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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2004)
’TAl Steen Jting p Opinion The Battalion age 9 • Monday, February 23, 2004 isordj thisti ■v Stui >b saii A.IDS epidemic still unaddressed ]ush has yet to act on his State of the Union promise to fight AIDS globally ' I roi IPr lootiog crowd to id fiski kn» rfcnumberofAIDS cases sky- rockets globally, although >r S A president Bush continues to talk ,kisr^ AIDS iniIia,ive - H " has eafi, a lo act on past promises ot 8 jdressing AIDS, yet he is already mak- dersl pew ones, which will just as likely ] (n ePlected. Lives might have been avedand suffering ameliorated had he eatolpted to combat the global epidemic dtosi i a course of aggressive action as he to J romised the American public months ago. lo his 2003 State of the Union address, get lx» lush said he would contribute $15 billion over rderso IKXtfive years as part of an international jcove, lortto prevent new AIDS infections, provide p,™ mi-retroviral treatment and care for infected lividuals and orphans. ()n the one year niversary of that pledge, “not a dollar has jeon released, and not a single pill has reached Mphands of a person with HIV in developing ouotries because of the president’s AIDS ilaii," Allison Dinsmore of lealth Global Access Project oftt,f ill Africa News. The only ile results of the presi- Itiit’s plan are the three mil- oiipeople who have lost ieirlives to AIDS since he lings wed to help them. ITieneed to follow through Is dpt tsuchpledges is imperative. 'ancisci f ciment inadequate levels of are maintained, the y° r NfloWAIDS epidemic will for another 30 to (Oyeais, at which point the Bilier of cases worldwide nj)’be as many as a billion, ccording to Africa News. Only with election year pressure necessitating action tasBushrecently appointed Randall Tobias as .AIDS coordinator. The first round of puts,about $350 million, is scheduled to be released soon. fever, this revival of Bush’s AIDS initia- hesenes purposes of bureaucracy more aptly liffl clarity. Instead of granting money to African groups, lias will distribute much of it to American Ifflractors at the discretion of each country’s pencanambassador, as reported in The New Ruunes. Not only will this system result in pier costs for the same services, as American Factors are more expensive, but it is also pucive to discrepancies between the ambas- *1® agendas and each country’s needs. Furthermore, Bush continues to request less MAIL CALL LINDSAY ORMAN mens, ittend il’s Gran urple wean :kers fi Iheewi idPbyf ’siesta years heyucn s m The need to follow through on such pledges is imperative. If current, inadequate levels of funding are maintained, the global AIDS epidemic will not plateau for another 30 to 40 years. money per year than Congress has approved for his initiative, revealing a lack of enthusiasm and commitment to the project. Congress authorized $3 billion a year, of which Bush asked for only $2 billion the first year. Only 10 percent of that money was allotted for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which the United States helped create and is now choosing to bypass — despite its record of efficiency and effectiveness — a grave error on Bush’s part. In donations to the Global Fund, the United States plays a particularly pivotal role, as other countries base their contributions pro portionately. Currently, the United States contributes less than any other G8 country based on Gross Domestic Product, accord ing to Africa News, which amounts to a “prescription for disaster for millions of sick and dying people,” in the words of John Iverson of Health GAP. Reports indicate that Bush will again request less than the allowed $3 billion for the next fiscal year beginning in July, according to LRP Publications. Withholding the appor tioned funds is charac teristic of the ineffec tiveness of Bush’s disap pointing AIDS initiative, which pours more fund ing into promoting absti nence-only education than into providing treat ment and realistically dealing with prevention by distributing condoms. Bush needs to cooperate with the Global Fund rather than build a separate, unilateral program if he aims to improve the condition of AIDS victims and curtail the global epidemic. His current plan has been utterly futile: “After an entire year, less than 1 percent of the two million peo ple he promised in his 2003 address would receive AIDS treatment are actually receiving it,” Global AIDS Alliance President Paul Zeitz told LRP. This is a painful fact that cannot continue to go unnoticed. Lindsay Orman is a senior English major. Graphic by Rylie Deyoe Ihembering Ustopher Lawler pfewould like to begin by apologiz- R to all in the Aggie family for the DS'o event that occurred last May evening. the many 0 f you who did not ir c ™ s ’ I 0 * us tell you that he was F er y bright, compassionate, loving pcanng young man. He was not ln 1 kut he loved and respected M most of the things that it has * 3een following the con- Lu an i5 comments of th e readers F °uld like to let them know that inn lift k 0 * 1)6611 offonded by any- LL k 1)66,1 re P° r ted and dis- E i The Battalion or that has L W ? en in the m ail call, but do I's needs ., ■ nan can that each individual' ™ que at a time like this. fL h eed to tot this pass while ^lS ,ln9 ' hattt '^ewill mostcer- Aj *i| | e ? 6s ln al1 of our llves when ! « h T rWhelmed ’ blJt P' ease I d,! Ci ,lnali,y of lite a " d 'he ,rdi! le,t behind irdiWflue's own eC ' S '° n 0, ,ak ' i*om? Ilte t0 close b y askin 9 '° r C V6n6SS and prayers for "'ParfoiI aS » IWays very proud t0 the Aggie family. Lawler, parents of ustopher Anthony Lawler ircM in irch? 6-23 14-1? 14-2® /ak! unity your ‘AMil 23 Mr"" s hould bring *99*5 together eSPOnse t0 a F eb. 19 mail call: After J ^^-day’s mail call, I fl^^tt e heD:' S,yChan ' SCOm - I s * 16 didn’t Hr- 6 ^ lamon d Darlings, luce® orp Us ql . all the way up from latiu 11 Dailingg wh !. 