We got some bad news yesterday and I had to say something tho it feels like just p*ssing into the wind.
My husband worked for a tenured prof (deputy head of his department) at a university for almost 8 long very productive years. Their mission was (and is) to disseminate the hard work and interesting projects happening in the academic and private supercomputing communities as educational initiatives for K-12 and undergraduate kids.
This is big synthesist thinking that had a DIRECT impact on many teachers and kids across the USA (you and your neighbors). It leveraged already funded projects, extending their reach even further, well beyond that envisioned by the review boards on the original grants. It created synergies between academia and industry, it created excitement. This work was deeply appreciated by these communities.
This work has been killed because several grants, that bouyed this work, have been rejected by our government after YEARS of support.
You may ask why, and I will tell you. This has happened for the very same reason that so many other people are having to fire postdocs and lab techs or outright shut down their labs across the USA - the money is being shunted to the war.
Its very simple, its also not something most of you would know, its being kept very quiet outside of the science communities.
I do not work in science anymore (even tho I have a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology and had an excellent publication record including two Nature articles) because my field has been strangled by this administration (I worked in the nuclear transfer, stem cells, and reproductive biology world).
Every lab I worked in since I finished grad school had to be shut down or severely curtailed due to non-refunding of critical grants.
I am not certain what we are going to do. This means that my husband’s job is coming to an end soon (just in time for the delivery of this baby).
What I would like to say to those who have gotten this far in an all-text no-food photo that has nothing to do with food post (other than perhaps wondering how we will get enough) is this:
- vote democrat in this fall’s midterms
- push your congresscritter (very hard) to impeach Bush
- push the critter to bring war-crimes charges against this administration
- push same critter to investigate the massive fraud perpetrated by this admin
- further push for the reinstatement of what has been lost in this country - a return to educational and scientific excellence
Without direct action by we the citizens of this republican-ravaged country, they will get away with murder and larceny and the genocide of the American Way.
Thanks for reading. Its a beautiful day, I think I will try to get out and take a few deep breaths.
5 comments for this entry ↓
1 Anonymous // Sep 19, 2006 at 11:37 am
As the grant writer and editor for a ’successful’ clinical and basic research department I am very sympathetic. 10% of grants getting funded, on the second resubmission. Entire study sections funding nothing, so that funding can be focused on the essential areas. Quality grants, that got scored last time round, triaged along with all of their section. Young investigators left with nothing on which to start or carry on a career. It’s harder than starting your own business even, because you aren’t allowed to hold funds to tide you over.
2 nika // Sep 19, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Thank you SO much for writing, I really appreciate it.
You must be a massive optimist to be a grant writer these days!
Yeah, re: tide-over.. there is so much abou the current situation and system that makes it hard for “new comers”, its been that way for years.. now its even brutal for full tenure very well established profs. Heck.. tenure is antiquated too.
Not sure how science can expected to survive let alone be robust if the cards are stacked so badly.
again, thnx for your comments.
3 Causal // Sep 20, 2006 at 3:53 am
Impeach Bush yourself! No Joke.
This is much more than just a petition.
There’s a little known and rarely used clause of the “Jefferson Manual” in the rules for the House of Representatives which sets forth the various ways in which a president can be impeached. Only the House Judiciary Committee puts together the Articles of Impeachment, but before that happens, someone has to initiate the process.
That’s where we come in. In addition to the State-by-State method, one of the ways to get impeachment going is for individual citizens like you and me to submit a memorial. ImpeachforPeace.org, part of the movement to impeach the president, has created a new memorial based on one which was successful in impeaching a federal official in the past. You can find it on their website as a PDF.
STOP WAITING FOR YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO ACT FOR YOU.
You can initiate the impeachment process yourself by downloading the memorial, filling in the relevant information in the blanks (your name, state, etc.), and sending it in.
http://ImpeachForPeace.org/ImpeachNow.html
More information on the precedent for submitting an impeachment
memorial, and the House Rules on this procedure, can also be found at
the above address.
If you have any doubts that Bush has committed crimes warranting
impeachment, read this page: http://ImpeachForPeace.org/evidence/
If you’re concerned that impeachment might not be the best strategy
at this point, read the bottom of this page: http://ImpeachForPeace.org
“I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.”
Bush, June 18, 2002
“War is Peace.”
Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984
4 ~L~ // Sep 21, 2006 at 12:51 am
Amen sistah. It’s happening to a good friend of mine’s husband, and they are also trying to start a family.
We’ve got to get rid of this evil man.
5 nika // Sep 21, 2006 at 7:56 am
L: dang, sorry to hear about your friend! *sighs* Sometimes I get hopeful (delusional?) and imagine that chimpy might be a watershed moment.. will he be “enough” of a rat-b*st*rd and embarassment that the citizens of this country spank him down and the rethuglicans for decades to come? I am not holding my breath.
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