YES I HATE! My Pure WHITE-HOT Hate For The Religious Right Is ALL Inside

Mrs Matcom was diagnosed with stage 3 (out of 4 possible stages) Cervical Cancer 5 years ago. The HELL she went through for a half a year, I would not wish on Ann Coulter. Every day, zapped with radiation. Every week, metal pumped into her body to kill this fucking disease. Just enough time in between treatments for her to get her strength back, stop the vomiting (other unspeakable side effects) so more metal could be pumped through to continue the cycle. At the end, radiation DIRECTLY implanted for a 4 day hospital stay behind a lead door.

The day she was to be released, she couldn't stand, couldn't eat, couldn't stop vomiting. The doctor said she would have to do ALL of that before I could take her home. She looked at me terrified and begged me to get her out of there. Pleaded. She was 100% done.

Mrs Matcom survived and is 100% healthy today and 100% cancer free. She won the fight but others will NOT be as 'lucky'. If the cancer wasn't going to kill her, we thought the treatments would.

The op-ed below, and at the link enrages me to the point of no return. Not the author or her words, rather the situation we find ourselves in today. I have a PERSONAL stake in this and you may someday as well. I am declaring WAR on these fuckers who want to block this vaccine. ABSOLUTE AND TOTAL WAR! These fuckers DO make laws that affect us PERSONALLY. These bastards are KILLING PEOPLE and it HAS to stop.

Please cut and paste the linked op-ed and forward if you feel so inclined:

-----------------------------------------------------

<snip>

ELLEN GOODMAN
Good news on cancer? Not for everyone
By Ellen Goodman | November 12, 2005

THERE WAS a time when only the loony left believed that the loony right favored death over sex. Not anymore.

If you've been engrossed in the culture-war correspondence on the judicial front, maybe you missed the news on the medical front. While the religious right escorted Harriet Miers out and welcomed Samuel Alito in, a group of scientists announced the beginning of the end of a deadly cancer.

In clinical trials, a new vaccine was 100 percent successful in preventing the virus that causes most cervical cancer, the second-leading cancer killer of women in the world. Every year some 10,000 American women are diagnosed with it and nearly 4,000 die. It now appears that with government approval and funding, we're on our way to ending this scourge.

The success story was greeted with cork-popping enthusiasm by doctors. Eliav Barr of the beleaguered Merck, one of the two companies to develop a vaccine, offered a toast: ''This is it. This is the Holy Grail." But it appears that social conservatives aren't drinking from the same chalice.

This was the response of Leslie Unruh of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse: ''I personally object to vaccinating children against a disease that is 100 percent preventable with proper sexual behavior."

<snip>

I always thought it was a bit much to talk about a ''Taliban wing" of the Republican Party. After all, the real Taliban stoned women to death if they had sex out of wedlock. What sentence would our Taliban choose? Cancer?

Success or sabotage? Watch how easy it can be to sabotage a success story.

MORE.... http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/11/12/good_news_on_cancer_not_for_everyone?mode=PF

But many. I've watched as my 10 year old cousins layed on a bed feverish and convulsing because my uncle believed the flu shot was 'sinful' and the democrats trying to control you, and was anti god blah blah.

For christ's sakes these people have children, anyone should put their child above a book, no matter how pious or dedicated you are. Even, in biblical context, abraham was reprieved of having to kill his own son. Then why do right wing fanatics do so willingly to their kids?

I am (at least) a third generation Type II Diabetic. I have started down the road of renal failure and diabetic neuropathy.

This is not a life style disease - it is genetic - part of God's "Intelligent Design" - S.C. Elbein, The genetics of human noninsulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus. J Nutr. 1997 Sep;127(9):1891S-1896S; and S.C. Elbein, Genetics of type 2 diabetes: an overview for the millennium, Diabetes Technol Ther. 2000 Autumn;2(3):391-400. So God gave us the "intellligence" as part of "intelligent design" to find a cure, David Eisenberg, MD.

trying to block this vaccination is the same thinking that causes female mutilation in Africa and other Muslim countries. Female circumcision is sold as "keeping women pure for their husbands" and is a total crock too.

:puke:

heretics and sinners who commit the abominable sins of:

Pride
Taking the Lord's name in vain
Failing to justice
Failing to be merciful.

They are an abomination the Lord's eyes.

If this desease is 100% preventable then why do I need to get a PAP smear every year? I have been married for over 30 years and it seems that I have engaged in "proper sexual behavior."

Do these wingnuts have their facts straight? Is cervical cancer a sexually transmitted desease? That doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to me since I don't believe that cancer is contagious. Even so, to expect that the whole damn planet behave according to their belief system is just plain ignorant.

Cheers to Mrs. Matcom for beating this disease and cheers to you for being there for her and supporting her in what must have been a frightening time for the both of you. :toast:

Mz Pip
:dem:

This is an amazing scientific breakthrough and we cannot let these superstitious morons prevent girls from getting this vaccination.

They have FAITH and BELIEF! And we ALL know that FAITH and BELIEF trump facts and sound scientific knowledge every time!

Why do these people even bother going to a Doctor for anything? Aren't they interfering in god's perfect plan when they do that? Aren't they interfering in god's perfect plan when they take blood pressure or diabetes medication? Didn't Pat Robertson interfere with god's perfect plan when he had prostrate surgery? :shrug:

I'm with you, matcom. These superstitious morons have no right whatsoever to say who can and cannot receive this treatment. Who do they think they are, god? Screw 'em, I'll join your fight any day. Please give my best to Mrs. matcom as well. I imagine she's as pissed off about this as much as you are probably more, of that's at all possible. ;)

Why do the woo woo alties who claim scientific medicine is a fraud and fundies who thank gawd instead of scientists, seek the advice of medical professionals?

Let their faith make them well.

Just keep them quarantined so that they can't infect the rest of the population.

are gonna say "to bad" to those 8%? Intelligent design indeed. Fucking fundies piss me off. I have two daughters, both teens, who will be informed of this wonder to choose as they see fit. Some preacher come along and try to dissuade them I'm gonna see him on his way to god quicker than he was planning.

the vaccine prevents HPV, which can lead to cancer.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/4/15461/4739

Mz Pip,

I did not read the replies. I saw yours and thought I would answer. Yes, it is sexually transmitted. Men and women can have the virus without any obvious sign of it. It is a particular type of wart virus. I used to be a college health physician. The presence of venereal warts in young men and women was truly epidemic. I am not exaggerating.

To hell with the wingnuts. We need this vaccine.

Well said, Matcom and I'm sorry for the agony your wife had to endure to beat this.

Anyone who would interfere and attempt to stop children from getting a vaccine that can prevent this kind of suffering and death and that is almost 100% effective, is so sick and evil, that I cannot even find the words to describe them.

This has to stop.

We cannot let them get away with this.

now he's beating back lymphoma. There is nothing worse than someone you love having cancer. Beating it is amazing. For her to come back from this stage is a miracle. I salute her, my friend. I hate the religious right and they have driven me from participating in my religion. I can't do it anymore. you are not alone.

those fucking fundies can do what they want with their own kids, but leave the rest of the world alone.

how fucking DARE they try and pull this shit when LIVES can be saved!

i swear i will get each and every one of them.

for your loss. I hope for the best for Mr. & Mrs. Matcom. It sounds like a horrible, horrible disease. Only a sociopath would disagree that anything we can do to prevent and cure it we must do.

This man is really amazing. He spoke so intelligently about the whole terror threat -- and no, I'm not posting to the wrong thread here, give me a sec. :)

CNN had an "exclusive" interview with King Abdullah, who was, I'm almost positive, educated in America -- Harvard maybe. He lived here for quite a long time before returning to Jordan, later to become king when his father Abdullah I (also a beloved moderate Muslim leader) died.

