Keep The Promise On HIV/AIDS March On Washington

So, here are some of the pictures—as well as my oh-so-informative commentary—about last weekend’s Keep The Promise on HIV/AIDS rally and march in Washington DC.

Before the march, there was a quick registration and the handing off of a red umbrella, which would be used in creating a huge AIDS Ribbon at the foot of the Washington Monument.

The rally featured emcee Margaret Cho, a keynote speech by former Ambassador Andrew Young—who seemed more intent, to me, on replaying his connection with Martin Luther King Jr.—Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West, and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

In the interests of fairness, I have never been a fan of Sharpton; I’ve always felt that his activism might be more self-promoting than needed, but he gave quite the fiery speech about HIV/AIDS, activism, the Black community and the rise in infections among African-Americans. He clearly drove home what, for me, was a most vital point, that this is not a “gay” thing, or a “male” thing, or a “white” thing; it knows no color, no gender, no ethnicity, no religion, no age, no social boundary, no wealth, no poverty.

Music was provided Wyclef Jean, and, as you can see, I got rather up close to the man backstage. He’s quite delicious, but, for me, the hottie of the event—and you had to know I was gonna get shallow at some point—was Billy, the sign language interpreter. Billy was hot. Billy was way hot. And when Billy was signing while Wyclef spoke, Billy proved to be quite the dancer.

Billy was hot. Did I mention that?

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yeah….Some of the speakers criticized President Obama—and rightly so I think—for not appearing at the rally. Now, he’d made no plans to attend, though he did send a recorded message to, the AIDS conference that began the next day, and, on the day of the event, he was in Aurora speaking to victims of the shooting out there; in fact, Marine One, possibly with Obama on board, flew over the Mall at one point during the afternoon.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation [AHF], which organized the rally and march, has repeatedly criticized the White House for what it says is the Obama administration’s inadequate response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In addition to the president’s decision not to speak in person at AIDS 2012, he was criticized for cutting funding to the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and was also accused of not doing enough to eliminate AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] waiting lists.

I will, however give Obama his due, because this is the first time since 1990 that the International AIDS Conference was held in the United States. Previously, it had been held outside the country because a ban had been placed on people with HIV entering the U.S. That ban was lifted in 2010 by President Obama, "finishing a process begun under [Yes] the Bush administration."

I was able to meet AHF President Michael Weinstein during the march. He is deeply concerned that, in the South, AIDS and HIV infection are on the rise, and wants to plan a march in Atlanta in the future, and maybe some smaller marches at other cities in the South. Due to religious bias, and deeply rooted conservatism, masking as denial, talking about HIV/AIDS is almost unheard of, and education, treatment, outreach, etc, are almost non-existent.

Speaker Tavis Smiley said, of Obama, ““No matter how well-intentioned he is, no matter how much better he is than the other choice, he will end up another garden variety politician. He will be transactional and not transformational if we don’t… in the spirit of love hold him accountable.”

Dr Cornel West spoke fiercely about how homophobia within the black community impacts the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this country: “We got to recognize that homophobia is as evil as white supremacy, as male supremacy, as anti-Jewish hatred, anti-other bigotry and anti-Islam sensibility. We want integrity and consistency and the only way to get it is you’ve got to bear witness.”

But, as I said, I was most surprised by Sharpton, who said, of the Black community, as well as the religious community, “They have not dealt with the issue because of their own bias and their own homophobia and their own misconception of what this is. Jesus healed people. He didn’t interview people. He never asked people why they were sick, all he asked is do you want to be made whole. Your job reverend, your job rabbi, your job imam is not to condemn people; it’s to heal people. And if you’re not down with the healing, you need to turn in your collar and get another kind of vocation.”

Margaret Cho said, “There’s this idea that AIDS is gone, it’s over. A lot of young people are not paying attention to the way I was raised with it. In my culture there was so much fear around it. There was a lot of not knowing the facts. At this point in time, 30 years later, the fear has subsided. It’s become a kind of apathy.”

