Seeking to fluff his sagging reelection campaign, Gov. Cuomo exploits AIDS epidemic for votes

PUBLISHED : SUN, 29 JUN 2014, 07:52 PM
UPDATED : MON, 30 JUN 2014, 12:10 PM

It's been 25 years since Andrew Cuomo led the charge on an AIDS initiative.

RELATED Cuomo Plan Seeks to End New York’s AIDS Epidemic (The New York Times)

Gov. Cuomo is paying for the stepped up fight against AIDS by having first made radical cuts to Medicaid and and by hospital closings. This week-end, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State by the year 2020. How nice of him to revisit the AIDS crisis after a 25 year sabbatical. The last time Andrew Cuomo spearheaded an AIDS initiative was in 1989, when he led the charge to build a segregated health facility for people with AIDS. This was at a time when there was a rise in AIDS phobia, and it seemed like putting people with AIDS into isolation or in sub-par health facility situations was another form of reactionary discrimination. It's difficult to know how much money Gov. Cuomo is dedicating to his plan to end AIDS. In an article in The New York Times, the Cuomo administration said $5 million has been set aside from Medicaid and the state's AIDS Institute. But according to information on the Housing Works Web site, the Cuomo administration proposed to cut $12 million from the AIDS Institute in the new budget. Ooops ! It's great that Gov. Cuomo wants to join with healthcare activists to end the AIDS epidemic. But, the last time Gov. Cuomo made healthcare promises, he promised to save hospitals in Brooklyn. But then he let Long Island College Hospital close down. Ooops ! Besides people with AIDS, people of color have been calling on Gov. Cuomo to do the right thing on healthcare. As a gay man, I'd love nothing more than to see an end to the AIDS epidemic. Why Gov. Cuomo's plan is coming 25 years too late, and why he's paying for it by closing more and more Brooklyn hospitals is not clear. What is clear is that Gov. Cuomo's announcement was timed for today's Gay Pride Parade, giving the governor an opportunity to hand-out all these campaign-looking signs to parade supporters to hold up for the cameras. How thoughtful. He must be looking for votes. But I wonder how many lives could have been saved if decades ago "LGBT for Cuomo" were the campaign signs being used, instead of "Vote for Cuomo, not the Homo."

ACT UP Protest at Bill de Blasio Inauguration

ACT UP Protest at Bill de Blasio Inauguration

On Wed. Jan. 1, 2014, at 11AM, ACT UP protested the inauguration of newly-elected mayor, Bill De Blasio, for his refusal to meet with community groups regarding HIV and AIDS since the election. De Blasio's AIDS platform is vague at best, but his appointment to the city's Health Commissioner COULD reverse rising HIV infections in at-risk communities like young men who have sex with men and trans women and men.

WE NEED a new Health Commissioner. The current one, Tom Farley, has ignored HIV/AIDS for the past 4 years and is actively deterring use of current HIV prevention tools, like PEP and PrEP.

Bill de Blasio never got back to me about his AIDS platform in August

Did Bill de Blasio exploit the LGBT community for votes, only to dump core community issues now that he's gotten elected ?

After mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio took advantage of a few LGBT celebrities to undermine Christine Quinn's LGBT base of support, it appears that Mr. de Blasio was all talk and no action.

After several attempts at getting a meeting with Mr. de Blasio, who will be sworn in as the next mayor of New York City in just two hours, word comes forth of a planned protest by ACT UP at the mayor-elect's public swearing-in ceremony, it seems that the mayor-elect has brushed off any sincerity about proposing a truly reform agenda to help end the decades of official municipal neglect on a core LGBT issue: ending the HIV/AIDS crisis.

➔ RSVP : ACT UP Protests Bill de Blasio's Mayoral Inauguration

Below is the unanswered e-mail I sent to the de Blasio campaign. I was later told by supporters/enablers that I was too controversial of an activist for Mr. de Blasio to ever respond to my query.