The young King Abdullah II speaks English as if it is his first language, not his second.

What amazed me most in the five minutes or so of his interview that CNN ran this morning was that he very clearly stated that the radical, extremist religious fanatics threat to the world these days was NOT ONLY from Islamic believers but EVERY BIT AS MUCH from extremists in EVERY RELIGION!!! He named several, but the ones I caught and remember were Christian, Muslim, and Jewish.

Now think about this. Here's a man who is probably the most respected and intelligent secular leader of an Islamic nation, Jordan. He speaks openly about the dangers of men like Zarqawi, BUT he also points out that the religious extremists from any and all other religions present every bit as much of a threat to the world. The clash of the extremists is at the heart of the matter, I think is what he was implying, if not saying outright.

Think about it.

Amazing, huh? I was so glad to have caught this. I wonder if many others did....

...threat to the world these days was NOT ONLY from Islamic believers but EVERY BIT AS MUCH from extremists in EVERY RELIGION!!!"

How true. I'm reminded of a piece by Robert Scheer which appeared in the Los Angeles Times over a year ago. I've reread it several times sense. I hope this isn't too far off topic for this thread, if so, I apoligize. That said, this is, I think, Robert Scheer at his best.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0302-04.htm

are SICK FUCKS!!! Putting their propaganda before human life. An ex-g/f and my mother had cervical cancer. My mom had a full-blown hysterectomy to prevent it from spreading, the ex-g/f lucked out.

Though they both were lucky, I have seen how damaging it can be, there were times we were very worried. To think that we could make a HUGE medical advancement, but that fundies will stop it b/c it damages their abstinence-only propaganda, infuriates me.

You are allowed your ideologies and faith, but DO NOT make others suffer and die b/c of your SUPERSTITIONS !!!!! If they only wish it upon themselves, so be it. Maybe a long, slow, horrible death for them or those they love will teach them their folly. On second thought, I'm beginning to doubt they have the capacity to learn from their mistakes. Hell, some of them still support * !!!!!

want 2 ignore science - fine; if they want 2 make those decisions on behalf of their children - fine; but 2 deny this scientific breakthru 2 the rest of the populations is wrong and they R damned for their ponificating and self righteous rhetoric. This is the same avenue traveled w/ choice. No pro-choice person DEMANDS women terminate their pregnancy but these ass*oles DEMAND there be NO choice. They now demand there be NO protection against this killer. These people R dangerous; unpatriotic; hateful, divisive and deserve to B driven back 2 the margins of society from where they can again have their tent revivals, charm snakes, speak in tongues and steal money from the have-nothings.

unfortunately, they want you to register at the National Abstinence Clearinghouse (which i encourage you all NOT to do) so, HERE is their contact form:

http://www.abstinence.net/contact.php

i am sending this thread to these killers for STARTERS

glad to hear about mrs. matcom though. :thumbsup: I am with you 110% as regards to the religious right and their blocking medical treatments with their lunacy. the sad thing is their crowd is running the show right now. :scared: :hi:

I am a cancer survivor, and am appalled at how research is stalled (not just stem cells, but alternative medicines) in the interests of religion and big Pharma. Pharma does not stand to make huge profits off new cancer treatments because they can only be used in a minute subsection of the population. But they make huge dough off new heart medicines for our aging populations. And do not get me started on the ED drugs. Are 95 year old men supposed to be as virile as 18 year olds?

I believe Viagra (the Big ED Drug) was accidentally discovered when they were using in in tests as a heart medication. Needless to say they'll lose big when the generic comes out ;)

they initially wanted to use it as a longer acting analog to nitroglycerine.

"And do not get me started on the ED drugs. Are 95 year old men supposed to be as virile as 18 year olds?"

Why sure they are! That's part of God's "perfect plan." Uh... but God just didn't get around to implementing it, or something, so... He needed a little nudge from the pharmaceutical companies. Yes! And then he, uh...blessed them with all that money! Isn't that special?!

:eyes:

As for the folks who live by the rules of "The Nutjobbers Guide To The Universe", When does selfish stupidity become outright fiendishness?

Yes, let them live as they chose, but they must not be permitted to trample on the rest of us and promote the suffering they believe it is their job to dole out.

And I am more than happy to help you and everyone else fight these jeezo-fascist shitbags to the death.

I not only hate them, I actively wish for their destruction. They would want nothing less for us. I have no patience for people who would be pansy-ass pussies if they want "dialogue" and "understanding" from these fuckholes.

For your wife, and thousands of others like her, we must fight, and settle for nothing less than winning. Compromise is out of the question.

i'm talking lawyers, boycotts, offices, sympathetic legislator's. i want a list. i'm ready. now.

Anytime they voice their spew, call 'em on it. I tell them they are psychotic (literally, they are psychotic) right to their faces - they are too stunned to respond. They are used to getting their way and people are afraid of confrontation. They can't be reasoned with, anyway.

I am a member of Americans United for Separation of Church and State - http://www.au.org - they keep tabs on these christofascists constantly. They often will tell you who votes which way too.

The ACLU are generally good allies in this fight too.

I can't say I encounter many fundies out here, and you probably don't out there, but they are everywhere, and do not hesitate to confront them, especially if they are walking around parading their ignorance.

this is now at a new level

thanks :thumbsup:

Let me know if you hear from her


:hi:

Is there any type of legal recourse we can do. Let me know.

And that goes for those Vichy Dems who want to ignore "gay rights" and "women's issues" because they're "hurting the party." Fuck that: These people have declared an all-out war on me and many of the people I love.

with cervical cancer, many of whom weren't as fortunate as Ms. Matcom. It is a barbaric and often ineffective course of treatment and I am so happy to hear that she made it through.

I am always floored by the arrogance and stupidity of these religious right morons (esp. the "abstinence" dipshits - there is a special place in hell for them I can only hope...). Reality happens, but these people are living in their own special fairy tale where no one ever makes a mistake, gets raped, or has any human needs.

Fuck them.

Idiotic Fundies gonna get it right...

The fact is...

Sexually Active Teens are gonna have sex... It is a propensity, that although can be controlled, likely will not. This reminds me also of the stupid argument against sex education in schools. Where I agree with the fact that sex education belongs in the home, the number of teen pregnancies prove that it is not.

But I digress...

Any, and I mean ANY vaccine that works 100% as this vaccine is purported to, should be utilized to the nth degree. Fear of premarital sex does not outweigh ONE human life.

but - I think the Fundie "teen sex" crapola is nothing but smoke and mirrors. Fact is, ANY vaccine that eliminates ANY form of cancer, will reduce the billions of dollars that go into "cancer research" every year. I's a fucking racket, they don't want a cure, or an effective vaccine, there are too many vested interests who don't give a damn about anything other than making $$$$$$. Go ahead and flame me, and be damned. It's true.

That it was those who make the money with chemo and all the cancer fighting whatevers that would not want this to happen. I really hate to think that people are that evil.

there is more money in people's suffering than there is in a cure. That's why the U.S. will always have privatized health care.

I am still not entirely convinced there isn't a secret cure to the common cold hidden somewhere.

Thank you Timothy Leary

The deal is--for years, a keystone of the "abstinence only" message has been that condoms don't work. They trot out HPV and showcase it as an example of how useless condoms are.

This vaccine knocks the wheels entirely off that bus.

It's got them REALLY pissed.

That I've read, also state that certain strains of HPV are transmittable just by touch, so even comdoms aren't an issue.

I suppose next, a company will come out with really expensive plastic bubbles that can be sold to the paranoid fundies to put their kids in...

