Antigay Scientist Dropped from Oil Spill Team

Jonathan I. Katz, an astrophysicist and self-declared "proud homophobe," was dropped Monday from the Department of Energy team assembled to deal with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The moved resulted from the exposure of his antigay writings in the blogosphere.

According to Metro Weekly, "the news came after what the spokesperson, Stephanie Mueller, termed 'controversial writings' --which included a 'defense of homophobia' -- spread out over the web on Monday, writings of which she said the Department was unaware when it sought his assistance."

Opponents of the appointment included AmericaBlog's John Aravosis, who launched a petition Monday against the Katz appointment.