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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (15206)	8/28/2001 1:26:31 AM
From: Oral Roberts	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

Combine a noisy squeaky wheel with people unable to stand up to vocal minorities and this is what you get.

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (15206)	8/28/2001 2:35:01 AM
From: Jorj X Mckie	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 59480

A lot of people don't think that it is fair that the Levy's have been able to get the media attention focused on their daughter's disappearance when there are thousands of other missing children who get no air time. But if I was in the same boat, I would do the same thing. Michael J. Fox has started lobbying heavily for research into parkinson's disease...but I doubt he gave it much thought before it became a problem for him. Christopher Reeves is a big proponent of stem cell research. And people who are at risk of, or have loved ones who have AIDS do what they can to get support and awareness for AIDS. I am against government funding of research for cancer, heart disease, parkinson's and AIDS. That isn't the government's job. But if the government hands out $$$ for medical research, why shouldn't the people who care about AIDS do everything that they can to draw attention to their situation? The fact that it is a contagious disease should also have some bearing on the priority as well. I have known a couple of people who have died from AIDS. One was just last April. A 28 year old woman from El Salvador. She was our nanny's cousin. She wasn't promiscuous, she didn't do drugs and she never knew she had it. She caught chicken pox from her nephew and went into a coma before the diagnosis ever came back. Since her family didn't speak English very well, I got to translate the news to them. The were very ashamed, of course. Didn't want to tell her parents the cause. Her brother blamed our nanny (who is his cousin) because she didn't pray hard enough and that she didn't fast while Anna was in the hospital. That kind of ignorance about disease will only help to perpetuate it. At least the gay community has put in a powerful effort to educate people about the disease and the ways to avoid it. You might be surprised at what demographic group has the highest rate in increase of AIDS incidence. Like I said, I am against government funding for AIDS research. But I also believe that something has to be done. So I have done something about it. I rode in the California AIDS ride twice and the amount that I have either raised or flat out donated is near $20K in the past 5-6 years. But I don't blame the gay community for trying to get government funding any more than I would any other group who tries to get money from the government with the intent of saving lives. I do blame the government for getting involved in endeavors that are inappropriate for its charter. So, to answer your questions, "they" do it by working hard to raise awareness and make people understand the threat. They get away with it because we allow our government to get involved in a wide variety of things that they have no business being involved with. And both Republicans and Democrats encourage it as long as it fits their agenda. Considering how unpopular their fight is and the level of success that they are having in raising money and awareness, maybe if the people working hard to fight AIDS are successful in eradicating it, you will see the people lobbying for cancer or parkinson's research bring them on board, or at least adopt their stratagies and tactics. If your life depended on it, wouldn't you want the people involved who are the most effective? JXM

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (15206)	8/28/2001 8:36:36 AM
From: jlallen	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 59480

AIDS is the first disease with civil rights... JLA

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (15206)	8/28/2001 11:49:06 AM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 59480

In addition to political pressure, they get it for two reasons. One is that AIDS is infectious, whereas cancer, heart disease, etc. aren't. The first argument, for better or worse, is that it's more important to stop infectious diseases because stopping them will save more people in future. The second argument is that is leaking into the general community, so it's a disease our children could get. Or our grandchildren. Whatever you feel about their cause, you have to admire the abilities of the AIDS coalition to muster political pressure. Worth learning something from.

To: Lazarus_Long who wrote (15206)	8/28/2001 1:10:39 PM
From: sandintoes	Respond to of 59480

I'm not trying to be politically correct one way or another. All I know is that my best friend died of breast cancer, and right now I have SEVEN friends battling cancer. We don't need Hollywood or the media telling us which disease is politically correct.