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Scientists Stunned as Medical Non-Profit Group Abruptly Ends Research Grants (nature.com)
A major US non-profit group focused on improving child health has abruptly terminated US$3 million in research grants -- leaving nearly 40 scientists confused, angry and scrambling to secure new funding. From a report: On 24 July, 37 grant recipients received an e-mail from the March of Dimes Foundation in New York City informing them that their 3-year grants had been cut off, retroactively, starting on 30 June. Many of the researchers were only a year into their projects, and had had just enough time to hire and train staff, purchase supplies and generate preliminary results. Now, several say that they might need to lay off employees, euthanize lab animals and shelve their research projects if they cannot find other funding -- fast. The March of Dimes, which is supported largely by individual donations, made the decision to revoke the grants because of a budget shortfall, says Kelle Moley, the group's chief scientific officer. "I know this is harsh news," Moley says. "As a former grantee, this would be devastating to me as well." That is small consolation to many researchers whom Nature spoke to.
In this somewhat old post on how MOD spends money, it spent $96 million on salaries and benefits. If they really needed to save $3 million, why could that money not have come from there?
Salary and related expenses are 37% of every dollar MOD gets as a donation...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
No handouts from the government. The government now realizes that we have no use for science. Nor for art.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
What a bunch of assholes, these researchers. I felt bad for them until they mentioned euthanizing their lab animals. I'm no animal rights activist myself, far from it. I completely, 100% agree that animal testing is very necessary in science and research. That being said, why the hell kill off perfectly viable, useful and valuable lab animals? Oh, I'm sure they're selling their microscopes, flasks, beakers, centrifuges, chemicals, safety gear, GC/MS machines and other assorted equipment as they liquidate their assets. The animals, however, the researchers understand to have political value, and that's what they're using them for now by threatening to euthanize them.
Sure, the researchers could have sold them to other labs and recouped some of their losses, as anyone can be certain they're doing with everything else in their lab that isn't nailed down, but instead they decided to use these animals' lives as a political bargaining chip. They're probably hoping that if they can convince the public they had no other choice but to kill them, maybe the animal rights activists will form a Twatter mob and shame the non-profits into giving them their money back.
Euthanasia costs money, too. So does cremation. These researchers apparently ran out of money, but still have enough to perform all these euthanasias and cremations. Oooooookay.
No, these euthanasia threats are entirely political. It's not about business or money, it's a vengeful PR move done by morons who ran up a debt based on empty promises they were gullible enough to put their faith in. Maybe these brainiac scientists should have made sure their money is secure. You'd think someone working in a science lab would have the smarts to figure this shit out. Get your money, THEN spend it. In that order.
If you're a giver who wants to help babies--the MOD's ostensible justification for existence--go find the most orthodox church in your area. You know, the one where they believe abortion is straight up murder.
I like it very much how modern day Christians take their notion of what is murder or not from Aristotle, the pagan philosopher who first stated souls are the form of the body, therefore fetuses have souls since conception, therefore abortion is murder, rather than from the Bible, which clearly states the soul enters the body when the person first breathes and that abortion is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine to be paid to the would be father.
Being a pagan myself, I heartily approve of taking a pagan Philosopher's opinions more seriously than whatever is in the Biblical myths. But Aristotle wouldn't be my first choice. His ideas about the soul are very off. Plotinus and Proclus' are better. Be as it may, a paganized Christianity is better than a non-paganized one, and therefore kudos on ignoring what the Bible say on the matter, even though in this case I myself agree with the Bible! (y)
Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
Fear of the Lord tends to sharpen the minds...
This is the type of simplistic thinking that makes people good targets for fraudsters. Take Utah for example. Big time fraud goes on there because the people believe someone in church in a suit would never defraud them. God is on their side.
I can almost guarantee you that the percentage that will go to poor moms and babies will be significantly higher than anything sent to the MOD.
I can almost guarantee that you pulled that out of your ass.