tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14073695777450941622024-03-13T07:53:40.729-05:00I'm Not Saying, I'm Just SayingThis is a blog about my opinions on a variety of subjects. I won't always be right, but I'll always try to provoke discussion. Politics and disability rights are my passions, but I also enjoy some pop culture once in a while. Yet, a blog without humor is nothing worth reading, which means I'll insert as much as I possibly can. This is my attempt to stir conversation and get people talking. I hope it works out for all of us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-100801504072334982014-06-17T22:38:00.000-05:002014-06-17T22:48:45.194-05:00Strange Medicine<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes I forget how disabled I am. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes I forget how disabled I am to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not often I try to look at myself
through the eyes of a person without a disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then again, I’m fairly sure the opposite is
equally true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Every three months, I receive Botox injections in my right
arm and hand as well as in the muscles in my forehead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t go to the doctor that religiously and
get between 20 and 25 needle pricks only for cosmetic reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I don’t get any of these injections to
make myself look better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do it to control
muscles spasticity, so my hand doesn’t clench into a perpetual fist, so my arm
doesn’t atrophy into my body and my shoulder become more rigid, and so my brows
don’t twist and distort my facial muscles into a scowling and unnerving menace
to society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s only recently that I have come to realize how important
these Botox injections are to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
probably started seeing a doctor for them about five or six years ago, but I
can’t give an exact date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, that
proves my point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s almost impossible
for me to remember what it was like to live with cerebral palsy before Botox.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know that I did, however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For nearly 40 years or so, that was my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know that a person who would be
considered as someone with a significant disability—like me—could have a
different kind of life from just a few injections four times a year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The change that took place when the Botox
entered my system and eventually started to build up within my muscles was
transformative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s no other way I
can describe it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My right hand opened for the first time because my brain
told the muscles and nerves in it to do just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was something I had never experienced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The constant movement and rotation of my arms
and shoulders morphed, starting with very miniscule patterns, into a slow roll
and finally into physical silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
even dared to think of my body as relaxed, which is something I had never done
or thought possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I no longer wore a
never-ending frown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people might
have thought I looked surprised all the time, but that was such a small price
for what otherwise was almost like bodily freedom for me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My point to all this is that modern medicine has opened, for
me at least, a pathway into a world where disability is not my primary focus in
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still have unbearable days when
my startle reflex heightens exponentially as if I were a deer waiting for a
hunter’s boot to crack a twig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
muscles spasm at the slightest sound, and I look fearful, regretful, even
mournful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My right hand still seizes so
tightly that it cramps, and pain drills into my elbow and shoulder with such a
slow seething penetration that all I can do is pull back from reality and
absorb the throbbing ache until the war waging within my body reaches a ceasefire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, even with all the reminders of “stick,”
the unintended back-and-forth wrestling matches with the doctor, and the
inevitable pile of tissues covered with blood and sweat, I leave the office
with a new mindset of relief, even if the first few hours only bear me
psychosomatic fruit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t write about my experience with Botox simply to gain
sympathy about my situation or to extol the virtues of this drug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always remind myself that the bacterium
Clostridium botulinum, which is a neurotoxin that can cause botulism, a
potentially fatal muscle paralytic, formed the basis of Botox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, all vaccines typically come from
the actual disease they are trying to prevent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Science works in mysterious ways in that regard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also realize that by giving Botox such glowing reviews, I
can almost make it sound like a miracle drug.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is simply not the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By
the end of my three-month wait for my next injections, most of the medicinal
properties I found so wonderful at the outset have largely disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Botox does not cure CP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor does it re-create me as a person without
a disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still leave the doctor’s
office in my power wheelchair, and I still take all my muscle relaxants just as
I always have.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The only difference is that for six to nine weeks, I feel
better as a person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel more
functional, and I feel more confident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no magic pill—or in this case magic shot—that creates a new,
likable, and useful person out of the refuse and wreckage that was my body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is only that I feel more positive about
life, and I completely recognize that a realization of that magnitude is
primarily psychological.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nonetheless,
that rational advantage, which Botox seems to give me, is real and not without
merit and especially not without substance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Science changes how my body operates, but it does not change
the person I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a published author
and an occasional advocate/activist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am still a political junkie, but I know there is more to this world than merely
politics and activism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to be a
student of it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to read the
greats and simmer in their stew of words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I want to see, hear, taste, smell, and touch—imagination freely flowing and
fully engaging—in the power, wit, and wonder of those words, exploring and
exposing what causes each syllable’s fuse to burn strong and bright, until it
bursts into the most primitive of mental fireworks displays my mind can
conceive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is my peace and salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is my refuge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what makes me human.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The foundation of it all is science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The technology behind my power wheelchair and
Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which allows me to write this blog and anything else
I choose in the first place, found itself safely delivered to me in the hands
of da Vinci and Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, Hawking and Tyson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The seemingly miraculous benefits of my Botox
injections were carefully passed down from Salk and Curie, Jenner and Fauci.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Science and reason allow me to function.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Curiosity and imagination allow me to prosper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sampling these kinds of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B6MZ9Bmcf8" target="_blank">strange medicine</a> may
be good for the soul, however you define it.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-28586441833001023432014-03-16T05:17:00.002-05:002014-03-16T07:31:43.104-05:00Blood Sport<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
This blog post goes out to all my friends who will vote in
the Illinois Republican gubernatorial primary next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may be a bit late in posting it, but I only
recently had a conversation with a political operative from Senator Kirk Dillard’s
campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something dawned on me in the
midst of our chat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, I don’t think it will be a surprise to any of you to
find out that I won’t be voting in the Republican primary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am an avowed Democrat, and I make no bones
about my support for Governor Quinn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nonetheless, I like to consider myself fair-minded enough to look at
both sides of the equation or, in this case, both sides of the aisle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, I think money has become the absolute root of all
evil in politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That should be no shock
to anyone who even remotely follows local, state, or federal political
activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think we’re seeing the
results of that “evil” in the state of Illinois this political season.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Rauner">Bruce
Rauner</a> is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Illinois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the Chairman of GTCR, a private equity
firm that made lots of people lots of money, for 30 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No crime in that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not a person who thinks that rich people
are inherently evil, simply because they happen to be rich.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would love to be rich one day, but I don’t
see it happening anytime soon, especially after this blog post.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will point out, however, that it seems this country just
went through something similar to what Illinois is now experiencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A politician ran for a major office, and said
politician had a long history in private equity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a “self-made” multimillionaire and
even considered corporations as people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If memory serves, I don’t believe he did terribly well in his particular
election bid.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seriously, Rauner is likely to walk away from the Republican
primary with the nomination firmly in hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, if that happens, I think it’s equally fair to say the nomination
will not have been earned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More likely,
people will say that Rauner bought the election with a myriad of negative ads
against his fellow Republican candidates as well as a few against Governor
Quinn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, it’s very important to
realize that of Rauner’s $14 million war chest, $6 million came from his own
pocket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By my rudimentary math, that’s
nearly 50%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, that’s exactly
42.86%.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By any calculation, it is quite
a bit of money to give yourself when you’re running for a position meant to
represent all the citizens of Illinois.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another disturbing fact that caught my eye is Rauner’s
unabashed courtship of the Tea Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
is tacking very far to the right in his politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may work for primaries, but in Illinois
general elections, moderation tends to play much better among the majority of
the populace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is talking about doing
away with unions, overhauling Illinois’ educational system to reflect his deep
appreciation for charter schools, and revamping the tax code to include
eliminating the recent income tax that allowed Illinois to keep its financial
head above water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are some strong
positions to take in any state but especially in one where the politics are
traditionally quite blue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I think it is
also important to note at this point that Rauner’s daughter attends a very
elite charter school in Chicago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, when Rauner tried to enroll her in the school, she was
ineligible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how things
turned out so that his daughter now is a student at the school when many other
children may not have that privilege.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, I am quite sure the school is very grateful to Mr. Rauner for his
$250,000 contribution, which he made the very next year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just saying.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Though I cannot say I support Senator Dillard, I can tell
you some key aspects of his political approach that may be better suited for
Illinois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rauner’s commercials discuss
his intentions of shaking up Springfield, of eliminating the status quo, and of
making the politicians accountable for their actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are laudable sentiments, but this comes
from a man who has never served in any kind of elected office before he decided
to run for governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Senator Dillard has
been in the state legislature for 20 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Though my numbers may not be exact, I’m fairly sure that he has not been
in the majority very much if at all during his tenure in office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That leads to a very serious question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it more important to work across the aisle
and accomplish legitimate and important legislation at the risk of alienating
some of your base, or is it more effective to send a drone to the state capitol
and only survey the damages among the rubble because you’re not truly obligated
to any base?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not espousing the
right answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am merely pointing out
the conundrum, which could be quite serious depending on the means one used to
reach that position.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Politicos often talk about the benefits of divided
government, albeit the ones who talk about it the most are typically the ones
in the minority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would posit the
following theory: Illinois already has divided government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This idea may not sit very well with some of
my Democratic friends, but I believe we have been dancing around the elephant
in the room for far too long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Michael
Madigan is the Speaker of the House, and he has been in that position for the
better part of two decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
legislation passes through the Illinois General Assembly—let alone the House—without
his consent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is simply the way
things operate in the state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may
find it exhilarating or exasperating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Either way, the results are the same.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Governor Quinn has put forth many initiatives since becoming
governor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have agreed with some and
disagreed with others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless,
simply because he is a Democrat, there is no reason to believe that what the
governor advances as a legislative platform will receive a warm welcome in the
Illinois House or Senate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It simply isn’t
the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is even more evident when
a Republican sits in the governor’s office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is much easier for the Speaker of the House to wage a campaign of
divided government and, therefore, potential gridlock when a member of his own
party isn’t the adversary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be
clearer, a Republican governor serves as a better foil for a Democratic
legislature than does a governor who happens to be a Democrat.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a reason some people call politics a “blood sport,”
and much of that reasoning revolves around the idea that competition is good
for the parties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not be good for
the citizens of the city, state, or country where this kind of policy is
enacted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, that never seems
to cross the minds of those engaging in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nevertheless, it always affords one side the ability to proclaim victory
or, conversely, disgust at the unfair treatment it has received from the other
side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t think we see that in Illinois
on a regular basis, you haven’t been paying close enough attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I say, the only losers in a game like this
are the people who elected gladiator-politicians in the first place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rauner is not going to shake up Springfield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If anything, he will likely hurt the safety
net for millions of low income Illinoisans and citizens with disabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those in the middle class will likely face
the same kind of dilemma, dealing with a governor who does not understand his
own position on the minimum wage and simultaneously wants to undercut the
pension system and union benefits that state workers have received for decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It is humorous to me at how so many
politicians are now claiming the pension system is the death knell for the
Illinois economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, that is only
the case after those same politicians played kick the can with that pension
system for two decades, knowing the consequences that would unfold down the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The curious fact is that many who did kick
the can thought the problem might fall on someone else’s shoulders and yet found
themselves facing the same reality all those years later because they just
could not bring themselves to walk away from the political limelight.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, to all my Republican friends, though there
may not be many left after this particular blog—and the same may be true for
some Democratic friends, you should carefully consider your choices in the
upcoming primary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having money does not
qualify someone for a job in politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More important than that is the reality that buying an election because
you are a multimillionaire does not make you capable of true governance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many members of the Illinois General Assembly
are quite wealthy but not at all qualified to lead the state into the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But experience does count for something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Running a successful private equity firm or
even being named philanthropist of the year makes you a successful entrepreneur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does not prepare you to walk along the
bloody sands of the arena and face <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSomiNeUIfY">Maximus Decimus Meridius</a>.</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-4469153630027845052013-12-01T21:44:00.001-06:002013-12-13T03:44:16.385-06:00The 'Other-ing' of America<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
What do you see when you look at the people around you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you see people just like yourself, or do
you see “others?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you find yourself
subconsciously self-segregating into groups that look alike or think alike or
act alike, perhaps much like you look, think, or act?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you feel safer or more powerful in these
groups?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you feel less alone in groups
like that, less likely to be confronted with one of the “others?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are not easy questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are not pleasant questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They might make you squirm a bit or not want
to read any further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are not
questions for the fainthearted, when you get past their surface meanings, and
when you stop thinking about others you know and truly direct the microscope
back on yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With those facts in
mind, there is no reason to beat around the proverbial bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come and join me in the deep end.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gone are the days of the WASP (White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant), much to the chagrin of many, I’m sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 1950s, as portrayed by the media on
television and in the movies, no longer exist, if they ever did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I doubt Ozzie and Harriet ever witnessed a
lynching, and Mayberry was never quite as peaceful as Andy Griffith made it
appear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the largest portion of this
country, childhood myths shattered long ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you know history, you know people with mental illness as
recently as 30 or 40 years ago, if not now to some extent, were locked into
mental asylums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once there, they were
tortured with electroconvulsive therapy and methods that were even far more
brutal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Society tossed people with
disabilities into institutions, often times under the nebulous rubric of
rehabilitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, for many,
especially those with developmental disabilities, the primary means by which
they were “fixed” was by sterilization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This guarded against another generation of these inferior people roaming
the countryside and breaking things like Lennie in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_Mice_and_Men" target="_blank"><u>Of Mice and Men</u></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Hitler and Stalin did this, people
considered the actions crimes against humanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the US, we were just doing what was best for the society as a whole.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During this same period, if you were unlucky enough to be
African American or Asian American, not to mention Native American and all the
other immigrant populations who came to this country with hopes of escaping
oppression and finding real opportunity, you realized quickly that those dreams
were not meant for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reservations for
Native Americans, internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II,
and Latino, Asian, Irish, Polish, and other ethnic neighborhoods ostracized
from the more cultured and genteel members of society were accepted
practices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The average American never
questioned subjugating the poor into ghettos and other equally squalid slums
inside the cities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you were not a
WASP and found yourself living in the rural areas of this country, the
amenities were not nearly as appealing or hospitable as they were on “Green
Acres.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am not merely trying to retell history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose, if anything, I am only setting the
backdrop for 21<sup>st</sup>-century America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Circumstances did not come into existence overnight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor will they be eliminated so quickly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps, I seem to be tilting at windmills, but I challenge
that assumption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For every Jackie
Robinson, there is an Emmett Till.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
every Martin Luther King Jr., there is a Medgar Evers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For every Gore Vidal and Walt Whitman, there
is a Harvey Milk or a Matthew Shepard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For every FDR, there is a JFK.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have lived a bloody and violent history in this country,
and we have brought much of it on ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, we only change history by learning from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From what I can see, there is no definitive
proof that we are learning from anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We talk about change and social justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We talk about caring for the poor and the most vulnerable among us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talk about a political system without
corruption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talk about equality for
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talk about many things, but if
all we do is talk, nothing ever changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nothing ever will.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those of the religious bent speak about faith without works
being dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would alter that statement
and put it forth in a more all-encompassing fashion by saying, “Fate without
works is dead.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our fate as people or as
a nation is tied to what we do to and for each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean fate in terms of destiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am speaking about the fate of what will
happen to us next year, next month, or next week, if we continue to act as
immorally and unjustly toward each other as our history shows is our penchant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I trace this trend back to the election of our current
president, Barack Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I support
Obama, though not without question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
very upset about the distinct possibility that our current surveillance state
is completely unconstitutional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
believe the NSA has overstepped its bounds, as has the CIA and the plethora of
alphabet soup agencies that are charged with our protection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it truly possible for a nation to exist
with a free citizenry when those same citizens worry if Google or Microsoft is
allowing the government full access to our email and other online
activities?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I digress likely in the
direction of a future article.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Without knowing actual statistics, I would guess with a fair
amount of certainty that most people believed President Obama’s election was
going to allow the US to forge some new path of inclusivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, after only a few months, that
rocket of a dream failed to reach complete orbit and fell prey to the dragging
claws of gravity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not have
shattered, but the dream definitely lies broken with no one seeming to rush to
put it back together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This country made
history by electing its first African-American president, but after taking a
step forward, it feels like we have taken two steps back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our new political landscape is one where the Tea Party holds
as much sway over the GOP as does Wall Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We live in a societal landscape where George Zimmerman can shoot and
kill Trayvon Martin with no legal ramifications, where the NRA’s voice is
louder than the people’s voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live
in a cultural landscape where politicians think it is absolutely appropriate to
probe a woman in any bodily orifice they see fit as long as their ideology
based on theology receives the full voice, if not the only voice, in state
legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in a governmental
landscape where stasis is the norm, where partisan differences have given way
to intransigence that allows more for name-calling than actual governance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This slippery slope of devolution can roll
into an avalanche of rising anger and building hatred, which could spark
hotspots in this nation most of us would rather see never ignited.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whether we believe it or not or admit it or not, we have
segmented ourselves into little pieces of a society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have become an almost laughable pie
chart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Analysts at CNN can stand before
a computerized wall and pull 10% of us out of one group, only to place us into
another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same analysts measure us by
net worth and not equity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are more
poll numbers than we are real people, except at this time of year when stories
of human interest make for good TV news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We run in circles because someone says he has the cheese, but we always
find ourselves at the dead-end of the maze with no cheese and no one to direct
us to the exit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still, I refuse to believe there is no hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can blame the corporate elites and the
media for developing a pyramid of “others” in this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the bottom, of course, are the poorest and
those without a voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point,
there was a large section, belonging only to the middle class, but it no longer
exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is simply because, in large
part, neither does the middle class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Haves and have-nots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two
Americas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Red states and blue
states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Call it what you will, but we
have successfully been cut off from each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is real tragedy in that statement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet, even as I place blame, deservedly so, with the
corporations and media, I cannot overlook the part we all play in the
denigration of those around us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
not surprising for those who have much to try to make those who have little
turn against each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This tactic is
as old as recorded history, but the fact that it consistently works speaks to a
larger problem among those who are not part of the media or corporations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not difficult to condition people to
think many things and to act in many different but predictable ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if those thought processes continue over
generations, the elite are no longer the ones making the decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the people themselves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A person does not wake up in the morning, watch the TV,
listen to the radio, or read the newspaper, consequently deciding to feel
superior to women, African-Americans, gay people, people with disabilities, or
any other minority group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This type of
ingrained trait takes time to develop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is completely irrational to think that corporations of 100 years ago
had so much foresight to plant all the seeds of Intolerance we see in this
nation today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We hold responsibility for our choices, for our desires to
befriend or reject, and for our willingness to pass judgment based on
stereotypes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we think otherwise, we
are merely fooling ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes,
we are the mob with pitchforks and torches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes, our hands tighten the noose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes, we fire the shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
question that remains is whether we take responsibility for our actions or
blame the “others” for being the problem, for causing our actions, and for
deserving the punishment that we mete out, all too often, on them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The truth is that in the next 15 to 20 years, if not before,
this will be a minority majority nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No one ethnic group will hold sway with complete authority over how the
government—be it federal or state—performs its business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a paradigm shift in the works, and
that scares some people right to their core.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, the people who are the most fearful have believed lies told to
them by corporations, the media, and their own family and friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These people believe the “others” will take
over America and drive it into the dust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These people believe they are losing their traditions and heritage, and
they have a right to fear assimilation to the extreme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Change is a very scary prospect for many
people, but when it comes, it always brings an added benefit for everyone, if
given the chance to grow and prosper throughout all society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The “others” are not lurking in the shadows, just
off-screen, like some movie monster about to kidnap the little girl from the
sleeping village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, the others have
always been here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will always be
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not evil creatures bent
on rending the fabric of America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
are America.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They are your mothers and brothers, sisters and fathers,
neighbors and friends, coworkers and bowling league buddies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They work with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They work for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They heal you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They clean for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They keep you safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They serve you food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They take care of your children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They entertain you, inspire you, and educate
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They even write obscure blogs in
dusty corners of the Internet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They are women or gay or African-American or Native American
or Asian-American or Pacific Islander American or Latino or disabled or poor or
single parents or food stamp recipients or Medicaid patients.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or they are all those things at once.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or they are you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The “others” do not wear masks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They wear buttons that say, “I voted.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They wear tags that say, “Volunteer.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And sometimes, on the Fourth of July, they
wear T-shirts that say, “I’m an American.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">What if the “others” were not actually others at
all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if they were only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">an</i>other— another neighbor, another
friend, another person?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if all the
anger and hatred morphed into questions about who the people were, what they
liked, what they watched on TV, what their favorite football team was?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if you both shared all the same
answers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would that make you one of the
“others?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would that make you one of
them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or would that make us all in this
together?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s an interesting question,
isn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wsYM1GgQLU" target="_blank">imagine</a> the
possibilities.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-29822248277562689242013-11-22T21:35:00.000-06:002013-11-23T00:02:01.380-06:00Nothing About Us Without Us<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VE52WCp2I-A" width="480"></iframe> I think Medicaid managed care is an incredibly important issue that has not received the attention it needs, except for information from wide swaths of very knowledgeable and outspoken advocates like the ones at <a href="http://www.accessliving.org/" target="_blank">Access Living</a>. I have written blog posts before on Medicaid managed care, and I have a great number of concerns about this approach to healthcare provision, especially as it pertains to people with disabilities. When listening to health insurance companies running this managed care model for Illinois, one would assume that profit is the least important issue driving these companies. However, I do not believe that is the case, and for-profit companies running a Medicaid model for people with disabilities is not conducive to a quality product for either side. In fact, since insurance companies are less likely to make their accustomed profits under this type of system, the care provided has the very distinct possibility of lacking the quality that patients deserve, which is the primary concern for people with disabilities.<br />
<br />
It is important to note that problems with Medicaid managed care systems are not exclusive to Illinois. Other states have faced similar problems, and many of them have scrapped the entire idea because of insufficient care or insurance companies claiming an inability to provide care and manage their own costs on an adequate level. It is also worth pointing out that Illinois rolled out the system with very little lead-time for the disability community. Though the state would argue that there were months of meetings before implementation, I know, from first-hand experience, that it was extremely difficult to ensure that suggestions from the disability community to make the system more efficient and effective were put in place by the appropriate state agencies or even taken under consideration by the insurance companies. The process was extremely frustrating, and little has changed in many aspects of the rollout.<br />
<br />
I urge everyone to gather more information on Medicaid managed care in Illinois and other states. In Illinois, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services administers the program, though it is likely that other agencies perform the same tasks within other states around the country. With the Affordable Care Act providing more access to Medicaid for millions of Americans, it is extremely important for all of us to be aware of how our different states are approaching solutions to the expanded Medicaid rolls. If it is not done to the benefit of the disability community in each state, as Marca Bristo stated in the video, these managed-care systems will not work for anyone eligible for or receiving Medicaid in those states.<br />
<br />
It is up to advocates, particularly ones most affected by these decisions, to make our voices heard and ensure the system works for everyone. Healthcare is a right and not a moneymaking opportunity for insurance companies. Nor is it a process by which the government can shuffle the issue of expanding Medicaid and providing quality care to companies that lack the experience of doing so on a basis commensurate with what the state has previously provided. "Nothing about Us without Us" is a very apropos mantra for the diligence we need on the part of the disability community and provided as well. We cannot afford to ignore this struggle, as it affects us all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-20805019783067098142013-11-14T16:24:00.006-06:002013-12-02T03:01:15.317-06:00Message in a Bottle<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK8"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK7"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";"></span></b></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Read these two
brief stories: </span></div>
<ol>
<li>"<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">There is proof that Barack Obama was
born and raised in Kenya.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, he
is an Islamic communist, and he freely espoused these views from middle school
all the way through Harvard Law School.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Each time he took the oath of office as president, he did so with his
hand on a copy of the Quran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He paid
officials in Hawaii to fake his birth certificate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is trying everything he possibly can in
his last three years in office to undermine the Christian underpinnings of this
country and drive religion into the shadows, forcing this society to become
secular and atheist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is striving to
propel the black vote higher and suppress the white vote in every way he can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he leaves office, he wants to ensure
that the US has moved so close to a socialist state that any future president
or Congress will never be able to bring it back to a true democracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he succeeds, he will bring this country to
its knees.” </span><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: Garamond;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">“John Boehner is a chain-smoking puppet
of the Tea Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has no control over
the Republican caucus in the US House of Representatives, and he must bow to
the will of those in the hierarchy of the Tea Party at any given moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At night, when he is away from the public
scrutiny, he drinks nearly a fifth of vodka, and he often comes to work with a
hangover the next day, according to GOP House aides, who wish to remain
anonymous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further, according to those
same sources, Boehner does not truly wish to remain as Speaker of the House
because he knows he has no hope of a lasting legacy in Washington, especially
if his Republican colleagues in the House continue to offer nothing more than obstructionism
to every plan President Obama puts forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Boehner has developed a terrible stomach ulcer from consuming two to
three pots of coffee each day and eating too much fast food, primarily due to too
many late night strategy sessions in which his voice is rarely heard, and he
has no choice but to call for yet another vote to repeal Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the choice were his alone and he had a bit
less ego, he would leave the political spotlight and take a job as a lobbyist
on K Street.”</span>
</li>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Do you believe
these stories?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you believe one more than
you believe the other, I will take you at your word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you believe both, then, I’m sorry, but you
have some problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stories are diametrically
opposed to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You cannot
believe both and still maintain any semblance of independent thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, if you believe either, there is an
argument to be made that you still have a problem with maintaining any
semblance of independent thinking.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Now, what if
you received one of these two stories in an email?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if the first story came in an email from
a group with a name like “Americans Reclaiming America for True Americans?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What if the second story landed in your inbox
from a group called “American Patriots Exposing Tea Party Hypocrisy?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Yes, I know how stupid the names of those
groups sound, but that’s not the point.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Would it make any difference to you if you read those stories from a
source that sounded even remotely legitimate?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Even if you
believe the stories to be without any merit and unworthy of your time, you may
still be in the minority, depending on where you are and with whom you surround
yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean that you need to
find yourself in the midst of some radicalized group that believes in the
overthrow of the government for some of the reasons in either one of those
stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People around us every day are
saturated with ideas that make no sense, but those ideas have no filters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s worse is that on many occasions, the
people that hear those kinds of stories also have no filters or refuse to
activate the ones they have that could act as barriers to such nonsensical
drivel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">We live in a
technological age that is ruthless and completely uncaring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mean to imply that the people who use
technology or even run technology are ruthless or uncaring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s usually not the case at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The simple fact is that websites like
Facebook and Twitter don’t discriminate, for the most part, based on content.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Gandhi were still alive, his views would
have no more merit than the ideas Sarah Palin posts on her Facebook page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s up to the individual who decides to read
those comments also to judge whether any of them has any weight, deserves credence,
and metes out the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people who
read comments or posts, such as this one, will make the wrong decisions and
will decide that statements, which have no bearing in fact or reality, are true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Further, they
won’t just decide what they have read is true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They will decide to let their friends know about it, forward it to
people, and spread baseless allegations that begin to perpetuate in small, dark
corners of the Internet, where conspiracy theories lie in wait, like sirens
singing their distant songs to hopeless and lonely sailors, in hopes of drawing
people to them and leaving them helplessly lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the mainstream pipeline, if you will,
that runs through the Internet randomly plucks some of these ideas and
statements out of the cyber ether, passing them along to more legitimate
outlets and websites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, in turn,
makes these stories seem even more reasonable to the average person and more
palatable to the ravenous media, which are constantly prowling for stories to
fill 24-hour news cycles.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">This little
macabre transformation—from innocent or joking email to potentially breaking
news on CNN or Fox—is a rather disgusting display, in my opinion, of how we’re
all so easily misled into believing things that simply are false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, to butcher Shakespeare, the fault lies
not in our technology or merely its presence in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m afraid the fault still lives with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re still the arbiters of what we say is
true and what we know is a bald-faced lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If we allow ourselves to be dragged into those lonely, dark, and dank
corners of the Internet, where mushrooms grow wild in the heaping mounds of
wasted dung, shoveled there by wannabe journalists or scholars, we not only
create but also perpetuate the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If this cycle is ever broken, it won’t be through new standards on
Facebook or Twitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will only come
