The Multiracial Activist - www.multiracial.com

 

Darwin and the Right
February 11, 2009 - The Abolitionist Examiner
Alvaro Vargas Llosa

WASHINGTON—Polls, particularly in the United States, tell us that many conservatives still distrust Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The bicentennial of his birth should be a fitting occasion for the right to take another look at a man who contributed immensely to some ideas that it holds dear.

Darwin was not an atheist but a Victorian believer. He was not a proto-Marxist but a liberal, which in 19th-century Britain meant someone who favored individual liberty over big government. Darwin was an admirer of John Locke and Adam Smith, two of the greatest thinkers of freedom. And although he was influenced by Malthus, whose writings on overpopulation were later used by critics of capitalism to justify collectivism, Darwin used that political economist’s ideas in biology, not political economy.

Darwin did not set out to deny God. Anyone who has read “The Origin of Species,” “The Descent of Man” or his correspondence is immediately struck by how careful Darwin was to avoid what we would today call an “ideological agenda.” But this diligent student of nature did make one shattering discovery: not the theory of evolution itself, which had been proposed many times and can be traced back to the Greeks, but the fact that evolution is a random process of natural selection whereby certain variations that become well-adapted to the environment are gradually preserved through hereditary transmission. Ultimately, all species have a common origin.

This finding posed a cataclysmic challenge to the established church, comparable to the re-examination of Aristotle in the 12th and 13th centuries or the displacement of the Earth from the center of the universe in the 16th and 17th centuries. But unlike the teachings of Aristotle, which were absorbed by the church through Thomas Aquinas, and the findings of Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, which were reconciled with religion by rational Christianity and Deism, Darwin’s books have remained anathema to many believers. The pope finally accepted his teachings in the 1990s and the Anglican Church recently apologized to him. But for millions of Christians, Darwin remains unacceptable.

And yet science has confirmed and expanded Darwin’s theory, using it to great advantage. What he called the “mystery” of variation in offspring was explained by modern genetics. DNA sequencing and molecular biology have helped to understand the evolution of viruses and therefore to protect people from diseases.

Darwin’s teachings have been caricatured and grossly distorted. Social Darwinism, which turned his biological theory into a sociopolitical one to justify eugenics, harmed his reputation. But Darwin was an early opponent of slavery and, precisely because he identified a common origin in nature, he did more than anybody to debunk the notion that different races belong to different species.

Herein should lie Darwin’s appeal to the right: The English naturalist gave scientific validity to the revolutionary idea that order can be spontaneous, neither designed by nor beholden to an all-powerful authority. The struggle for existence that drives natural selection according to Darwin has nothing predetermined about it. In fact, he maintained that the presence of certain habits, values and institutions, including religion—themselves part of man’s adaptation to the environment—can impact evolution. The instinct of sympathy, for instance, drives some stronger members of the human species to help weaker ones, thereby mitigating the struggle for existence.

It is fascinating that conservatives who advocate for a spontaneous order—the free market—in political economy and decry social engineering as a threat to progress and civilization should resent Darwin’s overwhelming case for the idea that order can design itself. In an essay in the British publication The Spectator, the conservative science writer Matt Ridley reflects on the paradox that the left has claimed Darwin even though leftist political ideas contradict his basic teaching: “In the average European biology laboratory you will find fervent believers in the individualist, emergent, decentralized properties of genomes who prefer dirigiste determinism to bring order to the economy.”

The bicentennial of Darwin’s birth is a good opportunity for those on the right who trash him as an icon of the left to give the author of “The Origin of Species” another chance.

New from Alvaro Vargas Llosa! The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty Nearly four decades after his death, the legend of Che Guevara has grown worldwide. In this new book, Alvaro Vargas Llosa separates myth from reality and shows that Che’s ideals re-hashed centralized power—long the major source of suffering and misery for the poor. Learn More »»

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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

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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.

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

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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

Relevant Discussion:

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