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Victim-Blaming vs. Skin Color Privilege

TMA Articles and Commentary - Current Issue
Written by James A. Landrith
Monday, 09 February 2009
Marcella Chester has an interesting posting on the Timothy Cole case and the backlash the rape victim has received by some. She and I agree on much with regard to this case, but there is one key sticking point. As Marcella and I are both rape survivors, we have our own internal biases and emotions to bring to this subject. I have tried to balance my own feelings as rape survivor with regard to what this woman endured vs. the travesty of justice that occurred to Timothy Cole. I believe there is room for understanding and compassion for both sides without unduly expecting one party to ignore current realities in the process. The facts are this: A white woman (Michelle Malin) was raped by a black man. Police put an innocent, non-smoking asthmatic black man (Timothy Cole) in the lineup knowing full well that the perp was a chain-smoker. A white woman ID'd said innocent black man in lineup for said crime. Innocent black man was sentenced to 25 years and died in prison while having an asthma attack. It is not uncommon for the police to orchestrate a witness ID to achieve a pre-determined result, especially if the perp is black and the victim is white. It sounds like this was likely the case here. In addition, cross-racial witness IDs are notoriously unreliable. Both police and prosecutors know this well and exploit same regularly. The prosecutorial staff and police involved in this case need to be investigated thoroughly by an independent entity and the guilty parties should serve some real time. An "oops my bad" does not suffice when someone's life is ruined, regardless of what crime they were investigating at the time. The legal system is supposed to be about punishing the guilty and securing justice for the victim(s), not ensuring a win for the prosecution the facts be damned as it is all about today. The police and prosecutors murdered this man by ignoring key pieces of evidence, like his status as an asthmatic. He should have been ruled out as a suspect in 5 seconds. PERIOD. Further, a woman who was raped was set up by the system to make a bad ID and she will now be haunted by that for a long time. Cole should never have been presented to her as a possible suspect. She couldn't have ID'd him if he had not been shown to her in the first place by the police who knew he was not a smoker. I am glad to see that she was helping to clear his name upon learning of his innocence. She could easily have been drowning in PTSD and self-guilt right now or even denied that an innocent man was convicted, as sometimes happens in cases of wrongful convictions for any violent crime. I also have to say that I am impressed by Cole's family for not being angry with her over the ID. Regardless of what happened to her (which is not their fault or concern), their child was innocent and he is dead forever. They very easily could have blamed her and justified it to themselves without little effort. It would be misdirected blame, but it would ridiculous of anyone to expect them to be superhuman in their grief for a son who was murdered by the Texas justice system for the sole crime of sharing the same skin color as Mallin's rapist. I'm going to guess that Cole, given his asthma was not some big, tough athletic guy and probably did not fare well behind bars. While there has been no disclosure in such regard, I'd not be surprised if he was raped in prison as well - given his asthma was not treated properly by the state and eventually led to his death behind bars. In the end, we have a rape victim who is going to be haunted by the role that authorities orchestrated her into playing by including this innocent man in the lineup and then relying on a cross-racial witness ID, and a dead man who may have endured the same crime he died in prison for after so many years. This is a horrible tragedy no matter what angle we examine it from. Marcella takes exception to the idea of Cole's family having any justification for being angry with her for the false ID in her response to my comments on her blog entry. I disagree and point out the fact that many black men have served decades in prison for crimes they did not commit after being accused by white women. I went into great detail about how the police and prosecution should have never put Cole in front of her in the first place. There is some serious racial baggage involved with such cases that Marcella is clearly not grasping and is falsely labeling disagreement in that regard as victim-blaming. Pretending that such baggage does not exist is a form of skin color privilege that only those clueless to the reality would/could assert in such a cavalier manner. As Marcella pointed out, the ID was bad. The victim did not intend to ID the wrong man. We both agree there. However, and this is important and some may not understand this or want to, but the point that has many upset is not just that an innocent man went to jail, but an innocent black man was, once again by a white victim ID, incarcerated for a crime he did not commit and only later found to be innocent decades after it was too late. There is a bit more to it than just a bad witness ID. It would be a form of victim-blaming itself to expect the Coles to live in a vacuum with regard to how black males are treated in the criminal justice system. Having been married to a black woman for 15 years, I understand this on a level cannot be easily discerned by someone outside of such experiences. It is not as simple as just understanding how witness IDs work as Marcella asserts in her comment responses to me. The same understanding she grants to the victim for the bad ID she is denying to the family of Cole for any anger they could be feeling for that bad ID. As the father of