#MeToo in Solidarity

On By mikacovingtonIn Democrats, gender, sexual assaultLeave a comment

A couple days ago, three courageous women revealed the dark truth that sexual harassment and assault cross political party lines.

I and many others, thank you. We acknowledge the heavy weight of being preyed upon, harassed, and exploited by those in positions of power. You are not alone in the fear that no one will believe you, the fear that you will look weak or the fear that you will be dismissed. You are not alone because I and many others have experienced those feelings as well. 

To every person who has had to face unwanted sexual advances and who are subjected to offensive behavior that we are expected to tolerate because it’s just “the way it is”: I and many others stand with you. Together we support you!

I want, no I demand that all survivors of sexual abuse and harassment, be heard, be believed, and be able to access justice and support.

Too many centers of power including the Iowa General Assembly lack gender parity and women including gender minorities have no equal decision-making power. Society’s inequality and imbalance of power create an environment where it seems normal for abuse and harassment to flourish. Thus, we need women to fill positions of power!

I and many others continue to fight for equal representation, opportunities, benefits and pay for all women, greater representation of women of color, immigrant women, women with disabilities, and transgender, bisexual and lesbian women. And yes, our experiences in life are often significantly worse than white, cisgender, straight people.

 

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Mika for State Central Committee

On By mikacovingtonIn 2016 Election, Cystinosis, Democrats, Election 20181 Comment

I am running for the Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee (SCC).

I am running because I have seen that the party still has many areas where we can improve. For example, the party treats those with money differently than those without money. We have fundraisers and events that exclude people who don’t have $50 to $75 to give to the party to participate in these events. Additionally, we seem to favor our incumbents and claim that primaries and open discussion of the issues are somehow divisive. Frequently, I hear party officials discourage the discussion and challenge to status quo.

I firmly believe that if we want change to occur we must step up to the challenge and create the change.

I believe that we need to consider and include ideas from everyone, not just those who have been involved in the party for years. As we know we must make our party more open and inclusive and we must face the fact that a greater number of young people and the next generation of voters are independents. Therefore, we need to listen to those voters especially since we rely on them to win general elections.

I know we need to reach out and bring back the 4.4 million Obama voters who voted in 2012 but stayed home in 2016. Of these 4.4 million, 43 percent were not contacted by any candidate in 2016 because it was believed they would be reliable Democratic voters.

I understand that we must update and modernize the way we are campaigning. We must put more emphasis on digital advertising and social media. We must follow the example of those already using social media and live streaming technologies to reach people. As Senator Bernie Sanders has done with live broadcasting his town halls. We are able to reach millions more than conventional online videos. We could use this tool to live broadcast many of our events and especially our fundraisers which in turn would include more people.

I believe that I am uniquely qualified to be on the SCC because of my work on issue and advocacy organizations such as the Cystinosis Research Foundation and the Cystinosis Research Network. And because of living with cystinosis I learned at an early age to be organized, to advocate for myself, and to be responsible especially when it came to managing my health and navigating health care coverage.

I hope I can count on your support at the Iowa Congressional District 2 Democratic Party Convention.

If you have any questions or concerns contact me at mika.j.covington@gmail.com

Nebraska Medical Center and the Dominant Narrative

On By mikacovingtonIn Capitalism, Cystinosis, Republicans, University of Nebraska Medical Center

I live with a very rare genetic condition called cystinosis which slowly destroys my organs including the eyes, kidneys, liver, muscles, and brain. Because of this, I needed a kidney transplant in 2011.

At the time, I lived in Republican-controlled Nebraska where I went to the Nebraska Medical Center to get the transplant. However, the dominant narrative got in the way. This narrative says that society does not need to treat transgender people with dignity and respect.

On several occasions, while sitting in the waiting room at the Nebraska Medical Center Holly Fox, the transplant nurse coordinator would call my name. Instead of calling me by the name I identify with or the gender pronouns I prefer she called me Michael and Mr. Covington. Many of the staff there fought with me over their issue with the dominant narrative that says those who are different do not deserve to be treated as a human being. They even made excuses for their behavior and they claimed that it was illegal for them to use my preferred name and pronouns.

