GOP Senators to Goosby:
What About HIV Drugs for Uganda?

(The U.S. ambassador for global HIV efforts, Dr. Eric Goosby.)

At a time of loudly reverberating silence from AIDS Inc about the failure of President Obama to present the America public with his National AIDS Strategy, let's laud this development. This excerpted report is from Science Speaks:

Five Republican U.S. senators recently sent a pointed letter to US Global AIDS Ambassador Eric Goosby, MD, asking for a clear response to reports that patients are being denied HIV therapy in Uganda and that clinicians elsewhere are “being forced to ration lifesaving treatment.”

The letter, signed by Sens. Michael Enzi of Wyoming, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and others, says the lawmakers are increasing concerned “that these reports signal a troubling direction of the current PEPFAR strategy.”

“…[T]he clear innovation of PEPFAR is its focus on treatment,” the senators write. “After all, treatment is prevention. Reductions in viral loads reduce the likelihood of individuals spreading the disease. Treatment also reduces transmission among partners, diminishes mother-to-child transmission, and keeps those with HIV in the medical system where they can receive proper counseling. The availability of treatment is integral to promoting HIV/AIDS testing and early diagnosis. After all, how can we continue to promote testing when the program is not able to provide treatment?”

Yeah, what the hell is going on with America's commitment to lead a life-extending drug program for HIV poz people around the planet?

It's disgusting that the domestic AIDS Inc orgs aren't raising public objections over delays with the White House delivering a National AIDS Strategy, and they and their global AIDS Inc counterparts are in mute mode over the Obama administration not keeping all of our international HIV drug delivery commitments.

The GOP senators also note that in the reauthorization of PEPFAR, Congress specifically mandated that more than half of bilateral AIDS money be spent on lifesaving medical care for HIV positive patients and said they were concerned that the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator might not be “taking adequate steps to meet these statutory requirements.”

This is good. Senators asking questions and insisting on some very real public accountability. Click here to read the full letter.

They ask Dr. Goosby to answer a half-dozen or questions, including the total number of people expected to receive treatment in 2010; the treatment allocation, as a percentage of PEPFAR’s budget, in FY2009; and an explanation of PEPFAR’s policy on whether savings achieved in treatment programs can be used to further expand treatment slots.

That last item is particularly worrisome among some advocates who have heard that implementers are being told any cost-efficiencies they find in their treatment programs cannot be used to add patients to the rolls.

As an American taxpayer concerned about our AIDS promises and programs to people with HIV and AIDS everywhere, I want Goosby to quickly respond to the GOP senators.

Prop 8's Judge Walker, at Gay Restaurant,
Asked to 'Come Out'

After the great IDAHO kiss-in at Harvey Milk Plaza last night, I saw Judge Vaughn Walker having drinks at a restaurant in the Castro. I snapped two photos of him with his dining companion, Brett Andrews the Positive Resource Center, then had a short exchange with him inside the restaurant.

My photos and short report are posted at the SFAppeal.com news site.

SF Gay Kiss-In for IDAHO;
Small Crowd, Huge Passion

(May 17 IDAHO public display of affection, with the Castro Theatre in the background. Photo credit: Bill Wilson.)

An estimated 35 gay activists staged a small, but enormously passionate kiss-in yesterday at San Francisco's historic Harvey Milk Plaza, as part of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).

Despite a steady rain, truly beautiful people showed up. Some of the folks included gay politicians Rebecca Prozan and Rafael Mandelman, SF Movie Bears coordinator Dave Hayes, Rainbow World Fund leader Jeff Cotter, Nadia Winsted of the Market Street Medical Marijuana Coop. We also had transgender activists Armandine Legare and Victoria Camp, Gary Virginia and Tommi Avicolli Mecca of Gays Without Borders/SF, Wanda Whitaker of Global Exchange, and dozens of other gay people at the fun-filled, if wet, action of love.

We had a few very short speeches about the importance of IDAHO and reminding folks that there is homophobia in the Bay Area we need to combat. One example was the December 2008 gang rape by four men of a lesbian in the Bay Area city of Richmond. She was targeted first by having a rainbow pride flag sticker on her car.

