I'd postulate that America can form a unanimous consensus on the idea that AIDs is a bad thing. On the other hand anthrax is not a good thing either so I'll not weigh in any opinion or judgment today regarding the following story. I'll just present the facts and let you decide whether or not George Bush isn't completely insane. Yeah, yeah another story about how our exalted ruler will be helping to protect Americans from terrorism.
In the second half of yesterday's blog I presented my own theory regarding Bush's sudden kleptocratic interest in Africa. By now everyone in the hereabouts is aware that Bush has earmarked 15 billion dollar package to "eradicate" aids in Africa. And the fact that the U.S. is spending 4 billion dollars a month to fight an ill-founded war has been talked about ad nauseam. But just keep those two numbers in mind when you read this story.
It's a story about a little tiny organization we have here in the states called the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). They're the fine folks fighting to control our own AID's epidemic right here in America together with a whole host of other diseases promising equally dire consequences in and of themselves. The total budget of the NIAID is 3.7Bn. Let's review: The NIAID budget could be completely funded for less than we're spending for a month's worth of Iraqi enlightenment or for about a quarter of what we're sending Africa. (Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for providing aid to Africa in return for an oil deal so don't send me a plethora of hate mail telling me how how in-humanitarian I am.)
But wait! I foreshadowed in the second sentence that there's more to this story.
The NIAID budget is broken down into roughly thirds. A third goes each to AIDs research, bio defense and, as a whole, everything else. Wouldn't you know it - that's where dubya steps in.
In his budget for 2003, President George W Bush asked Congress to provide funds for purchasing and evaluating a new anthrax vaccine.
Congress declined, but the White House has now instructed NIAID to find the funds by cutting back on other projects.
The funds are being culled half from bio-defense and a quarter each from the AIDs and the everything else fund. Of course none of this would be necessary if we weren't so busy liberating the oil wells in Iraq, but, well, it looks as though were gonna be there at least another month.
Now I said I wasn't going to weigh in on this one. Still sticking with that "Bush is insane" thing though. What do you think?
3:09:14 PM 
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