There was little for me to do because I accepted the dominant narrative and let them demean me.

The dominant narrative led to me not fighting when the Nebraska Medical Center staff treated me like shit and refused to do the kidney transplant. They even pretended to get ready for the surgery by actually scheduling it and having me go through all of the pre-operative appointments. Then at the last minute, they canceled the surgery. All of this happened even though I had a living donor ready to do the transplant. All they needed to do was perform the damn surgery.

These medical professionals obeyed the dominant narrative that said I am not worthy of life.

Because I did not get the treatment that I needed I was forced to have a less effective treatment that did not benefit me and in the long run hurt me.

Thus, because I did not get the transplant I needed I was forced to go on dialysis to extend my life. And because I did not get the transplant several complications occurred that was 100 percent preventable.

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I had many surgeries that I did not need. Some of the surgeries were dialysis catheters that were placed in my chest for access to perform dialysis. I experienced many complications that led to me going to the hospital and having even more procedures. It led to needing to switch to another form of dialysis which meant more surgeries.

Everything I went through for three years was 100 percent preventable. None of this benefited me and I could have died waiting for the transplant.

Because of the medications, surgeries, and dialysis, years may have been cut off my life.

Who benefited from this and from me accepting the dominant narrative? The hospital, the medical supply companies, the pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies, and everyone who made a profit off my suffering. These people and institutions made hundreds of thousands of dollars off the unnecessary medical procedures and medications.

This happened because of the dominant narrative and because I and others were not fighting it.

Nevertheless, I have the power to change this and so do you. Together we can win the fight for universal health care as a human right and we can win basic human rights for all people regardless of your gender identity or gender expression.

Take action now! 

I am Transgender

On By mikacovingtonIn Affordable Care Act, Gender Identity

I am raising money to help pay for the procedures I am hoping to have that will help me affirm my gender identity and overcome gender dysphoria.

Unfortunately, I have not had a job that provided adequate health care benefits so I could even consider having any gender affirming procedures. I have Medicaid at the moment and while it covers hormone therapy it does not cover anything else.

These procedures are medically necessary because of the many effects of gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria involves a conflict between a person’s physical or assigned gender and the gender with which they identify. People with gender dysphoria may often experience significant distress and/or problems functioning associated with this conflict between the way they feel and think of themselves and their physical or assigned gender (American Psychiatric Association).

Living with gender dysphoria is like an immeasurable and indescribable self-hate. Hate because you feel that everything about you is wrong and you would rather destroy your own body because how disgusted you are with your own body. All this because you identify differently from what biology gave you. It destroys your life, it harms everything from your academic performance to your intimate relationships. You have trouble relating to people and completing daily tasks. Everything it is to be a human becomes hard if not impossible.

Those of us with this, deal with many mental health concerns. Not because there is anything wrong with us but because society is the problem. Because society forces everyone to conform to what Christian conservatives think is normal.

According to a 2011 National Center for Transgender Equality found that 41% of transgender individuals have attempted suicide at least once and 50% of transgender youth will attempt suicide before their 20th birthday.

I became so depressed in 2016 because of many reasons but one of the biggest was because of realizing that doing just hormones is not even to make my body into who I really am. Then the thought that I could not be intimate with any one again because of how much I hate my body added on top of that is the war I continue to fight because society has not come to the point where everyone is given the health care they need regardless of their zip code or income level.

It is very difficult for me to do this but I must for my own health, ask for your help in paying my medical expenses for my gender affirming procedures. I need to raise at least $10,000 to help cover these expenses. Health insurance will not cover the procedure so I have to pay out of pocket for it.

