I was caught up in Romney fever for a time

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

I don't know if that's true, Archaea. NIH is at historically-low levels of funding due to this administration. I've been researching the candidates and I've seen nothing to indicate Romney or Giuliani plan to change the funding trend established by Bush.

Right now financing for everything is declining by virtue of the war. I suggest either will do a better job of extricating us from Iraq, despite tough rhetoric, and that funding will increase as funding demands relent.

[tooblue]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Wow, Seattle! I didn't know you had it in you!!

Seattle is like the grade school boy or girl who teases and tourments another child everyday at recesss and doesn't know why.

We do! He has a massive man crush on Mitt, and he will vote for him.

[YOhio]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Right now financing for everything is declining by virtue of the war. I suggest either will do a better job of extricating us from Iraq, despite tough rhetoric, and that funding will increase as funding demands relent.

I don't believe that anybody's budget has been slashed by this administration. There may have been lower than demanded funding increases, but only a bureucrat would consider this a funding cut.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by YOhio

I don't believe that anybody's budget has been slashed by this administration. There may have been lower than demanded funding increases, but only a bureucrat would consider this a funding cut.

I don't think there has been a cut. Just that there have not been increases sufficient to keep up with inflation and growing research demands.

Suffice it to say that the funding levels are at (historical?) lows. Meaning that the "pay line" for my area is at something like 10%. Meaning that only 10% of the researchers in a given cycle are being funded.

I think we are seeing and will see many researchers leave research because of this.

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I don't think there has been a cut. Just that there have not been increases sufficient to keep up with inflation and growing research demands.

Suffice it to say that the funding levels are at (historical?) lows. Meaning that the "pay line" for my area is at something like 10%. Meaning that only 10% of the researchers in a given cycle are being funded.

I think we are seeing and will see many researchers leave research because of this.

Budget has been flat since 2003, in spite of ever-increasing costs of conducting research. Across NIH, grant approval rate averages 20%. At the National Cancer Institute, it's less than five.

I should pull the sources and such.

[Sleeping in EQ]

I'm not on the Romney bandwagon, haven't been, and probably won't be, but I do hope that he's treated fairly on the religious front.

The obsession with flip-flopping would be amusing if it wasn't steering discussion away from more important matters. In the following quote from Emerson's essay on self-reliance, feel free to insert the name of most any politician where he says "little statesmen":

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood."

There is, of course, a difference between changing one's mind because of reconsidered evidence and merely playing at soothsaying. Romney seems to be doing the latter.

And his comment about doubling Gitmo? Repulsive. The logic of the concentration camp is alive and well, and it evokes it's other, the refugee camp. The panopticon is the nursemaid of the nomad, the consumer wandering through the mall, the suicide bomber, the terrorist cell.

[MikeWaters]

I know of one person here at my institution where his entire career is hinging on whether his grant comes through in this cycle.

If it doesn't, he will be let go. I know of another research group that has cut back to almost no staff due to grants running out and no new grants coming in.

It's not as dire a picture for me, because the NIH is trying hard to "not lose a generation", so they are giving some advantages to first-time applicants.

[MikeWaters]

What is a panopticon? Is it an autobot or a a decepticon?

[BarbaraGordon]

Originally Posted by Sleeping in EQ

I'm not on the Romney bandwagon, haven't been, and probably won't be, but I do hope that he's treated fairly on the religious front.

I can't imagine why anyone would stoop to a personal attack on the man's religion when he leaves so much room for criticism of substance.

What works in his favor is that the other GOP candidates are no stronger. Although he certainly separated himself from the pack with his comment on Gitmo.

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

Congratulations! But this begs the question, is there a better bandwagon?

Yes. Libertarianism. But it's not much of a bandwagon unfortunately as we sink deeper into the world of more government rather than less.