How come people aren't paying attention to the awful things theo-cons like Romney,Fuckabee (friend of rapists--even the incestuous ones!!!),and Bush do? Do they CARE that they compare BC to murder?

And the same damn people complain about how the people of overpopulated countries are to blame...

Repugnant insanity.

I first read, "new research shows birth control works better than antiretroviral drugs at curbing the spread of HIV in Africa," and thought, how the hell? Does the Pill inactivate the HIV virus? Are they talking about using condoms?

Then I saw it actually meant HIV transmission from mother to infant could be reduced by . . . women's use of birth control to prevent pregnancy.

Well, . . . yes. And the spread of HIV in greater society could be curbed by teaching men not to rape babies, girls and women in search of a "cure," as well.

"Bush, shortly after taking office in January 2001, banned funding to groups that provided or promoted abortion."

Tool.

This is BEYOND frustrating. I was in a class at the UN this past semester and we discussed the UN's various programs for distributing condoms and other forms of contraceptives to countries in Africa. UNAIDS does a fantastic job at disseminating contraceptives and information regarding HIV/AIDS transmission on the ground. However, their reach is sorely constrained by the fact that the largest power, the US, gives no money to their programs, due to the Global Gag Rule. Furthermore, PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) was designed specifically so that the US did not have to give any funding to the UN Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS. So literally, Bush is pushing his "moral" code on women with HIV/AIDS, without a thought as to how this is killing them. Sickening.

What makes this situation even worse is that it seems the Democrats are pandering to Bush's every whim. For crying out loud, let him veto the bill and look like the failed president that he is! I seriously wonder what their strategy was...this is an election year, and the Democrats shouldn't think this election will be handed to them...

I've completely lost my faith in both parties. They spout different rhetoric but it seems that they're all still pretty much the same.

Honestly, it's this kind of thing that makes me fucking hate those anti-contraceptive people. I mean, there literally can't BE a better example of why contraceptive access is important than a woman with HIV, struggling to take care of the children she has. A child of hers would likely contract HIV and be orphaned at a young age as well, if in fact they survive longer than she does. That has to be the worst situation anyone can bring a child into. How much of a fundie do you have to be to look such a woman in the eye and go "those contraceptives you wanted? Nope, sorry, no can do."

Yet another example of Bush's bizarre fundamentalist mindset. The effects and effectiveness of his actions don't matter, because those actions are *right* and therefore always will be right. End of story.

The gag rule causes untold death and suffering? Doesn't matter--Bush *knows* that abstinence is absolutely the only good/true/pure/sinless way to approach this, pragmatism be damned.

Torture's ineffective and counterproductive? Doesn't matter, because we're good and they're bad. Absolutely and unchangably. Good nations aren't capable of bad actions, no matter what those actions are.

Cutting taxes while spending billions (or trillions) on a poorly managed, counterproductive military compaign? Good move! Cutting taxes is always the right thing to do. Oh yeah, and war is the right decision too, because Bush decided (correctly, of course...I heard he talked to God) that the war was right in the beginning, so it must be right now.

Don't you silly liberals see? Good and bad are absolutes; they can't just change! If one of our absolutely *good*, idealistic decisions facilitates the spread of HIV to impoverished, oppressed people, it's not the fault of the ideal. The ideal was doing just fine until the feminists/atheists/al queda/liberals/foreigners/environmentalists/the human sex drive/minorities/homosexuals/necropheliacs/evolutionists/reality/etc came along and mucked things up.

I mean, come on; our holy books and patriarchal social traditions tell us what's right. What need is there to consider people's suffering?

[/soothing, ranting sarcasm]

I can't believe the Democrats took the language out PREMPTIVELY! I mean, how is it that the Republicans will go to the mat fighting for anti-choice and abstinence ed. and other issues and the Dems wimper and fold before the Republicans even have a chance to look at the bill crosseyed! It would be nice to see the Democratic leaders stand their ground on something like this for once. Even if they lost, at least we know they fought the good fight. I EXPECT Bush to veto this, I don't expect the dems to fold without fight!!

@Nazrafel - they didn't have much choice. Dems do NOT have a veto-proof majority in Congress. Bush has already vetoed several of these spending bills and the government was in danger of shutting down if the spending bills don't get passed and signed.

The omnibus spending bill included an increase in Title X family planning funding and nixed the original increase in abstinence-only funding, keeping it level-funded.

Not bad considering we have (barely) a simple majority only in both chambers.

There have been fights - this spending issue has been going on for months and months.

We can blame Bush and the GOP all we want, but when it comes down to it, the Democrats are pretty much bending over and taking it. This is the *perfect* example of why the 2 party system if failing. I encourage everyone to protest BOTH the Democratic and Republican national conventions next year.