Bless you a million times over, but unfortunately, science funding has become very partisan, which is why Daily Kos is covering it and Fox News isn't (except to make fun of it). Under Bush, things were shrinking slightly. But now, because Obama has made science spending a priority, it seems like the republicans want to axe it completely. In fact, the newly elected republicans have vowed to eliminate all non-defense research (including NSF and NIH). And, unfortunately, the continuing resolution to keep defense spending passed last year eliminated all earmark funding, much of which was also research. (Believe it or not, a lot of defense research is unrelated to weapons.) Basically, most republicans and some democrats view scientific research as a waste of government resources. It's pretty pathetic.