HIV/AIDS in Georgia – How we have failed and will continue to fail

This is a not something new. We have know for years that HIV/AIDS was becoming a real threat for rural, female, African-American and poor people.

This is not all the fault of the state (but plenty of blame does reside there). The CDC has never really EVER had a HIV prevention plan in place. When the [...]

National Minority AIDS Council Call to Action- New HIV rates

There website is here.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Circe J. Gray Le Compte, Director of Communications
National Minority AIDS Council, 1931 13th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Telephone: (202) 234-5120 ext. 309; (202) 352-7240
E-mail: communications@nmac.org
“And all the centuries passed and they survived and became a kind of people that the world had never known. [...]

The International AIDS Conference 2008 – Resources

Today the XVII International AIDS Conference starts in Mexico City. Lots of information is going to be coming out including the new incidence of HIV infections in the US. If you want to keep up with the conference, see live webcast, or view recorded sessions for later viewing please visit the Kaisernetwork.org site.  Here is [...]

Black America and HIV – US failure to combat problem

Here is the link to the report and whole article.
What If Black America Were Its Own Country?
“Left Behind! Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS Epidemic” incorporates a new analysis by the Black AIDS Institute showing how Black America would rank on the global health and HIV scale if it were a separate [...]

The South has 52% of all HIV cases

Here is the link to the Southern States Manifesto
Report warns of Southern AIDS ‘crisis’
Half of deaths occur in 17-state region as federal, private money dries up

By Alex Johnson
MSNBC
July. 24, 2008

AIDS specialists are calling for a fundamental rethinking of HIV policy after a new report showed that infection with the virus was rising dramatically in the [...]

HIV estimates in US are 40% higher that thought

Here is the NPR story on the issue: HIV rates higher than thought
And print story from NYT
H.I.V. Study Finds Rate 40% Higher Than Estimated
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN
MEXICO CITY — The United States has significantly underreported the number of new H.I.V. infections occurring nationally each year, with a study released here on Saturday showing that the [...]

AIDS fight in the South hard

From NPR
HIV in the South

Doctors now holding patients hostage

Best damn health care in the whole WORLD!!
(insert sound of flushing)
Three indicted on charges of holding woman captive at clinic
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/20/08
A doctor and two staffers at a Duluth medical practice face charges of false imprisonment for allegedly locking a patient in a room when concerns arose about her ability to pay the [...]

Our neighbor to the south gets their hate on

This the link to the original story.
From Pam’s house blend. I think she has the best analysis of what is really going on. Go read the whole thing.
For those who don’t know, fundamentalist right-wingers in Florida are attempting to pass a constitutional amendment in Florida this year that would ban gay marriage in the Sunshine [...]

It took countless deaths, but Georgia finally gets a Mental Health Ombudsman

While on the face of it it is a good sign that Georgia is finally doing something to address this horrible issue, it is outrageous that it takes people dying, a federal investigation and a investigative piece from the AJC to make this happen.
Having an ombudsmen and advocates for the most helpless of our residents [...]

Georgia’s continuing dysfunctional leadership

From the AJC. This sums it up for me…..

Laughingstock Legislature
Published on: 04/10/08
Members of the Georgia General Assembly, especially those from suburban Atlanta, like to make fun of Grady Memorial Hospital and its myriad problems. No doubt that has made it easier for the Legislature to justify repeatedly turning its back on the state’s largest [...]

1000 Georgians died last year due to lack of health care

There are a couple of issues here.
Issue one- The Georgia Legislature should be ashamed of themselves for their actions on this issue. In the face of Georgians not having access to health care they pushed a bill that gives tax breaks which really will benefit insurance companies who offer worthless high deductible policies that do [...]

State Health Director Stuart Brown to “retire”

Well, they used up another one. You don’t retire that fast…..he was pushed out I bet.
Why is it that DHR continues to switch out major management every 2-3 years in this state? Because changing out Directors fools most of the people of this state into thinking that something is happening. All that B.J. Walker [...]

While Georgia burns our politicians play the fiddle

I have not blogged much about the General Assembly or the Guv’nor this year mainly because they have not done ANYTHING worth a damn except play power games within the Republican party. This editorial captures perfectly the issues.
God, it is just great to live in a Red State.
OUR OPINION: STOP pandering on tax cuts and [...]

In Florida Mountain Dew will keep you from getting pregnant…

And this is the result of years of abstinence only education. Here is some video.

FLORIDA:   ”Students Would Get More than Abstinence-Only Under Sex Education Bill”
Associated Press     (04.01.08):: Bill Kaczor
On Tuesday, a bill seeking a more comprehensive approach to sex education in Florida’s schools passed a Senate committee by a 4-3 vote.
Florida currently relies [...]