To set a romantic mood, Gary Virginia brought out a boom-box, threw on a Dean Martin CD of classic love songs, and turned up the music to maximum volume.

One couple, two young gay men, and a slightly more mature bear couple, were the most passionate kissers of the day. Even when the action was officially over, both couples kept right on smooching.

One young man from Kansas identified as straight but kindly asked if he could wear a red kiss-in shirt and join the rally saying, "Things like this don't happen often in Kansas. This is great!" Another middle-aged man from the Midwest was in town for the city's Bay to Breakers race the day prior and said, "I'm not gay but I totally support equal rights for everyone. I don't know why it is such a big deal for people."

In attendance were reporters and cameramen from KPIX and KTVU, Bay Area Reporter photographer Rick Gerharter, a photographer from Getty Images, and independent media reps and bloggers.

This is a video activist Steven Crouch made today from his footage shot at yesterday's action:



Here is the fabulous story that ran on KTVU last night:




These are two more great photos from Bill Wilson, showing couples embracing and locking lips, all in the name of a wonderful cause: global gay solidarity:




Lots of big thanks and huge hugs to all the wonderful people who made the San Francisco kiss-in happen, even with the lousy weather. Our rainbow love was shining brightly yesterday, as it does everyday. And much gratitude to the IDAHO organizers and all the other global activists who had their own kiss-ins and visibility actions.

Let's all work together to make IDAHO 2011 the best yet!

Rain or Shine,
SF Gay Kiss-In Today at 5 PM

The weather prediction for San Francisco today calls for clouds and rain, and as I write this, a few drops are falling outside my window.

Regardless of the weather, rain or shine, the kiss-in for IDAHO, International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, will happen today, starting at 5 pm and going till 6 pm, at Harvey Milk Plaza, located at Castro and Market Streets.

Please join with dozens of gay people and maybe even a few straights, and participate in the kiss-in later today. We have great t-shirts from the IDAHO organizers in Paris to share, along with lots of individually-wrapped fresh breath mints for everyone.

Show up at 5 pm today at Milk Plaza and show your solidarity with the global gay activist movement!

GMHC: $3.6M Less Revenue;
ED = $210K; Lobbyists Dropped

I have a few kind things to say about the Gay Men's Health Crisis and the leaders of it, starting with thanks for posting your new IRS 990 report for 2009 on your web site. As a sunshine advocate who well knows how reluctant orgs are to share 990s on their web sites, let's applaud GMHC for this important act of transparency, and for being so current.

Look at page 1 and notice that the 990 was signed off on April 1, not even two months ago. All Gay Inc and AIDS Inc should follow GMHC's model and post their 990s as soon as the executive director accepts it from the accountants.

But I digress away from the figures in GMHC's 2009 tax filing, and the top news is that revenue was at $28.4 million in the previous year, while the current year's number was $24.8 million. They took in $3.6 million less.

That may explain the drop in compensation for the executive director, Marjorie Hill. She received a package of $224,889 in 2008, and the amount decreased to $210,456 in the following year.

This is amazing. An ED of an AIDS org earning less money, is so rare I can't recall it ever happening before, and I've been following AIDS Inc salaries for decades. Okay, the revenue declined, but I would still expect an ED of Hill's stature to somehow wrangle herself a raise.

Something else from the GMHC that caught my eye is the amount spent in 2008 on professional lobbyists. They spent $131,956 for the Malkin and Ross firm to lobby in Albany, and $139,007 on the expertise of M and R Strategic Services in Washington.

Seems wise to me for an org of this size to spend $270,963 on lobbyists, for various political and financial benefits that could return to the org's clients living with HIV/AIDS.

But in 2009, GMHC lists no lobbyists in the 990. Appears as though with the $3.6 million shortfall, not only were the salaries of top honchos scaled back, but the org also eliminated its professional lobbying.

