4) demand that Federal Defense budget funds be diverted to cover AIDS patients' medical expenses...
The 1998 Federal Budget included $4.746 *BILLION* for AIDS funding. That was a $465 million increase over the 1997 Budget, which is more funding than all forms of cancer combined. Current Federal Money (your tax dollars and mine) spent per death:
Jodi is apparently oblivious to the fact that AIDS is not the single largest cause of death in Africa. It is also a disease that affects the young. Research into the diseases of old age is unlikely to cause a significant extension of the patients lifetime. That is why cancer recieves more funding than heart disease. Spending the federal defense budget on almost anything other than military pork would be a good thing. The US millitary budget is more than half the discressionary spending of the US. It is greater than the combined spending of all the NATO allies combined and of the combined budget of the 19 other countries in the top 20 mmilitary spending nations. If the US military has a preparedness problem the problem is not lack of resources. Why is it that the people who always say that a problem cant be solved by spending more money sing a different tune for military spending? Phill