"I commend the sponsors for putting forward legislation that seeks to reduce injection-related diseases. Stopping the spread of injection-related diseases in New Jersey is a primary public health concern that requires a comprehensive approach."
--Chris Christie after signing over-the-counter needle exchange legislation.
For the past year Governor Christie has ignored the will of NJ voters and a bi-partisan majority in the State House and refused to allow the state's medical marijuana plan to proceed.
(State House)--Today in Trenton the Senate Judiciary Committee will meet to confirm (or not...) the Department of Health's new chief commissioner. That role was vacated by Dr. Poonam Aleigh who recently got her head rolled resigned -- supposedly to care for a dying relative. It's unlikely that's the only reason she left considering she's already been shortlisted for a new executive job.
Anyway, Governor Christie has nominated Mary O'Dowd to be the new commish. She happens to be married to Kevin O'Dowd, one of Christie's top legal advisers. Senator Nick Scutari chairs the judiciary committee that will decide Mary O'Dowd's fate today. He's also the primary sponsor of NJ's Medical Marijuana law (that NJ's Health Department is supposed to be overseeing....) Because Senator Scutari is the chairman of this committee, he can pin her down for answers about WTF the medical marijuana law continues to languish. If her answers are evasive or unsatisfying, her appointment could be held up.
Today is World AIDS Day. Sadly, on account of Governor Chris Christie, folks with HIV/AIDS (plus cancer) won't have legal access to medical marijuana to help manage their treatments.
I hope you'll take a peek at this video and PLEASE pass it around to anyone whose heart might need softening. Because being terminally ill is hard enough without being a criminal to boot.
Congratulations to Blue Jersey's Jay Lassiter, who hit #96 on the mostly-annual Power List put out by politickernj. Here's what politicker had to say about Jay:
96
Jay Lassiter
Progressive Activist The Blue Jersey blogger is an iconoclast, tech savvy media artiste, street warrior for marriage equality, and un-intimidated presence in the halls of Trenton power as he aggressively pursues liberal causes. He squeaked out the readers' choice poll but would have made this year's list either way.
We're so damned proud. Provocateur, storyteller and fashion plate, Jay was the first blogger to cover the NJ State House, one of the first bloggers anywhere to become a routine presence in covering any state legislature, as the New York Times noted when they profiled Jay. In an earlier iteration, when the world was young, Blue Jersey founder Juan Melli was named Politician of the Year (2006) and #17 Most Powerful (2007).
... Nobody else but Jay Lassiter would nail NOM like this.
... Or rock out elections on two continents.
... Or go with Loretta Weinberg and get it on video when she did this.
... And who the hell else would dare to do this.
The rest of politicker's Power List, most of the numbers higher than Jay's, aren't like him. Let's face it. Most of those folks are on the list because they spend their waking hours jockeying for position, or positioning those jockeying for position. Or they bring the money, honey. Jay's blue plate special is bringing the hearts and minds. He's Blue Jersey Fresh and Juicy. Congratulations #96.
The law as enacted - and signed by former Gov. Jon Corzine in January - is already the toughest among the medical marijuana laws passed by 13 other states in recent years. Christie's heavy-handed modifications are most definitely a reflection of his aversion to it from the start. He already sought to delay the program's implementation for a year. This might sound like minutes to Washington bureaucrats, but for a patient wasting away from AIDS or suffering from chemo-inducing nausea, it could very well be a lifetime.
This might be the future - citizens work hard to change things democratically, in this case, marijuana reform, and politicians and institutions that don't like it, get their revenge in the rule-making process, which is not so democratic. Nor very liberty-loving.
Anybody got any suggestions how tomake our Governor pay a political price for his (universally) unpopular position? Let's brainstorm.
Nearly 1,000 New Jersey residents with HIV/AIDS will be immediately enrolled in a new drug benefit program that will provide free AIDS medications to individuals between 300 and 500 percent of the federal poverty level.
The new program is specifically designed for approximately 960 people enrolled in the existing Aids Drug Distribution Program (ADDP) who will no longer be eligible as of Sunday, August 1. The eligibility change was part of the Department's efforts to address a nearly $11 billion state budget shortfall.
Health and Senior Services Commissioner Dr. Poonam Alaigh explained that the state learned this month that it will receive approximately $5 million in additional rebates recently negotiated from pharmaceutical companies and that-along with newly available federal AIDS grant funding--will enable the Department to automatically transfer those no longer eligible for the ADDP program into the new program called the Temporary AIDS Supplemental Rebate and Federal Assistance Program.
