“The criminal statute that Michael Johnson was convicted of violating was originally passed in 1988, at a time when HIV was considered a ‘death sentence.’ Today, with proper treatment, HIV is a chronic, manageable disease and those with HIV can expect to live a full, healthy life. Yet violation of the Missouri law is a class A felony, with a sentencing range of 10-30 years or life imprisonment. Other class A felonies include murder or child abandonment resulting in death. Punishing Michael Johnson as if he is a murderer because state officials have failed to address a severely outdated, irrational criminal law is not only fundamentally unfair, it is barbaric.”Here at MadProfessah.com we will be following this case closely!
Following a review of the policy by the Department of Defense General Counsel, the Air Force will now permit airmen to omit the phrase, should they so choose. That change is effective immediately, according to an Air Force statement.
“We take any instance in which Airmen report concerns regarding religious freedom seriously,” Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James said in the statement. “We are making the appropriate adjustments to ensure our Airmen’s rights are protected.
“The Air Force will be updating the instructions for both enlisted and commissioned Airmen to reflect these changes in the coming weeks, but the policy change is effective now. Airmen who choose to omit the words ‘So help me God’ from enlistment and officer appointment oaths may do so.”It's so rare that we have good news to report on Godless Wednesday! This news that the policy has changed to increase religious freedom and acknowledge that some people who serve in the military might be godless is Good News.
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| George Zimmerman admits to shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Black teenager |
Monday marks the start of jury selection in Seminole County, Florida, where Martin was fatally shot on February 26, 2012. The shooting put a national spotlight on Zimmerman's hometown of Sanford and sparked fresh debates about race relations and gun laws in America.
Zimmerman is Hispanic; Martin was African-American.
An initial decision not to pursue charges against Zimmerman led to the dismissal of the town's police chief and the appointment of a special prosecutor, who accused the neighborhood watch volunteer of unjustly profiling and killing Martin.
Zimmerman now faces a second-degree murder charge in Martin's death. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently free on $1 million bond.The Zimmerman-Martin case became another Rorshach test on race in America. We (at MadProfessah.com) shall be watching to see if the criminal justice system (in Florida, no less) can pass the test of "equal treatment under the law."
Brett Shaad died of bacterial meningitis Friday afternoon, April 12. The 33 year old West Hollywood resident was a lawyer, a real estate broker and very popular among his friends, many of whom surrounded his bed at Cedar Sinai Hospital in shock and disbelief.
“Last weekend I was with him at a local restaurant on Santa Monica Boulevard,” said West Hollywood Councilmember John Duran at a news conference about the meningitis scare. “He was tall and muscular, robust, looking as fit as a fiddle and we notified on Wednesday he was at Cedars and then yesterday, he was in a coma. And now he’s going to be removed from life support.”
[...]
Duran said that there is no evidence yet to connect this particular strain of meningitis to the strain in New York City that has resulted in 22 cases since 2010, with seven deaths. However, the prevalence of the disease is the same – it is hitting sexually active gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men.
“Here, in the City of West Hollywood, we obviously have a very large number of gay men in our city and our community. We’re very concerned that two weeks ago, the White Party gathered about 10,000 gay men in the city of Palm Springs – including [gay men] from New York.”
[...]
But, Duran suggested, West Hollywood itself is a large gathering of LGBT people who, by nature or design, enjoy hugging, kissing, dancing in a way that produces sweat, and having close contact often without thinking.
“We’re seriously concerned because every weekend in the City of West Hollywood, we host in the neighborhood of 200,000 LGBT people who come here for our nightclubs and night life – so we want to place the community on high alert that we may have an issue,” Duran said. “We’re going to be monitoring this very closely. I asked the personnel here – including [LA County Health Dept. Area Director] Dr. Liggins upstairs: when does an outbreak become an outbreak? I was given the explanation that with the Ebola Virus, one case is an outbreak. With this particular case, we have one reported case here now. We’re hearing from a physician in town there may be one reported case in Palm Springs – so we’re very closely monitoring what’s happening. If we start to hear that there is another case or another case, we’ll be right back on the phone with Dr. Liggins to say, ‘OK, now if we have 2 or 3 cases in the West Hollywood community, do we have an outbreak yet?”
Duran also raised concern about the availability of sufficient vaccine to prevent the spread, if requested by people at risk. “We’re going to be working with our partners at the Gay and Lesbian Center, as well as the pharmacies in town, to make sure we have – if necessary – enough vaccines to get it out there to prevent the spread of meningitis. We learned a very tough lesson 30 years ago that we are not going to go through again here in West Hollywood.”
