Disease

not informed about the condition ofntheir patients. Nor, where such guidelinesnare in force, do doctors have thenright to refuse to operate on a patientnwith AIDS. This situation is leadingnmany health-care workers to consider ifnthey want to continue in medicine.nAlthough the case for applying traditionalnpublic health measures to thenAIDS epidemic grows stronger by thenweek, the likelihood of this happeningnanytime soon seems less and less. Fornthe Democratic Party, homosexualsnare a key component of its metropolitannelection strategy — the lavendernlayer of the Rainbow Coalition. Partynleaders support the “Gay Rights”namendment to the Civil Rights Actnand a presidential executive order banningnanti-homosexual discrimination innthe federal government, including thenmilitary. They oppose prohibition ofnhomosexual immigrants and defendnthe rights of lesbians and homosexualnmales to child custody (for example, onnApril 13, 1988, Rep. Pat Schroedern[D-CO] spoke before the homosexualnGertrude Stein Democratic Club innWashington, DC, and said that liberalsnmust take back the concept of thenAmerican family from the right wing).nThe Reagan record has beenn”mixed,” at best. The most sensiblenstatements and proposals on AIDSnhave come from the Department ofnEducation, not the Public HealthnService or Surgeon General’s OfEce.nSurgeon General Koop has not beennreined-in, despite his medically inaccuratenAIDS Report that was enthusiasticallynendorsed by homosexual activists.nThe administration has sincenmailed an AIDS brochure that includesnmore misleading assertions ton107 million American households.nFurthermore, the administration hasnpointedly failed to throw its supportnbehind the two most important piecesnof AIDS-related legislation introducednin the 100th Congress, by Rep. WilliamnDanneymeyer (R-Calif): H.R.n2272, calling for mandatory reportingnof HIV infection to public health authoritiesnin every state, and H.R. 2273,nwhich requires AIDS tests for hospitalnadmissions between the ages of 15 andn49, premarital applicants, clients ofnsexually transmitted disease clinics, andnconvicted prostitutes and IV drugnusers. Will George Bush take a toughernstand on AIDS?nAIDS is one of those issues — Inbelieve immigration is another — thatnwill determine whether America survivesnas a viable entity. The responsenthus far is not encouraging. Surveyingnthe situation, I have that sinking feelingnthat Andrew Hacker was right when henwrote in his 1970 book. The End of thenAmerican Era, “The United States nonlonger has the will to be a great internationalnpower, just as it is no longer annascending nation at home. . . . We arennow at that turning point ancient phi­nRICHARDnARMEYnA Texas professornwhose Congresswatchingninspirednhim to run for Congress—andnwin.nKAYnCUTCHERnJoined with othersnin Sioux City,nIowa, to form then”Sioux City Watchdogs.”nHer interestnin Congress-watchingnlanded her innPeople and onn”Donahue.”nPHILnDONAHUEnThe man who hostsncontroversial talknshows on AIDS,nprostitution, andnsurrogate motherhoodnthinksnC-SPAN is “thenmost exciting shownin town.”nJOHNnDUNCANnThis 33-year-oIdnhigh school graduatendrove trucks outnof Phoenix. Hisngrowing interest innthe political process,nfostered bynpublic affairs television,ntook him outnof the cab of a trucknand into a collegenclassroom.nRUSSELLnEPPERSONnA prisoner innMissouri whonwatches C-SPANnin his cell.n98 tales from thennewly emergingnTV republicnlosophers called stasis, a juncture atnwhich it becomes pointless to call fornrehabilitation or renewal. Such effortsnwould take a discipline we do not have,na spirit of sacrifice which has ceased tonexist.”nWayne Lutton is currently director ofnSummit Research Institute, ManitounSprings, Colorado. He has coauthoredna hook on AIDS and testified onnAIDS education and public policynbefore the U.S. Congress.nC-SPANnAmencasnlown HallnWhat Unl(nFrank. 7^[t|)EnH«naUi ReagainKay Cutch«n…and v«tnBy Brian l^mb mid ili«. wiaff of C-SPANni*«rf*«r€i i»> ji’ir «;r.H’iirH-ianT^»S^T§^PPPP»«^™»,.^,y,,^^nThe cable television industry created thenC-SPAN public affairs network nearly andecade ago. But who’s watching?nAnd why?n”America’s Town Hall” is must-readingnfor anyone interested in television ornpublic policy. It shows how Americansnare using C-SPAN’s televised access tonthe political process in novel, practical,nand even revolutionary ways.n”[C-SPAN] is the driving of the goldennspike that unites the people with theirngovernment through television.”n—Tom Shalesn^ ACROPOLIS BOOKS LTD.nAvailable at bookstores $19.95nor call 1-800-654-9000 (with credit card)nnnEDWARD andnNANCYnREDDINnKIENHOLZnIdaho sculptorsnwho use C-SPANnaudio for backgroundnstimulusnwhile they createntheir socially consciousnworks ofnart.nMIKEnPETERSnFor him, C-SPANnis like “an AP wirenmachine.” Thisnnationally syndicatedncartoonistngets views of newsmakersnthat helpnshape his work.nJOHNnPUTKAnA Cincinnati priestnwho hopes to interestnstudents of thentelevision generationnin the politicalnprocess bynhaving them watchnCongress.nRONALDnREAGANnThe first presidentnwith instantaneousntechnologicalnaccess to Congressnphones membersnas he watches themndebate.nFRANKnZAPPAnThis counter-culturenrock musiciannsays he enjoys then”anthropologicalnimplications” ofnpublic affairs TV.nSEPTEIVIBER 1988/43n