Major Alert: Bush Gutting AIDS Education

A frightening article in LA Weekly by Doug Ireland details the "abstinence only" gutting of AIDS education around the country, an approach that most studies show will increase unsafe sex AND sexual activity. Ireland shows how Bush is changing CDC guidelines that would neuter educational material put out by groups all over the country, place political appointees into power for making health safety decisions (rather than trained medical personnel) and risking the lives of millions of people by replacing sound science with personal ideology.

Here's the CDC website with the same info in bureaucratese.

http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/content_guidelines/default.htm

Your chance to comment on these sweeping changes August 16th so read up and send your comments to HIVComments@cdc.gov



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On Second Thought, Stay Away

Even the head of Iraqi tourism suggests now might not be the best time to visit beautiful downtown Baghdad.

"We don't want good people from all over the world to come and be captured by criminals. I think they must wait," he said (rather judiciously).

But despite all the arguments over why and when Iraq was invaded, it's great to see local Iraqis beginning to get pissed at the bombers who are now, of course, attacking Iraqi civilians. God willing, the head of tourism will actually have a thriving position ten years from now, since if Iraq becomes a stable democracy (something we all should hope and pray and work towards) then every Middle Easterner will want to visit and then, oh, maybe forget to catch that flight back to Saudi Arabia/Iran/you-name-it.
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Personal Bankruptcy At All-Time High

Missed the article in Friday's Wall Street Journal that detailed the rising tide of middle-aged people going bankrupt. But Bob Herbert of the New York Times rounds up others stats, such as the fact that personal bankruptcy is at an all time high. Apparently, what's just around the corner is debtor's prison.
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Poverty Statistics: A Poverty of Decency

Roll Call is reporting a series of concerning issues surrounding the upcoming release of poverty statistics by the Census Bureau.

"By Ethan WallisonRoll Call August 9, 2004
.....The bureau’s plan moved this year’s release date from late September to late August — a time when Members of Congress are normally home in their districts and many journalists are on vacation. Then last week, Census officials announced yet another change: For what appears to be the first time, the figures will be released not by a career official but by the bureau’s director, a political appointee. While Congressional Democrats emphasize that the director, Charles Kincannon, has always treated them fairly and honestly, the change added to the feeling that some kind of hijinks was going on. "A political appointee should not be delivering such a significant statistic, because it opens the Census Bureau to charges of spinning statistics for political purposes," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).

Wanna bet these numbers are really, really bad?
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Bush Continues Gay Slur; Laura Bush Attacks Too

At campaign rallies today, Bush again made his subtle anti-gay jibe that Dick Cheney may not be the prettiest face, etc. etc. Even more galling, Laura Bush spoke on stem-cell research and had the nerve to accuse Kerry of playing on the desperate hopes of families who have a loved one suffereing from a degenerative disease.

"But I know that embryonic stem-cell research is very preliminary right now, and the implication that cures for Alzheimer's are around the corner is just not right. And it's really not fair to people who are watching a loved one suffer with this disease," said Luara per the AP.

First, she should avoid that just "around the corner" slogan siince it's already boomeranging back on Bush. Second, she's got gall. Bush refuses to back basic medical research because of his own narrow religious beliefs -- keeping potential life-saving advances a dim if not impossible dream -- and the candidate who says science should decide where research dollars go, not narrow fanatic ideology, is the one who is more compassionate to families suffering from Parkinson's? Please.

P.S. By the way, it's okay for Laura Bush to oppose serious stem-cell research, even based on her religious beliefs (though since that's the only basis, it should always give a thinking person pause in a free society). What I strongly object to is her attack claiming Kerry is being less compassionate. That's unfair. She's the one who wants her personal religious beliefs impede medical progress so she's the one who has explaining to do. Instead of doing that, she attacks Kerry? Absurd.
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Criticism of White House spy blunder builds

Senator Chuck Schumer has formally asked the White House for an explanation of why the identity of a turncoat in Al Quaeda actively helping us was leaked to the press just as criticism for the White House's terror alert had put them on edge. Anger has come from across the political spectrum and overseas. The White House spokesperson implies it was not a good idea. Condi's defense? It was only given on background. That, of course, admits that it was their fault.

Again look at what the White House did.

1. It raised the terror alert and used that sobering step as an opportunity to pound the drum for Bush's reelection.
2. It backtracked the next day by sending conflicting signals about the currency of the info.
3. It un-backtracked the next day by dribbling out more info and getting a lot more explicit about current events that contributed to the warning.
4. It later leaked the name of an Al Quaeda spy to try and bolster its image when the criticism continued to build, thus damaging ongoing investigations, angering our allies and wasting a hugely valuable tool.

Is it so much to ask that terror alerts not be linked to campaign pronouncements and that any info they need/want to offer be given up front or not at all?
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Protesters greet Alan Keyes in Illinois

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Ralph Nader killed Kitty Genovese

New Yorker Kitty Genovese was raped and then stabbed to death in the early morning hours of March 13, 1964. News reports at the time say that some 38 neighbors, at one point or other during the drawn out attack, heard or saw Genovese being attacked. Only one neighbor, after Genovese lay dying, called the police, too late.