Let's hope as the debate continues in NYC over GMHC's unwise move to Siberia and significant changes in services for people with AIDS, coupled with growing scrutiny of executive and board stewardship of the agency, that the IRS 990s become integral to the discussion.

What's Wrong With SF Chronicle's Clock?

As with so many daily newspapers these days, the SF Chronicle has suffered big losses in profits, but can't the parent Hearst Corporation afford a mechanic to fix both faces of the iconic tower's clock?

I was riding my bike down past Mission and Fifth Streets, and raised my head to see what the time was. At that moment, around 3:30 pm, the eastern face of the Chronicle's clock read 5:45-ish, while the northern face read noon/midnight. I had to snap a photo, for posterity's sake.

Guess one could say the broken Chronicle clock is right four times a day. Let's see how long it takes for the paper to get the timepiece to run properly. It's one of the little things that make the South of Market neighborhood so special.

[Update]

Reporter Carla Marinucci shares good news:

It is in the process of being fixed now FYI.

Rallies Planned Against GMHC's Move to Siberia

(The loading dock that is scheduled to be transformed into GMHC's separate entrance for people with AIDS at their new location. Image and bloody alteration by Marcelo Maia.)

The battle over the impending move of the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) to a difficult-to-access neighborhood in New York City will heat up in the coming days. Two rallies are scheduled to take place on May 19 and I encourage everyone who cares about the direct-care service needs of people with HIV/AIDS to attend.

Here's an announcement from Marcelo Maia, head of GMHC's Consumer Advocacy Board, regarding the rallies:

On Wednesday, May 19, from noon to 2 pm, we are having a huge rally in front of GMHC's building, located at 119 W. 24th Street, where we will be asking the CEO Dr. Marjorie Hill and the two Co-Chairs of GMHC Board of Directors Mathew Moore and Odell Mays II to step down.

Later on the same day, from 4 to 5 pm, we plan to have a second rally in front of 450 W 33rd St to avoid the sealing of the deal with that building’s owner.

We see visions of a gloomy future for GMHC clients including …

- Segregated entrance for People with AIDS. Clients must use a separate entrance while staff can use the main entrance;

- reinforcing HIV stigma, homophobia & racism.

Last week the Wall Street Journal ran an article about the divisions in the AIDS community over GMHC's intentions to relocate to what is essentially Manhattan's Siberia:

A plan to move Gay Men's Health Crisis from its Chelsea home has split the AIDS advocacy group, pitting longtime activists against the board and its executive director.

With the nonprofit's rent rising on its home of nearly 15 years, GMHC is negotiating to lease space on the West Side, near Hudson Yards. The new building, at 450 W. 33rd St., would force GMHC to end or severely change some programs currently offered, such as a medical clinic, a full dining hall and a research center. Critics say the move threatens its mission.

"If it goes through, the feeling is that many of the clients will go elsewhere because it's just too inconvenient to get there," said Larry Kramer, the playwright and co-founder of the organization. [...]

Larry circulated an open letter to the community about the looming move, and he places it in the larger context of St. Vincent's hospital recently shutting its doors and the loss of their health services for PWAs:

By sold down the river, is meant that because of landlord restrictions in the new lease, clients in this awful new location will be forced to receive less food, any access to any medical facilities, and to utilize “Jim Crow” separate entrance and elevator, as well as suffer the physical hardship of traveling to a neighborhood that is harshly served by anything remotely resembling accessible public transportation. [...]

Instead of fighting against this illegal discrimination [of landlords refusing to rent to AIDS orgs], the board and Dr. Hill have caved. Instead of demanding help from our Mayor and our elected officials Christine Quinn and Tom Duane, the board and Dr. Hill have caved. [...]

Can Chelsea, which has the highest proportion of hiv+ people in the city, afford to lose GMHC after having lost St. Vincent’s?

One hideous fact must be dealt with immediately. As I understand it (and believe me trying to get details out of the Soviet Russia atmosphere that exists now on West 24th Street is not easy), unless GMHC withdraws from negotiations by this coming Friday, May 14th, they will be forced to pay a penalty of several million dollars to WNET/PBS. One wonders what truly incompetent individual is negotiating for GMHC. [...]