two multiracial (half-black) sons, I am aware of this on a daily basis as my boys go out into the world. I have to worry not only about how justice can be miscarried without malicious intent, but how it can happen in conjunction with skin color prejudices. This case is about more than the misuse of witness IDs. It was also about race, which the Coles have very good reason to be angry about. To be perfectly clear, once again because I am being falsely accused of such, I did not say they should blame her for being raped, which is what Marcella's reference to victim-blaming clearly seems to imply. Disagreeing with Marcella's assertion that the Coles should be expected to only be angry at the police and prosecution and ignore the role the victim who ID'd him played in the process does not equal blaming the victim for being raped. Do I think they should blame her? No, but I recognize that while there should be understanding toward this woman for this mistaken ID, there should also be a requisite amount of understanding given any of his family members who were angry about the ID. Being angry about a bad witness ID that cost a man his life is not the same thing as blaming a woman for being raped or claiming she was never raped, contrary to Marcella's ridiculous assertions. The two concepts are not even close and I consider any inference to the contrary to be a deliberate misrepresentation of my comments. One cannot possibly confuse the two without trying. Further, had this country not had a history of incarcerating black men for crimes they did not commit, there would be no need for the Coles to have a very large emotional hill to climb in order to not be angry about the ID. To expect them to ignore this history is unrealistic. Marcella may not see it that way, but to imply that equals victim-blaming is simply false and something that requires further education for many who don't have to worry about such things on a regular basis. In the end, Marcella ignores the fact that even Michelle Mallin disagrees with her on the point of anger as far as Cole's family is concerned. She went to Cole's mother to seek forgiveness for the multiple bad IDs and testimony that contributed to her son's death in prison. Clearly, Mallin recognized that the Coles may have cause for anger too, and not just at the legal system. Cole's mother refused the apology as she said none is necessary choosing to focus on getting her son exonerated completely. I say they are both to be applauded and that Mallin should not be second-guessed. Clearly, Mallin's own feelings on the matter are not in alignment with Marcella Chester. I think Mallin, as the victim, gets the final say. With regard to his dying in prison not being murder, I wholeheartedly disagree with Marcella on this point. I understand her point, but disagree. Unless however, there is evidence that he received far better treatment for his asthma on the inside than he would have as an employed college graduate on the outside had his life continued without interruption by the criminal justice system. Downplaying his death in prison by calling it something other than murder seems abhorrent and callous to me. The man died in prison serving time for a crime he didn't commit. I'd call that murder any day of the week. Sincerely, James A. Landrith, Jr. Founder and Publisher, The Multiracial Activist Be first to comment this article \| Add as favourites (480) \| Quote this article on your site \| Views: 7283
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 10 February 2009 )

Coalition Letter on Health Information Privacy

Advocacy and Letters - Letters to Government Agencies Signed by TMA
Written by Coalition
Monday, 02 February 2009
COALITION FOR PATIENT PRIVACY February 2, 2009 Honorable Harry Reid Majority Leader United States Senate 522 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Reid: Congress has taken critical steps to protect Americans’ jobs and opportunities by including essential privacy protections with the promotion of health information technology (health IT) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, S.1. These common sense consumer protections address many of the issues that the Coalition for Patient Privacy, representing millions of Americans, brought to your attention. The protections in the bill are the bare minimum required to accomplish two critical goals: Ensure consumer confidence with health IT, thereby protecting our $20 billion investment. Ensure that above all we "do no harm" to patients when using their most intimate information in the digital age. We all want to innovate and improve health care. This simply cannot occur without consumer confidence that their private medical records are protected and under their control. We urge you to maintain the practical consumer protections that both consumer and privacy advocates strongly support and reject calls from industry to spend taxpayer dollars without accountability, control or transparency. We should not continue to allow business as usual when it harms the American public. If fact, the only way to achieve President Obama’s vision for health care and health IT is to ensure privacy now. By far the most important provision is the prohibition on the sale of protected health information (SEC. 13405(e)). Personal health information should not be sold and shared as a typical commodity. Health information is different; it is extremely sensitive and can directly impact jobs, credit, and insurance coverage. It is critical to put a stop to current data sales and misuse, but also to prevent the development of future businesses that sell personal health information as a commodity while doing nothing to improve Americans’ health. All additional privacy provisions in S. 1 provide an important piece in protecting individuals. These include: Limitations on marketing, audit trails of electronic health record transactions, requiring