0 , see the Diamond ip uS ' Pas ttlieni an H dldnt sfle just walk *" a "9tow»T.! akeapos,er?lt is great weekend of baseball could be ruined by a poster with a group of girls who all share Ms. Chan’s love of baseball. Every day, people write in to mail call to complain about everything under the sun. While some of the topics such as race factors in admis sions, use of student funds and political opinions are certainly worthwhile topics to debate about, baseball should be something that brings us all together. Aggie base ball is something that people should come out and enjoy and use the time at the ballpark to forget about complaining about the trivial things in life. Why this person wasted her time to complain about an organiza tion that does more work per person than any other organization on cam pus is beyond me. As an officer for the A&M Iron Spikes, I have had the chance to see the Diamond Darlings dedication to the baseball program first hand. These girls spend so much of their time helping to promote the baseball team that they often don’t even get the chance to watch the game. To attack an organization that is one of the hardest working on campus is laughable, and I hope that Ms. Chan’s letter hasn’t misled any others into looking at the Diamond Darlings in a negative way. Cale Vennum Class of 2005 Iron Spikes Liaison The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less and include the author’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters tor length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843- 1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mail- Proposed ‘morality clause’ should stick to specifics afm , : 11 lo 1111. rax: tv/y; our-hour drive and a call@thebattalion.net T he chatter over the water cooler is dying down, parents’ outrage has subsided and the shock of Superbowl XXXVIIFs half time show has faded. Everyone has moved on and returned to pre-“wardrobe malfunction” life. Everyone except Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack. Radack is determined to prevent a similar debacle from ever happening again in a county-owned building by adding a “morality clause” to all enter tainers’ contracts. The buildings that would be affected by this clause include Reliant Stadium, Reliant Center and the Astrodome. Although county officials have every right to limit which acts may perform in the county’s buildings and what the acts can consist of, they must be careful to be specific in the word ing of the clause and be consistent in the policy’s enforcement so as to not violate the performers’ First Amendment rights. First of all, the county has the right to place restrictions on what can and cannot be done in its buildings, including musical performances. Although some might object that any restrictions would violate the First Amendment, they would most likely not be quick to object to the county refusing to allow a musical group that promotes racial violence to perform in one of its buildings. So the issue at hand is not the fact that Radack wishes to limit perform ers’ shows, but how far the county can go to do this. The Houston Chronicle reported that the behavior that Radack wishes to restrict includes suggestive lyrics, suggestive dance moves, nudi ty and abuse of the U.S. flag. These extremely vague terms must be more clearly defined should a morality clause be written. Who defines what “sugges tive lyrics” are? Does this mean profanity? Sexual innu endos? Any potentially offen sive words? Some might feel offended by Everclear’s light-hearted, nostalgic references to drugs and phone sex in “Learning How to Smile,” while others might be morally unscathed by the sounds of Eminem screaming at, beating and murdering his wife in “Kim.” There must be a clear definition of what suggestive lyrics are; otherwise, it is inevitable that performers will be targeted unequally. County officials... must be careful to be specific in the wording of the clause and be consistent in the policy's enforcement so as to not violate the performers' First Amendment rights. Similar problems arise with “sug gestive dance moves.” Society has moved far beyond the days when Elvis’ hip movements were considered obscene. Today it is difficult to judge what kind of dancing, if any, the pub lic finds offensive. The county would do best to focus on limiting the extreme, such as dance moves that imitate sexual activity. As for nudity, although the sight of someone’s bare bottom is less offen sive to most people than full frontal nudity, there is nothing wrong with a complete ban on nudity. Most of the time, any sort of nudity exists solely for shock or excitement purposes and does not contribute to the performance as a whole. Finally, it is best that the county does not include anything about flags. In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson ruled that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment. In United States v. Eichman, the Supreme Court struck down the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which sought to eliminate all forms of “contempt” for the flag, including “publicly mutilating, defacing, defil ing, burning or trampling” it. Although some forms of abuse of the U.S. flag are utterly tasteless and unnecessary (such as Kid Rock’s American flag poncho). The county does not have the right to limit that sort of behavior. This will always be the case unless Congress passes a constitutional amendment to “pro tect” the flag, something that has been tried many times but luckily has failed. Frankly, a morality clause is not a bad idea, as no freedoms are absolute. Radack must ensure that the wording of the clause is made clear and explicit and that the county realizes its limit. Cody Sain is a junior philosophy major.