Cho also spoke about how impactful a simple march can be—she attended the Millennium March for LGBT Rights back in 2000: “Every time there’s a march on Washington, it is really an inspiring thing. It was so amazing and I really feel like that march really led to people starting to realize that gay marriage can happen and now we’re seeing that over the last 12 years. It’s taken 12 years, but we’re starting to see it happen. That was I think a catalyst. When we have a march on Washington — and this is solely devoted to awareness, AIDS awareness, AIDS education and really just healing this city — that’s really powerful.”

Enough chatter, let’s look at some pictures…..

Creating the Ribbon

The Ribbon on the Jumbotron

Hot Billy

Margaret Cho

Up close with Wyclef

Wyclef onstage

The Rev. Al Sharpton

Jorg Fockele, the documentarian.

Keep The Promise

Last Saturday night Carlos and I attended the AIDS Benefit Foundation of South Carolina's  Dining with Friends Dessert Finale, which was held in a sky-box at the University of South Carolina's William Bryce Stadium. 

It was a celebration of another successful Dining with Friends event, with cocktails and music, and desserts from some of South Carolina's best pastry chefs and chocolatiers.

There were booths set up to learn more about HIV/AIDS in the south, and specifically South Carolina, where HIV/AIDS is on the rise, especially in women.

One of the booths, run by a friends of Carlos', was the Keep the Promise booth. On July 22, 2012, there will be a “Keep the Promise” March and Rally to bring together thousands of AIDS advocates in the heart of Washington, DC prior to the opening of the 2012 International AIDS Conference. The aim of the rally and march is to remind world leaders and policy makers that the AIDS epidemic remains a global threat to public health. Without more resources for treatment, care, prevention and cost-effective interventions, progress achieved over the past 30 years of combating AIDS could be lost.

The “Keep the Promise” March seeks to refocus public attention on the lack of access to HIV testing, treatment and prevention--in December, in South Carolina, for example, there were less than 100 people on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] and yet by the 1st of March that number had risen to over 400.

While recent scientific discoveries show that treatment as prevention has the potential to one day end the AIDS epidemic, political will and financial resources must go hand-in-hand with science to make this vision a reality.

Carlos and I are trying to attend the march. There are programs to help people pay for, or at least defray, the cost of the trip to DC, as well as offering room and borad for two nights.

If you'd like more information, or would like to attend, please go to Keep The Promise 2012.

Good News: Increased Funding For ADAP

Finally, some good news for those who are HIV+ or have AIDS.

This past Monday, the federal government announced that  it has allocated nearly $2 billion in funding to states to fight the HIV epidemic, with access to care and with more cash for the failing AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP].

According to an Health and Human Services  press release, $813 million of that money will go directly to ADAP programming, while an additional $8.3 million will be issued as a supplement to 36 states and territories currently facing a crisis of unmet needs and access issues. The additional money is designed to help those programs reduce or eliminate their waiting lists.

ADAP provides access to the costly anti-retroviral medications that have turned HIV into a more manageable disease; many HIV drugs can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year in the US. ADAP also assists in paying for drugs to treat opportunistic infections that HIV+ persons can suffer as a result of diminished immune functions.

This is great news for those people on a "waiting list" to see if they can get their medications. As of September 22, 2010, there were some 9,000, in ten states--including South Carolina--on waiting lists.

In addition to allocating new funds to ADAP, the feds also announced millions in funding for direct medical care as well as programming to assist minorities--who are particularly hard hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic--in accessing medical care for the infection.

Finally, it seems, someone is listening.
 
source

Oh South Carolina, Could You Possibly Sink Any Lower?

Did you know that……

• South Carolina ranks11th highest new HIV infection rate in the nation.
• Columbia, South Carolina’s capital city, has the 8th highest annual rate of AIDS diagnoses in the nation among cities with 500,000 or more residents.
• There are over 300 South Carolinians on a waiting list for life‐sustaining HIV medications.
• There are 17,500 South Carolinians were living with HIV.
• Over half [56%] of South Carolinians living with HIV and AIDS, who know their health status, are not in regular care.