Hey, anyone have a million or so to invest??? ;-)

A vaccine will cost - what? $50? $100? Compare that to what they rake in from cancer treatments. My mom's chemo ran between $2K and $5K per treatment. She had one round in '82 when she was originally diagnosed. When she was re-diagnosed in '99, she went through a series of treatments with various chemo cocktails almost non-stop for nearly 3 years. She was on Procrit for the last 2 years (no idea what that cost) and had 2 or 3 doses of Neulasta at $2900 a pop. She died in '03 of breast cancer, but I'm sure the treatment costs are comparable.

I am a therapist who works with survivors of child sexual abuse. I have seen a number of survivors who developed cervical cancer as a result of their early abuse. Several of them were molested by their fundamentalist fathers, one who preached at her while he was raping her. I really hate these people for what they do.

What your clients have endured is SO horrible on SO many levels, and then for them to be punished again with physical suffering, after having endured so much emotional and spiritual pain.... well, there just aren't words. I hope that your clients know that there are people who wish them ONLY good.

even with the scars.At least that is the hope.

Terri Shiavio was one thing, but this is another.

How many people have died because of religious stupidity? How many died with AIDS because the church didn't want condoms handed to the poor in third world countries? And now they'll turn their backs on something that can actually save lives. They are unfit to lead.

never been promiscuous, was in a marriage for cripe sake. I had to have my cervix removed along with my uterus. Would have jumped at the opportunity to have prevented any of it and be whole. I was uninsured so paying for this surgery and doctor bills took me years.

I have a grown daughter, I would want this for her, and my granddaughter. What is wrong with these people? Why do they hate women?

You bet if they had a way of preventing STDs in males it would be placed on the market.

I honestly believe these people believe that Eve cursed women that it is their DUTY to endure any and all because it is GODs curse to women for being disobedient.

gloves OFF. NOW!

:thumbsup: I do, not for me but for those that come after me. My Daughter, Sons, and grand babies.

I do it for those that are caught in a war not of their making, a war that was based on lies, a war that profits a few. So much pain and suffering, it makes my soul heavy in grief. So maybe, in part, it is for me after all, the weight is quickly, becoming unbearable.

with you. As a woman, I was always terrified of getting any of the gynecological cancers, especially ovarian and cervical. I had a total hysterectomy three years ago at the age of 37, due to endometriosis and ovarian cysts, so the only one I have to worry about now, thank God, is breast cancer. But it infuriates me no end to think of the needless suffering so many thousands of women are enduring and will endure because of these fuckers, and I've fucking had enough.

These are NOT true Christians. God himself wouldn't recognize them. No amount of "dialogue" or "understanding" will work with them because they will just roll over you. Taking the gloves off and fighting fire with fire is the only thing that will work now. And that's what we must do. I'm a paralegal, so I'm gonna do some research into some possibilities of what we can do and how we can fight these fuckers who would so gleefully see women suffer so horribly.

My brother lost his wife two years ago, leaving behind a beautiful baby girl.

And those RW nutjobs have no idea what they are talking about. It is like saying everyone who gets lung cancer is a smoker....my MIL had it and never smoked a day in her life.

HPV CAN cause cervical cancer and it CAN be related to sexual activity.

Tell that to my grieving brother now forced to raise his baby alone.

Fuckers.

It breaks my heart to know that you and Mrs m had to go through this. It drives me wild with anger knowing christofascists, who aim for more and more political power, want to remake this country into some kind of concentration camp of repentance, punishment specifically aimed at women who brought ont "the fall" and can only "redeem themselves" through obedience and unending breeding under her husband.

Dems are starting to log victories, and the majority of Americans see the lies and idiocy of RW politics.

I think that any movement against the RW and BushCo et al. HAS to include activity to expose and stop the fundamentalist Xtian maniacs as well. Fundamentalism propagates suffering, no matter what the flavor. Its incredibly dangerous because it blinds people to human suffering in favor of a fantasy world of imagined purity and ease in a land other than the reality we live in.

As long as they keep it to themselves, fine, believe whatever crazy crap you want, but they aim to legislate their superstition of hate and fantasy so it can be imposed on everyone. They actively cause suffering. Women who are involved in pushing this agenda--I dunno, I guess they have a deep resentment of being female?

Anything we can do as a group to move this forward and make sure it gets the focus it needs as a part of political change is something I want to be involved in.

best to you and everyone here

I am very sorry for the pain you and your wife had to experience

are fucking insane. No wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket, and Europeans think we're a nation of Bible thumping morons.

My mom went through this. For what it's worth, I'm with you all the way.

who's says the boys will be? Because that's how it's spread. And, as the women are the only ones who can get cervical cancer, this is just another way to control women's bodies. I'm with you 100%, matcom. This goes beyond decency and becomes an outright human rights violation.

virtually everything BushCo and his followers do is designed to control women's bodies. I mean, think about it. And not just American women.

www.34millionfriends.org

Because she just went through a year of cancer treatments, has some tumors, and the doctor doesn't want to take any chances that she will go through what Mrs. Matcom went through.

If you want to get extra pissed off, think about this article next to the articles that are complaining that the government should be telling people that condoms don't work against viruses and STD's. So, not only do they not want this vaccination, but they don't want the condoms that would help prevent the diseases either.

I fully understand your disgust. It is exactly this kind of stuff that made me dump religion a few years ago. Nothing that fosters this kind of stupidity can come from anything good and real.

I am so glad your wife is well. Perhaps with the bigger horrors that are facing us, we're forgetting the more personal ones.

...whereby you can be charged with a crime if you let someone come to harm or die, when your help cold have prevented it. I believe that's also in the spirit of the First Commandment.

These religious potentates, who seem to have missed the spirit of their religion, need to re-examine their motives and ask themselves if they're really serving God -- or have they possibly been deceived (if you get my meaning).

I HATE the fucking bastards.....

of you that that she is healthy today.

This story is so horrifying. These people are EXACTLY the same as those who stone women, and those that burned women at the stake in the dark ages. They scare me..and that is why we must make sure that people like Alito do not get onto the Supreme Court. There is no end to what they will do to us if they succeed in getting total control of the courts and the legislatures in this country...

:scared:

How much I hate these people

And best wishes to you and Mrs. Matcom.

They will NOT win this fight. Absolutely not. In fact, they will be damaged by it.

... about this in GD a few days ago.

Yeah, these people are FUCKING INSANE

I thought they valued life.

Your wife sounds like one very courageous woman. I am so glad she is OK now.

Please give us the strength of will and the focus of energy to defeat these evil people that claim to be your followers. Please protect the women, children, and those poor that they prey on. Please reward them for their deeds on earth as you see fit. And if I end up in the neither regions with them, I would be grateful if you can arrange for me to be with my friends on the religous left, far far away from these evil people.

that aids was created to target gays and other "undesirables". The right wants to use a disease to scare people from having sex.

it just made more people careful. But that doesn't help the vulnerable of this world, especially women in patriarchal societies.

I too am a cancer survivor. I didn't have to endure chemo but did have major surgery and radiation in a plastic covered room behind a lead door in isolation. These *ucking idiot fundies disgust me. They are pure evil and I join you in your hate.

There are days when I cannot move or step down. On most days I have sever tremors in my left leg, left and right hands. Then there are times when my muscles freeze and I cant move for long periods of time. I can freeze and fall over literally at any moment. Whats embararrising is when I cant make to the baathroom in time.
Dose the religious right care no? Hell no.

First the make me feel guilty about being on disability, than they say I can't pray in thier churches. I mean I am pro stem cell and I have actually studied and lobbied for research the religious has all but black balled me. I have priest for life calling me everything from embryo farmer to toddler killer, to one Bishop actually saying I deserve PD for wanting to slaughter babies. I really hate these people. Especially since they dont represent me faith and I keep getting nailed by thier dogma 24 seven.