the Secretary to revisit and narrow the definition of "health care operations", and rights to electronic copies of our records; Improved enforcement provisions such as breach notification, required periodic audits, state attorneys general enforcement, a compensation scheme for privacy victims and applying security and privacy provisions and penalties to business associates; Requiring the HIT Policy Committee to make recommendations regarding segmentation of specific and sensitive information; Funding for consumer advocacy groups and not for profit entities to participate in the regulatory process and a study of health technology that can be used to meet the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities. We also support the provision included in the House bill that was proposed by Congressman Markey, SEC. 3002(b)(2)(B)(vi) that requires the HIT Policy Committee to make recommendations regarding technologies that allow individually identifiable health information to be rendered unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals when transmitted or physically transported. There is no more sensitive information on earth than our health records. Congress will need to build on the basic privacy protections in this bill and we move forward. We continue to advocate that our right to health information privacy be explicitly reaffirmed in statute, and much more can be done to ensure Americans have greater control over the uses of their health information. Nevertheless, the privacy provisions included in the bill are critical first steps to protecting consumers. We must couple health IT promotion with privacy protections. Working together we are making great progress and we thank you for your commitment to protect consumers. Sincerely, The Coalition for Patient Privacy cc: United States Senate The Coalition for Patient Privacy AIDS Action Alliance for Patient Safety American Association of People with Disabilities American Foundation for the Blind Bill of Rights Defense Committee Citizens for Health Citizen Outreach Project Clinical Social Work Association Confederation of Independent Psychoanalytic Societies Consumer Action Ethics in Government Group Fairfax County Privacy Council Georgians for Open Government Government Accountability Project Health Integrity Project International Association of Whistleblowers Just Health The Multiracial Activist National Center for Transgender Equality National Coalition for Mental Health Professionals & Consumers New Grady Coalition Patient Privacy Rights Private Citizen, Inc. Student Health Integrity Project Tolven U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation Be first to comment this article \| Add as favourites (84) \| Quote this article on your site \| Views: 1886
Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 August 2010 )

262 Organizations Support Strong Whistleblower Reforms

Advocacy and Letters - Letters to Government Agencies Signed by TMA
Written by Coalition
Thursday, 29 January 2009
262 Public Interest Organizations Support Swift Action to Restore Strong, Comprehensive Whistleblower Rights January 29, 2009 To: President Barack Obama; Senator Daniel Akaka, Senator Susan Collins, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Senator George Voinovich, Rep. Edolphus Towns, Rep. Darrell Issa, Rep. Chris Van Hollen The undersigned organizations and corporations, representing millions of Americans, write to support the completion of the landmark, nine-year legislative effort to restore credible whistleblower rights for government employees. We offer our support to expeditiously re-initiate the process of reconciling House and Senate passed versions of this vital good government legislation, which both chambers passed last Congress as H.R. 985 and S. 274. Whistleblower protection is a foundation for any change in which the public can believe. It does not matter whether the issue is economic recovery, prescription drug safety, environmental protection, infrastructure spending, national health insurance, or foreign policy. We need conscientious public servants willing and able to call attention to waste, fraud and abuse on behalf of the taxpayers. Unfortunately, every month that passes has very tangible consequences for federal government whistleblowers, because none have viable rights. Last year an average of 16 whistleblowers lost every month in initial decisions from administrative hearings at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). For final rulings by the MSPB, the record is 2- 53 under the current Chair. Since January, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a monopoly on appellate review, has ruled against whistleblowers in another thirteen consecutive decisions on the merits, leaving a track record of 3-206 since October 1994 when Congress last strengthened the law. We stand ready to provide any information that would help expedite the process, and to help you come to agreement on any unresolved issues. Any compromise should protect several critical provisions, which have already passed with overwhelming support. It is crucial that the final bill: Grant employees the right to a jury trial in federal court; Specifically protect federal scientists who report efforts to alter, misrepresent, or suppress federal research; Extend meaningful protections to FBI and intelligence agency whistleblowers; Strengthen protections for federal contractors, as strong as those provided to DoD contractors and grantees in last year’s defense authorization legislation; Extend meaningful protections to Transportation Security Officers (screeners); Neutralize the government’s use of the “state secrets” privilege; Bar the MSPB from ruling for an agency before whistleblowers have the opportunity to present evidence of retaliation; Provide whistleblowers the right to be made whole, including compensatory damages; Grant