And what does the South Carolina Legislature do?
They propose a Bill (S.434) that would require the use of ONLY generic drugs to treat HIV/AIDS.
But guess what?
There are NO generic HIV drugs!
There will be a press conference and rally at the Sate House, next Wednesday, February 9, at 10 AM, in an effort to restore funding to desperately needed HIV/AIDS groups, like AIDS Drug Assistance program [ADAP] which helps people who have no health care, or inadequate health care, receive counseling, treatment and medications.
This is a crisis in South Carolina, and our legislators, and our wonderful new governor, Nikki Haley, are doing nothing about.
I am going to that rally, and urge anyone who is in South Carolina to attend as well. This isn't only about people with HIV and AIDS, it's about doing what's right for our citizens.

The Neighbors Aren't So Gay Friendly

I was trading emails with fellow blogger Buck [I Laugh, Therefore I Am and Channeling Julia Child] and we were sort of sharing our coming out stories, and the different ways, whys and hows of coming out. I told him that, after living in liberal California, and tres gay Miami, I was a wee bit concerned with moving to South Carolina. I didn't know from the LGBT community here, especially in Smallville, so i was worried. But I shouldn't have been; Smallville actually has a fairly decent gay community, both men and women, and most of the people Carlos and i have met are very lovely and accepting of another gay couple in their midst.

But then, there are the surrounding areas, and I have two stories of them today.

The first comes from up in North Carolina, where state Representative Larry Brown announced that one of his legislative goals for the new year would be that the government not spend money to treat adults with HIV or AIDS because they "caused it by the way they live."

Oh yes he did.

Of course, he prefaced his insensitive remarks by proclaiming his support for a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality, naturally, so his hatred and bigotry is quite well-known. But the he went on to say that government shouldn't spend money to treat HIV among people "living in perverted lifestyles," saying, "I'm not opposed to helping a child born with HIV or something, but I don't condone spending taxpayers' money to help people living in perverted lifestyles."

You know, you have gay sex, you some deserve HIV. Now, Larry Brown wouldn't say exactly what he considers perverted--though I'm sure he has a pretty good idea, and keeps it in his bedroom, in the bottom drawer of his bureau, to take out and play with when he's all alone--but he does say that adults who get HIV through sexual behavior or drugs would be among those who should not be treated at government expense.

To be fair, he is an equal opportunity asshole. He also thinks that if you smoke and get cancer, then the government shouldn't pay for any of your treatment because smokers "choose to do that on their own." And Brown has no comment on how to treat, oh, say women, who contract HIV through monogamous relationships.

He just wants the gays to be cut off from medical treatment because they deserve to die.

And then we move a little further north to Virginia, where the Virginia Department of Health will stop enrolling people into its $21.6 million AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] in the hopes that drug companies will step up to offer medication to clients. 

Hmmm, we'll stop helping sick people, and hope someone else will take over.

And the interesting part is that the state of Virginia funds just 10%, or about $2 million, of the program, leaving the rest of the tab for the federal government, which pays the remaining 90% through the Ryan White CARE Act. 

The Virginia Department of Health predicts that those people living with HIV, on the waiting list, will be covered by Medicaid or drug companies' assistance programs.

Nice prediction. I wonder if it'll come true, or if Virginia will just let those people try to survive without medications and treatment.

As I said, I was pleased with how Carlos and I were accepted into the Smallville community, but now I worry about the neighboring states.

Larry Brown: Cut Off AIDS Funding
Virginia Freezes ADAP

Today Is World AIDS Day

And in South Carolina........

December 1st is World AIDS Day, a day of remembering those who lost this battle and honoring those living with HIV. In South Carolina, on this 2010 World AIDS Day, there are more than 250 people on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] waiting list due to inadequate funding. The S.C. HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force is reaching out to legislators and people around the state for assistance in advocating for funding the South Carolina AIDS Drug Assistance Program to meet the demand for life saving medications.

The cost of HIV/AIDS drugs continues to increase, and with inadequate funding for early care and treatment of HIV/AIDS, patients will continue to suffer. With adequate funding, however, people living with HIV can stay healthier and working longer, mother to child transmission can be nearly eliminated, and new infections can be prevented. If we fail to focus on HIV prevention in South Carolina, the state will continue to see increased numbers of new HIV infections and incur the severe financial burden of care for those who are uninsured.