Matcom I am sorry for what happened :hug: Anytime that you want to protest any of the right wing nuts let me know. Peace to you my friend. I know how you feel. No one has the right to practice medicine without a license. And as I said no ones religion or government has the right to deny people medical science.

Re >>I have priest for life calling me everything from embryo farmer to toddler killer, to one Bishop actually saying I deserve PD for wanting to slaughter babies.<<

He actually said it to your face? I can't even imagine that kind of heartlessness...from ANYONE, much less a so-called "man of God." I know it's wrong to wish evil on anyone, but I know what I'd like to tell that bishop *HE* deserves!

What do these fanatics expect to gain from this kind of b.s.? Are they just expressing free-floating hostility, or what? It's hard to believe any priest of bishop thinks he's gonna win converts with these tactics, or get any member to remain in the fold who is thinking about leaving.

Really, what is with these people? Do they WANT to drive people out of their churches? Because they couldn't do a better job if they tried!

I think thats there end goal of it all.

They want everyone who refuses to follow them and their perverted, counterfeit religion into the ditch, the "showers" or the killing fields eventually.

I saw a bumpersticker that sums it up perfectly:

"In Jesus' time the Religious Right were called Pharisees."

These sick, creepy weirdos belong back in the Dark Ages. :grr:

But in reality mean this: (Thanks to Piers Anthony for the first few lines.)


Our Master who art in hell
Damned be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
On Earth as it is in Hell

We take this night
what is ours by right.
Take glory in our trespasses
As we glory in our trespasses against others

Lead us deep into temptation
And empower out evil
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
For ever and ever

The religious right is the reason I'm as politically active as I am today. One way to hurt the religious right is to support the groups that oppose them the most!

The ACLU www.aclu.org
Americans United www.au.org
People For the American Way www.pfaw.org
Southern Poverty Law Center www.tolerance.org

www.rcrc.org

to help smash the religious right,

Americans United for Seperation of Church and State, great organization - just got a $50 donation

whew. I am total agreement with you here.

Okay, I already knew they're assholes and they aren't pro-life either, but it amazes me they still have the gall to refer to themselves that way.

I'm happy to hear Mrs. Matcom survived her ordeal, though. Too many people go through the hell of chemotherapy and radiation therapy and end up dying anyway.

well not really. Once again they manage to prove they only care about life in the womb.

My sympathies go out to you and Mrs Matcom, I know what it's like to have a spouse with a deadly disease. It's almost worse for the person who has to watch and wait than it is for the person who is sick. You guys rock :yourock: :toast:

First of all, Thank goodness Mrs. Matcom is cancer free and healthy now! That is wonderful!

Now.... about these assholes.

I have never had sex outside of the marital relationship. However, my first husband slept with everything that would move, unbeknownst to me, and I thank the Lord now that I didn't end up with a disease. When I found out about his activities, I was tested for everything.

HOW DARE THEY state that I don't have the right to be protected against a virus that could caused me to develop cancer because it can be prevented by "proper sexual behavior"? Why should *I* be put at risk just because someone I trusted cheated on me? Do I deserve it for not being psychic? Do I deserve it by assuming at that time that since we were married and I was faithful that he was faithful as well?

I guess so. It all fits in the RW mentality of blaming the victim.

Re >>HOW DARE THEY state that I don't have the right to be protected against a virus that could caused me to develop cancer because it can be prevented by "proper sexual behavior"? Why should *I* be put at risk just because someone I trusted cheated on me? Do I deserve it for not being psychic? Do I deserve it by assuming at that time that since we were married and I was faithful that he was faithful as well?<<

Absolutely true. You can only know if YOU are faithful. You can't absolutely know if your spouse is faithful no matter what he says, because after all--some people lie.

Re >>I guess so. It all fits in the RW mentality of blaming the victim.<<

A small correction (not that I disagree with you): It all fits in with the RW mentality of blaming the WOMAN! If MEN could get cancer from the papilloma virus, do you think for one minute they'd be pulling this crap?

That made it much more to the point, didn't it?

I sure thing that if HPV gave men cancer, they would be LESS LIKELY to pull this, that's for sure.

God, that's insulting. All of it.

The fundamentalist nutcases would attempt to dissuade young women from receiving a vaccination that would virtually eliminate one of the worst cancers from the planet and just because they're afraid teens will have sex. Oh the horror! These are the same people that want to deny teens access to birth control. There's nothing like putting religion ahead of public health. I can't help but think this is because their religion hates women! No offense to liberal Christian DUers. I realize your religion does not hate women. Man, these people make me sick.

:mad: Especially for this! My grandfather died of lung cancer just this past July a few days after my birthday. I've had a few family members die of various cancers (I think mostly lung and one maybe breast but I'm not totally sure). If there is someway to get rid of just one cancer they need to use it and these people are NOT pro-life. They are selfish bastards.

The loonies on one side (they'd all fit in Montana) and the rest of the country in the other states. The normal states could make Montana an official Welfare state.

The loonies could spend 24 hours a day in church. Catering services could provide them with food. Mobile hospitals could service them for medical care. And they could pray, pray, pray, and not have sex until they all die out. Then and only then could we reclaim Montana. We would, of course, need Congress to pass a No More NutCases bill to ward off any future crackpots.

And if the omnipotent Catholic Church squawks? We could just ship all those dirty clerics back to Vatican City where they came from.

These people DO NOT believe in sexual abstinence - just the appearance of sexual abstinence. They also advocate having as many children as possible. Here's my addendum: surgical castration prior to exile, or chemical castration through the water and food supply.

In addition, I don't think we should give them Montana. I suggest we start a collection to relocate them to Darfur or Palestine. If they want to fight a religious fight, let's give them an opportunity to put their own lives on the line for their values instead of putting everyone elses life on the line for their values.

Just my $0.02.

already has a state picked out. They want to take over South Carolina.

http://christianexodus.org/

:puke: :banghead:

I read that article already, but holy fucking shit, your wife lived through that? Many props to her!

I would have disagreed with you, Matcom, but I received an email from a long-time friend that essentially was a call to arms about fighting the evil liberals who want to throw Jesus out of the Government & how the USA will go to hell in a handbag if "Christians" don't force their beliefs on others through the government. I tried to reason with her, point out that her faith was being used against her, that the very people who were preying on her were ridiculing her. SHE DIDN'T CARE. She even said "I don't see why you're so worried about what people think about me." I just sent her a final email saying, essentially, call me when you wake up.

I've had it. These rabid fundies will NOT see reason & can only spout off religious talking points that have been pounded into their heads.

I'm okay with people believing as they want, but dammit, I will fight them to the death if they use their religious bigotry to force that swill down my throat.

dg

This sounds like a problem he would love to trumpet. I can just picture the show now in my imagination.

Glad to hear your wife made it through the treatment. You are lucky to have each other.

I can only hope no one I love ever has to go through that kind of hell on earth.

I grew up in a fundy household and I am probably more outraged than you about this column because growing up I saw all kinds of examples where kid's emotional well-beings were sacrificed to satisfy a parent's screwed up religous belief. These are people who are so insecure and scared of their own sexual urges that they must erect rigid laws of behavior for everyone to follow. Most of them will not allow their daughters to be vaccinated, and a certain percentage of theose daughters will die because of it. In those cases, I hope the parents who refused to vacinate their daughters will go insane with grief and guilt.

Personally, I believe the actions of these extreme RW xtians will eventually insure they will be relegated back to the loony bins where they normally reside. Even in the Bible Belt, my parent's church was considered loony in the community.

