I Guess We Don't Care About Cancer Anymore Either

The Cruelty Parade keeps marching on in America.

It’s 7am and the mug in my hand says “Believe” but I’m having a hard time getting there.

America is rapidly becoming a difficult place to believe in.

Oh Ted Lasso, we need you now.

The Latest Fuckery

Last night, almost all U.S. government grants and loans were paused. (Read about that here.)

Think about that: almost ALL government grants and loans. (Some exceptions, like Social Security and Medicare.) That’s wild … and horrendously cruel. Our government funds numerous programs that many of our citizens rely on — and those programs affect you and me and future generations.

Science? Halted.

I knew this latest news before it hit the New York Times because my son texted me, devastated. He’s getting his Ph.D. in Immunology and this halt in funding could possibly close his lab and devastate his future.

This is the kid who loves science like most folks love a baby or a dog. If he could cuddle with science and coo it to sleep in a rocking chair, he would. All he wants to do is study hard science and then put his brain to use so he can help as many people as he can for as long as he can.

I gave him a wall hanging with this phrase when he was in college. It still occupies a prominent place in his home.

But It’s a Much Bigger Problem Than That

That’s just him — one person affected by this “pause.” Next, think of all the cancer patients who won’t get the results of the cancer experiments they’re working on in his lab … and in so many other labs, trials, etc.

• The cures that could have happened

• The lives that could have been saved

• Parents who could have known their kids longer

• Kids who would have a chance to grow old

• And maybe a nephew who sits in your kitchen instead of just his photo from long ago

Bile duct cancer took my fantastic nephew Joe at the age of 29.

Not a Tap

Science experiments aren’t a spigot or a tap. You can’t easily turn them on and off. Samples are lost. Data is lost. Years are lost.

But that’s what the American President is doing right now. Turning off the tap on science and so many things. And thereby affecting our present, our future, and the futures of all our kids, not just the ones trying to become doctors in tiny labs in the Pacific Northwest.

This politically-driven, cruel act could kill a generation of science in America. (Read this piece from Yale.) And that would have a horrific effect on our health and lifespan — and the health and lifespan of all those who come after us.

Rise Up, America. Get Loud

And that’s just ONE segment possibly affected by yesterday’s late-night memorandum. There are so many others.

This administration is playing politics with our lives.

So, yeah, it’s hard to believe this morning … but I’m trying. I hope you are, too. Because it’s way too soon to give up.

Here’s hoping the outcry is large and furious today. I recently listened to Rachel Maddow on this podcast and she thinks public shame still works with some Republican politicians. I hope she’s right.

Because this shit is bananas.