7 Repub Senators 'hold' $50 billion in AIDS relief program for 3 million people. - Gerson of WP

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/13/AR2008051302305.html

Moral Scales in the Senate

<snip>
How much do seven members of the U.S. Senate weigh?

Eyeing them -- Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, Saxby Chambliss, David Vitter, Jim Bunning, Richard Burr -- I'd guess they probably come in at about 1,300 pounds. These are the Republicans who have signed a hold letter, preventing action on the reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

For all of conservatism's evident virtues, it can have one furtive, seedy vice: A justified suspicion of government can degenerate into an anti-government ideology -- rigid, stingy and indifferent to human suffering. Conservative concerns on family planning and abstinence in the PEPFAR reauthorization are not imaginary, but they could be resolved through good-faith negotiations, as they were in the House of Representatives. A generalized hostility toward AIDS prevention, however, is destructive. Given that there are about 2.5 new HIV infections for every person starting on AIDS drugs, there is no way to control the pandemic through treatment alone. And because treatment is less expensive than it used to be, PEPFAR is meeting its treatment goal for less money. The 55 percent treatment floor would force the program to waste money in pursuit of an arbitrary, nonsensical spending target -- the worst kind of congressional earmark.

Each of the Coburn Seven counts himself pro-life. If a bill came to the Senate floor that would save millions of unborn children, one assumes that pro-life members would push to improve it, accept a few necessary compromises and then enthusiastically support the legislation.

It is difficult to imagine why pro-life legislation involving millions of Africans should be viewed differently.

[ananda]

1. Just to clarify one important point. They are not pro life.

They are anti-woman. They do not want
women to have ownership of their own
bodies and the freedom to make their
own reproductive choices.

They are anti-nature. Sex is part of
nature. You can't legislate it or
control it. To be truly pro-life you
have to love nature and sex and realize
that people are going to have sex, and
the best way to be pro life is to support
good sex education, affordable medical
care, and access to birth control and
condoms... along with the information
and medications to deal with HIV and
other STDs.

They are also racist and xenophobic.
As you say, Africans are just as equal
and important as anyone else.

Sue

[OregonBlue]

2. Well said. Thank you.

[classysassy]

3. The southern seven

I bet all seven of those southern gentlemen voted for the war in Iraq,I'll also bet my last peso,all seven are good old southern baptist.

[crimsonblue]

4. didn't you know?

Only bad people get AIDS. And they bring it about themselves. :sarcasm:

[matt007]

5. Did anyone see the recent South Park episode?

The cure for AIDS is large injections of MONEY.

They show people getting cured by injecting hundreds of thousands of dollars liquified into themselves.

Pretty much says it all

[DIKB]

6. Love how he ended it

"Each of the Coburn Seven counts himself pro-life. If a bill came to the Senate floor that would save millions of unborn children, one assumes that pro-life members would push to improve it, accept a few necessary compromises and then enthusiastically support the legislation.

It is difficult to imagine why pro-life legislation involving millions of Africans should be viewed differently."

Basically ends with the unstated fact that They Are All HYPOCRITES, and they don't care about people of color!!!!