Commentary:
Paterson Says Equal Rights Too Expensive
PWDs Getting a Raw Deal in New York
By Peter S. Kahrmann
New York Governor David Paterson recently placed a value
on equal rights and concluded that it's too expensive. 
With the slash of his veto pen, the hard-hearted governor
recently killed one bill that would have required polling places to meet
federal accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities (PWDs) within six
months, another that would have protected people with disabilities from missing
out on services from state and local governments, and still another that would
have made it a felony for caregivers to endanger the welfare of an incompetent
or physically disabled person. On reflection, his vetoes represent the very
kind of felonies the latter bill sought to address.
For 15 years, Timothy J. Feeney has headed the
Neurobehavioral Resource (NRB) Project for New York state's traumatic brain
injury waiver. The NRB has arguably the most influence over the TBI waiver, a
Medicaid program designed to provide services to brain-injury survivors across
the state. What's the problem? Feeney has referred to himself, on numerous
occasions, as "Dr. Timothy Feeney" or "Timothy Feeney Ph.D." when he has
neither a legitimate master's degree nor a doctorate.
His master's degree and Ph.D. were obtained through a
now-defunct diploma mill called Greenwich University. Greenwich University
closed its doors in 2003 and none of the degrees it has conferred are
recognized as valid anywhere in the United States.
New York State Department of Health official Lydia J.
Kosinski, assistant director for the Division of Home and Community Based
Services, said that the contract signed by Feeney does not require him, as
director of the NRB, to have a Ph.D. or master's degree. "People can call
themselves reverend, honorable, the 'Divine Miss M,'" Kosinski said. "The point
is what he does.”
It seems that the Department of Health accurately reflects
the mindset of its governor.
These are the latest instances in which components of New
York's state government have displayed despicable and unconscionable behavior.
In actions that reek of narcissism, arrogance and greed, New York's Department
of Health issued a letter blatantly ignoring the fact that a state contract
employee who has headed a multimillion-dollar project over the past 15 years
isn't who he says he is, and now the governor decides equal rights cost too
much.
People like Paterson and Feeney need to remember a few
things: The willpower of the human spirit and the innate drive for independence
and equality is far greater and more powerful than any one person, and the
damage they have done and continue to do is temporary.
We shall overcome. We've done it before, and we'll do it
again.
Peter Kahrman is an advocate for people with
disabilities and writes a blog on disability issues. He resides in New York
state.
THE KAHRMANN BLOG is available on the home page of
Independent Living-USA. Com or www.ilusa.com. |
