Root of the problem; CDC evangelic bumblef*cks

[rcjordan]

CDC director, Robert Redfield

Redfield's early engagement with the AIDS epidemic in the US in the 1980s and 90s was controversial. As an Army major at Walter Reed Medical Institute, he designed policies for controlling the disease within the US military that involved placing infected personnel in quarantine and investigating their pasts to identify and track possible sexual partners. Soldiers were routinely discharged and left to die of AIDS, humiliated and jobless, often abandoned by their families.

In the 1980s Redfield worked closely with W. Shepherd Smith, Jr. and his Christian organization, Americans for a Sound AIDS/HIV Policy, or ASAP. The group maintained that AIDS was "God's judgment" against homosexuals, spread in an America weakened by single-parent households and loss of family values.

Redfield wrote the introduction to a 1990 book, "Christians in the Age of AIDS," co-written by Smith, in which he denounced distribution of sterile needles to drug users and condoms to sexually active adults, and described anti-discrimination programs as the efforts of "false prophets."

In the early 1990's, ASAP and Redfield also backed H.R. 2788, a House bill sponsored by deeply conservative Rep. William Dannemeyer (R-California). It would have subjected people with HIV to testing, loss of professional licenses and would have effectively quarantined them. (The bill died in Congress.)

In the 2000s, Redfield was a top advocate for the so-called "ABCs of AIDS" in Africa, pressing to prevent HIV infection through sexual abstinence, monogamy and the use of condoms only as a last resort.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/13/opinions/trumps-terrible-choice-for-cdc-redfield-garrett/

[Brad]

The inmates are running the asylum.

[rcjordan]

Wait! There's more....

Seema Verma

...worked for VP Pence when he was Indiana governor. ^{See a theme here?}

Medicare boss Seema Verma is a threat to public health programs - Los Angeles Times
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-12-12/verma-medicare-public-health

[rcjordan]

VP Pence

Bernie Sanders;  Pence "wanted to 'pray away' HIV epidemic."

As he leads coronavirus response, Pence criticized for handling of HIV outbreak while Indiana's governor - ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/leads-coronavirus-response-pence-criticized-handling-hiv-outbreak/story?id=69255588

Pence's handling of 2015 HIV outbreak gets new scrutiny- NBC News
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/pence-s-handling-2015-hiv-outbreak-gets-new-scrutiny-n1144786

[rcjordan]

^{Just found this one...}

May 2019
How Mike Pence's 'Indiana mafia' took over health care policy - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/20/mike-pence-health-care-1331705

[Brad]

>Pence

The Republican Party in Indiana is split into factions: Chamber of Commerce types and Evangelicals.  The CofC types were happy to get rid of Pence.  He was a wacko. 

And we ain't taking him back either.

[rcjordan]

Meanwhile, in Indiana...

Indiana church encourages sick people to attend its services amid coronavirus concerns

https://www.wishtv.com/news/indiana-news/indiana-church-encourages-sick-people-to-attend-its-services-amid-coronavirus-concerns/


Maybe Pence will drop by and dab them with some holy water.

[buckworks]

>> church encourages

Fortunately not all churches think like that.

In my neck of the woods the Anglican Bishop of Brandon issued a decree yesterday to be read in services today that after today, worship services and other church gatherings are to be cancelled until further notice.

[rcjordan]

Louise's church was going ahead with services, ignoring the governor's 100-person request.  The gov's making it mandatory stopped it.  I'm guesstimating that in the south, about half the churches will proceed with services.

[Brad]

No sooner did the Indiana Governor post about restrictions on Twitter then he was getting replies like, "You can't tell me what to do" and similar.  My state is populated with meatheads.

[DrCool]

>>Fortunately not all churches think like that

Our church streamed the service on Youtube and FB Live yesterday. Seemed to go off without a hitch and was not as weird as I thought it would be. Just the pastor and the worship guy sitting on a couch doing their thing. Guessing it will be that way for the next few weeks.

[rcjordan]

Gov. Bumblef*ck

Gov. Lee tells mayors to pray, trust Tennesseans to do right thing to prevent spread of coronavirus
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/politics/state/story/2020/mar/19/gov-lee-recommends-local-leaders-pray-trust-tennesseans-do-right-thing-prevent-spread-covid-19/518633/

[littleman]

This is failure of an ideology to cope with reality.

[rcjordan]

Darwin goes to church...

Whitmer exempts Mich. churches from penalties for 50+ gatherings
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/03/21/coronavirus-whitmer-updates-order-assemblies-exempt-churches-penalty/2885395001/

[DrCool]

>Darwin goes to church

Central church hosts more than 1,800 people amid covid-19 outbreak
https://www.brproud.com/health/coronavirus/central-church-hosts-1800-people-amid-covid-19-outbreak/