was able to identify a series of pieces of misinformation about HIV as well as a statement mis-characterizing a University of Chicago study on sex and relationships. A video of the presentation is available at Access Vision, the Battle Creek cable access station. It is listed as Wise Choices and was uploaded to the site on Oct. 17 at 4:47 p.m.

The program reported that all forms of sexual behavior transmit HIV, that only four body fluids transmit the virus, that HIV can survive in general human environments outside of the body and that saliva only can be infectious.

In addition, Barb told students that the University of Chicago study (PDF) found that married couples had more gratifying sex lives than couples in dating relationships or those co-habitating. But the study says the exact opposite:

“An unexpected finding, contrary to prior research, was that non-marital relationships, such as cohabitation and dating, were associated with higher levels of subjective sexual well-being than marriages, particularly for men.”

The Wises did not return an email seeking comment about the alleged misinformation.

The training of Barb Wise in abstinence-only education is also under scrutiny. She is certified by a program called W.A.I.T. Training in Colorado. That program was blasted by a 2004 report (PDF) from U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman of California for providing false information about HIV.

But experts who Michigan Messenger shared the video of the presentation with generally condemned the presentation.

“Distorting scientific data is, unfortunately, the way of all cynical politicians,” said Gloria Brame, a certified clinical sexologist who holds a doctorate in human sexuality. “However, in this case, it could simply be the blind leading the blind, as one must assume that the very people who are lobbying for abstinence ed are themselves ignorant on the science of sex, and thus the most likely people to misunderstand or misuse scientific data. I realize there may well be physicians and psychologists on board with the abstinence issue in Michigan but, again, I’ll say that this is about religious belief dictating opinion, and not the facts.

“Again, abstinence ed programs omit the scientific data and replace it with religion-based beliefs about how God expects people to behave. That should not be taught in public schools, but in churches.”

Jeff Montgomery, a spokesperson for the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance, also condemned the presentation.

“I agree that if her audience are high school students, this is awful. Especially those who are coming to terms with their sexual identity. They are left feeling, perhaps, like freaks. Not to mention the misinterpretation of the HIV information,” the Detroit based activist said, noting that the program excluded messages for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, focusing only on no sex before marriage messaging. “The implied (if not overt) demonizing of unmarried sexual activity and the promotion of strict monogamy does nothing to promote healthy, informed sexual choices. This woman’s presentation is not helpful or healthy. Sexual discussion is far too important to be left to inexperienced, subjective hands. We know more today about sexual development and sexual diversity than at any time in history. We should encourage serious, comprehensive and intelligent sex education. The health and safety of generations are on the line.”

Marshall Public Schools issued a statement saying the concerns raised were something they would take into account in future considerations of the program.

But Olivet School officials did not take well to the concerns and criticisms raised. In a letter to Messenger, Olivet Interim Assistant Superintendent Brooke Judd wrote:

For the most part, everyone I spoke to felt as if the decision to bring in the Wise presentation was in line with our community values. I acknowledge that we did not follow proper procedures in bringing them to present to our students, and if the opportunity ever arises again, we will be sure to meet all legal obligations prior to their presentation.

Olivet High School Health Instructor Gabe Priddy went further. In an email to Michigan Messenger, he alleged the questions about the misinformation — which were documented with links to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and the University of Chicago study itself — were “loaded.”

“The questions you raise have more to do with your political agenda against Mr. and Mrs. Wise than they are based on facts,” Priddy said. “In my professional opinion the information given was accurate according the training I have received from the State of Michigan. It was also a very powerful and responsible message for teenagers to hear.”

Priddy also claimed the information presented by the Wises was in line with the health education text book used in Olivet Schools.

Michigan Department of Education officials did not return multiple emails seeking clarification of what information should be taught in Michigan schools.

