A Step Closer
While we sit back and watch our national and local conservative opposition lie with no conscience in the healthcare debate (hey, David Anderson, would Jesus lie?), the good news comes in small doses, just enough to sustain us.
Newark City Councilman Ezra J. Temko’s proposal to extend municipal workers’ health coverage to domestic partners reportedly has cleared its main hurdle.
When Temko suggested the idea early this year in a package of proposals — including emergency and funeral leave for domestic partners approved this week by City Council — critics balked at its potential cost during economic hard times.
But Charles M. Zusag, assistant to the city manager, this week told council, “that problem appears to be resolved.” Zusag said the city’s insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, “has agreed to provide domestic partner benefits at no extra premium.”
Although it is disheartening that a cost-benefit analysis had to be performed for equality. But I will take what I can get. Temko is someone I really admire. A college student that goes out and puts words to action, gets elected, and is serving his community. Mind you, he will be attacked by the very same conservative “Christians*” who lie with impunity about healthcare, simply because he cares about equality and tolerance.
Facts-
CBO and Mayo Clinic said no to Obama’s plan.
Here are more facts. Do the Dems have a super majority in both Chambers? Yes, they do yet the Republicans are blocking any reform?
No, the Obama plan is so bad members of his own party have NO.
Keep up the propaganda for Obama but he has wrecked serious reform which was needed by individuals and businesses.
Perhaps after his defeat he can “fix” Medicare and Medicaid which should have been part of any reform attempt.
Mike Protack
Bravo Ezra! Let’s hope this inspires more governments and businesses in DE to follow suit.
If they are paying for it, why shouldn’t they be able to cover everyone in their household. I support the concept.
It’s funny we hear Republicans say that they do not want “faceless bureaucrats” making medical decisions but they have no problem with “private sector” “faceless bureaucrats” daily declining medical coverage and financially ruining good hard working people (honestly where can they go with a pre-condition). And who says that the “private sector” is always right, do we forget failures like Long-Term Capital, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Enron, Tyco, AIG and Lehman Brothers. Of course the federal government will destroy heathcare by getting involved, Oh but wait, Medicare and Medicaid and our military men and women and the Senate and Congress get the best heathcare in the world, and oh, that’s right, its run by our federal government. I can understand why some may think that the federal government will fail, if you look at the past eight years as a current history, with failures like the financial meltdown and Katrina but the facts is they can and if we support them they will succeed.
How does shouting down to stop the conversation of the healthcare debate at town hall meetings, endears them to anyone. Especially when the organizations that are telling them where to go and what to do and say are Republicans political operatives, not real grassroots. How does shouting someone down or chasing them out like a “lynch mob” advanced the debate, it does not. So I think the American people will see through all of this and know, like the teabagger, the birthers, these lynch mobs types AKA “screamers” are just the same, people who have to resort to these tactics because they have no leadership to articulate what they real want. It’s easy to pickup a bus load of people who hate, and that’s all I been seeing, they hate and can’t debate. Too bad.