comparable due process rights to employees who blow the whistle in the course of a government investigation or who refuse to violate the law; and Remove the Federal Circuit’s monopoly on precedent-setting cases. We know that your offices share the commitment of every group signing the letter below and we deeply appreciate the years of effort to create more accountability in government. Please let us know how we can participate to expeditiously complete this badly needed good government reform. Once the reconciled version becomes law, the real winners will be the public! Sincerely, Marcel Reid, Chair ACORN 8 Adele Kushner, Executive Director Action for a Clean Environment Pamela Miller, Director Alaska Community Action on Toxics Dan Lawn, President Alaska Forum on Environmental Responsibility Cindy Shogun, Executive Director Alaska Wilderness League Ryan Pleune, Outreach Alice Ferguson Foundation Susan Gordon, Director Alliance for Nuclear Accountability Rochelle Becker, Executive Director Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility Gil Mileikowsky, M.D. Alliance for Patient Safety Linda Lipsen, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs American Association for Justice (AAJ) Mary Alice Baish, Acting Washington Affairs Representative American Association of Law Libraries F. Patricia Callahan, President and General Counsel American Association of Small Property Owners John W. Curtis, Ph.D., Director of Research and Public Policy American Association of University Professors Christopher Finan, president American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression Caroline Fredrickson, Director, Washington Legislative Office American Civil Liberties Union Michael D. Ostrolenk American Conservative Defense Alliance Dr. Paul Connett, Executive Director American Environmental Health Studies Project, Inc. John Gage, National President American Federation of Government Employees Charles M. Loveless, Director of Legislation American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary American Friends Service Committee Caitlin Love Hills, National Forest Program Director American Lands Alliance Jessica McGilvray, Assistant Director American Library Association Alexandra Owens, Executive Director American Society of Journalists and Authors Charlotte Hall, President American Society of Newspaper Editors Patricia Schroeder, President and CEO Association of American Publishers Ms. Bobbie Paul, Executive Director Atlanta WAND (Women's Action for New Directions) Samuel H. Sage, President Atlantic States Legal Foundation, Inc. Jay Stewart, Executive Director Better Government Association Matthew Fogg, First Vice-President Blacks in Government Nancy Talanian, Director Bill of Rights Defense Committee Diane Wilson, President Calhoun County Resource Watch Peter Scheer, Executive Director California First Amendment Association Terry Franke, Executive Director Californians Aware Reece Rushing, Director of Regulatory and Information Policy Center for American Progress William Snape, Senior Counsel Center for Biological Diversity Charlie Cray, Director Center for Corporate Policy Gregory T. Nojeim, Senior Counsel and Director, Project on Freedom, Security & Technology Center for Democracy and Technology Joseph Mendelson III, Legal Director Center for Food Safety J . Bradley Jansen, Director Center for Financial Privacy and Human Rights Paul Kurtz, Chairman Center for Inquiry Robert E. White, President Center for International Policy Lawrence S. Ottinger, President Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest Merrill Goozner, Director Integrity in Science Center for Science in the Public Interest Linda Lazarus, Director Center to Advance Human Potential Craig Williams, Director Chemical Weapons Working Group & Common Ground Phil Fornaci, Counselor C.H.O.I.C.E.S. Leonard Akers Citizens Against Incineration at Newport Evelyn M. Hurwich, President and Chair Circumpolar Conservation Union David B. McCoy, Executive Director Citizen Action New Mexico Doug Bandow, Vice President for Policy Citizen Outreach Deb Katz, Executive Director Citizens Awareness Network Barbara Warren, Executive Director Citizens' Environmental Coalition Elaine Cimino Citizens for Environmental Safeguards James Turner, Chairman of the Board Citizens for Health Michael McCormack, Executive Director Citizens for Health Educational Foundation Gerard Beloin Citizens for Judicial Reform Laura Olah, Executive Director Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger Anne Hemenway, Treasurer Citizen's Vote, Inc. Rick Piltz Climate Science Watch John Judge Coalition on Political Assassinations 9/11 Research Project Zena Crenshaw, 2nd Vice-Chair 3.5.7 Commission on Judicial Reform Sarah Dufendach, Vice President for Legislative Affairs Common Cause Greg Smith, Co-Founder Community Research Clarissa Duran, Director Community Service Organization del Norte Joni Arends, Executive Director Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety Lokesh Vuyyuru, MD, Founder Concerned Citizens of Petersburg Daniel Hirsch, Member, Executive Committee Concerned Foreign Service Officers Matthew Fogg, President Congress Against Racism & Corruption in Law Enforcement (CARCLE) Ellen Bloom, Director of Federal Policy Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel Consumers Union Bob Shavelson, Director Cook Inlet Keeper Neil Takemoto, Director CoolTown Betta Communities Tonya Hennessey, Project Director CorpWatch Louis Wolf, Co-Founder CovertAction Quarterly John Issacs, Executive Director Council for a Livable World Anne Weismann, Chief Counsel CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Cathy Harris, Founder, Executive Director Customs Employees Against Discrimination Association Mary Elizabeth Beetham, Director of Legislative Affairs Defenders of Wildlife Sue Udry, Director Defending Dissent Foundation Paul