...Timothy Ray Brown

Timothy Ray Brown suffered from both leukemia and HIV. Then in 2007 he received a bone marrow stem cell transplant form a man who was immune to HIV, which apparently about 1% of Caucasians are (According to San Francisco's CBS affiliate, the trait may be passed down from ancestors who became immune to the plague centuries ago. This Wired story says it was more likely passed down from people who became immune to a smallpox-like disease.) After that Timothy's HIV seemed to go away... "He has no replicating virus and he isn't taking any medication. And he will now probably never have any problems with HIV." his doctor Gero Huetter said. Could this be the future treatment to this incurable disease? Maybe. It is still a little sketchy sounding to me, but so are most medical procedures. I guess I am going to give this a Digit Up. The reason i say I guess is because if this "cure" works and becomes widely available does this mean more people are going to become irresponsible? Only the future holds that answer...

...Keep A Child Alive Campaign

It seems as if fans or "fans" do not mind if their celebrities are off Facebook and Twitter. What am I talking about? The Keep A Child Alive charity founded by Alicia Keys promised that some celebrities such as: Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Serena Williams, Justin Timberlake, and Elijah Wood would not post updates on the popular social sites until $1 million was raised. It actually said this, "The world's top celebrities are sacrificing their digital lives to give real life to millions of people affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India," the campaign states. "That means no more Twitter or Facebook updates from any of them. No more knowing where they are, what they had for dinner, or what interesting things are happening in their lives. From here on out, they're dead. Kaput. Finished." This campaign start Wednesday on World AIDS Day. While the cause is serious, the outcome is somewhat funny. It seems as if fans or "fans" just do not care to hear from these overexposed celebrities anymore. As of 7:30PM Thursday they raised just under $181,000. A lot of these celebs get paid to Tweet and are on TV all day everyday, I can only imagine what it is like to have a break from these people. I am sure the money will be raised, even if the celebs have to throw in their own money, not a Kardashian though. Some might say that this is due to the bad economy and the $10 minimum donation that was set up, which is not a good idea. I think that would be the most minor of the problems. Second would be the fact that no one really knew about this, the celebs forgot to tweet about it I guess. Number one, no one but tweens, teens and the people paid to follow them care that much about celebrities anymore. We see them too often, much too often. There is no mystery thus there is no interest. Like an exposed whore on the street corner, we will pass. I am giving this whole thing a Digit Down.

...Georgia

Living in Georgia now for a while has made me miss Florida with a passion. This state seems to be a little too backward or...not as culturally diverse as I would like. Now some people may love it here, and that is okay, but for me I can live without it. This brings me to 2 recent articles I read about the state.
The 1st is about Georgia's plan to reach out to gay and bisexuals to help educate them about HIV and HIV prevention. On the surface that sounds wonderful and like something that should be done. But after living here and seeing the way people operate I think that may be wasted money. Why? Well because although there is a high gay and bisexual population here, it is the bisexual and the infamous Down-low (DL) crowd that you have to educate, but cannot because they are not about to be spotted doing anything that may make them seem "gay". The spread of HIV cannot be controlled if some guy is sleeping with men and then running home to be with his girlfriend or wife. There are so many DL men in Georgia, it almost feels as if every male in Georgia could be on the DL if they are not out. Married or just dating that does not mean a thing. If we may look at the latest scandal involving Bishop Eddie Long...enough said about that. Will it help? Maybe, I guess you would have to try it out and see, but I am not holding my breath.
Topic #2, prescription drugs kill more in Georgia than illegal drugs. I found this one interesting. Apparently illegal drug deaths, due to overdose, were down from 2008-2009 while prescription drug deaths were up! It is so bad that Saturday the DEA held its 1st ever prescription drug take-back event. The type of drugs being abused most are pain killers and anti-anxiety drugs. Leading the pack would be: Alprazolam, or Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, Methadone, Hydrocodone, and Oxycodone. To break it down furthermore:
Age 15 and under: 4 deaths

Age 15-24: 45 deaths

Age 25-34: 125 deaths

Age 35-44: 182 deaths

Age 45-54: 221 deaths

Age 64 and older: 13 deaths

-608 White

-60 Black

-2 Asian

-376 Males

-294 Females

Obviously this a major problem that will hopefully get solved. I could blame this on a lot of things but of course this will have to fall under the "Recession Umbrella".

I know that no state is perfect and every state has its own problems, but this state just seems to be a lot worse than what I am used to. Florida did have lots of problems yes, but I did not have a state income tax which helped me get over a lot of things. I am giving Georgia 2 Digits Down.