“Home is not a place; it is an attitude. It is an attitude which depends on how much we are able to feel at home with ourselves as well as with others. Home is something which happens to a person; homecoming has less to do with geography than it has to do with a sense of personal integrity or inner wholeness.
The most important of all endeavors in life is to come home. The most terrifying of fears is loneliness. It means that one has become a stranger to himself, and consequently, to others. To be lonely is to feel fear, to be forever unsettled, never at rest, in need of more reassurance than life can give.
Someone truly loves us when he brings us home; when he makes us comfortable with ourselves, when he takes from us the strangeness we feel at being who we are. We are loved when we no longer are frightened with ourselves.”
“Home is not a place; it is an attitude. It is an attitude which depends on how much we are able to feel at home with ourselves as well as with others. Home is something which happens to a person; homecoming has less to do with geography than it has to do with a sense of personal integrity or inner wholeness.
The most important of all endeavors in life is to come home. The most terrifying of fears is loneliness. It means that one has become a stranger to himself, and consequently, to others. To be lonely is to feel fear, to be forever unsettled, never at rest, in need of more reassurance than life can give.
Someone truly loves us when he brings us home; when he makes us comfortable with ourselves, when he takes from us the strangeness we feel at being who we are. We are loved when we no longer are frightened with ourselves.”
“Dawn Without Darkness” – Anthony Padavano
This story is about my most important endeavor in life. To experience that greatest love of all; to truly love myself, to shed the strangeness I feel at being who I am and to no longer be frightened with myself. This is my attempt to finally get myself home before I die…
The Compilation and Presentation of All Material on this Site is “Copyrighted and All Rights Reserved” by:
“The Michael W. Connett-’LIVING’ Trust
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How the Denver Principles changed AIDS (and health care) forever.
You must know this, because it matters. Because it has already changed your life and you may not even realize it.
It was 1983. Just a year prior, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) became the fearful nameplate for the murderer of gay friends and lovers. The virus that caused it, HIV, had only been identified a few weeks earlier. Amidst this atmosphere of unremitting grief and fear, a group of activists met in Denver as part of a gay and lesbian health conference. Among them, a dozen men with AIDS. (And among their number, the inspirational Michael Callen of New York City, pictured at right, and Bobbi Campbell of San Francisco.) They were about to do something that would change our response to AIDS — and health care in general — forever.
As the conference drew to a close, the activists asked to address the attendees. Rather than having a report presented about the state of the AIDS crisis, they wanted to speak for themselves. If the word “empowerment” hadn’t yet been a part of the health care lexicon, it was about to be.
The group took turns reading a document to the conference they had just created themselves, during hours sitting in a hospitality suite of the hotel. It was their Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence rolled into one. It would be known as The Denver Principles, and it began like this: “We condemn attempts to label us as ‘victims,’ which implies defeat, and we are only occasionally ‘patients,’ which implies passivity, helplessness, and dependence upon the care of others. We are ‘people with AIDS.’”
The seminal moment in AIDS activism was arguably those few minutes, when the principles were outlined by these brave “people with AIDS.” Identifying themselves as such, that alone, was startling at the time. How could they not be seen as anything but victims of an arbitrary and cruel killer? But they would have none of it. And they did not stop there.
They outlined 17 principles that covered everything from health care decisions to civil rights to sexual conduct. And their impact on all of us is so obvious today it can easily be taken for granted. Please honor their service and read on.
They demanded that physicians see their patients as “whole people,” and provide “accurate information.” They believed their opinion on their care should be awarded equal weight, and this was revolutionary. The next time your doctor consults you about a change of medications or whether a diagnostic test may be required, you can thank The Denver Principles.
They asked “all people” to fight against AIDS discrimination in the workplace and in housing, which was a provocative concept in the fearsome days of 1983 when people recoiled from those with HIV.
Astonishingly, they even advocated for “as full and satisfying sexual and emotional lives as anyone else” for people with AIDS. Imagine that, at a time when a new blood- and sexual contact-driven disease was in full bloom, a group of people suffering from it wanted sexual rights. Amazing. And yet today, if you are HIV positive and disclose your status to potential partners without feeling like a diseased pariah (or you have observed sexual evolution, like serosorting and sex clubs for positives), you can thank The Denver Principles. For that matter, if you’re HIV negative and negotiate sex with partners of any stripe, you can thank the Principles for believing that we all deserve a satisfying sexual life.
While gay men were the designers of the document, The Subversive Librarian notes that this was a situation in which lesbians and gay men worked together really effectively. As Walt Senterfitt wrote in 1998: “Part of the widespread acceptance of the notion of self-empowerment must be attributed to lessons learned from the feminist and civil rights struggles. Many of the earliest and most vocal supporters of the right to self-empowerment were the lesbians and feminists among the AIDS Network attendees.”