to pass if we choose to stop believing the things that we know are wrong, we
know are lies, and we know are hurtful.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">This post may
seem out of place and disconnected from things happening in the news and other
current events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I would
disagree with that statement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
beginning, I laid out two scenarios that have obvious political overtones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just as easily could have told tales about
how magazines, TV, and the movies glamorize beauty to such an extent that women
feel inferior if they fail to reach some ambiguous and arbitrary bar that
measures appearance based solely on how society outwardly judges them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also could have added how social media empower
women, to some extent, and provide them with new tools that will develop their
leadership abilities in the face of a male dominated society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both of those stories would have been true,
but people could have systematically dismantled each of them by portraying
women as stereotypical feminist man haters or as legitimate threats to what
some men perceive as the true social order. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, both of those conclusions would have been
dead wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In place of women, you can
substitute immigrants or gays or even people with disabilities, and you come up
with the same stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, you begin
to see the big picture.</span></div>
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are not all products of our upbringing or our environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a choice in how we develop and who we
become as people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not as simple as
clicking “like” on someone’s status or re-tweeting a particularly interesting
string of 140 characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We cannot
reduce ourselves to that base level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is sometimes lonely not to do that—to stand out from the crowd, but I firmly
believe there are times when we must do it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hold myself as one of the biggest hypocrites,
and I need to change my behavior before I can tell anyone else what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was part of the impetus behind writing
this post in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, let
me use this post as my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRRSRNDuu98">message
in a bottle</a>, though I throw it as merely a drop of water into an endless
ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, in this case, everything
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<![endif]-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-56182560880401478542013-10-03T21:04:00.001-05:002013-10-06T05:56:51.828-05:00Know When to Fold 'em<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">At first, I was
surprised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never thought they would
actually do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, after a few hours
of reflection, I realized that this bunch of Republicans in the Congress make
Newt Gingrich and his gang look like The Little Rascals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have wandered into no man’s land, and it’s
very difficult to find </span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">I’m sure most
people who are reading this know the story about how the government shut down
Monday night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, for some reason, I
felt compelled to offer a Civics 101 tutorial on governing as opposed to
politicking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Washington, it seems
that governing is a lost art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
think about that statement, it becomes very frightening to consider the
ramifications these kinds of parlor tricks could have on not just the nation but
also the entire world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not an
understatement.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Most people
know that passing a bill is not that terribly complicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re as old as I am and remember<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Schoolhouse Rock</i>, then you already know
how a bill becomes law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That little
rolled up piece of paper sure could act, but I digress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Briefly, a bill starts in either the House or
the Senate and passes out of one of those two chambers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, it goes to the other chamber.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just for the sake of having a concrete
example, let’s say a bill starts in the House (as all federal revenue bills do
under the Constitution), passes by majority vote, and moves its way to the
Senate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once there, the Senate can pass
it as written in the House, or it can make changes to the bill by adding
certain provisions or taking out others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Regardless, the Senate passes the bill also in one form or another, but
if it’s different than what the House passed, then the two versions of the bill
need to be hashed out, chopped up, and molded into one bill that both chambers
accept and send to the president.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">This is where
the conference committee comes into play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure many people have only heard about conference committees in the
last few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, they’re very standard
processes of governing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They happen in
both state and federal government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a
nutshell, the leadership in the House and Senate pick a few members to meet and
argue over the differences in the bill in a conference committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One side gives up something, the other side
gives up something, and after a few days, both chambers vote on the final
version of the bill, and that is usually a formality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the bill finds its way to the president’s
desk for his or her signature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Voilà!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a bill that has
become a law.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">It seems simple,
right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s because it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I’m leaving out several potential
problems, like filibusters or amendments that are meant to blow up the bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those things happen more often than they
should, but in the normal process of governing, this is how the politicians
make the sausage that becomes law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Someone has an idea on how to make the country better, or at least we
hope that’s the genesis behind most legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone writes up the idea for the bill, and
a legislator sends it to committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There, the committee votes on the bill and forwards it to the floor of
the chamber where it originated for a full vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You get the idea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">OK, enough with
the boring realities of lawmaking and on to the exact opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truth behind this government shutdown is
that Tea Party Republicans in the House wanted two things: the repeal of
Obamacare and the shutdown of the government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In 2010, even before Republicans took over the House, candidates running
for office promised that they would do whatever it took to bring the government
to a screeching halt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not just
my opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been </span><a href="http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/2010-elections/republicans-promised-us-government-shutdown-2010-video"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">recorded and shown numerous times on
television</span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main reason these people wanted to shut
down the government was to defund Obamacare or in an ideal world repeal it
completely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">John Boehner, the
Speaker of the House, is not truly a member of the Tea Party, but the 40 or 50
diehard Tea Party members within the Republican caucus have overshadowed his
entire speakership.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have
continually forced him to bend to their will, which is to say oppose President
Obama at every turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may say that
tactic is the best way to govern in a situation where Republicans have very
limited control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others would say that
tactic is merely obstructionism, and it prevents members of Congress from doing
what they were elected to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
the fact that this has been </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/congress-unproductive_n_2371387.html"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">one of, if not the most, ineffective
Congresses in the history of this nation</span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";"> speaks volumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
House has passed almost no productive legislation in nearly three years, unless
you count naming post offices after former members of Congress or voting to
repeal Obama care more than 40 times as productivity.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">So, now we have
reached the point where the government is shut down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you listen to Speaker Boehner, the fault
lies at the feet of the Senate, which didn’t take him up on his offer of having
a conference committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let’s go
back just a bit before that to find out what really happened.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">The whole point
of this shutdown is that there was no budget and no way to keep paying for
government programs without one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus,
as has been the case in the last three years, to keep the lights on, the House
and Senate decide to pass what is known as a continuing resolution or a CR in
government parlance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Essentially, that
is a six to eight weeks stopgap measure that keeps the doors open, but it is
meant to force Democrats, especially Obama, to negotiate away certain spending
programs or complete pieces of legislation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Boehner does this to please the Tea Party because if he didn’t do this
their way, he would lose his job as speaker faster than Miley Cyrus could offend
the next outraged group of the day.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">The Senate
passed a budget back in March after the House had insisted for months that the
Senate has dragged its feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not soon
after that, the Democratic leadership in the Senate asked the House for a
conference committee to iron out the differences between both chambers’
budgets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The House never agreed to a
commerce committee, which meant a budget never passed, even though each side
had more than six months to do just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That meant we were back to yet another CR just to keep the government running.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Initially,
Obama’s budget called for $1.2 trillion in discretionary spending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Republican Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget
only wanted a little more than $1 trillion in that same type of flexible spending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After lots of back and forth, threats,
conciliation, and eventual cuts, Ryan decided that his budget was now going to
spend no more than $967 billion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
would think that there would be no compromise when the president started asking
for almost twice that amount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you
would be wrong, since the CR that came from the Senate just a few days ago </span><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/house-gop-budget-strategy-government-shutdown-97496.html?hp=t1_7"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">only called for $986 billion in spending</span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">I never
excelled at math, but by my calculations, that is only a $19 billion
difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems like Mount Everest
to you and me, perhaps, but in the grand scheme of the US government, $19
billion is only a drop in the bucket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s not even a drop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s more
like when the person who gives the weather on the local news tells you there
was a trace of precipitation today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
weather person knows a few drops fell, but there’s no way to measure it because
it was such a small amount.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why
they use the word trace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one really
knows what it means, but everyone knows it’s more than nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the same way with this $19 billion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congress could probably spend that in a couple
of hours or less and not get much for the money, but they would certainly tell
you that it’s, at least, some money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Regardless, that was the number representing the difference between what
Republicans wanted to use to keep government functioning and what Democrats
thought was feasible, even though Democrats hated the idea of spending so
little on social programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
difference is so miniscule as not to merit even mentioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, here we are talking about anyway.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">It’s not quite
that simple, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Republicans didn’t
simply want a few billion dollars less to fund government for six or eight
weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They wanted any CR that was
eventually sent to Obama for his signature to include the complete defunding of
Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(In case you’ve been living
under a rock for the last few weeks or didn’t read my last blog post, Obamacare
is simply a nickname, albeit a derogatory one for most conservatives, for the
Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was passed in 2010 to offer 30 million more
people healthcare coverage.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The House
tried to attach that rider—or a kind of amendment—to the first CR, and the
Senate rejected it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the House
tried to attach another rider to the CR, which would delay for a year the implementation
of the individual mandate of Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That would have made the healthcare law nearly toothless, but the Senate
rejected that as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the House
tried one more gimmick, which, as you might guess, the Senate rejected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point, don’t you start to see a trend
here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, nothing the House
could do was going to defund, disabled, or destroy Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is decided law, and nothing short of a
different president and a completely Republican Congress will ever change that.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the way, we tried the whole idea of a
Republican president almost a year ago, and it pretty much failed miserably.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">A rational
person might think that after three tries, Republicans would go ahead and pass
the CR, especially since the number was so close to the Paul Ryan budget number
they all claimed to want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this case,
a rational person would be wrong, since rational thinking seems to be sorely
lacking in Washington DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of
funding the government for six weeks, the Republicans, herded like mindless
sheep at the bidding of the boisterous Tea Party, decided they suddenly wanted
a conference committee to go over the CR and find out another way they might be
able to derail Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That didn’t
happen either, as the Senate rejected it out of hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">It’s important
to know why that commerce committee didn’t happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, it was really a delaying tactic just
to find another way to squeeze out some of the provisions of Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, it would have done no good in trying
to keep the government from shutting down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unless both the House and the Senate passed a CR that the president
signed by midnight September 30, shutdown was inevitable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A conference committee was not going to stop
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boehner tried to use the cover of
such a maneuver to blame Democrats for the shutdown, but anyone paying
attention at all knew that when he had to resort to plan D, after watching
plans A, B, and C go down in flames, he was really just rearranging deck chairs
on the Titanic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">Now, the
government is in its third day of shutdown, and based on the media, which are
always subject to speculation, this thing could last for several more days or
even weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, yeah, for those who
didn’t know, our government needs to raise our debt limit by October 17 just so
we can continue borrowing more money to pay off our existing debts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we do default for some reason, it’s very
likely that the global economy could plunge into a death spiral, meaning the
dollar would have almost no value, interest rates would soar, and markets
around the world would collapse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Otherwise, Mrs. Lincoln, the play was very good.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">What do we
do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, there is a bit of hope in the
article by<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/04/us/politics/debt-limit-impasse.html?_r=0"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">The
New York Times</span></i><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">, which
states that Boehner has already made up his mind not to let the government
default</span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I never thought he would let the government shutdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That shows you what I know.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">More than that,
approximately, 4.7 million people went to healthcare.gov to find out more about
Obamacare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are glitches to the
entire Internet aspect of the program, but they will be fixed very soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the meantime, people who have had no
access to health care for possibly their entire lives now have a chance to
receive some basic coverage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
shutdown failed at stopping this reality, and it failed at allowing people the
chance to shop for healthcare coverage in a manner that has never happened in
this country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">For once,
Democrats are showing some backbone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obama
has stated numerous times and most recently directly to Boehner that as
president, he wouldn’t negotiate over anything, including the debt limit, until
the House passes the same CR that the Senate already passed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been called a “clean CR,” which only
means that nothing is attached to it that will defund Obamacare or do anything
else besides funding the government at a level very close to what the
Republicans actually wanted in the first place.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">This is not
rocket science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, it’s not even
advanced math.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s doing what’s right
for the American people, instead of forcing 800,000 federal employees to take
furlough days with no guarantee of receiving back pay for the days the
government is shutdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people can
understand those simple facts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder
if Boehner will have the backbone to stand up to the relatively miniscule Tea
Party caucus within his Republican ranks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That has yet to be seen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">When I was a
kid, I listened to a lot of country music, mainly because my dad did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wasn’t the Carrie Underwood or Rascal
Flatts kind of country you hear on the radio today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was George Jones, Merle Haggard, and
Willie Nelson before he was constantly stoned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One song that became exceedingly popular during that time was Kenny
Rogers’ “The Gambler.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I thought
about this whole government shutdown, one line of that song kept sticking out
to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You probably know it already, at
least, from the title of this blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
from the chorus of the song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It says, “</span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPUU0j1JX5Q"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,
know when to walk away, know when to run.</span></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not be time
for the Republicans to run, but it certainly is time they learned when it’s
time to fold ‘em.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">I know it was a
cheap gimmick and a cheap title for the blog, but if you follow politics in
Washington DC lately, cheap gimmicks are more the norm than the hard work of
governing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have a very dysfunctional
government on both sides of the aisle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll be the first to admit that, but both sides can’t always win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, one side can’t always win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At some point, some of the politicians, who
seem to forget when to stop campaigning, need to make sure the American people
are winning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can only play Charlie
Sheen for so long before you have to get a real job.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif";">PS: That was a
tragedy at the Capitol today in Washington DC, where a woman tried to use her
car to smash into the White House and the Capitol building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Capitol police confronted the woman and
chased her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the episode
ended with the woman’s death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may
never know what happened, but we do know the Capitol police did their job of
protecting our elected officials and the tourists visiting the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing we should all know about those brave
men and women in the Capitol police is that they did all this today, knowing
they were not getting paid and knowing they may not get paid for quite a
while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the truest definition of
doing one’s job.</span></div>
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<![endif]-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-16355744909743035182013-09-26T15:24:00.001-05:002013-09-28T03:01:32.886-05:00All the Fools Sailed Away<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Five days until
Armageddon. The four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse ride the earth. The end of
the world draws nigh. All men to battle
stations. Let loose the dogs of war. Release the Kraken! The government is about to shut down.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That’s what
many in the far right wing of the Republican Party want you to believe. Yet, somehow, just as REM sang, “It’s the end
of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”
OK, I will stop with all the clichés and bad metaphors. There’s really no need to be that dramatic anyway.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of course, that’s
not the case if you listen to many House Republicans and the suddenly
omnipresent Senator Ted Cruz. The House
just sent a continuing resolution to the Senate, and in it, Republicans voted
to defund Obamacare. That is just what
Mr. Cruz has been asking his fellow Republicans to do for the last several
months. I’m sure if you watched
television and flipped through different cable news channels, you have likely
seen the ads with Mr. Cruz’s sober face decrying the suffering that will
inevitably come to untold millions if Obamacare becomes fully implemented. In these commercials, he urges people to call
the number at the bottom of the screen or visit the website and sign the
petition to defund Obamacare “before it’s too late.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And you thought
only soap operas were rich in hyperbole.
Silly, Rabbit. Susan Lucchi pales
in comparison to the Tea Party. The U.S.
Congress has become<i> All My Children</i>,<i> As the World Turns</i>, and<i> Days of Our Lives</i> all rolled into one. I still think, however, that it’s a far cry
from <i>The Bold and the Beautiful</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make no mistake. The hard-liners in the Tea Party will not
stop at merely sending a continuing resolution that forces the defunding of
Obamacare. They also want to make it
clear to the American public that if this law is not gutted, they will shut
down the entire federal government. It’s
that simple, no two ways about it. The Tea
Party will remove this inhumane, un-American, socialist, liberal encroachment
into the private lives of this country’s citizens, or by anything that remains
holy in this world, those citizens will pay the price. Wait, I mean Obama will pay the price, or his
liberal cronies will pay the price.
Dammit! Somebody is going to pay
the price. They just need to work on
that whole endgame thing. At least, they
have the superfluous anger down to a fine art.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, I suggest
we all take a collective deep breath.
Let’s put out a few facts that, though a bit dull and anti-climactic,
tend to tell the entire story a bit more fully.
First, the government is not going to shut down. Even if it does, which I think is quite
unlikely, there are already contingency plans in place to ensure that the
infrastructure and benefits that we know and enjoy will not
come to a screeching halt. Every day
life may be a bit more inconvenient for a few days, but that will be the worst
of it. Truly, are you really going to
mind that much if you miss receiving another Publisher’s Clearinghouse sweepstakes
announcement in the mail? I didn’t think
so.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other main
point that I think most people in Tea Party-land are missing is that Obamacare
became law under the guidelines of mandatory spending. That means that even if the government shuts
down, Obamacare is going to move forward as part of the mandatory spending the
federal government has to provide, no matter what kind of political kabuki
theater is happening in our nation’s capitol.
Thus, this entire idea of defunding Obamacare by shutting down the
government is like shadowboxing. There
is no opponent dancing on the wall, and the most adamant haters of the law are
merely fighting against themselves.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That does not
mean that any of us should discount or underestimate what Senator Cruz has done
in the last few days. Aside from
completely alienating a large block of his own party, he has solidified his
base on the far right, and he has done so in just a few swift moves. By calling out House Republicans and forcing
them to pass a continuing resolution that defunded Obamacare, he made sure that
every member of the GOP in the lower house of Congress walked the plank with
him. Then, in another ingenious strategic
maneuver, he spent 21 hours and 19 minutes filibustering a bill he asked his
fellow Republicans in the House to send him.
Don’t be fooled into believing that this was another version of<i> Mr. Smith Goes to Washington</i>. Ted Cruz is not Jimmy Stewart and lacks any
semblance of the righteous indignation or integrity that Stewart showed in the
movie.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Nonetheless,
therein lays the beauty of the entire plan.
Cruz worked out this arrangement for his filibuster with Harry Reid, the
Majority Leader in the Senate. Both men
knew that it was all sound and fury signifying nothing. After nearly a day of talking about green
eggs and ham, Star Wars, and pirates on the high seas, Cruz and Senator Mike
Lee from Utah, the man who plays Robin to Cruz’s Batman, decided enough was enough. Cruz ended the filibuster and promptly voted
for the bill over which he and Lee had spent nearly a day stomping their feet
and crying like two children who wanted more ice cream.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, what did
Cruz accomplish, you may ask? Well, for
one thing, he forced everyone who covers politics to talk about him for at
least a day. In the insular world of
Washington DC, that is a tremendous accomplishment, especially if you are not
the president or the Supreme Court about to hand down a major decision. As I said earlier, even if Cruz upset many
members of his own party in Washington, people all around the country—the
people who represent the far right wing base of the GOP—are overjoyed with his
willingness to stand for his principles, even if those same people are not quite
sure what those principles may be. On
top of that, he phoned into Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, bemoaned the fact that
everyone in Washington only wants the status quo, and lamented the fact that no
members of Congress ever put their words into action to bring forth change. If you watched the video feed, you could see Limbaugh
lapping it up like a kitten at a bowl of cream.
It was a thing of beauty, if you like overweight bald man slobbering
over a microphone, while an over-chewed cigar dangled from clenched teeth, but
I digress.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Again, what did
Cruz accomplish? In the long run, of
course, nothing, at least from a governing perspective. Conversely, he likely helped his own
long-term chances for higher office with the base of the party he embraces the
most. By doing that, he caused great
consternation for the rest of the mainstream Republican Party and the few
moderates left in it. Do other senior
members of the GOP call out Cruz for his obvious hypocrisy and thereby risk
alienation from people and groups that find primary challengers and raise
significant amounts of cash for candidates they like? Or do they try their best to ignore his
antics and let stand Obamacare—the one piece of legislation that causes smoke
to bellow from the ears of the most diehard Tea Partiers? Of course, that chapter has yet to be written,
and it will be interesting to see which way the political winds start to blow.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m sure many
of you will think I take great delight in this theater of the absurd happening
right before our eyes or at least through the eyes of the C-SPAN cameras. I will admit I find it very interesting, but
I actually like the Republican Party.
The reasoning is very simple: this country was built on the idea of
fighting between two opposing viewpoints or forces, if you will. From the Revolutionary war through the fights
over the Constitution, we have come to expect a state of perpetual
argumentation over whose side has the better ideas for running the country. We almost saw the entire concept disintegrate
during the Civil War, but cooler heads eventually prevailed. There is some merit to having a reason-based discussion over policy, a discussion that does not devolve into name-calling and accusations about people's legitimacy to hold office or even make informed decisions. Our two-party system has some value to it that can't be denied, and we need voices of dissent that drive dialogue forward so that we can go beyond the art of politics and into the sausage-making business of creating laws.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The only problem I see today is that we have
moved the sausage-making factory from some undisclosed location to inside the
Capitol rotunda, and most people don’t like seeing all the gory details. Even Freddy Krueger killed a few people off
screen and left it to our imaginations.
Whereas before, if we did not like certain laws that came from
Washington, we could still swallow them because we knew that they were likely
for our own good. The ones that were
not, like segregation, prohibition, and illegal wiretapping, eventually found
their way back to those undisclosed locations, where they were ground-up into
some other ideas. (Oh, wait; we are
still trying to work on that illegal wiretapping, aren’t we?)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, it seems
that even laws that are passed, litigated, and found constitutional have to run
a secondary gauntlet just to be implemented, let alone funded. Each side is so entrenched with ideology that
neither can find a modicum of humility to govern sufficiently. You can’t even use the old line that “it will
take an act of Congress to get that done,” since Congress can’t even seem to
pass an act to keep the government open.
There are still many ways to accomplish the goals we have as a nation
and to do the heavy lifting required to accomplish them. But the current environment in Washington DC
encourages more intransigence than cooperation.
I suspect there are many reasons for this, but the one likely driving
the rest is hubris with animosity running a close second.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I debated with
myself over the last few months if I would weigh in on Obamacare and all it
entails. Personally, I think the law
could have gone much farther and done much more good. I was in favor of a public option or a “Medicare-for-all”
approach to health care in this country.
Regardless of what I believe, I think it’s important for people to
understand that Obamacare is actually a law and not a bill. Many politicians like to throw around the
word bill when referring to Obamacare, but that implies the legislation did not
pass both houses of Congress and receive the president’s signature. It did.
Calling the law a bill also implies that it didn’t receive the
obligatory stamp of approval from the Supreme Court when opponents decided to challenge
it in the legal system. The law crossed
that hurdle as well. For those people
still in denial, I have included a link to an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/opinion/keller-five-obamacare-myths.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&" target="_blank">op-ed in the New York Times</a>
debunking the five major myths about Obamacare and another link from the more
progressive group <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/08/28/2534121/obamacare-myths/" target="_blank">Think Progress</a>, which offers some more myth busting regarding
the law. By the way, I know that
Obamacare actually is the Affordable Care Act, and many people have tried to
attach the term Obamacare to the ACA in a derogatory manner. Since the president himself embraced the expression,
I felt it was appropriate to use it without the slightest hint of degradation.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Washington has
many problems, and there are no easy answers to address them. I am definitely not here to offer one. I simply wanted to point out that some of the
demagoguery and gesticulations we have seen in the last few days are not ways
to govern and not even smart politics, unless you are not afraid to paint
yourself into a corner. I suppose that
in the end, we can only hope that history actually does repeat itself. For the most part, when corruption or
incompetence was the major process behind the inner workings of any government,
the house of cards eventually crumbled, allowing more scrupulous people to
clean up the mess and point us in a clearer direction. Sometimes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GahZQb_-OI0" target="_blank">all the fools really do sail away</a>,
but they are not gone forever. The
people, not the politicians, have the final say, and it is past time we make sure everyone hears our voices over the din of politics as usual and filibusters from a couple of Keystone cops, who only think they are Batman and Robin. Where is Christian Bale when you need him?.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-56072839004374869832013-09-17T16:44:00.000-05:002013-09-19T14:52:21.039-05:00Faces in the Window<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK8"></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am a
writer. After much thought and
consternation, I have come to that one conclusion. I am not an advocate. I am not a political expert. I am not a great orator. To be redundant, I am a writer. However, I am not even a good writer. I am simply a mediocre and occasionally
adequate writer. I have no National Book
Award waiting for me on the horizon. I
merely write, and that is all.</span></span>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some may read
that paragraph as a rebuke on my part of something that I do not like or another
bad whining tone, as I once again rail on my lot in life. That’s not the case, though. My recent revelation is not actually that
recent. The truth is that I have finally
come to embrace it. I enjoy the fact
that my major contribution to society will come in the form of whatever writing
I choose to do. It must come in that
form, since I have little other means by which I can even hope to make an
adequate contribution to society. That
sentiment is not self-pity but another realization, and I’m quite glad for
these realizations.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I recently
finished <u>Letter to My Daughter</u> by Maya Angelou. Unlike many literary people, I was only aware
of Ms. Angelou from her reading during the Clinton inauguration and from
subsequent appearances that she has made on various television programs. I told you that everything was a recent
revelation to me. It was just yesterday,
September 16, 2013, that I learned this tremendous author, activist, and
African-American woman is finally receiving a <a href="http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-05/entertainment/41781709_1_maya-angelou-national-book-award-literarian-award" target="_blank">National Book Award</a> for her wonderful
work <u>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings</u>.
To say this award is late in coming would be a tremendous understatement. The literary community is making right on
this glaring omission after far too long.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am sure that
by now, many of you are wondering why I have spent the first three paragraphs
of this blog discussing internal revelations and awards that other people are
receiving. That is a fair observation
and one deserving of some kind of answer or explanation. I have just not decided yet whether I intend
to provide one.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Perhaps, I can
explain things better by stating some obvious facts. I will never be as good a writer as Maya
Angelou. I will never be as good as
Ernest Hemingway was (though some would say that is a good thing). I will never be as good as William Faulkner
was. I will never be as good as James
Joyce was. John Steinbeck. F Scott Fitzgerald. Stephen King.
H.P. Lovecraft. Dan Brown? I suppose there’s always hope.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I want to make
it clear to anyone reading this that I’m not trying to lump myself into the mix
of all those titans of literature, even though I am quite certain that many of
you would dispute some of those names in the list. Nonetheless, I am quite certain that I will
never reach those levels of excellence in the literary field. Yet, am I going to keep trying? Am I going to keep striving every day to make
myself a better writer? Am I going to
wrestle with the English language to the point where I wring my thesaurus dry
to find the perfect word for the perfect sentence? Am I going to lose sleep over what a
character is going to do in a certain scene to make the story more believable
or to move the plot forward? Am I going
to continue attending writers’ workshops in hopes of honing my craft to the
finest and sharpest edge I can wield?
Oh, boy, you bet I am.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The wonder of
the revelation that I am not a good writer or, at least, not a good enough
writer is that I feel like a farmer looking at untouched and unsullied soil,
feeling my heart leap into my throat at the idea of the first blade of the plow
cracking the virgin dirt. Maybe, a
better metaphor for someone like me is that this revelation makes me feel like
a running back breaking an arm tackle and seeing nothing but green grass
between him and the end zone. It is
amazingly liberating, and it gives me hope for so many things. The undiscovered country that lies before me
smells sweet and inviting.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I say that
partly because of what an author can do with his or her voice or the voices the
writer gives to different characters.
The potential is overwhelming.
Think of Thoreau and Whitman.
Think of Asimov and Clark. Think
of Pasternak and Rushdie. Think of
Stanton and Woolf and Walker and, yes, Angelou.
Think of Douglass and Hughes and Du Bois and Haley and Morrison. Though that list, too, is utterly incomplete,
these are just a few of the booming literary voices and cutting edge minds that
have shaped the dialogue in this country and all around the world; and they
accomplished amazing feats in numerous ways—some for good and some for
ill. Still, they made their
contributions with their writing and their voices and their voices in their
writing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I’m not going
to sit here, dictating into my gooseneck microphone as my Dragon
NaturallySpeaking voice-recognition software jots down my every thought and
breath, and pretend that I am going to make some kind of grand contribution to
humanity through my writing. I am not
going to delude anyone—most importantly myself—into thinking or believing that
I have the talent or ambition to make my voice heard above so many others. Gone are the days when a book or an essay
could change people’s ways of looking at the world or, dare I say, start a
revolution, albeit a bloodless one.
Today, we have blogs, just like this one, and Twitter, Facebook, and so
many more points of interest on the social media landscape that all many of us
can see now is fog.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I may write a
scathing article about some social issue that I find unjust, only to Google the
same subject and find hundreds of other articles espousing the exact opposite
opinion. Without a mountainous platform,
voices blend into a dissonant din of blabbering arguments and useless
pretense. It speaks volumes of our time
that the word Google is so ingrained in us that we use it as a verb. Everyone speaks of independence and breaking
away from the crowd, but homogeneity is at a premium and yet still on sale at
the dollar store.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is my belief
that we truly do not want to be that much different from anyone else because it
is too dangerous, radiating red light like a police siren outside of a crack
house. If we truly want to live our own
lives and separate ourselves from the startled herd of sheep, which by the way
is running blindly toward the edge of a cliff, why do we care what someone
living half a country or half a world away lists as his or her status on a
Facebook page? Why are there millions
upon millions of tweets over the injustice that befell Trayvon Martin and then
millions upon millions more accusing and defending Miley Cyrus over her
home-wrecking/independence-inspiring “twerking?” We all want to be different, as long as our
opinions match those of half the world and eschew the other half. It is truly an ingenious system: wear a red
shirt and promote yourself while standing in the middle of a slow-moving giant
tumor of people also wearing red shirts.
Low risk, high reward.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To get back to
my earlier revelations, I see that I do not want to live that way. I have a Facebook account. I have a Twitter account. I even use Google as a verb and then point
out how strange it is to do that very thing.
Here I am, sitting at my computer, and fearlessly wearing my red
shirt. Believe me in that the irony is
not lost on me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This idea may
not ring true for all of you who are not Star Trek fans. My problem is that wearing a red shirt is
never a good idea. For those of you old
enough or for those of you who watch TVLand, when Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and
Dr. McCoy all went down in the landing party to investigate the planet, they
always had a security detail with them.
In the world of the original Star Trek series, colors designated
position. It’s eerily strange how
predictive that was of our society even today.
Gold was for command, blue was for science, and red was for
security/engineering. I already know how
simplistic that is, my fellow Star Trek fans, but you know where I’m going with
this. Briefly and bluntly, if you were
an actor hired to play a security officer on an away team in a 1960s episode of
Star Trek, there was probably a 95% chance that you were going to die in the
first 10 minutes of the show. In the
world of Star Trek, people who wore red shirts were expendable. There actually seemed to be quite a few of
them on the ship, and I suppose that’s why.
Of course, there is always an exception to the rule, and in this case,
that exception is Scotty.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The point is
really a simple one. There is no problem
wearing a red shirt as long as you are the only person who can fix the warp
drive. Unfortunately, that is not the
case for the vast majority of us. Still,
we feel this Orwellian need to fit in with everyone around us and advance the groupthink
idea. But we only feel this way if there
is an equal number of people trying to fit in with others advancing the
opposite groupthink idea. When we are
plucked out of our safe and warm red cocoon and plopped on the surface of some
alien planet, surrounded by Styrofoam rocks and people in gold and blue shirts,
we do not know how to act, and we typically start running around with no
purpose. Then, the villain’s death ray vaporizes
us. Groupthink is warm and fuzzy, as
long as there is a massive swarm of red shirts to cuddle up next to us and tuck
us in at night. If we wander away from
the group, it’s just like wandering away from the landing party. There is no Captain Kirk there to save us
from the terrible evil entity. Of
course, the malevolent creature usually turns out to be someone with just a
divergent point of view and part of a different group that really means no
harm.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A writer’s job
is to tell a story that hopefully entertains.
It is also the job of the writer to tell the truth, as she sees it,
which may not always be the same way everyone else does.
I don’t agree with Ayn Rand, but many people do, even recently, which
made her writings quite popular. There
is no harm in that. There is no harm in
having a copy of <u>Thus Spoke Zarathustra</u> by Friedrich Nietzsche on your
bookshelf, just as I do. It does not
mean that you—or I—subscribe to what Nietzsche wrote in the pages. Perhaps, it simply means that you are not
afraid to place a copy of the Bible next to a book by Christopher Hitchens on
the same shelf. It just means that you may
not follow the idea of groupthink and that you may keep most of your red shirts
in the closet.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If someone
wants independence, it’s also quite likely that the person longs for
individuality. An independent person
runs away from the herd, as it is going over the cliff. An independent person may take a picture of
breakfast with a cell phone and post it on Facebook or Twitter. But that same person will not care how many
“likes” she receives during the course of the day. An independent person does not want to wear a
red shirt. Instead, she wants to grab
that gold tunic off Captain Kirk’s back and assume command of the Starship, if
only because she sees no reason why it isn’t just as much her right as it is
his.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then, there’s
another kind of independent person. This
person hunches over a keyboard or a legal pad and writes down ideas, and then
those ideas become characters, become stories, become books, become worlds,
become fantasy and reality all rolled into one.
He is just as happy drinking Starbucks at Barnes & Noble, revising
chapter two for the 11<sup>th</sup> time, as posting pictures to
Instagram. This person wants to be part
of a group, but he has a pioneering need to get his ideas on paper or on the
computer screen. (Always remember to
save often.)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This person
wants to look in the mirror and not care what the reflection looks like. He knows that the needs of the many outweigh
the needs of the few or the one, and that is why he is willing to bleed for
what he writes. This person will strip
bare down to his soul to make sure the words fit perfectly and the message is
clear, even if it is couched in metaphors and hyperbole, not to mention
unicorns and dragons and swords and lots of fire. He may even ask himself, “What would Gene
Roddenberry do?” Most of his friends
will not understand, but he will know that given time, they may come around. If not, it won’t be a loss that will worry him. He already knows, from a long time ago, that
his world will always be a little different from everyone else’s. It will always be a little askew, but he has
come to accept it and even embrace it.
He writes, and he is free.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing is a
lonely job, but it is filled with people you would never meet if not for
entering their world. A writer begins a
story or book, and she thinks—or he thinks—that the ending is clear and she
controls exactly what is going to happen.
