Monthly Archives: September 2010

A Filibuster Against Equal Rights

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It is sad but not surprising that Congressional Republicans are planning a filibuster against equal rights, something my country says  it stands for. 

With President Obama now pushing for the repeal of the U.S. military’s don’t ask don’t tell policy, a policy title that is nothing more than kindergarten vernacular in the best light and an underpinning for bigotry in the most accurate light. Whether we are talking about the right to serve as who you are or, for that matter, the right to marry as who you are, bigotry never deserves to win the day.

There are tragic truths in this. One is simple and direct: human beings who happen to be Gay or Lesbian continue to be denied equal rights in the United States of America. Another is there are members of Congress who will actually get more votes because they deny people their equal rights. If you’ve ever watched the remarkable documentary Outrage you will learn that some of the most vociferous anti- gay voices are, well, gay! Among them are current Florida Governor Gary Crist and former Idaho senator Larry Craig of airport bathroom fame.

As Washington Post staff writer Dan Zak pointed out, the film “has a dreadful logic to it: If our leaders aren’t true to themselves, how can they possibly be true to us?”  True that.

And so here we are in the 21st Century once again watching many of the nation’s lackaleaders fight for bigotry, fight for the denial of equal rights, and claim the high ground while doing so, which kind of like running people over with your car on purpose and claiming you are teaching safe driving at the same time. This analogy is no stretch. Republican leadership is doing exactly that, running over the equal rights of fellow Americans while claiming to support equal rights at the same time.

There is only one appropriate time for equal rights: now.

 

 

Dear Lindsay Lohan – Sobriety First

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In the life of an alcoholic-addict, there is  only one person who is responsible for drinking or using, the alcoholic-addict. Why? because they are sick. Not bad, but sick. How do I know this, separate and apart from the data that says this, because I am a recovering alcoholic-addict. A wonderful friend of mine who died last year used to say, “You’re not responsible for your addiction, you’re responsible for your recovery.” This is true for me and all others grappling with this deadly disease, including Lindsay Lohan. A fact her father, Michael Lohan, and her mother, Dina Lohan, clearly don’t get; more proof that addiction is a family disease.

Dina Lohan has complained that her daughter’s life is too much in the media spotlight; an accurate claim though a somewhat bizarre one coming from Dina Lohan because she’s voiced her too-much-media complaint on talk shows as well as to television and print reporters.

Michael Lohan’s judgment is equally off the beaten path. In response to the fact his daughter recently failed two drug tests, she testing positive for cocaine in one of them, he reportedly said, “…all I can say is ‘watch out’ to the person(s) who allowed this to happen in their presence and sold or gave her the cocaine or alcohol.”  Fine, Michael. But the fact of the matter is it was your daughter who chose to use the drugs.

The bottom line is Lindsay Lohan is a 24-year-old woman who is in a fight for her life. Addiction itself doesn’t give a damn whether she is an actress or famous or attractive or unattractive. Addiction has one goal and one goal only – to demolish everything and everyone in its path until it achieves its ultimate goal – kill.

Addiction is trying its level best to kill Lindsay Lohan just as it is trying its level best to kill every other addict-alcoholic. And until Ms. Lohan and those around her fully digest that her entire life needs to be about getting sober before it is about anything else, she doesn’t stand a chance.

Battling addiction is a tough but winnable fight, all the more so when those waging the fight realize that anything they put before sobriety will be lost, including life itself.

 

Truth and Advocacy

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In a Merriam Webster Dictionary I was reading recently truth is defined as “sincerity in action, character, and utterance” and as “(1) : the state of being the case : fact (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts”.

Advocates, civil rights activists, work for a truth that says all people are created equal, and therefore deserve equal rights, equal treatment under the law. Essentially, all people deserve equal treatment in the world they live in. It is the advocate’s role to shed light on things when equality is being denied, either unwittingly or purposefully. I do not think it is possible to knowingly deny someone their rights, do nothing about it, and then claim your actions aren’t purposeful.

One of the difficult things for me, and other advocates I’m sure,  is when the facts of the matter, the truth as it were, leads down a path we’d rather not travel. A path that is unsettling, scary, heartbreaking, or deeply disappointing. Moments  when we discover people or groups we believed in, and liked, and in some cases still like, were not entirely who they said they were. However, I cannot, nor should any other advocate, spare another their reality, not if that reality denies others their equality.

Recently I was asked why I make audio recording of certain meetings. Before I explain let me say that participants are always aware the meeting is being recorded. There are several answers to why they are recorded and while they will continue to be recorded:

  • the recordings serve as a reasonable accommodation for those of us with certain disabilities.
  • the recordings provide an accurate record of the meeting itself.
  • the recordings contribute to a desperately needed transparency.
  • the recordings help keep the light shined on the truth of what is being said and, for that matter, not said.
  • the recordings keep the fire of accountability well lit.