Not enough attention has been paid to all of President Barack Obama's political operatives, who have had hand in the mayor elect's campaign and transition teams. The mayor elect's exploitation of the LGBT voting block resembles President Obama's corrupt playbook. Candidate Obama promised to pass comprehensive LGBT workplace protections, but has thus far refused to sign a presidential executive order. Former President Bill Clinton famously curried the LGBT vote, only to betray the LGBT community by passing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and enacting the military's discriminatory policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

When will the LGBT community wake up and stop getting exploited for cheap election year gimmicks ?

Begin forwarded message:

From: "LF (g-Male)"
Subject: Ed Koch and HIV/AIDS
Date: 1 août 2013 15:49:42 UTC-04:00
To: bill@billdeblasio.com, veday1945@aol.com
Cc: "LF (g-Male)"


Hi,

I saw on the Internet that Bill de Blasio praised former NYC Mayor Ed Koch as one of our "greatest mayor" :

http://politicker.com/2013/02/bill-de-blasio-is-a-little-sick-of-bloombergs-royal-reign/

I hope you know that Ed Koch is seen as a failed LGBT leader for having done nothing to stop the initial outbreak of HIV from becoming the AIDS pandemic we all now know. Because he was afraid to come out of the closet, he let thousands of people die, especially gay men. Former Mayor Koch refused to take bold action during the 1980's out of fear of being associated with gay issues. He was and still is seen as a self-hating, closeted gay man.

So, it seemed astounding that Mr. de Blasio would praise former Mayor Koch.

If Mr. de Blasio is going to try to court the LGBT vote, we hope to hear from him soon about details of his plans to step up HIV/AIDS prevention, improving access to prevention/treatment medication, and other steps that he plans to take as part of his HIV/AIDS plan.

I'm writing this note independently, but I plan to share it with a few activists. So, I plan to share your response with some of my activist friends, too.

Thanks,
-- Louis


Louis Flores
1 (646) 400-1168
lflores22@gmail.com

Bill de Blasio appoints AIDS criminal to advisory post

Bill de Blasio just appointed Stanley Brezenoff, who formerly ran the city's Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) during the 1980's under the late Mayor Ed Koch, to be an unpaid advisor to the First Deputy Mayor. This is the same man, who did shit under Mayor Koch to fight AIDS.

Stanley Brezenoff, who did nothing to help stop AIDS crisis under closet-case Mayor Koch. @gracerauh @actupny

— de Blasio Sold Out (@deBlasioSoldOut) December 31, 2013

Scott Levenson, who has close ties to Bill de Blasio, was paid to defeat several LGBT City Council Candidates

Sign our Change.org Petition : Bill de Blasio : Do not attend NYCLASS fundraiser to benefit Scott Levenson

WATCH : Will LGBT Groups Protest Scott Levenson for Anti-Gay Attack Ads ? (YouTube)

@boldprogressnyc @HRC @maslowsneeds Are you asking if Democrats overlook behavior in Democrats for which they'd pillory Republicans? Yes : (

— Charmian Neary (@CharmianNeary) November 21, 2013

The Advance Group, which is providing unpaid consultants to Mark-Viverito, worked for the City Action Coalition PAC, which lists 'traditional marriage' as its platform and supported opponents of gay City Council candidates. (The New York Daily News)

Did Scott Levenson sabotage LGBT civil rights attorney Yetta Kurland's political campaign ? (Scott Levenson : Biggest Loser Of The Week * NY Pop Culture & Politics)

E-mail me if you would like to plan a protest against Scott Levenson : louisflores (at) louisflores (dot) com

… the Advance Group's work on behalf of City Action Coalition-backed candidates conflicted with its work for two of its own council clients. And the outside work for the teachers union raises another potential conflict: the Advance Group not only produced mailers promoting Manhattan council candidate Yetta Kurland for the NYCLASS independent expenditure, but Strategic Consultants produced mailers touting her opponent, Corey Johnson, that were paid for by the teachers union. Mr. Johnson won the primary. (Teachers union paid $370K to fake consultant * Crain's Insider)

Why aren't the LGBT civil rights activists protesting against Scott Levenson and his "anti-gay agenda" ? And how can LGBT civil rights activists stay quiet while Ms. Mark-Viverito uses a political consulting operation that hires itself out to work against candidates specifically based on their identity ? This is discrimination and prejudice. How can Mr. Levenson and Ms. Mark-Viverito call themselves "progressives," yet enable bigotry ?

