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    pre-emptive sighRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:19pm

    How many times must a story be told before people get it, and before real action is taken?

    What do you consider real action? We spent $28 billion on HIV last year(by comparison the entire EPA budget was less than $9b), and thousands of people are working on prevention, treatments and cures both here and in Africa.

    What do you consider a reasonable amount of money and a reasonable number of people to be for ‘real action’?

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      Blergpre-emptive sigh
      7/27/16 7:59pm

      Money isn't everything, many countries are doing much better than America through simple public health policies that many Americans don't support for stupid ideological reasons.

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      BlackMoonshyneBlerg
      7/27/16 8:36pm

      So we should support recreational drug use and of apps that let people hookup for quick random sex??

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    Sparky PolastryRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:10pm

    There is a channel (at least on ATT Uverse) that is called Democratic National Convention Channel and literally airs nothing but the stuff on stage thru the microphone - no pundits, panels.....

    Last week there was one for the RNC, too. I’m sure tons of people are watching those variants and got to hear him speak too.

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      anythingbutburningmanSparky Polastry
      7/27/16 6:36pm

      CSPAN airs convention coverage gavel to gavel, with no commercial breaks and no talking heads. Every single speaker, every bit of “filler” music, all of it. They begin coverage at 4 pm and go until it’s completely over. Did the same for the RNC last week. It can be watched online at their website.

      I haaaaaate how other media picks and chooses what they show and their talking heads give their precious hot takes and interpretations through some of the stuff that’s actually quite interesting and important. CSPAN is where it’s at for us diehard wonks.

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      Yikesahootieanythingbutburningman
      7/27/16 7:01pm

      CSPAN is the only channel to watch for this stuff. Whenever I see Jeffrey Lord on CNN I wonder if he has a special spank closet for all his Reagan memorabilia. Whenever he skypes in, he’s under a big photo of Saint Ronnie. :shudder:

      Don't get me started on the other Trumpsters on CNN.

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    VanNostrandRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:01pm

    But then I’d get hearing aids.

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      Sanders/Kasich 2525VanNostrand
      7/27/16 6:02pm

      Fuck you.

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      AlirisExileVanNostrand
      7/27/16 6:03pm

      I bet you're feeling pretty positive about that pun...

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    Sparky PolastryRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:05pm

    Cable news channels airing EVERY speech is as great an idea as this:

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      Most FlavorfulSparky Polastry
      7/27/16 6:14pm

      Is she on Tinder?

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      orangedrinkSparky Polastry
      7/27/16 6:16pm

      She ain’t pregnant.... she’s just eatin’ well.

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    CnslrNachosRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 7:12pm

    What does MSM mean in this context?

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      mocenaCnslrNachos
      7/27/16 7:15pm

      Dude, it’s explained in the article. Men who have sex with men.

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      EricMuellerCnslrNachos
      7/27/16 7:15pm

      MSM = “Men who have Sex with Men” — because the term “gay men” may not include someone who is sexually active, or maybe someone doesn’t identify as gay so they aren’t part of that group (and bisexual people and curious straight dudes are left out), etc. So it’s easier to use this term, MSM, which (once you know it!) is clear and to the point. It’s a very common term in HIV/sexual health research.

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    EricMuellerRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 7:16pm

    I posted this below but for those who don’t know:

    MSM = “Men who have Sex with Men”

    (Why? Because the term “gay men” may not include someone who is sexually active, or maybe someone doesn’t identify as gay so they aren’t part of that group, and bisexual people and curious straight dudes are left out, etc. So it’s easier to use this term, MSM, which— once you know it!— is clear and to the point. It’s a very common term in HIV/sexual health research.)

    And p.s. as always, Rich, thanks for covering the gay/HIV stories...

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      sigmaoctansEricMueller
      7/28/16 12:15pm

      MSM is most useful as a term because, among other groups, it encompasses men in the closet or “on the down low” - guys who are having sex with other guys but keeping it a secret from people they know, including opposite-sex partners/spouses - which is a super high risk factor for HIV transmission (for everybody involved). If you’re openly gay, there’s no shame in buying condoms, keeping them in the house, and getting access to HIV-prevention medication is fairly straightforward (although not necessarily easy, at least its not something you generally have to sneak around to do).

