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Well said, Linda. Medical breakthroughs, if they come, will occur in spite of this administration; and it would not be surprising if they came from somewhere other than the U.S. Kathleen -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Mon, 26 Sep 2005 21:34:25 GMT Subject: PD and politics TO anyone who thinks that finding the cure for Parkinson's, doesn't involve politics is living with their head buried in the sand. The Parkinson's community learned this lesson during the three year struggle to pass the Udall bill. If we hadn't become political at that time - PD research would still be receiving the lowest funding of all chronic illnesses. We turned that around -- by political activism. To those of you who don't want to discuss politics - i have just one question - Where do you think the billions of dollars being spent to fight the war in Iraq are coming from? Bush's budget for the NIH this year proposed a 1/2 percent increase. Congress is expected to increase it a little, but the net funding will still be less than last year, due to the rate of inflation. Medical colleges that train the next generation of researchers are hurting financially due to cuts in their funding. The advice of scientists - experts in their fields - is being ignored by the current administration in favor of the opinions of religious fundamentalists and noeconservatives. Medical advisory committeess have been stacked with those who share the President's social and religious beliefs. Scientific associations have termed Bush the most anti-science President in history. I will save stem cell research issues for another time. It absolutely matters who is sitting in the White House and in the chambers of Congress. IN the current political environment in the U.S. - do you really expect any medical breakthroughs any time soon? Linda ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn