Silly …. and serious ….

Today’s Buzz (so far) ...
Tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°:

As for “silly” ... the ‘revised’ playlist on Anderson’s iPod has been revealed (?) today by none other than Hollywood gossip columnist Janet Charlton – I’m utilizing my right to take all of this with a grain of salt, as the saying goes:

“For some reason, we just can't get enough information about Anderson Cooper - even the most trivial details are intriguing. So naturally we leapt at the opportunity to find out what he listens to on his iPod. It's not very exciting. According to a source, he has several Mary J Blige songs, and even a few by Michael Feinstein. In fact, Anderson has been known to hang out at Feinstein's at the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue. When he's there, Cooper avoids attention by virtually disguising himself. Diahann Carroll performed there recently and was surprised and disappointed to learn that he was there and she didn't recognize him.”

BTW – for comparison purposes, the ‘official’ playlist as of last May was as follows:

The Clash - This is Radio Clash

Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb

Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues

Radiohead - Karma Police

Sugar - Needle Hits E

Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary

Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart

Interpol - Slow Hands

Aracde Fire - Wake Up

Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

Mary J. Blige - No More Drama

Devo - Freedom of Choice

Elvis Costello - Pump It Up

The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So

Abbey Lincoln - Nature Boy

And moving on to the ‘serious’ ...

The U.S. Supreme Court


Today is the first day of the new Supreme Court Term. From the ‘official brief overview’ found on the U.S. Supreme Court web site: “The Term of the Court begins, by law, on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October of the next year.” Even in this era of instant news and media access within the legislative and (sometimes) executive branches, the Court still fundamentally operates under a ‘cloak of mystery’, as it always has. Yet this is the branch of government whose scope of influence is arguably much more far-reaching. And this is why a book such as “The Nine” is a vital instrument to help truly understand the impact of this group of individuals.

And as has been only briefly mentioned up to this point by political analysts, the potential for the next President to put his (or her) “stamp” upon the future of many laws that we now take for granted is almost guaranteed. There aren’t many ‘single-issue’ topics that I look to when evaluating candidates, but this is unquestionably one that needs to be foremost in every voter’s mind. Once confirmed, these Justices hold their positions for LIFE. And I highly doubt that our forefathers could have ever envisioned, when initially setting forth the Court’s parameters, that humans would start regularly living until well beyond age 80. I’m sure they believed that there would be a more active ‘rotation’ of justices, and therefore a more regular infusion of diverse backgrounds and opinions from which to derive legal interpretations and render legal decisions. But that’s no longer the case, and before we make political decisions that may alter the laws of this country for several generations, we should be as certain as possible about the intentions of those who will be voted into positions to render that level of influence.


AIDS Education


From David Patrick Columbia - there was a very interesting account of the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF) benefit last Tuesday night – “An Enduring Vision”. The entire column is worth reading, but here are some excerpts that I wanted to highlight:

“He (Elton John) started the Elton John AIDS Foundation with his partner David Furnish a number of years ago. Since the early 90s, they’ve raised more than $130 million for their cause which is to provide AIDS education and medication for AIDS patients all over the world and especially in Africa and now in the Caribbean where the rates of infection are climbing and treatment is rare and even impossible to get for so many.

Many of us are old enough to remember the initial onslaught of the AIDS pandemic in the early 1980s. There was a time when it seemed so bleak with so many dying that many believed there was no hope. Science and the organization of millions of people, however, changed that. There are now treatments that have lengthened the lives of people with HIV for decades. Now when I think of those I knew who perished early on, I can’t help thinking ‘if only they could have held on for a couple more years.”

The problem today is that the urgency of the disease in people’s minds has subsided because of the medical strides. However, the problem is getting worse, much worse. Last night we were told that for every person who goes on the treatment, six more are diagnosed. It is a disease that knows no sex and no age. These days 50% of those being diagnosed with HIV are between 15 and 25.”

This last paragraph is the one I wanted to especially comment on. The first time I actually witnessed exactly what AIDS does to someone was all the way back in 1987. Two of my college friends didn’t survive to graduation. And the additional subsequent losses haven't gotten any easier to deal with. And they won’t – ever. Less frequent – yes – and while the billions of dollars put into research has yielded ‘miracle drug cocktails’ that prolong the amount and quality of life among AIDS patients – it’s also become a two-edged sword. Because people see HIV-positive patients living what appears to be normal lives – they mistakenly interpret that as a message of invincibility. “Oh – I don’t need that ‘safe sex’ crap – condoms are for cowards – I’ll just take some medicine if I get ‘hit’ – no problem.” This is especially true of the Gen Y crowd – many of whom weren’t even alive when AIDS first became an epidemic. On the one hand, the medical successes achieved in such a relatively short period of time are miraculous. But on the other hand, it’s ‘insulated’ people from understanding the consequences of behavior that can so often lead to this end result. Added emphasis on safe sex education is crucial to stem the tide of the increase in the number of those diagnosed with HIV, as noted above. And no – that does not mean funding only “abstinence” programs. That ranks in the top 10 of utterly foolish policy decisions made by the current Washington ‘brain trust’. There’s a false sense of security prevalent among young adults, and it's imperative to ingrain throughout their thought process that in no uncertain terms – AIDS KILLS – 100% of the time.

Anyway – I’m also just as certain that I’ve been serious for a bit too long today ... so hopefully there will be a few ‘snarks’ tonight on the program that I can ‘run with’ tomorrow ...

Thanks for visiting – updates posted as needed – have a terrific day!