“If he was educated in reproductive health, then he knows the number one method of prevention of HIV is condoms. If they don’t educate about condoms, they are not educating about how to prevent HIV. It’s that simple,” says sexologist Brame. “It has no basis in science or fact as an effective approach to adolescent sexuality. Of all the things that those speakers addressed, actually almost none of it addressed core issues in sexual health. Rather, it was a personal narrative, telling the stories of their lives as a way of proving to gullible teenagers that sex leads to disease and death. It is a negative and hateful message to send young people who are struggling to control and deal with new feelings and desires.”

Enbridge, the company that spilled at least 800,000 gallons of tar sands crude into the Kalamazoo River system last year, has announced that it is suspending efforts to scrape the remaining submerged oil from the river bottom.

UPI reports that the company said it made a “seasonal decision” to stop cleanup for the rest of the year.

The EPA recovered about 18,000 barrels of oil from the surface. Officials said it was unclear how the remaining oil would affect the environment because there is no spill with which to compare the Enbridge leak.

For more than a year, crews have worked to get oil removed from the bottom of the waterways. Heavy crude, unlike conventional crude, sinks and mixes in with the sediment.

According to Enbridge crews have recovered most of the oil.

An approximately thirty mile long stretch of the Kalamazoo River has been off limits to the public since July 2010 because of the oil contamination.

The House Republican leadership says it will delay approving the creation of a statewide health insurance exchange, in part to await the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the constitutionality of the health care reform law which mandates the creation of the exchanges.

Rep. Mike Shirkey (R-Clark Lake) tells the Jackson Citizen Patriot, “There’s no interest in acting quickly on this particular bill.”

The legislation passed the Michigan Senate — which has a supermajority of Republicans — last week. Gov. Rick Snyder, also a Republican, has called on the legislature to pass the bills by the end of the year.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case brought by states — including Michigan — about the constitutionality of the law passed nearly two years ago. A ruling is expected in the summer of 2012, in the heat of the race for president.

Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

Curtis Hertel, Jr., the Ingham County Register of Deeds, and Branch County Registrar Nancy Hutchins filed the suit, which alleges that the company and numerous banks failed to pay property transfer taxes when the title to the company was transferred to another owner in the MERS system.

“MERS created a shadow registry system that has made it very difficult for the public and for government offices like mine to keep track of who owns what mortgage,” Hertel said. “They have also stated they were created to avoid fees in my office. When we began the investigation into robo-signing I asked my attorneys to research MERS foreclosures to see if there were patterns of irregularity. This lawsuit is a direct result of that investigation. I believe there has been a systematic attempt to avoid paying taxes by MERS and the banks that use MERS.”

Hertel alleges the company has created a “shell game” designed to dodge taxes.

“MERS has transformed the entire mortgage industry into a giant shell game”, said Hertel. “The current servicer of a mortgage is no longer a matter of public record, and once a property is foreclosed, the real games begin, as deeds and other paperwork are filed in such a way to avoid transfer taxes at every step. Property ownership is clouded, and the simple task of collecting transfer tax has been turned into this legal battle, largely because of the involvement of MERS.”

The lawsuit also targets three foreclosure attorneys — Marshall Isaacs from Orlans Associations and Ellen Coon and Jeanne Kivi of Trott and Trott. Both Orlans and Trott and Trott have come under fire in recent months for participating in robo-signing. Both organizations are also significant Republican donors in Michigan.

Also of interest, David Trott’s Attorney’s Title company is named as a defendant. Trott owns what is considered the largerst foreclosure law firm in the state. Linda Orlans’ title agency eTitle is also named. Orlans’ runs Orlans Associates.

“I am seeking repayment of both state and county transfer tax. Without discovery it’s hard to tell you an exact number,” Hertel said. “I am positive its in the millions of dollars for both of them.”

This is not the first lawsuit Hertel has filed in relation to recovering millions of dollars of unpaid taxes arising from the title transfers. Earlier this year he sued Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and numerous banks over what he alleges is an improper claim to an exemption thus requiring the entities to pay millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.

“I hope everything we are doing gives the banks, MERS and foreclosure firms pause,” Hertel said. “We could avoid a lot of these situations if they just worked with individual citizens instead of pushing people into the foreclosure process.”