Oh, but how wrong she is. How
wrong he is. The ending writes itself,
not the other way around. Characters
behave in ways the writer never dreamed possible, and there are twists that
leave everyone speechless, especially the one who wrote the words.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I didn’t begin
to write all this and have everything conclude with multiple references to Star
Trek, independence, and George Orwell.
Those things just crept into the article, if that’s what this is, and
they made this place their home. I
didn’t invite them in, but I surely can’t kick them out now. That would be rude, and I just may need them
for the next chapter. Who knows?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My original
point was that I am a writer. I may not
be an advocate, but I can advocate like hell in my writing. I may not be a political expert, but I can
share my political views in my writing.
I may not give grand and sweeping speeches, but I can write the words
that inspire them. I may not be many
things, but in my writing, I can be all things.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Life is filled
with pain and regret, and I will embrace that, too. That is what makes us who we are, makes me
who I am. It is the mortar in our
foundation, which gives us that grit and gristle to take two steps back and
watch the herd go over the cliff, though the tug to join them may feel like almost
more than we can bear. Even if I cannot
yank the gold tunic from the captain’s broad and sinewy shoulders, I would
rather stand outside the great meeting hall—one of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzUSjMYORvw" target="_blank">faces in the window</a>. I choose not to allow the rampant hordes to
assimilate me into part of the red-shirted cocoon, that dark and lazy tunnel of
suffocating self-containment, where red shirts flitter around an anonymous life
like virtual moths drawn to a digitized but deadly flame. I choose to keep my free will, and I choose
to advocate for independence in all its forms.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I
am a writer—and so much more. We all can
be whatever we choose to be. You can
grab the gold tunic of command. There is
no doubt we need more leaders with the bravery and integrity to step away from
the crowd. Or you can join me, face
pressed against the glass and away from the safety of the sameness, but
independent, your own person, and far from the edge of the cliff. Or you can still be Scotty, and that is all
right, too. It is time for us to move
into warp drive anyway, and punch it.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-36060566898521160962013-08-28T21:53:00.001-05:002013-08-28T21:53:54.966-05:00Outside the Streets Are on Fire<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">There is much to do and
say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only problem is that there is
not enough time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today marks the 50th
anniversary of the “I Have a Dream” speech, and it is the day that some might
call the national beginning of the civil rights movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are right to celebrate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can never forget the words Martin Luther
King Jr. said on this day so many years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As I said, though, there’s just so much more to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those 17 minutes may last for all time, but
in many ways they were simply the prologue to a much deeper discussion we still
haven’t had in this country.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">By no means am I the
one to begin that discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
problem with saying that we need to discuss our racial and other minority
issues is that too many people have said it over the years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saying it doesn’t seem to be the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s acting on it that does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If our first African-American president isn’t
able to start a legitimate and well-rounded discussion on race in this country,
if the murder of a teenage boy whose weapon was no more than a bag of candy isn’t
able to start a legitimate and well-rounded discussion on race in this country,
I’m pretty damn sure that one blog post from me won’t even make a ripple in the
pond.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">But that’s the problem,
isn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all talk about the problem,
and then we talk about the fact that we need to talk about the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, the problem skitters into the
nearest dark corner and hides there, waiting for the next chance to come out
and scare us again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, we resolve to
talk about things and make some changes until the fear goes away and we feel
safe again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a never-ending cycle, a
daisy chain, a catch 22, and we’re so busy trying to catch up with our own
thoughts that we continually run into pine tree after pine tree and never see
the opening to the clearing ahead.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">I’ll do my small part
and try to begin some kind of coherent discussion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It won’t be long, and it will be far from all
encompassing, but it will be a start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others can do it better, and I hope someone else will take up the banner
and do a much more thoughtful job than I ever will.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">First, let’s get beyond
the notion that this is a post-racial country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t believe it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also don’t
believe that it’s a post-gender country, a post-orientation country, or a
post-disability country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If everything
ended right now, we would just be a postscript country, whether we accept it or
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I propose that we embrace the fact
that we have not moved beyond where we should be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, we can start at the beginning, instead
of telling ourselves how good we are and how progressive we’ve become, when
there is really no proof of either one.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">There are still racists
all around this country, and they don’t live only in the South.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They live in Massachusetts, Oregon,
California, Minnesota, New York, and, yes, Illinois.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let’s not constrain ourselves by only
calling people racists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some, but not
all, of those people are also chauvinists, homophobes, and crip-haters (strictly
my words, so blame me for the political incorrectness), whether they know it or
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of those old philosophical
axioms are true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all racists are
chauvinists, and not all crip-haters are homophobes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people just do not fall into any
classification, and that is a very good thing, though I think a very rare thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not because people want to be prejudiced
or discriminatory to minorities all the time, even though some do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s that many people don’t know how not to
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one has taught them, and that’s a
societal failure.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">I will fall on my sword
right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been times in my
life when I have been a chauvinist, a racist, a homophobe, and a crip-hater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t like myself during those times, and
that’s probably why I chose the easiest mental path to relate to people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I certainly hope I have completely changed,
but it’s not for me to judge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see,
from my experience, it’s much easier to fall into the “anti-“group than it is to
fall into the “pro-“group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we know
anything from the history of this country, we know that it is much easier to be
against something than for something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What do they say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It only takes
one bad apple to spoil the whole barrel.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Something to that effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
you see where I’m going with this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
entire country does not need to be a racist country or anti-homosexual country
or an anti-woman country or an anti-disability country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It only takes a very small number to infect an
entire population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(See: Nazi Germany.)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">If we can agree on
these axioms, then, we can begin to move forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, we need to face reality, which is
often ironic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe we live in a
racist country, but five years ago, we elected our first African-American
president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some, if not most, will say that
fact proves that we are not racists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Actually, it’s likely just an outlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>People were fed up with Bush and wanted a clean start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They saw McCain as another incarnation of the
Bush legacy, and they rejected it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now,
Obama’s reelection does say something about how our perspectives have changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Romney was no Bush.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel safe in saying that Romney was no
Romney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I even wonder sometimes what
was inside his suit besides a very lifelike looking blowup doll.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, with reelection, Obama’s presidency
becomes much more legitimate, and the claim that we are moving away from being
a racist country carries more weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it still doesn’t prove that we are not racist.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">Women no longer burn
their bras in parades down Main Street, and <u>Cosmopolitan</u> is no longer,
if it ever was, a source for strong voices in feminism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That may be a poor choice in magazines, but I
decided not to delve into a great deal of research, since the subject is more
important than the detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However,
being free to enter the workforce and not forced to stay home “barefoot and
pregnant” are not the hallmarks of a gender friendly society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we truly had moved past the idea that
women are lesser than men, why do we see so many state legislatures, dominated
by the male gender, forcing women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only is that ultimately intrusive, but it
is also smack dab in the wheelhouse of a chauvinistic mindset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Equal Rights Amendment did not pass, but
it should have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it had, we wouldn’t
be having these kinds of discussions right now, and women wouldn’t need to
leave the state where they were born and raised to receive the health care they
actually want or pay commensurate with what a man earns for doing the same job.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">I’m not trying to
rewrite my last blog post, though I’m sure some of the ideas here seem a bit
regurgitated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s not my intent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, I want to point out how the dream
that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of 50 years ago is still very much alive and
well and within reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, that
dream now extends to far more than just African-Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That dream, that speech, led to more than one
piece of legislation being passed and signed into law that guarantees civil
rights protection and voting rights protection for a large swath of the country,
probably larger than we ever could imagine.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">But that speech, that
dream, didn’t end things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, it was
a launching point for many moments to come, and we have seen them over the
course of the last 50 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Helen Gurley
Brown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harvey Milk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ed Roberts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you don’t know these names, you should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In their respective struggles, these names
are just as important as Medgar Evers or Martin Luther King Jr. or Trayvon
Martin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are more names and faces
that we will never know, that will never elicit uniform recognition, and that
will never receive their own monuments in Washington DC or anywhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet that is all right, and I would argue that
it could be better that way.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">Sometimes, people place
so much emphasis on an icon—on one person who means so much—that they lose
track of what that person was trying to accomplish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, the person becomes the movement, and
the movement loses its meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
like the Rocky Balboa statue in Philadelphia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sylvester Stallone never beat anyone in a boxing match, and he never
will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we have elevated the
achievements of a fictional character to heights a regular person may never
reach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I think we do that because,
as Americans, we love an underdog, as long as the underdog doesn’t have too
many sequels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joe Lewis is now a legend
and a folk hero, but during his lifetime, he was hated and people wanted
nothing more than to see him beaten, if not in the ring, they would accept
anywhere else possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He faced much
longer odds than Rocky ever did, and he never had the chance to write the
script.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, his accomplishments are
worth far more than whatever the Rocky movies made at the box office.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">I’ll end with this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People with disabilities have Ed Roberts and Justin
Dart as well as some regional and local people we can call role models.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s misleading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the people in the disability rights
movement today never met Ed Roberts or Justin Dart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truth be told, we probably never met most of
our local heroes either, just heard about them through word-of-mouth or stories
that became legend, which is often overblown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I believe that if Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, he would embrace
the disability rights movement as part of his “Dream.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want the same thing as every other
minority group in the country: inclusion, equality, and a fair shot at the
American dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can define that
dream however you like, but until we all have the same access to it and none of
us is turned away for any reason whatsoever, it is not truly the American dream,
is it?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">If you’re like me, you
watched some of the coverage today of the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the “I
Have a Dream” speech on TV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched
safely from my living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was too
hot to watch outside, not that the TV would reach that far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was too expensive to fly to Washington and
see everything up close and firsthand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was just too inconvenient to do anything but watch it from the
comfort of my own home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure most
people did just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, I’m sure
that the cable news channels are hoping most people did that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you didn’t watch it that way, you can
always see it online, right?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK7;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK8;">But somewhere in one of
those dark, secret corners, the problem—the monster, really, whether it’s
racism, chauvinism, homophobia, or crip-hating, is crawling back out from the
darkness, slithering up and down walls, in and out of shadows, and back and
forth through minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s scratching
with slimy fingers the crooked message of hate all over the countryside, leaving
no stone unturned and no thought unscathed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s scampering around outside freely because in the time it took you to
read this, all we did was talk about the problem again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our next step is to talk about what to do about
the problem, and then Miley Cyrus will do something outrageous on some award
show, drawing all our attention away from the problem.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That’s
just what it wants, for us to forget about it one more time, just for a little
while. Just long enough for it to
institutionalize a few more people with disabilities who want to live on their
own. Just long enough for it to pass a
few more laws that deprive women of the ability to make their own health care
choices for their own bodies. And just
long enough for it to convince a politician somewhere to campaign on a platform
of scourging away the gay plague. And
everywhere this monster drags its rotten and putrid underbelly, it leaves a
trail of napalm, and if we’re too late, we’ll see walls of fire leaping up that
we can’t cross. Then, while we talk
about what to do about the problem, that dreaded monster, all we’ll be able to
do is watch as the countryside burns.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-82124972056223512932013-08-05T05:27:00.002-05:002013-08-09T17:35:29.996-05:00Miles to Go before We Sleep<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy birthday, albeit a bit belated, to the Americans with
Disabilities Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was 23 years old on
July 26.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a landmark piece of
legislation that moves the civil rights of people with disabilities more into
the mainstream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously, I'm thankful and
tremendously glad it became law almost a quarter of a century ago.
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, this country still has a long way to go in
guaranteeing civil rights for people with disabilities and other minorities
across the spectrum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our LGBT brothers
and sisters won some monumental court battles in the last couple of months, and
I think we all should celebrate those victories, especially those of us of the
more progressive stripe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, we see our
Latino and African-American neighbors and friends still facing the same
discrimination that has been so prevalent for the last several hundred
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even on days like this, when
people with disabilities can celebrate a law that is a breakthrough for civil
rights in our community, it is not enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>People with disabilities still face discrimination on more levels than
most people can imagine, and the same is true for all other minority groups in
this country.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The problem is that it is a hidden discrimination, a secret
struggle that most people don't even see or know exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me give a few cases in point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Latinos in this country are moving forward,
inch by inch, especially because the Senate passed immigration reform, but they
move backward when the U.S. House will not even consider passing the pill
without completely gutting it of its reason for existing in the first
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People like Steve King of Iowa
feel wholeheartedly unencumbered in calling all immigrants drug mules based on
pure ignorance and only for political gain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is not true justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is
not even a start.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The LGBT community no longer needs to worry about DOMA or
Prop 8 in California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, having the
federal government recognize same-sex marriage is not the same thing as having
your neighbors recognize it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matthew
Shepard still weighs heavy in my mind, when I think of small towns, rural
communities, and the ever so popular derogatory term of "red
states."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discrimination will not
end because of one Supreme Court ruling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It takes a society's concerted effort to have a shift in mindset for
that to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe it will, but I
also believe it will take quite a bit of time before states like Mississippi
and Alabama openly embrace same-sex marriage the way the rest of the country is
beginning to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though, as Dr. King
said, the arc of the moral universe is long but bends toward justice, we cannot fool ourselves into
thinking it already has. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That implies
the fight is over, when it clearly is not.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The African-American community just suffered a punch to the
gut with the George Zimmerman trial verdict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, we know one juror wanted to convict on second-degree murder, but
her voice was shouted down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover,
the law did not allow that to happen because of the wording of jury
instructions and the ineptitude of the prosecution strategy and team
members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The verdict simply underscores
the fact that racism is still very much alive and well in this country, whether
it is against African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, or
any other subset of a group you wish to choose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And that very much does include women who face their own struggles
forced upon them more all the time by the opposite gender, and it makes me
embarrassed and enraged to be included in that group think of
"Neanderthal-ism."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In 20 to 50 years, white America will be in the minority,
and many white Americans cannot or will not embrace that fact, though there is
no doubt about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are holding on to
the simple majority we have like dinosaurs frantically racing against the Ice
Age, as it slowly overtakes and consumes them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I do not want to be part of that group, biting and scratching for one
more chance at ultimate and sometimes tyrannical power, especially since it
corrupts the mind and motives of a person to the point where he or she no
longer exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tide is changing, but
the ebbs and flows still complicate and frustrate the lives of too many who
simply are trying to find a place in a society where everyone actually is treated
equally.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, people with disabilities can and will celebrate the
passage of the ADA 23 years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
should be happy and proud of the fact that we, as a community, moved out of the
darkness and somewhat into the light because our government finally said that
we are equal participants in society instead of second-class citizens and
codified it into law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only problem
with that sentiment is that not everyone embraces it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Different groups—dichotomous groups—ranging
from labor unions to chambers of commerce still wage battles against the full
inclusion of people with disabilities within our society and within our
communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, in Illinois, we find
it a wonderful victory if the disability community can shut down just one state
operated development center, otherwise known as an institution or warehouse for
collected and discarded lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
celebrate those moments, and we should because they are extraordinarily
important to moving this state and this country forward in their thinking of
people with disabilities.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That said, do we really need to keep having these
fights?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is it still necessary for us
to fight the persecution of Institutionalization, when the rest of the world is
moving far beyond that point?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why is it
unacceptable for someone to park in a disabled parking spot, if that person has
no placard or license plate giving them authorization, when it is still
acceptable to place an individual in an institution for 20, 30, 40 years of his
or her life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Institutionalization
truly socially acceptable simply because it makes other people's lives easier
and keeps still others in jobs at the expense of those institutionalized
finding their own jobs or living their own lives as they choose?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never heard a satisfactory answer to these
questions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am very happy that we can now mark the 23rd anniversary of
the ADA, a law that allows me to do many of the things I do on a daily
basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, the moment we start
believing that is the culmination of all civil rights for people with
disabilities is the moment we lose our civil rights and regress into the
shadows again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not mere
exaggeration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recent Supreme Court
ruling on the Voting Rights Act is proof that we once thought was untouchable,
indeed, is quite vulnerable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We must keep fighting. There is no need to search for reasons to
fight for civil rights for people of all minority status. If we simply look around us, the reason will
appear to us as images that brand themselves into our minds and our collective
consciousness, continually burning the flesh of a nation until it awakens
enough to pull all of its citizens, for whom every day is precious, out of the
smoldering ashes of long-dead thinking and still widely-held attitudes. Then, we will have equality. Then, we will have a truly free nation.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-50556682606572474292013-04-14T23:45:00.001-05:002013-04-14T23:45:27.884-05:00The Last Tango<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I
don't usually write posts about myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I, typically, find it arrogant and self-serving, but there are
exceptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm not going to write a
long manifesto, since that would not serve my purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just want to get a few things off my chest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
First,
let me set the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As most of you
know, I have cerebral palsy and use a power wheelchair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also have personal assistants who work for
me, doing things like showering, dressing, and other "activities of daily
living," as the state of Illinois likes to call them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is not much I can do in my life without
assistance from someone or something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The evidence of that fact comes from knowledge that I am writing this
post using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, another assistive technology device that
makes my life much easier and allows me to do what it is I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem in that statement is that I don't
know what I actually do, and that seems like a logical jumping off point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I
have a Master's degree in community health/rehabilitation administration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I received that in 1994.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have another Master's degree in political
studies, which I received in 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many
of you already know that I have taken classes off and on for the last several
years in one topic or another, the last time being in 2012 when I took a class
in creative writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, we have my
academic background out of the way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I
have worked for the state of Illinois in a couple of different capacities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I left the state in 2003, I was working
on the ground floor of the Benefits Planning Unit, which was a brand new group
of just three of us then, and we were given the mandate to educate the public
and different agencies around the state about how people with disabilities who
receive Social Security benefits can return to work without losing all of them,
at least, not right away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That small
unit has moved from state agency to state agency and different not-for-profit
organizations for many years now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
don't think it's really lived up to what it was meant to do, but that's another
story and not my point, frankly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
From
there, I moved to working for the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in
Illinois (CCDI) as advocacy coordinator from 2003 to 2004.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are differing opinions, I'm sure, as to
why I left that job, but I will maintain what I've said from the beginning,
which is that I was fired because people without disabilities were afraid that
I, being a person with a disability, was going to usurp the power of the
organization somehow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was never the
truth and never the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was too
focused on my job to worry about taking over a dying organization like
CCDI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find it ironic that the person
who fired me was fired herself just a year later for various cases of
wrongdoing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That doesn't prove my point,
but it does go to the character of the accuser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Again, that is not my point either, and I won't belabor it any longer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I did
not work again until late summer of 2007, when I had a one-year internship
during my second Master's program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
worked as a legislative staffer for Illinois House Democratic Issues
Staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote press releases and
constituent letters as well as working on different issues with the
legislators, as they were trying to pass them through committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved that job and thought I could do that
for a very long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a bit of a
revolving door, since there is such a high stress atmosphere in that kind of
environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, I fed off that, and
when my year-long internship finished, I was quite confident I would be hired
full-time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
That
didn't happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a personal
assistant working with me in the office, helping me with the phones and minor
paperwork, but definitely not doing my actual job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I've had personal assistants in all the jobs
I've mentioned, and only the state seemed even remotely copacetic about paying
that other salary, which, by the way, is not much more than minimum wage.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, that was enough to make the "powers
that be" decide that I would be too expensive to keep working there beyond
the internship, which they never paid in the first place and came from the
University of Illinois Springfield.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
From
2009 to 2012, I worked as a lobbyist for the Springfield Area Disability
Activists (SADA).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also served as
president for a year or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course,
that "position" of lobbyist was unpaid, since our group was so
loosely knit and we never secured a 501(c)(3) status.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though I lobbied for SADA or, at least,
as its representative, I also worked with many different disability rights
organizations, some of which were local and some of which were statewide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, last year, when our membership
was dwindling and we had very limited activity among those were showing up for
SADA meetings, we decided it was time to disband as a group and focus on other
advocacy efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had the idea that
we could use our various talents in other ways that would help the disability
community in Illinois without the constraints of SADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a year, I can be the first one to tell
you that the idea has not worked in even the remotest sense.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
If
you've reached this far, you're probably wondering why I've written this in the
first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted to lay out my
background, so that my next few thoughts would have more of a foundation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply put, I should have a job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should not be writing this to you right
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I should not be 44 years old and
wondering what kind of life I might lead the next 20 or 30 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, to a large extent in my mind, at
least, it is morally reprehensible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others may disagree, and that is their right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think they would be wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My life is just an example of too many lives
of people with disabilities languishing in this state without any hope of
employment or real future, and that is a sad statement on so many different
levels, be it our government, our "social safety net," or, generally
speaking, just the disability community in Illinois.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I'm
going to ruffle some feathers with what I write here, but I truly don't care
anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We, in the disability
community, don't view each other as equals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We say that we do, but it's not the case in the slightest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have a significant physical
disability, it's good for you to come to certain committee meetings at the
Capitol or testify in different locations and let people see you, but for the
most part, you're kept in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you have a very recognizable name or some kind of financial
independence behind you, perhaps, you might have more luck getting to the
table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even then, though, it's a
crapshoot at best.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
The
same is true for people with sensory disabilities or mental or cognitive
disabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you're useful, you
get used, but when that usefulness expires, when your 15 minutes of infamy is
no longer necessary, you can shuffle off back to the corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't care what someone says to the
contrary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is the actual way it
works in Illinois.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
Certain
people grab hold of power and never let it go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's like a drug to them, some kind of sick habit that needs to be fed
at any and all opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one
tells you that, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one ever
wants to "spill the beans" on this little entitlement system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's too lucrative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's too inbred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's just too easy not to rock the boat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you're in the boat, at least, you might
get some scraps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But if you start
opening your mouth and opening other people's eyes, you'll be tossed over the
side before you know which way to swim to shore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, since it happened to me directly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I
have no doubt that many people will dispute this and say that I'm just bitter
about my situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I'm
angry, and I'm bitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why the hell
wouldn't I be bitter about it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To state
that as an argument against what I'm saying is almost to make my point for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People need to understand that
advocacy in Illinois, particularly that dealing with people with disabilities,
has advanced so slowly and with so little regard to the true state of people
with disabilities primarily because of the fact that the system is in
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's the
"I'll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine" system with the only
exception being the fact that you can never be sure if your back is going to be
scratched or stabbed instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's the
Golden Rule: he who has the gold, rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only difference is the gold in this case is not money but power and
the longevity of power.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
A
post like this it is very likely signing my employment death warrant in terms
of ever finding a job in my chosen field.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, for me, I've had so many damn fields in my day that I don't
know from which one I'd be blackballed first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, yes, I am bitter, and I am pissed off at how this system works or,
in this case, doesn't work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can't
stand the fact that the Division of Rehabilitation Services, which is tasked
with the main goal of finding jobs for people with disabilities, is grossly
negligent at doing anything but what it was created to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many years now, I've talked to
rehabilitation counselors to find out what jobs are available, and amazingly,
nothing is ever open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, a month or
two later, when I come back for another visit, there are more people working in
that very office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, those job postings
never reached the outside world or never reached my world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further, I can guarantee that I'm not the
only one who has felt this way or has been treated this way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
It's
disgusting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes you feel like less
of a person, as if you aren't an actual person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When you have to scratch and claw for every nugget of information, for
every tiny sliver of human interaction, you reach the point when you just say,
"I don't care anymore, and I don't care what people think about me or what
they might say about me."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You reach
a point when you know you need to let everyone else know what is
happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to let other people
know what has happened to you and what you know is still happening to others
just like you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You reach a point where
there is no more time for political correctness or minding one's elders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You reach a point when you need to expose the
truth for what it is and quit letting everyone else hide behind positions of
authority or power or keep themselves covered in the cloak of perpetual sainthood,
as seen in the eyes of those who know no better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bluntly, you reach a breaking point, and this
is mine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
Maybe,
someone will read this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe, no one
will read this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose, in the end,
that's really not the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point
is to get it out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The point is to
make sure, in whatever small, diluted way I can offer, that it doesn't happen
again, that those shadows are exposed to the light and that those people on
their ivory towers, waiting only for death to take them out of their positions,
understand that other people know what is happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to let people know the jig is up, and
it should have been up a long time ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I should've spoken out long before now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Others who know this is happening and who have watched it happen for
years and years should have spoken up and not feared for their jobs or not
feared for their services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should not
live in a state or in a society or in a community where fear rules the majority
and the minority flaunts that very fear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
This
may be true in many settings other than what I'm just describing, but I only
care about this right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other
issues will come in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moreover, I
know there are some good people out there working for the betterment of the
disabled population in Illinois, but they are far from the norm and very far
from any kind of majority or having their voices heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now, I just want to expose what I know
has happened to me and others and by doing so, hope that it begins to slow down
this behemoth we call Illinois government, Illinois human services, and the
Illinois disability community, misnomers all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
I
said I wasn't going to write as much as I just did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, sue me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I really don't care if this was too long or too hard to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It needed to be said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I needed to write this. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you never reached this far, that's too
bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I understand, since our attention
span in the society is the size of a gnat's.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Still, for those of you who reached the end of this diatribe, as I'm
sure some will call it, I hope you understand that I didn't write this simply
to point the finger at others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not
mention one name in this entire post except my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People can infer whatever they choose to
infer, but they will not take it from this post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said what I had to say.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have no idea what difference, if any, it will make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My guess is that it will be next to none, but
that's all right with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My conscience
is clear, and I can sleep at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm
sure others who read this don't feel the same way, and if they do, they're
deluding themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in a
society that is messed up, to put it mildly, on so many different levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just pointed out one in hopes of making
some minor attempt at change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least,
I can say I did that.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com2Springfield, IL, USA39.781721300000008 -89.65014810000002439.586427300000011 -89.972871600000019 39.977015300000005 -89.327424600000029tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-77207100664885827682012-09-22T17:32:00.002-05:002012-09-22T17:32:41.089-05:00Won't Get Fooled Again<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">(it's been quite a
long time since my last blog post, but I decided it was necessary to start
writing again. With only a little over
40 days left before the election, I decided it was time to give my opinions on
a few subjects. This is the first.)</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
don't like neoconservatives. In my eyes,
they have absolutely no redeeming qualities.
Aside from disliking everything about their policies, I'm not real fond
of the people either, the ones who espouse these views, the ones who prod us into
things, the ones who point the finger but never take the blame. For more than 30 years, this country has been
infiltrated by the neoconservative mindset, reaching the pinnacle from 2001 to
2006. If we go back down that road, we
have only ourselves to blame.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before
I go off on a tangent about neoconservatives and the importance of this
election, I need to give you a quick tutorial on who they are and what they
believe. I also need to let you know why
I have any semblance of authority speaking about neoconservatives. I received a Masters degree in political
studies in 2009, and the focus of my final research was the rise of
neoconservativism over the last 50 years and its affect on foreign policy,
which also leads into domestic policy. A
small piece of my work was shared at a political science conference in Oxford.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Now,
as far as what neoconservatives believe, I will give you a very brief
overview. For a long time during the
1960s and 1970s, neoconservativism had no home in the political spectrum. Most conservatives considered that
perspective too liberal, while most liberals paid little attention to it—to
their detriment, I might add.
Fundamentally, neoconservatives believe that peace comes through
strength or, in many cases, war. In
fact, one of the leading early voices of neoconservatism, Jeane Kirkpatrick,
who served as US ambassador to the United Nations from 1981 to 1985 under
Ronald Reagan, wrote a book called <u>Making War to Keep Peace</u>. It underscores the neoconservative belief
that America must use force whenever necessary to maintain its status of power
in the world and to spread democracy to "dictatorships" and other
"fledgling regimes."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
any of this sounds familiar, it's because almost all the leading
neoconservative minds from the 1970s and 1980s came to real power when George
W. Bush took office in 2001. At this
point, you may be thinking that this is completely irrelevant to your life, and
it sure doesn't seem related to this year's election. That's where you're wrong. One of the simple reasons for that is because
many of the most outspoken neoconservatives from the Bush administration are
now advising Mitt Romney on foreign policy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">If
you think back to the Republican National Convention just a few short weeks
ago, Condoleezza Rice gave one of the highlighted speeches. Obviously, she served as Bush's National
Security Adviser and, eventually, his Secretary of State. She also spoke about the failure of not
containing Saddam Hussein in Iraq as, potentially, resulting in a mushroom cloud. Remember that? In her speech at the RNC, one line struck me
immediately when I heard it, and that was when she mentioned how our foreign
policy is best when we have, "peace through strength." That brought Jeane Kirkpatrick's book back to
my mind with a flood of nausea. It was
not difficult to realize that the Republicans, in this year's convention, were
parroting neoconservative ideas and principles, as the kind of foreign policy
tenets Mitt Romney would use as president.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It's
equally important to understand that neoconservatives view domestic policy in
terms of foreign policy. Under Bush,
there were two tax cuts for the wealthy, which had no cost offset. There is a prescription drug plan under
Medicare, widely considered a failure, which the administration never bothered
to pay for. Of course, I cannot forget
to mention the two unfunded wars that are Bush's legacy. Obviously, Afghanistan was justified, but
Iraq has no justification to this day.
In other words, neoconservatives have no thought of deficits and,
especially, no concerns about raising them.
In many ways, their domestic policy is as misguided as their foreign
policy. It puts off future payments for
unnecessary or ill-advised programs until the next administration or next
generation, however long they can keep the tab running. Neoconservatives do not cut deficits, and
they only add to the national debt. This
is the philosophy guiding Mitt Romney as much as anything else is right now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Romney
only has a handful of foreign policy advisors in the first place. If you follow politics closely, perhaps, too
closely, if you're like me, you'll recognize some of the names. The aforementioned Condoleezza Rice, Dan Senor,
a neoconservative and former spokesman for the Coastal Provisional Authority in
Iraq from 2003 to 2004 under George W. Bush, and John McCain of "Bomb,
Bomb Iran" notoriety are all top advisors to Romney. They take a very hard stance against Russia,
just as early neoconservatives were extremely dead set against the Soviet Union
and constantly trying to end the communist threat up to the point of potential
war during the Reagan Administration.
These are not happy-go-lucky people, who think that diplomacy and
sanctions are good starting points to aggressive foreign policy negotiations. These people would answer the 3 AM phone call
by saying, "Let's go to war," even before knowing what the situation
was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">We've
been down this road before, and it didn't end well for the American
people. We lost thousands of our best
and brightest in the military, squandered literally trillions of dollars on a
war that was completely of choice, and ensured defense contractors, who,
conveniently, often served as neoconservative advisors, got exceedingly wealthy
during the eight years under Bush and beyond.