Our youngest is 8, will he be denied access to a life-saving vaccine because of this crap?

How is this different than any other vaccine against any other disease like polio or measles or mumps or whatever. Oh, I forgot, it's about sex...

I can't believe this is being held up over such inane garbage.

It sounds like you and your wife have been to hell and back. Glad to hear all is well with Mrs. Matcom.

The Arab World was once a shining beacon of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and enlightenment.

The Arab World gave us algebra, the origins of modern chemistry, and countless other wonders.

Due in large part to the forces of fundamentalism, the Arab World has fallen into a grave moral and intellectual darkness.

We cannot let that happen to the United States. We must fight the fundamentalists on all fronts until our last breath so that future women, my own daughter one day perhaps, need not suffer such fates as cervical cancer and second-class citizenship.

Those that say the tide cannot be turned back are fooling themselves.

Look at Dover, PA where all 8 pro-creationism school board members were thrown out of office in the recent election.

Look also at Colorado Springs, headquaters of James Dobson, where the three "Focus on the Family" backed school board candidates were also rejected by voters.

Hope need not be extinguished, for the flame of reason is, I believe, an eternal one.

There is no reason she should have had to go through the hell she did. And there is no reason any other woman should have to go through that hell except for utter ignorance on the part of parents who refuse to let their daughters get innoculated.


Note to fundie whackjobs:
Refusing to get your child vaccinated will no more stop them from having sex than refusing to teach them to swim will prevent them from going into a pool, if they are bound and determined! If you are a parent and you allow your child to contract a deadly disease (or get pregnant) out of blind stupidity you are at fault, nobody else! "Abstinence only sex-ed" does not work!:rant:

According to their own logic, these people would rather SACRIFICE and PUNISH those who do exactly as they preach and PRACTICE PERFECT ABSTINENCE ( i.e., women who do stay a virgin until married, then learn they married a man who is not also a virgin and who gives them HPV, leading to cervical cancer and possibly death) JUST SO THEY CAN HAVE THE "SATISFACTION" OF WATCHING THE OTHER "SINNERS" SUFFER AND DIE AS WELL!

Yes, I'm certain that's what Jesus would have them do; condemn the innocent to suffering and death right alongside the sinners.

What a bunch of sick, SADISTIC, hypocritical ghouls!


"This was the response of Leslie Unruh of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse: ''I personally object to vaccinating children against a disease that is 100 percent preventable with proper sexual behavior."

Well Leslie, given the hypothetical but certainly realistic situation above, I guess cervical cancer ISN'T "100% preventable" with "proper" sexual behavior, now is it? Does it hurt being that stupid, Leslie? Unless what you meant was, abstinence should be practiced throughout one's lifetime; no sex, ever. Yes, yes, that would certainly prevent the spread of HPV, 100%. Of course, you realize if that happened, mankind itself would die off in about the next 70 years or so. And if THAT was part of your "Intelligent Design," then perhaps you can explain to me why we have reproductive organs. And the drive to use them.

I have to agree that when these cretins and killers inflict their ignorant social values and moronic judgementalism on society they need to be stopped cold.

They hate sex.
They hate women.
They hate themselves.

And they want to contaminate society with their virulent brand of stupidity.

More proof on the reason to separate church and state AND science.

http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/3429199D-5FE5-4795-B0E6-CD957617C160.asp

The moral and political backlash

>One might imagine that a vaccine that could prevent illness and death would be greeted with universal acclaim. However, a moral and political battle is now taking place in the United States because this kind of illness and death is via a sexually transmitted infection.

Some morally conservative parents together with Christian and right-wing pressure groups are voicing strong concerns, suggesting than an HPV vaccine would promote teenage sexual promiscuity. It’s an argument which wins no favour with Dr Jack Sobel, a professor of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit. He recently told Medscape: “It is beyond belief that there has been public opposition to, and protesting against, a vaccine that will save lives. The concern of increased promiscuity is incomprehensible.”

Nevertheless, this week's Fortune magazine features a major article highlighting the debate. They quote members of powerful Christian and right-wing lobbying organisations including Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, who said: "It sends the wrong message. Our concern is that this vaccine will be marketed to a segment of the population that should be getting a message about abstinence."

His views are echoed by Hal Wallis, a Dallas gynaecologist who is head of the conservative Physicians Consortium tells the magazine: "This isn't as much about morality as it is about good medicine. If you don't want to suffer these diseases, you need to abstain, and when you find a partner, stick with that partner." Leslie Unruh, of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse adds: "I personally object to vaccinating children against a disease that is 100% preventable with proper sexual behaviour." <

Sadly this is rooted in thousands of years of ignorance. I did a history paper regarding how medieval Catholic and Islamic societies treated lepers and disease in general. Muslims tried practical things aimed at alleviating symptoms like hot springs. Catholics looked at lepers as sinners and cast them out per Leviticus. They prayed when they got sick. Not empirical as Muslims.

but many will not, a reminder to treasure each day together.

Matcom, I am trying to think of a better example of evil and I am at a loss. This horror is now 100% preventable. These fools do not understand that their stance is 100% anti-Christian. The Christ advises, "Judge not lest ye be judged." But these evil people want to impose the possibility of cervical cancer as a punishment for sexual conduct they disapprove. In other words, they judge ... they attempt to take the place of their own God, and by their own Book that is blasphemy.

Treasure every minute you have together. Waste no energy in hate. Christ doesn't want you to kiss his ass ... he wants you to love and be loved.

Hate, you see, is the province of these false Christians ... whose words and actions do serve the purposes of a darker master.

<>
<><><>

I smell $$$$$$$$$$ X 10^6.

Our taxpayer dollars at work once again.

Throw the bums out in '06 nd 08!

.......

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_26049.shtml

Waxman Requests GAO Review of National Abstinence Clearinghouse Contract

By: Committee on Government Reform Minority Office
Published: October 6, 2005 at 11:44
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In a letter to GAO, Rep. Waxman raises concerns about possible ideological bias and financial conflicts of interest in a HHS funded review of abstinence-only curricula.

Waxman writes:

Dear Mr. Walker:

I am writing to ask that GAO investigate a contract for the review of abstinence-only curricula that raises serious questions about both ideological bias and financial conflicts of interest.

In January, I wrote to you along with nineteen other Members of Congress and Senators to request that GAO review the processes within the Department of Health and Human Services for determining the accuracy and evaluating the effects of "abstinence-only" education. This request stemmed from a report I released last December that found serious scientific and medical errors in 11 of the 13 most popular federally funded curricula. I am pleased that GAO has agreed to undertake this investigation.

I am writing to ask that you address in your investigation a $2.7 million dollar, three-year contract awarded by HHS for several tasks related to abstinence-only education. These tasks include technical assistance on medical accuracy for abstinence-only grantees; the development of criteria to ensure that curricula comply with the statutory definition of "abstinence," and the creation of a directory of curricula that meet these criteria. The contract was awarded in September 2002.

I am concerned for two reasons. The contract has been awarded to an organization with a strong ideological bias and a history of ignoring scientific evidence that challenges its positions. Moreover, the organization that received the contract appears to have a significant conflict of interest because it earns fees from abstinence-only resource providers whose curricula it is being asked to evaluate.

My concerns are detailed below.

The Contract

The Request for Proposals for the abstinence technical assistance contract was issued on June 20, 2002. According to the Statement of Work, the Contractor was to:

1. Develop national criteria for the review of abstinence-only curricula, based on compliance with federal definitions of abstinence-only education;
2. Develop and implement a procedure for the review of abstinence-only curricula, and produce a directory of approved curricula;
3. Develop and implement a program to provide medically accurate training and information to federal abstinence-only grantees; and
4. Develop and implement a program of consultation and technical support to federal abstinence-only grantees.

