On June 16, California Church IMPACT will hold a protest outside the capitol to protest the cuts.

Join us Tuesday, June 16 from 9 a.m. to noon in Sacramento to have a huge faith rally on behalf of every single human life that is being thrown away to balance our budget!  

Every single social support in welfare, health, and even prenatal care is being ripped out of the budget to prevent having to revisit tax increases on those with resources.   We MUST be present to witness against this disgusting and utterly immoral action!

We will begin our march at the Capitol from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. followed by visits by you to YOUR legislator.  You will carry the message:  “One who oppresses the poor to increase his or her own wealth, and one who gives gifts to the rich – both come to poverty.” (Pr.22:16) Those already living on the thin edge due to the economic crisis are now being pushed into abject misery, homelessness, even loss of life.  This is not an exaggeration since even some dialysis service is being eliminated, a sure and certain death sentence for those with kidney failure.

Check the full details here.

we get further into the budget mess, we hear a lot about it in what is left of the Sacramento media. We hear a lot about it in traditional activist circles.  But the message has only peripherally escaped beyond that.  Getting people to understand has to come through a full court press from all interested parties.  That means mainstream media, blogs, emails, letters to the editor, and person to person communication.

But all that work cannot exempt any of us from doing the good ol’ fashioned protest.  In San Francisco and Sacramento today, activists will protest the cuts to HIV/AIDS services and education.  At 10 AM, a broad coalition will join together at SF City Hall to make it clear that these drastic cuts in HIV education are simply not acceptable.  A bunch of people will then hop on a bus on their way to Sacramento for a protest at the State Capitol at 1:30 PM.  I’ll post some pictures from the festivities later this morning.

But it simply must go beyond single silo-based activist protests. We can get tens of thousands of people to show up to protest Prop 8, yet HIV funding cuts aren’t nearly as good of a draw.  Look, both issues should matter to the LGBT community, and frankly, to progressives generally. Further, we need to protest the budget cuts in general.  Education funding cuts affect a profound array of issues, as do health and services cuts.  California’s leaders must understand that their constituents care about a functioning government, and while not the only way, they need to see it in the protests.

So, there will be an array of protests over the next few weeks. If you have details on anything, please post it in the comments.  And if you are in SF, please join me for a the HIV/AIDS protest at 10 AM at City Hall.

XPosted 4/7/2008 11:46 PM PDT on MyDesert.com by BluePalmSpringsBoyz

Overheard Saturday night at the Democrats of the Desert Awards Banquet at the Las Rancho Palmas Resort, the decision to seek to close the Cathedral City medical marijuana clinic was made by Mayor Kathy DeRosa (R), Mayor Pro Tem Charles England (R), and Councilmember Chuck Vasquez (R-Closet Case) who voted to close the clinic.

Councilmember Greg Pettis (D), Candidate for the CA 80th Assembly District, and Councilmember Paul Marchand (D), Candidate for Mayor of Cathedral City, voted to support the clinic but were overruled by the Republican majority on council.  In fact, Pettis was slated to appear at an event to support medical marijuana patients at Copy Kats last night, but the event was postponed.

More below the flip…

According to a Cathedral City source for background, Cathedral City council, under the auspices of DeRosa, has a policy to apparently vote on issues in private and to not announce the individual votes of the councilmembers.  This is really “Small Town in Mass Society” (Vidich) mentality.  Anyway, the Desert Sun never printed who voted what way as the specific vote was never announced as per usual.

Seems that DeRosa, England, and Vasquez are out of step with Californians overall and Cathedral City residents who favor keeping the clinic open to service patients diagnosed with cancer, chronic pain, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, etc.  Isn’t this the same party that opposes stem cell research?  What kind of family values does the Republican party really have?

The 2007 United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) is meeting in the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, CA from November 7 – 10.  Palm Springs is the smallest city to ever host the conference.  However, this marks the largest attendance of health care experts, service providers and those living with AIDS thus far in the 11 year history of the USCA.  The USCA has had an impressive list of sessions, including institutes, seminars, workshops, roundtables, and posters.

The Desert Sun reported on the official Mayors’ Welcome Reception at Hotel Zoso:

Hundreds of people, gathered in Palm Springs for the country’s largest annual AIDS conference, raised their index fingers to the sky Thursday night.

One.

For the millions of ones lost to the epidemic. For the millions of ones who survive. And, for the millions of ones who continue the fight.

It was a common message shared during an otherwise festive cocktail party – the official Mayors’ Welcome Reception at Hotel Zoso – for the National Minority AIDS Council’s 2007 United States Conference on AIDS.

“Too many people, for a long time, have (believed) that this is a gay man’s disease,” said Clayton Barbour, medical director of the Desert AIDS Project’s Wells Fargo HIV Health Center.

“But we are a diverse community. And everyone is at risk.”

The USCA 2007 Sponsor is the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC).  NMAC was established in 1987, and is the premiere National organization dedicated to developing leadership within communities of color to address the challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  For additional information on NMAC, send an e-mail to [email protected], or contact NMAC offices directly at NMAC – Main Office, 1931 13th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009-4432, Tel: (202) 483-6622, Fax: (202) 483-1135; (202) 483-1127.

More below the flip…

USCA 2007 is the nation’s largest AIDS conference.  USCA 2007 is covering all areas of HIV/AIDS related topics such as Treatment and Research, Housing, Nutrition, Prevention, Public Policy, Building Healthy Organizations, Care and Primary Care, and other special issues.  USCA 2007 has over 150 exhibitors and has attracted over 4,000 attendees working in all areas of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic.  USCA 2007 highlights the risk of HIV/AIDS in the Native American community.

“Too many people, for a long time, have (believed) that this is a gay man’s disease,” said Clayton Barbour, Medical Director of the Desert AIDS Project’s (DAP) Wells Fargo HIV Health Center.  DAP provides medical care and comprehensive support services to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Coachella Valley.  Free, anonymous HIV testing is available, as well as counseling, home health services, legal assistance, and assistance with housing, medications, food, re-employment, and more.  Prevention and education outreach is available to any group.  As a fundraiser, DAP operates 5 thrift stores including Revivals in Cathedral City, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Desert Hot Springs.  To make a donation, volunteer, or for more info on DAP call 760-323-2118.

USCA 2007 Program Partners include:

• AIDS Action
• The AIDS Institute
• AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families
• AIDS Medicine and Miracles
• American Academy of HIV Medicine
• Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
• Association of Nutrition Services Agencies
• The Balm in Gilead
• CAEAR Foundation
• Camp Heartland
• Elton John AIDS Foundation
• LIFEbeat
• Mothers’ Voices – United to End AIDS
• The NAMES Project Foundation
• National AIDS Housing Coalition
• National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
• National Association of People with AIDS
• National Native American AIDS Prevention Center