Congress just gave away another $48 Billion to fight AIDS

[mrplunkey]

That chart looks the way it does because the number of deaths due to AIDS has dramatically decreased due to research. Just last year I biked almost 500 miles to raise money for AIDS related charities and a lot of it came from EF people.

Let's go with that supposition. Let's even say for every life lost we save ten. That's still a disproportionate amount of spending in terms of $ spent per life lost.

 

[heatherrae]

Let's go with that supposition. Let's even say for every life lost we save ten. That's still a disproportionate amount of spending in terms of $ spent per life lost.

Putting a dollar figure on saving lives is pretty tacky.

Otherwise, research & development is always heavy spending on the front end, right? I mean once you have the cure, the cost is very low. AIDS could one day be completely obsolete like small pox or polio.

 

[heatherrae]

I live in America and I think this is bullshit.

Here's another American's opinion:
Research Priorities Askew - Health - redOrbit

Nearly 73,000 Americans died of Alzheimer's Disease in 2006, the most recent year for which numbers are available. By comparison, about 14,000 died of AIDS. And yet the amount of money spent on Alzheimer's research by the federal government is a fraction of the $2.9 billion it spends on HIV/AIDS research.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 56,300 Americans were newly infected with HIV in 2006, while there were more than 411,000 new cases of Alzheimer's. And yet, federal funding for Alzheimer's research has been stuck at about $650 million a year for the past five years, compared to the $2.9 billion for HIV/AIDS.

Alzheimer's and other dementias account for about a third of the $450 billion now spent on Medicare beneficiaries. In just 25 years, one expert told Congress, Alzheimer's costs will approach the entire amount now spent on Medicare. In other words, Alzheimer's-related costs will overrun the Medicare system, and Medicaid as well.

So, more should be spent for alzheimers research, not less for AIDS research.

 

[heatherrae]

And by the way, what's also funny is that...even though I'm not a millionaire like most other members...I probably make more private donations than you do. The cool thing about private donations is that (aside from the money going where it should) you can do in depth research on the organization and focus on causes you believe in.

What money I do donate usually goes towards former members of the armed service, cancer (my gramps died of lung cancer despite smoking the equivalent of one pack of cigarettes his entire life), and MS (both my aunt and uncle...and therefore probably my cousins in the future) are afflicted.

But yeah, as long as you agree with what Uncle Sam is doing about this situation I'm sure you think that makes you the more generous one.

Well, your uncle CREATED his own condition, so he deserved to suffer and die of cancer, and we shouldn't even bother doing lung cancer research because those people should have known better, right?

That is what you guys are saying about AIDS, anyway.

Funny how it doesn't apply to cancer in your minds.

Maybe you are just homophobic and ignorant about AIDS

 

[75th]

Well, your uncle CREATED his own condition, so he deserved to suffer and die of cancer, and we shouldn't even bother doing lung cancer research because those people should have known better, right?

That is what you guys are saying about AIDS, anyway.

Funny how it doesn't apply to cancer in your minds.

Maybe you are just homophobic and ignorant about AIDS

Look, everybody knows you're not too smart, and we've seen often enough that your reading comprehension is on par with a kangaroo, so let's recap:

My uncle doesn't smoke. He has MS, not cancer.

My grandpa died of lung cancer DESPITE NOT being a smoker.

MS and cancer appears out of nowhere for (often times) reasons out of your control. You contract AIDS due to choices you made. My grandpa and millsions of others every year get cancer for no reason. Yes, you can get lung cancer without smoking.

Let me know when Devin gets cancer and I'll make sure to suggest it is his fault.

 

[75th]

And by the way, you're a grade A bitch for talking about my grandfather in that manner.

 

[75th]

Also, what does homophobia have to do with AIDS? Do only gay people get it these days? Did I fall asleep last night and wake up in 1982?

