Mike Pence minced in The New Yorker: "(Ed) Clere remains bitter about Pence."

Together occasionally, if not forever (photo credit).

Yesterday there was just enough time for us to fire off a link and tease readers a little bit.

In the NAC posting "Be careful what you wish for: 'The President Pence Delusion,' including a pivotal cameo by a New Albanian we all know," a long and very worthwhile read in The New Yorker was linked.

The President Pence Delusion, by Jane Mayer (The New Yorker)

Trump’s critics yearn for his exit. But Mike Pence, the corporate right’s inside man, poses his own dangers.

 ... (Vice President Mike) Pence likes to say of himself, “I am a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” But Clere is not alone in questioning Pence’s political purity.

Yes, the questioner in question is none other than State Representative Ed Clere, the New Albanian we know so well, whose cameo is a critical component of an essay no doubt being consumed nationally even as I write.

Here is the passage.

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In 2015, Ed Clere, a Republican state legislator who chaired the House Committee on Public Health, became aware of a spike in the number of H.I.V. cases in southern Indiana. The problem appeared to be caused by the sharing of needles among opioid abusers in Scott County, which sits across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. In a place like Scott County, Clere said, “typically you’d have no cases, or maybe one a year.” Now they were getting up to twenty a week. The area was poor, and woefully unprepared for a health crisis. (Pence’s campaign against Planned Parenthood had contributed to the closure of five clinics in the region; none had performed abortions, but all had offered H.I.V. testing.) That same year, the state health commissioner called Indiana’s H.I.V. outbreak a public-health emergency.

Clere came of age during the AIDS crisis, and had read Randy Shilts’s best-selling account, “And the Band Played On.” He tried to get the legislature to study the possibility of legalizing a syringe exchange, which he felt “was a matter of life and death,” and could “save lives quickly and inexpensively.”

But conservatives blocked the idea, and Pence threatened to veto any such legislation. “With Pence, you need to look at the framework, which is abstinence,” Clere said. “It’s the same as with giving teen-agers condoms. Conservatives think it promotes the behavior, even though it’s a scientifically proven harm-reduction strategy.” In March, 2015, Clere staged a huge public hearing, in which dozens of experts and sufferers testified about the crisis. Caught flat-footed, Pence scheduled his own event, where he announced that he would pray about the syringe-exchange issue. The next day, he said that he supported allowing an exchange program as an emergency measure, but only on a temporary basis and only in Scott County, with no state funding. Clere told me that he spent “every last dime of my political capital” to get the bill through. After Scott County implemented the syringe exchange, the number of new H.I.V. cases fell. But Republican leaders later stripped Clere of his committee chairmanship, a highly unusual event. “I commend Representative Clere for the efforts to help the state deal with this,” Kevin Burke, the health officer in neighboring Clark County, told me. “But he paid a price for it.”

Clere remains bitter about Pence. “It was all part of his pattern of political expediency,” he said. “He was stridently against it until it became politically expedient to support it.” Clere, a Christian who opposes abortion, told me that he now finds Pence’s piety hypocritical. “He says he’s ‘pro-life,’ ” Clere said. “But people were dying.” When Clere was asked whom he would rather have as President—Trump or Pence—he replied, “I’d take Trump every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.”

Prayer, needles and Pence. Radical Christian extremists, be gone.

Mike Pence: Radical Christian Extremist (photo credit Patheos)

"In the face of a growing epidemic, Mr. Pence put aside his own moral opposition to giving syringes to drug users to allow a needle exchange program."
--- New York Times

I'm of the generation unable to read these words without recalling a beloved, iconic Ronald Reagan, steadfastly ignoring the AIDS epidemic not for a few months, but more than a few years.

I'm of the secular cohort unable to fathom why prayer is required to interpret science.

I'm of the local constituency of Ed Clere's, who gets good (and deserved) press here, and will be getting my vote this November in his bid to serve a fifth term in the Indiana House.

Mike Pence’s Response to H.I.V. Outbreak: Prayer, Then a Change of Heart, by Megan Twohey (NYT)

AUSTIN, Ind. — On the evening of March 24, 2015, Sheriff Dan McClain got an unexpected voice mail: “This is Gov. Mike Pence calling. I would welcome the opportunity to get your counsel on what’s going on in Scott County.”