I felt compelled to bring this news to people's attention, since I don't
think the mainstream media or Fox news, which doesn't fall in that category, is
covering this aspect of the campaign nearly well enough. I never claimed to be a journalist, but
someone needs to point out what will happen, inevitably, if Romney is elected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
me, this is not idle chatter. This is
extremely serious. Our military is
stretched beyond the brink, and saber rattling with Russia, China, and anyone
in the Middle East who happens to offer a differing opinion is reckless at best
and warmongering at worst, though I may be downplaying how bad it can be. I apologize to The Who for borrowing one of
their song titles as the name of this blog post. Still, if we have learned anything from
history, it surely has to be the fact that it has the tendency to repeat
itself, and this country can't afford that.
I'll leave you with what Pete Townshend wrote and Roger Daltrey sang:
"And the world looks just the same, and history ain't changed. 'Cause the banners, they are flown in the
next war…Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-54171046310009721712011-02-22T06:21:00.000-06:002011-02-22T06:21:49.891-06:00Springfield Mayoral Race: The Disability VoteToday is Election Day, and it is not just in Chicago. The Springfield mayoral primary is also today, February 22. There are eight candidates running for the four ballot positions for the general election on April 5. Though there are some front-runners, as in Chicago, the race is still wide open. Since four names will appear on the ballot, a mere plurality of the vote is all one candidate needs to become Springfield's next Mayor.<br />
<br />
Several disability rights groups and service providers put together a questionnaire regarding disability issues pertinent to the Springfield area. Each candidate received a copy of the questionnaire and a deadline to return it. Unfortunately, only three candidates returned the form. With only four questions, it would seem all the candidates could have found the time to fill out and return the questionnaire. Yet, to their credit, Mike Houston, Sheila Stocks-Smith, and Michael Farmer answered all the questions and returned the questionnaire in a timely manner. The five other candidates—Mike Coffey, Jr., Frank Kunz, William McCarty, John Thomas, and Mario Ingoglia—did not return the form and, therefore, provided no insight on their views regarding the disability community in the Springfield area.<br />
<br />
While some people may not receive this information before voting in the primary, it is still very important to get these responses to the public and media alike. On March 26, at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, the same groups that supported the questionnaire will host a mayoral forum for the four candidates who won the primary and are on the ballot for the general election. As the time approaches, I will resend this information, if appropriate, along with any other information regarding disability issues put forth by the candidates.<br />
<br />
I want to acknowledge Pete Roberts, the Executive Director of the Springfield Center for Independent Living (SCIL) for doing all the legwork for this activity. He and his staff made sure that all the candidates received the questionnaire and instructions on how to fill it out and where to send it. Pete deserves much of the credit for making sure this venture came together.<br />
<br />
<strong>---</strong><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Springfield Americans with Disabilities Vote</strong></div><br />
<br />
<strong>The following Mayoral Candidates did <u>not</u> respond to this questionnaire: </strong><br />
<strong>Mario Ingoglia, William D. McCarty, Frank Kunz, Mike Coffey, Jr., John G. Thomas.</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
1. Since 1985 Springfield has had a Disabilities Commission. Citizens with disabilities have been disappointed that the Commission has not been effective in addressing the concerns of citizens with disabilities and working with the city council to address and resolve such concerns.<br />
<br />
<strong>As Mayor, what would you do to strengthen the Commission and hold it accountable?</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Mike Houston:</strong><br />
<br />
I served as Mayor from 1979 to 1987 and proudly established the Disabilities Commission. Now decades later, although progress has been made, there still is a long way to go to meet the needs of the disability community. I would commit to attending your meetings as I am available or having an assistant from my office attend on a regular basis. My priority is to have open communications with the members of the Commission. I would solicit your suggestions for appointments to the Commission and maintain a full complement of ten appointees. Given the charge of the Disabilities Commission, I would request the Commission to prepare an annual report outlining the progress that is being made on making municipal facilities accessible. While the Commission deals with both public and private facilities, the City of Springfield needs to set an example for other governmental and private organizations. <br />
<br />
<strong>Sheila Stocks-Smith:</strong><br />
<br />
I agree that Committees and Councils may not be functioning to their highest potential. If we seek citizen input through this venue, we need to make sure those recommendations are heard and acted upon. My administration will review all city boards and commissions and restructure as necessary, not only to ensure concrete outcomes, but to ensure diverse perspectives are represented across all boards and commissions. <br />
<br />
<strong>Michael J. Farmer:</strong><br />
<br />
First, I would review the recent activities of the Commission and speak with each member of that Commission. If there is a need to an appoint individual(s) to the Commission who may enhance the awareness and help address the concerns expressed by citizens with disabilities, then this definitely should occur. I would review the Commission’s Transition Plan and work with the appointed city liaison to report specific concerns and any recommendations to resolve those concerns. Obviously, the city and the Commission will seek the advice of the Springfield Center for Independent Living (SCIL) to assist in an adequate and affordable resolution of identified concerns. As Mayor, I would request that all identified concerns and actions taken be shared with me on a regular basis to ensure the city acts upon the resolved concerns. It should be noted that the Office of Planning and Economic Development works closely with SCIL and utilized Community Development Block Grant funds for several ADA related projects.<br />
<br />
<br />
2. Springfield has never designated a full-time Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator, who would be responsible on a daily basis for assuring that the city is in compliance with all appropriate provisions of the ADA including the Transition Plan.<br />
<br />
<strong>Would you commit to appointing a full-time ADA Coordinator?</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Mike Houston</strong>:<br />
<br />
No, I would not make commitment. Given the city’s financial condition I do not see the possibility of adding such a position. We need to assess how the time of the current part-time ADA Coordinator is being used to determine if it can be used more effectively and if it is adequate.<br />
<br />
<strong>Sheila Stocks-Smith:</strong><br />
<br />
I believe that my administration will provide the end result wanted by Springfieldians with Disabilities. However, I cannot promise a full-time ADA Coordinator until I review all positions within city government in light of the city’s fiscal problems.<br />
<br />
<strong>Michael J. Farmer</strong>:<br />
<br />
First, I believe a full-time ADA Coordinator would enhance our city’s ability to work with persons with disabilities and add to their overall quality of life. However, because of the current budget situation, the appointment of a full-time ADA Coordinator is unfortunately not feasible. That said, I see no reason why a current city employee(s) cannot increase his/her participation with the Commission and the SCIL to increase his/her awareness of the ADA and ADAA. If increased communication and awareness of ADA and ADAA requirements occur within the city and city council on a regular basis, the need for a full-time ADA Coordinator may not be necessary. The city could then spend more time focusing on the resolution of current and future concerns of citizens with disabilities.<br />
<br />
<br />
3. In December 2010 the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics released disability employment statistics showing the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 21.0. The percentage of people with no disability in the labor force is 69.6. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities is 14.3 percent compared to 8.9 percent for people with no disability (see www.disability.gov).<br />
<br />
<strong>As Mayor, what will you do to ensure that, when promoting diversity in the city workforce, persons with disabilities are recognized as a desirable and viable minority resource and recruited and hired as such?</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Mike Houston:</strong><br />
<br />
The City Code Chapter 36, Section 36.02 and Rules of the Springfield Civil Service Commission Rule 1.8 both contain the following language, “…or disability unrelated to the person’s ability to perform the duties of a particular position except where a bona fide occupational qualifications exist.” The City Code stipulates that persons referred to above are to be considered for city employment and they would be. I intend to hire people based on their qualifications and experience and would consider individuals with disabilities. Women, minorities, and people with disabilities will be encouraged to apply for positions.<br />
<br />
<strong>Sheila Stocks-Smith:</strong><br />
<br />
The city’s workforce needs to reflect the people it serves. Diversity includes race, gender, disabilities, but also ability level, religion, age, sexual orientation, geography, ideology and more. Springfield is best served through inclusive policies and practices and I will model these standards by ensuring diversity among my staff and department directors. Achieving a diverse workforce will be a consideration in all new hires; efforts to promote city employment to underrepresented populations will be ongoing. In addition, my career has been spent working on community and educational issues, and I will also work to assure that people with disabilities also receive the workforce training they need to compete for the job sectors we will be fighting to grow.<br />
<br />
<strong>Michael J. Farmer:</strong><br />
<br />
This question again speaks to the issue of awareness within the city workforce and the general population. As Mayor, I will see that the Commission’s Transition Plan is shared with the appropriate members of the city workforce to ensure that persons with disabilities are recognized as a viable resource for the city and businesses. While promoting diversity in the city workforce is important, the Mayor is in a unique position to promote hiring persons with disabilities with the Springfield business community. Organizations such as SCIL, SPARC, Hope School and UCP can assist in that effort as the identified business needs emerge, e.g. accommodation recommendations, janitorial services, shredding services.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>4. Given the complexity of disability issues and the apparent lack of understanding among city employees and council members, would you, as Springfield Mayor, support the implementation of disability awareness/sensitivity training for all city employees and council members?</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Mike Houston</strong>:<br />
<br />
Absolutely, I would support the inclusion of disability issues as part of the existing orientation program. While I am not familiar with the specifics of the employee orientation or ongoing diversity awareness/sensitivity training, I believe it should include disabilities issues. <br />
<br />
<strong>Sheila Stocks-Smith</strong>:<br />
<br />
My administration will review employee training and ensure that awareness and sensitivity toward people with disabilities is included.<br />
<br />
<strong>Michael J. Farmer</strong>:<br />
<br />
Yes, I would definitely support and require the continuation of disability awareness/sensitivity training for all city employees. I would request that the council members participate in this training as well. It is important to note that all city employees were required to participate in sensitivity training last year, which included disability awareness. However, there may still be a need to review the information provided to city employees on disability awareness and offer more detailed information as recommended by the Disability Commission and/or SCIL. As Mayor, all new employees and newly promoted employees will be required to attend disability awareness/sensitivity training as part of their overall employee orientation. On a regular basis, the city workforce will be required to attend this training so current information on disability legislation, such as Rosa’s Law, awareness and best practices can be shared as persons with intellectual or cognitive disabilities or mental health challenges are integrated into the city and/or business community workforce.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-27934209923069795482011-02-15T02:03:00.000-06:002011-02-15T02:03:25.661-06:00Death by a Thousand Cuts<em>(What follows is a series of action alerts from </em><a href="http://www.ccdionline.org/"><em>CCDI</em></a><em>, <a href="http://ilworks4future.org/">Illinois Works for the Future</a>, and </em><a href="http://www.payourbills.illinois.gov/"><em>payourbills.illinois.gov</em></a><em>, as well as fact sheets concerning Senate Bill 3 (SB 3) and what impact human services cuts would have on the disability community in Illinois. As usual, I offer a brief commentary before the alerts and description of cuts. Many of you may have already seen these alerts and responded to them. My goal is to reach others who have not had that opportunity and remind everyone that one phone call or one email is only the beginning and not the end of our efforts.)</em><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, most of us have played this game before. Most of us have fought this battle either last year or some other time in the past. The problem, of course, is that the war never seems to end, and some of us get battle fatigue. No, this is definitely not the first time we have been down this road. We know we have months of work ahead of us, and we cannot begin to pull back now.<br />
<br />
If anything I just said seems confusing, you only need to start paying attention to the Illinois state budget process. The Governor will lay out his proposed budget for the next fiscal year on Wednesday, February 16, during his budget address before the General Assembly. The first thing to remember is that this is merely a proposed budget and not the end result on which legislators will vote in May. We have much more gnashing of teeth before we reach that point. That said, many disability rights advocates are upset with several of the Governor's proposals.<br />
<br />
Every year, regardless of administration, political party, constituencies, or makeup of the legislature, there seems to be a clarion call for budget cuts. Legislators and the Governor's office rush to find ways to slash "unnecessary" spending from the state's budget. This year is no different and, in fact, offers extra political pressure to make those kinds of cuts. Typically, the most drastic cuts come from human and social services, since legislators feel those are the easiest areas to cut. The constituencies usually receiving these services are the state's "most vulnerable" populations, which are defined as seniors, people with disabilities, single parents, and individuals living in poverty. Are these groups the "most vulnerable" people living in Illinois? That point is debatable, but the fact that most legislators feel that these citizens have no political voice is far more telling than if they were cutting benefits for union members.<br />
<br />
It is time for this political mindset to end. People with disabilities, seniors, and individuals with low incomes have voices and advocates. We are not silent, and we are not pleased when we see our benefits reduced or taken completely from us before any other state agency or program is ever considered. We want what we have earned or been promised. This is not asking for handouts from the state government. This is reaping the rewards for decades of work or receiving opportunities to become productive members of society. Whether the fact is acknowledged or not, these "most vulnerable" populations continue to vote, continue to voice their opinions, and continue to make their presence felt in the state capitol.<br />
<br />
I understand how easy it is to lose that "fire in the belly." It seems we end up fighting these battles every year. We all get tired, especially when we hear that, yet again, we are the targets of cuts by the state government and, in many cases, the federal government as well. Just when we think we dodged a barrage of draconian cuts to our very quality of life, we find ourselves squarely in the crosshairs again. It almost seems we are in perpetual movement just to avoid the government ax.<br />
<br />
Yet, in many ways, that is the nature of advocacy. That is not to say disability rights advocates always find themselves seeking hiding places and fearing government cuts. However, it does mean this is a constant struggle, and just when we feel that we have won a major battle, another one rises over the horizon. Advocates are not weak at heart, and we definitely do not fall under the rubric of vulnerable. We fight these constant battles because we believe our vision of society is just and fair. We fight because we want independence and equality. We fight because no one else will and, sometimes, because no one else can. You cannot present yourself as a voice for the "most vulnerable" in our society, unless you can relate to the struggles they face. Advocates do that every day, and we will continue to do that, regardless of how many times we feel outnumbered or overwhelmed.<br />
<br />
This is only the beginning of the Illinois political season. At times, it will seem like a carnival or circus. At other times, it will seem like an arena full of menacing lions. Yet, in the end, it is simply people arguing their case against other people who feel equally justified in their perspective. The point is we can never lose sight that this is not an all-out war, and not everyone is against us. We all must be smart in picking our battles and making sure we are unified in our approach. We have the numbers, and we are on the right side of the argument. We only need to stand together and make our case loudly and consistently.<br />
<br />
Cutting the budget to the Department of Human Services (DHS) by as much as $250 million is wrong on many levels. We saw this same scenario last year, when Home Services in the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) faced service parameters and hourly cuts and the Division of Mental Health (DMH) experienced horrendous cuts to services. People suffered because of these cuts, and, yet, Illinois still found itself with a record deficit. Do we really need to reenact the same play again? It seems the ending remains the same.<br />
<br />
However, unlike most years, the General Assembly finds itself with answers it usually lacks. In this session, there is a chance to pass SB 3. This borrowing bill would let the state pay its debts immediately and prevent vendors and providers from taking unnecessary bankruptcy because of backlogs of unpaid state bills. It would create jobs, and it would not cause the government to go bankrupt itself when paying back the loan. The information about this bill is located further down in this post. Still, it seems quite clear that when there is an alternative to slashing programs desperately needed by people across the state, our legislators should take that opportunity and make it a reality. Is this what they call a "no-brainer?" I think it is about as close as we can get.<br />
<br />
Read the alerts below. If necessary, read them again. Call the numbers, and send the emails. If necessary, do it again. Make our voices heard. Let's put the automatic reaction of cutting social services in the backs of legislators' minds. Let's be proactive instead of reactive. Let's all take a deep breath and dive into advocacy again.<br />
<br />
---<br />
<br />
<strong>Support Senate Bill 3 (Pay Our Bills) Fact Sheet</strong><br />
<br />
To stabilize the budget and grow jobs, Illinois must pay its bills, while continuing to improve education, health care, human services, and public safety.<br />
<br />
The increased revenues passed by the General Assembly and signed into law this month are only one half of the package. We also need Senate Bill 3 to alleviate current burdens on state vendors, health care organizations, and social service organizations.<br />
<br />
Debt restructuring is similar to consolidating credit card or loans. Senate Bill 3 allows us to pay our bills in a lump sum and save money, while we also have dedicated revenue streams to pay it back:<br />
<br />
• The lender will pay all of Illinois bills now;<br />
<br />
• Illinois will repay the lender over a period of 14 years;<br />
<br />
• Repayment will come from the 0.5% of the revenue increase specifically set aside for <br />
this plan.<br />
<br />
This is not ‘new borrowing.' This is a strategic restructuring to pay down debts already owed by the State of Illinois.<br />
<br />
<strong>Why Restructure Our Existing Debt?</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Pay Invoices Now</strong> ‐ Illinois takes (on average) six months to pay an invoice owed to a vendor, and eight months for group insurance repayment. Debt restructuring would allow service providers to be paid now, rather than in 2012.<br />
<br />
<strong>Save 50,000 Jobs Annually</strong> – By failing to pay its bills, Illinois is costing itself jobs. Because of late payments, vendors, schools, and social service agencies are having trouble-making payroll, are laying off employees, and even closing their doors. By failing to pay its bills, Illinois is costing itself about 50,000 jobs annually (as well as their payroll taxes).<br />
<br />
<strong>$8.7 Billion into the Economy</strong> – Debt restructuring would cause an $8.7 billion influx of funds into Illinois’ economy. This translates into jobs, as well as increased state and local revenues through payroll and sales taxes.<br />
<br />
<strong>Save Money with Prompt Payment</strong> – Illinois is forced to pay penalties on late payments to vendors. In addition, Illinois’ failure to pay its bills has caused vendors to cancel contracts, force contract re‐negotiation at higher prices, or bid high to offset late payments. Prompt payment would encourage competitive bidding, saving millions annually.<br />
<br />
<strong>Bolster Our Business Reputation</strong> ‐ Illinois’ fiscal woes have resulted in a bad reputation in the business community. Our continued failure to meet our obligations makes Illinois a risky prospect for business relocation/startup, especially a company that might do business with the State of Illinois.<br />
<br />
<strong>Bond Ratings</strong> – Bond rating agencies have applauded our move to raise revenues, but rating agencies like Moody’s have called for a debt restructuring plan before they would upgrade our bond rating. Better bond ratings means Illinois can find lower interest rates, saving us hundreds of millions in higher interest costs.<br />
<br />
<strong>---</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>***HOME SERVICES CUTS ACTION ALERT***</strong> <br />
<br />
The Illinois Governor’s office is reportedly considering $250 million in budget cuts to the Department of Human Services (DHS). This means they are looking at cuts to all services offered by DHS, INCLUDING HOME SERVICES. They are thinking about limiting the number of hours of home services people receive, so the state can save money. <br />
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YOU can take action TODAY. Many people with disabilities depend on home services to be able to live at home in their communities. We must speak up now and let the Governor’s office know we care about home services. They have not yet made a final decision, so now is the time to speak up! <br />
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Below are phone numbers and emails you can use to get in touch with the Governor’s office. When you call or write, tell them your name, where you live, your connection to the disability community, and why home services should not be cut. Make sure they know that home services SAVE the state money! <br />
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<strong>Please contact:</strong> <br />
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<strong>Governor Quinn</strong>, (217) 782-0244 (Springfield) or (312) 814-2121 (Chicago), or email him at <a href="http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContacttheGovernor.aspx">http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContacttheGovernor.aspx</a><br />
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<strong>David Vaught</strong>, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), (217) 782-4520 or <a href="mailto:gomb@illinois.gov">gomb@illinois.gov</a><br />
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<strong>OMB’s Health Care and Human Services division</strong>, (217) 782-3105 <br />
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<strong>DHS Secretary Michelle Saddler</strong>, (312) 793-1547 (Chicago) or (217) 557-1601 (Springfield), or <a href="mailto:michelle.saddler@illinois.gov">michelle.saddler@illinois.gov</a> (Please remember that Michelle really wants to know people’s personal home services stories so writing her with your story is a very good idea---she can best advocate for us if she has good stories from our people.)<br />
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<strong>CALL/EMAIL YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS TODAY!</strong><br />
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<strong>SUPPORT SB 3</strong><br />
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The Illinois legislature is currently considering SB 3, which is a bill to restructure Illinois’ debt. The state government put out the following fact sheet on SB 3 with the details: <a href="https://www2.illinois.gov/gov/payourbills/Documents/Fact%20Sheet.pdf">https://www2.illinois.gov/gov/payourbills/Documents/Fact%20Sheet.pdf</a>. The bill would pay outstanding debts to state vendors and take advantage of the recent tax increase. It is very important to let our state legislators know that we want the to support SB 3—especially Republican leadership. <br />
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Take action and support every person with a disability in the state of Illinois who uses community-based services. This bill matters to every CIL, every clinic, and every provider that uses state funds to keep people with disabilities in the community. <br />
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<strong>TAKE ACTION</strong> <br />
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Once more, please pick up your phone today to make a call, or use your computer to send an email. The sooner, the better as this bill is in motion.<br />
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Please contact your own state senator and state representative (see <a href="http://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/districtofficialsearchbyaddress.aspx">http://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/districtofficialsearchbyaddress.aspx</a> to look them up) or go to <a href="http://www.ccdionline.org/">http://www.ccdionline.org/</a> and click on "legislative action center.” Also, please contact some of the Republican leaders in the list below. They are key to passing SB 3.<br />
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<strong>The message is simple: SAVE ILLINOIS SOCIAL SERVICES BY SIGNING ON TO SB 3!</strong><br />
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<strong>Key Senate Republican Leaders</strong>:<br />
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<strong>Senator Christine Radogno</strong>: (217) 782-9407, (630) 243-0800, <a href="mailto:cradogno@sbcglobal.net">cradogno@sbcglobal.net</a><br />
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<strong>Senator Dale Righter</strong>: (217) 782-6674, (217) 235-6033, <a href="http://www.dalerighter.com/">http://www.dalerighter.com/</a><br />
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<strong>Senator J. Bradley Burzynski</strong>: (217) 782-1977, (815) 895-6318, <a href="mailto:senatorbrad@frontier.com">senatorbrad@frontier.com</a><br />
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<strong>Senator John O. Jones</strong>: (217) 782-0471, (618) 242-9511, <a href="http://jones.senategop.org/">http://jones.senategop.org/</a><br />
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<strong>Senator David Luechtefeld</strong>: (217) 782-8137, (618) 243-9014, <a href="http://www.luechtefeld.senategop.org/">http://www.luechtefeld.senategop.org/</a><br />
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<strong>Senator Dave Syverson</strong>: (217) 782-5413, (815) 987-7555, <a href="mailto:info@senatordavesyverson.com">info@senatordavesyverson.com</a><br />
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<strong>Senator Matt Murphy</strong>: (217) 782-4471, (847) 776-1490, <a href="mailto:SenatorMattMurphy@gmail.com">SenatorMattMurphy@gmail.com</a><br />
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<strong>Senator Dale Risinger</strong>: (217) 782-1942, (309) 693-4921, <a href="mailto:senatorrisinger@yahoo.com">senatorrisinger@yahoo.com</a><br />
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<strong>Key House Republican Leaders:</strong><br />
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<strong>Representative Tom Cross</strong>: (217) 782-1331, (815) 254-0000 <a href="mailto:tom@tomcross.com">tom@tomcross.com</a><br />
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<strong>Representative David Leitch</strong>: (217) 782-8108, (309) 690-7373, <a href="mailto:davidleitch@ameritech.net">davidleitch@ameritech.net</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Tim Schmitz</strong>: (217) 782-5457, (630) 845-9590, <a href="mailto:info@timschmitz.org">info@timschmitz.org</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Mark Beaubien</strong>: (217) 782-1517, (847) 487-5252, <a href="mailto:strepbeaubien@sbcglobal.net">strepbeaubien@sbcglobal.net</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Dan Brady</strong>: (217) 782-1118, (309) 662-1100, <a href="mailto:dan@rep-danbrady.com">dan@rep-danbrady.com</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Jim Durkin</strong>: (217) 782-0494, (708) 352-7700, <a href="mailto:jimd@ilga.gov">jimd@ilga.gov</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Renee Kosel</strong>: (217) 782-0424, (708) 479-4200, <a href="mailto:rkosel@ilga.gov">rkosel@ilga.gov</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Ron Stephens</strong>: (217) 782-6401, <a href="mailto:ron@repstephens.com">ron@repstephens.com</a><br />
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<strong>Representative JoAnn Osmond</strong>: (217) 782-8151, (847) 838-6200 <a href="http://joannosmond.com/">http://joannosmond.com/</a><br />
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<strong>Representative Jim Watson</strong>: (217) 782-1840, (217) 243-6221, <a href="mailto:jimwatson@localnetco.com">jimwatson@localnetco.com</a><br />
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<strong>DRASTIC CUTS ARE IMMINENT</strong><br />
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Governor Quinn is threatening cuts to work supports and other services for our state’s most vulnerable families. While cuts to other departments are also on the table, right now the Department of Human Services is planning to:<br />
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1. Reduce employment and training services for TANF recipients by cutting contracts by 10%<br />
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2. Eliminate assistance for the poorest children who live with non-relative legal guardians<br />
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3. Eliminate the TANF work and training exemption for single moms caring for children under age one<br />
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4. Eliminate Transitional assistance for non-employable single adults.<br />
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5. Repeal reforms that improved access to assistance for struggling families, including the repeal of HB 1800 and the “no wrong door” policy.<br />
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Because the current budget includes artificially low appropriations (allotment) levels, the rate of current spending means that the state will run out and Governor does not have the authority to spend more. While there are efforts to pass a supplemental appropriations bill that would authorize more spending, we cannot depend on its passage.<br />
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Right now, we must work with other advocates to stop the Governor’s attempts to make these cuts. What you can do now:<br />
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1) <strong>Contact the Governor’s office</strong> (217/782-0244 or 312/814-2121) and call your legislators. Demand they take these cuts off the table—instead they must find solutions that cause no further harm to hard-working families, children, seniors, people with disabilities, or to the economic recovery of our state.<br />
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2) Attend the <strong>Senate Committee on Humans Services Hearing on Tuesday, February 15th</strong>, and voice your opposition and explain the devastating impact more cuts to human services would have on the families and communities you serve. <strong>The hearing is currently scheduled for 10:45 in Room 400 of the Capitol Building in Springfield.</strong><br />
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We are working with fellow advocates to try to stop these cuts stemming from the Governor’s office and crafting additional strategies to respond to these harmful budget proposals. We will keep you informed about further actions you can take.<br />
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<strong>Paying the State’s Debt</strong><br />
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The state still owes $6 billion dollars to providers around the state who have already delivered essential services and remain burdened with these unpaid bills. Passage of Senate Bill 3 would restructure the state’s debt so it can finally make good on its obligation to its vendors. If you wish to learn more about SB 3, click here for a fact sheet prepared by <a href="http://www.voices4kids.org/getinvolved/statebudgetactioncenter.html">Voices for Illinois Children</a>. We will keep you posted about the progress of the bill.<br />
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<strong>FY 2012 State Budget</strong><br />
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In the midst of dealing with proposed cuts to and unpaid bills from the current budget, the Governor will propose next year’s budget on February 16th. It will continue to be vitally important that lawmakers understand the need to continued investment in the social structures that keeps our economy going, including the very services at risk for cuts now. We will be monitoring the budget proposal and appropriations process as decisions are being made, and will keep you posted on opportunities for you to weigh in. The Governor’s proposed FY2012 budget will be posted on the <a href="http://www.state.il.us/budget/">Office of Management and Budget’s website</a>, along with information on current and previous budgets.<br />
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Questions? Contact Jennifer Becker Mouhcine at <a href="http://ilworks4future.org/">Illinois Works for the Future</a> at 312-252-0460 ext 301.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-65488172310662282012011-01-05T05:53:00.000-06:002011-01-05T05:53:49.133-06:00Reforming Medicaid (Testimony to House Special Committee on Medicaid Reform)<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(<em><strong>This is the testimony I almost gave before the House Special Committee on Medicaid Reform on Monday, January 3. However, it turned out this last hearing of the committee focused on allowing the Auditor General to present testimony on the All Kids Program, which receives its funding from Medicaid. Anne Scheetz from the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition and I were the only other two people at the hearing to testify. Unfortunately, according to co-chair Barbara Flynn-Currie, the committee was running out of time for oral testimony and only wanted our written versions. It was disappointing but not completely unexpected, especially since the Auditor General also testified at the first hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Medicaid Reform. Therefore, each committee received the same information.</strong></em></span></span> <em><strong></strong></em><br />
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<em><strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I based much of my testimony on draft legislation attached to e-mail from Tony Paulauski with The Arc of Illinois. Though the final version of the legislation likely will look somewhat different from what I read, I believe it is a good blueprint for what will receive a vote in each of the special committees. It appears, though nothing is certain, the Senate will begin the process of moving a Medicaid reform bill out of that community first and then onto the Senate floor. Of course, this is only speculation now, and we will all know much more in the next two days. In the interim, I thought I would post my testimony so someone could read it. Even though I am quite sure all the members of the committee already have digested it thoroughly, I thought it would not hurt to give them another medium by which they could access the testimony. No one needs to fear, however, as there will be no pop quiz following.)</span></strong></em><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18vBqx6QzN9Iq8UZp4x-eXcTteaCEhYI9lJerf771JefHY2_ou7SA5QsNxiMfIouedt-h1TsmV788DObb9E0VzkJf0lo9S5LEfDSkJStxqei7crFUMEIAL_kqH3_1jgb2I6xhM5QVqZUJ/s1600/SADA+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="87" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh18vBqx6QzN9Iq8UZp4x-eXcTteaCEhYI9lJerf771JefHY2_ou7SA5QsNxiMfIouedt-h1TsmV788DObb9E0VzkJf0lo9S5LEfDSkJStxqei7crFUMEIAL_kqH3_1jgb2I6xhM5QVqZUJ/s320/SADA+Logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><u><span style="font-size: small;">House Special Committee on Medicaid Reform Testimony</span></u></strong></div><br />
As a disability rights advocate, I have been following closely both the House and Senate Special Committees on Medicaid Reform. It is a daunting task and one that cannot be taken lightly. Further, I have had the opportunity to read the draft language for the Combined HFS Medicaid Reform Bill. Though it is not light reading, it is important for everyone involved in Medicaid reform to understand how both committees intend to move forward on legislation regarding this issue. Without equivocation, I can tell you that these recommendations will face resistance from state agencies and bureaucracies, providers, insurance companies, and, indeed, advocates from all across the spectrum of Medicaid reform. That resistance is not to say that all these recommendations are wrong or ill planned. However, it is to say that by encompassing so many ideas into one piece of legislation, members of these committees and the General Assembly will face the need to revisit some of these recommendations and react accordingly. As the federal government implements sweeping health-care reform, the Medicaid system in Illinois becomes a much more fluid entity that requires proper management on all levels for success as measured by satisfaction and good health outcomes for its recipients.<br />
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The proposed legislation seemed to cover four main themes. They included long-term care rebalancing, fraud prevention and eligibility verification, improving information technology throughout Illinois' different state agencies, and managed care. I do not pretend to be an expert in any of these areas, let alone all of them. However, I fully believe it is important to discuss, at least in a cursory manner, the intent behind the committees' recommended changes to the Medicaid system. It is in the public's best interest to provide the most transparency available in legislation of this scope and importance. We would fall short as advocates if this were not one of our primary objectives in lending our voice to Medicaid reform.<br />
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No one wants to see fraud in any state agency or system. The unfortunate fact is that fraud always exists on every level of government and private business. That does not mean it cannot be limited and the individuals responsible for it made to account for their actions. Yet, in our rush to reform a system that primarily affects the poorest and most potentially vulnerable in our society, we must not overlook how these efforts will change people's lives drastically. Expanding fraud prevention and improving or tightening eligibility verification not only will save the state a somewhat significant pot of money and satisfy many who believe these are the most important reforms, it will also create a possible atmosphere of fear among many Medicaid recipients who have never allowed fraud to cross their minds. It is imperative for this committee and the General Assembly in totality to ensure that the agencies responsible for implementing these new proposals tread lightly among individuals who may not understand why these changes include them, when they are not part of the problem. The responsibility lies with the Departments of Health Care and Family Services and Human Services to explain why there are different eligibility standards and if those standards affect individuals and families in the present and in the future. This is the only fair thing to do, and in doing so, it would ease tension and make it much easier to transition into these reforms.<br />
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Improving information technology is needed on many levels in state government and not just in reforming Medicaid. It is long overdue, and many of the recommendations made by these committees cannot take place until the system currently running these programs improves exponentially. The state of Illinois can no longer afford to live in the technological dark ages and expect forward thinking ideas to fall into place. If agencies cannot "speak" with one another via appropriate and fast acting computer networks, all these meeting and discussions have been an exercise in futility. Yet, every committee member needs to understand that this kind of move into 21st-century technology comes with a cost. If you update technology to improve agency efficiency and, ultimately, reform Medicaid, you must not do it "on the cheap." These services are too vital to too many people, and they affect the lives of people in every political district in the state. Proposing these ideas and not fully funding them is worse than no reform at all. It is in Illinois' best interest to provide the initial outlay of funds that will ensure a seamless transition from an antiquated system to one that is already in use in many states across the nation. Moreover, a transition of this type is very much in the best interest of those receiving services<br />
