Politics: November 2007 Archives

From Kaiser Daily: Most Democratic presidential candidates would support lifting a ban on federal funding for needle-exchange programs and replacing abstinence-only sex education with comprehensive HIV prevention programs if elected, according to a survey released Wednesday ahead of World AIDS Day, the AP/Sioux City Journal reports. The survey was conducted by AIDS Project of Central Iowa, Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa and several other groups in the state. It included three questions and was sent to Democratic and Republican presidential candidates (AP/Sioux City Journal, 11/29).

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Originally Printed 9/04

In the hundreds of stories written about 'gay marriage' in recent months, one group of people deeply affected by the issue has been left out: bisexuals. According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, this omission has not only made the record factually incomplete, but has helped contribute to an oversimplification of an emotional-laden and complex issue.

For example, when the Washington Post wrote about the first same-sex couple to marry in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004, its front-page headline read, "A Carefully Considered Rush to the Altar; Lesbian Pair Wed After 7 Years Together," referring to Robyn Ochs and Peg Preble, but the headline was wrong. One of the two, Robyn Ochs, is not only bisexual but a co-founder of the Bisexuality Resource Center and one of the nation's most prominent bisexual leaders for more than 20 years. Even though Ms. Ochs emphasized her orientation as a bisexual in speaking with the reporter, this was never mentioned, other than the article noting that she teaches about bisexuality at Tufts University.

Leadership means taking the lead and it also means taking risks. Whenever leaders announce their personal political endorsements it spurs discussion, debate and disagreement, and I have decided to go public with my presidential endorsement for the 2008 election. I have endorsed John Edwards. My endorsement is not the endorsement of any organization I am affiliated with, it is my personal choice alone. And I hope it will bring other Edwards supporters out of the closet.

Continue reading this article at Bilerico

Hillary Clinton will be participating in a Global Summit on HIV/AIDS and the Church, according to a report in Newsmax.  Clinton was invited to speak by evangelical power-player Pastor Rick Warren.  The event takes place at Warren’s Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.

Warren is best known as the other of The Purpose Driven Life, and been a strong HIV Advocate for HIV/AIDS.  Warren has often criticized the evangelical church, and Baptists, in particular for being  "known for what we’re against rather than what we’re for.”

From Kaiser: A recent opinion piece by Sally Pipes -- president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank that receives some funding from drug companies -- about intellectual property rights and compulsory licenses for patented antiretroviral drugs is "frightening," Andrew Green, a publishing fellow, writes in the American Prospect. If Pipes were "just running a think tank with pharmaceutical funding, it could be read as a shill piece and dismissed. But there's more to Pipes' biography: She is also a health care adviser to Rudy Giuliani," the former New York City mayor who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, Green adds (Green, American Prospect, 11/15).

From the Clinton Campaign: The Clinton Campaign announced the endorsement of Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank and named him as an Economic Advisor to the Campaign.

“I have from the beginning of this campaign believed that Hillary Clinton was the candidate best qualified to serve as President,” Rep. Frank said. “I am convinced that once elected, the qualities she will bring to the job - commitment, intellect, and political skills - will make her an extremely effective leader in our effort to reverse the badly flawed course on which George Bush and past Republican Congresses have set this country.