The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors recently convened a crisis task force which successfully negotiated additional rebates from pharmaceutical companies in response to cost containment efforts that many states were forced to make. In addition, New Jersey expects to receive a share of a new federal ADDP grant program announced earlier this month by U.S. Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
"The Department faced extremely difficult budget choices and worked continuously to explore every possible option to reverse this reduction and to maintain access. As a physician, I know how important these life-saving medications are to individuals with HIV and AIDS," said Commissioner Alaigh. "New pharmaceutical rebates and federal funds made available after July 1 enabled us to create this new benefit program to ensure that individuals continue to receive these critical medications."
Dr. Alaigh said the transfer from ADDP to the new program "will be virtually seamless. This is another example of Gov. Chris Christie's commitment to help New Jersey's most vulnerable.''
With the 18th International HIV/AIDS Conference going on now in Vienna, the news has remained depressingly similar over the last 10 years. Yes, treatments have improved significantly and there have been other important developments, but over this period there has been each year about 55,000 Americans newly infected and an even larger number who lack proper access to care. The White House just released its National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which calls for steps to reduce the annual number of new H.I.V. infections and increase the proportion of newly diagnosed patients linked to clinical care.
Data from our Department of Health indicates that since the beginning of the epidemic in NJ there have been 73,800 documented individuals with HIV/AIDS, of which 38,788 have passed away and 35,102 remain alive. The HIV-related health disparities are particularly pronounced in NJ where one in 62 Blacks and one in 184 Hispanics are living with HIV/AIDS vs. one in 701 Whites. The number of people who were exposed through injection drug use has shown a downward trend between 2005 and 2009, while those exposed through male-to-male or heterosexual contact has continued to increase. 31% of our cases, higher than in other states, are women.
The problem is that internationally wealthy donor nations are reducing their funding, nationally the White House's plan does not propose an increase in funding, and in NJ our governor and legislature are cutting funding. In our NJ budget there is a reduction in the number of individuals who qualify for the state drug distribution program, a $5 million cut in the HIV rapid testing program, and increases in medical co-pays. As the NY Times has editorialized, "Slowing the spread of H.I.V. will require multiple approaches. The challenge will be to find enough money at a time of limited resources when AIDS financing has flattened out."
Discrimination, stigma, and public apathy remain as significant barriers. However, they existed initially with cancer as well, but Americans, regardless of whether they thought they were at risk for cancer, united to demand solutions. Every nine-and-a-half minutes, another person in the United States becomes infected with HIV, and many of them will struggle for access to care. We must continue demanding more and better research, prevention, testing, treatment, and access for all Americans. Imagine how much better off we would be if 25% of our current war budget were transferred to improving our health.
The City of Newark held an event today to launch their "Status is Everything" campaign and frankly we all should pay attention. The fact that AIDS is now a disease that can be controlled through treatment means it's all the more important to get tested.
The social marketing campaign is a partnership between the African American Office of Gay Concerns and the Mayor's Office's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Commission to use traditional and modern social media to provide 24-hour instant access to local HIV/AIDS testing centers. The campaign will feature traditional large-scale outdoor advertising and cutting-edge interactive functionalities like e-cards, and social media integration on StatusisEverything.org, the campaign's official website.
"Since my administration took office in 2006, we have taken significant strides to unite create a healthier Newark," Mayor Booker said. "Today is another example of a great community partnership which is using 21st-century technology to communicate a simple message to persons at risk: get yourself tested for HIV and AIDS. Only with the health of our residents can we build a stronger, safer, prouder City."
Timothy Daniels, a 22-year-old regional AIDS and HIV activist pictured below, said:
"Young people need to speak directly to other young people because they will listen. You can save your life by knowing whether or not you have HIV or AIDS. This campaign reaches people's hearts and it the best way to get the message out there. By using social media and new technology, the organizers of this campaign have taken the time, and maintained the courage to get this message out into the community,"
According to the City of Newark, there have been 50,694 cases of AIDS in New Jersey and there were 13,218 people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) in the Newark area as of December 31, 2008. The Ryan White act is important in their lives:
The Newark EMA's Ryan White program provides care and treatment to almost 7,000 people, which is approximately 51% of the total infected population throughout the EMA. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program was established by Congress in 1990 through the CARE Act and was last reauthorized in 2009 and renamed the Ryan White Treatment Extension Act.