E. Almeida, President Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO Courtney Dillard, Founder Dillard-Winecoff Boutique Hotel Ben Smilowitz, Director Disaster Accountability Project Dr. Patrick Campbell Doctors against Fraud Dr. Disamodha Amarasinghe Doctors for National Healthcare James J. Murtagh, Jr., President Doctors for Open Government Dr. John Raviotta Doctors for Reform of JCAHO Stephen D'Esposito, President Earthworks Larry Chang, Founder EcolocityDC Thea Harvey, Executive Director Economists for Peace and Security Lisa Walker, executive director Education Writers Association Mike Ewoll, Founder and Director Energy Justice Network Gregory Hile EnviroJustice Chuck Broscious, President Environmental Defense Institute Judith Robinson, Director of Programs Environmental Health Fund Peter Montague, Ph.D, Director Environmental Research Foundation Jason Zuckerman The Employment Law Group John Richard Essential Information George Anderson Ethics in Government Group (EGG) Bob Cooper Evergreen Public Affairs Gabe Bruno FAA Whistleblowers Alliance Robert Richie, Executive Director FairVote Janet Kopenhaver, Washington Representative Federally Employed Women (FEW) Steven Aftergood, Project Director Federation of American Scientists Marilyn Fitterman, Vice President Feminists for Free Expression Ellen Donnett, Administrative Director Fluoride Action Network Andrew D. Jackson, Asst. Campaign Coordinator Focus-On-Indiana for Judicial Reform Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director Food and Water Watch Bob Darby, Coordinator Food Not Bombs/Atlanta Andy Stahl Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) Tom Ferguson, Coordinator Foundation for Global Community/Atlanta Ruth Flower, Legislative Director Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) Conrad Martin, Executive Director Fund for Constitutional Government Gail Naftalin, Owner Gail’s Vegetarian Catering Karyn Jones, Director G.A.S.P Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution Gwen Marshall, Co-Chairman Georgians for Open Government Denny Larson, Executive Director Global Community Monitor Paul F. Walker, Ph.D., Legacy Program Director Global Green USA (The US Affiliate of Green Cross International, Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman) Bill Owens, President The Glynn Environmental Coalition Tom Devine, legal director Government Accountability Project Bill Hedden, Executive Director Grand Canyon Trust Molly Johnson, Area Coordinator Grandmothers for Peace, San Luis Obispo County Chapter Alexis Baden-Mayer Grassroots Netroots Alliance Luci Murphy Gray Panthers of Metropolitan Washington Alan Muller Green Delaware Jenefer Ellingston Green Party of the United States James C. Turner, Executive Director HALT, Inc. -- An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform Tom Carpenter, Executive Director Hanford Challenge Arthur S. Shoor, President Healthcare Consultants Helen Salisbury, M.D. Health Integrity Project Vanessa Pierce, Executive Director Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) Gerry Pollet Heart of America Northwest Liz Havstad, Chief of Staff Hip Hop Caucus Doug Tjapkes, President Humanity for Prisoners Keith Robinson, Interim President Indiana Coalition for Open Government Scott Armstrong, Executive Director Information Trust Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., President Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Brenda Platt, Co-Director Institute for Local Self-Reliance Donald Soeken, President Integrity International Michael McCray, Esq., Co-Chair International Association of Whistleblowers Mory Atashkar, Vice President Iranian American Democratic Association Mark S. Zaid James Madison Project John Metz, Executive Director JustHealth Brett Kimberlin, Director Justice Through Music Elizabeth Crowe, Director Kentucky Environmental Foundation Tom FitzGerald, Director Kentucky Resources Council, Inc. Kit Wood, Director Kit’s Catering James Love Knowledge Ecology International Josephine Carol Cicchini LeapforPatientSafety Jonathon Moseley, Executive Director Legal Affairs Council James Plummer Liberty Coalition Greg Mello, Executive Director Los Alamos Study Group Dr. Janette Parker Medical Whistleblower Ayize Sabater, Organizer Mentors of Minorities in Education's Total Learning Cic-Tem Jill McElheney, Founder Micah's Mission Ministry to Improve Childhood & Adolescent Health Ellen Smith, Owner and Managing Editor Mine Safety and Health News Mary Treacy, Executive Director The Minnesota Coalition on Government Information Helen Haskell Mothers Against Medical Error Mark Cohn, President MPD Productions, Inc. James Landrith, Founder The Multiracial Activist Larry Fisher, Founder National Accountant Whistleblower Coalition Tinsley H. Davis, Executive Director National Association of Science Writers Jim L. Jorgenson, Deputy Executive Director National Association of Treasury Agents Dominick DellaSala, Ph.D., Executive Director of Programs and Chief Scientist National Center for Conservation Science & Policy Joan E. Bertin, Esq., Executive Director National Coalition Against Censorship Russell Hemenway, President National Committee for an Effective Congress Sally Greenberg, Executive Director National Consumers League Terisa E. Chaw, Executive Director National Employment Lawyers Association Andrew Jackson National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project, Inc. Kim Gandy, President National Organization for Women Paul Brown, Government Relations Manager National Research Center for Women & Families Sibel Edmonds, President and Founder National Security Whistleblowers Coalition Pete Sepp, Vice President for Policy & Communications National Taxpayers Union Colleen M. Kelley, National President National Treasury Employees Union Steve Kohn, President National Whistleblower Center Amy Allina National Women's Health Network Terrie Smith, Director