When a fire is raging out of control, no one questions the fire commander when he or she calls in extra alarms. The community expects this leader to bring the fire under control, whatever the cost. AIDS is a public health crisis which is out of control.
In your July 19 editorial, you assert, ”In the grim competition for federal help, AIDS has fared particularly well.” You cite as proof the fact that this year cancer will kill more than 10 times as many people as AIDS but receive less than twice the federal research funding.
What you do not tell your readers is that the rate of cancer is relatively steady, while AIDS cases are growing exponentially. Every two years the number of AIDS cases doubles.
Cancer, while a major health problem, is under control. AIDS is out of control. We should all expect our leader to do whatever it takes to bring the fire of AIDS under control before the entire community burns to the ground.