A clear line can be drawn between how all of us participate in our own health care decisions and The Denver Principles. It has influenced the doctor/patient relationship in every disease category, benefiting millions of patients.
Longtime activist and POZ Magazine founder Sean Strub delivered the keynote speech at the Campaign to End AIDS’ 5th Anniversary event last year. He devoted his powerful remarks to the historic importance of The Denver Principles and announced a plan to create a Denver Principles Empowerment Index that will hold AIDS groups accountable to the people they serve. That work continues today, with a planned meeting of activists underway to map the criteria of the Index.
Sean knows a thing or two about accountability. When I worked for various AIDS organizations through the 1980’s and 90’s, we were shaking in our boots each year when POZ Magazine produced their chart outlining which of the country’s AIDS organizations met certain criteria. The chart rated things like financial transparency, the cost of fund raising, and how many HIV positive people served on the Board (for which, by the way, you can thank The Denver Principles, which demanded people with AIDS “be included in all AIDS forums.”)
The Empowerment Index that Sean and others are creating (he’s open to input) would chart similar criteria for AIDS organizations and other health care providers, by measuring the degree to which their clients feel empowered and involved in their own decisions. It would tangibly rate things like fund raising, transparency, HIV+ representation and the delivery of services.
So the Denver Principles live on. A list of profound basic rights were outlined during the dawn of this epidemic that continue to have an impact on us today. Anyone facing a chronic illness should laud the amazing journey and profound importance of this document.
(When I was invited to participate in an “e-Patient Bill of Rights Roundtable” at a conference for internet-based health bloggers and web sites next week, The Denver Principles immediately sprang to mind. So why not revisit this part of our history as people living HIV/AIDS and their advocates? This is a revised version of my posting from May 4, 2010. — Mark)
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Monitoring and Evaluating our Communication ChannelsBy , AIDS.gov New Media Coordinator
When it comes to social media, how do you measure and monitor your reach? It’s a tough question, and one we often ask ourselves at AIDS.gov. Across our communication channels (the AIDS.gov website, blog, Twitter 
, Facebook , YouTube, mobile, and more), we strive to provide quality information about the federal government and HIV/AIDS on a consistent basis. In addition to the content that we share, we also focus on listening to what you have to say, and measure your engagement as best we can.In order to provide an at-a-glance summary of all of this information, our team compiles an internal Communications Channel Assessment report that gives a 6-month snapshot of activity and user feedback across these channels. You can view the internal report here (PDF 1.3 MB).
We compile the data used in this report on a weekly and monthly basis by listening and monitoring across all of our channels. Some of this is done manually, and other data we’re able to compile using Google Analytics
, a free tool. In-line with our Communications Strategy, this report helps tell us how we’re doing, how we compared with the last six-month period, and areas where we might reassess our strategy.We also identify patterns of engagement across channels. Since much of our content is re-purposed and packaged across channels (for example, we promote each AIDS.gov blog post via Twitter, Facebook, or other channels if appropriate), we are curious if certain content triggers different types of interaction in different channels. Did the content we put out for National HIV Testing Day (June 27) cause a surge in website traffic, retweets, likes, etc.? Is our audience engaged, leaving a blog comment or a Facebook like or comment?
June 5, 2011 marked 30 years of AIDS in the United States. In preparation for that day, we published 8 original blog posts, tweeted/retweeted, posted to Facebook at least daily, and featured a White House Facebook video chat
on our YouTube page. As a result of this increased content released and cross-promoted across channels, along with the timeliness and public interest in 30 years of AIDS, we saw a 29% increase in blog traffic (compared to the previous week), 36% increase in Twitter followers, 16% increase in new Facebook likes, and 74% increase in YouTube views. In addition to these numbers, we saw more comments from you about your thoughts on 30 years of AIDS. From this we’ve learned that one piece of content can go a long way, that promotion is essential to get the word out to our audience, and that our audience is likely to engage more when given a notable topic/occasion and the opportunity to have their voice heard.Here are some takeaways from the January-June 2011 period, in the latest report (compared with the previous six-month period):
- Blog content and total visits increased about 10%
- Twitter followers increased by 75%
- Facebook likes increased by 30%
- We produced fewer YouTube videos and podcasts this period, but gained subscribers and listeners
- Website views increased by 20%
- The search terms “AIDS” and “What is HIV/AIDS” were the most popular traffic sources to get to AIDS.gov
- We’ve just begun to evaluate Foursquare and mobile, our newest communication channels. Mobile users are accessing m.aids.gov about 50/50 between Apple iOS and Android platforms.
How do you measure social media over time? What defines success for you? What are your tips on content or audience engagement? Please share...
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Harlan judge steps down
A circuit judge convicted of ethics violations will step down while he appeals the decision.
Harlan Circuit Judge Russell Alred agreed Tuesday not to hear cases during his appeal, said Covington attorney Jeff Mando, who argued the ethics case before the Judicial Conduct Commission.