India’s Efforts to Aid Poor Worry Drug Makers

India has almost no choice but to over-ride drug patents. $18,000 for one course of breast cancer-fighting treatment is like 10 Lakh Rupees. Even when some drugs are priced at $140 per month, that still comes out to over Rps 8,000. These are astronomical sums for poor people.

Alka Kudesia's story is heart-breaking, and it's no surprise that pharmaceutical companies are worried by an Indian drug company's plan to begin manufacturing a generic version of Herceptin.

As it stands now, about 23,000 Indian women need Herceptin, but they cannot get it.

Dr. Peter Bach's comment is smug, insensitive, and not entirely true. There's always been pressure on highly profitable pharmaceutical companies to stop exploiting the sick and frail. Among African countries, there have been pressures for Big Pharma to lower drug prices. That India forsakes begging for lower drug prices and opts instead to over-ride patents reflects how pharmaceutical companies wrongly put profits over people.

Maybe India can over-ride many other patents and set up new drug factories -- and be the change we need to see in revolutionizing global access to live-saving medications ? Crowd source it, maybe you might find helpers.

VIDEO : Robin Hood Tax Rally and March (NYC) - OWS S17 2013

Pass the Robin Hood Tax ! Robin Hood Tax March (NYC) - Occupy Wall Street S17 2013 : Rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (financial transaction tax) and march to JPMorgan (London Whale), MTA (interest rate swap), and Bryant Park (union rally).

VIDEO : ACT UP Protests Against Mt. Sinai For Failing To Provide PEP HIV Prevention Medication

Mount Sinai Hospital refuses emergency HIV prevention treatment -- AIDS activists target hospital with street protest.

ACT UP has produced a toolkit about Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) as part of ACT UP's HIV emergency prevention campaign.

ACT UP Will Protest Mt. Sinai Over HIV/AIDS Medication Discrimination

Updated : Video of ACT UP Protest Against Mt. Sinai's denial of PEP treatment.

ACT UP Calls For July 17 Protest Against Mt. Sinai Hospital

From EDGE New York :

As the result of an alleged case of HIV discrimination, ACT UP has called all activists to gather in front of Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan at noon on Wednesday, July 17. The planned demonstration is the consequence of an event that occurred over the July 4th weekend, when the hospital reportedly refused to treat a man who came into the emergency room requesting Post Exposure Phrophylaxis for possible exposure to HIV.

"Emergency room personnel at Mt. Sinai incorrectly informed the man that there was no such treatment," read their July 16 press release. "The man contacted ACT UP/New York who intervened on his behalf with Mt. Sinai. Precious time was lost -- approximately two hours -- before the hospital treated him."

Read more : ACT UP Calls For July 17 Protest Against Mt. Sinai Hospital

Quinn Betrays AIDS Activists In Exchange For Manufactured Koch Endorsement

In act of desperation, Quinn camp goes digging for endorsement from Ed Koch beyond the grave.

Christine Quinn has become so desperate for campaign endorsements that she is going to get one out of a dead man. Let's hope she doesn't try to get some votes the same way, too. She's already trying to fake her popularity with sock puppet Twitter accounts, mind you. But seriously, Ed Koch, whose endorsement she is seeking, was the beginning of the neoliberalism bent in Democratic policies. One needs to look no further than to the cruel betrayal in Mayor Koch's non-response to the AIDS crisis. Mayor Koch refused to take any meaningful action on HIV/AIDS out of fear that he would be outed as a gay man. What kind of a message is Speaker Quinn trying to send by reaching for this grave endorsement ? Mayor Koch's endorsement in encumbered with betrayal and closet politics. This one issue alone should be a clarion call for every New York City LGBT voter to question Speaker Quinn's judgement. How do AIDS activists feel about being thrown under the bus in exchange for an endorsement from the late Mayor Koch ? (Ed Koch’s Sister to Amplify His Support for Christine Quinn * NYTimes)

Will insensitive and revisionist statements like this, from the Quinn campaign, drive LGBT activists to demonstrate against Christine Quinn during Pride Month ?

