This is a national tragedy because of the rains. There isn't a corner of the country where there isn't pain and destruction to be found.

With pain I learned about the tragedy that has struck your family, ... You have lost the most loyal and devoted friend. Gone is a wonderful person, a beautiful woman, a loving wife and mother.

There will be stories in here of great pain, great tragedy, great brutality, ... because you can't run away from that because those are instructive.

June will mark the 25th anniversary of HIV in this country. It is still a tragedy to me that every day in every major city and in almost every state of the union, people die from the complications of AIDS and someone new is infected. However, the AIDS Action Committee has capable leadership, competent, caring staff and a vision for how to tackle this disease in the next decade. It is time for me to get back to my roots and work on the social justice issues that continue to drive this epidemic: poverty, violence, racism and homophobia.

The greatness of our country is that we rebuild after tragedy, and we're here to make sure that can now start to happen.

In the country of pain we are each alone