"Doesn't Obamacare pay for this?"
That's Utah State Senate President Michael Waddoups, a Republican, in questioning a federal grant for "life and death" HIV drugs in his state. Utah shelved its Ryan White funding at least for the month, leaving some of the state's poorest patients at risk of having no way to pay for their medicine. Under the program, Utah kicks in $2 million and the federal government provides nearly another $4 million. From the Deseret News:
"I'm really troubled" by the GOP questions, said Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay, noting that it was unclear to her if her fellow committee members were troubled about the grant's implication in their minds of health or lifestyle of homosexuals or if it was just motivated by an anti-reform stance.
Utah is suing the federal government over health reform. It has also passed a law saying state residents can opt out of the federal mandate to buy insurance. At the hearing, state health officials told legislators that the federal government will provide care for Utahns covered under the Ryan White grant -- but not until 2014. It's worth noting that Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican, co-sponsored the Ryan White Act in 1990.
Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of Ryan White's death from AIDS. A hemophiliac, he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion and was 18 when he died.
(H/T: Tyler M)
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Hoping Ryan is Resting in Peace.... I still remember
How heartbreaking. You'd think 20 years later there'd be more acceptance and efforts made to help those who are sick. The GOP absolutely sickens me.
OMG, these guys can't be f*cking serious! These people are being denied life-saving medicine because some pissy Repuglicans are still mad about the passing of health care reform? Ok, guys, enough is enough. When you're going to extremes like this to make your agenda known, then you have to step back and wonder just WHO is pushing an agenda. If something happens to any of these HIV infected people while the funding is shelved, the parties responsible for witholding the funds should be held reponsible.
Speaking of death panels...
It's amazing how living, breathing, feeling people can so easily be callously sacrificed on the altar of ideology.
The damage will soon be done. Going without treatment for even a short period of time can result in mutations that render future treatment usless. Making your point with murder sounds like a tactic I have heard used by another , not so loved group.
The point made in this post regarding interruptions in drug treatment is absolutely true. The state of Utah will have blood on its hands for this gesture of supreme ignorance and indifference toward its citizens. Shame.
and they call themselves pro-life? wtf?
I'm genuinely sacred now....between Fox news, Glenn Beck, Tea Baggers and whatever other Fringe freaks are out there...I don't feel safe or hopeful about the future of the world...I think all those movies that depict the future as grim and dark....is coming soon...
Unreal I feel at times it is partly our fault (Liberals-Progressives) because we are not doing enough it's great that we viewers on TRMS are informed about these things but we need to start a real effort to call out public officials call in to the right wing radio racist shows (if we can listen to them long enough to make these calls) and start writing letters to to the editors of papers. I just wrote one today to the New York Daily News about the new US Nuclear policy and will update here if it is published
My mother, God rest her soul, told me never to stoop to another person's level. Always take the high ground. All throughout history, a moral good has always triumphed over an immoral evil. The Revolutionary War, WWII, Civil War, Womens rights, Civil rights have all triumphed. I will go to my grave knowing this bill will still be law 100 years from now.
I say that to say this. Let them eat FAKE! Their fakeness will come out in November. I don't pretend they won't win some seats. I am quite confident they won't take the House or Senate. That means the majority want change.
yes sir !
We can't afford to sit back and allow these "leaders" to use people as pawns.
this really is outrageous
I hope it matters. It seems none of their sheep really care about what is fake.
God help us if the progressives become complacent in November and don't vote.
side note: Peter Schurman founder of moveon .org is running for Calif Governor. It's a long shot ...but I still hope he wins.
"Making your point with murder" - indeed. Wouldn't that make them terrorists? Will the military/CIA be prevailed upon to deal with them as they deal with terrorists abroad? Or, because they are "christian" - will they be excused from any consequences of their acts?
In Utah, it is what happens when they let the Mormon Church run this state. That is why we MUST NOT let Mitt Romney get elected or they will be running the Country.
There is a lot of sick irony in that. The Mormon church has a history of almost militant charitable work in addition to experiments, in the 19th century, in utopian socialism (particularly the United Orders in the 1870s). After really renouncing polygamy in 1906 (and meaning it, unlike the sham renunciation in 1890), the Mormon church began making a big effort to re-enter the American mainstream. Unfortunately, they crossed the mainstream to wade in the weeds on the far right bank.
Many AIDS drugs need to be taken continuously to avoid a rapid decline in health that will land the patient in hospital. They may save pennies but this could cost large amounts of money in hospitalizations.
Who will the Republicans next decide is unworthy of healthcare?
In Utah, the separation between church and state is just a few blocks – literally!
I am embarrassed and ashamed of the politicians in Utah –Hatch, Bennett, & Chaffetz in Congress and especially Buttars in the Utah state legislature! Utah Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack resigned over a DUI issue and his replacement, Majority Leader Kevin Garn also resigned. UTAH REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS ARE HYPOCRITES!
Just hope that Mitt Romney does not run for President. Democrats do not have a chance in this very, very RED state!
From The Salt Lake Tribune:
"It looks to me like we're funding a program providing insurance and [medical care] that is going to be covered under Obamacare: pre-existing conditions, lifestyle choices and things of that nature," said Michael Waddoups, Utah's Senate President. "I'm just concerned about that."
Lifestyle choices?
What lifestyle choice did Ryan White make when he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion?
Utah's state government is made up of old, white, Republican, Mormon guys who attend church every Sunday, but spend the other 6 days a week promoting hate and intolerance.