It was somewhat amusing recently when someone told me that when I write my blog about meetings I am using my interpretation. Well, yes, that’s true, and, when you think about it, rather unavoidable. After all, whose interpretation would I use but my own? However,  this person’s smile-producing observation does have relevance. My blog pieces are my perspective for sure. Which is why recordings of meetings will be made available to other meeting participants upon request. I can’t get fairer than that.

And that’s the truth.

TBI Waiver’s New Beginning Maybe – Part II

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The New York State Department of Health deserves enormous credit for its consistent willingness to interact with the Kahrmann Advocacy Coalition. Any notion some of us  may have had that there would be resistance to interacting with us was quickly erased by DOH officials, and in  discussions with KAC members subsequent to my  recent meeting with DOH officials, the gratitude is very real.

Assurances that Timothy J. Feeney’s will not have the contractual authority he had under previous contracts (there were three five-year contracts, one with STIC who subcontracted the work to Feeney and two directly with Feeney’s company)  were deeply appreciated, especially since DOH officials fully acknowledge that two of Feeney’s college degrees are not valid (he does not have a valid masters degree or a valid PhD).

There are some things that need to kept front and center and in focus. While it is true that the DOH is entering into a contract with STIC (Southern Tier Independence Center in Binghamton, NY) and not with Timothy J. Feeney’s companies, School and Community Support Services Inc. and School and Community Support Services (one is for profit, one is not-for-profit), the DOH entered into the agreement knowing full well STIC would be giving  Feeney they work and that Feeney will be misrepresenting his credentials when he does the work the contract calls for.

One of the things that has been again made clear to me over the past 24 hours is this. Survivors of brain injuries and their families and quite a few providers are disgusted that anyone would knowingly enter into a contract knowing the contract’s deliverables will be provided by someone who will be clinically misleading the very people he is supposed to be helping.

What would officials say when  the mother of a brain injury survivor who asks, “Why is it okay for my son to be treated by someone who says he’s a doctor when he’s not?” Would anyone actually say, That’s not the point, his educational credentials are not the point, the contract deliverables don’t involve that.

What would they say to the wife who asks, “How is it that the state pays a couple of hundred thousand dollars to someone knowing that Feeney does have the credentials he says he does? Would they be okay if he was treating their husband?”

What would they say to the Vietnam Veteran who said, “I’ve been through enough shit in life, they expect me to listen to this fraud and they’re paying him?”

These are real questions from real people. They deserve answers. The answer they feel they are getting is that they do not deserve the best. Giving someone clinical power in the lives of others knowing that he or she is willfully misleading them is inexcusable.

However, it is in a very real way reassuring to all to hear that Feeney will not have the power he did before. And, it was clear to me that all the officials that I met with will not tolerate any intimidation tactics whether they be aimed at consumers, families or providers. Officials made a good point too when they said people have to report these tactics, file complaints. They were clear about this, and I believe them.

NY’s TBI Waiver: A New Beginning? Maybe

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In an intense forthright discussion with me today, three New York State Department officials, all  part of an impressive new-leadership for the state’s TBI Waiver, made it clear that Timothy J. Feeney will not have the contractual authority he did in the past nor the ability to exceed any contractual authority as survivors (including this writer), family members and providers witnessed in the past.

It was also made clear that the “training” provided by Feeney’s company will not be the only option for providers when it comes to being approved for being PBIS (Behavioral) Directors.

Equally important to understand is that the state’s contract is with the Southern Tier Independence Center (STIC) in Binghamton, not Feeney’s company, and STIC is on the hook to make sure the neurobehavioral contract’s deliverables are provided as called for in the contract. All indications are STIC will be giving the work to Feeney and his people.

I like, and was genuinely impressed, with the three folks I met with today: Deputy Commissioner Mark Kissinger, Carla Williams, Deputy Director Office of Long Term Care and Mary Ann Anglin, Director of the Division of Home & Community Based Care Services. Kissinger is wonderfully straight forward and direct, Ms. Williams, who will never be accused of being shy or understated, is refreshingly intense and forceful, and Ms. Anglin is  a marvelously clear and creative thinker. All three made their loyalty to the best possible waiver clear to me, and I have no reason to disbelieve them. If I did (or ever do), I’ll tell you.

It is important to note too that these three were not at the helm back in the days when Feeney was able to run roughshod over people and providers, inflicting admission holds at will and, as many of us know, acting on his penchant for reminding providers that if they didn’t do what he told them to do, he’d shut off their admissions straight away. Feeney and his crew would at times direct who should be fired and who should or should not be promoted. I can even recall instances where he directed that cognitive therapy is not an option because it doesn’t work; about as absurd a claim as one can make in the world of brain injury. Kind of like telling someone summiting Everest that oxygen is irrelevant.

I was also reassured that survivors, families and providers should not hesitate to file complaints if they have them. I explained that in the past there was a reality-based fear in filing complaints against Feeney and his crew because the response was often punitive. Fear can be a helluva manager. I was assured in no uncertain terms that those days are in the past.

And so we will see. I can tell you that if you have complaints or concerns of any kind, you can file them with the Kahrmann Advocacy Coalition (kahrma1@gmail.com) as well as with the Brain Injury Association of New York State.