One aspect to all of this that bothers me is the failure of the GMHC leadership circle to hold community forums, for the affected and infected populations they serve. This, ahem, community-based org has not roused itself to put on a single town hall. I'm getting lots of emails from NYC friends about all the machinations going on, and no one mentions a thing about GMHC organizing forums.

To their credit, GMHC leaders have created a page on their site addressing these concerns, and one thing stands out:

In keeping with this tradition [of being an open org], we are now in the process of organizing a Community Forum to address questions and concerns from our Clients, allies, staff and community stakeholders.

This is laudable, but I've long been over AIDS Inc groups waiting until a full-scale and red-hot crisis is upon them before getting their act together to treat the community with respect, and that means open-to-all public meetings. And hold them _before_ important decisions are made.

More Gays Visit the White House;
Trickle Down Community Benefit?

President Obama and his administration's top advisers have thrown open the White House doors, to welcome dozens of Gay Inc leaders and others from the gay community to the people's house. I've documented through searching the visitor logs that key gay leaders have had unprecedented access to the White House, and it's good to see that, and an administration showing genuine transparency regarding the logs.

But one question keeps nagging at me about the visits, and that is, what benefit is it to the millions of gays beyond the Beltway?

It's not enough that the gay elite are showing up at the White House for a handful of meetings or diversity briefings, bill signing ceremonies and cocktail receptions, or watching a movie or using the bowling alley, while the Obama administration delivers memorandums advancing small changes for us.

I wonder not only where is the fierce advocacy we were promised by Obama, but where is the Gay Inc butt-kicking to get Obama to spend political capital on our behalf?

There is an onus on the shoulders of the top gays visiting the White House to explain to the community how their access is helping the larger community. I can't fathom why the folks from HRC and NGLTF make no reports back to the community after they meet with the administration or enjoy the fun perks at the White House.

Gay Inc should be constantly informing us about their lobbying and partying with the administration. I'm not suggesting that we know every detail about every discussion taking place, but some broad outlines, with substance, should be shared with us.

I've searched the logs again, for the names of gay leaders outside of HRC and NGLTF, and one former HRC honcho, Winnie Stachelberg, to get a fuller picture of who's getting invited to the White House. Here's some new info, and if you click on the person's name you'll jump to their listing(s) in the logs and in most cases, a description of why they were at the White House:

Name: Steve Gunderson
Visits: 12

Name: Jamison Citron, Leonard Hirsch
Visits: 9

Name: Steve Elmendorf
Visits: 8

Name: Ben DeGuzman
Visits: 7

Name: Jeremy Bishop
Visits: 6

Name: Darcy Kemnitz, Winnie Stachelberg
Visits: 5

Name: Greg Varnum
Visits: 4

Name: Steven Hildebrand, Mark Glaze, Mara Keisling, Matt Nosanchuk,
Visits: 3

Name: David Bohnett, Mark Bromley, Joan M. Garry (thrice?), David Geffen, Donald Hitchcock (thrice?), Frank Kameny, Kate Clinton, Leah McElrath, Jared Polis, Cathy Renna, Andy Tobias, Jeff Trammell, Paul Yandura, William Waybourn,
Visits: 2

Name: Tammy Baldwin, Jarrett T. Barrios, Aaron Belkin, Tom Duane, Adam Ebbin, Jody Huckaby, Ellen Malcom, David Mixner, Mark Perriello, Aubrey Sarvis, Richard Socarides, Chuck Wolfe,
Visits: 1

US Reps to Malawi:
Release Jailed Gay Couple

Back in December in the southern African nation of Malawi, two gay men, Tiwonge Chimbalanga (20, above left) and his partner Steven Monjeza (26, above right), held a marriage ceremony and declared their love for each other.

This act of defiance led to their arrests, and they're currently in jail, awaiting a judge's verdict that will come on Tuesday, May 18, regarding the charges they face. Malawi outlaws homosexual relations and each man faces up to 14 years in prison.

