YOU WROTE:

UPDATE: The more you read the MT, the more crap you get. Shorter Robert Stacy McCain:
"If there is a protest outside a government-funded public health conference, the protest itself is government-funded and should be cut from the budget as wasteful."
Posted by rj3 at 09:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
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HEY, DUDE, READ THE ARTICLE:

"It is unfortunate that scientific exchanges are being overshadowed by political stunts," Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana Republican, said yesterday. "These activists are, of course, free to voice their opinions, but taxpayers should not be subsidizing the venues for their partisan events."
    The protest was organized by the Philadelphia and New York City chapters of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), the American Medical Student Association, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Philadelphia Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project, Health Initiatives for Youth, Housing Works, the National Network of Abortion Funds, the New York City AIDS Housing Network, Project TEACH and YouthBase.
    Housing Works is a New York-based group that received more than $1.9 million in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1999 and 2000. House Republican aides said yesterday that they were investigating whether any of the other protest sponsors receive federal grants.

SO, LET'S SEE:

1. A congressman is complaining that federally-funded AIDS conferences are taxpayer subsidized protest venues.

2. At least one of the groups protesting receives federal grants.

3. A House committee has recommended budget reductions for such conferences in the future.

4. The Bush administration has actually INCREASED funding for AIDS research. So why are these activists so virulently anti-Bush?

BOTTOM LINE: This is a real news story, containing lots of useful information. Don't shoot the messenger.