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Long-term care rebalancing—removing barriers to community living for people with disabilities of all ages—is a unique phrase and one that has the potential to serve Illinois well. Yet, before we take great strides into the future, we need to remember the past in its stark reality. When considering spending for small community living opportunities for people with disabilities, Illinois still ranks 51st in the nation and 47th nationwide in funding community services. However, Illinois remains fifth in the country on spending for state operated developmental centers (SODCs). This dichotomy cannot last, particularly if the state truly wants to eliminate its deficit and follow the national mass trend toward community-based services.<br />
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Though it is gratifying to read proposed legislation that promotes a pathway for Illinois to move away from its institutional bias, these are currently simple proposals that require political will to implement. I hope when faced with resistance from unions, unfortunately misinformed family members, and other special-interest groups, these recommendations live to see the light of day. It is no longer a matter of what advocates consider fair and just. Living independently within the community is a right guaranteed by the US Supreme Court in the Olmstead decision and a reality facing Illinois based on recent court decisions that force the state to move away from institutionalization.<br />
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Yet, again, as with updating technological standards, Illinois must face the reality that funding community services is necessary to create an environment conducive to long-term care rebalancing. The current infrastructure for community services is lacking at best. Illinois ranks near the bottom of the country in terms of affordable and accessible housing. There is an overwhelming need to build more residences that can act as group homes, CILAs, and, most preferentially, independent residences for people who leave institutions and nursing homes. If the initial investment is made by the state, it will create new jobs immediately and in the future, as workers from institutions and nursing homes transition into the workforce of community services. The jobs created by reinforcing community-based infrastructure would bolster a sagging economy and increase the tax base in the state. Contrary to union complaints, their members can continue doing the same kind of work in a much more residential setting, as opposed to an institution, without the risk of falling into poverty. However, the most important signal shown by this type of action is Illinois' actual commitment to deinstitutionalization.<br />
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Finally, it seems that true Medicaid reform, as put forth by both communities, hinges in large part on managed care. Though this style of health care delivery system and its impact on people with disabilities has been discussed in Illinois for more than a year, the plan for its implementation seems already in place. It is a bold premise to have fifty percent of Illinois Medicaid recipients on some form of managed care by January 1, 2015, as discussed in the Combined HFS Medicaid Reform Bill. That time line coincides quite conveniently with the end date of a managed care pilot program, which begins this month in several northern Illinois counties. It seems difficult to understand how the state and HFS can adequately have time to review how a pilot program like this succeeded or failed when there is already a law stating that more than 1 million Medicaid recipients are to receive managed care, regardless of the pilot program's outcomes.<br />
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Legislation of this magnitude requires careful consideration at each step. If people with disabilities are going to take part in a pilot program, which purports to measure the effectiveness of managed care for acute health and possibly long-term care, it only makes sense that the program needs to receive adequate evaluation before it goes statewide. Managed care has yet to show its effectiveness in providing long-term care needs for people with disabilities. Why should members of the disability community in Illinois bear the brunt of experimentation before adequate analysis determines whether this system actually provides the care intended and absolutely needed for individuals with disabilities? Even if managed care is successful in the pilot program, showing the state both tremendous health outcomes and significant monetary savings, there remains a need to guarantee this type of program will work throughout Illinois before legislation mandates that it moves in that direction.<br />
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There is a need for oversight with managed care and, indeed, with Medicaid reform in general. People most affected by the changes, particularly those in the disability community, need to have a voice and a strong presence at the table, as their futures are discussed in the same context as creating a better fiscal environment for state government. The General Assembly should appoint an independent review board to discover if these reforms, especially those pertaining to long-term care rebalancing and managed care, are making a lasting and satisfactory difference in the lives of those affected most by these changes. If everyone agrees there is success across the board for these reforms, then moving forward with them into the future is a reasonable and beneficial course for both Medicaid recipients and the state of Illinois. However, if success is still elusive, there should be no doubt or hesitation to revisit these reforms and make the necessary changes that will benefit everyone.<br />
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Nothing is set in stone, even as the federal government creates an implementation plan for the Affordable Care Act. All the disability community wants are progressive ideas put forth with deliberate and transparent motives. We want an opportunity to take part in every aspect of this discussion, and we want a guarantee that the state will listen to our voices and not just hear them. As advocates, we will not stop pressing this issue until we feel those in positions of power understand that we organize, speak forcefully, and vote. As a political movement, we exist not in the shadows but in the spotlight. It is time for everyone who would make decisions for us to recognize that truth and the power it wields.<br />
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<strong>Tyler D. McHaley, M.S., M.A.</strong><br />
<strong>President Springfield Area Disability Activists</strong><br />
<strong>334 Norwalk Rd. </strong><br />
<strong>Springfield, IL 62704 </strong><br />
<strong>Cell: (217) 899-5015</strong><br />
<strong>E-mail: </strong><a href="mailto:Tyler.Mchaley@gmail.com"><strong>Tyler.Mchaley@gmail.com</strong></a><br />
<a href="http://www.disabilityactivists.org/"><strong>www.disabilityactivists.org</strong></a></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-63968852546843117762010-12-01T05:11:00.000-06:002010-12-01T05:11:08.333-06:00Rush to Reform<strong><em>(This is my written testimony that I submitted to the Senate Special Committee on Medicaid Reform. I went to the hearing on Monday and hoped I might have a chance to give oral testimony, though I knew the committee had said there were time constraints. Still, I thought that it would be good to hear what the state agencies, particularly the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, and the insurance companies would say about how they envisioned a reformed Medicaid system in Illinois. I also wondered how the committee would engage each witness and state their overall impressions and purpose.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>It was refreshing to hear Senator Steans, the committee co-chair along with Senator Righter, say early in the proceedings, albeit jokingly, that the committee was organized as a gesture to Republican to help gain votes for revenue increases in the spring. None of us should be oblivious to the fact that this community, as well as its sister entity in the House are not going to reform Illinois' Medicaid system in one month. Republicans do want a chance to eliminate some of the state's spending in the Medicaid program, and that is not an unreasonable request. The same is true for the other committees in both the House and Senate, which focus on cutting some of the waste out of the Worker's Compensation program. Nonetheless, Illinois politics are a game of give-and-take, and this is but one example of such a compromise.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>I will not reiterate many of the points that Bill Gorman, Executive Director of the SILC, or Tony Paulauski, Executive Director of The Arc of Illinois, already stated in earlier emails yesterday. I will just point out my reflections on some of the testimony. I truly believe it is a shame Tony did not have a chance to testify, as his would have been the only testimony from the perspective of advocates. Instead, there was much talk from state agencies about how different types of reforms, such as changing passive redetermination (which is the process by which people receiving Medicaid benefits only need to fill out the proper forms to remain eligible each year) and eliminating wasteful emergency room visits, could save the state Medicaid dollars. Even though some of this is true, there was much more talk about client responsibility.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>There is always a need for responsibility among all parties involved in any large government program like Medicaid. However, it seemed some of the senators, especially Senator Righter, wanted somewhat severe consequences for individuals who overused, in his opinion, emergency rooms, for example. I have no doubt there is immense fraud in the Medicaid system, and people misuse it every day. Yet, the vast majority of people who use Medicaid does so correctly and without any intent to defraud the state government. There is not a simple solution that can be painted with broad brush strokes to end fraud and abuse in the program. As one witness from an insurance company stated, "There is no silver bullet." There needs to be serious and diligent consideration of how to suggest and enact reforms, which do not risk the health of everyone receiving Medicaid and committing no fraud. I am not the one to say what that reform should look like, but it is important to get the opinions of advocates throughout the state. Unfortunately, in this first of three hearings by this committee, those voices were left muted.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>Perhaps, in another blog post, I will present more ideas or give more reaction to how the committee dealt with the issues presented to it. I will say that for a system that many consider so broken, I have never heard witnesses speak about how well their individual parts of the program are working as I did on Monday. Everyone agreed that reform was necessary, but nearly all the witnesses, from state agencies to insurance companies, declared that their programs were working very well. Further, there plans could make the system that much better. If things are going to be this easy, I see no reason to have any more hearings. It seems that many of the players, especially those that can profit from the Illinois Medicaid system, already have all the answers necessary, and the state just needs to implement them. I hope sarcasm comes through in the written word as much as the intent does during the writing process. To quote some blog somewhere, "I'm not saying, I'm just saying.")</em></strong><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR5Q-QpHyqusCiyKjSM8Lk-tz2-tH4NcHxa5cKO-zwXO0HrcuX9-HwF5UkjxSaxxSfld7NT6C0Ir-hAePQYyFvyxzLicmj-jLVRI7HHV3wCSFSvkjUVukmiWXbeYBGIVaKPZsJNcT_X9V/s1600/SADA+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="108" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR5Q-QpHyqusCiyKjSM8Lk-tz2-tH4NcHxa5cKO-zwXO0HrcuX9-HwF5UkjxSaxxSfld7NT6C0Ir-hAePQYyFvyxzLicmj-jLVRI7HHV3wCSFSvkjUVukmiWXbeYBGIVaKPZsJNcT_X9V/s400/SADA+Logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><u>Senate Special Committee on Medicaid Reform Testimony</u></strong></div><br />
As a disability rights advocate, I find it laudable and gratifying that the Senate Special Committee on Medicaid Reform is looking for ways to improve Illinois' current system. The need for reform has existed for years, and, unfortunately, too many General Assembly sessions have passed with no attempts at resolution. Like Social Security on the national level, Medicaid reform in Illinois seems a very difficult and daunting task to tackle.<br />
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However, as the committee has been given only a month to produce a strategy to change a sweeping and vitally important program in this state, it is essential that every member considers each idea carefully and makes no hasty judgments about what types of reforms the program needs. If the prevailing common wisdom becomes that only cuts to the very core of the Illinois Medicaid system are the answers, we, as advocates, agency directors, and health care experts, will not have provided the answers necessary to "fix" Medicaid. Cutting a program on which so many people depend every day is as nonsensical as wastefully spending on excessive bureaucracy and redundancy in various phases of the program. This is a time for the committee to find the creativity to cut out waste and fraud, while leaving a seamless and more focused program intact.<br />
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The national healthcare system is growing exponentially and at an unsustainable rate. There is no debate about that, and the new Affordable Care Act likely will bring change and reform, even if somewhat slowly. However, it is important to remember Illinois' place in the national healthcare picture. According to the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law's online publication "The Shriver Brief," Illinois' Medicaid billings grew slower than the national average, from 2008 to 2009, at 4.2 percent and only 4.4 percent during the last four years. In FY 2010, the projected national average of medical costs was 7.7 percent, while Illinois was only expected to grow by 7.0 percent. Among all states, Illinois ranks 42nd in per Medicaid beneficiary expenditures. The national average is $4,575 per Medicaid beneficiary, and Illinois spends $4,129 per beneficiary. Overall, Illinois effectively minimizes Medicaid cost to the taxpayers and maximizes, for the most part, the federal dollars available. The Illinois Medicaid program spends just $.39 of every one dollar in general taxes. Therefore, it is reasonable to see in some aspect that the state's Medicaid program is performing much better than many reports, analyses, or opinions conclude.<br />
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However, there are many ways to streamline Medicaid in Illinois and provide better services for those receiving benefits from the program. First, we must come to the realization that Illinois institutionalizes more people with disabilities than nearly every other state in the nation. Illinois still warehouses thousands of individuals with disabilities in state operated developmental centers (SODCs), nursing homes, and large ICF/DDs. In terms of spending for small community living opportunities for people with disabilities, Illinois is ranked 51st in the nation. Further, Illinois is 47th nationally in funding community services. Yet, this state is fifth in the country on spending for SODCs. The state government spends nearly $170,000 per person every year on hiding away thousands of people with disabilities in state run institutions. Yet, the irony and tragedy of the current system is that providing the home and community-based services for the same people is much closer to $50,000 annually. Even as Howe Developmental Center closed on June 30, 2010, the $30 million in savings, which should have funded more community-based supports and settings, instead, was funneled back to the remaining SODCs.<br />
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These facts are illustrative of Illinois' institutional bias toward people with disabilities. Further and worse is the fact that this bias affects how the state government prioritizes taxpayer money. Here is a lion's share of the waste the committee wants to eliminate. Simply by providing more home and community-based services, Illinois can save hundreds of millions of dollars by moving people out of institutions, where they can and want to live as an equal member of the community. A recent study cites Illinois as being worst in the nation in providing housing to people with disabilities, and that is where a paradigm shift can occur. By investing in adequate and accessible housing, Illinois saves money in the Medicaid program and, simultaneously, stimulates the state economy by producing jobs in areas like construction, where so many people have seen employment possibilities disappear.<br />
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This committee and Illinois' elected officials have a responsibility to comply with the 1999 Olmstead Supreme Court decision and make it possible for people with disabilities to live in the least restrictive environment possible. These are not arbitrary political choices or philosophical debates we can have concerning moving more individuals with disabilities into the community. It is now US law and the right of every member of the disability community to live where he or she chooses. If Illinois does not change the institutional mindset it has possessed for decades, there is no chance for Medicaid reform in this state. We simply will find ourselves walking in the same circles that have always led us to the same dead ends, which are more spiraling Medicaid costs and the complete lack of sensitivity to not only the choice of the disability community but also the thin legal standing on which Illinois finds itself.<br />
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To capture more federal funds and ensure Illinois is spending its Medicaid dollars wisely, the committee and General Assembly must consider two very important and similar issues. First, the state government needs to pursue every dollar that comes from the federal "Money Follows the Person" (MFP) legislation. Centers for independent living across the state are trying to help individuals with disabilities move from institutions and nursing homes into their own homes within the community. Yet, Illinois is lax on providing those funds the MFP program offered to states to transition people from an institutional setting to the community. How can the state government and its overseers in the General Assembly allow such mismanagement to continue? If everyone in the state really wants Medicaid reform, this is an ideal place to start.<br />
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Second, the Independent Living Movement stresses consumer choice as its main tenet. People with disabilities deserve the freedom to choose where and how they live in every sense of that word. If government officials truly agree with that sentiment, it is time to examine the possibilities of a self-directed care waiver system through Medicaid. This is a cost-effective program, which keeps people with disabilities living in the community and provides them with the resources necessary to live an independent and productive life. Moreover, this is not a groundbreaking idea. Many other states have implemented such a waiver program with great success, and many advocacy groups in Illinois are putting forth the call for this state to move forward with such a program. In fact, a self-directed care waiver is imperative if Illinois, indeed, intends to move away from its history of institutionalization and into a future of inclusion and equality.<br />
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Illinois will see less inefficiency in the Medicaid program by reforming some of its current and proposed programs. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is moving forward with a Medicaid managed care pilot program in suburban Cook and five other collar counties. Disability rights advocates need to remain involved in the contract negotiation process with the two managed care organizations (MCOs) that won the bids from HFS. However, after the contract is signed, advocates must still actively participate in the entire managed care process as part of an independent oversight committee, which can act as a guardian of the rights of the people involved in the pilot program. It needs to be independent and comprised of providers and healthcare experts as well as advocates. This type of committee can protect against abuses, lack of direction, or simply wrong decisions they could have terribly adverse effects on consumers within this pilot program area. In addition, as managed care likely goes statewide, this oversight committee can provide equal protection against and guidance to the MCOs providing healthcare to people with disabilities throughout the state.<br />
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Yet, another area where Medicaid efficiency could increase is in the third phase of this managed care program, which focuses primarily on long-term care needs of seniors and people with disabilities. MCOs have no background in this area and could make what is a sustainable situation far worse. I urge this committee to communicate to HFS that the third phase of this pilot program is untenable for members of the disability community. Without proper education and a proven history of results in providing long-term care needs, the MCOs need to leave this kind of care to the individuals who know how to provide it best. Though this argument may seem as if I am proposing that Illinois gets "stuck with the tab" on the final phase of this managed care program, the truth is just the opposite. By avoiding costly mistakes that MCOs will inevitably make in efforts to provide quality long-term care, eliminating phase three saves Illinois, potentially, millions of dollars and the damage that could result in thousands of lives.<br />
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One thing this committee must avoid is the idea that these reforms need to happen overnight and that legislation needs to right every wrong in the Medicaid system. Moreover, the mere notion of Medicaid reform is not a political volleyball that one party can bounce to the other. This program is a matter of life and death to many people and provides them with the resources they need to live healthy and dynamic lives. Political agendas must be off the table when discussing any kind of Medicaid reform. To think that Medicaid recipients do not watch closely what happens to their benefits and, subsequently, their lives is foolishness. People receiving Medicaid vote and understand their vote counts. This is no area in which to try to impose political ideology. Medicaid reform requires conscientious thought, sensible ideas, and realistic goals. If those elements fail to find their way into an overall Medicare reform package, more could be lost than simply taxpayer money. It is up to all of us to ensure that is not the case.<br />
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<strong>Tyler D. McHaley, M.S., M.A.</strong><br />
<strong>President Springfield Area Disability Activists</strong><br />
<strong>334 Norwalk Rd. </strong><br />
<strong>Springfield, IL 62704 </strong><br />
<strong>Cell: (217) 899-5015</strong><br />
<strong>E-mail: </strong><a href="mailto:Tyler.Mchaley@gmail.com"><strong>Tyler.Mchaley@gmail.com</strong></a><br />
<a href="http://www.disabilityactivists.org/"><strong>www.disabilityactivists.org</strong></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-23427490654502737572010-11-19T02:46:00.003-06:002010-11-19T04:31:27.603-06:00A Testimony and a Call to Action from the Arc<strong><em>(On Tuesday, November 16, I had the opportunity to testify before the Governor's Healthcare Reform Implementation Council. The members of the Council are: Michael Gelder, Chair, Senior Health Policy Advisor, Governor Pat Quinn,</em></strong> <strong><em>Julie Hamos, Vice Chair, Director, Department of Healthcare & Family Services,</em></strong><strong><br />
</strong><strong><em>Michael McRaith, Vice Chair, Director, Department of Insurance,</em></strong><strong><br />
</strong><strong><em>Dr. Damon Arnold, Director, Department of Public Health (though Assistant Director Teresa Garate represented the department on this day),</em></strong><strong><br />
</strong><strong><em>Charles Johnson, Director, Department on Aging, </em></strong><strong><br />
</strong><strong><em>Grace Hong-Duffin, Acting Secretary, Department of Human Services, </em></strong><strong><br />
</strong><strong><em>Laura Zaremba, Director, Office of Health Information Technology, </em></strong><strong><br />
</strong><strong><em>James Sledge, Director, Central Management Services, and</em></strong><br />
<strong><em>David Vaught, Director, Office of Management & Budget.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>According to the <a href="http://www2.illinois.gov/healthcarereform/Pages/default.aspx">Healthcare Reform in Illinois Website</a>, "Governor Pat Quinn signed <a href="http://www.illinois.gov/gov/execorders/docs/execorder2010-12.pdf">Executive Order #10-12</a> on July 29th, 2010, to create the Illinois Health Care Reform Implementation Council. The Council will help the state implement the health care reforms contained in the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA).</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>Implementation of the ACA will improve the health of residents throughout Illinois by increasing access to health care, reducing treatment disparities, controlling costs, and improving the affordability, quality and effectiveness of health care.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>The Council will make recommendations to assist the state to: establish a health insurance exchange and other consumer protection reforms; reform Medicaid; assure high quality care; identify federal grants and other non-governmental funding sources; and foster the widespread adoption of electronic medical records.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>The council will submit its first report to Governor Quinn by December 31st, 2010, followed by periodic reports on the implementation of its recommendations."</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>This particular meeting focused on Medicaid reform and addressing Illinois' Medicaid system, as it moves forward under the new healthcare reform law. The Council wanted people to offer tangible recommendations concerning changing and improving the current Medicaid program in Illinois. I guarantee my testimony broke no new ground, as it focused primarily on oversight of the Medicaid managed care program in Illinois and providing more home and community-based services instead of funneling more money to institutions and nursing homes. However, since many people may not have heard about the hearing nor had a chance to attend, I thought I would provide my written and submitted testimony for you to read, critique, or just delete as you see fit.</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em>After the testimony, I also included something far more important. Tony Paulauski from The Arc of Illinois sent out an appeal for all of us to contact our local legislators, specifically Illinois State House Representatives, about a possible end of year vote on an income tax increase and sales tax expansion. A suggested script and further information is included in Tony's message. I apologize if I am sending you yet another copy of Tony's email. I simply think it is extremely important to spread the word as much as possible.)</em></strong><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><u><strong>The Governor's Healthcare Reform Implementation Council ACA Medicaid Reform Testimony</strong></u></div><br />
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is both a great boon and a great strain to state government, particularly for Illinois. As the state faces high unemployment rates and nearly a $14 billion deficit, allowing hundreds of thousands more Illinoisans to receive Medicaid assistance is a great advantage for people with low incomes as well as people with disabilities. The unemployment rate within the disability community in Illinois hovers around seventy percent, and this has been the norm long before our current economic downturn. Combining that fact with higher unemployment among the nondisabled community adds a great deal of stress to an already overburdened healthcare system.<br />
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The other, possibly even more daunting situation facing Illinois government is the extraordinarily high institutionalization rate for people with disabilities in the state. Though advocacy efforts have attempted to change this mindset over the years, Illinois still ranks near the bottom of all states in the country in its use of state operated developmental centers (SODCs), nursing homes, and large ICF/DD. Illinois ranks 51st in the nation when it comes to spending for small community living opportunities for people with disabilities. The state ranks 47th nationwide in community services spending but ranks an inglorious fifth in the country on spending for SODCs. Illinois annually throws millions of dollars at state run institutions, spending on average $166,000 per year on each resident, when the cost of providing services for persons living in the community averages closer to $50,000 annually.<br />
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Some may ask what these specific figures have to do with the ACA. My response is that when asked what changes Illinois needs to make to improve the quality of long-term care in the state, I believe we should stop throwing good money after bad. The ACA is pushing states in the direction of less reliance on institutionalization and much more emphasis on home and community-based services. Illinois needs that exact kind of change to guarantee the implementation of healthcare reform. For decades, the state has taken the easy road of institutionalization to bypass the difficult decisions that come with integrating people with disabilities into the community. The ACA has done what Illinois legislators and policymakers have ignored far too long, and that is forcing the state's hand into acknowledging what is a higher priority—institutionalizing people with disabilities because that seems the easier solution or working more diligently to allow people the choice of moving into the community.<br />
Choice is truly the central theme of all the questions asked by this Council. The independent living philosophy values individual choice foremost in the lives of people with disabilities. The choice to live in the community is fundamental to an individual's ongoing overall health. The choice of doctors and specialists who provide care to people with disabilities is equally critical in the overarching theme of healthcare reform. As long as Illinois retains the mindset that SODCs provide adequate living arrangements for people with disabilities, the state will not move forward. If Medicaid managed care becomes the norm in Illinois with HMOs potentially putting profits before people, the state will not move forward. There are tangible ways to assure the letter and spirit of the ACA reach fulfillment in this state, and that comes through putting consumer choice ahead of bureaucracy, policy, profit, and especially politics.<br />
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No one with knowledge of the situation would say it is reasonable to close all Illinois' SODCs immediately. Transition takes time, but it must begin before it can reach any semblance of fruition. States across the country have eliminated institutions completely by establishing group homes and CILAs in the heart of the community. Before Illinois can take the actions the ACA has put forth for it, regarding more home and community-based services, its elected officials must focus on establishing the necessary community services and supports. Therefore, a tangible change in the approach Illinois takes to long-term care is providing more accessible and affordable housing. You cannot expect people to move out of institutions or even contemplate such a move, if they feel they have nowhere to go once they are "on the outside." A recent study from the University of Colorado showed Illinois ranks worst in the nation when it comes to housing for people with disabilities. A result like this is unacceptable. An effort to change this culture and provide adequate housing would require an initial outlay of several millions of dollars, but it would also create jobs, provide housing, and boost an otherwise sagging Illinois economy. Moreover, studies have shown people who live in the communities as opposed to institutions have better overall health outcomes, including mental health.<br />
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There is also a tangible way to guarantee transparency and consumer choice in what increasingly seems like a statewide Medicaid managed care system in the future. First, people with disabilities and seniors must be involved in the contract negotiation process to make their concerns heard and force both the state and HMOs to act in good faith when implementing consumer choice-driven aspects of the contracts. However, advocacy and the presence of advocates must not end when the contracts are signed. There must be an independent oversight committee, comprised of advocates, providers, and other interested and astute individuals, to act as a watchdog over both the state and the HMOs. There are too many examples from numerous other states delineating how Medicaid managed care has worked as a complete failure with HMOs receiving far too much profit and the states providing far too little oversight. Illinois needs to avoid this trap before the system begins. There are examples to which the state can turn to avoid the pitfalls of California, Florida, and Wisconsin. Consumer choice is the key, and providing a consumer voice in the overall process of creating such a vast and uncharted system allows Illinois to show in concrete terms its commitment to better healthcare and better lives for people with disabilities.<br />
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These are only two problems and two potential solutions in the Herculean effort of implementing the ACA accurately, completely, and equitably. There is much more than can be discussed in only one hearing. However, it is essential for this Council to understand the fundamental principles behind the ideas that guide people with disabilities and the disability rights movement. Consumer choice, independence, freedom to live where you choose, and access to healthcare not mandated by sometimes unknowing insurance companies only begin to scratch the surface of the many issues people with disabilities find concerning in Illinois' current fiscal and healthcare environments. Yet, even as we bring these concerns before you, we also have hope the ACA will develop into everything the federal government intended it to be. We are now beginning to crack open the door and see what lies behind the term "healthcare reform." Now, we all must act in ways that reach the goals of the ACA and strive for means that go beyond the Act's intent into another area where integration of healthcare meets integration into the community. That is our truest and most important goal.<br />
<strong>______________________________________________________________________________</strong><br />
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<strong>The Arc of Illinois</strong><br />
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<strong>November 18, 2010</strong><br />
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<strong>Leaders in The Arc:</strong><br />
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I wanted to share with you what Phil and I have been hearings as we talk to legislators and advocates about recent new revenue initiatives. <br />
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What follows is a quick draft of a package of materials we will develop for your use when talking to legislators.<br />
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You can see the urgency of this opportunity and a very short timeframe. <br />
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I know you and others will step up in this time of reduced services and major threats to children and adults with disabilities in Illinois!<br />
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<strong>Tony Paulauski</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>The Arc of Illinois</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>815-464-1832</strong><br />
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Tuesday night, Speaker Madigan held a three hour caucus with his House members. Much of the time was spent on new revenue during the fall session. What is being considered is a 2% increase in the income tax, sales tax expansion, and further cuts. The Speaker believes that the Governors proposal does not raise enough revenue.<br />
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These increases would be used to pay off the backlog of unpaid bills to providers and would halt any new initiatives for the next two years.<br />
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The target for a possible vote would be in early January. The Speaker is calling members back to session right after the first of the New Year, adding four additional days to the legislative calendar. This is highly unusual, but during that period, a simple majority would only be necessary to pass this type of a legislative package so the window of opportunity is very short. To pass the House, 60 votes would be needed, and the Speaker will only call a vote if there are Republicans that will vote for this increase. Last time a vote for new revenue was considered, only 42 House members voted for the increase. In the Senate, 30 votes will be necessary. President Cullerton believes the Senate will support this plan because the Senate already passed a new revenue bill last spring. The Senate President wants this legislation to start in the House.<br />
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The Speaker and the President are looking to us to get bipartisan support for a tax increase.<br />
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We will need a solid 60 votes in the House for this tax bill and it must be supported by both Republicans and Democrats. <br />
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This may be our last opportunity for new revenue in Illinois.<br />
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I need you to report back to me which legislators in your area will support this tax increase and which legislators will not. I need to know that there will be a solid 60-vote roll call in the House if we are going to be successful.<br />
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Needless to say, we need to activate advocates, staff, and board members to meet with their legislators in their home offices between now and the end of December. We need their commitments. <br />
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This vote will be the most important vote for disability services and supports in recent times.<br />
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<strong>Talking Points for Legislators</strong><br />
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Introduce yourself to the legislator and describe your affiliation/organization and its work.<br />
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<strong>1. Here is how I personally see our state’s fiscal challenges hurting people with disabilities and our community. Have individuals and their families share their stories.</strong><br />
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(Briefly describe how budget cuts and funding delays have hurt the public services with which you are most familiar. Cite specific examples of people losing supports, jobs being cut, salaries being slashed, the more specific the example, the better!)<br />
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These are just some of the ways in which Illinoisans-children, families, seniors, people with disabilities and many others are suffering.<br />
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<strong>2. We need to do better we can no longer rely exclusively on massive cuts and long payment delays that:</strong><br />
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Hurt disability services, schools, providers of health care and human services and public-sector businesses as well public-sector jobs<br />
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Ignore the 21,000 infants, children, and adults on the waiting list<br />
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Harm economic recovery by forcing more layoffs in non-profits <br />
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Plus, heavy borrowing only digs our budget hole deeper in the long-term<br />
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We’ve already begun work on important government reforms, but we’ve done nothing to raise desperately needed new revenues. Illinoisans needs two things to restore our state to balance and responsibility:<br />
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Additional revenue to pay-off our bills and more adequately fund vital community services.<br />
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Your leadership, to help make it happen.<br />
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<strong>4. To help put Illinois on more stable fiscal footing, will you support efforts to raise new revenue by increasing the income tax and expanding the sales-tax base to more services, before the next General Assembly convenes in January?</strong><br />
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What if these moves were temporary?<br />
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Could you support an increase in the new General Assembly’s spring session?<br />
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Be sure to thank the legislator for his/her time. <br />
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THANK YOU for helping to support a more balanced and responsible solution to Illinois fiscal problems!<br />
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<a href="http://www.abetterillinois.com/">Responsible Budget Coalition</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-73993957364023190062010-11-01T18:27:00.001-05:002013-10-04T02:08:03.754-05:00Eyes Wide Shut<i>(I haven't blogged recently, as I've been very busy with everything else surrounding a myriad of advocacy issues. Yet, due to the campaign season, I could not stay quiet. I realized having a blog is like having a bully pulpit, and after seeing enough political swill lately to make me sick, I decided it was time to say something.)</i><br />
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I love politics, and I am sick of it. Do not misunderstand me. I still love nearly everything about it, except the lies, which many would say define politics. Yet, I mean the lies that go beyond the pale and make my blood boil. If you have been at all politically aware the last six months, you know exactly what I mean.<br />