According to Noreen O’Donnell, Ryan White Program Manager for SC DHEC STD/HIV Division, "The South Carolina AIDS Drug Assistance Program is currently facing a funding shortfall due to cuts in federal and state budgets and an increase in demand for services. As of November 24, 2010, there are 251 patients who are HIV positive on a waiting list for drugs and that number is projected to rise to over 900 people by June 30, 2011. Without additional funding the wait list will be in place for the foreseeable future."

ADAP is growing at a rate of 10-15% annually and serves 27% of people living with HIV in South Carolina, which is 7% greater than the national average. South Carolina must ensure the provision of $3.5 million recurring, and at least $7 million in additional state supplemental funding to maintain the continuation of federal funds for ADAP. With the current $1.8 million supplemental state contribution, the SC ADAP predicts a $10 million shortfall for FY 2011.

How can you help? Contact your state legislators, Congressmen, Senators, Governors, even the President, and demand that money for ADAP be restored and that no further cuts be accepted.

It's the least we can do for those who need our help.

New Hope For PWAs and The HIV+

According to the New York Times, President Obama is planning to unveil a new national strategy to curb the AIDS epidemic by slashing the number of new infections through education and awareness, and increasing the number of people who get care and treatment if they do test positive.

Perhaps he is feeling a little fierce.

Obama is calling for steps reduce the annual number of new HIV infections by 25 percent within five years, and while the report acknowledges that “increased investments in certain key areas are warranted,” the administration does not propose any major increase in federal spending. Obama hopes to redirect money to areas with the greatest need and to the most at-risk population groups, including gay and bisexual men and African-Americans.

There are many people today who, because HIV+ Americans are living longer and thriving under new medications and treatment, think that the crisis is over, or, at the very least, that the spread of HIV is on the decline.

Not so.

Every nine-and-a-half minutes, another American is infected with HIV, and yet there are thousands upon thousand s who receive no treatment whatsoever; and many more who don't even know that they are HIV+.

But, with proper care and treatment, most people could prolong their own lives and reduce the spread of the virus to others. To that end,m the Obama administration has set a timetable at 2105 to increase the numbers of the newly diagnosed patients receiving clinical care to 85-percent--up from 65% today.

This, first-ever, national AIDS strategy has been in the works since the start of the Obama administration, but comes at a time when many in the LGBT community are angry at budget cuts and the loss of AIDS programs, like AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP].

Those activists believe it is time to revive that same sense of urgency that gripped the United States in the first years after discovery of the virus that causes AIDS. Public attention to the HIV epidemic has waned, because HIV is treatable; many people now think that it is no longer a public health emergency.

But, and these are the facts:

• Far too many people infected with HIV are unaware of their status and may unknowingly transmit the virus to their partners. By 2015, the proportion of people with HIV who know of their condition should be increased to 90 percent, from 79 percent today.
• The new health care law will significantly expand access to care for people with HIV, but federal efforts like the Ryan White program will still be needed to fill gaps in services.
• Federal spending on HIV testing and prevention does not match the need. States with the lowest numbers of HIV/AIDS cases often receive the most money per case. The federal government should allocate more of the money to states with the highest “burden of disease.”
• Health officials must devote “more attention and resources” to gay and bisexual men, who account for slightly more than half of new infections each year, and African-Americans, who account for 46 percent of people living with HIV.
• The HIV transmission rate, which indicates how fast the epidemic is spreading, should be reduced by 30 percent in five years. At the current rate, about 5 of every 100 people with HIV transmit the virus to someone in a given year. If the transmission rate is unchanged, the report says, “within a decade, the number of new infections would increase to more than 75,000 per year and the number of people living with H.I.V. would grow to more than 1.5 million.”

The Obama administration report also finds that there is increased discrimination against people with HIV, which creates a major barrier to people getting tested, and seeking treatment. Many HIV+ Americans fear losing their families, jobs, even their homes, if news of their HIV-status would become known. To that end, the administration promises to “strengthen enforcement of civil rights laws” protecting people with HIV.

It's an uphill battle, again, but with continued pressure on the White House, and our representatives in Congress, we might be able to increase awareness, increase treatment, decrease the number of exposures, and protect and care for those already infected.

When The Money's Gone.......

Frightening news.

