Due to a miscommunication by one of the administrations (hint: name rhymes with Mike O'Drew), the diarist scheduled to be writing tonight cannot. Instead, we can have an open thread to chat about today's news, your bitterness about not being at Netroots Nation, or whatever the hell you feel like saying.
Please note: This is supposed to be a safe space to discuss our issues, so please, keep your piefights where they belong, which is not here. That applies to the meta food fight of the day, the Obama Wars, what have you. It's not that we don't like debate or that we don't have opinions on those issues. There are places for these debates and they are not here at LGBT Kos. We are more interested in the diversity of our life experiences, our cultures, and our dreams of a better tomorrow. We believe that we can create a space to discuss these differences without engaging in the political debates that have often divided our community. If you can't abide by this rule, you'll be asked to leave.
First some good news from Massachusetts and Washington, DC:
Cambridge, Mass., Equalizes Cost of Health Insurance for Gay Workers
The city of Cambridge, Mass., may be the first municipality to equalize the cost of health benefits for its gay employees, following the lead of many corporations.
Unlike married couples, employees who use domestic partner health coverage for their partners must pay taxes on the value of that coverage (unless the partner is considered a dependent). If the federal government recognized same-sex marriage, these couples could avoid the tax since it doesn’t apply to heterosexual married people. On top of that, employees can’t use pretax dollars to pay for their partner’s insurance premiums — another bonus that’s available only to opposite-sex married couples.
So after Cambridge officials were made aware of the issue through a city employee who had to pay the extra taxes, they decided to reimburse employees for the extra costs. The policy will go into effect on July 1 for nonunion employees; it will go into effect for union employees “pending collective bargaining obligations.”
HHS Puts Cash Up for First LGBT Refugee Center
The federal government wants to make the transition easier for lesbian and gay people who come to this country in search of asylum from persecution in their homelands, and it’s investing $250,000 to start making a difference.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced today a new contract with the Heartland Alliance of Chicago to create a first-ever resource center for LGBT refugees.
The new program is part of the Obama administration’s belief that “comprehensive human rights include the elimination of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” according to a statement from David Hansell, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, a division of HHS.
JTA has an interesting article about the Jewish trans community.
From shul to the mikvah, transgender Jews seek place in Jewish life
BERKELEY, Calif. (JTA) -- Noach Dzmura is a roly-poly man with a light brown beard, dancing eyes and a contagious laugh.
He has a master’s degree in Jewish studies, publishes widely on Jewish topics and is the communications director at his synagogue. In 2006 he received an award from the San Francisco Jewish federation that funded a year’s study in Israel.
He also was born a female.
Were you as upset as I was that Neil Patrick Harris declared the theatre hetero-friendly?