Last year, on the occasion of
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_AIDS_Day">World
AIDS Day, President Bush promised to reform a discriminatory
policy that blocks most persons with HIV from entering the USA.
The current rule does allow for waivers, but the process is cumbersome
and unscientific.
Now, one week after this year's World AIDS Day, we learn that the
proposed new rule is worse than the one it would
replace.
As reported in
href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/91059.php">Medical
News Today:
The proposed rule further discriminates
against visitors with HIV by denying them the possibility of extending
their visa or applying for residency. Furthermore, it does nothing to
address a fundamental flaw in U.S. policy barring people with HIV from
entering the United States.
"The proposed rule adds barriers to the already burdensome and
stigmatizing process for people living with HIV seeking to enter the
United States," Dr. Bardeguez added. "There is no public health
rationale for excluding people with HIV from this country.
Arlene Bardeguez, MD, MPH, is the Vice Chair of the
href="http://www.hivma.org/">HIV Medicine Association.
It's hard to know what to say about this, except Bush is an evil
person. Given the choice between dong something guided by
science, or doing something that might, possibly, be politically
advantageous, he chooses the political path. Never mind that
it is such an obscure thing that the likelihood of any real political
advantage is vanishingly small.
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what i can say is that bush didn't do much to advance HIV research. He just focuses on war.
The Bush Administration knows how the media works.
Big announcements get the front page news and all the air time on TV, as pundits discuss what this policy will mean for their political chances. The actual policy can be completely opposite of the actual promise, since news of regulation changes is put on page 12, gets no television coverage, and unless the reporter is on the ball, won't be compared to previous statements.
I've lost count the number of times the Bush administration has announced a big projects with a great title, then promptly turned that title into an orwellian cover for bad policy.