The Newark city school district redacted this photo from the high school yearbook after labeling it "illicit" even though the book featured multiple heterosexual kissing couples. So the district blacked it out. After a brouhaha erupted, the school district offered to provide an "unredacted" version to anyone who wanted it. Huh.
?I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me,? Elizabeth Edwards said at a news conference before the parade started. ?I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.?
She made the remark almost offhandedly in answering the final question from reporters after delivering a standard campaign stump speech during a breakfast hosted by the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, an influential San Francisco political organization. California's presidential primary is Feb. 5, one of the earliest contests in the nation.
She conceded her support puts her at odds with her husband, a former U.S. senator from North Carolina who she said supports civil unions among gay couples ? but not same-sex marriages.
?John has been pretty clear about it, that he is very conflicted,? she said. ?He has a deeply held belief against any form of discrimination, but that's up against his being raised in the 1950s in a rural southern town.?
No serious presidential candidate from either major political party has publicly supported gay marriage.
This past week, this photo appeared in the Post-Gazette commemorating the vote to keep same-sex marriage legal in Massachusetts. It is not available online, but Mozarti at PghGay.com found it (h/t).
From well-known member of the LGBTQ community Barry Ralph comes this letter to the editor:
As a gay senior citizen, I never thought I'd see the day when a photo would be published such as the one that appeared in Friday's Post-Gazette (Page A-7) of the two men celebrating in Boston ("Massachusetts Vote Supports Legal Status of Same-Sex Marriage in State," June 15). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I did not actually see the photo and only found out about it from Mozarti. I miss all the good stuff when I rush off to work. :-)
Three years ago, the Post-Gazette's Ervin Dyer wrote a half page story on the growth of PrideFest. Two years ago, Caitlin Clearly wrote a short, vapid piece about gay flash. Last year, Anita Srikameswaran wrote a thoughtful story about Governor Rendell's participation in PrideFest and the issue of gay marriage.
This year? PrideFest merits a black and white photo with a caption indicating that 300 people participated in the parade and then went to the festival. It is not even online so I have to tell you to turn to the Region section and look for it.
This is the same thing they do for the Strawberry Festivals and Pumpkin Patch events. Cute picture, little caption and ... next. What the hell does this say about PrideFest -- that we are just a fun little festival with nothing newsworthy happening?
Well, actually, that's not far from the truth. It was a very nice event, but nothing exceptional happened. The parade grand marshall was this very cute older man that I had never heard of who apparently was instrumental in launching funding for AIDS services. He gave a little speech about how great the older gay white men are and how us young folks should respect them. The parade was charming and a little zippy, the vendors did a brisk business, old friends reconnected ... overall, a nice afternoon. But nothing significant really happened.
The big news seemed to be an "adult" street party on Liberty Avenue. I guess that's okay, but the level of hype, IMHO, plays right into stereotypes about our community so I pretty much ignored it. If you want to get drunk and dance on Liberty Avenue, fine. Just don't make it the hallmark of PrideFest.
Maybe PrideFest has become mainstream enough that it serves its purpose of providing a celebration and that's all. Because, frankly, there wasn't any more substance to it. I was astounded at how so many politicians could be in one place and not say anything political. Let's do a quick review of who was there -- Bill, Doug and Jimmy M. from City Council, City Council candidates Bruce Kraus and Patrick Dowd. Luke. Jack McVay.
Let's do a not-so-quick review of who wasn't there. Dan Frankel. Chelsa Wagner. Wayne Fontana. Rich Fitzgerald. Tonya Payne. Dan Onorato. Michael Lamb. Brenda Frazier. Heather Arnet. I'm sure some had good reasons, but it is absolutely noticeable when some of your biggest allies don't attend the biggest event of the year. Allies, perhaps you should let those of us who are paying attention what happened.
Here's my problem. None of them said anything political. They wished us a nice day, lauded the gays that they do know and made some other rah-rah comments. Only Steve Glassman, chairman of the PA Human Relations Commission, even mentioned political issues. I was stunned. Where was my friend Bill's mojo? And what happened to the County Council's promise to work toward consider domestic partner benefits? I guess if no one from County Council shows up, you don't have to talk about that.