I just returned from our capitol, Olympia, where I delivered a request for the removal from office by recall in the case of the Attorney General of the State of Washington, Rob McKenna. On my way back, the Secretary of State's office called and acknowledged receipt, indicating that it would be served today.
Based on all I have read, Mr. McKenna violated his oath of office by choosing to partake in the cabal of his fellow Republican attorneys general and, in so doing, also choosing not to consult with the governor, legislative leadership and other officers of the state...as is clearly mandated in his oath and the revised code to which he has sworn.
I believe this process is executed on a reasonably short timeline and I am happy to update you as we move forward, if you are interested. Let me know.
Bravo!!!!
Now that is the kind of action I want to see!
Knowledge is power, not fear mongering! Great job holding his feet to the fire!
It's the most disgusting display of bravado I've seen in my lifetime.
First off I would like to say that I was raised in a Christian, church going family. I was raised with the belief that we are supposed to live our lives according to the example of Jesus' life. With that in mind, Jesus never turned a blind eye to those in need.... whether they were a leapor or concubine. This to me means that we are supposed to give with an open heart and a NONjudgemental blind eye. I have family members that are republican so called christians. They are diehard pro-lifer's but would vote against the healthcare bill (if they could). They don't think the responsibility of the lesser falls on them. HELLO! What is our job as Christians? We are to love one another and care for one another. We are not to judge another's actions or choices... just love them. Now we have an uprising going on of these so called christians. Threats and aggresive actions in the name of God so they say? I distance myself from the likes of these 'christians'. We will never have peace in this world... because there will always be someone that feels like they are better than the next guy, or someone that feels like they work harder or are smarter. I can't debate my views with those unlike myself... im exhausted! I just know that God's true people would never take care from the sick. They would never pass by the hungry. And, they would never feel entitlement. Im sorry for the people that are rallying and voting for ideas against their own best interest. And all of this in the name of God..... So terribly tragic for all of us.
I agree with you so much. It is what I say over and over again to my Christian friends who support this past 15 years of Republicans. So many of these friends voted for Bush because he was anti abortion. Yet, in 8 years he never even attempted any abortion reform. Could it be because that would upset his insurance company supporters? My point is that even though we all seem to know how the republican politicians of today are acting very immoral and contradicting themselves over and over again, who I am really ashamed of is the gullible American people. Roman, the USSR, Nazi Germany, and all major powers in all of history, fell because the people blindly believed their corrupt leaders. In this day and age of endless sources of information, this blindness is unforgivable. But, as a Christian, I will forgive. Just quit killing our country! We need to change. Change is good and it is life.
What ever happened to compassion? Aren't religions based on Christianity supposed to care for the disadvantaged? This just sickens me.
This takes the spreading of hate and intolerance to a whole new level.
The fear for me is that there seems to be a surge of very hot-blooded conservatives even in the younger generation, just as I was looking forward to the day all the older generation haters fell to the wayside. That sounds terrible, but there isn't another way for me to put it, and I'm way past the point of trying to be nice.
I share the fear that this is all going to escalate to a very grim future, but to put lives on the line to get attention for your "cause"...can anyone say "manslaughter"!? To intentionally and actively put another's life on the line is the worst of offenses, even for the anarchist Repubicans that are showing their true colors.
My hope is that there are enough of us to keep this administration alive long enough to see the fruits of its labor. We DO need to work as hard toward progress and the Republicans are working to hold us all back.
This latest, obscene move on the part of the Republicans (in Utah, in this case) is not to call attention to their agenda. This move is to blatantly punish any and all for Health Care Reform passing. The idea of the damages falling particularly on gays is probably just a "bonus" here, and anyone else is collateral damage. I do believe we need to march. Keep the emails and letters and VOTING going, but also let our numbers be seen!
as a HIV positive person this terrifies me. this is absolutely abhorrent! the fact is that successful and sustained treatment in most cases prevents the transmission of the virus. this action on the part of the legislature not only dooms people to death without treatment, but also makes a person infectious to others; the risk is to the person AND the general public! with broad treatment this diseases can be illuminated in a generation. shame on them for this inhumanity!
http://www.poz.com/articles/HIV_transmission_treatment_1_18257.shtml
Yes -- we need to be active. We need to care. We need to vote. We, however, do not need to afraid -- because fear drains away our energy and clear thinking.
Not to long ago we were fighting in the streets to secure medications and care for those who suffered from HIV. We must not stop. The battle lines are forming and once again it's becoming clear that in Utah is at the forefront. We lost many friends because they couldn't afford the drugs,were dropped by their insurance and as a result suffered a horrible death .The good people of Utah must stand up for those of their citizens that need care and medications. If they won't we must! If we have to take it to the streets then so be it! HIV-Meds= Death.
This is not just a way for Republicans (in Utah, in this case) to bring attention to their agenda. This is a blatant, obscene move to PUNISH any and all for the passing of Health Care Reform. And an extra "bonus" to the plan is that gays in particular will suffer. All others are just collateral damage.
We need to march. Keep the emails and phone calls and VOTING going, but we also need to be SEEN!
Maybe Utah should have spent less money on California's Prop 8,
and give back to the citizens of their state. The GOP are all hypocrites.
I like another post earlier - What happened to Pro-life and the GOP ?
Disgusting!!
Just a note: The Salt Lake Tribune article on this says that the state of Utah is required to invest only $1.4 million as compared to $2 million (reported by the Deseret News), and the Federal Grant is $5.2 million as compared to only $4 million. That's almost a 4:1 return as compared to a 2:1 return.
Here is the Salt Lake Tribune article:
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14835102