What's more important, fighting the 'war' on terrorism or fighting cancer? Cancer kills far more people than terrorism, but the administration continues to invest large amounts of money in Bush's Iraq debacle while cutting the money spent on cancer research. Both of these facts will lead to more deaths for no apparent gain. Not even Bush's popularity gains from any of it.

Orac, writing from his blog’s new home, says:

The President’s budget proposal submitted to Congress will keep funding for the National Institutes of Health flat at $28.587 billion.

Worse, although the overall NIH budget will remain essentially flat, under the proposal, the NCI’s budget will fall by $40 million, to $4.754 billion next year.

This proposed cut to the NCI budget is the single largest budget cut at NIH.

If this cut stands, the NCI’’s budget will have dropped by $72 million over the period covering fiscal year 2005 to 2007.

At the same time, though, none of the money spent on Complimentary and Alternative Medicine is being cut. None of it. This means that there will continue to be plenty of funds for nonsense like acupuncture, faith healing, homeopathy, and so forth while genuine and promising leads that could produce treatments of cures for cancer will go un- or underfunded.

What is the priority of the Bush administration? Faith, not reality. Funding scientific cancer research is reality. The Iraqi debacle was launched on faith. Alternative Medicine is based on faith. For the Bush administration, faith-based funding isn’t simply a program, it’s an entire philosophy the pervades every aspect of government and policy.

 

Read More:

• Science vs. Religion
• What is Science?
• Skepticism & Critical Thinking
• Alternative Medicine & Faith Healing