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PA: School to pay student $700,000 for HIV discrimination

Back in December of last year I wrote about the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania and its denial of admission to a student, known under the pseudonym Abraham Smith, over his HIV-positive status. Since that time, the Department of Justice and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania became involved, filing a lawsuit with the boy’s parents and charging the school with violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The school reversed its decision last month.

Smith, now a 14-year-old ninth-grader, was denied admission last year to the eighth-grade class at the Milton Hershey School, founded by the chocolate magnate and his wife. School administrators said the honor roll student, who has HIV, presented a “direct threat” to the health and safety of other students, according to a press release announcing the settlement, which also requires the school to conduct HIV training for its staff and students.
“Children should not be denied educational opportunities simply because they have HIV,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, in a press release. “This settlement sends a clear message that unlawful discrimination against persons with HIV or AIDS will not be tolerated.”
The settlement concludes a federal HIV discrimination lawsuit brought against the school by the nonprofit AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania.
The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania reports that the Smith and his mother have decided not to enroll Smith at the Hershey school but will instead use the settlement to cover other educational expenses.
Via the Advocate
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President Obama responds to Romney’s “foot in mouth” statements on Libya

President Barack Obama, responding to criticism from his rival Mitt Romney on the U.S. response to attacks in Egypt and Libya, said Romney had spoken before making a full assessment of the facts.

“There’s a broader lesson to be learned here,” Obama said in a CBS interview. A clip of the interview was aired Wednesday afternoon.

“Gov. Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later, and as president, one of the things I’ve learned is you can’t do that,” the president continued. “It’s important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts and that you’ve thought through the ramifications before you make them.”

Asked if he thought Romney’s statements were “irresponsible,” Obama said he’d “let the american people judge that.”

Via CNN

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Ben Cohen – “The Making of the 2013 Calendar”

Ben Cohen! Ben Cohen! Ben Cohen!

The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation (www.standupfoundation.com) presents The Making of The Ben Cohen 2013 Calendar.

Behind-the-scenes footage of the calendar photo shoot, highlighting the StandUp brand.

In July 2012, the former rugby superstar told U.K.’s Gay Times that he choose to support the gay community after he retired because he was “in a privileged position.”

“I had a great following in the gay community so I started breaking down those stereotypes when I was still playing rugby. And it got to a point where I decided I wanted to do something more, which is when we set up the foundation. But I didn’t realize how powerful retiring for a cause would be.”

Every sale of StandUp branded merchandise benefits the anti-bullying work of the Foundation.

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Mitt Romney politicizes death of US ambassador in Libya

Romney’s approach to these kinds of things seems to be “ready, fire, aim.”

Within hours of the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, Mitt Romney was holding a press conference attacking the President, giving many of the United States’ enemies what it wants: the appearance of a divided country under pressure. Hardly presidential, Mr. Romney.

The recklessness with which Romney tried to exploit this is very troubling. If you have your finger on the nuclear button, you need to be cool, calm, and collected. And Mitt Romney’s response shows that he’s not.

By contrast, here’s what President Obama said:

“The United States condemns, in the strongest terms, this outrageous and shocking attack,” the president said. “And make no mistake, we will work with the Libyan government to track down” the killers.

“The world must stand together in rejecting these brutal attacks,” the president says. Obama says religious intolerance is wrong, but says there is no justification for this sort of violence.

“Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver” in pursuit of justice “and make no mistake, justice will be done.”

Which man do you think sounds and acts like a leader?