“Ed Koch was an incredible leader for the city,” said Josh Isay, Ms. Quinn’s chief strategist.

Related : Ed Koch, 88, Dies : "How Am I Doing ?" AIDS Memorial Reality Check

AIDS Activists Storm Boehner's Office

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Naked Truth about AIDS Budget Cuts

AIDS activists entered the office of Speaker of the House John Boehner and demanded no budget cuts to domestic or global AIDS programs. Protesters also called for a Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street trades.

Video streaming by Ustream

Activists chanted, "Boehner, Boehner don't be a d-ck, budget cuts will make us sick."

“The naked truth is that if President Obama and Congressional leaders like Speaker Boehner allow these budget cuts to lifesaving programs, global health programs will lose $689 million, while domestic AIDS programs will lose $538 million,” said Eustacia Smith from ACT UP New York, according to the group's press release. (Queerty).

United States of America HIV & AIDS Statistics

From Avert.org :

1.2 million people are living with HIV in the United States of America, with a fifth unaware of their status. Since the epidemic began, an estimated 1,129,127 people in the USA have been diagnosed with AIDS.

During 2010 : (i) 47,129 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the 46 states which report diagnoses ; and (ii) 33,015 people throughout the USA were diagnosed with AIDS.

The activists today took the radical step of stripping naked to draw attention to the negative consequences that healthcare cuts will create for Americans. The "Fiscal Cliff" of automatic budget cuts will reduce billions of dollars from healthcare and other social services and safety net programs, which would severely impact people living with HIV and AIDS, activists say. A Robin Hood Tax would create new sources of revenue for the government to fund health, social services, and safety net programs.

Seven Risk Arrest in a Naked Protest in Speaker Boehner’s Longworth Office

Washington, DC: Tuesday, November 27, a few days before World AIDS Day, seven AIDS activists entered House Speaker Boehner’s Office and stripped naked demanding a meeting with the Congressmember. The activists from Queerocracy, ACT UP NY, and ACT UP Philadelphia painted slogans on their bodies instead of holding signs: “AIDS Cuts Kill” and “Fund PEPFAR, Fund Ryan White, Fund Global Fund, Fund Medicaid, Fund HOPWA.”

“When you strip away the rhetoric of the fiscal cliff and the grand bargain, you see that these terms are a way to thinly veil draconian budget cuts that will leave millions around the world with absolutely nothing,” said Cassidy Gardner from Queerocracy.

Police arrested three activists for indecent exposure : Cassidy Gardner - 23 yrs old, from NYC, Community Organizer for Queerocracy ; Megan Mulholland - 23 yrs old, from NYC, Community Organizer for Queerocracy ; and Jennifer Flynn - 40 yrs old, from Rhode Island, from Health GAP. The ACT UP NY website reported that the three arrested individuals were later released.

Read more : AIDS Activists Expose Themselves And The Naked Truth About AIDS Budget Cuts

Protest at Al Smith Dinner Against Budget Cuts

Hundreds of activists comprised of members of Healthcare for the 99% Working Group of Occupy Wall Street, PNHP, ACT UP, the Granny Peace Brigade, Occupy Queens, OCCU EVOLVE, and other groups protest against impending budget cuts to Medicare and healthcare across the street from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where President Obama and Mitt Romney were participating in the annual Al Smith Wall Street fundraiser.

ACT UP activists also rallied in support of a Financial Transaction Tax to raise money to pay for healthcare and treatments to break the HIV infection curve and end AIDS.

Activists first started a moving picket on the sidewalk in front of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, but police closed the public sidewalk to only registered guests of the hotel and to persons paying at least $2,500 to have dinner at the annual Al Smith Wall Street fundraiser.

Inside the hotel, President Obama and Mitt Romney dined on a luxurious menu that included poached lobster tail and dark chocolate tropical fruit cadeau ; meanwhile, due to the fact that Democrats and Republicans refuse to raise taxes on the top 1% of income earners, the federal government faces draconian budget cuts to core programs, such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid.