Friday, August 24, 2007

Governor to AIDS Advocates: Screw you very much!

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago has been one of the most vocal and consistent supporters of Governor Blagojevich's "Illinois Covered Plan."

They've got to be wondering why they went out on a limb for the Governor, after learning that his budget vetoes included nearly $700,000 in cuts to HIV/AIDS prevention, in addition to more than $6.6 million in cuts to funding for substance abuse treatment. Drug addiction remains one of the largest underlying causes of HIV/AIDS. (Hat Tip to CapitolFax, for going to all of the trouble of summarizing these cuts.)

Of course, this is not the first time that Blagojevich has put HIV/AIDS patients on the chopping block.

Back in 2003, Blagojevich reneged on a promise to the Latino Caucus to provide $3 million in additional funding to expand HIV/AIDS prevention in minority communities, vetoing that money from the budget.

When is the AIDS Foundation of Chicago going to wake up and smell the backstabbing?

12 comments:

Anonymous,  6:10 PM  

Nice try - trying to stir up the pot.

But I think everyone knows that far more money will flow to people with HIV/AIDS with the healthcare plans than the meager amount the was reduced.

Anonymous,  8:43 PM  

And nice try, anonymous, but the truth is that most of the AIDS funding the governor just vetoed (which is actually well over a million dollars) was earmarked for HIV/AIDS prevention and testing. Thus, if these cuts stand, the state can expect to eventually pay out many more millions to care for the people who'll become infected because these prevention programs were cut. The cuts also included a program that's been effective in helping people with AIDS return to the workplace, also reducing the state's HIV care costs.
Be real. The governor didn't cut these AIDS programs thinking people would be better off longterm. He cut them because they were backed by Democrats in the House of Representatives. If the programs had been backed by Senate Republicans instead, the governor wouldn't have vetoed them.

Anonymous,  9:24 PM  

Nospin -

Nice try with the name, nospin, but your post is pure spin. The state spends a TON of money on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. The extra money the House Dems added was two legislators "showing they cared" by adding money on top of the megabucks the state already spends. This cut doesn't amount to a hill of beans.

Anonymous,  10:14 PM  

Nice, anonymous, accusing the state's only openly HIV-positive legislator of being insincere about fighting AIDS. Guess there's no limit to how low that bunker in Ravenswood goes.
The truth is the truth. A million dollars buys a lot of AIDS prevention. And the governor decided that scoring points by backing Republicans' $500,000 bike trails is more important than backing Democrats' $500,000 AIDS prevention programs.

Anonymous,  6:26 AM  

Hey 6:10

Blah-Blah said this is all about breast and cervical cancer screening for women. Well, at least he did yesterday. Who knows what he'll say today.

Explain to us how breast and cervical cancer screening will help gay men?

Anonymous,  10:34 AM  

What I've learned from all this:

You really can't tell who is pulling your chain these days(*)

(*) Corollary: Everyone is pulling your chain these days.

They have to, so they can mooch off you in the name of 'helping others'

Anonymous,  10:57 AM  

AIDS, AIDS, AIDS, AIDS, AIDS. Jeesh that disease gets all the public attention AND all the money. I read that we spend about $1400 per year for "prevention" for every AIDS patient in the US. Meanwhile, we spend about $14 per year in research on Parkinson's Disease for every Parkinson's patient.

Maybe we need a post titled, Yellow Dog Democrat and the Democratic Party to Parkinson's Disease Advocates: Screw you very much! Because AIDS is a sexier disease to fund.

Please also don't forget. The Illinois Democratic Party leadership. Blago, Jones, State Chair Madigan, and you know, the people YDD votes for, want to lock dying AIDS patients in cages for using medical marijuana that is helping prolong their life. YDD if you want to help AIDS patients as much as you pretend, you better start calling for your party to stop supporting Madigan and Jones in their leadership positions.

Anonymous,  11:19 AM  

Just one of the many reasons I will never support or vote for the Guv again.

He, like US Senator Dick Durbin has turned his back on the HIV/AIDS community repeatedly. But of course, they will both be asking for financial and political support election after election.

I won't be there and I will activily work against both of them.

Bill Baar 9:04 AM  

How so with Durbin Larry?

Yellow Dog Democrat 3:41 PM  

Anon 10:57 -

If there was a role for the state to be playing in Parkinson's disease PREVENTION (as opposed to research, which is the point you raised), I'd be all for it.

But the reason state lawmakers have made HIV PREVENTION a high priority is:

1. It's preventable.
2. It's communicable.
3. It's fatal.

That's the litmus test for public health spending, as far as I'm concerned.

BTW, if we are spending $1,400 a year on prevention for every HIV positive person, I'd say its money well spent and we're probably not spending enough.

Preventing just ONE case of HIV saves tremendous money. Care for people with HIV, most of which is paid for through Medicare or Medicaid, costs nearly $20,000 a year in prescription drugs alone, last time I checked.

Finally, lets remember this is not about scarcity. Parkinson's advocates shouldn't be fighting with Alzheimer's advocates who shouldn't be fighting with HIV/AIDS advocates to ensure public health programs are adequately funded.

To paraphrase Martin Luther King, unless our public health care system protects all of us, none of us is really safe.

Yellow Dog Democrat 3:45 PM  

BTW, anon 10:57, please tell me when Madigan or Jones ever said that we should lock people up for medical marijuana?

Do you think we'd even be debating medical marijuana in Springfield if Lee Daniels and Pate Philip were still running the show?

You're detachment from reality is frightening, to say the least. If you want to blame someone for the lack of progress on medical marijuana, blame your local sheriff, police chief, and state's attorney. Those are the fellas that are down in Springfield lobbying against its passage.

Yellow Dog Democrat 3:46 PM  

Oh yeah, thank your doctor and the Illinois State Medical Society (and its cadre of loyalist Republican lawmakers), and the pharmaceutical companies as well.

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