All the news that's unfit

Damn, there's a lot of news out there today but I'm just going to pick up one issue at a time (actually 2 because I can't help myself).

Today I'll spend a moment in the HIV mines and then a brief moment with J.Mac.

1. Knowing a country by the company it keeps

What do the following countries have in common?

Armenia
Colombia
Qatar
Russia
Iraq
Oman
Saudi Arabia
South Korea
Solomon Islands
Sudan
United States
Yemen

Any guesses? All of these countries prevent people with HIV from entry. Period. No exceptions.

This means that your friend with HIV visiting from the UK best not have his meds on him. It also means that the U.S. has not hosted the International AIDS Conference since the Act went into effect in 1987. This means that before every other scientific conference on HIV, numerous scientists, officials and community activists are effectively sneaking into this country.

The European Commissioner for Justice, Jacques Barrot, has raised the issue of people with HIV being banned from entry with Michael Chertoff, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, asking for the reason people with HIV remain barred from entry after all these years.

As HIV remains the only disease in the Immigration and Nationality Act that makes it inadmissible for entry in the United States we are far behind any sort of scientific rationale and we are still making laws based on fear, judgment and knee jerk reactionism.

Progressive-minded senators on both sides of the aisle have added a provision to repeal the ban to Senate legislation to reauthorize PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Section 305 of the Tom Lantos & Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (S. 2731) will repeal that ban.

To support the repeal, please email your senator to support this act.

It is ridiculous that my colleagues with HIV cannot come to this country to work. Not to mention, Andrew Sullivan may have to go back from whence he came, which frankly, sucks on so many levels. Mostly it sucks that I have to support Andrew Sullivan.

2. John McCain needs to think and then rethink. And then maybe think again.
John. Seriously? You don't believe in gay adoption? That's what you said. Here's the transcript from the New York Times (07/13/08):

Q: President Bush believes that gay couples should not be permitted to adopt children. Do you agree with that?

Mr. McCain: I think that we’ve proven that both parents are important in the success of a family so, no I don’t believe in gay adoption.

Q: Even if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents.

Mr. McCain: I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents.

So here, let me parse this out for a moment. You and Cindy are adoptive parents. You believe that that girl, who was in need of medical treatment when you adopted her from Bangladesh 17 years ago would have been better off in that orphanage than with same gender parents. I would like for you to explain this.

Today, while news media is reporting that McCain is "backing off his previous statement," what he actually said (through his communications director) was that it is a "state issue." Which actually isn't a position at all. It's a cop out.