Below is an alphabetical list of NJ pols who voted YES on medical marijuana. If you know -- or are rep'd by -- anyone on this list, take note. Hopefully you'll get a chance to thank them one day.
From the Senate (Republicans in bold):
Senate:
Baroni,
Bateman,
Beach,
Buono,
Ciesla,
Cunningham,
Gill,
Girgenti,
Gordon,
Kean,
Lesniak,
Pennacchio,
Ruiz,
Sacco,
Sarlo,
Scutari,
Singer,
Smith,
Stack,
Sweeney,
Turner,
Van Drew,
Vitale,
Weinberg, and
Whelan
When the NJ Senate and Assembly overwhelmingly passed a medical marijuana bill yesterday it put the Garden State in line to be the 14th state in the union to decriminalize cannabis for sick people.
Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll has the QOTD in this one for sure.
I've posted so many videos on this site and elsewhere I can't hardly remember them all, but this issue is possibly the most satisfying day I've has as an activist since the Obama/Alder double victory.
So take a minute to meet the heros of this battle.
According to the state Department of Health & Senior Services, more than 35,000 persons were reported living with HIV or AIDS in New Jersey, with minorities accounting for 76 percent of adult and adolescent cases and 78 percent of all persons living with the disease.
State-level data indicates the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS in New Jersey dropped to 924 last year, smallest since annual records began to be kept in 1990. At its peak in 1992, 6,593 cases were identified in a single year and 4,071 deaths were recorded. Last year, 29 deaths in HIV/AIDS cases were reported ? the smallest number on record, and down every year since 1992, or 15 straight years of declines.
The Health Department says New Jersey ranks fifth among the states with more than 70,890 cumulative AIDS cases and has one of the highest percentages of women who have the disease. The proportion of cases resulting from drug use is down, though still high, while the share of people exposed through sexual contact is rising.
They also provided county and municipal statistics. The numbers appear to be trending down, but there is still much more to be done. Consider this an open thread to share your thoughts, opinions and feelings twenty years later. How has AIDS affected you, your friends or your family?
Today, a bombshell article in The New Republic (TNR) exposed what many of us thought to be true?that Chris Smith's misguided priorities go far deeper than his twenty-two attempts to ban the common, everyday birth control pill.
Thanks to new investigative reporting by TNR's James Kirchick, we now know that Chris Smith is a founding member of the radical right. A reporter at TNR, Kirchick is the author of a highly-regarded article on Ron Paul's ties to segregationists; that article changed the national narrative on Paul earlier this year.
Kirchick's new article reveals that Chris Smith has longstanding ties to religious-right hate groups; that he sat on the board of advisers of a pro-racial segregation organization in the 1980s; that he authored legislation that would bar gays and lesbians from working openly as nurses, doctors, first responders, federal employees or federal contractors; and that he played a role in a vicious disinformation campaign about HIV/AIDS that demonized gays and lesbians as "serial killers." The article also reveals that Smith concealed campaign contributions from at least two hard-line, pro-segregation groups.
The New Republic only scratched surface of Smith's bigotry. Following up on TNR's reporting, this morning, the Zeitz campaign discovered Chris Smith not only worked with segregationists; he voted with them. In 1981, Chris Smith voted to restore non-profit status to segregated private schools [HR 4121, 7/30/81] that were created as a mechanism for white Southerners to avoid the full implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
The Zeitz for Congress campaign also obtained a copy of Chris Smith's early college writings. In an article dated 1973, Smith accused gays and lesbians of being in league with "the Anti-Christ":
In Smith's words:
"We can live in harmony with His [God's] spiritual laws and be like the man, as Christ said, who built on an undestructable [sic] rock, or we can live in disharmony with the Anti-Christ; the devil, not the laughable, fiery and character with horns, but the evil one often spoken of by Jesus and he like the man who built his life on sand which eroded and eventually fell. God wants us happy; His laws are for our welfare, our protection, not Sin!"
Chris Smith's bigotry goes beyond his early career. In the 1990s, Smith introduced legislation that would force any company or public entity that receives federal funds to fire openly gay employees. The legislation would deny gays and lesbians the right to work as teachers, doctors, nurses, first responders, federal contractors, or state and federal workers. It might even deny basic rights like student loans to gay college students.