      If you’re closeted, married to a woman, with a long-term girlfriend, or in a social group or family that expects you to date women, doing those protective/preventative things means sneaking around and worrying about getting caught... so the path of least resistance is to just not do them at all. Obviously, the ideal solution is to come out of the closet / don’t marry a woman, but that’s incredibly difficult for many guys (especially if you’re a person of color). So they instead sneak around and put themselves, their wives and girlfriends, AND their same-sex partners all at huge risk.

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      EricMuellersigmaoctans
      7/28/16 12:40pm

      Yes! This, exactly!!

      And it’s also a good example of why the term “MSM” is useful: it’s crystal clear. Whether you’re gay, bi, straight, on the DL or loud and proud ;-) it works.

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    HarlotOScaraRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:21pm

    We know how to prevent the virus now, we know how to diagnose the virus now, we know how to treat it, and we know how to suppress it—we’ve learned all that within my lifetime,” said Driffin.

    And yet gay men will have unprotected sex and take the huge risk. Am I supposed to be upset when someone puts a metaphorical gun to their head knowing a bullet is in there and pulls the trigger?
    Don’t tell me it’s an educational problem. You might as well argue that no one knows smoking is dangerous.

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      BlergHarlotOScara
      7/27/16 8:09pm

      No one cares what you think but ok.

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      HarlotOScaraBlerg
      7/27/16 8:13pm

      Right. That’s why you commented. Thanks for playing.

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    flowerchildRich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:11pm

    There was a young woman that spoke on the first night. She had a disability and spoke about Trump’s making fun of the reporter. I have been unsuccessful in finding her name, because not one single reporter anywhere covered her speech.

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      CnslrNachosflowerchild
      7/27/16 6:43pm

      Her name is Anastasia Somoza and she’s a disability rights activist. She’s gotten a fair amount of press since she spoke and I recall watching her speech on MSNBC live without any real interruption from pundits or commerici break. A lot of people speak at conventions and they are four days long. It’s hard to give absolutely everyone the attention they probably deserve. I’m not really sure what you’re talking about though... Her story is not hard to google.

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      shelwoodflowerchild
      7/27/16 6:43pm

      There is some coverage, but, yes, it’s sparse. Helps if you know her name, which is Anastasia Somoza.

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    HanoumatoiRich Juzwiak
    7/28/16 8:49am

    This is a tragedy, and unfortunately one of the most popular arguments against gay rights. “Well it’s super dangerous and will likely kill you!”

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      AlmightyPoopcatHanoumatoi
      7/28/16 11:23am

      One that ignores the fact that lesbians have the lowest rates of STDs.

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      HanoumatoiAlmightyPoopcat
      7/29/16 2:15am

      Yes, in a lot of asshole’s minds, gay means two men having sex. Two women having sex isn’t a thing, or is “hawt”. Look at the discussions of how gay relationships can’t last as long as straight ones. Turns out the order from shortest to longest on average is: gay male relationships, hetero relationships, lesbian relationships. These arguments have laughable holes, but that doesn’t stop homophobes from trying to jam them in anyways.

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    weirdlyfreakedout2Rich Juzwiak
    7/27/16 6:07pm

    That's heartbreaking. And sad. And I'm glad he had such a big platform on which to speak. I remember similar statistics about hemophiliacs with HIV when I was working on the Ryan White Care Act reauthorization. No listened then either. And people regularly told me (STILL tell me) I was wrong about the numbers. Thank god for google, I guess.

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      filmgirlweirdlyfreakedout2
      7/27/16 8:59pm

      I was a teenager when Ryan White was the poster child literally for HIV/AIDS, the shit him and his family went through broke my heart. I still get a heavy heart when I hear his name. What a sweet boy who at no fault of his own was treated so badly. People are just awful when they are uninformed.

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