AIDS Relief Organization Honors Congress

by Holly Jackson

Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Barbara Lee were among twenty-six members of congress named as honorees by the Global AIDS Alliance Fund on Monday for their legislative efforts in fighting the AIDS epidemic.

The event, “Spreading Hope: The Congressional Leadership Awards in the Fight against HIV/AIDS,” ran concurrently with the opening day of the Democratic National Convention.

Although the group said it strives to make the fight against AIDS a bipartisan issue, it favors Sen. Obama’s AIDS strategy, with many at the event referring to Sen. Obama as the next President. Senators Obama and Hillary Clinton were also named as honorees, but were not in attendance.

Moderator David Munar of the AIDS Action Council said, “The drivers for change are coming from the Democratic Party.”

The organization also asked candidates for U.S. Congress to sign a pledge to provide leadership in fighting AIDS domestically and abroad, saying the U.S. needs to devise national AIDS strategy to combat the disease.

Actor Danny Glover, the Chairman of TransAfrica Forum, said “There is a country where a new epidemic, a new infection happens every nine minutes.” Glover continued, “There is a city where one out of 20 people are infected with HIV. That country is the United States and that city is Washington, D.C.”

Glover also said there were serious problems with President George W. Bush’s legislation “President’s Emergency Plan on AIDS Relief” (PEPFAR) approach to fighting global AIDS. The legislation requires that one-third of funds provided to AIDS-infected nations must be used for abstinence-only programs. Glover’s organization, TransAfrica Forum, is an African-American lobbying organization for Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean for AIDS relief funding.

The Global Aids Alliance Fund will also be present at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis next week.

Young College Conservatives Take to the Denver Streets

by Jessica Sall

Supporters of Presidential candidate John McCain arrived today at the Colorado Convention Center. They attempted to be heard by protesting against the Obama campaign. “We want to support our candidate,” stated protest leader of the supporter group, Charlie Smith, referring to Sen. John McCain.

“It’s a good thing for us to have the alternative view point out here,” Smith said, “As people become more familiar with Obama, the celebrity aspect of him will pass.”

The McCain supporters consisted mostly of college students from around the Denver area. “There’s a lot of youth support of McCain that doesn’t gets out there,” said Smith. According to Smith there will be other McCain supporter groups waking around downtown Denver with McCain signs, trying to get their message out. They will stay the length of this convention before continuing to the Republican National Convention next week.

Educational Leaders Gather in Denver to Discuss an Educational System in Crisis

By Derek Stanek

Yesterday in downtown Denver educational leaders from across the country gathered in the Space Theater to discuss education reform. The 2008 Rocky Mountain Round Table featured panelists such as former Colorado Governor Roy Romer, Founder of the Broad Foundation Eli Broad, Best Buy VP of Industry and Public Affairs Paula Prahl, Co-Founder of Knowledge is Power Programs (KIPP) Mike Feinberg, National Educational Association Executive Director John Wilson, The Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Massachusetts Foundation 2020 Chris Gabrieli, and other notable educational leaders. A quick speech was also given by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.


Right away they dove into the major issues as to why American schools are in such bad shape. They noted that out of 30 industrial nations America ranks 21st in science and 25th in math. Governor Romer was very vocal on the point stating that, "We're falling behind fast", that "We are being challenged by people who are higher skilled," and "[ranking] 25th in the world, means ranking 25th in line for a job." However, his most powerful comment came when he stated, "How much time do we have left?" Governor Romer pointed out that American schools are simply running out of time, and asked, "Where is the national will behind this issue?"

Solutions were quick to come to the forefront of the conversation. Walter Isaacson suggested recruiting the best kids out of college to become teachers. Prevalent in the conversation was the notion that Americans are not doing enough to drive the idea that teaching is a great service to this country.

John Wilson called for, "Changing standards to embrace the 21st century." All of the panelist agreed that more technology needs to be implemented and utilized in today's classrooms.

Paula Prahl made the point that national standards were looked at as a point of weakness when she said, "We have national standards for thermostats, is it to much to ask for national standards for education." The panel all agreed that it would be great to see fifteen states come together to create national standards for education and to encourage other states to follow their lead. Governor Romer touched on the topic and called for more research into a "good authentic test." According to monitor Tom Touch, $8,000 per kid was spent on education last year, while only $25 per kid was spent on testing and test development.

It was a rather somber mood in the theater yesterday afternoon and was summed up best by Chris Gabrieli when he stated, "We've flat lined since the 70s'."

Congresswomen Speak on Women's Issues at Symposium

“At last [women] have a seat at the table,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) exclaimed to a crowd of cheering supporters at the Symposium for Unconventional Women in Denver. Notable Congresswomen and other champions of women’s causes spoke on the issues facing women’s participation in the federal government. Protesters from anti-war organization Code:Pink interrupted Pelosi’s speech on several occasions to voice their opposition to the American military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In her speech Pelosi encouraged working women to run for federal office. “Isn’t it better to have working moms looking to Congress and seeing working moms?” she said. Pelosi’s words were echoed by Senator Claire McCaskill (D - MI) and Amy Klobuchar (D - MN) who recounted their experiences running for office as mothers.

The symposium also included women’s rights leaders Allana Goldman of She Should Run and Page Gardner of Women’s Voices, Women Vote. They noted the lack of single women running for office. Gardner said, “We can no longer afford to have single women sit on the sidelines of democracy.” Allana Goldman noted that while women tend to win elections at the same rate as men, too few are encouraged to run for office, a major reason that women constitute only 16% of Congress.

As Pelosi, the highest ranking female to hold office in the US, took the stage, members of Code:Pink rushed holding signs and pleading with the speaker to remove troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. One member denounced Pelosi from a balcony for supporting waterboarding and American military involvement in Afghanistan before being removed by security. Several members continued to interrupt Pelosi’s speech from the crowd, many insisting that Pelosi end the war. “I will stop the war,” Pelosi responded, while also saying she wished the protesters would “put their energy into voting for Barack Obama.”

Pro-Lifers March in Denver

by Emma Hills and Jessica Sall

At an anti-abortion rally today in Skyline Park downtown Denver, CO. a speaker said, “The holocaust is here.” Kaitlyn Mahoney, a coordinator of the event, described the protest as a peaceful “prayful” presence. The rally was comprised of multiple pro-life organizations from around the country, most prominently the Christian Defense Coalition and Stand True. Brian Kemper, the president of Stand True, explained their presence at the Democratic National Convention by saying, “The Democratic party says they stand for social justice. We just want them to stand for social justice where it begins: in the womb.”

The rally featured the story of Brandi Lozier, a woman whose mother tried unsuccessfully to abort her. “Just because a baby is in the womb doesn’t mean it’s not a baby,” she told the crowd. When asked if she would be voting for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) she said, “He didn’t vote for me, why should I vote for him.”

Besides the music, prayer, and the speakers in Skyline Park, members of the rally have walked to the Pepsi Center where the DNC is being held where they placed roses in the fence surrounding the center to symbolize fetuses that have been aborted. “We hope to have 3,000 roses placed for the 3,000 babies that are killed each day,” Mahoney said.