Read that excerpt again. They are expanding early voting hours in Republican-leaning counties while simultaneously denying similar efforts in Democrat-leaning counties! This is why the identity (and political affiliation) of the Secretary of State is so important. I hope that this story becomes more widely known and that people take measures now to combat this craziness and make sure to exercise their right to vote regardless of how difficult the GOP makes it, in every state of the Union.The real story from Ohio is how cutbacks to early voting will disproportionately disenfranchise African-American voters in Ohio’s most populous counties. African-Americans, who supported Obama over McCain by 95 points in Ohio, comprise 28 percent of the population of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County but accounted for 56 percent of early voters in 2008, according to research done by Norman Robbins of the Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates and Mark Salling of Cleveland State University. In Columbus’s Franklin County, African-Americans comprise 20 percent of the population but made up 34 percent of early voters.Now, in heavily Democratic cities like Cleveland, Columbus, Akron and Toledo, early voting hours will be limited to 8 am until 5 pm on weekdays beginning on October 1, with no voting at night or during the weekend, when it’s most convenient for working people to vote. Republican election commissioners have blocked Democratic efforts to expand early voting hours in these counties, where the board of elections are split equally between Democratic and Republican members. Ohio Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted has broken the tie by intervening on behalf of his fellow Republicans. (According to the Board of Elections, 82% of early voters in Franklin County voted early on nights or weekends, which Republicans have curtailed. The number who voted on nights or weekends was nearly 50% in Cuyahoga County.)"I cannot create unequal access from one county board to another, and I must also keep in mind resources available to each county,” Husted said in explaining his decision to deny expanded early voting hours in heavily Democratic counties. Yet in solidly Republican counties like Warren and Butler, GOP election commissioners have approved expanded early voting hours on nights and weekends. Noted the Cincinnati Enquirer: “The counties where Husted has joined other Republicans to deny expanded early voting strongly backed then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008, while most of those where the extra hours will stand heavily supported GOP nominee John McCain.” Moreover, budget constraints have not stopped Republican legislators from passing costly voter ID laws across the map since 2010.
Accounting for one in 500 people living in the U.S., Black MSM make up nearly one in four new HIV infections and one in six Americans living with HIV. Black MSM represent 9% of all MSM in the U.S., but account for 38% of new infections among MSM. In New York City, Black MSM are 325 times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV than heterosexual Black males. Nationally, HIV prevalence among Black MSM is roughly double the prevalence among white MSM. Although AIDS is a nationwide crisis for Black MSM, evidence indicates that the problem is especially severe in the South, where new cases are rising most rapidly.
HIV represents a lifetime challenge for Black MSM. Among young men ages 13-24, Black MSM are 14 times more likely to test HIV-positive than white MSM. One in four Black MSM are already infected with HIV by the time they reach age 25. By age 40, 60% of Black MSM are living with HIV.What's nice about the report that in addition to documenting the problem, it also provides suggestions for addressing the issue, calling for a series of recommendations:
The report summarizes these recommendations into three priority steps that should be taken immediately:
- Demonstrate leadership in the fight against AIDS for Black MSM
- Achieve saturation HIV testing among Black MSM
- Maximize the preventive and therapeutic benefits of antiretroviral therapy
- Dramatically reduce STDs among Black MSM
- Introduce pre-exposure prophylaxis
- Effectively target Black MSM with high-impact prevention
- Build sustainable community capacity
- Develop new prevention tools for Black MSM
- Implement a national plan to reduce the vulnerability of Black MSM
Develop a national plan to end AIDS among Black MSM. As one of its highest priorities, Health and Human Services should immediately spearhead an inclusive process—involving relevant federal agencies (e.g., CDC, HRSA, CMS, Office of Minority Health, SAMHSA), Black MSM, Black and LGBT leaders, the philanthropic and private sectors, and state and local health departments—to develop a clear, results-driven national plan to end the epidemic among Black MSMThe 19th International AIDS Conference begins in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. Although President Obama will not be attending the event in person, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will. Let's hope she has something to say which addresses these issues. Additionally, the Obama Administration just recently announced that it is releasing $80 million in federal funds which will effectively eradicate all waiting lists on state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP), allowing access to life-saving anti-retroviral medication to everyone in the United States who needs it.
Exert genuine, sustained leadership in the fight against AIDS among Black MSM. Diverse non-governmental actors must recognize both that AIDS remains a severe and worsening crisis among Black MSM and that government alone cannot turn the tide against AIDS
Combat homophobia and other social challenges faced by Black MSM. Governmental and non-governmental actors must join together with Black MSM to address the root causes of Black MSM’s vulnerability to HIV and the factors that diminish health care access.
Thousands pass by it on a given day and everyone we spoke with has an opinion.
Gina Jensen said, "I didn't know there was a club that didn't believe in God."
Emlyn Forsuh added, "I was raised to believe in god and now someone says they don't believe in god so I don't like it."
"It's free speech right so people can put what ever they want up and I don't know what this club is about but I believe in God," Glen Tonack said.
"We put it up as a beacon to let them know that they're not alone," explained William Newman.
Newman is with Omaha's chapter of United Coalition of Reason and the man behind the sign.
"The billboard is designed so it's not degenerating anyone's religion. We're not coming out and telling people that there is no God and we're not trying to convert anyone to Atheism," he said.The ad is raising the profile of CoR just a few weeks before the 4th Annual Midwest Freethought Conference will be held at University of Nebraska at Omaha August 3-5.
