Saturday, February 17, 2007

Edwards Supports Blogosphere on CNN



2008 presidential candidate John Edwards appeared on CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and talked about the Iraq war. His comprehensive proposal to enact a plan that will bring an end to the war can be read here.

At the 5-minute mark, Wolf Blitzer asks Senator Edwards about the "blogger saga" - the non-scandal the right-wing has tried so hard to malleate into a bullet to be shot to the heart Edwards campaign. If you listen to Senator Edwards speak supportively of and impressively about the blogosphere and its strong role in the future of American politics, you'll see that the right-wing missed whatever target they had in mind.

You may wish to see a discussion that I generated at JohnEdwards.com if you wish to see my take on the whole deal. (Several people have asked me about this.)



Senator Edwards also has made a recent statement on trade negotiations with South Korea.

Benny has the latest news from the Edwards campaign.

'The House' at Daily Kos really liked what Senator Edwards had to say (and how he said it) on Bill Maher's show last night. 'The House' says:
Listening to John Edwards makes me feel good about paying attention to politics.



Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Happy Valentines Day





WSJ Poll and Al Gore Rumors



Raw Story is reporting that, in the field of 2008 POTUS candidates, Sen. Barack Obama is quickly closing the gap in a Wall Street Journal poll of a wide sampling potential voters with his fellow 'media-darling' candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Clinton 45%
Obama 37%
Edwards 28%
Gore 26%


The poll should direct us to the fact that John Edwards, although he's rarely showcased in the media compared to the "rock star" treatment received by Sens. Clinton and Obama, has snagged a greater percentage of Independent voters, out of the total percentage of poll-votes received, than either Clinton or Obama.

What this poll also shows us is that among all Democratic candidates, the Edwards campaign is making impressive strides, off the media's radar, to reach the hearts and minds of American voters. The media tends to give lip service to the candidates with the most cash. If cash were actually "speech", the mainstream media would be considered to be objective truth-tellers. Unfortunately for all of us, we know that that is not true.

The mainstream worships at the Temple of Cash, and they report accordingly. As long as campaigns are run outside the scope of public financing, we will not have an honest media. What happens over the course of this upcoming presidential campaign season will be interesting but as long as we have a campaign finance system stacked for dishonesty, funded by lavish private interests, I will place my personal trust with the everyday citizens of this nation and I will continue to listen to and trust their voices over the select interests that fuel today's mainstream media. I have supported Sen. Edwards because he is the candidate who most clearly shows and articulates that he listens - and listens well - to the everyday citizen even though he has been forced, for the sake of competitive interest, to forego public financing.

In light of what I've just said, a major surprise in this poll is the public's obvious admiration for General Colin Powell. Gen. Powell is rarely discussed by the media, yet he was chosen at the top of the list of potential Republican candidates for President 2008.

The New York Observer's Steve Kornacki is reporting that, according to the latest rumors, former VP Al Gore will consider entering the race for the Democratic nomination in September "if an opening presents itself." Kornacki writing leads us to see that Gore would wish to be a Clinton alternative. One reason Gore stated that he might not choose to enter the race was that, if Obama or Edwards make gains against Clinton, he may not want to further crowd the fray.

In a press conference this morning, President Bush forewarned the press corps that he will not become a "pundit-in-chief on the 2008 Presidential race.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The 8th Edition of the International Carnival of Pozitivities




ICP
Edition #8 of the ICP [International Carnival of the Pozitivities] includes a special Valentine’s Day feature from host Ron Hudson:
As many of you know, I have opened up my personal blog to provide space to anyone who wishes to contribute to the ICP. This month, Janina from the kd lang MSN langisms fan group contributed an original poem in honor of St. Valentine’s Day. Janina describes herself as a hopeless romantic and has shown tremendous support for the ICP within the kd lang fan group since I began to participate a while back. Her poem, hearts ~ is not specifically about HIV/AIDS, but her contribution is intended to spur on others who might be willing to write something relating to HIV/AIDS for future editions of the ICP.
hearts ~

a weaving melancholy,
flocks of birds crossing their wings;
two hearts entwined as one
enflamed passion unites.

truth be upturned
for i can imagine the further dawn;
as our future is upon us
the birds carry on.

the sky paints in the arms of the tree
the raindrop bends the leaf;
flowing musician writes
lyrics embraced it's song.

my lover loves but only me
and her spirit feeds my soul;
a beat to hear them
hearts watermark.

alas, but in my lovers arms
my heart lays to rest;
angels in heaven
forever blessed.

we pray of one another
eternally languid and sweet;
immortally begotten
bittersweet!