National Nuclear Workers For Justice Doug Kagan, Chairman Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby Ron Marshall, Chairman New Grady Coalition Rick Engler, Director New Jersey Work Environment Council Caroline Heldman Ph.D., Director New Orleans Women’s Shelter Marsha Coleman-Abedayo, Chair No FEAR Coalition Nina Bell, J.D., Executive Director Northwest Environmental Advocates Alice Slater, Director Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, New York David A. Kraft, Director Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS) Michael Mariotte, Executive Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service Jay Coghlan, Executive Director Nuclear Watch New Mexico Gwen Lachelt, Executive Director Oil & Gas Accountability Project Sean Moulton, Director, Federal Information Policy OMB Watch Nikuak Rai, Arts Director One Common Unity Rob Kall Op Ed News Patrice McDermott, Executive Director OpenTheGovernment.org Paul Loney, President Oregon Wildlife Federation Ellen Paul, Executive Director The Ornithological Council Joe Carson, Chair P. Jeffrey Black, Co-Chair OSC Watch Steering Committee Judy Norsigian, Executive Director Our Bodies Ourselves Betsy Combier, President and Editor Parentadvocates.org Ashley Katz, MSW, Executive Director Patient Privacy Rights Blake Moore Patient Quality Care Project Dianne Parker Patient Safety Advocates Former Special Agent Darlene Fitzgerald Patrick Henry Center Paul Kawika Martin, Organizing, Political and PAC Director Peace Action & Peace Action Education Fund Bennett Haselton, Founder Peacefire.org Rev. Paul Alexander, Ph.D., Director Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice Michael McCally, MD, PhD, Executive Director Physicians for Social Responsibility Dale Nathan, J.D., President POPULAR, Inc. Vina Colley, President Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS) David Banisar, Director, FOI Project Privacy International Evan Hendricks, Editor/Publisher Privacy Times Robert Bulmash, President Private Citizen, Inc. Ronald J Riley, President Professional Inventor's Alliance Dr. Paul Lapides Professors for Integrity Tim Carpenter, Director Progressive Democrats of America Danielle Brian, Executive Director Project On Government Oversight Ellen Thomas, Executive Director Proposition One Committee David Arkush, Director, Congress Watch Public Citizen Jeff Ruch, Executive Director Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility Robert L. FitzPatrick, President Pyramid Scheme Alert Dr. Diana Post, President Rachel Carson Council, Inc. Lucy A. Dalglish, Executive Director The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Kirsten Moore, President and CEO Reproductive Health Technologies Project Tim Little, Executive Director Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment John W. Whitehead, president The Rutherford Institute Adrienne Anderson, Coordinator Safe Water Colorado and Nuclear Nexus Projects Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center (Whistleblower Anderson v Metro Wastewater) Angela Smith, Coordinator Seattle Healthy Environment Alliance (Seattle HEAL) Dr. Roland Chalifoux The Semmelweis Society International (SSI) Rufus Kinney Serving Alabama's Future Environment (SAFE) Ed Hopkins, Director of Environmental Quality Program Sierra Club Shane Jimerfield, Executive Director Siskiyou Project Andrea Shipley, Executive Director Snake River Alliance Matthew Petty, Executive Director The Social Sustenance Organization Dave Aekens, National President Society of Professional Journalists Amy B. Osborne, President Southeastern Chapter of the American Association of Law Libraries Don Hancock, Director of Nuclear Waste Safety Program Southwest Research and Information Center Donna Rosenbaum, Executive Director S.T.O.P. - Safe Tables Our Priority Kevin Kuritzky The Student Health Integrity Project (SHIP) Daphne Wysham, Co-Director Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN) Jeb White, Executive Director Taxpayers Against Fraud Alec McNaughton Team Integrity Ken Paff, National Organizer Teamsters for a Democratic Union Thad Guyer, Partner T.M. Guyer & Ayers & Friends Marylia Kelley, Executive Director Tri-Valley CAREs Communities Against a Radioactive Environment Paul Taylor Truckers Justice Center Francesca Grifo, Ph.D., Director Scientific Integrity Program Union of Concerned Scientists Dane von Breichenruchardt, President U.S. Bill of Rights Foundation Dr. Joseph Parish U.S. Environmental Watch Gary Kalman, Director, Federal Legislative Office U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S.PIRG) Nick Mangieri, President Valor Press, Ltd. Dr. Jeffrey Fudin, Founder Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers Coalition Sonia Silbert, Co-Director Washington Peace Center Nada Khader, Foundation Director WESPAC Foundation Gloria G. Karp, Co-Chair Westchester Progressive Forum Mabel Dobbs, Chair Livestock Committee Western Organization of Resource Councils Ann Harris, Executive Director We the People, Inc Janet Chandler, Co-Founder Whistleblower Mentoring Project Dan Hanley Whistleblowing United Pilots Association Linda Lewis, Director Whistleblowers USA John C. Horning, Executive Director WildEarth Guardians Tracy Davids, Executive Director Wild South Kim Witczak WoodyMatters Tom Z. Collina, Executive Director 20/20 Vision Paula Brantner, Executive Director Workplace Fairness Cc: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Speaker Nancy Pelosi House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer House Minority Leader John Boehner Be first to comment this article \| Add as favourites (372) \| Quote this article on your site \| Views: 3931
Last Updated ( Monday, 02 February 2009 )

Coalition Letter to U.S. House Regarding HITECH Act

Advocacy and Letters - Letters to Government Agencies Signed by TMA
Written by Coalition