What does Ralph Nader have to do with Kitty Genovese? Because by voting for Nader you become one of Kitty's neighbors. Why? Read on.

I've been thinking about the arguments the Nader voters make about how they weren't responsible for Gore losing last time around, and how they won't be responsible if Kerry loses this time either.

Their argument goes something like this:

1. I'm not responsible for Gore (or Kerry) doing so badly in the polls that they so desperately need my vote in the first place; and

2. Lots of other Dems and independents didn't vote for Gore, and had they changed their vote Gore could have won without me. So it's not my fault.

I suspect that some of Kitty's neighbors may have felt a little bit of point 1 - what was she doing coming home at 3:15AM? This was 1964 after all. And I suspect a lot of her neighbors felt point 2 - after all, 37 others could have saved her, so how am I responsible?

This is where the Nader voter kicks in.

You all watched Gore's campaign die in November of 2000. At the time, you figured his death was partly his own doing, and you very much felt (and still feel) that lots of others could have saved him, so why is everyone pointing their fingers at you.

The problem, however, is the simple fact that had any one of Kitty's neighbors intervened, Kitty would be alive today. And had 537 of you intervened in Florida in 2000, Gore would be president today.

Sure, lots of other voters dropped the ball in 2000, and lots of them will drop the ball in 2004. And you know what, lots of neighbors let Kitty die, and a simple phone call form just one of them could have saved her. But that simple fact makes none of her neighbors less guilty for what happened, nor does it exonerate any anti-Bush voters who vote for Nader. Or to put it another way, it makes you no less guilty refusing to aid a dying man right in front of you simply because 20 of your buddies have joined you to enjoy the snuff fest. Read the rest of this post...

FYI - I'm heading to France tomorrow...

UPDATE: I'm bumping this message up to remind folks - I'm out the door to airport, try to play nicely while I'm gone. :-) JOHN

...to visit Chris in Paris, drink wine, take in the sun, and overall explain to the Europeans that a lot of us hate Bush too.

In the interim, Michael in NYC, David in Kentucky and our newest guest blogger, Rob in Baltimore, will hopefully be taking up the slack (and if they don't, they're dead). Rob's quite an interesting fellow, has an amazing political mind, and specializes in election campaigns, so I've asked him to focus heavily on his analysis of the election, polls, etc.

I'll still be blogging till noon Monday, then I'll probably be offline until Friday evening (apparently there's no phone in the place we're staying outside of Nice), but I may get antsy and find an Internet cafe to see what you're all up to before then.

Perhaps Michael can make sure he posts some good open threads throughout the day for you to amuse yourselves, beat up on Jeff, etc. :-)

Enjoy the week. JOHN Read the rest of this post...

You wanna play, you gotta pay

The administration's at it again. Directly enlisting churches to campaign on their behalf. Of course, now they're doing it with a little softer pr effort, to keep people from asking too many questions.

Look, people of faith need and deserve to participate in the political process. But tax exempt organizations that hand over information or give "official" time to specific campaigns should pay taxes like the rest of us.

Here's hoping the legal eagles among us take this on. Read the rest of this post...

They've infiltrated the very centers of power, they wield extreme power...

"The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power. ... That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That's a gay agenda.'" - Tom Cobun, republican US Senate candidate from Oklahama, Oklahoma Gazette

Putting aside for a moment the possibility that Coburn was simply doing his best imitation of Hitler ranting about the Jews, take a good look at this man. He's the Republican Senate candidate from Oklahoma. He's also the man George W. Bush picked to head his presidential AIDS commission. Yes, this anti-gay nutjob was picked by our fearless leader to help decimate the government's attack on the AIDS epidemic.

But hey, as too many of our gay Republican friends are so quick to tell us, I'm sure President Bush didn't really MEAN to appoint Coburn to help create absurd policies that would risk the death of our friends and family members. Bush simply HAD to aid and abet our deaths by weakening the war on AIDS because the bad man behind the curtain made him. Bush is all too willing to destroy us every chance he gets, but what matters is that HE DOESN'T MEAN IT AS HE SLITS YOUR THROAT.

Oh, well, never mind then. Read the rest of this post...

Bush never thought about tourist copters being used as weapons

Because he's a moron:

"A new directive as early as this week will call for increased security measures for helicopter operators, the officials said. Among the measures under review is a requirement to screen passengers for suspicious items, a Department of Homeland Security official who was briefed on the plan told the newspaper."

Now wait a minute. So up until now passengers on helicopters have NOT been screened? Why not? What moron needed Pakistani intelligence to tell us that helicopters fly just like planes? I suspect a helicopter flown in to the top floor of a skyscraper could start a fire - a fire that would be pretty damn hard to control 40 floors up. Get 5 or 6 helicopters attacking the same building and you're set.

And while we're at it, are the Bushies screening blimps, and people who go sky-jumping? Any of those flying machines could be commandeered by passengers wanting to use them to crash. Is this administration THAT dumb? Read the rest of this post...