As George W. Bush worries about his legacy in the final year of his Presidency (we hope), Americans are too concerned with internal issues caused by Bush and Cheney to comprehend the depth of disaster that the Bush administration has wrought upon the global community. Russians refer to President Bush as “The Master of Disaster”, a title and nickname which are well deserved and earned, but in comparison to other disasters - natural or otherwise, the Bush administration has dealt the global community a dastardly combination of blows that threaten the entire world, not just The United States!
When historians attempt to compile the true effects of Bush’s disastrous Presidency, Hitler’s Third Reich, and Indonesia’s recent tsunami may place second when the body count is eventually revealed - and it will likely equate to millions, or even tens of millions of deaths, all attributable to incompetence, adherence to religious dogma rather than science, and the greed of Bush and his supporters. Conservatives, Christians, right-wing Evangelicals, and Neo-conservatives first considered him to be their savior while he peddled his phony religious principles that temporarily captured wide support after 911, but like a pandemic out of control, Bush’s policies will affect and destroy some of those who were his most ardent supporter’s.
How is it possible that one man, working in conjunction with Darth Cheney and their cabal of co-conspirators, were able to affect everything they touched in a negative manner - the reverse of the “Midas Touch?” According to legend, everything that King Midas touched turned to Gold, while everything this Presidency has touched has turned to S**T!
As you’re reading this essay and analyzing the “Bush Affect” that will control the future of generations to come, if you can, reserve a place in your memory that will hold just one area of accomplishment for this Presidency that has benefited humanity, or on a more limited basis, the people of America… Don’t worry, there’s no chance of it straining your memory unless you’re a full-fledged Faux News fanatic. Even then, a closer look at the facts could change the views of die-hard Bush supporters if they are ever exposed to factual evidence instead of the constant propaganda that is pushed by those who still seek America’s total submission to fascism and religious fanaticism.
The Global Fight Against AIDS
Even though President Bush pledged $15 billion in an effort to fight the global AIDS epidemic, those dollars are being spent in ways that guarantee further AIDS infections for those who don’t follow abstinence only programs, and the United States has actually worked to dismantle programs in Africa and other nations that were dispensing condoms - the most reliable method of fighting new AIDS infections.
“Abstinence only” is not a scientific approach to fighting AIDS and other life-threatening sexually communicable diseases, but is a religious doctrine that essentially demands abstinence only - and if people don’t follow the religious dogma supported by the Bush administration, death, teenage pregnancy, and numerous sexually transmitted diseases are the punishment for having sex before marriage or multiple sex partners.
To me, the intent is clear; if you choose to have sex before marriage and defy the principles of a religious-inspired abstinence only program, then those who are “sinners” and engage in premarital sex deserve what they get, and that’s death, rapid transmission of STD’s, and/or an increase in teenage pregnancies in our own country. The comments below are from CHAMP, a “Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project.”
Introduction: Eric Sawyer, ACT UP NY
This really is the moment of truth for national and international HIV/AIDS policy. The last few years, the Bush administration and the media have primarily focused on the terrorism and the war in Iraq. Both are going terribly awry. These are unwinnable wars, but the war on AIDS is a winnable war – a winnable war that the generals aren’t fighting. We know that enemy and can find it. We have the tools to defeat it, but our leaders have chosen not to fight it. They are posturing rather than using the tools of condoms, needle exchange and treatment to win it.
We have a need to help people with AIDS from around the world because the US administration is trying to ram unproven abstinence-only HIV prevention programs down the throats of people in developing countries. Other speakers will talk about this more.
Jodi Jacobson, Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)
One thing we have to keep in mind as we battle around issues of abstinence-only education is that while George Bush won’t be president in a few years, the movement that put him in power is not going to go away when Bush leaves. We have a longer-term challenge. The Democrats don’t stand up for much of anything, especially around these issues.
We are fighting a battle with the media because Bush put $15 billion on the table to battle global AIDS, so it is hard to get media attention. Frequently reporters ask, “Aren’t Bush’s initiatives a good thing overall?” The answer is that we need sustainable policies and his policies aren’t sustainable.
You may have heard of the global gag rule, which prevents discussing abortion or how to get an abortion in family planning clinics. It is a policy that the U.S. has exported, like the abstinence-only-until-marriage education. Abstinence-only programs began in the U.S. at local and national levels. States can’t get state level funding for comprehensive sex education. Contraceptives can only be discussed based on their failure rate.
The Office of AIDS policy is taking an extremely narrow interpretation of legislation in place mandating one-third of prevention funds go to abstinence-only prevention programs. They disaggregate programs so that only “high risk” people can get condoms. These people are sex workers and gay men. 60-70% of the people that are sexually active receive abstinence-only-until-marriage education. The rest of sexually active people, that are married, only get the “Be Faithful” rap. So huge monies are being funneled into the abstinence-only programs or secondary abstinence programs.
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