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Coalition for Patient Privacy January 21, 2009 Honorable Charles B. Rangel Chairman House Committee on Ways and Means 1102 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Henry A. Waxman Chairman House Committee on Energy & Commerce 2125 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable David Camp Ranking Member House Committee on Ways & Means 341 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Joe Barton Ranking Member House Committee on Energy & Commerce 2109 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Pete Stark Chairman, Health Subcommittee House Committee on Ways & Means 239 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr. hairman, Health Subcommittee House Commitee on Energy & Commerce 237 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Wally Herger Ranking Member, Health Subcommittee House Committee on Ways & Means 242 Cannon HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Nathan Deal Ranking Member, Health Subcommitee House Committee on Energy & Commerce 2133 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Honorable John Dingell Chair Emeritus House Committee on Energy & Commerce 2328 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressmen: You have taken critical steps to protect Americans’ jobs and opportunities with the privacy protections incorporated into the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or “HITECH Act”. This legislation addresses many of the issues that the Coalition for Patient Privacy, representing millions of Americans, brought to your attention (letter and signatures attached). *We stand ready to fight with you to protect consumers and ensure that our most intimate information, our health records, is only* used to improve our health. Ensuring privacy results in two important outcomes. First, ensuring privacy protects employees at a time when over eleven million Americans are unemployed. The last place anyone wants to be is in the “Unemployable” or “Uninsurable” lines; unfortunately, the two are often connected. Our sensitive health data should never be used to put us in either category. People should be hired based on whether they can do what is required, not on employers’ fears that they cannot do good work because of a diagnosis, a medicine they take, their DNA or a genetic test. Thirty five percent of Fortune 500 companies admitted to looking at employee’s health records before making hiring and promotion decisions.[1] This pre-hiring review of potential employees is inappropriate and in some cases illegal. Second, privacy is the key to implementing a successful health IT system Americans trust. We all want to innovate and improve health care. But without privacy, our system will crash as would any computer system with a persistent and chronic virus. If we fail to ensure privacy and engender trust Americans will avoid participation or worse, avoid care altogether and undoubtedly misrepresent their medical histories. The HITECH Act ensures that patient protections trump profit, and that increased accountability and transparency follow the health IT provisions in the economic stimulus. By far the most important provision in the HITECH Act is the prohibition on the sale of protected health information (SEC. 4405(e)).** Personal health information should not be sold and shared as a typical commodity. Health information is different; it is extremely sensitive and can directly impact jobs, credit, and insurance coverage. It is critical to put a stop to current data sales and misuse, but also to prevent the development of future businesses that sell personal health information as a commodity while doing nothing to improve Americans’ health. In addition, we strongly support the improved enforcement provisions of the bill. Periodic audits, state attorneys general enforcement, a compensation scheme for privacy victims and applying penalties to business associates are essential. The breach notification provision is likewise very strong. It is critical that taxpayer dollars go only to funding systems that are capable of segmenting specific and sensitive information. Requiring the HIT Policy Committee to make recommendations is a positive step. Previous language requiring the National Coordinator to ensure segmentation capabilities would be a stronger protection. Expanding our right to obtain audit trails of the uses of our health information to include treatment, payment and health care operations is another important improvement. We encourage you to require business associates to maintain audit trails as well as covered entities and shorten the timeframe for this provision to go into effect. The HITECH Act provides a more consumer-friendly structure for the HIT Policy and Standards Committees. We hope the less prescriptive membership structure for these committees will allow for greater consumer participation. We applaud the efforts to increase participation by providing funding for consumer advocacy groups and not for profit entities that work in the public interest. We also support the provision to study health technology that can be used to meet the needs of seniors and individuals with disabilities. We continue to advocate that our right to health information privacy be explicitly reaffirmed in statute. Furthermore, Congress can do more to ensure Americans have greater control over the uses of their health information. We are supportive of the measure directing the Secretary to narrow the definition of health care operations, though we would prefer to see those kinds of limitations put in statute. A January 18, 2009 New York Times article clearly described the challenge we face: we must protect the consumer over special interests.