The AIDS Drug Assistance program [ADAP] that provides life-sustaining antiretroviral drugs to people with HIV or AIDS who cannot afford them, has lost all of it's funding. Now, some 1800 people who rely on ADAP for their medications are on waiting lists and, without reliable access to the medications HIV+ people are more likely to develop full-blown AIDS, transmit the virus and require expensive hospitalizations.

Eleven states, including South Carolina, have closed enrollment in the federal program; Florida, with the nation’s third-largest population of people with HIV is the latest state to lose all ADAP funding. Three other states have narrowed eligibility, and two of them--Arkansas and Utah--have dropped scores of people from the program.

Last week, the nationwide waiting list grew beyond the previous record levels of 2004, and the growth is expected to continue when Georgia starts deferring enrollment in ADAP on July 1. Illinois may soon follow, and New Jersey plans to cut eligibility on August 1, removing 600 of the 7,700 people on its rolls. In many states, there is a sense of reverting to the 1980s and early 1990s, before the development of protease inhibitors reversed the rise in AIDS deaths.

“The worry then was that there were no medications for AIDS,” said Dr. Wayne A. Duffus, medical director of the drug assistance program in South Carolina. “The worry now is that there are medicines, but you can’t afford them. A lot of patients are certainly old enough to remember what happens if you don’t get your medicines.”

We have the medications, but we have cut funding so people cannot receive them.

Still, there is some hopeful news: pharmaceutical companies have stepped into the breach, negotiating discounts for the state drug plans and accepting needy patients into programs that temporarily provide free medications. Although there is no data to prove it, state AIDS directors believe a vast majority of people on waiting lists seem to be getting medications one way or another, though they do concede that some patients may be going without, and that caseworkers are being forced to navigate cumbersome applications seeking drug companies’ help.

“The drug companies are trying their best to lower prices,” said Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of the AIDS Institute, an advocacy group. “But we cannot rely on them to finance the health care of poor people living with HIV and AIDS.”

Dr. Helmut Albrecht, director of the infectious diseases program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, said he knew of one wait-listed patient who had died after a seizure while awaiting approval from drug company programs. “In my world, there is never a certainty if meds would have prevented [that] death,” Dr. Albrecht said, “but the fact remains that the wait certainly did not help.”

Drug assistance has grown in the last fifteen years to become the largest component of the federal Ryan White program, which provides grants to states and localities. The drug program’s budget from all sources is now $1.6 billion, with Washington contributing about 55 percent, states offering 14 percent and drug company rebates accounting for 31 percent.

And there are a variety of reasons for the strain on finances within the program. ADAP enrollment has spiked during the recession, up 12 percent from June 2008 to June 2009, to about 169,000 people. A renewed emphasis on testing is also driving up caseloads, and federal treatment guidelines now recommend an earlier start to drug therapy. Because the drugs are so effective, people often stay on the rolls for extended periods.

Meanwhile, federal financial support has stayed essentially flat, up barely 2 percent this year, while appropriations from state budgets have fallen 34 percent, according to the state AIDS directors. The drug companies increased their contribution by half, to nearly $500 million, but it is still not enough.

Once fully implemented in 2014, the new health care law is expected to close the gaps by expanding Medicaid, subsidizing private insurance and requiring insurers to cover pre-existing conditions, but how many lives will be lost to waiting lists by then?.

Strangely enough, two two Republican senators, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, have proposed redirecting $126 million from stimulus spending to the drug assistance program. But President Obama opposes taking money from stimulus projects, and says he is “working to ensure” that the program gets adequate financing. Obama has recommended a $20 million increase in next year’s drug assistance budget. But what about the $126 million available now; it's simply sitting there, left unused by stimulus programs.

Obama, who ran for office on an LGBT fierce advocate platform, is looking less and less fierce these days; and will be looking even worse, as, perhaps will happen, more people contract AIDS, are hospitalized, and left unable to pay their bills.

I would ask everyone to write to theis congressional represenatives, and to the President, asking them to rethink the spending of this "unobligated" stimulus money, while they work toward guaranteeing an increased budget for ADAP and similar programs in the future. It is unconscionable that we put Americans on a waiting list, when we have the medications and the money available to help them now.