In many of our lives, we suffer needlessly from lack of compassion. Often, we suffer alone. Isolation is an ever increasing issue for people living with HIV/AIDS. Never, ever give up hope. Hope is what truly keeps us alive. Reach out to make new friends if your old friends have left you behind. Do it for you because you do not deserve to be alone.



My own monthly feature with updates on news about HIV/AIDS:




ENCOURAGING?
Iranian Scientists Boasting New Herbal-Based Med for HIV/AIDS
Ron Brynaert is reporting at Raw Story that scientists in Iran are claiming to have found an herbal-based medication with no known side effects called 'IMOD' that they say will help to control the AIDS virus and increase immunity in patients who have tested HIV positive.


DISCOURAGING?
Opinion: AIDS burden worsens and the silence lingers by Leonard Pitts Jr.

Eight years ago, I wrote this: "The silence, the absence of voices raised in fear, raised in warning, raised in alarm -- raised -- is deafening." [..] Eight years later, the silence is still loud and the numbers are worse. Blacks now account for nearly half of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses and contract AIDS at a rate 10 times that of whites. Sixty-four percent of all American women living with HIV/AIDS are black. AIDS is the leading cause of death for black women 25 to 34 years old. [..] And eight years later, Gaye's advice still haunts. Because while poverty plays a role in those ghastly numbers, while access to healthcare and lack of information are factors, who can deny that the main reason for this plague is the silence, the closed-mouth social conservatism, the priggish moral rectitude, of a people still ill at ease discussing sexuality, homosexuality, drug use and other realities. Instead, we mouth piety, prayers and platitudes while the world burns down around us.


DISAPPOINTING.
Halt of trials a setback in AIDS fight

Researchers said last week that they had shuttered two trials of a microbicidal compound because preliminary data found that women using it were contracting HIV, which causes AIDS, at a higher rate than those not using it. [..] The halt was a setback for Conrad, a Virginia health-research group supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which hoped to market the compound. [..] It's the second time in recent years that a microbicide appeared to increase the risk of HIV infection rather than retard it.

TROUBLESOME.
New WHO Chief fails to stand up for people living with AIDS

Approximately 108,000 of 500,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand depend on GPO-VIR, the generic version of the first-line anti-retroviral therapy produced by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization. According to the Thai government, an estimated 20,000 of these patients have developed resistance to the drug, and are in need of Kaletra. [..] “AHF is alarmed by Dr. Chan’s comments regarding Thailand’s move to increase access to lifesaving AIDS medications for its citizens in need. It is clear that, despite the WHO’s mission to attain the highest possible level of health for all people, the health of people living with HIV in Thailand is not among Dr. Chan’s priorities,” said Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s President. “Thailand’s move to issue a compulsory license for Kaletra will likely lower the price of this lifesaving drug to nearly half of its current cost and will mean the difference between life and de ath for thousands of Thai citizens in need. The comments made by Dr. Chan serve only to undermine Thailand’s efforts to protect the health of its people and it is appalling that in her position she would choose to advocate for multinational corporate interests over the interests of people living with HIV/AIDS in the developing world. AHF seeks immediate clarification from the Director General on her position regarding Thailand’s efforts to protect the health of its citizens.”


NEW CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Seattle area sees drug-resistant HIV

SEATTLE -- A hard-to-treat strain of the virus that causes AIDS has been found in four gay men in Washington's King County, and authorities fear it could spread to more. [..] There is no evidence that the troublesome strain of HIV is spreading rapidly, but its appearance underscores the need for renewed emphasis on safe sex practices, said officials in the Seattle-King County Public Health Department.