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I make no bones about being a self-avowed liberal Democrat. Further, I am not going to pretend that this blog post is going to be completely objective—or even remotely close to objective. I am not writing this in my capacity as president of the Springfield Area Disability Activists but just as a citizen. This is my time to vent and get a few things off my chest.<br />
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First, let me say as a disability rights advocate, I have not always been happy with Governor Quinn's policy decisions on disability issues. For instance, Medicaid managed care for long-term care services, such as personal assistants, durable medical equipment, and a litany of other issues, is not a good fit for people with disabilities. This is especially true when a program like this is rushed and not given the complete thought and understanding needed to have a chance of success. The governor's office needed to include advocates at the outset of any discussions of this type.<br />
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Deep and almost paralyzing budget cuts put forward by the governor's office could seriously harm people with disabilities in ways we still cannot even begin to measure. Home Services, a program within the Division of Rehabilitation Services, designed to keep people with disabilities living independently in their own homes, now allows only 18 hours per month per outside the home assistance. That means a personal assistant can only accompany someone with a disability to the doctor, to the grocery store, to the laundromat, to church, or simply to the park for a grand total of 40 minutes a day during a 30-day month. Try going to a typical doctor's appointment, shopping for groceries for the week, and making a deposit at the bank in 40 minutes. <br />
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You can see I disagree with some of what the governor's office put forth as state regulations or policies for people with disabilities. Yet, I also realize there are people in that office who actually want to do what is in the best interest for people with disabilities in this state. There are people like Michelle Saddler, the Governor's Chief of Staff, Ryan Croke, one of the Governor's Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Jim Parker from the Department of Health and Family Services, and Rob Kilbury, Director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services, who are trying to do the right thing. Even though I do not agree with everything that they do or say because of bureaucracy, I will not minimize their efforts to make a difference or their willingness to listen and, sometimes, make the right changes.<br />
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There is absolutely no doubt in my mind things have to change in this state. Those we elect to govern must do just that. I just described I did not like some of the policies coming from the governor's office in the last few months, but no one who pays attention to Illinois politics can lay the blame for our current economic situation or some of the remedies for it squarely at the governor's door. Last May, the General Assembly rushed out of Springfield with a joke of a budget that they sent to Governor Quinn. Our state legislators shirked their responsibility of developing a balanced budget and punted the ball to the governor, essentially saying that they had no idea what to do and wanted no responsibility for the outcome. They dropped the hot potato outside the governor's mansion and made a hasty retreat to the safety of their home districts. That is the truth, which many people neglect to state.<br />
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It is easy to blame Quinn for all this mess. In fact, State Senator Bill Brady, his opponent, does it all the time in campaign ads and speeches he gives before angry, hard right wing crowds, hungry for red meat. Brady gives it to them by the plateful and make sure his campaign machine keeps cranking out more sausage to feed the masses. Yet, we are not talking about loaves and fishes here. This is rhetoric from Brady accusing Quinn of wanting to raise taxes on everyone in the state, ship jobs across or out of the country, and spend money the way, well, the U.S. Congress did when George W. Bush was president. It is indeed harsh talk but lacking quite a bit in terms of truthfulness.<br />
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Brady seems to assume the overall national recession we are experiencing, though that experience is shared globally, started right here in Illinois. More than that, he would have you believe Quinn started the recession personally. Following the logic of the Brady campaign, Quinn wants to raise taxes, drive us deeper into debt, and make this state the laughingstock of the country, since he would say that is what Democrats do regardless of the economic circumstances.<br />
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The problem with that argument is that the most well-known economists and policymakers across the state and throughout the U.S. agree that Illinois cannot continue on its current path without increasing revenues. Yes, that means all of us—citizens and politicians alike—need to close our collective eyes and noses, take a big dose of medicine, and accept an income tax increase. Our elected officials have tried every trick they can muster to avoid raising taxes, even though it is the most rational and efficient means of beginning to eliminate the state's mounting deficit. It does not sit well with most people, and it is not a politically endearing thing to do. No one ever wants to hear about needing to pay more taxes. There will never be a good time to broach the subject, but we have to accept the fact that decades of fiscal mismanagement in this state leave us no other viable option.<br />
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However, instead of acknowledging the fact that Illinois needs more revenue, Brady has consistently said he would cut spending 10% across-the-board. Just to drive home that point, Brady's position means every agency, according to the senator, would be chopped by one tenth, if Brady were able to pass a budget like that. He envisions that would save enough money to pay down on the deficit, and he thinks more revenue would come to the state when he creates thousands of private sector jobs, thereby infusing more tax revenue into the state. Aside from the obvious question of how he would create thousands of jobs, there is still the proverbial fly in Brady's ointment.<br />
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Without getting into too many numbers, Brady is basing his cuts on a $53 billion Illinois budget. According to <a href="http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/blogs?blogID=greg-hinz&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3A1daca073-2eab-468e-9f19-ec177090a35cPost%3Ade012600-0ae7-40cd-9997-e3b8defead27&plckCommentSortOrder=TimeStampAscending&sid=sitelife.chicagobusiness.com">Crain's Chicago Business</a>, which is typically a more fiscally conservative publication, the 10% cuts Brady wants actually need to be based on a budget closer to $30 billion, once you eliminate, among other monies, $14 billion in federal funding for Medicaid. These cuts would have to be much bigger and more extensive because there are federal funds, debt service, special-program trust funds, and other pots of money that are exempt from cuts by the state government, especially the governor. Essentially, that means Brady's 10% across-the-board cuts to all different agencies suddenly become 20% cuts to find the kind of savings to decrease the state's deficit as much as he proposes. That deficit, by the way, according to this article, is much closer to $7 billion than $5 million. Even though Brady will not admit these facts openly, he did say the cuts could exceed 10% and that he never promised such cuts would be easy. Yet, for who would any of these cuts be easy?<br />
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Now, I promised myself when I began writing a blog post like this one that I would not go on a tangent of "political speak." I fear I may have done that, but I suppose it comes with the terrain. I began this post by talking about lies and the fact that I found them particularly nauseating in this election cycle. This is absolutely the case, at least, for me. Of course, each side and each party tell lies, and it happens every two years without fail. The attacks get more brutal, the lies become more slanderous, and the issues get lost in all the propaganda. That leaves the voter, which, unfortunately, is usually under-informed, to figure out who is telling lies, who is telling the truth, and how to pick between the two. That is not an easy task, especially when there are movements and groups mingling through the political landscape, trying to distort every Democratic claim, while upholding every Republican one.<br />
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One of those movements is the Tea Party, a largely undefined and loosely knit group of people claiming to want all politicians to adhere strictly to the Constitution. It does not consist of grassroots members who are angry with the government and want to vote out all incumbents to stop just short of complete revolution, as they would have you believe. This is merely a shell group for large corporations, both domestic and foreign, to fund with millions of dollars and give the public the appearance of angry citizens, intent on taking their country back. Ironically, though, Tea Party loyalists never say from what they want to save the country, except underground Socialists and Nazis, regulations on banks and Wall Street firms, and big government intrusion into their lives with programs they disdain, such as Medicare, even as they refuse to give up the benefits.<br />
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This is the movement pushing the conservative agenda in this midterm election cycle, and some would say the people behind the curtain have spun the message so much that it is now out of control. This is the same movement, which is supporting Brady. This is the same movement, which Brady has embraced. This is the same movement, which many would say—and I am among them—campaigns on fear, anger, hopelessness, and a sense of revolution bordering on violence. Brady has the Tea Party's support, and it has his obligation to govern in a way that perpetuates fear and anger, even if neither side will admit this is the case.<br />
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Understand that I am not a lockstep Democrat. I disagree with my party as much as I agree with it. In fact, there are times I get so infuriated by what is happening or not happening in state or national politics that I must turn off the noise box and detach myself for a while. I do not like the idea that, in my opinion, the Illinois House Speaker is far more effective at trying to pass legislation when he has a Republican governor to use as a foil. I do not like that the Democratic Party, when they controlled both branches of state government, could not seem to work together because of infighting and a bit of backstabbing. Yet, even saying that, I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party, and I believe it works for the best interest of working men and women, people with disabilities, and people society has forgotten. I can say honestly and without a doubt that I do not believe those same things about the Republican Party.<br />
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I have written what seems like a very rambling blog post. It did not seem very consistent, coherent, or even that useful. If I ever try to write anything, I always try to have it make sense, be as understandable as it can be, and have some foundation in facts and not just my opinion. I cannot say this is my best effort in those regards. Thus, I will not keep writing just to hope for a better outcome. Instead, I will leave you with just a few more thoughts.<br />
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When you vote tomorrow, consider the implications that vote will have for the next four or six years, depending on the race. Vote with your head and not your heart. I understand why many people want to support Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate. Many view it as a protest vote, and I know Mr. Whitney has many progressive ideas. I also know that tomorrow there is no chance he is going to become the next governor of Illinois. As a liberal, I find it very difficult to advise anyone not to throw support behind the most progressive candidate. Still, I also consider myself a pragmatist, and I know our two-party system is not going anywhere anytime soon.<br />
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I believe if you want to protest, use your vote to elect someone who might actually hear your protests and act on them. Pat Quinn has been an advocate throughout most of his public life. It is a fact you cannot govern as an advocate, but it also does not mean a person loses his or her fire for change and advocacy simply because he or she is now in a position to govern. I believe in our current governor's ability to affect change, bring different groups together, and act on the principles he has shown in the past, such as integrity, reform, bucking the status quo, and not accepting the word "no" as the only solution.<br />
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I believe Brady will move Illinois back into a time more reminiscent of the 1950s than the 2010s. We cannot go there. We do not have time to dig our way back out of that mindset. If the disability community is going to make any strides in the state in the next four years, it is not going to happen with Brady as governor. He will slash programs that are vital to all of us. He will redirect spending to tax cuts for the wealthy and away from social services that are just beginning to see the light of day. We must not turn back.<br />
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Vote tomorrow. As Justin Dart said, "Vote as if your life depends on it, because it does." I know we hear that and read that every two years, but this time, the stakes are too high to ignore it. For too many years, Illinois' elected officials and its citizens have stumbled around the state, walking into walls because we would rather look at our feet instead of knowing that our state government is not working for us. Unless we open our eyes, wade through the river of lies, and vote in our best interests, the walls against which we have been perpetually beating our heads will start to close in around us. I hope that tomorrow we open our eyes, decide to move forward, and reload for the most intense advocacy we have ever known. This is not the time for compromise or apathy. This is the time for action, determination, and rekindling the gleam in our eyes for independence and equality. Just vote!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-83114058411216901632010-05-03T16:23:00.000-05:002010-05-03T16:23:01.997-05:00Last Line of Defense<strong>Last Line of Defense</strong><br />
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<em>(It has been quite a while since I posted my last blog entry. However, with distractions of many kinds now behind me, I intend to post several new items in the upcoming days. The first of these blogs focuses on what worries many Illinoisans these days, and that is the state budget crisis. Managed care is the next subject I will tackle, paying particular attention to the stakeholders meetings with the Department of Health Care and Family Services. You will also notice the blog's name remains the same. It seems the old adage—“if It ain't broke, don't fix it"—applies here.)</em><br />
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It has been a busy month, especially at the State Capitol of Illinois. During that time, after many hours in committee hearings and numerous phone calls to legislative staff, I knew I needed to write about the experience and inform many of you about what is happening in Springfield. Yet, simply a rote summary of the past few weeks' events was not going to give you a full grasp of our victories and our ongoing battles. I am not going to give you a play-by-play commentary of each event, but I will try to bring some meaning to what otherwise would be simple descriptions.<br />
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As I thought about how to do this, I realized a central theme was emerging. It was the notion of participatory democracy. That is not a complex, abstract political science term. It simply refers to citizens becoming involved in how their government on the local, state, and national levels functions and responds to their needs and demands. We often discuss this idea, especially in the context of advocacy. We tell people they should vote and become involved in the election process. We tell people to contact their legislators and members of Congress to make them aware of their constituents' views. We tell people to attend meetings and express their opinions. However, too many times, we exhort people to become involved in the political process without explaining why or how important it is. If we tell people to question authority and not blindly follow or believe what politicians and bureaucrats tell them, how can we expect them to take our advice and act upon what we say without giving them reason to believe us and to trust what they do makes a difference? <br />
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Complaining about lack of involvement is not the answer. Neither is discussing this issue on one blog post going to make that much of a difference. Still, doing nothing results in our worst fears coming to life. Years ago, words held immense power, and I believe they still do today. When faced with corruption, inaction, and disinterest by the government that flew in the face of the American Revolution, many people realized the power to change the status quo rested within the hands of the public, those not ensconced in government and politics but those most affected by those institutions. It was during this time of the late 1960s and early 1970s that John Gardner, founder of Common Cause, wrote, “The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can.” No matter how mired in skepticism and doubt, that fundamental idea holds true to this day and this time.<br />
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On Thursday, April 22, advocates from every corner of the state had the opportunity to speak before the Illinois House Human Services Appropriations Committee, chaired by Representative Sarah Feigenholtz. Panel after panel came forward to testify on the harm the Governor's proposed budget would have on a host of different interest groups. Advocates for children, women, seniors, and immigrants—to name but a few—spoke to the damage their programs would face if the planned budget cuts become reality. As advocates for the disability community waited to speak, we heard other advocates, who were just as passionate, discuss disappearing jobs, radically diminished services, and often the complete inability to maintain operations at any level. They did not attend the hearing to claim their programs were the best in the state or to beg for money. They came before the committee to have their voices heard, to have someone listen to their reasoned arguments, and to make sure those for whom they advocated were not forgotten.<br />
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Mental health advocates sounded the alarm regarding cuts to their programs. The Division of Mental Health within the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) will see its budget cut by $90 million, if the Governor's proposals become reality. One cannot overstate the devastating impact this lack of funding will have upon individuals with mental illness. Suddenly, instead of community services providing counseling and medication as they currently do, emergency rooms and prisons will take their place, leading to overcrowding and lack of service. People with mental illness, who currently are benefiting from services within the community, eventually, will have less qualified care provided by untrained individuals caught in the middle of the state's human services crisis. Advocates made this point clear to the committee, and several panels, discussing the need for more mental health funding, reinforced the same ideas.<br />
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The hours passed, and I could see the tired and glazed looks on the faces of the committee members. Yet, to their credit, they allowed nearly everyone to speak and voice their complaints with which many of the committee members agreed. Even so, I can only imagine how hearing the same story repeatedly stretches the patience and brings forth less empathy. Though I felt for the committee members, I also knew they held the answers, at least, in part, to this budget crisis, which, in reality, in a crisis of conscience. To act surprised at the state's current fiscal catastrophe is to belittle the jobs that representatives and senators were elected to do and the people who elected them to do those jobs. To act as if no solution exists is to demean the intelligence of those of us who know better. Just as state elected officials take an oath to uphold the Illinois State Constitution and serve their constituents, the informed citizen has the obligation to ensure transparency, accountability, and responsibility among their elected representatives. We neglect this duty at our own peril.<br />
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After nearly four and a half hours of testimony, the committee called forward the panel to discuss disability issues. Those speaking included: Janet Stover from the Illinois Association for Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF), Don Moss from United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois, Tony Paulauski from the Arc of Illinois, Rod Paterson from the Institute on Public Policy for Persons with Disabilities, Barbara Pritchard from the Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois, Jennifer Thomas from Access Living, and me, representing the Illinois Disability Activists. The latter four of us also are active members of the Community for All Coalition, a collection of cross disability organizations committed to the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movements. We each addressed how people with disabilities would feel, literally and figuratively, the negative impacts of the massive cuts in human services proposed by Governor Quinn's budget.<br />
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There was much focus placed on the budget cuts for programs aimed at individuals with developmental disabilities. All non-Medicaid grant programs are eliminated under the Governor's proposal, reducing services to people with developmental disabilities by $28,224,400 and cutting more than 700 jobs. Moreover, this budget proposes an across-the-board 2.5% rate reduction for all community-based programs. Currently, the state's total unpaid bills to providers of residential and day program services equal $4.5 billion. Even though provider should receive payment from the state within 30 days of service, the new budget proposal would implement a one and one half month payment cycle, which, given the tenuous financial situation for some providers, could cause further service reductions or complete agency closures. Overall, these proposed cuts would affect, potentially, 30,000 people annually.<br />
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Rod, Barbara, Jennifer, and I also focused on how this proposed budget does not reflect Governor Quinn's supposed commitment to the deinstitutionalization of Illinois. In fact, it reflects a philosophy diametrically opposed to moving away from institutional bias toward a stronger system of community and home-based care. Even as the Howe Developmental Center is scheduled for closure by June 30, 2010, the instances of abuse and death at that facility no longer seem to be the overarching principles behind the Governor's decision on State Operated Developmental Centers (SODCs). Closing Howe saves the state $30 million, and, still, those monies are not being redirected into the community for proper supports and services. In a shift that, for me, lacks fiscal logic and discipline, the state is investing the savings from Howe into the eight remaining SODCs. The budget increases to the other SODCs well exceed the savings achieved by closing Howe, which also seems to lack governing clarity. Several SODCs will also receive as much as $12 million in additional funding from the state. Even more disturbing is the fact that many residents and staff from Howe are being moved to existing SODCs to maintain employment levels and, presumably, resident headcount. Yet, all eight institutions, even those SODCs not receiving additional residents and staff from Howe, benefit from this proposed budget with a 5% increase in funding in a year when the total population of residents in Illinois SODCs will decrease by 3%.<br />
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These are facts we presented to the committee, and the members seemed sufficiently surprised. I, however, had reached another level of frustration. Though I admired the committee for taking the extended time to listen to our legitimate concerns, it seemed to me that we simply were reciting numbers to which they surely already had access and knowledge. I was angry, which, I should point out, is never a good frame of mind to have when addressing a committee of this kind. Nonetheless, I needed to express what I felt many had wanted to say during the entire hearing.<br />
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I abandoned my prepared remarks and spoke to the committee of responsibility and accountability. I told them that we, as advocates, were only able to do so much, and we, in fact, had done our parts in bringing these issues to the committee's attention. Now, I told them, the burden rests with them to do the right thing and act as the final champions for the causes brought before them. If the members' hearts truly lie with human services, and I believe that is the case, they must act on their beliefs and not pass a budget that carves human services into well-honed portions, which are conveniently served up for unions and other interest groups, regardless of their intent. I felt and told the committee members the time for niceties has long passed, and the current time requires action on their parts. There was no longer any room to quibble over who received the political credit or blame for beginning to correct the state's fiscal mess. As I saw it, the representatives of this committee were our last line of defense against a budget meant to excoriate human services.<br />
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On Tuesday, April 27, I testified before the Senate Appropriations 1 Committee. The chair, Senator Donne Trotter, and the other members heard budget requests from a number of smaller state agencies, but their main purpose was to hear the DHS budget request. Michelle Saddler, Secretary of DHS, testified to the proposed budget, as did the directors of the various divisions within DHS. This Senate Committee Hearing was a combination of the two hearings of the House Human Services Appropriations Committee. As opposed to representatives from DHS testifying regarding the budget in a separate hearing from advocates presenting their viewpoints, which the House committee did, the Senate committee heard testimony from both DHS and advocates on the same day. Of course, the only problem with this process is that far fewer advocates had an opportunity to testify and voice their complaints with the proposed budget. Yet, as I have already noted, logic or common sense does not always play a major role in conducting business within the General Assembly.<br />
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As Secretary Saddler pointed out to the House committee several weeks ago, she testified to the Senate committee that she did not feel the proposed budget reflected what she wanted for DHS or the many people the agency served. She and her division directors answered a myriad of questions regarding union worker salaries, desired versus necessary line items, and the overall direction the agency was taking in terms of mental health, addiction services, prevention programs, and community based services. I was pleasantly surprised at how much the senators understood about the 1999 US Supreme Court Olmstead decision, which set forth the policy that person with disabilities living in nursing homes or other institutions have the right and choice to live in the "least restrictive environment." Moreover, the legislators realized Illinois was not living up to its promise of ending institutional bias and moving more toward a community and home-based care system. In actuality, of course, Illinois, as a system of interconnecting bureaucracies, is not to blame as much as its elected officials are, and, again, to their credit, the senators understood this basic principle.<br />
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When the time came for advocates to testify, as expected, the hearing was reaching the point where the committee had to adjourn to allow members time to get to the Senate floor in time for session. Armed with that knowledge, several of us hurriedly made our way to the front of the hearing room. First, some advocates for children argued their very legitimate need for an increase in funding or, at the very least, no decrease. Then, Senator Trotter called me to the witness table.<br />
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I spoke again of the misplaced funding going to SODCs instead of community-based services and supports. Further, I highlighted Governor Quinn's agreement with AFSCME in January not to close another SODC until after June 30, 2011, at the earliest. I told the committee that I found it odd that the union needed to hire more employees at full salaries and full benefits to offset what they stated was an abundance of overtime payments. I have not yet seen any evidence that hiring more staff that are full-time would cost the state less money than paying the occasional union member overtime. Moreover, I disagree with the argument that there is a need to increase the ratio of staff to resident in SODCs higher than the current number, though, on the surface, the argument seems very logical. However, if Brian Kent, a resident of Ann Kiley Developmental Center in 2002 for just 99 days, could be abused and neglected 57 times when under one-on-one care, leading him to die from a ruptured small intestine, why is quality of care not receiving far more attention than staffing levels?<br />
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My other major concern for the committee was the idea of service parameters put forth by the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) within DHS. These parameters would limit the hours available to individuals with disabilities using the Home Services Program, which pays for personal assistants to come to a person's home and provide care and assistance in areas ranging from activities of daily living to meal preparation and grocery shopping. To cover the cost of an increase in personal assistant wages as well as partial insurance for some, negotiated by SEIU, the union representing personal assistants, DRS plans to cap the hours allowed for certain activities covered by the Home Services Program. A prime but very sad example I mentioned to the committee was the cap proposed for meal preparation, eating, and cleanup. Under the Governor's budget, a person would receive 30 hours per month for meals, which easily equates to one hour per day for all three meals. If Governor Quinn was truthful when he said he wants people to consider him a human services governor, I certainly hope he did not intend these kinds of services.<br />
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The Senate committee was very obliging and refreshingly knowledgeable about many of the issues facing the disability community in Illinois. I only regret these hearings come at the end of the General Assembly’s session. Further, I regret there was not more time given to advocates to state their cases regarding what many consider these draconian cuts to human services. I equally regret more disability rights advocates were not in attendance at the Senate hearing, if only for the optics of support in numbers, for when we pull together, we do present ourselves as a massive front.<br />
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I try to be a student of politics and especially political trends. Though it may be difficult to believe, I try to do this with as little cynicism as possible. It was a remarkable moment when the <a href="http://www.abetterillinois.com/">Responsible Budget Coalition</a>, a statewide collection of dozens of different groups calling for an income tax increase to balance the state's budget, amassed a huge number of people at the State Capitol to protest cuts to human services. The Coalition stated the number of people present at the rally was close to 15,000, though other estimates placed the size of the crowd at somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 people. Regardless of the actual attendance, that kind of gathering showed the entire state that these cuts are dangerous and, potentially, life threatening, while not truly saving the state the kind of money necessary for a truly balanced budget in which sacrifice is shared.<br />
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Only the complete ideological purist or the totally uninformed would not think an income tax increase is the first step to solving Illinois' fiscal quagmire. An income tax increase, however, is not the only answer. Nor is it a panacea for the problem of overspending that has occurred for decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations and General Assemblies. Spending cuts are necessary but only if they come in a responsible and humane manner, which does not make social services the easy scapegoat as is nearly always the case. As I stated, shared sacrifice is the only way to proceed in both the areas of spending cuts and tax increases.<br />
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Of course, this rhetoric sounds quite palatable, and it may even make sense. Yet, as Illinois citizens already know, what sounds good and what makes sense do not necessarily make good politics. No one should be naïve enough to believe that a tax increase will occur before the November elections. It could be political suicide for Democrats and political hay for Republicans. Though not breaking news, what is likely to happen is that lawmakers will cobble together enough of a budget to keep the state running for six more months. Then, after the elections and during the November veto session, there could be serious discussions of a tax increase. However, that scenario also depends on the outcome of the elections and which party has control of the executive and legislative branches of state government. (Unfortunately, cynicism is never far from my mind.)<br />
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Though we face an uncertain future regarding the budget, there are victories to celebrate. HB 5152, more commonly known as "<a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=5152&GAID=10&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=50087&SessionID=76">Brian's Law</a>," passed the Illinois Senate by a vote of 54 to 1, after already passing through the Illinois House by a vote of 113 to 0, with one representative voting present. Equip for Equality deserves much of the credit for spearheading this bill through the General Assembly and making sure Brian's legacy was ensured. The new act provides for DHS to establish an independent review board to investigate deaths occurring in SODCs and mental health facilities licensed by DHS or under its jurisdiction. This is the culmination of an eight-year battle by the Kent family, who lost their son, Brian, whom I referenced earlier, to unbelievable abuse and inexplicable neglect. I truly hope, as Mr. and Mrs. Kent have steadfastly believed, that as "Brian's Law" takes effect, abuse like this becomes a memory; and if not, may justice be swift and certain, allowing the Kent family realization that Brian's death was the catalyst for change in this state. You can learn more about the story by watching the news report, "<a href="http://cbs2chicago.com/video/?id=45267@wbbm.dayport.com">What Happened to Brian?</a>"<br />
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On April 29, the Illinois Senate passed HB 5095 by a vote of 55 to 0. The Illinois House passed the bill with a vote of 112 to 0 on March 11. By passing in the Senate, the bill, entitled, "<a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=5095&GAID=10&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=49865&SessionID=76">The Pedestrians with Disabilities Safety Act</a>," now only awaits the Governor's signature to become law. The act guarantees that a person with a disability has the same rights as someone without a disability to the full use of streets and public places, to full and equal accommodations to common and public modes of transportation, and to accompaniment by a service or support animal, such as a guide dog. Moreover, pedestrians with disabilities who use a mobility device, a service animal, or white cane have stronger protections against persons who use cars, trucks, or other vehicles to cause injury. Any person violating this act is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor with a minimum of a $500 fine for each violation. The most important part of this legislation, in my opinion, was not simply the added protection for pedestrians with disabilities but also the bipartisanship with which the bill passed. Representative Tom Cross, the Republican leader in the Illinois House, sponsored this bill and carried it to fruition. The Tri-County Area Disability Activists, based in Joliet, also provided major support from both the political and advocacy perspectives, and that advocacy group deserves equal recognition.<br />
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There is much more happening than I have time to post on the blog at this time. Nevertheless, I will update the managed care situation as soon as possible, and I hope that will be in the next day or two. Even after the General Assembly adjourns, there will be much more for all of us to do. There likely will only be a temporary budget in place, which means this fight is far from finished. When your legislators return home to their districts, tell them what you think of the work they did. Give them a job performance evaluation. If there is only a temporary budget or if the worst-case scenario happens and the proposed budget cuts become reality, express your frustration and make them understand your perspective. Be civil and respectful, since it is very unlikely your representative or senator actually cast a deciding vote on any type of budget proposals. Yet, it is your right to articulate your viewpoints, even if your legislators disagree. Whoever they are and of whichever party, they still work for you. As a citizen, you have the power of the vote, the pen, and the podium. In other words, speak your mind, write letters, and send emails. You have the right to be heard, and if you do not use that right, we, as a society, are weaker for it.<br />
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As I look back, the committees in the House and Senate were not our last line of defense. In reality, we are that line, and we must hold it. John Gardner wrote, “The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else can.” These are not mere words. This is a call to action.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-37298013504298318262010-03-27T00:59:00.000-05:002010-03-27T00:59:32.072-05:00Question and Answer. Period.<strong>Question and Answer. Period.</strong> <br />
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As you read this blog post, you may find yourself thinking you already know most of this information or wondering why this is important to you and how it affects your life. These are valid questions, which is part of the reason why it has taken me so long to post on something most of us think is very straightforward. I wanted to make sure I did not repeat myself on budget issues that I discussed in the last post or rehash legislation I already covered. I always want to write about fresh and new subjects, which, of course, is not always possible, especially when the General Assembly is in session and the state is facing such a tremendous budget crisis. I realized that I do not always get to choose my topics; sometimes, whether I like it or not, they choose me.<br />
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A large part of me wanted to write about the health care reform bill passed by the U.S. Congress this week. I wanted to discuss how it affected people with disabilities. I wanted to mention how it included the Community Choice Act as a part of the overall legislation. However, there was a nagging voice in the back of my mind, telling me that information is available to most people through television, newspapers, and the Internet. Still, I have included below my post a press release from ADAPT, which goes into a bit more detail on how the Community Choice Act affects and benefits people with disabilities.<br />
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This blog post does, I hope, what is needed right now in the Illinois disability community, and that is educating people on how the Governor's proposed budget will affect them if advocates do not cause serious change to it. There is always a risk when discussing the same topic many times, but I feel that is a risk worth taking. Instead of wringing our hands and worrying about what could happen to us if the intended cuts become reality, we need to understand what those cuts mean to us and what we can do to stop them. I do not limit, however, this post only to the budget, as I also focus on other plans the Illinois state government has for people with disabilities, such as managed care.<br />
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The impetus behind this entire post, though, was Access Living's March 19 public forum on managed care, entitled "Managed Care, Managed Lives." Jennifer Thomas, the Personal Assistant Coordinator for Access, put together the event and did a masterful job. She and Tom Wilson, Access' Personal Assistant and Health Care Reform Team Leader, facilitated the forum as well as discussions on a myriad of topics, including the Division of Rehabilitation Services' Home Services Program (HSP), education, the managed care pilot program developed by the Department of Health Care and Family Services (HFS), and the Governor's proposed state budget in its totality.<br />
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There was a good crowd of, approximately, 50 people there to take part in the forum. Many who came to the meeting knew the state had many problems with its budget and its ability to manage money, but I suspect they did not realize how deeply the roots of those problems burrowed their way into every layer of the state's fiscal foundation, especially relating to social services. The job of those of us addressing the group that day was to inform and educate grassroots advocates about the problems facing those services particularly geared toward people with disabilities. This was not an easy task, as this is a difficult topic to discuss with people charged to implement policies with which we disagree. If those familiar with the problems as well as the proposed solutions have trouble giving informed answers to relatively simple questions, how is the average citizen supposed to understand all the nuances of pension reform, surcharge taxes for education only, and cuts to social service programs, which are cleverly disguised as "savings?"<br />
