Pissed off, part II

Was cruising through a Kristof editorial on Bush's AIDS program, the title of which I hadn't noticed, until I hit this line:

The administration is also fumbling the AIDS initiative by requiring that one-third of AIDS prevention funds do nothing but encourage sexual abstinence until marriage. This is the kind of stipulation set by people who sit in Washington and have never actually set foot in an African village.

Then I looked back and noticed Kristof titled the editorial: When Prudery Kills. It's worth reading, especially the second half.

After suggesting Bush cares more about pandering to the Religious Right than actually fighting AIDS in Africa, Kristof ends with this infuriating thought:

After he announced his AIDS initiative, Mr. Bush was praised as a humanitarian. But unless he delivers on his promises, then it will all look like the most cynical of gestures — using the great health tragedy of our age as a cheap photo-op to drape the White House with compassion.

This kind of detachment from reality is why I stopped going to church the first chance I got.