Bush shortchanges his own AIDS initiative

[mburbank]

From the fine folks at Moveon.org

President Bush Shortchanges Funding for His Own Emergency AIDS Program

The President heavily promoted his emergency relief for AIDS after announcing it at this year's State of the Union speech, signing a $15 billion law to be spent over five years. But while the President is publicly calling for full funding, he's actively seeking to underfund his own program.

The President said in Africa this July that "The House of Representatives and the United States Senate must fully fund this initiative, for the good of the people on this continent of Africa," Less than a week later, he sent a letter to Congress asking for 1/3rd less than full funding.

The law that Bush signed authorized $3 billion a year, but President Bush has requested only $2 billion in his 2004 budget. Despite the claim to fully fund the program in the State of the Union, the Bush Administration is now claiming that AIDS service organizations cannot absorb full funding immediately. The service organizations themselves disagree with the White House's position.

The Republican-led Foreign Operations subcommittee also disagreed when it approved a doubling of the commitment for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS from $200 million to $400 million, despite a letter from the White House requesting the lower figure. It was later scrapped by the full committee under White House pressure.

And the bottom line? The president's push for $1 billion less than authorized by Congress (and promoted by the President himself) blocks 1 million people from treatment and nearly 2.5 million new HIV infections that could be avoided.

[VinceZeb]

1) Just because you have AIDS, that doesn't mean you are entitled to treatment. They get out out of the kindness of our taxpayer's pocketbooks.

2) QUIT FUCKING. QUIT SHARING NEEDLES. There, solved the AIDS crisis. Give me a billion bucks.

[Zhukov]

3) DONT BE BORN! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Just because you have AIDS, that doesn't mean you are entitled to treatment.

Good lord

[mburbank]

And the gates of heaven open wide for the compassionate Thamurai. Are you prepared to face the 'conquenences' of it turning out God cares about heartlessness, and the least of your bretheren? Hope you like damnation.

That being said, none of your rebuttal, such as it is, adresses the fact that Bush publicly calls for fully funding his own AIDS initiative while calling for a third less in his budget.

That makes him a cynical manipulative liar, a cretin, or both. Hey, no wonder you like the guy!

[Yaweh]

Originally Posted by VinceZeb

1) Just because you have AIDS, that doesn't mean you are entitled to treatment. They get out out of the kindness of our taxpayer's pocketbooks.

STFU

Love,
God

[El Blanco]

Not to belittle the AIDS issue, but what ever happen to cancer?

It kills a lot more people than AIDS and we really have very little idea where it comes from or what to do to prevent it. AIDS, we have a good idea how to control it.

Cancer funding is something like 1/25 of AIDS funding (although that stat is somewhat old and may have changed).

And why are we footing most of the bill? We are what, 5% of the world's populaton and less than 10% of the AIDS victims are American. Don't get me wrong, if the president pledged that money, it should be delivered, but I think perspectives are somewhat skewed here.

[mburbank]

Hell, why don't we spend money on TB? It's treatable and vast numbers of people die in the third world simply because they can't afford mosquito netting before or drugs afterwards?


The point if this thread is not that there aren't lots of diseases to combat or if it's worth doing for other people (personally, I think whole countries full of starving Orphans are bad for global security, but that's just my take),

The point is it's just one more example of Bush's incoherent, cynical style. He got the photo op, why pay the whole damn bill?

[Big Papa Goat]

AIDS causes much more severe problems worldwide than cancer does. Its not like North American soceity is being torn apart by cancer.

[El Blanco]

And its being torn apart by AIDS? Mind explaining how that is happening?


I've seen people taken by both diseases and it doesn't look like there is a whole hell of a lot of difference.

[FS]

Well, AIDS is infectious.

[El Blanco]

But we know how it is spread (or, at least know the easiest methods). How many types of cancer are almost a complete mystery to us?

And I want to know how AIDS has torn apart society. I'm not trying to belittle the disease or its victims in anyway, but I think the original statement did so for cancer and its victims.

[Spectre X]

AIDS, currently, can only be slowed down, and not cured.

Cancer, well, a lot of people get cured from that.

[El Blanco]

And many others don't.

And those who do beat it, how many have their lives permanently altered? How many are sterilized because of the radiation or chemotherapy?

And, we know how to slow down AIDS and prevent its spread. Can we really say the same of cancer?

[mburbank]

MUST... GET... THREAD...

BACK ON TRACK!


POINT... BEING... MISSED!

[The One and Only...]

NO... ONE... CARES!

[sspadowsky]

Boy, that was witty and insightful. Do please contribute futrher, won't you?

Twat.

[Big McLargehuge]

Regardless of what disease is more of a problem the fact remains, Bush said he'd do something, he is now doing less than he promised.

What is it called when you say you'll do something and then not do it?

[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by mburbank

MUST... GET... THREAD...

BACK ON TRACK!


POINT... BEING... MISSED!

You are not nearly poweful enough to stop me from derailing your thread, Jewperman!

Fear my Christianite!

[AChimp]

What is it called when you say you'll do something and then not do it?

Election time.

[FS]

Originally Posted by El Blanco

Fear my Christianite!

lol

I guess that would make you Lex Luther.

[Supafly345]

I hope that diverted money went into the military!!

[AChimp]

Most Inappropriate Use of White Plastic Pig

[El Blanco]

Originally Posted by FS

lol

I guess that would make you Lex Luther.

Hey, watch it. I'm Catholic.

[mburbank]

I actually thought 'Jewperman' was the funny.

It's more than renigging. At the same time his own budget renigs, he's making speeches claiming he's asked for full funding. He knows his speeches get news coverage and his budget speciffics get lot less.

He needs to be publicly challeneged on that kind of shit. It's highly disshonest and morally repugnant since the money is for AIDS treatment. It is a VERY unchristian act, and the best one could hope for is that he doesn't know, which is plenty bad enough.

[El Blanco]

I actually thought 'Jewperman' was the funny.

Thank you. I am trying to think of a good supervillain name. I was actually going to use Lex Lutheran, but I got this wierd smell of brimstone all of a suddden.