Let Them Die To Keep Our Jobs

This one riles me up.

The AIDS Drug Assistance program [ADAP] needs money badly. ADAP provides HIV and AIDS medications for low-income people who might otherwise not be able to afford their medications. Advocacy groups would like Congress to allot $126 million dollars this year to provide such AIDS drugs for all who need them.

Some members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, like the idea, but are reluctant to back the program because they fear that allocating additional spending, even to something as vital as ADAP, might jeopardize their chances of being re-elected.

Seriously. People's very lives are at risk and our elected officials are worried about their jobs.

William Arnold, executive director of the National ADAP Working Group, says the program is facing a crisis never seen before, where a growing number of low income people with HIV or AIDS may be denied life-saving anti-retroviral drugs in at least 11 states because state ADAP affiliates have run out of money. Those 11 states will be forced to create "waiting lists" for patients who otherwise would receive AIDS medication prescribed by their doctors. One of those states is South Carolina.

And, while people "wait" for their medications, the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress have yet to make a commitment to back the measure.

Eighty members of the House--all but one were Democrats--including Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin, signed a petition sent to the White House urging the president to back the emergency funding measure. They have yet to receive a reply.

Where is our fierce advocate now?

Baldwin also said that, while she was certain Democrats would support the $126 million emergency appropriation, Republicans are still following a policy of opposing nearly all spending bills proposed by Democrats.

Is it a game of partisanship and power-plays while people "wait"?

Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, wants Baldwin and House Democrats to introduce a measure anyway, calling the Republican bluff. And, Weinstein also points out that Republican Senators Richard Burr of North Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma introduced a bill last month that would take the $126 million that ADAP needs from a stash of unobligated funds in the federal stimulus program, but no Democrats so far have agreed to become co-sponsors.

Democrats and the White House are opposed to taking any money, even unobligated money, from the stimulus program.

So, let's cut to the chase.

The money is available, but the men and women in Congress are fearful that if they allocate another spending program they may not be re-elected.

So let people die.

Republicans don't want to sign onto another Democratic spending bill.

So let people die.

Democrats don't want to take unused money for this desperately needed program.

So let people die.

But, and here's the rub, without the money, many people with HIV and AIDS won't get their medications. Without their medications they will get sick, and perhaps die. But, before they die, they will be hospitalized, without medical coverage, and the government will pick up the tab.

We could save lives with a little money or we could let people die and spend a lot of money.

A Proud Hubby

I am going to take a little time today to gloat about Carlos because, well, it's my blog and I'll gloat if I want to.

When we lived in Miami, and for a time after moving to Smallville, Carlos worked in the veterinary field as a practice manager. But, after we moved to South Carolina, circumstances changed, and Carlos took a position with a private health care company, working with the homeless and lower income communities as an HIV educator, tester and counselor. It was quite the change for him, and something neither of us ever expected he would do, or love so much.

The state legislature, a few months ago, cut funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] and then turned around and spent millions on a loan to a golf tournament; evidently, for them, golf is more important than people's lives. Recently, the legislature was again to vote to cut all funding to ADAP and other programs geared toward the homeless and low income communities, and a rally was planned at the statehouse in Columbia.

Doctors spoke about the need for funding. A woman who had been beaten with two-by-fours and gang raped spoke of the need for such programs; the director of the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council [SCHAC] spoke of keeping the funding.

One additional speaker was the hubby of yours truly.

Carlos was asked to speak on behalf of the Hispanic community, also affected by lack of adequate health care, and funding for HIV testing, education, and treatment.

And I could not have been more proud listening to him speak passionately, in English and Spanish, of the needs for all people, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or income to be treated fairly and receive treatment for HIV/AIDS. Hearing him ask our politicians set aside sport and focus on lives.

As I said, neither Carlos nor I could ever have envisioned him doing this work, and loving this work, and being so passionate about this work. But there he was, on the steps of the statehouse, and on the evening news, doing just that.

I am one proud hubby in Smallville.

And, to make me even happier, the South Carolina Senate voted yesterday not to accept the House suggestions to cut funding for ADAP, and other services for low income South Carolinians.

I like to think Carlos had a hand in that vote.