When historical villains die, at least if they are white, male Americans, Conventional Wisdom and Miss Manners say one should simply move on neutrally, "not speaking ill of the dead." Or something.

I strongly disagree. Whereas I philosophically agree that there is no such thing as a totally evil person without contradictions, it is quite appropriate to draw a balance sheet on public figures who have greatly and directly impacted our lives ... in this case for ill.

Helms was such a voluble and prolific person, Rush-Limbaugh-cum-Senator-Claghorn, and his ascendance so felicitously intersected the rightward moving Zeitgeist, that his legacy of harm extends far and wide – from making overt racism politically acceptable in modernized ways, to eliminating civil liberties and the right to organize as workers, to restricting women's reproductive freedom domestically and around the world, to banning public support for art with any erotic or sexual content, to extending the HIV epidemic by forbidding any federal funds to be used on any materials that frankly portray and discuss sex and drug use.  read more »

With presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee refusing to recant his incredibly stupid and frightening 1992 statements, and no progress reducing new HIV infections in the U.S., it’s easy to become discouraged.

But there are some glimmers of hope in the waning days of 2007. Here’s a short list of campaigns, blogs, and inspiring community-organizing efforts worthy of your involvement and support.
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No matter the spin, CDC’s not-well-protected secret is all bad news.

As widely reported in the Washington Blade, the Washington Post, and other media outlets, the official estimate for annual HIV infections in the U.S. is being raised in 2008. Ironically, UNAIDS recently lowered its global estimate for people living with HIV/AIDS, from 40 million to 33 million.

Virtually every hallway conversation at the 2007 HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta—attended by 3,000 researchers, HIV prevention practitioners, public health officials, and AIDS advocates—buzzed with gossip and speculation about the unreleased figures and what the hold-up could mean.
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Showing the “missing pieces” of HIV prevention puzzle in the United States, more than three hundred people poured into the downtown Atlanta streets for the PJM Unity Rally and March in Atlanta, GA, on Tuesday, December 4th, where the National HIV Prevention Conference (NHPC) ended on Wednesday. People from across different communities marched to demonstrate unity for a comprehensive HIV prevention in the US, not to be divided by community or issue.

In order to draw conference attendees from the hotel to the opening rally two blocks away at Hardy Ivy Park, a group of carolers sang an HIV prevention song to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Other PJM folks were in the lobby, decorating marchers with the PJM sash—a white satin cloth with the red PJM Unity logo. Helping to sash people in the hotel was Miss Rhode Island 2007 Ashley Bickford, who was attending the conference as someone interested in HIV/AIDS issues.

The spirited marchers burst from the Hyatt onto Peachtree Street, blowing whistles and chanting, and made their way to Hardy Ivy Park to meet the crowd already assembled. The March MC Waheedah Shabbazz-el took the bullhorn and hyped the crowd to a frenzy, reminding the crowd, “HIV is more than a disease, It’s positive proof of injustice!” The marchers grabbed signs and flashlights from organizers and marshals, and the rally was in full swing.  read more »

"What do we want? EFFECTIVE PREVENTION! When do we want it? NOW!" shouted HIV/AIDS, women's rights, and faith-based advocates as they marched down Pennsylvania Avenue to join a World AIDS Day rally at the White House.

On Friday, November 30, nearly 200 activists—including community members, students, and people living with HIV and AIDS—brought together local, domestic, and global demands for critical changes to U.S. HIV and AIDS policies. Those rallying called upon the government to cut the red tape on HIV and AIDS programs, with particular emphasis afforded to prevention programs at home and abroad.

The rally-goers, armed with posters and giant scissors with messages like "Sex Education Saves" and "Cut the Red Tape on U.S. Global HIV Prevention," weren't the only people making demands of the Administration. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington, D.C.'s non-voting delegate in Congress, issued powerful words to President Bush as part of her address to the crowd.  read more »

Even though it was his 20th wedding anniversary, Dr. David Holtgrave, a top HIV policy analyst and researcher, joined us for the Unity March yesterday. He lost his voice, so he presented his speech as a series of phrases on notebook paper, which I got to read out loud --

But his concise words really sum up the implications of the incidence controversy -- here they are!

LOST MY VOICE

I PJM

NEW INCIDENCE # IS....

AT LEAST 40,001

WHETHER 40,001 OR 60,000...

ISSUES ARE THE SAME....

1. CDC'S 2010 GOALS TOO LOW

2. PREVENTION FUNDS DOWN 19%

(ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION) [I'M A NERD]

3. AND UPTAKE OF SCIENCE-BASED....

INTERVENTIONS WAY TOO LOW!

WHETHER 40,001 OR 60,000....

NEED AN EVIDENCE-BASED PLAN

NEED ADEQUATE RESOURCES

NEED ANNUAL ACCOUNTABILITY

NEED BOLD NATIONAL LEADERSHIP

NEED PJM  read more »