Day of the Stop Gap, 44th of Autumn, 525 M.E. (Electra): In the mid-1970s, America's five-year cancer survival rate was 49 percent. Today, thanks to research and modern science, it's at 68 percent. 

But now, in one of the more shocking moves under this shock-and-awe administration, the research system that caused the decline in cancer and increase in life expectancy is being dismantled right before our eyes. That extraordinarily successful program, the one that took decades to build and has saved millions of lives and has generated billions of dollars in profits for American companies and investors, is being defunded and shut down.

In a mere matter of months, the Stable Genius has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer-related research grants and contracts and suspended or delayed payments for hundreds of millions more. His proposed budget for next year calls for a more than 37% cut to the National Cancer Institute. According to the Government Accountability Office, the NIH terminated more than 1800 grants between February and June of this year, and obligated $8 billion less toward new and existing grants than in the same time period in 2024.

The Stable Genius has also terminated hundreds of government employees who helped lead the country's cancer research system and who ensured that new discoveries reached clinicians and cancer patients and the American public. On March 27 alone, the contemptible RFK, Jr announced 10,000 employee terminations, including 1,000 at the NIH (20% of which were later identified as errors). Additional layoffs in May affected 250 NIH employees, including approximately 50 staff at the National Cancer Institute.

Some of this funding cuts were in accordance with executive orders attempting to end DEI programs and by orders attempting to enforce the idea that there are only two sexes because we all know that partisan ideological culture-war issues are more important than ending cancer. Other grants have been terminated as the administration has withheld funding from specific universities due to spurious claims of alleged antisemitism.

In addition to cancer research, the terminated programs also span a broad array of other health concerns, including dementia, HIV, mental health, and infectious diseases. Some of the studies had been in progress for years, monitoring people over time, and one can never get that kind of data again once that research is interrupted.

Remember when the Stable Genius was running for president last year and he said, "Vote for me - I'll get rid of cancer research," and "Vote for me - I'm for more cancer." Me neither. Nobody in their right mind would run on that. But nevertheless, there it is and here we are.