 

[heatherrae]

Also, what does homophobia have to do with AIDS? Do only gay people get it these days? Did I fall asleep last night and wake up in 1982?

No, you just think like 1982 and are ignorant.

I wasn't talking bad about your grandpa. I was talking bad about YOU. You are the one who seems to be lacking in comprehension skills. So, okay, your grandpa doesn't deserve to die because he didn't smoke to get his cancer, right? So, we should fund cancer research because "innocent" people get cancer. However, in your eyes, we shouldn't fund cancer research if only smokers got it, because smokers deserve to die of cancer rather than get treatment or have research done on their behalf?

What about all the babies born with AIDS every year? They don't merit research or was their fatal sin being born to a mom with AIDS. Because it appears you think you are God and can pass judgment on who deserves healthcare and research based upon whether they are worthy people or not.

Oh, yeah, and fuck you. I could think circles around you all day and night. You're just not bright enough to follow sarcasm, evidently.

 

[75th]

No, you just think like 1982 and are ignorant.

I wasn't talking bad about your grandpa. I was talking bad about YOU. You are the one who seems to be lacking in comprehension skills. So, okay, your grandpa doesn't deserve to die because he didn't smoke to get his cancer, right? So, we should fund cancer research because "innocent" people get cancer. However, in your eyes, we shouldn't fund cancer research if only smokers got it, because smokers deserve to die of cancer rather than get treatment or have research done on their behalf?

What about all the babies born with AIDS every year? They don't merit research or was their fatal sin being born to a mom with AIDS. Because it appears you think you are God and can pass judgment on who deserves healthcare and research based upon whether they are worthy people or not.

Oh, yeah, and fuck you. I could think circles around you all day and night. You're just not bright enough to follow sarcasm, evidently.

Youre right, maybe I don't get sarcasm when it revolves around the slow death of a loved one.

And using your analogy, if you could ONLY get lung cancer by smoking cigarettes then it would be pretty easy to get rid of lung cancer...and it wouldnt involve billions of dollars spent on research. I'll let you sit and try to figure out what we would need to do and how easy it could be.

And its obvious that you can't really think circles around anything. Then again, becoming a paralegal requires about as much intellect as becoming a fucking hobo.

And no, I don't think I'm God. I just think people should accept responsibility for their actions. As I mentioned earlier, if you get behind the wheel with a .2 blood alcohol level then you should be prepared to die in a car accident.

 

[heatherrae]

Youre right, maybe I don't get sarcasm when it revolves around the slow death of a loved one.

And using your analogy, if you could ONLY get lung cancer by smoking cigarettes then it would be pretty easy to get rid of lung cancer...and it wouldnt involve billions of dollars spent on research. I'll let you sit and try to figure out what we would need to do and how easy it could be.

And its obvious that you can't really think circles around anything. Then again, becoming a paralegal requires about as much intellect as becoming a fucking hobo.

And no, I don't think I'm God. I just think people should accept responsibility for their actions. As I mentioned earlier, if you get behind the wheel with a .2 blood alcohol level then you should be prepared to die in a car accident.

Well, if you didn't have the brain function of a turnip, you could look up and determine that I'm an attorney and not a paralegal, but that is the best you can do as an insult. I can tell you my paralegals think circles around you too, and I would fire them if they couldn't follow a simple conversation.

So, how about the babies who die of AIDS, genius? You still haven't addressed that. You just played on sympathies saying I said something about your uncle. What an idiot! My own mother died of lung cancer in my living room. I took care of her, changed her depends, nursed her wounds, gave her breathing treatments, etc. So, please don't whine about someone dying of cancer in your family. I think you are the LAST person who should whine about people dying of diseases when you are in a thread saying that no funding should go to diseases because people contribute to the causes.

Do you fail to realize that many behaviors have also been linked to cancer? That is what reasearch is for -- determining causes, creating treatments, creating cures.

You are truly dense, arrogant, and morally bankrupt and not even worth my time.