Diary Prequel Package — page 193

The evening of Jan. 20, Chris and I were invited to a Ball at the Museum of Natural History -- Blue Diamond Ball -- "Health for All" organized by Radia Daoussi and Brian Hennessy. They had previously done a film on their daughters and how they asked questions about HIV and how people answered them. They are somewhat of a "slippery" couple who were using health people for self-aggrandizement. I was invited to speak at the function along with Paul Farmer, Jim Kim, Congressman John Conyers, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Helene Gayle (CARE), Georges Benjamin. Party MC'd by Tracey Neale (Emmy Award Winning TV Personality). Entertainment by Jackson Browne. I did not stay for the entertainment. Too much bullshit at the Ball (mostly because of motivations of the hosts). I probably should not have gone. Jan. 23, 2009 --I Treally liked this guy. He was the one who in the late 1980s encouraged (even pushed) me to go to a Town-Hall meeting that he had arranged in San Francisco to go against the FDA and USG and advocate for a Parallel Track program for AIDS drug availability. Long story to this (which should be fleshed out for the book). I knew it was the right thing to do and had been listening to Marty and to Jim Eigo of ACT-UP who was also a strong advocate of parallel track. When I put my support behind it in SF at the public meeting, this was on the front page of the NY Times the next day. I thought for sure that I would get in trouble with HHS since Frank Young and the FDA were dead against this. However, so many people were excited that I had the courage to do this publicly that Frank Young caved in and made a public statement that he actually agreed with me (what an opportunist!!). In any event, this would not have happened had it not been for Marty. I need to go back and get the precise dates for this. Interesting that in January of 1993 I was given a certificate of Appreciation by HHS for being a leader in the establishment of Parallel Track . Throughout the subsequent years, Marty has always been an honest broker with me and we had come to develop a great deal of respect and affection for each other. In the early days, he used to smuggle AIDS drugs (unapproved) across the Mexican border to California. He also arranged "AIDS Drug Buyer's Clubs". He also wrote many manuals for informing the at risk population and infected people about important issues. In my mind Marty was a true Public Health hero. Also, today I gave the Keynote Address at the 4 Annual Harvard Medical School Student Conference in Boston on "HIV/AIDS: Priorities for the Obama Administration". Paul Farmer was there and we had a good time. There were Panels for discussion and the students asked penetrating questions.