This week I posted a piece called "Betrayed" about the many 9/11 first responders whose health and lives have been shattered by their work at Ground Zero, and the government's 77 percent cut in healthcare for them in the new Bush budget. At first they were lied to by a government that assured them that there was little or no risk to the work, in order to get Wall Street up and operating; then, once so many came down with respiratory diseases and cancers, they were lied to again by this same government that promised to help them get through the tremendous costs of injuries connected to 9/11. Some of these men and women rallied in Washington yesterday on the capitol steps, hoping to get passage of James Zagroda's bill which attempts to alleviate some of their medical bills and the economic suffering that has resulted from their illnesses.
Okay, maybe you have 9/11 fatigue. Can't blame you. I know that I sure do. It's only natural after the way Bush and Rudy exploited that tragedy for personal and political profit, but these suffering men and women are not exploiting us; all they are asking for is some justice; help in getting through their now impossibly difficult lives. Insofar as we the people and the press are still part of this country, it seems to be a more general betrayal than that of Bush alone. I don't like being the village scold, but let's face it, folks, it is a national disgrace that these men and women are forced to beg for health care on the Capitol steps, an indecency that condemns all of us. Ground Zero first responders now join Katrina survivors, and Iraq disabled vets in the "push it under the carpet" policy of our dishonest and dishonorable Bush government. Time and again the Bushies ask people to sacrifice, then run from the consequences of that sacrifice into their greedy, tax sheltered, self-absorbed lives. That we let Bush get away with this just adds to the national disgrace.
Okay, no more scolding from Uncle Sherman. Indeed, I wrote my first piece as an uncle to one of these first responders, John McNamara, a fireman married to my niece and the father of a one-year-old boy. John has been under treatment for cancer for two years, his health has been grievously compromised by his work at Ground Zero and as a rescue volunteer at Katrina. Knowing John as I do I felt compelled to write the piece. Newsday and the Daily News in New York did run short articles on this protest on the Capitol steps, but the New York Times and most of the MSM was MIA -- too busy writing about Roger Clemens, or the fallout from the Oscars, and the sparring between Hillary/Obama with the ever egregious Tim Russet.
Here's John's reply to my original blog which he posted after it left the pages of The Huffington Post. Oh yes, there's a reason he calls himself notfunnyuncle in his nom-de-net; it's based on my famous avuncular tricks, my penchant for silly jokes that forced all the small children in the family to cry out in unison "Not funny Uncle Sherman!" Well, this is the least funny piece I have ever written. Sorry about that. Please read John's reply below and act by...sure, you know the drill. If not, I'll let John tell you what to do in his own words.
notfunnyuncle
Hello all and thank you for the great job on the post, Sherman. This is John McNamara. Yes, we took it to Washington DC yesterday, we invited over 800 media outlets with probably 3 showing up. Our (national) priorities are following Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan in this day and age. I went to Washington with other workers and volunteers from 9/11, and although I do have cancer, I felt like I was one of the lucky ones compared to some of the nightmares I heard. Charlie Geis is an EMT was there for the collapse; burned and yet came back to help, lost his house because he is so in debt due to his illness, and on over 20 meds a day. Another sad story was that of Linda Rooney who lost her brother to leukemia; he worked as a carpenter and logged over 200 hours at the site. He left behind three children and a wife, and when he died his health insurance died along with him.
We need to let our Congressmen and Senators know that the James Zadroga bill must be passed. This will cover all affected from 9/11 and not only save future lives, but not have people who "did the right thing" on 9/11 lose their homes. It is time to clean up our own backyard. New Orleans is still a vast wasteland, their firehouses are FEMA trailers, and our government has dropped the ball big time on this subject. Its time we put the care back in healthcare and restore the funding that the proposed 2009 budget hacks away from us. I urge you all to please join in our fight to take care of those Americans that need our help now. The number stands at 205 (first responders) that have died since 9/11, over 50% of those deaths are different forms of cancers, the numbers continue to rise yet our President who stood with us on September 14th and told us "we will never forget your sacrifices" has suddenly had a bad case of amnesia. Wall Street was his priority; yes, Whitman lied, we didn't get the proper respirators until November 2001, and by that time we all breathed in our death sentences. The sign above us said NEVER FORGET. Will you?John McNamara, engine 234, FDNY.