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Yet, that was our job and our responsibility. As one of the speakers for the forum, I was actually quite excited about the opportunity before us. I believe these circumstances and these precarious times make advocates excited, make our adrenaline start to flow, and make us realize we are not fighting for ourselves or a small group of individuals with similar ideas. It is at these times that we speak for our entire community, that our words have resonance and meaning that reach beyond strategy sessions, and that we need to make certain the passion we claim to have for these issues manifests itself in a contagious atmosphere that everyone experiences. In short, advocates were born for opportunities like these, when we can cause other advocates to feel the same energy and the same need to fight that we feel.<br />
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Tom began the form by speaking about the budget and all of its trouble spots. He mentioned many of the cuts that would affect—drastically and negatively—people with disabilities in Illinois. He also discussed at length the managed care pilot program proposed by the HFS and its potentially harmful effects on the nearly 40,000 seniors and individuals with disabilities, who unknowingly are caught within the program's web. Tom, Jennifer, and I told everyone there about the cuts to the HSP, including the service parameters, an ingeniously devised term that actually means capping hours for various necessities and imposing a new $2000 asset limit for people to remain eligible for the program. We also talked about the fact that all new HSP enrollees must be Medicaid eligible to receive services, which shrinks the population pool by, essentially, disqualifying people with disabilities who work because of how much they earn.<br />
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This was new and unexpected information to many of the people at the forum. Obviously, most of them were surprised and angry over these changes to a program on which they rely so heavily. Of course, many of us rely on the HSP, and we feel these changes were forced upon those of us that politicians and bureaucrats feel have limited political power and, thus, less ability to fight back. In that assumption, they are wrong. Last year, we fought similar caps on the HSP hours, and we forced the Division to withdraw the plan. Though this is a new year with new fiscal calamities looming for the state, the same arguments apply. Illinois' state government cannot attempt to cover its fiscal ineptitude by breaking the backs of its disability community. We will simply not allow that to happen.<br />
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Dr. Anne Sheetz of Physicians for National Health Program (PNHP) and representing the Illinois Single-Payer Coalition (ISPC) was the next speaker, and she discussed the reality of managed care, what it is, and what it means to the disability community in Illinois. Dr. Sheetz underscored ISPC' s strong endorsement of HB 5113, which is a bill sponsored by Representative Mary Flowers of Chicago that is still awaiting a vote on the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives and has currently been re-referred to the Rules Committee. HB 5113 would stop the HFS managed care pilot program in the five collar counties surrounding Chicago as well as southern Cook County. Support for HB 5113 was a cry echoed by the other speakers during the rest of the forum.<br />
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ISPC work for single-payer extended and improved Medicare for All at both the state and national level. Further, according to an ISPC press release, research shows for-profit health care organizations increase costs as opposed to lowering them, though delivering a lower quality of care. ISPC opposes the use of state and federal funds to provide services for the elderly and people with disabilities that would instead benefit and enrich the for-profit health insurance industry under a managed care program. Moreover, ISPC believes a pilot program of this nature would increase health care bureaucracy rather than decrease it, while simultaneously restricting patients' access to the providers of their choice. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, ISPC reiterates what many disability advocates have been decrying about the proposed managed care pilot program, which is the possibility that insurance companies put in charge of approving or disapproving expenditures for durable medical equipment would place another obstacle in the path of people with disabilities living freely within the community and not in institutions. To read the complete statement published by ISPC, follow the link to the organization's most recent <a href="http://www.ilsinglepayercoalition.org/site/print/295">action alert</a>.<br />
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At that point in the forum, I spoke about my experiences with managed care from the perspective of a disability rights advocate. I told the people about my need for a new power wheelchair in 2002, when I had Health Alliance as my primary insurance. I discussed how the insurance company's representative was quite cordial and assured me the company would cover my new chair to a limit of just more than $6000. The only problem with this solution, which Health Alliance felt was very reasonable, was that the actual cost of my new chair exceeded $20,000. Health Alliance did pay more than $6000 toward the cost of the chair, but the rest was passed along to Medicaid and, thus, Illinois taxpayers. The irony, in my opinion, of this entire situation was that, when this occurred, I was a state employee. Typically, the State of Illinois receives praise for its generous benefits packages for employees, but in this case, as I fear may be the case with the proposed managed care pilot program, this type of insurance package did not work for an individual with a disability and has likelihood for a repeat performance in front of 40,000 unwilling spectators.<br />
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Rod Estvan, Access Living's Education Outreach Coordinator, next spoke about cuts to education found within the Governor's proposed budget. He specifically spoke about cuts in special education programs, which totaled $400 million, an astronomical and devastating amount that would drastically reduce services to students in special education classes. Though the Governor also proposed a one percent income tax surcharge that would offset the more than $1 billion in cuts to education and almost double the state's spending in the area, the revenue from that tax increase would only apply to education. All the social services cuts mentioned thus far would require some very clever accounting to receive simply enough funding to maintain fiscal year 2010 levels.<br />
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Access Living's Independent Living Skills Coordinator, Carleda Johnson, discussed the paratransit problem facing the city of Chicago and citizens with disabilities. It seems that no matter how populated or how seemingly advanced one city may be over another, they each have similar problems. The individuals at the forum discussed how drivers would not wait more than five minutes, if that long, for people to reach the pick-up area. Then, there were complaints of rudeness and professional behavior. All these problems and more are equally on display in cities like Springfield, Champaign-Urbana, Peoria, and many others. A group focusing only on paratransit issues meets regularly at Access Living to discuss problems and find potential solutions. This is a strategy that may work in other parts of the state is well.<br />
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One of the most important and surprising aspects of the forum was one of the attendees. It was Mitch Lifson, who is the Deputy Director of Policy and Budget for Illinois Senate President John Cullerton. Jennifer Thomas deserves all the credit for inviting and being persistent enough that someone like Mr. Lifson would come to the forum. I have no doubt that, at certain times during the forum, Mr. Lifson might have thought he found himself in the proverbial lion's den, especially as we discussed the various budget cuts and the managed care pilot program. Yet, in my opinion, he was nothing but a gentleman. He listened to our complaints and offered answers when he could, which is to say not very often. However, that is not meant as a derogatory statement toward Mr. Lifson. In fact, his advice on how we could proceed to fight the budget cuts and a straight managed care program in Illinois was very insightful. His inability to offer very many answers reflects more on our current state of government in Illinois than on any job Mr. Lifson does.<br />
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However, one important piece of information Mr. Lifson passed along to me concerned a potential next step if HB 5113 did not defeat the HFS proposed managed care pilot program. He said every major program like this must follow regulations set forth by the General Assembly, and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) puts those regulations in place. If the pilot program falls into this category, we could shift our advocacy efforts toward JCAR and its members from both the House and Senate. Though this all may sound very technical and boring, as I said in the beginning of this blog post, every detail is important, and we, as advocates, must stay vigilant for every opportunity that arises.<br />
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Overall, the forum was a success. As Tom Wilson said, it gave us a chance to educate people on several important issues confronting the state and, thereby, confronting them as well. We often need to remember that our jobs are not simply to agitate but also to educate. Without raising awareness about a whole host of issues facing the Illinois disability community, our advocacy efforts are wasted. Before we can storm the Bastille, we first need to know where the Bastille is and what to do when we get there. If we are grassroots advocates, education acts as our seeds. As we continue to educate and advocate, the many questions will become much fewer, and the answer always remained the same: freedom.<br />
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There is always much more to do and much more to write. It is my sincere hope that I will have another blog post ready in a shorter length of time than it took to put up this one. A group of advocates and interested parties plan to meet March 31 to discuss with HFS the managed care pilot program. I will definitely post something about that meeting, particularly if our efforts bear fruit and even if not. In the meantime, the General Assembly is in recess for two weeks. Advocates should use this time to make certain everyone is on the same page, our voices are loud and carry the same message, and we have a plan for moving forward on all the fronts before us. I will do my best to keep everyone as informed as I am.<br />
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I do have one favor to ask of you. When I started this blog, I did so more for something to do than to use it as a serious platform for discussing disability rights issues. However, as times change, so do our intentions. That is where I find myself now. I want this blog to be informative, useful, and, perhaps occasionally, inspiring, though I despise that word. In that vein, I find the blog's name, "I'm Not Saying, I'm Just Saying," a bit too frivolous to reflect its intent. Thus, I am asking you for opinions and contributions for a new name for the blog. Even though the website address will not likely change, at least, the overall format and presentation will. I would make this a contest if I had a prize to give aside from my gratitude. I am afraid that token and whatever bragging rights one may feel about something like this will have to serve as the best prize available. Regardless, feel free to let me know what you think this blog best represents, and I will unveil a new name in the next one or two weeks.<br />
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The ADAPT press release regarding the Community Choice Act within the new federal health care reform legislation is included below this post. You can find more information on ADAPT at their new blog <a href="http://defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com/">"Defending Our Freedom."</a> As always, I appreciate your interest. Keep fighting.<br />
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<strong>News Release</strong><br />
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<strong>For more information, contact:</strong><br />
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<strong>Mike Oxford, (785) 224-3865</strong><br />
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<strong>Bob Kafka, (512) 431-4085</strong><br />
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<a href="http://www.adapt.org/"><strong>http://www.adapt.org</strong></a><br />
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<strong>ADAPT Celebrates Community First Choice Option in Health Care Reform</strong><br />
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ADAPT, the national cross-disability grassroots group, today celebrates the inclusion of the Community First Choice (CFC) Option and other long term care-related provisions in the health care reform package passed by the House on Sunday, March 21. These provisions bring people with disabilities across America one step closer to home and community-base supports and ending the institutional bias in Medicaid. Twenty years ago, with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities realized the beginning of a civil rights dream of access to all levels of society. Today, ADAPT continues to fight to protect that dream, re-committing to the enforcement of the ADA-based Olmstead Supreme Court case, which holds that no person can be forced to remain institutionalized against their will.<br />
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its companion legislation, the Reconciliation Act of 2010, together include several items related to home and community based services. For example, starting in October of 2011, the CFC Option will give states the choice of providing home and community based services to Medicaid recipients instead of simply forcing them into nursing homes. The federal Money Follows the Person program will be extended until 2016. Provisions of the CLASS Act are also included in the new legislation. States will have increased federal funding matching incentives to fund community services. Yet while passage of this legislation is a social landmark, much remains to be done.<br />
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ADAPT recognizes that ensuring community choice for all will require a variety of efforts, from both the grassroots and the government. ADAPT's Defending Our Freedom (DOF) Campaign seeks accountability for enforcing Olmstead from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights. DOF demands that the Obama administration aggressively support legislation and pursue litigation that ensures Olmstead enforcement across the country. Finally, DOF calls on grassroots people with disabilities to document their struggles to secure home and community based services.<br />
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ADAPT re-commits to fighting together with allies such as Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and other members of Congress towards the vision of meaningful community integration for people with disabilities and seniors across America. For more information, see <a href="http://www.adapt.org/">http://www.adapt.org/</a> and <a href="http://defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com/">http://defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com/</a>.<br />
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FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at <a href="http://www.adapt.org/">http://www.adapt.org/</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-44866980400006766252010-03-18T04:01:00.002-05:002010-03-18T11:43:59.073-05:00The Fierce Urgency of Now<strong>The Fierce Urgency of Now</strong><br />
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This blog post has taken longer to write than some others have. As many of you know and some who do not live in Illinois may not, the last three weeks have been very busy at our state Capitol. Last Wednesday, March 10, Governor Pat Quinn unveiled his budget to the General Assembly. There have been some massive cuts to many state agencies but, most notably, to social service agencies, particularly the Department of Human Services. Thus, I will spend this blog post updating you on some legislative news that does not pertain directly to the budget and, yet, has significant importance to the disability community in Illinois. However, I also will give you my interpretation of how the budget affects the issues and concerns we find most important. I am no expert on budgeting or analyzing state budgets, but I tried to take some time to analyze the different cuts and increases to the various state agencies and try to disseminate that information in what I hope will be an understandable manner.<br />
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This post is divided into two sections. The first deals with issues we faced in the last week or two and how we were able to address them. I realize the budget may seem like the overarching theme all of us should cover right now, and, to an extent, that is very true. I will cover the budget as much as possible in the second section. However, I believe it is also very important for us to know other legislative battles and victories, for lack of a better term, we faced or still face to this day.<br />
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<strong>What Can Be Done</strong><br />
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March 10 was an exciting and exhausting day. It began with an Illinois House Human Services Committee hearing. Several advocates, including Ann Ford, Barbara Prichard, Nick Quealy-Gainer, Jennifer Harrison, and myself, attended, as we had various issues with some of the legislation being proposed. Of particular concern to me was Representative Riley's HR 899. Though a resolution, which lacks the same enforcement power as a standard bill, the legislation still called for DHS to report to the General Assembly every year beginning December 31, 2011, about how people leaving state institutions and moving into the community were disrupted by lack of health care access. Barbara Prichard and Nick Quealy-Gainer, both from the Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois, and I discussed this issue in depth, trying to decide how best to address our concerns with the Representative. These were not easy discussions, as politics can be equally as delicate as it often is bare-knuckled. We knew we had to walk a very narrow line, while still holding true to our principles and beliefs.<br />
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I met with Representative Riley in his office on March 9 in hopes of convincing him to change the language in his resolution. The problem many disability advocates in Illinois had with this resolution was the very narrow focus on the disruption to health care access. We felt it presented a potentially negative connotation, even if not intended, because of uses of words like disruption. Moreover, a great number of advocates believed the language should be more expansive and include community supports and services as well as every other issue vital to individuals transitioning from institutions to community-based settings. Accessible and affordable housing, transportation, adequate personal assistant services, individual support options, and a variety of other provisions representing the panoply of concerns from disability advocates' perspectives received no mention in the resolution.<br />
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I expressed our concerns to the Representative, and he was receptive to them. Though he readily admits he is not in favor of closing the Howe Developmental Center, he did say he was open to language that is more inclusive. Unfortunately, he felt the deadline for moving legislation out of committee was too close to change the language at this point. He did agree with my suggestion that the Illinois disability community could work with him in the next General Assembly session to introduce a new resolution reflecting the language we felt was more appropriate to our cause of moving people out of institutions and into the "least restrictive environment" in the community. I left the meeting without complete satisfaction but with a sense of cooperation on the part of Representative Riley, though I still did not know what to expect in the hearing the next day.<br />
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When HR 899 came before the committee for testimony, DHS stated that, because of budgetary constraints, the agency could not afford to move ahead with these types of reports on a yearly basis. I must admit that I was not shocked to hear a state agency express concerns over money as a reason it could not provide a service to the Illinois citizens or legislators. My cynicism notwithstanding, Barbara and I then testified regarding our concerns about the resolution's language. We both expressed the idea that follow-up on individuals transitioning out of institutions is a good idea and important for the state to ensure proper supports and services were in place to avoid the same individuals needing to return to similar types of institutions. Yet, we also related our concerns about the narrowly focused language in the resolution. In what I consider to be a very heartening turn of events, Representative Patricia Bellock moved to hold the resolution in committee until the language had received the changes we suggested. Though the end result was likely not what Representative Riley wanted, he was cordial and agreed to meet with us late this year or early next year to incorporate different language into the resolution.<br />
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I realize this is a lengthy explanation of one resolution in one committee hearing. However, it is important to understand that most, if not every disability advocate with whom I discussed this issue, felt as if there was no way to change the Representative's mind or prevent the resolution from moving out of the committee. Barb did not do that. I did not do that. Further, I am fairly certain the testimony from DHS did not do that. However, as Representative Bellock told Barb and Nick after the hearing, it was the testimony she heard that made her realize the resolution needed to stay in the committee until the language received the proper changes. The bottom line to this effort is that regardless of the situation and no matter the conventional wisdom, if we do not try to make a change, there is no hope for change. If we work, even in the face of tremendous adversity, there is no true way to predict what the outcome will be; and every so often, we just may find we win the day.<br />
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Later the same day, the House Disability Services Committee heard testimony for HB 5152, also known as "Brian's law." In reality, this bill never should have merited consideration. In a just world, this bill would have never been written. Yet, in a just world, there would be no State-operated developmental centers or similar institutions, like the ones that have received far too much negative publicity in the last few years. In a just world, Illinois would do the right thing. However, I am not so naïve to believe we live in a just world. We live in a pragmatic, often sterile, and cold world, which can sometimes push us to our limits, if we allow it the opportunity.<br />
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Brian Kent lived in the Ann Kiley Developmental Center in Waukegan Illinois. He lived there, approximately, 99 days, and in that time, he suffered 57 injuries, 18 of which could not be explained, all under one-to-one supervision. He died October 30, 2002. His injuries resulted from abuse and neglect. His death came from a ruptured peritoneum, which stemmed from a blunt force trauma to his small intestine. Of course, the fatal blow fails to bring attention to his other injuries, such as the extreme bruising and swelling around his face and other parts of his body, including his private parts.<br />
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Does this description seem too graphic for you? If so, I do not apologize, for what I relay to you now comes from the testimony of Brian's parents, who spoke passionately and eloquently about their son and for their son, before the Disability Services Committee. If it is difficult to read, know that it is also difficult to write, and realize how difficult it must have been to give this testimony about someone you dearly love before a room filled with too many strangers. That is what the Kents did, and they did it well.<br />
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The minority party agreed to pass Brian's law unanimously out of committee, with leave for a vote, since no legislator opposed the bill. The measure, as it was amended, establishes an independent team of experts, which includes medical personnel, to examine at regular intervals all deaths occurring in both State-operated and community-based developmental disability and mental health facilities. The team's goals will consist of identifying problems, making recommendations to prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths, and ensuring affirmative action is taken to address the problems. This is the description of the legislation presented by Equip for Equality, which is the disability rights organization that spearheaded Brian's law and guided the Kents through the legislative milieu of Illinois politics. Not only the Kents but also Equip for Equality deserve much credit for making sure this issue was not silenced forever, even though Brian's voice, tragically, was.<br />
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I., for one, do not ever want to see another "Brian's law," "Sally's law," or "Johnny's law." Should not one be enough? Why would we ever need another Brian to make us aware of the abuse and neglect it takes place in institutions across Illinois? We already know this, just as we also know there are more Brians, Sallys, or Johnnys who need help, protection, and the ability to live their own lives where they choose. "Brian's law" does much to help the situation, but only a complete change in our state's attitude toward people with disabilities will completely and happily force me to stop writing about issues like these.<br />
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<strong>What Must Be Done</strong><br />
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I just described two legislative victories for the Illinois disability community. While there is good reason to be happy about these kinds of legislative "wins," it was obvious from the release of the Governor's budget and the subsequent briefing by DHS Secretary Michelle Saddler that there is still much work to do, if we truly intend to keep the disability movement progressing forward. My basic overview in this section will be old news to many of you, but I still believe it is important to understand how the budget directly affects all of us as Illinoisans and what we can do to effect change to the budget.<br />
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For fiscal year 2011 (FY11), Governor Quinn's proposed budget represents a $150 million decrease in general revenue funds (GRF) from FY10 appropriations. There is an overall increase of $250.4 million for the FY11 GRF proposed budget. However, those numbers can be misleading, as many of the increases in one area of an agency come from decreases in others. I think Secretary Saddler expressed it best, when she stated that this budget request was not what DHS wanted and does not reflect how the different agencies want to conduct business in the coming year. Nonetheless, with no new revenue, there must be cuts, and social services always receive the bulk of them. It is typically a politician's easy answer to the question of where to save money, especially since many of the people affected by social services do not have the voices and lobbyists to speak for themselves as other groups and industries do. It is also often popular to discuss cuts in services as overall savings for the state budget. Yet, it is equally important to remember that, no matter how the language is spun, a cut in services means that any savings mentioned comes from a lack in services previously available to those who actually need it.<br />
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Knowing that, most agencies within DHS received more decreases than increases in funding even with all the shifting of money occurring. DHS represents six different agencies, including the Divisions of Developmental Disabilities, Human Capital Development, Mental Health, Rehabilitation Services, Community Health and Prevention, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse. However, I will only focus on a few of the divisions, but to learn more about the entire DHS budget, visit <a href="http://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=48894">DHS: FY 2011 Budget Briefing</a>. The Divisions of Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health received the most glaring and drastic cuts of $103.3 million and $90.7 million, respectively. These cuts came primarily from the elimination of all non-Medicaid grant and community-based programs. For the Division of Developmental Disabilities, these cuts came concomitant with a 2.5% across-the-board rate reduction.<br />
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The Division of Developmental Disabilities received a $29.4 million increase to restore FY10 one-time shift to non-GRF funds. However, that money also represents funds to transition individuals from State-operated developmental centers (SODCs) into CILAs and community-based settings. The division's budget specifically allows for the transition of 125 individuals out of SODCs and into the community. The budget also provides funds for 93 more individuals who are considered wards of the Department of Children and Family Services to receive transitioning services. Further savings come in the form of $15 million with the closure of the Howe Developmental Center with these monies then transferred to other state operations. Still, even as the closure of Howe represents a victory for the disability community, using the funds saved for anything besides community supports is ludicrous, at least, to me, since that is where the money is desperately needed and required to go.<br />
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On the surface, some of these changes may seem positive for Illinois. In a different year, when Illinois did not need to borrow money just to pay the bills, many of us would think these were important steps toward deinstitutionalization. Yet, digging deeper, community funding for developmental disabilities services sees an extension of the long-term care payment cycle, "saving" $15.9 million, and residential and day programs will now implement a one and a half month payment cycle, which "saves" $48.3 million. Thus, the increases for the Division of Developmental Disabilities equal, roughly, $29.3 million, while the cuts for the division are, approximately, $133.3 million. Even though I did not major in mathematics, I know the numbers add up to a staggering decrease in funding for the agency.<br />
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It is very difficult to make what happened with the Division of Mental Health seem even remotely palatable, since, as was discussed, spinning is best left to politicians. Stated bluntly, community services received a reduction of $90.7 million, which results in a 32.5% reduction to GRF community grants and an estimated reduction impact of 40% to 42% to community contracts. There is an FY11 proposed budget increase of $4.3 million to support the Money Follows the Person federal grant program. This is an incredibly important program, but any increases it receives are offset with the elimination of all non-Medicaid funded programs and an estimated 3850 job losses because of the closure of 23 of 87 community agencies. Based on this budget, I believe there is sufficient need to have great concern regarding the mental health service capacity within Illinois.<br />
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The Division of Rehabilitation Services appears to have escaped the "butcher's wrath" but, seemingly, only after a possible pound of flesh. The division's schools, including the Illinois School for the Deaf, Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, and the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education-Roosevelt, all receive funding comparable to FY10. Centers for Independent Living receive funding similar to FY10 as well, though that means the personal assistant contracts are again funded at 80%, which, of course, limits what many CILs can provide to consumers in terms of personal assistant training and referencing among other supports.<br />
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The Home Services Program received an increase of $49.5 million due to estimated growth in FY11. Further, because of the SEIU labor agreement for personal assistants, $33 million is set aside for funding, while 3.3 million is reserved for health insurance for personal assistants. The Fletcher arbitration decision also requires the division to spend $3.1 million to convert contractual staff, who have been working in offices around the state, to full-time state employees.<br />
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Yet, even as it seems the Home Services Program is likely to increase in numbers and funding, the division decided there was a need to find "savings." Thus, Illinoisans with disabilities who use personal assistants now must juggle service parameters that pertain to the hours they are allotted for different activities. At this point, the budget calls for 12 hours a month for laundry, 17 hours a month for housekeeping, 18 hours a month for activities outside the home (such as doctors' visits), and 30 hours a month for meal preparation. Further, individuals attempting to become eligible for the Home Services Program must be Medicaid eligible and meet the asset limit of $2000, as opposed to the $17,500 limit in place during FY10 and for the past several years. Those already on the program will be grandfathered into the new changes.<br />
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I entitled this blog post "The Fierce Urgency of Now" for many reasons. Obviously, most of us know President Obama referenced that line during the 2008 campaign; and, hopefully, the majority of us realizes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made the line famous in his "I Have a Dream" speech. The language is still true today, and I believe we need to remember the reason for its initial call.<br />
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Dr. King said, <em>"This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy."</em> Just as we hear about and experience certain legislative or legal victories that require our state to move in a direction beneficial to the disability community, we discover the budget and its overwhelming burden. We suddenly feel that, even with a victory here or there, there is simply no way we can continually battle against bureaucracy, politics, and indifference. How can anyone expect us to keep fighting everyday without fail, only to face the behemoth of state government and its looming shadow that lurks over us?<br />
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I have only four words to answer that question. This is our time. If we fall into the trap Dr. King mentioned, if we believe we have time to sit and rest, if we believe that what happens at the state Capitol will not affect us for months or even years, we have already lost. We do not have the time for apathy. We do not have the time for self-pity. We do not have the time to tap out of the game because we feel a bit overworked. This is our time. If we choose not to take it, we all suffer and rightfully so. We have partners, we have friends, but we must lead the way ourselves. No one else can speak for us. No one else should speak for us. This is our time, but the clock is ticking.<br />
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<strong>UPDATE:</strong> After a week of wondering what was going to happen with HR 899, there is good news to report. Several disability rights advocates and organizations are taking part in a conference call to discuss new language for the resolution. Even with my cynicism and skeptical nature, I find this a very reassuring sign that two groups, which appear at first blush to be on opposite sides of an issue, are able to discuss reasonable ways to remedy a problem. There is no way to tell how the situation will evolve. Nevertheless, communication is the best way to break down barriers, and I choose to look at this event as a learning/teaching experience.<br />
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I applaud Representative Riley's perseverance in this area. I believe he has shown true evenhandedness and foresight in leading the way on this issue. I hope this sense of cooperation and fairness is a forerunner of what we, as advocates, can expect to see from other members of the General Assembly in both the House and Senate.<br />
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This has been quite a long blog post, and I appreciate your reading it to the end. There is much more to say, as there is much more to do. There is a managed care forum at Access Living on Friday, March 19, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Jennifer Thomas is hosting the event, and I will be there along with many others to discuss current events surrounding managed care in Illinois. If you are in the area, it would be nice to see some of you and talk about various issues affecting us all.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-52823084103633234322010-03-05T20:00:00.002-06:002010-03-06T14:25:35.610-06:00Kill Bill, Vol. IIIKill Bill, Vol. III<br />
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An interesting thing happened on the way to the Medicaid Reform Committee hearing yesterday. I was prepared to testify on behalf of <a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=5113&GAID=10&SessionID=76&LegID=49895#top">HB 5113</a>, a bill sponsored by Representative Mary Flowers, which would prohibit any state agency, including HFS, DHS, and the Department of Aging from using managed care providers or HMOs to pay for medical care for people receiving Social Security or benefits under other federal waivers. That may sound complicated, but it really is intended to kill the entire managed care pilot project proposed recently by HFS.<br />
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It was only after I realized I was at the wrong hearing room that I ran into Representative Chapa LaVIa. It was a fortuitous meeting, as she then told me the current state of her bill, HB 5086, which was heard in the Medicaid Reform Committee last week. Though it passed with only the requirement of some amendments being attached, she informed me the bill was going nowhere. She said the people in the Governor's Office had told her they were not going to work with her legislation. She felt her bill was likely dead even with passage from the committee. Therefore, she told me that she and, presumably, her cosponsors were rallying behind Representative Flowers' bill. Moreover, she wanted disability rights advocates to stand behind that bill as well. Her reasoning was simple inasmuch as she thought that if her idea for a task force to oversee the pilot project was a nonstarter, it was best to ensure the pilot project never had a chance to take root.<br />
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I took my newfound knowledge and headed to the proper hearing room in the Capitol, which was where the Medicaid Reform Committee was meeting. I was somewhat surprised that I was the only advocate, at least, from a disability rights perspective, in the room. However, after speaking briefly with Representative Flowers, I testified in favor of her bill, and it seemed to go well. Jim Parker, from HFS and speaking on behalf of the pilot project, testified in opposition to the bill, as did other representatives from the agency. Nonetheless, the bill passed out of committee, with the condition of attaching one safeguarding amendment, on a vote of eight to one with one voting present. Though a relatively minor victory in the broader scope of events, it was still nice to see the political process work in favor of what the majority of disability advocates feel is necessary.<br />
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Later that night, I took part in a webinar arranged by the Family Support Network, and its subject matter was, ironically enough, managed care and if it was right for the disability community. The guest speaker was none other than Jim Parker. It is important never to lose sight of the irony and humor inherent in all political activities. For two consecutive weeks, I have testified in opposition to Mr. Parker's pilot project, though I know he did not develop it on his own, and he claims no ownership of it for himself. Even though it seems that other disability advocates and I are sparring with Mr. Parker over managed care, I truly admire and respect him a great deal. It takes a strong individual to stand in the proverbial lion's den, as he did last week with other HFS personnel after the first committee hearing on HB 5086, while surrounded by somewhat frustrated advocates besieging him with questions. In fact, I find him a quite pleasant individual. Of course, he may feel quite differently toward some of the other advocates, including me, which is completely understandable.<br />
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I found the webinar interesting, if not entirely enlightening, only because I have heard much of the explanation in the last several weeks. I found it interesting that Mr. Parker spoke of the pilot project much less in terms of managed-care and much more in terms of integrated care. Perhaps, this is just a touch of spin, since integrated care has a much more positive connotation to it then does managed care. Nevertheless, it is difficult to argue with the concept of integrating into one system all the medical and long-term care needs of an individual, thereby allowing the person choice, continuity of care, access to specialists, and cost savings for both the person and the state. On the surface and even after digging a bit deeper, this is likely the kind of health care reform most of us want and, some would argue, most of us deserve. That is for another discussion, but the idea of integrated care is simply a good one and an interesting dynamic to consider.<br />