[2] We should not continue to allow business as usual when it harms the American public. Thank you for the tremendous work and collaborative efforts of your respective committees. The HITECH Act is truly a giant step forward in protecting privacy and promoting health IT. We are united in our strong support for your common sense protections. Sincerely, The Coalition for Patient Privacy Alliance for Patient Safety American Association for People with Disabilities Clinical Social Work Association Fairfax County Privacy Council Health Administration Responsibility Project, Inc. Just Health The Multiracial Activist National Coalition of Mental Health Professionals and Consumers Patient Privacy Rights Private Citizen, Inc. Tolven Encl. Coalition for Patient Privacy letter to Congress 1/14/09 cc: U.S. House of Representatives For additional information please contact: Ashley Katz (512) 897-6390 or (512) 732-0033 This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it [1] 65 Fed. Reg. 82,467 [2] “Privacy Issue Complicates Push to Link Medical Data” by Robert Pear, January 18, 2009, New York Times Relevant Discussion: http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2009/01/21/nsa-spied-on-us-journalists-and-you/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2169463/posts Be first to comment this article \| Add as favourites (269) \| Quote this article on your site \| Views: 3203
Last Updated ( Saturday, 24 January 2009 )

Reflections on the Day

TMA Articles and Commentary - Current Issue
Written by James A. Landrith
Tuesday, 20 January 2009
The Multiracial Activist January 20, 2009 From the Editor: As this is not a partisan political posting, I'd appreciate it if readers stayed on point with the topic at hand. Partisan political comments are considered off-topic and will be deleted without further consideration. Thank you. I decided to skip the swearing-in ceremony and waited until noon to go to the city for the parade. We listened to it on XM Radio on the way to the Metro station. Since moving here in September of 1992, I've witnessed both of Bill Clinton's inaugurations and the first one for Bush, so I knew what to expect with regard to crowds and navigation of same. I wanted to be there, but I didn't need to be there for the entire day given I expected the Metro system to be a mess. Not a mess like The Mall after a concert. No, a mess like trying to navigate the Gallery Place/Chinatown station on a Capitals game night multiplied by ten thousand. Since my wife and son went with me, I felt all day long in that cold with that mass of humanity was just too much. We arrived around 1:00 pm and stood in line near a security checkpoint across the street from the grandstand area not too far from Metro Center, the National Press Club Building and the Warner Theatre. Once the gates were open and people were allowed through the security checkpoint to the parade route, I began to look for a decent spot to watch the parade. After standing around and trying out different vantage points, we lucked out with some great seats in the bleachers right across from the grandstand after standing in line for about 30 minutes. The police started to let anyone, ticketed or not, into the stands once the parade was ready to begin. C-c-c-c-c-old. My frostbite had frostbite. We decided to stay until after Obama's limo passed us by. I would have liked to stay longer as a high school marching band from the town next to my hometown was in the parade. I went to high school with some of those kids' parents. It was just too cold to wait any longer as the parade got started late and it was starting to get dark. As a consequence of my active duty service in the Marine Corps, my civil liberties work and employment in government relations with DC area trade associations, I've been fortunate to witness several historic events in my short 38 years. I was extremely excited that my son was able to attend this with me. At eleven years old, my multiracial son can only partially grasp the magnitude of what he witnessed today in a multiracial man like him being sworn in as President of the United States. It will click sometime later and he'll be glad he was there today to witness a major piece of American history in the moment. That said, the election and presidency of Barack Obama is not the end of racism or skin color collectivism in the United States. However, it is a major milestone on the journey to that destination. A black-identified biracial man was elected President of the United States. The significance of this event should not be understated. His ascendancy to the White House was not due to his skin color, but through his political skill, charisma and a little luck - which is always helpful in the best of campaigns. Obama's status as a young, charismatic and skilled rising star in the opposition party of one of the most unpopular chief executives in U.S. history did not hurt things. Further, possessing the tenacity to survive a grueling battle with serious adversaries within his own party and the major opposing party who were not unwilling to resort to the worst of gutter tactics in order to achieve a victory didn't hurt his chances. In short, he won through political skill, not by playing the race card, appealing to "white guilt" or via other divisive tactics. So, political views aside, let's acknowledge it for what it is - progress with regard to racial views in the United States. I don't know what the next move is, but I do know this is not the endgame. There is much work left to do... James Landrith is the editor and publisher of The Multiracial Activist and The Abolitionist Examiner , two cyber-rags dedicated to coloring between the lines and freedom from oppressive racial categorization. Landrith can be reached by email at: editor AT multiracial DOT com or at his personal website/blog . Be first to comment this article \| Add as favourites (269) \| Quote this article on your site \| Views: 4571
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 20 January 2009 )

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