Bush and AIDS George W. Bush, in his first major decision as president, took an action that will increase the spread of AIDS. That was his decision to deny U.S. aid to family-planning organizations abroad that inform women about medical options including abortion. Mr. Bush's press secretary, Ari Fleischer, explaining the decision, said, "The president does not support using taxpayer funds to provide abortions." But that was a non sequitur. Government funding of abortions abroad has been prohibited by law since 1973. The Bush rule says that clinics in developing countries will lose U.S. funds if they even discuss abortion with their patients. What it means on the ground is this: A woman who has AIDS comes to a clinic somewhere in Africa or Asia. Drugs to prevent transmission of the disease to newborn infants are not available there. She desperately wants to avoid bearing the child. But the doctor or nurse cannot advise her on a safe, legal abortion if the clinic wants to keep its American funds. Many family planning groups, knowing that women will not understand a refusal to discuss abortion, will decide to give up U.S. support. That will have drastic consequences, because U.S. dollars may provide most of the contraceptives. The result? Families will not get contraceptives. Without them, more people will be infected with H.I.V. � and in due course develop AIDS.http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/03/technology/03MSN.html

ZDNet: Story: Hey, Dubya! Mr. President. Did you hear the one about...? Have you noticed that we can't seem to elect a president who doesn't seem like a parody of himself? From President "Don't-Confuse-Me-With-The-Facts" Reagan to President "Truth-Is-A-Slippery-Slope" Clinton to President "How-Did-I-Get-Here-And-Now-What-Do-I-Do-Daddy?" Bush, each one is more outrageous than the next. Ask President Bush is a free, Magic-Eightball-like Palm program that takes some of our tongue-tied president's more bizarre statements and issues them as answers to your life questions. (Shareware/Palm) Click for more. http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2679882,00.html

Who Is a Seminole, and Who Gets to Decide? Polly Gentry's skin is black. But she says she is an Indian. A black Indian. For generations, a little-known chapter of America's racial history shows, she and other descendants of escaped slaves have been members of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Even on the tribal council, descendants of slaves have sat alongside descendants of native people. Until last summer. Then, in the middle of a bitter legal battle over $56 million in federal funds, Seminoles with native blood voted to strip the people who call themselves black Seminoles of tribal membership. Suddenly, Ms. Gentry said, "My skin makes a difference." The battle over the place of the black Seminoles is now at the center of two federal lawsuits that challenge basic notions about race in America. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/29/national/29SEMI.html?pagewanted=all