The Right Priorities

The Bush administration said on Thursday it wants to spend $274 million in 2005 to build a system that can detect and react to outbreaks of disease -- natural or otherwise. -The Reuters

The request for the Missile Defense Agency is $9.14 billion, according to a copy of the budget President Bush (news - web sites) plans to send to Congress on Monday. That would be nearly 20 percent above last year's $7.6 billion for the agency. -The AP

Billions for an unworkable missile defense program to defend us from a largely imaginary threat and a pittiance to protect America from biological warfare and disease. I guess public health professionals aren't as generous campaign donors as aerospace corporations.