Note: The following is an excerpt from David Mixner's new memoir, At Home with Myself: Stories from the Hills of Turkey Hollow.

I had not expected my 60s to be a time when I would come to terms with the impact of HIV/AIDS in my life. While I...

Instead of coming together as Americans and finding common ground to solve our problems, the pendulum swings of the last two elections have only served to sharpen the differences between right and left. Add to this 9.1 percent unemployment, low consumer confidence, overseas conflict and uncertainty, and a never-ending feeling...

The health care debate is not over. Clearly there are a large number of Americans who would love to see the entire package repealed and others who want to make changes to either weaken or strengthen the basic legislation that was passed in 2010.

Given the historical passage and...

In a historic appointment, the White House has just announced that Jeremy Bernard will be the first male ever to serve as White House Social Secretary. Jeremy, also the first open member of the LGBT community to have that high honor, will return from Paris where he was...

Over the years, HIV/AIDS activists and their allies have been pioneers in creating new frontiers in the medical establishment. Through their efforts, the FDA drug approval procedures were reformed so promising new therapies could reach desperate patients quicker. The heroic efforts of the HIV/AIDS community has made health care better...

Those of us who lived through the worst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s have a very special spot in our heart for home-based health care. Initially insurance companies would not cover such services for people with HIV/AIDS and taking care of our sick and...

Over the past three decades, HIV/AIDS has had a way of taunting us with progress and then reminding us of its immense devastation. Even in the early years, we had a parade of promising therapies that gave us hope, only to find out they did not contain the answer. Not...

Over the past few months, two issues have dominated the debate over how to reform our nation's ailing health-care system: reducing costs and expanding access to quality, affordable coverage for every American. For long-time advocates of universal care like me, the discussion is an encouraging sign that we're closer than...

My email has been overflowing this week from wonderful people concerned about the presidential campaign. They all have valuable input. Many are deeply worried about how the campaigns are proceeding, some people are in full fledged panic, many have good advice on 'what must be done immediately' and others...

Yesterday I went to some meetings in the Chicago Headquarters of the national Obama for President campaign. For nearly three decades I have visited the national headquarters of almost every Democratic candidate for president. And they have all been alike. Until yesterday.

The usual headquarters is clutter, organized chaos,...

This week in Turkey Hollow we had over six inches of rain in two days. As the Willowemoc River rapidly rose, another flood was on everyone's mind. It has been only two years since the last deluge hit neighboring Livingston Manor very hard. This time the water rose just to...

Many of us have known for years that it is indeed possible to withdraw our troops from Iraq in an orderly and sane fashion in a comparatively short period of time. Any doubts that this could be done were erased yesterday when Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that Iraq...

1. The oil companies will lower gas prices before the election and then increase them right after the election. To add insult to injury, station windshield squeegees will be eliminated.

2. The Bush administration will be filled with demonstrative bluster and talk about troop withdrawal from Iraq. After the...

Over the thirty years I have traveled back and forth to Africa, I had never seen the notorious Wild Dogs. One of Africa's most endangered species, they are rare sightings and even more rare is the opportunity to spend time with them due to their constant state of motion. From...

Over the last weeks, I have been scratching my head wondering who would be a great Vice President for our nominee, Barack Obama. My thoughts have drifted from Governor Sebelius to Senator Clinton to Senator Edwards. All of them bring great strength to the ticket in different ways but one...

As the first day of June arrives, the general consensus here in Turkey Hollow, is that May was one of the coldest in quite some time. The sky spit down the last hours of snow, just about mid-month, much to everyone's dismay.

So it...

There are some situations so obvious that you almost feel you don't have to comment upon them. Then you wake up one morning and realize not only should you have expressed your opinion but you should have done it loudly and resoundingly and repeatedly. The odious concept of former Georgia...

The recent street protests in Burma, led by Buddhist monks, created the most striking images of dissent since Chinese citizens staged protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Photographs showed simple, serene monks holding upturned begging bowls and facing down armed troops. These images invoked the kind of courage we saw...

Evan Wolfson is a dear friend of mine. Almost more than any other, Evan is responsible for bringing the issue of marriage equality to the forefront of our struggle for civil rights. He is a courageous pioneer who has been relentless in this battle for marriage equality. Evan has agreed...

Driving from Austin to Johnson City, it dawned on me that I was soon to be at LBJ Ranch to be hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. The event was to raise funds for her son-in-law Senator Robb who was in...