Longtime gay human rights advocate Peter Tatchell of London's OutRage! has been in touch with the couple, and is working on their behalf. Tiwonge and Steven recently sent a message to OutRage!, expressing gratitude:

"We are thankful for the people who have rallied behind us during this difficult time. We are grateful to the people who visit and support us, which really makes us feel to be members of a human family; otherwise we would feel condemned. All the support is well appreciated. We are grateful to everybody who is doing this for us."

Tatchell sums up their bravery thus:

"They have taken a pioneering stand for the right to love. They love each other, have harmed no one and believe that love should not be a crime. It is nobody’s business what they do in the privacy of their own home. There is no evidence that they have committed any crime under Malawian law. They should not be on trial or in prison."

And on May 6, Congressman Mark Kirk, a straight Republican from Illinois, along with Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, a lesbian Democrat from Wisconsin, introduced a House resolution calling on the Malawian government to release the imprisoned couple forthwith.

Even though more than a week has passed since Kirk and Baldwin put forward the resolution, I feel it's not too late to applaud their bi-partisan collaboration on behalf Tiwonge and Steven.

Over in Malawi, the Nyasa Times newspaper ran a story about the resolution, showing us that it had an impact. Here are excerpts from the resolution:

Calling on the Government of the Republic of Malawi to respect the fundamental human rights of its citizens, and for other purposes.

Whereas the 2009 United States Department of State Human Rights Report on Malawi found that `societal violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation occurred' and stated that `approximately 34 percent of gay men in the country had been blackmailed or denied services such as housing or healthcare due to their sexual orientation';

Whereas high levels of stigma and discrimination, exclusionary policies, and harsh criminal penalties against sexual conduct by consenting adults constitute a fundamental human rights violation and also discourage individuals from accessing needed health services or disclosing their sexual activities to healthcare providers, thereby perpetuating the fear and silence that seriously impede global efforts to reduce incidence of HIV infection;

Whereas, on December 28, 2009, Mr. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Mr. Steven Monjeza, citizens of the Republic of Malawi, were arrested by the Malawian authorities on charges of `committing acts of gross indecency with another male person';

Whereas Mr. Chimbalanga and Mr. Monjeza remain imprisoned and have been repeatedly denied bail, while reports indicate that Mr. Monjeza's health has drastically deteriorated during the prolonged detention; [...]

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) calls for an immediate release of Mr. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Mr. Steven Monjeza in accordance with international law and on humanitarian grounds;

(2) urges the Government of the Republic of Malawi to urgently address the pervasive violation of human rights in Malawi and the criminalization of conduct by consenting adults; and

(3) encourages the Secretary of State to closely monitor human rights abuses in Malawi that occur based on sexual orientation and to encourage the release of those individuals detained solely on the basis of sexual orientation.

Larry Kramer: For Obama,
Gays & PWAs = Shit

(Protesters demonstrated tonight in Manhattan against President Obama's sloooow course of action on HIV/AIDS issues. The sign reads "Obama to People With AIDS: Wait to Die.)

Like so many other AIDS activists, I applauded President Obama when he overturned the terrible U.S. travel and immigration ban on HIV positive people, but I am have a difficult time thinking of other significant steps he has taken on AIDS issues.

A fine example of the administration's good intentions is the loooong process the White House Office of National AIDS Policy is employing in developing the National AIDS Strategy. Here we are, more than 16 months into the Obama tenure, countless discussions and meetings have taken place to create the strategy, and all we have to show for it are promises for more talking.

Let me remind the Obama administration and all the AIDS Inc orgs that are not raising their voices demanding a National AIDS Strategy forthwith -- people with AIDS are still fighting for our lives. We'd like some old-fashioned passionate and public advocacy.

Well, tonight thanks to members of ACT UP/NYC, ACT UP/Philly and HealthGap, including many people living with HIV, there was a serious effort to deliver a message to Obama to move his butt on our issues.