The total contract value was $2.7 million dollars, distributed over the first year plus two option years.

The agency has reported that the purpose of the criteria is to determine if curricula are in compliance with the federal definition of abstinence-only education. This is a peculiar question since the legal definition is already quite precise.

In contrast, medical inaccuracy is known to be a problem in abstinence-only curricula. A report I released last December found serious scientific and medical errors in 11 of the 13 most popular federally funded curricula, and this may have serious health consequences. Yet the contract does not require review of curricula for medical and scientific accuracy, providing only trainings on medical accuracy for abstinence educators.

Inclusion in the directory of approved curricula will not be a prerequisite for funding. However, it is reasonable to assume that applicants for federally-funded abstinence programs will want to select "approved" curricula to improve their chances of obtaining grants.

Selection of the Contractor

The abstinence technical assistance contract was awarded to the National Abstinence Clearinghouse on September 27, 2002. There are serious questions as to how the Clearinghouse was selected and whether it is an appropriately impartial and non-ideological contractor for the task.

First, it is uncertain how open the contracting process was. At its annual conference in August, a staff member for the Clearinghouse described the origins of the contract in the following way:

So the government said look, we're paying you to teach abstinence education, and we want to make sure that where our money is going - our money is going to quality programs. So they came to us - or, they put out a request for proposals ... And we put together a plan to provide some technical assistance to help the government get what they're paying for.

The presenter may have misspoken. However, the selection criteria in HHS's request for proposals seem to point specifically to the Clearinghouse. The ideal party for establishing national criteria would be non-ideological and able to impartially assess both the law and the curricula involved. However, the selection criteria include "organizational experience in serving as a nationwide resource for information and consultation on abstinence-only education." This description closely matches that of the Clearinghouse, which represents itself on its website as a "central location where materials and training to effectively convey the abstinence-until-marriage message could be provided" and which "serves agencies on a national, state and local level." While a handful of other parties submitted proposals, it is important to determine whether the selection criteria were stacked in favor of the Clearinghouse from the start.

I am also concerned about the bias of the contractor. The National Abstinence Clearinghouse is a vocal advocate for a narrow form of abstinence-only-until-marriage education, often choosing ideology over evidence. The mission of the Clearinghouse is "to promote the appreciation for and practice of sexual abstinence (purity) until marriage," and its official position statements include the following:

• "Masturbation ... Sex therapists consider masturbation the first stage of sexual addiction for sex addicts. This practice should not be encouraged as a 'safe' sexual practice."
• "Images in Educational Materials ... Diagrams of internal organs are acceptable, but images or pictures of external genitalia in any form, whether diseased or healthy, can be detrimental to the health of young men and women's minds."
• "Homosexuality ... Research shows the homosexual lifestyle is not a healthy alternative for males or females. The male and female body are not anatomically suited to accommodate sexual relations with members of the same sex. Sexual practices in the homosexual lifestyle are considered very dangerous for disease, infection, etc. This lifestyle should not be encouraged as healthy or as an equal alternative to marriage."

In support of its ideological agenda, the National Abstinence Clearinghouse has on multiple occasions misrepresented medical or scientific data. For example, last year Texas A&M researchers found that students became increasingly sexually active after abstinence-only programs, paralleling trends among their peers in the state. A principal investigator of the study stated, "The jury is still out, but most of what we've discovered shows there's no evidence the large amount of money we're spending is having an effect." Yet the Clearinghouse issued a press release titled "Texas A&M Study Shows Abstinence Education Works." Similarly, when last year researchers Peter Bearman and Hannah Bruckner at Columbia and Yale Universities found that teens who took "virginity pledges" were as likely to contract STDs as those who did not, the Clearinghouse press release read: "Bruckner and Bearman Study Shows Abstinence Education Works."

Clearinghouse President Leslee Unruh has also criticized crucial public health interventions on ideological grounds. For example, in recent clinical trials, new vaccines were highly effective in preventing the transmission of the human papillomavirus strains associated with most cases of cervical cancer. This intervention could save thousands of women's lives in the United States and many more worldwide. Yet in a Clearinghouse release, Ms. Unruh called the idea of routine vaccination "an outrage" and stated that the costs "would be much safer spent on abstinence education."

Conflicts of Interest

The Clearinghouse's financial relationship with publishers of curricula also raises questions. The group makes money from curriculum providers by selling benefits that include extensive advertising, distribution and certification. There would appear to be a conflict when an organization that solicits funds from resource providers is hired to determine which of those resources are eligible for federal funding.

The Clearinghouse has a strong financial relationship with many abstinence-only curriculum providers, offering individuals and groups varying levels of "affiliation." At the higher levels, benefits include publicity for speakers or materials. For example, for $480 per year, "Engagers" receive a consultation session, a quarter-page ad, "distribution service," and a private session with President Leslee Unruh. Prospective affiliates are told: "Getting a product into the hands of consumers takes experience and the proper resources. The Abstinence Clearinghouse has both and we can help Engagers reach their product goals."

Similarly, for its annual conference this August, the Clearinghouse offered resource providers varying levels of sponsorship that include multiple forms of advertising. For example, at the highest level of $3,600, Gold Sponsor benefits included pamphlet inserts in the registration bag, one booth space, and a full-page ad in the conference binder. The Clearinghouse's message to resource providers was unambiguous:

The International Abstinence Leadership Conference is the world's largest gathering of like-minded abstinence managers, coordinators, educators and students. These 1,100 plus attendees have a combined annual budget totaling more than $250 million. This amount will increase when the President's proposals for increasing the federal budget for abstinence education, fatherhood initiatives, and marriage preparation education are implemented. Resource providers should not be asking, "Can I afford to exhibit at this conference?" Instead they should ask, "Is this a conference I can afford to miss?" The answer is a resounding "NO!"

In addition, the Clearinghouse charges abstinence educators for "Certification." The significance of certification is unclear; conference attendees were told, "It's all about credibility." Requirements for certification include a fee to the Clearinghouse and a test on the fundamentals of abstinence education. However, conference attendees were assured regarding the test that "We just want to make sure ... that the information has gone in and stayed in for a minute and then can be spewed back out, that's basically all we need." Regardless of its debatable utility, the certification process represents another financial interest between the organization and the abstinence-only community.

With these strong financial relationships in place, it is difficult to see how the National Abstinence Clearinghouse could be seen as a disinterested arbiter of the eligibility of different curricula for federal funding.

Conclusion

The GAO study will cover how HHS has reviewed the accuracy and effectiveness of abstinence-only programs it funds. I ask that as part of this review, you assess HHS's contract for national criteria and a directory and abstinence-only technical assistance.

Specific questions you may want to address include:
1. How was the National Abstinence Clearinghouse selected as the contractor?
2. What was the relevant training and expertise of the members of the expert panels that the Clearinghouse convened to develop and apply national criteria?
3. Has HHS taken any steps to address potential conflicts of interest created by the Clearinghouse's commercial relationship with abstinence-only resource providers?
4. Why doesn't the contract include criteria for assessing the medical and scientific accuracy of curricula themselves?
5. What were the training needs identified by the contractor or subcontractors in the area of medical accuracy? Did HHS review the medical or factual accuracy of information provided at the trainings given by the two subcontractors?

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman
Ranking Minority Member

Oh my g-a-w-d. they got 131 million from shurbco and Unruh said it was not enough. Folks, this is big biddness, as they say in Texas.

131 million of our tax money!!!!!!!!