What was going on was unprecedented in Indiana and rare in the United States: H.I.V. was spreading with terrifying speed among intravenous drug users in this rural community near the Kentucky border. Local, state and federal health officials were urging the governor to allow clean needles to be distributed to slow the outbreak.

But Indiana law made it illegal to possess a syringe without a prescription. And Mr. Pence, a steadfast conservative, was morally opposed to needle exchanges on the grounds that they supported drug abuse.

And this:

On March 23, more than two months after the outbreak was detected, Mr. Pence said he was going to go home and pray on it. He spoke to the sheriff the next night.

Two days later, he issued an executive order allowing syringes to be distributed in Scott County.

But this:

State Representative Ed Clere, a Republican who was among those pushing the governor to approve the needle exchange, said he was relieved when Mr. Pence finally did so. He also wished it had been done sooner. “It was disappointing that it took so much effort to bring the governor on board,” Mr. Clere said.

Yes, disappointing. I'll be praying that Pence loses the national race, too. Forget Trump; I'm worried about Indiana foisting its state nightmare on the country at large.

"Indiana could have avoided HIV outbreak," but Mike Pence was busy being all fundamentalist and shiz.

"Indiana could have avoided HIV outbreak," but Mike Pence was busy being all fundamentalist and shiz.

As an opening aside, best wishes to Lexy Gross as she decamps for law school. She's been doing a fine job covering our area for the C-J.

In this, one of her last dispatches, we are reminded that Mike Pence enjoyed governing from the pages of his Old Testament, and it took sensible members of his own party -- our own Ed Clere -- to treat matters of public health as ... exactly what they are.

Clere and Zoeller instrumental in Pence's needle exchange turnaround.

Which reminds me: I need to get to work on that endorsement of Clere for re-election.

Indiana could have avoided HIV outbreak, study shows, by Lexy Gross (C-J)

Not only was the nationally publicized HIV crisis in rural Indiana last year preventable, but other U.S. communities are at high risk for nearly identical outbreaks, according to a recently released study from the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

The study also reveals contradictions between what Indiana public health officials think is best for the state and the policies currently in place.

And:

(Indiana Governor Mike) Pence signed an executive order in March 2015 that allowed Scott County to implement an emergency needle exchange for 30 days, although he still expressed his opposition of the programs. In May of that year, Indiana Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, wrote legislation ending Indiana's ban of syringe exchanges while chairman of the House public health committee. Counties can apply to start a needle exchange program after declaring a public health emergency due to rising HIV or hepatitis C cases.

The Reagans and AIDS: “If there is a hell both Ronny and Nancy are Roasting."

Never, ever forget this.

The first lady who looked away: Nancy and the Reagans' troubling Aids legacy, by Maria L La Ganga (The Guardian)

As the nation mourns the former first lady’s death, those on the frontline of the 1980s Aids crisis remember something else: a couple who turned a blind eye

Between Nancy Reagan’s death and her funeral on Friday 11 March, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence reached out in their own wimpled way to share their pain, their anger and, occasionally, their sympathy.

The activists, in trademark Catholic drag, spent the Aids crisis fighting on behalf of infected friends and lovers – and for dying men they would never know. As much of the nation mourned the former first lady’s passing this week, their email anguish underscored the Reagan administration’s darker legacy.

Ronald Reagan, who died in 2004, was president for nearly five years before he said the word “Aids” in public, nearly seven years before he gave a speech on a health crisis that would go on to kill more than 650,000 Americans and stigmatize even more.

In recent months, published reports have revealed an administration that laughed at the scourge and its victims and a first lady who turned her back on Rock Hudson, a close friend, when he reached out to the White House for help as he was dying from an Aids-related illness.

“If there is a hell both Ronny and Nancy are Roasting,” wrote one Sister.

Previously at NAC:

World AIDS Day, Randy Shilts, his book and why it matters.

Clere and Zoeller instrumental in Pence's needle exchange turnaround.