So what does this all mean? Have we as a community arrived to the point that PrideFest is benign? After all, our mayor understands our struggle for acceptance. If that's not apocalyptic, I don't know what is .... hey, do you think Luke has gay friends? Do you think he'll ever invite Ledcat and me over for dinner?
Consider this. A week ago, the Post-Gazette ran a very lengthy story, complete with three sidebars, about gay parenting. I was braced for the ire filled letters of protest, but none appeared. In fact, only one letter has been printed and it applauds the article (thanks to Dr. Michael Marshall of the University of Pittsburgh).
In fact, the Post-Gazette and the Trib run gay oriented articles year round. When newsworthy things happen. Maybe PrideFest just isn't newsworthy.
The problem I have is that we can be lulled into a sense of complacency. Sure, life for your average white middle class gay couple has improved dramatically, but many of us still face huge barriers in finding housing, at the workplace, even just walking down the streets. The fact that none of the local fundies show up with protest signs doesn't mean that the anti-gay rhetoric isn't spewing about the faith communities this morning. And I'm sure more than one parent rushed their children past the festival or the drunkfest for fear of gay exposure.
For the first time in a long time, the General Assembly is considering legislation to help us by extending discrimination protections to include sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We aren't fighting back marriage amendments this time. We are fighting for something. Something that our good friends Dan Frankel and Chelsa Wagner are actively supporting. Something that has a chance to pass. This is the time to stand up and be counted, not merely bask in the sun at Riverfront Park or frolic on Liberty Avenue. It is a shame that not a single state legislator could make the time to rally the troops. Dan, Chelsa and Wayne missed a hell of an opportunity to promote this legislation.
Maybe now that Pride is on solid financial footing, they can continue to move forward. Bringing in nationally known comedian Poppy Champlin was refreshing. We liked Eric Himan. Continuing to pump that up and professionalize it is a good step. More Pride events would be nice, too. I know the age old issue is that they can only do as much as their small volunteer crew can manage. So more people need to get involved to make it happen.
We aren't picking strawberries, after all.
ps: if strawberry picking has any sexual connotation whatsoever, I am unaware of it so don't mock me.
Quick post about 2007 PrideFest. Luke showed up. Point for him.
Then during his speech, he said something to the effect that as a 27 year old mayor he, like gay people, understands what it is like not to be accepted.
No exact quote because I almost choked and dropped my pen. I asked around and the impression was clearly that he implied that the struggle for acceptance of a 27 year old, upper-middle-class, white, college-educated, Catholic, married, son of local prominent fathers, and, uh, heterosexual man is pretty much the same as the struggle we here in the gay community face.
He made Jim Motznik's annual "I love my gay brother" speech seem positively enlightened.
There's more, but I'll save the rest of my disssection for tomorrow.
If anyone knows why Dan Frankel and Chelsa Wagner didn't show, please let me know. They are both signed onto the legislation expanding discrimiation protections to the LGBT communities, so I was surprised they didn't show. Especially Frankel.
This week, the man who is slowly creeping up the list of men the lesbians love (McIntire, Peduto, Dayvoe, Lamb and Norman) takes us down the rainbow brick road and shows us that things just might be a little better. Chris Potter of The City Paper writes ...
Pittsburgh will have a lot to celebrate when it holds its annual Pridefest march this weekend -- not least the fact that we helped remove a certain gay-bashing U.S. senator from office in last November's election. Now the Senator Who Shall Not Be Named is the Senator Whose Name We Can Try to Forget.
But in recent months, some of the most notable advances have been the least noticed. And that may be among the best things about them.
He points out a few: the absence of hate-legislation in Harrisburg, Kennywood's revision of homophobic content, the primary victory of openly gay Bruce Kraus (with a saucy sidebar on the meaning of openly).