Please go here to donate: Mika Covington

Jon Neiderbach & Cathy Glasson for Iowa Governor

On By mikacovingtonIn Affordable Care Act, College Debt, Democrats, Election 2018, Gender Identity

I support both Cathy Glasson and Jon Neiderbach for Iowa Governor. I believe that both are great candidates and both have bold progressive agendas.

I support Jon Neiderbach because he believes in education and ensuring everyone has an equal chance to get ahead.

My budget will include $100 million dedicated to make post-secondary education and training available and accessible. Students who agree to stay and work in Iowa after graduation and are enrolled at any of Iowa’s community colleges and public universities will qualify for this new program. My budget will also include funding to reduce debt owed by students. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he understands that every Iowan must have affordable high-quality health care.

I support keeping the ACA – with needed “fixing” legislation – until there are enough votes to replace it with single-payer universal coverage. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he believes that Iowans need lower drug prices right now.

I believe Iowa should in cooperation with other states negotiate drug prices for our residents, and press hard for the Secretary of HHS to do the same for all Americans. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he believes that every Iowa regardless of gender identity must have access to high-quality comprehensive health care.

I will work with the Board of Medicine and the relevant professional societies to educate providers and stamp out discrimination and bias toward transgender and intersex individuals. Iowa should require health insurance policies written in the state to cover medical and mental health services in association with gender identity issues. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he wants to combat bullying and harassment in Iowa and especially against LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual) students.

Every principal should be required to attend training, with follow up training for the teachers in their building. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he knows that discrimination against LGBTQIA people continues to happen in Iowa even with marriage equality and the amended Iowa Civil Rights Code.

I will propose additional funding for the Iowa Civil Rights [Commission] for timely investigations and enforcement actions, and I will embrace the Governor’s Conference on LGBTQIA Youth. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he supports common sense gun reform.

I support applying universal background checks to all sales including those at gun shows, and I favor using technology to make it easier for law enforcement to link bullets to specific weapons. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he supports comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship.

Iowa needs more people in our workforce, and welcoming immigrants including a path to citizenship for undocumented individuals is an excellent way to increase our population. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he supports a living wage.

I support increasing the state minimum wage to $15 an hour immediately, with a provision that it will increase indexed to inflation. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he supports “too-big-to-fail-to-big-to-exist” legislation.

We need aggressive federal oversight to financial institutions to ensure that none get so large their failure would jeopardize the banking system. Banks want capitalism when they are profitable and socialism when they are in danger: unacceptable. – Jon

I support Jon Neiderbach because he believes that we need a 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act.

The bottom line is we need legislation to ensure the stability of the financial system, limit the power of the financial system and any individual institution, and make sure the financial system works to help hardworking American families. – Jon

I also support Cathy Glasson for Iowa Governor. Cathy has been an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for over 20 years, she is the president of Iowa SEIU 199 and lives in Coralville Iowa.

I am supporting Cathy because she believes as do I, that the primary job of a Governor is to raise peoples’ standard of living.

As Cathy says, 381,000 Iowa households are struggling to pay their bills because two-thirds of the jobs in our state pay less than $20 an hour. Parents working two and three low-wage jobs are still scrambling to come up with $900 each month for childcare, to pay the rent or mortgage, to put food on the table and gas in the car.

Cathy understands that we must provide for those who have the least. She understands that Iowa must increase the minimum wage to a living wage and that Iowa must do more to make childcare affordable for all families.

I support Cathy because she believes workers must have collective bargaining rights. She believes that it should be easy to form unions not harder.

As a nurse, I believe healthcare is a right and holding Iowans’ care hostage is wrong. – Cathy

As she says, healthcare is a right, it is not a privilege for a few.

I support Cathy because she understands that education is a right and Iowa must fully fund our public schools, make community college free, and freeze tuition at Iowa’s public universities.

It is time for a bold progressive, please support Cathy Glasson and Jon Neiderbach for Iowa Governor and join the campaign.

Go here to join Jon Neiderbach’s campaign: click here
Go here to join Cathy Glasson’s campaign: click here
Not endorsed by any candidate, candidate’s committee, or political party.