Haven't had one of these entries in a while, in part because I'm running out of photos of the BBI mascot, my ex-chihuahua Hannah. I need a new mascot! Send photos of your photogenic chihuahua to lspikol@philadelphiaweekly.com. He/she could be the next face of Boring But Important.

Now, on to the news...

Despite our president's smirky assurances during the State of the Union address, the worst has happened: He's unveiled a budget proposal that increases defense spending (natch) but savages health and human services spending.

What does that mean? For our purposes here at TTWS, we're most concerned about the following: Mental illness research will be cut by $9 million; gov funding for mental illness services frozen; a 50% cut in the HUD Section 811 program; Medicare payments to hospitals and other providers reduced by $35.8 billion over the next five years.

There are also some proposed increases to be aware of: suicide prevention efforts increased by $3 million; funding for homeless programs boosted by $209 million; mental illness treatment services for veterans increased by $339 million.

Of course, we wouldn't have to increase our VA spending if we weren't at war, and there are ample problems with those other smokescreen increases as well, but let's leave that for now. The truth is, this budget will never pass. But even its presentation has angered GOP bigwigs, like Sen. Arlen Specter, who called Bush's proposed cuts in education and health "scandalous."

Read more for yourself:

•Details of the Bush Administration's FY 2007 Budget Proposal [NAMI.org]
•President's FY 2007 Budget Foreshadows Bleak Future of Mental Health Care [NMHA.org]
•Who will feel budget's impact? [Christian Science Monitor]
•Bush's Budget sparks bipartisan protest [Forbes.com]
•White House Briefing: Fantasy Budget [Washingtonpost.com]
•Teachers, doctors protest budget cuts [CNN.com]
•Budget's Big Losers: Domestic Programs [SF Chronicle]