I never hesitate to lob grenades when the GOP goes off the rails (see "Pence, Mike"), so lest we forget, two prominent Indiana Republicans from right here in Floyd County were instrumental in doing the right thing in Scott County.

HAYDEN: Conservatives changed Pence’s mind on needle exchange, by Maureen Hayden (CNHI)

 ... Back in early March, as HIV numbers spiked in Scott County, Pence stopped state health officials from distributing “harm reduction” kits stocked with needle-cleaning supplies such as bleach, cotton, and alcohol wipes.

By the end of the month, conservative Republicans from communities near the HIV epicenter had convinced him that the situation was dire enough to set aside ideology.

They pushed him to take a first step — declaring a 30-day emergency that cleared the way for a limited exchange in Scott County wherein health officials could get clean needles into the hands of HIV-infected drug users.

Pence resisted.

House Public Health Committee Chairman Ed Clere, R-New Albany, wanted more. He filed a measure to let local health officials expand needle exchanges to other communities where IV drug use is fueling a fast rise in Hepatitis C — a blood-borne disease that often accompanies HIV.

Pence continued to resist.

To counter Pence’s argument that needle exchanges enable drug users — an argument echoed by prosecutors — Republican Attorney General Greg Zoeller went public with his support.

“I’m not going to have anybody put to death with HIV just because they’ve broken the law,” said Zoeller. By the time he made that statement, he had been lobbying both lawmakers and the governor’s staff to support Clere’s needle exchange bill.

Politically, Pence is a waste of human flesh. Kudos to Clere and Zoeller for being human. Every little bit helps, doesn't it?

What they're saying: Knable on the HIV outbreak, and a slew of GOP candidate links at Facebook.

As the weeks go past in route to May's primary election, I'm providing periodic candidate statements of substance, mostly unretouched, as lifted from social media and news reports. Familiar gems such as "yard signs win elections, not people" and "donate to my campaign first, and maybe I'll have something of merit to say much, much later" will be omitted. That's because it is my aim to determine whether our declared candidates have anything to say at all, and I'll quote all candidates, from any and all parties, whether or not they're in a contested race. Just promising change and new ideas without divulging them won't cut the mustard, aspirants.

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Several Republican candidates have hoisted Facebook campaign pages during the past few weeks.

Dale Bagshaw for City Council District 3 ... with a much appreciated photo of the candidate shoveling snow from his sidewalk.

Ross Heinz for City Council (4th district) ... "As a candidate, Ross stands for responsible spending, local business, and community initiative." He should have added: "And making my opponent familiar with the Interwebz."

Danita Burks. City Council New Albany District 5 ... it's polls, not poles, and I wouldn't point this out had Mrs. Burks not previously sought a school board seat (and lost).

Larry Belcher for 6th District City Council Seat ... with a slogan: "What matters to New Albany, matters to me and my neighbors."

Nick Vaughn (6th district Republican) provides his platform at his web site, with sub sections on renter/landlord registrations, a better business climate and communications: Nick Vaughn's Vision Outline for New Albany.

As citizens we should always be looking to the long term improvement of our city which is why renter/landlord registration is the first step toward transitioning more renters into homeowners; by putting down roots people have a stake in our shared success.

At-large council candidate and physician Al Knable (R) continues to openly make sense, and to articulate, in writing, for attribution. Taking into consideration the whole of New Albany's stunted political history, this continues to amaze ... and please.

On the regional HIV outbreak:

If you knew your neighbor was cooking meth and you saw his house on fire would you call for help or let it burn?

Most of us would call 911, even if not to save the neighbor then to protect our own property from being next.

As a physician running for public office, I feel compelled to speak out on the subject of the recent HIV outbreak occurring in Indiana.

I'm old enough to have practiced medicine during the initial HIV/AIDS epidemic.

During residency, we had weekly AIDS clinic at IU. Not HIV clinic, AIDS clinic-because we had no effective treatment. Perhaps as a society the anti-viral meds we have today make it easy to forget how horrible this disease was and can be. I can't forget because I witnessed too many suffer horrendously. I saw too many people die. Not just drug users, people from all walks of life, gay and straight alike.