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Yet, as is always the case, that pesky devil lies hidden somewhere in the murky shadows of health insurance, state reimbursements, and evolving long-term care needs and plans. I think Mr. Parker believes the pilot project is a good idea and not something he is trying to force upon us. I have no reason whatsoever to doubt his integrity, nor would I. It seems to me he was assigned a Herculean effort to take a very large, statistically speaking, sample population and completely restructure the health care delivery system provided to individuals within that sample group. If anyone has taken statistics courses or read about the methodology used to test a hypothesis, it is clear Mr. Parker's job is a daunting one from a purely logistical perspective, not to mention convincing advocates it is a good idea.<br />
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Having said that, every time we, as a disability rights advocates, discuss the pilot project with HFS, we hear about its impending positive outcomes. We hear that our voices will be part of the discussion for the long-term care elements of the project. We hear that we will not be left out of the negotiating process and that HFS wants our input into making this delivery system, already scheduled to begin in October, the most beneficial it can be for people with disabilities. We hear that no harm will be done, and if it is, the state guarantees to correct it. Those sentiments make it much easier to believe this pilot project will succeed in the way the state has already planned it and that, for all of our concerns about state bureaucracy and politics getting in the way of quality services, this time is different, more focused, and considered very viable.<br />
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Yet, those same sentiments concern me greatly. I have conducted research and taken classes on statistics. By no means do I consider myself an expert on any of these areas. If anything, the opposite is true. Still, a person cannot take those classes and do that research without picking up a few things along the way. For example, I know every hypothesis tested is considered the "null hypothesis," which, basically, is the opposite of what you are proposing. Researchers need to show the opposite is not true before you can begin to believe—and do so even then without complete certainty—that the proposed hypothesis is correct. In other words, if I hypothesized the sky is blue, I would test the hypothesis that the sky is not blue, and, obviously, my original thought about the sky being blue would seem correct. However, researchers continue testing to make sure the sky also not green, purple, or even fuchsia, if you choose. The idea is to continue testing until you prove the most likely hypothesis is the one you proposed in the first place, even though there still may be no guarantee of its indisputable accuracy. That is likely a bad example and, perhaps, more than anyone wanted to know about hypotheses and "null hypotheses." I hope that it did present the basic ideas behind some research fundamentals, and I apologize if I just caused your brain to fog over. I do have that effect on people sometimes.<br />
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I mention all that not simply to discuss the joys of research. I go over the above details because, to me, it seems the state is approaching this serious problem of health care delivery and improving the Medicaid system from the wrong perspective. Obviously, in politics and government, there is no luxury to disprove the "null hypothesis," and, therefore, politicians and bureaucrats must use the best alternative available, if change is, indeed, the intended outcome. Yet, there is the idea of best practices and making sure whatever is done has a history of, at least, partial success. In this case, managed care does not have that kind of reputation, and it concerns me, as I have noted previously, that the state is taking a step backward instead of moving progressively forward in the considerations of health care delivery, particularly for people with disabilities.<br />
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The idea of integrated care is a progressive one, and it could provide lasting benefits for those receiving services as well as the state. Unfortunately, at this point, integrated care is merely a hypothesis, something the state wants to do or intends to do, and not a theory of what has been tested continuously and succeeded. In the webinar last night, there was a question regarding Vermont and the way it put together a plan that included integrated care, self-directed services, and other ideas that eventually served the state very well. However, that process took 10 years before it was taken from the experimental stage to the practical level for the entire state. The question pertained to whether Illinois would follow that model. Mr. Parker said that he hoped it would not take 10 years to move Illinois in that direction. I agree with that assessment in that one can be too careful at times and miss a window of opportunity. Simultaneously, if plans are rushed and important measures are only tested halfway through the process, the results can be disastrous as well, causing more windows of opportunity to close.<br />
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There are countless programs from which Illinois can choose to implement a more effective and cost saving health care delivery system, which will also improve Medicaid reimbursements and the entire waiver system. As advocates, we need to make sure we are constantly challenging conventional thinking, while also providing valid alternatives that do not imply we enjoy or support our current health care system in Illinois. We have to act proactively and state our cases for other ideas instead of only being against something. Likewise, the state, in this case HFS, has to remain open to ideas that others—or we—present to it. I have no reason to believe that we cannot offer more alternatives and that the state will not listen. In fact, we actually may be able to use this moment, which might seem like an impasse, to cause a complete paradigm shift. I realize that likely sounds like wishful thinking right now. Yet, how do we develop and flourish if we are not always moving progressively forward? Our advocacy efforts, like the state's decision-making process, either atrophy or grow stronger, depending on how we use them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-28280608220017216722010-03-04T00:44:00.000-06:002010-03-04T00:44:39.448-06:00Word Salad with Attitude Dressing on the Side<strong>Word Salad with Attitude Dressing on the Side</strong><br />
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I feel as if I have given myself a very difficult writing task this time. To cover what I want to say, I must be provocative but thoughtful as well. I need to appeal more to people's reasonable side, while discussing very emotional topics, which is a very delicate line to walk. Of course, I just could be worrying about it too much, since, after all, according to some, I am cursed.<br />
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For those of you who do not know, on February 18, <a href="http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100222/NEWS01/2220318">Virginia Republican State Delegate Bob Marshall</a> held a press conference to state his ardent opposition to state funding for Planned Parenthood. He feels the organization is far too closely linked to abortion, which he believes is wrong, as is his right. Still, his pro-life stance did not garner him national attention. It was something he said during the press conference that caused more than a few eyebrows to rise. He said:<br />
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<em>"The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children. In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There's a special punishment Christians would suggest."</em><br />
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Now, I learned a long time ago that, if you wanted to keep your friends and not rock the boat, you should never discuss politics or religion. Yet, as I have already mentioned both, I think I should just go ahead and discuss some of the ramifications of this statement as well as others like it that have recently caused ripples within the disability community nationwide. However, let me say this first. I am not writing about abortion, religion, or even partisan politics in so much as those things pertain to people with disabilities. I only want to concentrate on what was said and, perhaps, why it was said.<br />
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As for Marshall's comments, he issued an apology of sorts. He said he never made those remarks or, at least, he never meant them to reflect negatively on people with disabilities. Of course, I did watch him say those exact words on the Internet, and they did not seem taken out of context. In fact, I actually believe he intended no harm by what he said. I think he spoke what he believed and what he thought was appropriate for the setting. If one's intentions are good, how can he or she be held accountable if someone else interprets it in a way it was not meant? Unfortunately, therein lies the problem, in this case for State Delegate Marshall.<br />
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This Virginia politician did what so many other people have done over the centuries: equate disability with religion and/or some kind of sin or punishment from a higher power. This is not the first time this has happened, and I guarantee you it will not be the last. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in a church setting, only to have people I did not particularly know tell me they would pray for my healing. Though I truly never want to hurt anyone's feelings, I eventually came to the point where I told them I did not need to be healed. That is always good for an awkward moment.<br />
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Nevertheless, the dilemma persists in that when religion and disability meet, the former feels the need to "fix" the latter, even though those of us with disabilities do not want anyone to "fix" us. Generally, we take pride in who we are, and when people view us as flawed or somehow not meeting some ambiguous version of normalcy, we take a measure of offense in that. If a white person approached an African-American and said, "Let me help you and make you white like the rest of us," does anyone believe that would not be considered discriminatory? I think it is safe to say most people would see it that way. Yet, we, as people with disabilities, are classified differently. Typically, it is for the sole reason that we make people uncomfortable, that it is difficult for some people without disabilities to interact with us, or that we elicit some subconscious fear about how it could have been them and not us using items like wheelchairs, canes, hearing aids, or (cover the children's eyes) colostomy bags.<br />
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Regarding State Delegate Marshall's comments, it has less to do with religious belief than with being valued as a person, in this case a person with a disability. We should not, do not, and will not hold our heads in guilt and shame for who we are. Moreover, I do not believe it matters if people view us as a blessing or a curse. In fact, many of my friends with disabilities would never be confused with a blessing. Yet, that diversity makes us individuals, instills in us a sense of pride, and, simultaneously, gives us a sense of community and belonging that I really cannot adequately describe with simple words.<br />
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Disability pride is a real thing, a tangible manifestation of our belief, as people with disabilities, that we should not feel shame or fear because of our disabilities. In fact, we need to embrace our disabilities and show others our existence is equally as vital and valid as theirs is. Sarah Triano, perhaps, stated it best when she wrote the definition for <a href="http://www.disabilityprideparade.com/whypride.php/">"Disability Pride"</a> for the Encyclopedia of Disability. She wrote:<br />
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<em>"Disability Pride represents a rejection of the notion that our physical, sensory, mental, and cognitive differences from the non-disabled standard are wrong or bad in any way, and is a statement of our self-acceptance, dignity and pride. It is a public expression of our belief that our disabilities are a natural part of human diversity, a celebration of our heritage and culture, and a validation of our experience. Disability Pride is an integral part of movement building, and a direct challenge to systemic ableism and stigmatizing definitions of disability. It is a militant act of self-definition, a purposive valuing of that which is socially devalued, and an attempt to untangle ourselves from the complex matrix of negative beliefs, attitudes, and feelings that grow from the dominant group's assumption that there is something inherently wrong with our disabilities and identity."</em><br />
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Since, as I said, this is a difficult piece to write, there seems to be no natural segue to move from a discussion about disability as God's punishment to an examination of the recent uproar regarding the use of the R-word. That, in itself, sounds far too clinical. Yet, this issue will not leave me, personally, alone. It may be because I write as much as I do and value language and the words that make it what it is. More likely, it is because these recent events have upset me greatly, as they have for many people with disabilities.<br />
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To give a very brief background, the issue began last August when <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303001.html">President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel addressed a group of liberal activists</a> who were upset with the pace of health care reform. This is the only time I will use this word, but in this case, it is integral into understanding why this controversy started. In response to the activists' laments, Emanuel said their complaints were, "(expletive) retarded." It is interesting, if not ironic, that the media reported the quote using the word expletive but repeating the R-word.<br />
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Yet, a few weeks ago, this comment, for which Emanuel has apologized, caused former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who has a child with a developmental disability, to call for Emanuel's resignation and a much stronger apology to all individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities and their families. This act on Palin's part might have been partially politically motivated, but it was also necessary. Emanuel never should have said anything like he did, and his apology was indeed necessary. I applaud Sarah Palin for standing up for her child and other children, as well as adults, with developmental disabilities. I would have found virtue in what she said, if only she had remained consistent.<br />
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When conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh used the R-word multiple times in very derogatory fashion the next day, Palin was noticeably silent. She claimed Limbaugh was using the word in a satirical way and not in the same context as Emanuel used it. Yet, use it Limbaugh did—repeatedly and with no apparent sense of regret whatsoever. The fact that Palin did not equally criticize Limbaugh's comments made it much easier for many people to see her initial outrage as purely partisan. That is a true shame, for if she did feel insulted and degraded for her child and others with similar disabilities, she lost the right to claim those feelings by not remaining consistently against the use of the R-word, regardless of political stripe.<br />
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Again, as with Marshall, I am not writing this to discuss Emanuel, Limbaugh, or Palin. I am not concerned simply about the use of the R-word, though I find it repugnant and demeaning above many other terms. I write this about language, meaning, and attitude. Marshall did not use the word disability. Instead, he chose the more stigmatizing term "handicap." I find that equally as demeaning as the use of the R-word, but I am not the language police. I am a person with a disability and proud to say that I am. Scholars can debate how the usage of words changes over time. I am much more concerned with the attitude of our society, which, I fear, has not changed nearly as much over the last 200 years.<br />
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I do not want to be defined by someone else's idea of what my disability means to them. I do not want medical experts, religious leaders, or linguists to decide who I am, based on what I can do or, in their minds, what I cannot do. I do not want to be compared to a person without a disability and have that used as a standard for my functionality within society. I want to be judged on my merit and worth as a human being. If people believe I am arrogant, worthless, or belligerent, then, I welcome them to make their case to me and explain why they believe that. However, those same people cannot use my disability as the basis for their argument. If I am arrogant or compassionate, mean-spirited or kind, it has to do with my makeup as a person. It has to do with my personality or lack thereof. Yet, it has nothing to do with my disability. I am a human being with all the frailties that come with that label, but my disability does not lessen my standing as a human being with all the rights and responsibilities that also come with that designation.<br />
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We need an attitudinal shift in this country to see people with disabilities as individuals with pride and dignity in who they are. That shift, though, does not need to come only from those people without disabilities. It has to begin with all of us who have disabilities. Advocates and ordinary citizens alike must stop owning the negative stereotypes and stigma too long associated with having a disability. Instead, we must own our equality, our dignity, and our rightful place in the mainstream and forefront of society, no longer lurking in the shadows because of fear of how people without disabilities might view us. We have to accept ourselves and celebrate our own culture, identity, and heritage, as Triano wrote. Dignity is not a concept offered only to a certain class of person. It is a reality of being, guaranteed to us all, if we only seize it and never let go.<br />
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Yesterday, March 3, 2010, was <a href="http://www.r-word.org/">End the R-word Day</a> , and on its official website, more than 99,000 people have pledged to stop using the R-word in daily conversations. I took the pledge, and I think it is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the issue. Yet, there is a bigger issue at stake, and it involves more than ending the use of one word, as important as that is. Changing mindsets both inside and outside the disability community is likely the most important thing we can do. We need to change the attitudes of those without disabilities, helping them see those of us with disabilities as their neighbors, their friends, and, most important, their equals. However, we also need to change the attitudes of people with disabilities and help ourselves stop believing the lie that we are somehow less important than anyone else is. We have opinions, we have relevance, and we have meaning. We are people with disabilities, and we are proud.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-65970932468434927502010-02-26T17:27:00.000-06:002010-02-26T17:27:45.457-06:00Spin Cycle<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Spin Cycle</span></strong><br />
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Oh, I do love politics. It never ceases to amaze, amuse, and fascinate. Yesterday, February 25, advocates and interested parties filled a hearing room on the fourth floor of the Stratton building in Springfield. Everyone was there for a meeting of the Illinois House Medicaid Reform Committee and for a lively discussion of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services' (HFS) managed care pilot project. For a political junkie and disability rights advocate like me, the event itself did not disappoint.<br />
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Almost everyone in the room was there in support of HB 5086, a bill sponsored by Representative Chapa LaVia, which would create a task force to oversee any managed care programs that would affect the elderly and people with disabilities. Further, the bill's intent is to allow stakeholders, especially those considered in legislative terms as "aged, blind, or disabled," to have a real seat at the table and give input on how HMOs should treat medical as well as long-term care issues for these populations. The bill actually gives voice to direct concerns raised by individuals impacted by the plans of the managed care system. Further, the task force would evaluate Illinois' readiness for any program like this, which is a very important question, in my opinion, especially considering the exceedingly fast timeframe with which HFS wants to install each section of the pilot project.<br />
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Barbara Prichard from the Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois, Jennifer Thomas from Access Living, Amy Walker from Illinois Voices, Janet Stover from the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, and I, representing the Springfield Area Disability Activists, testified in support of HB 5086. Others testified as well on the potential problems of managed care and how this pilot project was not a good idea, particularly from the perspective of the lack of input from those who would receive these services. I think everyone made very valid points and articulated their positions quite well. What was equally satisfying was how the committee seemed very receptive to our concerns and arguments against managed care in general.<br />
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After the advocacy testimony, the committee gave representatives from HFS a chance to defend their position. (For me, this was the entertainment portion of the program, and I mean that with no disrespect to anyone at HFS.) Many of the representatives on the committee expressed serious concerns about how HFS had moved the pilot project along with no approval from a General Assembly task force set up last summer. One could argue it was a very contentious exchange, though very short, as the legislators had to leave for regular session in the House. Nonetheless, as much as I disagree with the HFS idea for the pilot project, I felt somewhat sympathetic toward them because of the grilling they received from the representatives, though my opinion did not change about their proposed plan.<br />
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The most interesting aspect of the hearing, not to mention the reason why most of you would read this blog post in the first place, happened afterward, when the legislators had left the room and only the advocates and HFS representatives remained. I am quite sure it seemed like a bombardment of questions and comments to those from HFS, but it was our chance to ask some real questions to some of the people behind the decision for the pilot project. We did take full advantage of the opportunity, and, thus, the spin began.<br />
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As we discussed how HMOs would handle section one of the pilot project, which focuses primarily on medical care, and how they would draft plans for sections two and three, it occurred to me how truly complicated this issue is. A simple post on a blog cannot do justice to all the intricacies involved with the pilot project as well as the concerns surrounding it. We discussed long-term care issues and how HMOs, particularly the ones involved with the project, had never dealt with providing that kind of care. We spoke to the need for durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, and we discussed how people with disabilities currently have the ability and choice to hire, fire, and manage their own personal assistants. Many of us fear that will not be the case under a managed care system, especially as sections two and three of the pilot project read in the RFP. The HFS representatives told us how the bigger hospitals were anxious to become part of the project, while advocates pointed out the fact that if managed care becomes a statewide health delivery system, the bigger hospitals, most often located in major metropolitan areas, would have no way of helping anyone in the most southern parts of the state.<br />
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These are all valid concerns, and, to their credit, the HFS representatives addressed every question and concern as best they could. The only problem with that fact—and it cannot be understated—is that there were some questions for which they had no answers. This is not meant to reflect poorly on the preparation of the HFS personnel. Instead, it speaks directly to the lack of planning of this entire process, something not lost on the representatives of the committee, as they collaborated extensively on that point during the hearing. However, this lack of planning does foreshadow possibly very negative consequences of a pilot project that, under the right circumstances and oversight, could prove worthwhile. Having said that, I am not willing to risk all the historically harmful aspects of managed care simply to save the state money because politicians suddenly find electoral benefit in doing so. More to the point, the HFS representatives freely admitted the pilot project very well might save the state no money whatsoever. For that, I was very thankful for their candor, if not the irony attached to it.<br />
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The HFS representatives invited all of us there to a meeting with them and the HMOs to discuss our concerns as well as to educate the insurance companies on how members of the disability community do not represent their "typical" customers. Again, I felt this was a good faith effort on the part of HFS. Yet, it did come on the heels of debate on HB 5086, which would create a task force to facilitate those same kinds of meetings and offer education and training to the HMOs. My meaning is simply that I will be happy to attend a meeting of this kind, if it actually takes place. As most of us know, the words of many bureaucrats and politicians, especially when spoken under moments of pressure, can change drastically when the pressure is relieved. As I told some people there, I am cynically optimistic about the prospects of any meeting, while remaining a pragmatist in terms of Illinois state bureaucracy.<br />
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This blog post may not seem very upbeat to some of you, but, in reality, I believe the hearing was rather productive. Not every advocate may share the same thought regarding each part of the pilot project, but, in that, we show the true diversity of the disability rights movement in Illinois. We will not always think with one mind or even speak with one voice. As long as we all agree to work for what is best for all Illinoisans with disabilities, we can debate thoughts, opinions, and approaches until we come to the most beneficial outcome for everyone involved.<br />
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Make no mistake; I do not believe this is the end of the issue in terms of managed care or this pilot project. We, as disability rights advocates, have much more work to do, and we must be vigilant in case the situation takes an adverse turn. I believe we may still have a lengthy fight on our hands, and that fight is more against a system than a group of people or even a state government. We need to be prepared for the fight. Being an optimist, even a cynical one, does not mean one loses sight of the ultimate goal, which is still equality and freedom of choice in every aspect of life for people with disabilities. Hard work and vigilance never hurt a movement. They can only provide focus and, hopefully, a "fire in the belly" to advocates, as we continue to allow nothing about us without us.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1407369577745094162.post-64080732130524524482010-02-21T21:40:00.003-06:002010-02-22T02:38:20.624-06:00Managed Care, Managed Lives<strong>New Directions</strong><br />
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It has been longer than a month since I last posted on this blog. A lot has happened during that time, including my graduation with my master's degree in political studies. Yet, I have also come to other conclusions about my life, one of which is the direction this blog will take.<br />
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I intend to try a novel approach, which is writing fewer words more often. I realize I have said this before, and I have not done it. This time, I fully intend to accomplish my task. For the moment, I will only include the political round up if there are too many issues to discuss at one time. I also will not make it as long as the major article in the blog. Finally, though it pains me to say this, I am temporarily putting the "From the Gridiron" section of the blog on hold. I am tremendously proud of the way the Cowboys performed this year, but I truly want to focus on other issues for the time being. Moreover, I am not going to try to tackle every topic at one time. I suppose I finally realized this blog is not going to end tomorrow, and I do not need to write as if it is. Consequently, you would have heard enough from me, and I will quit blabbering about the blog and start blogging.<br />
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<strong>Managed Care, Managed Lives</strong><br />
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If you have been following events in Washington DC, aside from the snow in February, which seemed to perplex the entire federal government, there are rumblings that the public option might have resurgence in the health care reform bill Congress is trying to pass. For people like me, who support the measure, it is a very encouraging sign. However, back here in Illinois, where the political rubber meets the road in our everyday lives, our state government seems to have taken the vehicle of health care reform and put it squarely in reverse.<br />
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Since September 2009, the Administration and the Department of Health Care and Family Services (HFS) have been developing a pilot program for an integrated/managed care HMO system. The program would affect 38,000 Medicaid eligible adults who are, according to the parlance of government, "aged, blind, or disabled" in DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Lake, Will, and suburban Cook counties. Yet, even as this program was under development, neither the administration nor HFS sought any input from stakeholders, i.e. those who would be affected by this program, until early in December 2009. Then, as the story gets even better, just two months later, on February 5, HFS issued an RFP to contract with two HMOs. Ostensibly, this would get the ball rolling on the pilot program after the people directly affected only receive two months for input. Though public options may still have life in Washington DC, public viewpoints appear to be optional in Illinois.<br />
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Many of you may think this is a rather innocuous issue and wonder why I am even mentioning a state pilot program, especially since these things only affect a relatively small number of people. Though this technically may be true, letting issues go unaddressed, particularly those involving government, can lead to a steep price. For the sake of hyperbole, take McCarthyism or the Iraq war. If people had spoken out about the things earlier, how many careers or lives would have been saved? I realize I may be using extreme examples, but they sometimes work better to drive home a point than anything else.<br />
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In my opinion, managed care is not a good or reliable way of insuring people's health and well-being. Some argue that it saves money, but I will say, "At what expense?" People with disabilities need primary care physicians who understand the role disability plays within the entire framework of their picture of wellness. Managed care does not guarantee that a person can keep his or her own primary care physician. More often, the case becomes one in which the HMO restricts the choice of primary care physicians or makes it impossible to keep an existing doctor due to low capitation rates. Will this save money? It is quite possible that it may. Yet, will it also cause major disruptions in the lives of people with disabilities or elderly citizens? The answer to that question is an emphatic, "Yes."<br />
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HMOs are not fond of specialists. Alternatively, people with disabilities often need these specialists for a variety of reasons. I can attest to that fact personally, as I have three other doctors besides my primary care physician. I am not in bad health, and I may only see these specialists once or twice a year. Regardless, I need these physicians in my life, as do many other people. Yet, managed care typically limits access to specialists, and those who are approved may have little knowledge of a certain person's disability or condition. In some cases, this could be life threatening, though still cost-effective. Does anyone else see the irony in that statement?<br />
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Specifically, in the RFP issued by HFS, there is a discussion of medical loss ratios, which typically never ends well for people with disabilities. Typically, if the HMO deems a person’s health care costs too high, services are cut, or the person no longer remains under the managed care plan. Health care costs for people with disabilities are high. This is especially true when you include such necessities as durable medical equipment, which includes power wheelchairs, Hoyer lifts, and specialized exercise machines. When decisions for what it is medically necessary are ripped from the hands of doctors and patients and given to bureaucrats, the result is inadequate care leading, ultimately, to increased costs. Holding down costs on paper in the short term may look good to administrators and politicians, but it could also lead to the purging of people on HMOs rolls because long-term costs are much higher.<br />
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What troubles me the most about this entire situation is the lack of choice involved for those taking part in this pilot program. Consumer control is at the heart of the disability rights movement, whether it pertains to health care, employment, or accessibility. This concept is totally lacking from this RFP. There is some fundamental language within the document regarding participant input, but from what I have seen and read, nothing is guaranteed to be the consumer's choice. In fact, the RFP steers far enough away from personal choice that it bears all the hallmarks of returning to the old days of the medical model, which is a very frightening concept indeed. It should give one chills to think that bureaucrats would view individuals more based on their diagnosis than their humanity. I know it does that for me.<br />
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There are more examples where managed care proves to be the wrong choice, especially for people with disabilities. However, there is hope a situation like this, a pilot program like the one proposed, would receive the oversight it so desperately needs, if not a complete dismantling of the entire idea. On Thursday, February 18, I attended a press conference at the Capitol, during which State Representatives Linda Chapa LaVia, Esther Golar, and Lisa Dugan discussed HB 5086, a bill proposed by Chapa LaVia and sponsored by Golar, Dugan, as well as fellow Representatives Naomi Jakobsson and Sara Feigenholtz.<br />
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At the press conference, Representatives Golar, Chapa LaVia, and Dugan addressed the main goals behind HB 5086. The bill amends the Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled Article of the Public Aid Code and creates a task force consisting of consumers, stakeholders, legislators, State agency staff, and advocates to address issues that, for too long, have been left only to the decision-making abilities of bureaucrats and politicians. Without direct input from the populations most affected by pilot programs like the one proposed by HFS, there will be no one to "speak truth to power." Advocates and consumers are rarely invited behind closed doors where politicos make policy decisions or, as the old saying goes, "where they make the sausage." It is time to end that practice and bring transparency to the entire process. The other old adage about sunshine being the best disinfectant is true here as well.<br />
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The task force will assess whether or not Illinois is ready to develop a managed care or integrated care pilot program that covers the elderly and people with disabilities. Further, it would develop a concept paper delineating the core values to serve as the foundation for such a program. The task force would then work with HFS to plan, design, and implement the kind of pilot programs best suited for Illinois. Finally, these types of programs would receive oversight, as the task force would be charged with ensuring proper implementation for any idea affecting the communities of the "aged, blind, or disabled."<br />
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Perhaps, an even more important duty for the task force is to do whatever is possible to stop the HFS and Administration's plans to move ahead with the current pilot program. Groups like the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, the Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois, and Access Living of Chicago agreed the process to develop this pilot program did not include the questions, concerns, and recommendations from those individuals most intimately involved in its development. Equally distressing is the implementation of the program's timeframe, which contradicts direct evidence from other states that have also attempted managed care models for both medical and long-term care for the elderly and people with disabilities. As Jennifer Thomas, the Personal Assistant Coordinator at Access Living, stated during the press conference, other states with programs similar to the one HFS is proposing have dramatically limited long-term care services in the community, with estimates showing Wisconsin residents, for example, lost 30% of their home services hours.<br />
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It is clear why this task force is needed. It is clear why HB 5086 must pass. It is clear why this pilot program is a bad idea. Yet, it is not clear that many policymakers or politicians in Illinois understand the reasoning behind the concerns being raised. As with everything in politics, this situation comes down to money. The primary argument for the pilot program is that it will save money for the state.<br />
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Yet, why do this now? Why, during an election year, is it imperative for the state to find creative ways to save money, primarily on the backs of people with disabilities? Why is there suddenly such a rush? Would the same people proposing this pilot program tell me this economic crisis and the lack of proper Medicaid funding did not exist last year or three years ago? Even if this five-year pilot program shows some semblances of success for the people in the six affected counties, will that be enough “proof” for decision-makers to change the health care delivery systems for all Illinoisans with disabilities? Further, what qualifies as a success? Likewise, is one pilot program enough effort to reverse the lack of leadership Illinois has seen over the last several years? Moreover, was managed care, with all its pitfalls, the best choice or the only choice available to decision-makers? I will leave others to answer those questions, but I have my own ideas.<br />
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It was very gratifying to see Barb Prichard and Nick Quealy-Gainer from the Campaign for Real Choice and Jennifer Thomas and Tom Wilson from Access Living at the press conference. Barbara and Jennifer, in particular, added the voices of advocacy that, otherwise, would have been missing. Even Representative Golar stated, after Jennifer spoke, how important it was to hear from real advocates at a press conference as opposed to simply typical political speak. I only wish more advocates had made a bigger presence at this critical time.<br />
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It strikes me that, in the midst of everything else happening in this state and around the nation, no other issue may be more important to the disability community in Illinois than this managed care pilot program. We could debate funding and institutionalization, but at the crux of it all, if state politicians view this program as a success and as a viable means of saving money, we all could suddenly find ourselves faced with managed care, lack of choice and participation, and a totally different system that views us more as statistics than individuals. At that point, all the debates would end, and we would find ourselves looking at each other, wondering what just happened, what just went wrong. <br />
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If we are truly advocates, we were born for a time like this. This is our calling, our reason for getting out of bed in the morning. If we really want to fight against injustice, I can see no better adversary than what stands before us. I am not trying to malign HFS or even the HMOs that might receive the contracts from the state. They have their jobs to do, as do we. Jennifer Thomas said that, historically, people with disabilities believe in the credo of "nothing about us without us." I believe that to be true, but more importantly, I want that to be true. We cannot idly stand by and let this situation become a problem, which then becomes a dilemma for which we have no answer. This could easily be the most important issue for disability rights advocates in this state for the next year.<br />
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We need to fight, and we need to do it now. Time, politics, and other agendas will not wait for us to become organized. Contact your state legislators and tell them what you think. Contact HFS and tell the agency you want to provide input on what you think of the managed care pilot program. If they tell you the time for comment has passed, ask to speak to someone involved with the program and make your feelings known. Write letters, send e-mails, and do the things grassroots advocates do to make a change when a change is desperately needed. This is our time. This is our stage. This is our opportunity. We cannot let it slip through our hands.<br />
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There is a meeting of the Illinois House Medicaid Reform, Family & Children Services Committee at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, February 25, in Room 413 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois. HB 5086 is on the list of bills to be discussed. All advocates available and interested in changing this managed care pilot program need to plan on attending. This is our chance to let voices be heard.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03170105381349817893noreply@blogger.com0