Posted on 01/06/2007 8:08:40 AM PST by Joseph DeMaistre
By John Rossomando CNSNews.com Staff Writer December 26, 2001
(CNSNews.com) - Incoming House Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is defending a San Francisco AIDS group that members of Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and even AIDS activists have criticized for using federal tax dollars to sponsor "obscene" sex programs.
San Francisco's STOP AIDS Project came under scrutiny in Washington, through the efforts of Michael Petrelis, an HIV positive San Francisco homosexual AIDS activist. Petrelis claimed the STOP AIDS Project was using federal dollars to fund seminars on homosexual "fisting," sado-masochism, and homosexual flirting.
Petrelis' activism spurred this week's decision by Congress to pass a non-binding resolution calling for HHS to audit all federally funded AIDS programs. His activism also prompted HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist to write a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, in which she labeled the STOP AIDS Project seminars "obscene" and "not in agreement with CDC guidelines."
"We determined that materials from the project's workshops providing information on HIV/AIDS prevention did not fully comply with the cooperative agreement and other CDC guidelines," Rehnquist wrote.
The project's "sexually explicit advertisements" also could be construed to directly encourage sexual activity, are obscene, and thus not in compliance with CDC guidelines, the letter stated.
"For, example two of the primary goals of the Great Sex Workshop are to examine ways of making and keeping sex safe, erotic, fun, and satisfying," Rehnquist wrote. "The course appears to include information about HIV prevention, but it also appears to directly promote sexual activity, which is not consistent with CDC's basic principles."
Pelosi fired back at the Inspector General and her Republican colleagues with her own letter to Thompson, claiming that Rehnquist erred in her appraisal of the STOP AIDS Project.
"I believe the report seriously mischaracterizes the work of this unique community-based organization and ask that potential punitive measures against STOP AIDS Project be set aside in favor of strengthening technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to this and other HIV prevention," Pelosi wrote.
According to Pelosi, the STOP AIDS Project provides a critical service in San Francisco because it is "the only community-based organization in San Francisco with a specific mission to prevent HIV among gay and bisexual men." She also claims the STOP AIDS Project's seminars are not obscene.
"The report issued by the Office of the Inspector General makes several questionable claims about the work of Stop AIDS Project and the use of HIV prevention funds in San Francisco. Specifically, the report claims that CDC guidelines on AIDS-related materials, issued on June 15, 1992, were violated because materials used for workshops, in the opinion of the IG, directly encouraged sexual activity and were 'obscene'," Pelosi wrote.
"However, the workshop materials in question were focused on HIV prevention activities and included information about the potentially harmful effects of promiscuous sexual activity," she stated.
According to Pelosi, the STOP AIDS Project's programs comply with local standards, and are therefore in compliance with CDC rules that make program funding conditional on local standards.
"[The] Stop AIDS Project provides vital health information to gay and bisexual men in my community," she wrote. "For nearly twenty years, Stop AIDS Project has been an example for HIV educators nationwide, and its mission continues to be essential in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and across the country."
Kevin Nuttall, an HIV-positive AIDS activist and associate of Petrelis said, "I think she (Pelosi) is going out on a limb here."
Nuttall charges that groups such as the STOP AIDS Project engage in dishonest bookkeeping practices, mixing their federal money with funds from other sources to conduct programs many people find objectionable.
"The problem here from my experience is that there is absolutely no oversight on the local level," Nuttall said. "The thing people do not realize is that there is a bureaucratic loophole going in and going out."
According to Nuttall, Pelosi and the STOP AIDS Project have a vested interest in keeping things the way they are. He believes Pelosi is trying to muddy the waters by turning the STOP AIDS Project question into a states' rights issue rather than a question of an improper use of federal dollars.
The STOP AIDS Project could not be reached for comment.
This is from Scrappleface, right?
It is hard to discern parody from the actual events.
But it is kind of old news, and nobody is really surprised.
It's not parody. It's an actual event that I have personal insight into. It's an old event, but it shows who Speaker Pelosi is.
Is that the new key word for what the rest of us believe what goes on in the peoples republic of San Fran...?
Is that the new key word for what the rest of us believe what goes on in the peoples republic of San Fran...?
Posted twice in deference to ambidexterosity in San Fan
How much does it take to say: "risky sexual behavior gets you sexually transmitted diseases". No matter what people do or say most people are not so ignorant that a "community program" is required to tell them that. And if someone is that ignorant, they are not going to practice what is preached to them by those running the program. It's a waste of money.
+
If you want on (or off) this Catholic and Pro-Life ping list, let me know!
She is not wearing her pearls....
Support for sadomasochistic gays came easily to this Democratic "whip"... wonder what joys the Speaker of the Animal House will bring us in the future.
REAGAN's FAULT
Helen Thomas may have been replaced.
Don't do that. I'm serious.
The problem is she wants you to pay for their activities with your tax dollars.
I appreciate the irony in this statement
So, Can I be the first on this thread to say "Palomino! Palomino!"
Here, Nancy is shown explaining the sexual game she supports:
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