Category Archives: I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords

The Folly of Long-Term Projections (Still the Punditiest Pundit EVAH!)

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

For reasons I don’t understand, pundits are finally starting to realize that most-long term economic projections are ridiculous–and, yes, we were out in front of the curve on this. While this is wonky, it really does matter: politicians use these … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords

One More Damn Thing That Needs Fixing: The Storm Tracking Edition

Posted on March 23, 2013 by

Well, this little story about the ongoing decay of U.S. infrastructure is discouraging (boldface mine): Computing power gives Europeans a commanding advantage when it comes to weather forecasting and storm tracking, but the new head of the National Weather Service … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords | 1 Comment

The Healthcare Crisis Is Still Not Budgetary: Once More Unto the CRE Breach

Posted on March 7, 2013 by

One of the most frustrating things about the whole fixation on deficits and budgets is that it ignores the real crises we face, such as carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (E. coli and relatives that are resistant to virtually all antibiotic therapy): This … Continue reading →

Posted in Fucking Morons, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, KPC, Microbiology, NDM-1, Public Health, We're Really Fucked | 1 Comment

It Is Now As Hard to Get a NIH R01 Grant As It Is to Get Into Harvard

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

And you only have to get into Harvard once, not every three to five years. This is incredibly depressing: And the NHLBI: The NHLBI has established an interim payline at the 6th percentile (inclusive) for investigator initiated R01/R21 research grant … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, NIH | 1 Comment

When’s the Last Time You’ve Heard a Bailed-Out Investment Banker or a Defense Contractor Say This?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by

Money I have in existing grant for my summer salary will go to pay my students in absence of NSF funding. #studentsfirst #sequester— skullsinthestars (@drskyskull) February 27, 2013 I’m guessing never. Just saying. Anger is the appropriate emotion.

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Funding, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords | 2 Comments

What Sequestration Means to Me As a Scientist

Posted on February 26, 2013 by

For those who don’t know, on March 1, the sequester of the federal budget kicks in, which will reduce federal spending across the board by about eight percent for all non-military items (military spending is cut by about nine percent). … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, NIH | 2 Comments

Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, in Two Tables

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

Suffice it to say, there are people who are represented in Washington, but you are most likely not one of them. First, attitudes towards deficit reduction–and let’s remember that almost no one thinks deficit reduction should be the top priority: … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, We're Really Fucked | 4 Comments

The Fiscal Cliff and Campaign Finance

Posted on January 2, 2013 by

At the time I write this, I have no idea if the House Republicans will have blown up the fiscal cliff deal. Assuming they haven’t, the deal reached (or that would have been reached) provides two examples of political scientist … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Democrats, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, We're Really Fucked

The Asymmetry of ‘Shared Sacrifice’: You Can’t Have Skin in the Game When You’ve Been Cut to the Bone

Posted on December 11, 2012 by

As all of our artificial fiscal crises reach full screech, you’ll be hearing a lot about ‘shared sacrifice’, the notion that we all have to pitch in and solve these (relatively) trivial problems. The problem is that some people have … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, Social Security | 1 Comment

Healthcare Is Not the Same As Healthcare Budgeting: The CREs Are Going to Kill Us All Edition

Posted on December 3, 2012 by

Every so often, I blog about CRE, which is short for carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (E. coli and relatives). CREs are resistant to just about every antibiotic (the two drugs commonly used, colistin and tigecycline, cause renal failure or are used off-label … Continue reading →

Posted in Antibiotics, E. coli, Fucking Morons, Healthcare, I For One Welcome Our Austerity Overlords, KPC, NDM-1 | 4 Comments