Writer and longtime gay and AIDS activist Larry Kramer was at the protest, and he sent around his comments, which I'm reposting in full. Maybe, just maybe, Obama's senior advisers and AIDS Inc leaders will find some inspiration in Larry's remarks, and will end the silence about failed presidential leadership.

The time for the National AIDS Strategy from Obama was yesterday.

REMARKS MAKE BY LARRY KRAMER AT ACT UP/HealthGap DEMONSTRATION AGAINST OBAMA, THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2010, ST. REGIS HOTEL, NEW YORK CITY:

Obama is not my president. Obama is not your president. Obama does not like AIDS. Obama does not like gays. Now what are we going to do about it? Because we continue to sit on the sidelines while our world is denied us, yes, our world, which is as much our world as anyone else’s, is denied us. Our rights are denied us. Our love is denied us. We are even denied the right to fight for our country. How long must we be denied all of this before we truly rise up in united anger!

Why is it always so hard for us to fight back? This man does not like us. When someone does not like you, you fight back. This Obama who is not my president and not your president obviously does not like us. It is not a secret. Day after day and week after week and month after month he tells us he does not like us. He tells us! He does not keep this a secret. His government does not like us. His chief of staff does not like us. His Attorney General does not like us. His Department of Justice does not like us. His Generals do not like us. His Department of Health and Human Services does not like us. This is not a new situation for us.

President after President have treated us so badly. Ronald Reagan. George Bush the first. Bill Clinton. George Bush the second. Barack Obama. They have all treated us like… shit. Like little pieces of shit that they can step on with their heels and grind into the ground. Obama is treating us just like that. Like little pieces of shit he can grind into the dirt with his heel to make us go away. I wish you could see that. I wish you could see what he is doing to us for for what it is. He is manipulating us into invisibility. He HAS manipulated us into invisibility. Our people in Washington live in a never-never cloud cuckoo-land, thinking that this man likes us, not responding as, little by little, he take bits and pieces of us away. That is how they control us. Can’t you see that? Why can’t our people in Washington see that? They give them a dinner as they take away another right.

How long are we going to allow ourselves to be treated with such disdain, to be cast way in such an unwanted and disposable and ignoble fashion?

We forget what miracles we once were able to accomplish. Every single treatment for HIV/AIDS is out there because of us. If they are out there because of us, why can’t all the people waiting for Ryan White meds get them? Why can’t over 90% of the rest of the world get them? We did not fight for them just for ourselves. So many dead young men fought as activists for those drugs to save the world and this Obama will not let them save the world. Little by little he takes away our Ryan White drugs in America and our PEPFAR drugs for the rest of the world and our AIDS organizations and clinics everywhere so he can grind even more people with his heel into the earth like little helpless smelly pieces of shit. Yes, this man, like all his rotten hateful predecessors treats us like shit.

I am so tired of being treated like shit.

I wish you could realize that my words and my language and my vocabulary are not too strong. They are not strong enough!

I beg of us all. Re-assemble! Re-unite! Fight back once more with the passion and honor and truth and unity and brotherhood as we once did. We once accomplished miracles. Why do we not recall our glorious fights and build anew upon them? They treat us like shit because we let them treat us like shit. When will we get that into our heads and hearts and fight back?

How effective and fierce and unstoppable we can be when we take action together. The only reason we got those drugs is because of direct action, mobilization, fighting back. That is the reality of what we have been able to accomplish. We are alive, for those of us who are still alive, because we saved ourselves! When we fought back rudely and together, we were able to achieve miraculous victories. I take these victories, as do many of you, every morning with my breakfast.

This Obama president made a commitment to ensure that America does its fair share to fight AIDS, in Africa, in America, and around the world. He has broken that promise. He, like Clinton, has lied to us. He does not like us, this president, as the other presidents did not like us. We are not a part of their American People. He does not want us to get married, he does not want us to fight for our country, he does not want to end the plague of AIDS.

We must have the presence of mind and the force of character to insist that he and his society are wrong and we are right.

Do you need to know any more than this? This is all you need to know. And that once upon a time we accomplished miracles.

Can we do it again? Oh, please, can we do it again?