Snotty: The Preznit is for abstinence programsn because they work and they work because the Preznit is for them, said the master of tautolgy,a rose is a rose, Snotty McLiar.
........

http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?hint=2&DR_ID=26917

Daily Women's Health Policy

National Politics & Policy | Bush Administration Pushes for, Receives Additional Funding for Abstinence-Only Education

President Bush's re-election already has resulted in additional federal funding for abstinence-only sex-education programs that exclude discussion of contraceptives, although a study evaluating the programs has not yet been completed to show whether the method helps youth remain sexually abstinent, the AP/Kansas City Star reports (Sherman, AP/Kansas City Star, 11/25). Congress earlier this month approved a $388 billion omnibus spending measure (HR 4818) for fiscal year 2005 that includes more than $131 million for abstinence-education programs, the Washington Times reports. Although the increase -- about $30 million more than FY 2004 spending -- represents a "record level," the amount is about $100 million less than Bush requested, leaders of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse said, according to the Times. White House spokesperson Scott McClellan on Nov. 17 said that the Bush administration believes that funding for abstinence education should be equal to other sex-education programs, according to the Times. "The president is an advocate of abstinence-education programs because he wants to focus on what works," McClellan said

Hell most of them are practicing medicine without a license when they try to legislate there medical views into laws dont they. Or when they want to interfere on a medical descion like stem cell research or abortion out of medical need.
It is time for everyone on this page to put thier heads together and fight the right. The time is now. and note am not saying anything bad about left wing christians it just we cant afford to be complacent and quiet any longer.

It's just like when they want condoms banned in Africa saying that HIV can be prevented with abstinence. These people make me so MAD! :mad:

Abstinence is big, big, $$$$ for radicalrightwing shills

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0209.larson.html

Pork for Prudes
How conservatives score, while teaching kids not to.

>Not surprisingly, state abstinence programs have attracted passionate criticism from liberals, and some programs have faced charges of fraud and mismanagement. The first round of contracts awarded by Arkansas' abstinence program was delayed by the state legislature, which suspected bias in the grant review process toward groups aligned with national conservative organizations; the legislators subsequently learned that the governor's abstinence committee had kept no meeting minutes or governing bylaws. In Louisiana, the ACLU recently won a suit in federal court against the state after discovering that some abstinence grant recipients had used the money for proselytizing, including lessons on the Virgin Mary as an exemplar of abstinence, and for prayer vigils outside abortion clinics.

Well-Endowed

To circumvent skeptical state health departments, conservative lawmakers are maneuvering more federal money directly into the hands of abstinence enthusiasts. In 2000, Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.) secured an amendment to the annual Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill to fund a new $20-million abstinence program. (In order to secure its passage, Istook struck a bargain with House Democrats to drop a Republican-backed provision limiting teens' access to Title X-funded clinics.) The following year, he successfully doubled the program budget to $40 million. Istook's program allows nonprofits--notably, conservative and faith-based groups in states where abstinence education is unpopular--to apply directly to the federal government for funding...


Nationally, conservative activists organize grant-writing workshops to help local abstinence groups capitalize on federal funding. When HHS announced Istook's new grant program, its office was flooded with nearly 400 applications. "If it hadn't been for us, no one would have known about this program," says Leslee Unruh, founder and president of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D. ....

When the inaugural grants for Istook's program were announced last June, the organizational impact of conservatives was evident. Nearly every group that received funding had ties to either the National Abstinence Clearinghouse, a conservative lawmaker, or to a faith-based group. <

>The National Abstinence Clearinghouse sells books by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, videos by the Family Research Council, even stickers and keychains emblazoned with slogans such as "I'm Worth Waiting For" and "Pet Your Dog, Not Your Date." <

This from goon like Dobson-ofa%#@! who admitted to beating his little dog in one of his books???

In his case he should neither pet his dog nor any other living creatre.

What an unholy alliance of hypocretins.

I have also noticed that Bob Dole can get a boner, despite the fact that I never wanted that image in my head, yet AIDS patients still lay dying all over the world. It never ceases to amaze me that they take that kind of attitude toward disease and basically say people deserve disease because they were unfortunate enough to get it. I always wish they would learn to be more compassionate, but like my granny always said, "Wish in one hand and shit in the other one and see which one gets full the quickest."

I am happy that your loved one survived. I wish every woman could get the vaccine. I know how those people operate though. They could get oxygen banned with fifteen letter, yet we can't get a cured form of cancer prevented without a miracle.

Didn't he have a major campaign against cervical cancer after his wife Gilda Radner died? I say we get a celebrity involved in this issue. He's the first to come to mind. Perhaps the money he spent on this issue helped get this drug in the first place. I can imagine this would piss him off like crazy.

info@genewilder.com <info@genewilder.com>

Cervical Cancer Cure Foiled by Abstinence Movement

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing this letter in conjunction with a group of people called the Democratic Underground. I'm hoping you can forward this message directly to Mr. Wilder and the people who are responsible for his noted work on Cervical Cancer prevention and cure. The following article caught our attention:

<snip>

ELLEN GOODMAN
Good news on cancer? Not for everyone
By Ellen Goodman | November 12, 2005

THERE WAS a time when only the loony left believed that the loony right favored death over sex. Not anymore.

If you've been engrossed in the culture-war correspondence on the judicial front, maybe you missed the news on the medical front. While the religious right escorted Harriet Miers out and welcomed Samuel Alito in, a group of scientists announced the beginning of the end of a deadly cancer.

In clinical trials, a new vaccine was 100 percent successful in preventing the virus that causes most cervical cancer, the second-leading cancer killer of women in the world. Every year some 10,000 American women are diagnosed with it and nearly 4,000 die. It now appears that with government approval and funding, we're on our way to ending this scourge.

The success story was greeted with cork-popping enthusiasm by doctors. Eliav Barr of the beleaguered Merck, one of the two companies to develop a vaccine, offered a toast: ''This is it. This is the Holy Grail." But it appears that social conservatives aren't drinking from the same chalice.

This was the response of Leslie Unruh of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse: ''I personally object to vaccinating children against a disease that is 100 percent preventable with proper sexual behavior."

<snip>

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped...


Please note that we have a thread on this subject on our website:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5343865&mesg_id=5343865

We hope that you could contact Mr. Wilder and make him aware of this article and with his familiarity and passion for this issue we might wage a fight against the abstinence movement and their Talibanesque tactics.

Thank you,

"demnan" (and others of Democractic Underground)

But I'm sure he'll be interested in this vaccine and the opposition to it, anyway.

Gene Wilder had cancer, too, and is in remission from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was diagnosed with it in 1999.

Here's the link to an article about him in the Washington Post from this past March: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5809-2005Mar27.html

Here's a snip from that article:

Something tells me he'll take an interest in a vaccine to prevent a cancer, and religious extremists trying to block it on the basis of "sexual propriety". I don't think he'll take kindly to ANY cancer being characterized as "deserved", period. There's also the fact that cervical and ovarian cancers are both of the female reproductive system, so Gene Wilder may indeed have especially strong feelings about the issue due to Gilda's ordeal.

and queer nation.

both of those organizations -- though hated on the one hand -- brought TREMENDOUS pressure to bear on both politicos and pharms.

i've thought for a long time that it was time to show up on the doorsteps of hatespewing fundy churches -- on sundays -- and confront them with their hate.

why should we let them be comfortable?
they hunt those they hate -- do the same.

gay folk never had teh numbers to ignite a movement among straight folks so that it would really spread to thinking about health care etc -- maybe cervical cancer can do the trick?

control their bodies and their sexuality. Examine the facts:

1) Already good quality sex education has been replaced by abstinence education. And I don't mean teaching abstinence along with good sex information, I mean abstinence alone. Nothing about STDs, nothing about unwanted pregnancy. Nothing but "don't do it." Excuse Me!!! You were 15 once. What would you rather have, good information or someone shaking a finger saying No! No!?

2) Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control or the morning after pill because it supposedly interferes with their "morals." Oh puhhleeeeezeee. You'll fill that 85-year old geezers prescription for Viagra, but you won't fill a script for birth control?

3) Roe v. Wade in the target sights. Forget all the hype and put down the bullshit. No one, repeat after me, no one is pro-abortion. You are either pro-choice or anti-choice. If you are anti-choice than by default you have agreed that the government--or some other entity--should have more control over a woman's body than she does. Don't even try to distract from the core issue and frame the discussion any other way. It's choice or anti-choice.

4) The renewed pogrom against gays. Yessiree, with the red menace gone, the hate-based fundies need a new whipping boy and this whipping boy is gonna be queer. And you think just 'cause you're not gay that you don't have a stake in the gay rights issue? Think again, O heterosexual one. It's just a hop, skip and a jump from my crotch to yours. If the fundies have their way, ANY SEXUAL ACTIVITY OUTSIDE THE BOUNDS OF RELIGIOUSLY SANCTIONED MARRIAGE FOR THE EXPLICIT PURPOSES OF PROCREATION would be ILLEGAL. Think about it. Against the law to masturbate? Or against the law to have any type of premarital sex? Do you really want to go there? I didn't think so.

Not only do they lie, but they want you to die. It's the American Taliban and they are a disease on the USA.

Dear Ms. Unruh,
That you would presume to decide for other people whether or not their daughters should be vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer is OUTRAGEOUS. What is your goal? Is it women's health or is it control of women's bodies?

I have two teenage daughters, and I can see that it is hard to be a teen in today's world. They are admirable young people, with big hearts and big ambitions and good grades and a loving family, and still I know that even if they somehow make all the right decisions, which they probably won’t, bad things can happen to them. Date rape is rampant. This particular virus can be passed by behavior that falls far short of intercourse.

What is it you want for all of these girls? That you spread disinformation and fear hints at an answer. Why are you so desperate to make decisions for them that their families should be making? We do not want you in our household. I wouldn't trust you to drive my daughters to the movies, but I will use you as an example whenever the subject of misogyny comes up. I will point out to my daughters that not all misogynists are men.
Sincerely,


The link is posted above, but here it is:
http://www.abstinence.net/contact.php

I actually want them all to DIE, preferably from something horrible like this.

The Talibornigan are absolutely evil. They are so filled with hate and ignorance. I don't know what to do about them though.

My girlfriend's brother-in-law was diagnosed with type IV throat cancer. He never smoked, or chewed, or used any tobacco. The cancer was so bad, and in such a bad place, he had to have a four day stay in the hospital while he was pumped full of chemo. He went through that four times followed by SEVERE radiation. The pain was so bad, he was delusional. His wife considered having him committed, fearing he would kill himself. Worse, after all the treatments the cancer was still there. He had to have extensive surgery, cutting beneath his chin and going back behind his ear. Part of his palate was removed, preventing him from being able to eat, as everything comes through his nose now. He has to use a feeding tube for the rest of his life. He also had a third of his tongue removed, making it hard for him to speak. Huge skin grafts from his leg and arm were required to build his chin. I saw him on Friday and gave him a big hug. Now, Jesus died for your sins? Sorry, that guilt trip doesn't work anymore. Jesus ain't got nothing on Lee.

Today I read the NYT's book review of Jesus Land, by Julia Scheeres (attached). My rage toward the religious "right," who are most often dead wrong, is also white hot .. Willie Pete (white phosphorous) hot. How can so many be so wrong about basic morality and common decency? It is totally antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.

Thank goodness Mrs. Matcom is well now. I hope, too, that Julia Sheeres' adopted brother David, an African American begrudgingly adopted by a Christian fundy couple, has recovered fully from his close encounters with the worst kind.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/13/books/review/13smith.html

that all men carry the potential to pass on HPV....so are they advocating homosexuality? Because married, monogamous women get cervical cancer too.

''I personally object to vaccinating children against a disease that is 100 percent preventable with proper sexual behavior."

The stupidity of that remark is horrific.

especially the female children. Just imagine what kind of parents they are, how they "train" their children for society, how they try - and too often succeed - in twisting these young minds away from health and human kindness.

What a cruel joke, in the typical Orwellian style: "Culture of Life."

She was lucky - there was a tiny blur on her mammogram, and they decided to investigate. She is a woman of faith, but that didn't stop her from seeking an agressive treatment. In her circle of friends, there are 4 cancert survivors (2 breast cancer and 2 cervical cancer), and all of them were fortunate enought to discover it early and to have access to great health care to beat that fucking disease.

What the hell is wrong with those wing-nuts? My parents are pretty far out there, but even they recognize that a book with black and red letters is not going to save them from medical problems. Sheesh!

I found this article about the vaccine on the website for "Gilda's Club Worldwide", the parent organization of Gilda's Clubs which are support communities for cancer victims and their loved ones. The first clubhouse was opened in New York City in 1995 and there are now over 25 of them open or in the process of being developed.

Anyway, the website has an article about the vaccine, Gardasil.
http://gildasclubworldwide.healthology.com/focus_article.asp?b=gildasclubworldwide&f=cancer&c=cancer_cervicalcancer&spg=FI

It's a very informative article, but here's the really good stuff!!

<snip>



Later in the article:




SO..... LET 'EM TRY to block this vaccine!! Let 'em come out swinging against the VAST MAJORITY of parents and doctors in the country, and see what kind of response they get!!! I think they're going to find themselves despised by nearly everyone, as they should be. I'm not saying we shouldn't sound the alarm and fight them hard, just pointing out that it apparently won't be all that much of a fight, as most of the parents and doctors are already on our side on this, and that's not counting everyone else who's ever been touched by cancer directly or in connection to a loved one. Basically, if the loony righties make much of an effort to actively prevent the vaccine from being routinely administered, they're going to be shooting themselves right in the ass, bigtime. What we need to do is trumpet the findings in these studies, and the fact that the "abstinence or death" folks are extreme fringe lunatics who are completely out of the mainstream -- or even reality.

keep it up people! THANK YOU for this!

...I'm taking both of my daughters to get it. Hell, I'll get it for myself, too.

I will teach sexual morals but I fully understand that, ultimately, they must make their own choices in this matter. But I will do anything to protect their health. Anything. As a parent, it's the responsible thing to do.

:kick:

:kick:

One of the early Popes (or his advisors) realised that if they both made virtually every possible sexual act a sin and cornered the market on issuing lisences to screw, they had what ammounted to total control of their congregations.

Virtually everyone wants to have sex, and large proportion of those will take sex whenever and wherever they can get it. Allways have and allways will. Even if ones only partner is Rosy Palm and her five daughters. And it's a rare bird indeed who has never entertained a lustful thought.

They define the rules in such a way as to make virtually every man and woman a sinner and strangely one's only hope of redemption is to fill a pew and fill the plate on it's way past.

...warned milquetoast centrists like yourself about the right wing. Long have you scoffed, fond of your fantasies of "bipartisanship."

Now the stock market bubble's gone and the blush is off your romance with the right. Pity.

You have nothing to blame, dear lady, for the rise of totalitarian right wing militancy but your own tepid and useless politics of accomodation. Happy with the perks while they lasted, you and your ilk let the devil take over.

Don't come whining now that you don't like the smell of sulfur.

So many people who kept an eye on these things -- the little news items about a senator who doesn't think marital rape exists, about an incident in a small-town pharmacy, a school board election where fundamentalists were the only people running, etc. -- have been prophesying for years that this shit was coming down the pike, but were told that they were being alarmist and they should sit down and shut up for the good of the party.