Bush to give $20M more to AIDS program

[Q3JR4]

AP) - President Bush, on a fund-raising trip to Pennsylvania, said Wednesday he will commit more money to a program for delivering medications to people with HIV and AIDS. The administration said it would make an additional $20 million available immediately for the drug program.

<snip>

More http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=1&u=/ap/20040623/ap_on_el_pr/bush_9

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The administration pledged to give a bunch of money before, but last I heard they had yet to do so. This will just add to that I suppose.

[Caution]

1. $200 billion in so called war on terror

650 people dead last year of terrorist attacks according to the latest figures from the department of state

3 million dead last year from AIDS.

dead from war on terror? .000212% of those dead from AIDS

AIDS money just allocated? .0001% of war on terror money.

Good call Georgie.

[acmavm]

2. Exactly what I was thinking. He needs another 60 billion to get him thru

the end of the year, and he's stolen 11 billion from the Iraqis.

What's twenty million in comparison? Peanuts.

[Not Me]

3. BFD

n/t

[Divernan]

4. Talk is cheap George; where's the cash?

The operative word in the headline is "to", meaning at some unspecified future date.

[trotsky]

5. Promised $15 BILLION in the 2002 SOTU address

Amount budgeted in FY2003 budget: $0
Amount budgeted in FY2004 budget: $0
Amount budgeted in FY2005 budget: $200 million (~1% of what was promised)

And now he adds $20 million. Whoop-de-fuck.

[F.Gordon]

9. Actually, it was the 2003 SOTU address

Not trying to split hairs or anything.
:shrug:

This thread is starting out with the "classic" internet forum dialogue. Reaction to a select set of words or a single sentence. Not that I've not done this myself, but it would be nice if DU could rise above the jerking knee syndrome and show a little more effort and thought....like actually READING the thread (edit: story. geez, I can't get through one post without screwing it up)that is linked.

Where I'm cynical of bush* and AIDS is the Rumsfeld Big Pharma connection. How much of the 2 BILLION plus authorized has ended up in the back pockets of a few of Rummy's friends? Or, how much of it has been used as payoffs for "the coalition of the willing"??

[hatrack]

12. Thank you, trotsky, for pointing this out!!!

A big fat gibbering mouth that oozes and spouts pious words of compassion, and a pinched thin little wallet, held shut with fishooks, when it comes time to foot the bill for said loudly proclaimed compassion.

What a heap of mandrill dung is our Little President. A steaming, fetid (but oh-so-compassionate) heap.

[swinney]

6. Wow--20 million

promised 15,000 million. Give 20 more. Hooray what a hero.

Recall in campaign he promised 100 million for Rain Forest.

Still 88 million short.

Trust the nut? You must have mental problems to make stupid promises.
I can do anything. I have never been called on the carpet.

Nov will bust his butt on the carpet. Who will he blame? Clinton of course. He was just so darn smart.

[underpants]

7. Exactly-$20 M for a government program?

Let's see that should cover the staplers and the phone system.

[Eye and Monkey]

8. one might predict that if this funding would go predominantly to -

pharmacorps and/or fundie-missionary groups - if this funding goes out at all.

[prolesunited]

13. Yes, it will

Just a reminder of who is running that AIDS effort in Africa:

Bush taps ex-drug CEO for AIDS effor
    On the eve of a trip to Africa, where AIDS tops the agenda, President Bush yesterday named a former drug-company executive to head a $15 billion U.S. program to combat the disease abroad.
    "Randy Tobias has a mandate directly from me to get our AIDS initiative up and running as soon as possible," Mr. Bush told reporters at the White House. "We will set up a broad and efficient network to deliver drugs to the farthest reaches of Africa, even by motorcycle or bicycle."
    His appointment of Randall Tobias, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co., drew immediate criticism from AIDS activists, who said his connections to the pharmaceutical industry would raise conflicts of interest.

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030702-113116-5041r.htm


As well as a gift to his base:

Although the majority of the $15bn promised will go to treatment programmes, a third of the money has been set aside for education.

Under the legislation approved by Mr Bush, these projects must promote abstinence rather than safer sex - a clause which family planning agencies have denounced as singularly unhelpful.

But the conservative lobby says they fear Mr Tobias is not wholly committed to its so-called "A-B-C" message - which promotes abstinence above every other method of disease control.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3044624.stm

[Eye and Monkey]

15. Excellent links -

[Bluebear]

10. All I heard was a bunch of talk about faith & God & spirituality

I want to remind you that not only is there great spirituality here, but this is a church that trains people coming off welfare rolls to find work. Isn't that a wonderful -- (applause.) This is a church which helps feed the hungry, and finds shelter for the homeless. A church that helps families to stay together. This is a church that is giving generously of time and money. Herb Lusk is a general in the army of compassion. (Applause.)

This is a -- and the other thing this church is doing is sending donations to fight AIDS around the world. (Applause.) I'm here to thank the church for doing that. I want to thank all the churches in the Greater Philadelphia area for the Stand for Africa Campaign. This is a great example of how people of faith can become involved in saving lives. It's a fine example for every American, faith or no faith.

HIV/AIDS, you see, is a challenge, it's a direct challenge to the compassion of our country, and to the welfare of not only our nation, but nations all across the globe. It's really one of the great challenges of our time. This disease leaves suffering and orphans and fear wherever it reaches.

Every man and woman and child who suffers from this addiction, from the streets of Philly to the villages of Africa, is a child of God who deserves our love and our help. And that's what I'm here to talk about today. We're provided -- we're determined to provide that help. We're committed to help those at home and help those abroad. To whom much has been given, much is demanded.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/06/20040623-4.html

[xxqqqzme]

11. AIDS is an addiction?

'...Every man and woman and child who suffers from this addiction...'

That IS news.

how long B4 the WH scrubs this 'addiction' to affliction?

[Bluebear]

17. WH trancsript has been scrubbed. Here is unscrubbed link

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20040623/pl_usnw/transcript_of_remarks_by_president_bush_on_compassion_and_hiv_aids130_xml

Every man and woman and child who suffers from this addiction, from the streets of Philly to the villages of Africa, is a child of God who deserves our love and our help.


Hmm....the streets of Philly, the villages of Africa....these must be the "brown skins" to which he keeps referring.

[NoBushLite]

14. Too Little, Too Late

(Enough said.)

[revree]

16. FRIGGIN PEANUTS

Compared to the military budget. God, these right wing Christians really do care about life, eh???