(no subject)

[geminigirl]

Doubling federal funding for abstinence only programs?
Unleashing the compassion of religious organizations? (He was talking about faith based organizations)
And don't forget the marriage part. "Arbitrary decisions by judges"

Okay, so I knew he'd piss me off tonight. I knew. But I feel more justified in my anger if I watch the speech. But the doubling the federal funding for abstinence only programs makes me rage. Because I see the consequences of less than accurate information every day. It's part of what I do for a living. And those consequences have the potential to spiral out of control.


And I fear a resurgence of Reagan-era like HIV infections; Reagan contributed to the horrors through inaction. Dubya is doing horrible things with action. They both suck.

And I worry and worry about not having a job next year. With good reason apparently.

And since when are judges making arbitratry rulings? Like the ones about marriage?

*sigh* Can I go to sleep and wake up on election day?

Comments

[pinkfish.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Can I go to sleep and wake up on election day?

No way! There's too much work to be done between now and then!

[geminigirl]

You're right. There's too much to do.

[jlsgaladriel.livejournal.com]

If it helps, you weren't the only one screaming at your telivision set when Dubbya talked about reducing STDs through the increase of abstinence "education."

I did find that drinking a few white russians during the course of the speech really mellowed my response. (I did no damage to the television set.)

Courage. The morons can't possibly always win...

[geminigirl]

Unfortunately, I took a tylenol with codeine earlier, and couldn't have a drink. It seems to have eased the pain so many of my friends felt while watching the speech.

[crotalus-atrox.livejournal.com]

Ah, but now said friends have to keep visiting the restroom. And the floor is cold. And their slippers don't keep their feet warm.

[geminigirl]

I'd offer socks, but i'm freezing here.
-

[crotalus-atrox.livejournal.com]

Yeah. You need them more than I do. ::wraps you in a nice warm blanket::

[geminigirl]

I think we all need warm socks sometimes. They're like warm fuzzies...safe and comfortable.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

And he's going to pay for that abstinence education and prisoner mentoring and putting people on Mars with his big ol' tax cut.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah, the "unleashing the compassion of religious organizations" got raised eyebrows from the 'fink and me.

[geminigirl]

Yep. And I work for an organization with ties to faith communities...

[katishna.livejournal.com]

My issue with the whole 'funding religion-based programs' isn't that the programs are religion based. It's the worry that some religions will get more love than others, and that eventually they'll just sort of forget non-faith-based programs in favor of the faith-based ones. The thing is, the Constitution doesn't refuse the right of Congress to fund these programs, it only requires that the government not make a state religion, require religion to get funding, or in any way show favoritism. Hard thing to live up to, there, considering our lovely right-wing religious president.

Ugh i'm just ranting now I think. This whole speech just gets me irritated, this is the first year I've read the whole thing, and realized what a twit our prez is. But what scares me more is that every so often I find a little nugget of agreeable information buried in his bullshit. (No nationalized health care, for one.)

[ruralrob.livejournal.com]

Needless to say, I'm with you completely on the foolishness of abstinence only programming. Ignorant, stupid, dangerous, evil, heartless - pick your adjective.

From this distance, though, it seems moves like this call for massive advocacy on the part of the HIV/AIDS movement to protest. Or is the climate there now such that protesting puts the future of organizations such as yours in peril. If so, sad, sad times, indeed.

Whatever, you definitely need a new administration. The current one is just idiotic.

[geminigirl]

At the international conference in Barcelona a few years ago, Tommy Thompson was booed. And many of the organizations there, who recieved federal funding were audited. To the extreme.

Making too much noice is risky. Not making enough scares me.

I just don't like the way we're falling back 20 years in all the work we've done...all the people who've trudged this path before me laid a foundation that, while not always solid, does it's best to support the work I do, and to let me do that work. And it's being destroyed brick by brick. I hate the thought of waves of deaths, of new infections, the way things were happening early on, and while we're better prepared because we know what to say, if we can't say it, what good does all that do?

We need a new administration. Now.

[ruralrob.livejournal.com]

Hear hear!

[papertigers.livejournal.com]

[katishna.livejournal.com]

I heard the part about the Patriot act (kudos to the congresscritters who actually cheered when he said parts were due to expire next year) and had to turn it off because the man makes me feel crawly. I did hear that he's for the constitutional amendment that marriage is 1 man 1 woman, and have decided that if he stays in office there's no way we're going to have a democracy worth sticking around for in 4 more years.

The problem is, the candidate I like (Dean) is my favorite because he agrees with my beliefs (mostly) and he's very outspoken. However, outspoken tends to screw you come election time. If he gets the nomination, I REALLY hope his little grassroots thing is strong enough to beat Bush's monster special interest vote, but I don't think it is. And I don't see any other Dem candidates worth my effort (anyone steer me toward someone? Anyone?), so i think we're screwed.

I used to like being American.