Yes, people too often make choices that put them at risk. But as a physician it is not my job to judge but rather to diagnosis and treat when necessary, prevent when I can.

We have an HIV outbreak in our state. Too close for comfort. Let's contain it before it spreads!

I support targeted, short-term needle exchange programs as an effective way of curtailing such crises. Studies by the AMA and the WHO back this policy up.

We're not all going to agree on the moral reasoning but I think we can find common pragmatic ground. Clean needles are cheap, anti-viral medications to treat HIV are very expensive. The more positive cases of HIV there are in a community, the faster and wider it will spread. The healthier a user is, the more likely they are to seek long term drug cessation programs.

Let's put the fire out first! We can educate people about not playing with matches later.

No more ritualistic silence.

What did YOU have for breakfast this morning? We were prepping for some Raq'n Roll tonight.

Pictured above is the payoff for hustling down to The Grand at 7:00 a.m. to help promote Raq'n Around the Christmas Tree with Keith Kaiser of WDRB-41 and a trio of belly dancers. La Bocca and Habana Blues provided breakfast, and by the time I thought to photograph the spread, those in attendance had already started carving the bird.

Tonight's Entrance Cost: 1 New Toy or a $10 donation.This year the toy drive will benefit the boys and girls of (AIM) AIDS Interfaith Ministries of Kentuckiana, Holiday Program.

AIM of Kentuckiana provides services to the HIV/AIDS population in the greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana region. AIM is committed to helping people living with HIV/AIDS by providing nutritional, emotional and spiritual support, their Holiday Assistance Program assists aproxamimately 300 children and familes infected and affected by this disease during the holidays.

3rd Annual Raq'n Around the Christmas Tree is Thursday, December 1 at The Grand.

(submitted)

Raqia Belly Dance/The Studio will be hosting their 3rd Annual Raq'n Around the Christmas Tree/ Children's Holiday Toy Drive/Taste of New Albany and Belly Dance Show Thursday, Dec 1, 2011, from 6:30-9:00pm @ The Grand Theater, located on 138 E. Market Street, New Albany, IN 47150.

Entrance Cost: 1 New Toy or a $10 donation. This year the toy drive will benefit the boys and girls of (AIM) AIDS Interfaith Ministries of Kentuckiana, Holiday Program.

AIM of Kentuckiana provides services to the HIV/AIDS population in the greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana region. AIM is committed to helping people living with HIV/AIDS by providing nutritional, emotional and spiritual support, their Holiday Assistance Program assists aproxamimately 300 children and familes infected and affected by this disease during the holidays.

6:30-8:00pm
The evening will start with a Taste of New Albany/ local Southern Indiana food & spirits. In attendance; La Bocca, Habana Blues, New Albanian Brewing Co. to name a few.

8:00-9:00pm
Followed by fabulous local entertainment/ belly dancing show by Al Hamsa, Gypsies of the Nile, Raqia's Stars. Recent performances by Al Hamsa, Gypsies of the Nile & Raqia's Stars include Harvest Homecoming, New Albany, IN, Worldfest, Louisville, KY and Louisville Music News Terrabeat Cultural Showcase, Louisville, KY

A guaranteed unique evening of giving and celebration!

Last year's event was held at the Holiday Inn Express in downtown New Albany, a fabulous turn out with 78 guests in attendance and 220 toys collected, all to benefit AIDS/HIV infected and affected children in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

Raqia Belly Dance/The Studio; dancing for a great cause/toys for children in need, is led by Rachel Reich, "Raqia" winner of Louisville Magazine's "Best Belly Dance Instructor" Award. She is extrememely humbled and proud to have the opportunity to assist in bringing a sense of joy and normalcy to HIV/AIDS infected and affected children and families during the holidays and looks forward to the generosity and support of all involved in this great cause.

HIV/AIDS affects an estimate of 33.3 million people, including 2.5 milliion being children and new infections continue every year.

Dec 1, World Aids Day, marks a day of hope and increasing awareness, the perfect backdrop and opportunity to support, share and make this year magical for the children.

Happy Holidays!

For more information you may contact The Studio/Belly Dance & More at 812-989-0821.