Scientific Snowflakes?

The Government is back in session. However The Scientist notes, or shall we say bemoans:

Nature spoke with crop researcher Chad Hayes at the US Department of Agriculture whose travel to Mexico today—timed to coincide with a brief window of sorghum pollination—could be disrupted, along with a year’s worth of work. According to Vox, half of the Department of Health and Human Services staff will not work during the shutdown. That means that, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will continue to monitor this year’s high flu activity, reports might take on a sluggish pace. “Under a shutdown, CDC’s capacity to track and respond to disease outbreaks will be impacted,” a CDC spokesperson tells Buzzfeed News. “Flu surveillance, for example, will continue to collect data being reported by states, hospitals, etc. However, our staff resources are limited, which means it will take longer to review, analyze, and report out information needed for public health action.”

You can't make this up! CDC closing? Hardly. It was at most a day off! Sorghum pollination? You miss a day of pollination and the world comes to an end! Guys, I spent all June, July, and August crossing plants. Have done it for three decades! Don't get paid! Is there some personal satisfaction in participating in sorghum pollination?

This is why we need some careful attention to our tax dollars and what they are spent for!