What we've learned today:
Chris Smith is a founding member of the Religious Right, having sat on the advisory board of the Christian Voice. The Christian Voice strongly supported racially segregated private schools in the South and worked closely with Jerry Falwell.
Chris Smith voted to support segregation by allowing all-white private schools (which were created after forced-desegregation) to remain segregated.
Chris Smith failed to abide by FEC rules and report contributions from openly racist, misogynistic, and homophobic groups on the radical right.
Chris Smith introduced legislation in the 1990s to mandate that the government (or any recipients of federal funds, like local school district, fire departments, police departments and federal contractors) fire any openly gay employees. Openly gay individuals would have been barred from any receipt of federal funds such as school loans, food stamps or unemployment benefits.
"Chris Smith is an extremist," said Steven D'Amico, Zeitz for Congress campaign manager. "There is nothing moderate about racial segregation. There is nothing moderate about denying jobs and education to millions of gay Americans. There is nothing moderate about taking away the right to use common, everyday birth control. These are unacceptable positions that are out of step with basic human decency."
I'm asking you to do a couple of things here. Please make a contribution. Also, if you're in or near the district, please contact ian_at_joshzeitz_dot_com to volunteer.
We can win this race, and we need to do it in order to show New Jersey and the country that this kind of extremism is immoral and unacceptable, and voters will hold such extremists accountable.
A bipartisan coalition in Congress is working to pass legislation to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa, and you'll never guess which side Congressman Garrett and his ideological blinders are on. Matt Fretz:
This has to be a campaign commercial this year.
In his most recent post on Townhall.com, Representative Scott Garrett came out strongly against the compromise bill to re-authorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Here are Garrett's thoughts:
More than 25 million people have died from AIDS and many lawmakers want to extend this compassionate effort, but sadly this proposal does not help the people of Africa, it only hurts them.
Okay, here are the results of the program thusfar:
Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services for women during more than 10 million pregnancies;
Antiretroviral prophylaxis for women in over 827,000 pregnancies;
Prevention of an estimated 157,000 infant infections;
Care for more than 6.6 million, including care for more than 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children;
Over 33 million counseling and testing sessions for men, women and children.
While the days slowly get longer, here's a little something to chew on.
In November 'o8, we get a new president, but voters in New Jersey also vote for Senator. Which member of the GOP clowncar will take on the venerable Lautenberg? Anne Estabrook belches up this nugget. (Note to Anne: C'mon in!! The water's great! Try to spend as much as you can!)
What is of greater value: privacy rights or curbing AIDS? It's a really tough call IMHO. This pInky article points out some reasons why. Have a read and share your POV, won't ya?
Jon Bon Jovi for Governor? How about Senator? At any rate Jersey's second best rocker sure does seem to love his politics.
If ever there were a watertight argument for a veto-busting majority, THIS is it.
Looking for a good way to spend that Christmas cash, why not get yourself a union-made BlueJersey T-shirt? These purchases help us keep the lights on AND they look damn good, too! (Got a pic of yourself in the BlueJersey T? Leave it in the comments section!)
Tis the season to look back and examine NJ's roll inAmerican Revolutionary history. This week is Patriots week in Trenton with an amazing lineup of stuff going on in and/or around the Statehouse. This article suggests how tenuous that era was and -- goofy currents notwithstanding -- what might have been.
A bill was released yesterday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to the full Senate which would "test pregnant women for HIV as part of routine prenatal care unless the woman refuses testing and requires testing for all newborns for HIV.
The bill (s-2704) sailed through committee on a 9-0 vote. I gotta say, such unanimity is rare in Trentonia. At least on the committee hearings I go to.
Sens. Codey and Weinberg -- the bill's sponsors -- added their thoughts afterwards citing the importance of knowing your HIV status. Early.
Codey: "For newborns, early detection can be a life-saving measure.''
Weinberg: ''Early detection is the key to helping people living with HIV/AIDS to live longer with a better quality of life. Currently, we have the treatment available to help prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from mothers to their babies. This legislation would be a huge step forward to help protect all babies while helping to educate mothers.''
I think anytime more people are getting tested it's a good thing. But that's just me. Early detection is important too. Just ask my dead friend Kevin who never got tested until it was too late by which point he had full blown AIDS and a grapefruit sized tumor in his brain. After 6 months of dementia and wasting, Kevin died at thirty.