Rachel Maddow had a segment about last weekend’s prayer rally at Ford Field that includes video footage of organizer Lou Engle saying more crazy and extremist things. Video below the fold.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

TransCanada, owners of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, have agreed to reroute the pipeline to avoid the Nebraska Sandhills, a particularly sensitive ecosystem.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

Sen. Mike Flood, speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, announced on the floor that TransCanada Corp. would move the pipeline to another area of the state. Sources in Nebraska said it would likely be located farther east, nearer an existing Keystone pipeline that already carries Canadian tar sands oil into the U.S…

“We were at the Capitol building, they were in special session, and Speaker Flood stopped everything and said that everything was over, and TransCanada has voluntarily moved the pipeline out of the Sandhills of Nebraska,” said Todd Cone, a rancher who has been one of many battling the route through central Nebraska.

The Nebraska legislature was considering legislation that could have forced the project to be rerouted.

Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm appeared on CNN with Fareed Zakaria recently and pointed out that during her administration, all the tax breaks and wage concessions offered to businesses didn’t keep them from leaving for other countries.

Members of Occupy Detroit have worked with local businesses to secure a multi-story office building, a store front for sign-making, a warehouse, and a renovated 50-unit hotel that will serve as housing for protesters.

Occupy Detroit spokesperson Lee Gaddis said the group plans to pack up the Grand Circus Park encampment and move into donated space where it will be able to focus on political work.

“The weather is really crummy … and going to get crummier,” Gaddis said. “Our primary concern is the safety of the occupiers. Not everybody is prepared to do winter camping.”

The groups permit for camping in the park expires today, and occupiers are ready to move one, though they will stick around long enough to fulfill their promise to clean up the park completely, Gadis said.

Unlike the occupations in Oakland, and elsewhere, Occupy Detroit has enjoyed consistently positive relations with law enforcement.

“We have good relationships with the Detroit police and the Dept. of Homeland Security, nobody from Occupy Detroit has been brutalized or harassed by police,” Gaddis said. “Police here have more important things to do than harassing people for exercising their constitutional rights.”

Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.

EPA has set a Dec. 16 deadline for finalizing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that would require coal- and oil-fired electric power plants to reduce mercury and other emissions by more than 90 percent.

Power plants are the largest source of airborne mercury emissions. When mercury settles into water it is converted by microrganisms into meythlmercury, an extremely powerful neurotoxin, which accumulates in fish and in those who eat fish.

According a recent Environment Michigan report that summarizes EPA data on power plant mercury emissions, in 2010, 80 percent of all airborne mercury pollution in Michigan came from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants.

DTE Energy’s coal-fired power plants topped the list of heaviest emitters. The company’s Monroe plant released 660 lbs. of mercury last year, and was the 14th largest emitter in the nation.

The Belle River power plant in China township emitted 335lbs, the St. Clair plant in East China Township released 236 lbs, and the Trenton chanel power plant released 172 lbs. According to Environment Michigan a drop of mercury is enough to make the fish in a 25 acre lake unsafe to eat.

When pregnant women eat mercury-contaminated fish, their children sustain permanent developmental damage and have reduced motor control, ability to pay attention and IQ.

According to a recent report issued by Environment Michigan, one in ten American woman now have blood mercury levels that are high enough to put their children at risk of brain damage if they become pregnant.

Schuette, however, has argued that the new rules are unacceptable because they would cause electric rates to increase.

“The new Michigan has to be about jobs and paychecks,” Schuette told the reported Sunday on data from the Department of Labor which shows that environmental regulation was only responsible for .3 percent of the layoffs in 2010.

And in fact, reducing the effects of mercury pollution may end up helping the economy.

According to EPA the nationwide implementation of new emission standards would avoid up to 17,000 premature deaths, 850,000 missed days of work, and 5.1 million days when people must restrict their activities each year, saving as much as $140 billion in health care costs each year.

A 2005 study by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that mercury-induced intelligence loss costs the U.S. $8.7 billion in lost productivity each year.