The commission convicted Alred on nine ethics charges, including abusing the authority of his office, and ordered him removed.
Alred is appealing the decision and the punishment to the state Supreme Court.
It will likely be next year before the high court decides whether to uphold the removal order, Mando said.
Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/09/20/1890259/harlan-judge-steps-down.html#storylink=rss#ixzz1Yb35EPT1Harlan Circuit Judge Russell Alred agreed Tuesday not to hear cases during his appeal, said Covington attorney Jeff Mando, who argued the ethics case before the Judicial Conduct Commission.
The commission convicted Alred on nine ethics charges, including abusing the authority of his office, and ordered him removed.
Alred is appealing the decision and the punishment to the state Supreme Court.
It will likely be next year before the high court decides whether to uphold the removal order, Mando said.
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Northern Kentucky Forum on education
When: 4-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21.Where: Holbrook Student Center at Thomas More College, 333 Thomas More Parkway in Crestview Hills
Cost: Free, though reservations are requested by emailing engage@nku.edu.
Information: www.nkyforum.org.
CRESTVIEW HILLS - The Northern Kentucky Forum will host a group of experts this week to discuss education reform in Kentucky.
The free event, open to the public, will be 4-5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Holbrook Student Center at Thomas More College.
Citizens can also offer ideas through Sept. 28 at http://cincinnatinky.opencity.me.
The forum is a partnership of three public engagement groups: Northern Kentucky University's Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement, Legacy and Vision 2015.
Forums are held eight to 10 times a year on various community topics. Martha Johnson, co-chair of next week's event, said they average about 100 people at each one.
"What we hope to do is get more citizens interested and involved in the discussions," said Johnson. "It's been a lot of fun to see what issues we bring forward and who we can get to speak about them."
Next week's panelists will be Michael Childress, a public policy adviser to the Dean of the College of Communications and Information Studies at the University of Kentucky and policy analyst with the Center for Business and Economic Research at Gatton College of Business and Economics; Judith Gibbons, member of the Kentucky Board of Education and Northern Kentucky resident; Carolyn Witt Jones, president of the Partnership for Successful Schools; and Stu Silberman, executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.
Silberman, who has been involved in education for the past 37 years, said the forum will encourage open, public dialogue about where education in the Commonwealth is now - and where it needs to be. He plans to speak about what it will take to reach the Prichard Committee's goal of Kentucky being ranked in the top 20 by 2020.
"There are great things happening across the state right now, and there are things we know we need to improve," said Silberman, who served as superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools before taking over as executive director of the Prichard Committee on Sept. 1. "It's a great opportunity to highlight the positives and speak about ways that we can replicate what is working well in schools throughout the state."
Panelists will take questions from the audience, and from four high school students who have been selected to ask the panelists questions.
"We really need to get the voice of students when talking about education," Johnson said. "Each of them will have four minutes to ask whatever they want."
The Internet addition is new to the Forum. The website will pose the question: "What would it take for Kentucky's system of elementary, middle and secondary public schools to become one of the nation's top 10?" All answers will be shared with the panelists' organizations, along with the Northern Kentucky Education Council.
"We've never done this before," Johnson said, "but I think it's an interesting way to get more people involved."
For more information, visit www.nkyforum.org. Though it is free, reservations must be made through email at engage@nku.edu.
Enquirer contributor Sarah Hardee contributed.
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Michael Connett shared a link.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says a group wanting to legalize medical marijuana has enough petition signatures but failed to properly summarize ballot language in its initial effort toward putting the idea before voters.
According to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, only 38% of poll respondents can name all three branches of the U.S. government and one-third can’t name just one branch. Additionally, over half of those who took the survey were unable to recall the date – exactly 224 years ago tomorrow – the Constitution was signed.
http://www.peopleaboutreform.org/
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http://www.peopleaboutreform.org/
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Audit finds DOJ pays big bucks for snacks
An audit of the Department of Justice by the Inspector General says that taxpayer money was wasted on overpriced food and drinks. At one conference, the DOJ spent $4200 on 250 muffins--that's about $16 a muffin. (Sept. 21)GOP mayors like Obama’s jobs plan. GOP governors don’t. - The Washington Post
The U.S. Conference of Mayors--a bipartisan national group for mayors of major cities--has openly embraced the American Jobs Act, with key Republican mayors offering high praise for the president’s infrastructure spending plan.
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"Class is an aura of confidence that is being sure without being cocky. Class has nothing to do with money. Class never runs scared. It is self-discipline and self-knowledge. It's the sure footedness that comes with having proved you can meet life." --Ann Landers—
"HIV is something you live with every day for the rest of your life. You may never die of it, but you always die with it..."
Michael W. Connett, Grantor/Trustee - The Michael W. Connett LIVING Trust"I used to be afraid of dying, I'm not anymore. I'm more afraid of what happens to the people who live..." from "And The Band Played On"
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