The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 23, 2004, Image 9

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Opinion
The Battalion
age 9 • Monday, February 23, 2004
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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
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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.