The reasons he never got tested were two fold: he was scared shitless of the results and the terrible stigma. I hasten to add, this was 1994 and times have certainly changed since then. But for many, this disease is still stigmatized which is why Sen. Codey suggests testing everyone should do it.
Codey: ''The additional benefit of testing every woman is that it reduces the stigma associated with testing only those based on their risk behaviors and should, as statistics show, make women less inclined to refuse the test.''
Where do you stand on this one? Do you believe that mandatory testing is a useful tool in fighting the AIDS crisis? Or would such a measure violate any libertarian sensibilities out there?
Aparently HIV transmission rates are on the rise in Trenton, and the numbers are particularly troubling for our black brothers and sisters. Yesterday, activists from Trenton and across the state attempted to address this. Have you been tested lately? Well have you?
A goofy compromise was struck in to allow smoking in 25% of the casino floors in Atlantic City. Am I the only one who's troubled by the notion that huge chunks of the state's economy are propped up by taxes from cigarettes and/or gambling revenue?
A decorated Iraq war soldier from NJ aparently "played a key role in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme that netted her a Cadillac Escalade, two handguns, prescription drugs and enough money to install a deck and hot tub at her home in Trenton." Ahhh, our taxes at work.
Speaking of taxes, Congressman Chris Smith wants to earmark an astonishing $100,000,000 to combat Lyme's disease in the state. I am sure that's music to the ears of someone with Lyme's, but what about more pressing health concerns like AIDS? There were ~3,400 cases of Lyme's in NJ last year. According to my math, that's about $30,000 per patient. Somewhere a big pharma exec is smiling.
That's all for today. If I missed something, then fire away in the comments.
I've been tending to sick family and away for a functioning computer for almost a week; I did so want to post this when Jay Lassiter was blogging up on World AIDS Day, but it's never too late.
If you, as a straight, progressive person, want to to do ONE SIMPLE THING to destigmatize AIDS, it is to get tested.
By your family physician. At the expense of your insurance company.
BECAUSE AIDS is a disease, not a marker for affectional orientation. To discriminate against you receiving the test because you appear to be straight (Oh, why do you need that, sez kindly Dr. Welby) or to discriinate against you because you DID take the test (we haven't got the whole good hand for you, Mr. Health Insurance Consumer, but here's one finger!) is, one the one hand, short-sighted and discriminatory, and on the other, short-sighted and illegal.
Assuming we both follow same sex guidelines, your chances of contracting AIDS are no great than mine. But assuming you don't need to be tested because you're straight, or than you needn't risk the warath of your insurer because you're straight, is palpable nonsense.
Of course, it IS a well-known fact that sometimes, some straight married men never engage in nooners with members of any and all sexes without using condoms, so being married and straight is proof you can't get AIDS, right?
When the Democrats regained the upperhand in the Senate, it had immeadiate and dramatic consequences for the fight against AIDS. No more slashing funds to pay for other priorities, no more ignoring science to promote a judgemental agenda, no worries about how I will afford the drugs that keep me from getting skinny and dying with lesions all over my face.
Anyway, surely ya'll all remember Ryan White, the young AIDS activist who's also the namesake of the Federal Program that funds AIDS/HIV psycho-social services for folks like me living with the disease. It probably comes as little surprise that the funding for HIV/AIDS has been less-than-robust for the last six years or so. That's why I'm so relieved to hear my Senator Bob Menendez serve notice that he'll stand up for me in the new dem-controlled Senate. (You'd be relieved too if your life depended on it.)
Bob Menendez wants a comprehensive bill that would expand funds for critical care. Menendez:
On World AIDS Day we should be celebrating the passage of comprehensive Ryan White CARE Act bill that provides critical care to all who suffer from HIV/AIDS. Instead, some continue to advance a so-called 'compromise bill' that would have disastrous implications on several states including New Jersey, and would slash millions in funds to the front-line care providers in our states. This cannot stand. I will continue good faith negotiations with my colleagues on this bill, however, I will not back down in my opposition to any legislation that imperils our New Jersey's ability to treat those with HIV/AIDS."
Sorry to harp on the HIV thing. I know it's morbid. But it's another 360-something days until the next World AIDS day and I wanted to squeeze in one last nugget while the iron is still kinda hot.
