Baltimore Alternative, October 1990

"Paris Is Burning?" by Peter Walsh...p. 38 Miller Boycott in Md? Maybe...p. 3 The В a hi more ОстоЬеп 1990 ALTERNATIVE Candidate for FDA Chief Unknown to Activists Souter by Cliff O' Neill WASHINGTON — David A. Kessler, medical director of the Albert Einstein medical school in New York and a lecturer at the Columbia University School of David A. Kessler Law, is reported to be the leading can¬ didate to head up the Food and Drug Ad¬ ministration, printed reports have suggested. Kessler, if confirmed by the U.S. Sen¬ ate, will fill the void left by former FDA commissioner Frank Young nearly a year ago when he resigned in the midst of an agency-wide scandal involving the ques¬ tionable approval of generic drugs. The nomination, while not official, is all but assured, media reports have sug¬ gested. The White House on Sept. 24 de¬ clined to comment on the nomination until it becomes official. FDA and the De¬ partment of Health and Human Services spokespersons also refused to make state¬ ments. The Washington Post reported Sept. 19 that Kessler’s name is now the only one remaining on a list of prospective FDA commissioner nominees. Among those no longer under consideration are National AIDS Commission chair. Dr. June E. Os¬ born, acting FDA Commissioner James S. Benson and California state Health Com¬ missioner Ken Kiser. Kessler did not return a reporter’s phone calls by press time. Kessler’s candidacy has reportedly drawn praise from a number of members of Congress, chief among them Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who is said to have been a strong backer of the nomination. Kessler served as a consultant for Hatch in the ear¬ ly 1980s when he was chair of the Senate’s Labor and Human Resources committee. Hatch’s office refused to comment on any nomination for the post until it be¬ comes formal. Kessler, a food and drug law expert, chairs an HHS advisory panel appointed to review the FDA’s drug approval process. The committee was scheduled to hear from lobbyists from the AIDS Action Council and Gay Men’s Health Crisis on White Surp remists Torch ACT UP/NY by Jim Marks Two days before the official opening, the offices of ACT UP/New York were the scene of a suspicious fire. According to the New York Times, the fire broke out just after midnight, on the morning of September 22nd. The fire, which was extinguished by the building sprinkler system, destroyed some records and there was smoke damage to office walls and ceiling. In addition a copier was damaged by water, and some electronic equip¬ ment was reported missing. Adding to the mystery, fire officials said there was no evidence that anyone had broken into the offices. According to ACT UP/D.C. member Michael Petrelis, by week’s end ACT UP had received a call from a right wing organization claim¬ ing credit for the fire. Petrelis said that ACT UP/New York member Frank Smithson, one of the first people on the scene after the fire, re¬ ported receiving a call from the Aryan National Resistance League claiming credit for the fire. ACT UP officials in New York declared that the fire would not deter their efforts to combat AIDS. Sept. 28. A graduate of the Harvard University Medical School, Kessler received his law degree from the University of Chicago School of Law. Activists from several groups which have worked with the FDA on speeding up the approval process of AIDS drags report that they are not familiar with Kessler, but will be seeking his views on a number of AIDS drug-related issues before his final confirmation. Saying that Kessler has been seen as “a thoughtful practitioner” with a reputation for being “fair” and “objective,” Tom Sheridan, lobbyist with the AIDS Action Council, stated, however, that final judge¬ ment on the candidate will be reserved for after the Senate hearings. “Clearly,” Sheridan said, “we will be looking into Kessler’s responses at his con¬ firmation hearings as a real indicator of his feelings on [drag] development issues.” The lobbyists will be looking on Kess¬ ler to support many of the changes in the drag approval process begun under Young. Among those will be the “parallel track” protocol for widely disseminating AIDS treatments prior to final approval, the broadening of the agency’s Treatment IND (Investigational New Drug) program and the increased enrollment of women and people of color in federally sponsored drug trials. Young, who initially butted heads with AIDS activists over the reform of the drug approval process, at the time of his res¬ ignation was looked upon by some ADS activists as an ally who was willing to step in and push for the requested changes within the agency. Confirmation Expected photo by Patsy Lynch Supreme Court nominee David Sout¬ er, is expected to win an easy cofir- mation vote by the Senate on OcL 2 despite testimony by leaders of Gay and Lesbian organizations. see story on page 9 On Trial From the Grave Cincinnati Judge Presses Obscenity Charges by John Zeh CINCINNATI — Legal history was made here September 24 as an arts in¬ stitution and its director were put on trial for obscenity charges, a first in U.S. ju¬ risprudence. Chanting “art on trial,” about 200 peo¬ ple packed the Hamilton County Court¬ house plaza all morning. They engaged in unusual civil disobedience that observers said may set a legal precedent of its own. Among them were gay men, lesbians, art¬ ists, students, AIDS activists, and others outraged by the unprecedented criminal prosecution. When police on horseback and mo¬ torcycles declined to interfere, dem¬ onstrators marched to the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) on Government Square where the Mapplethorpe exhibit hung last spring. Some demonstrators simulated genital and oral copulation in a “sex-in,” a take-off on “die-ins” held by activists por¬ traying death due to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome in the street before marching back to the Courthouse. Participants included local activists, representatives from ACT UP affiliates in Columbus and Oberlin, Ohio, members of New York City’s Queer Nation, and stu¬ dents from the Art Academy here and An¬ tioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The day also marked the 201st an¬ niversary of passage of the U.S. Bill of Rights, with the Midwest’s Queen City “the last outpost to defend it,” one activist noted. “The whole world is laughing,” chanted protesters. “The art world is crying.” In an unusual move, assistant Police Chief Ed Ammann said he would press charges against protesters identifiable in see CINCINNATI TRIAL page 2