As for our opponents, he has this to say:
[T]hose tactics are catching up with conservatives. Ocean levels and crime rates are rising, along with casualties in Iraq. And those families that conservatives were supposed to be protecting? They're being crushed by health-care costs, which have ruined more families than any number of gay couples down the street.
If there's an upside to the mess we're in, it's this: We no longer have the luxury of indulging in our petty hatreds as if they were all that mattered. George W. Bush and his cronies may have been uniters after all, it seems ... allowing us all to take a big step forward.
Well put, Mr. Potter.
ps: I'd like to see how many Pittsburghers can identify 5 openly gay people who aren't in entertainment or politics.
(Harrisburg, PA) ?Legislation prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in housing, employment, and public accommodations was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives today. A press conference was held in the capitol to announce the bill?s introduction.
The bill, HB 1400, was co-sponsored by a record 70 members of the House. Similar legislation, SB761, was introduced in the Pennsylvania Senate in April with a record number of 22 co-sponsors. The Senate bill has been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House bill is expected to go to the House State Government Committee where it has been assigned in the past.
The Value All Families Coalition worked with legislative allies to gather support for this amendment to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Alleghany) and Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh, Monroe, Northhampton), the prime sponsors of the House and Senate versions of the bill, spoke about the importance of this non-discrimination legislation in Pennsylvania. Rep. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia), the Chair of the House State Government Committee, addressed the need for education and hearings on this issue.
?This legislation is critical to thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pennsylvanians who are trying to work and have a roof over their heads. I urge the legislature to move this legislation forward. It is needed. It is fair. It is time,? said Stacey Sobel, executive director of Equality Advocates Pennsylvania.
Current Pennsylvania law provides basic legal protection against discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, handicap or disability, education and the use of a guide dog.Thirteen Pennsylvania municipalities have already enacted civil rights laws including protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. These municipalities are Allentown, Easton, Erie County, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lansdowne, New Hope, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Swarthmore, West Chester and York. State College also has an ordinance that only covers sexual orientation discrimination in housing. Approximately, seventy-five percent of the state?s twelve million residents live or work in communities that do not provide these protections. Twenty states in the country have similar laws, including our neighboring states of New Jersey, Maryland and New York.
Homosexuals are once again pulling the victim card and trying to seek the normalization of their destructive lifestyle.They have never been required to sit in the back of the bus or drink from designated water fountains.Furthermore they have never been denied the right to vote or considered less than human as African Americans once were. Homosexuals want special rights simply because of the sexual activity in which they engage, noted Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA.
Well, Diane, its good that you so tidily sum up hundreds of years of civil rights struggles in a few sentences. Why everything is just fine and dandy for your average Pennsylvanian African-American. Your "message" clearly shows that you have no clue what life is like in the Commonwealth's African-American community and shame on you for hoisting that flag for your own agenda of hate.
Stand up to the hate spewed in the name of Jesus. Contact your House Rep and State Senator today.
Luke Ravenstahl acted like a fool and lied to the public. Sad, but predictable. Hundreds of words have piled up around the Burghosphere calling him to task for his shameless disregard for truth (and his job).
Meanwhile, five children in Larimer were killed in a horrible house fire. Someone blamed a non-existent teenage babysitter. Now it appears as if the two mothers of the children left them home alone. Actually, they left seven children under the age of eight home alone. The oldest two escaped and had to witness their siblings' screams and pleas for help, a memory they'll carry with them to the grave. Police believe these two boys were playing with matches, another thing that will haunt them.
No arrest. Yet. But well-known criminal defense attorney Jim Ecker is on the scene, representing one of the mothers. (Ledcat called that one last night).
Is this political? Does the intersection of race and poverty have anything to do with this horrific tragedy or can we simply lay it at the feet of two African-American women and call it a day? We have no way to know until more information comes to light. But I'm saying that a 25 year old mother of four and 20-something mother of three need some support to parent well under the best of circumstances. What kind of supports did these women have that they chose to leave their children alone? What kind of supports even exist in Larimer? Last time I checked, no retired Steelers are building restaurants in Larimer. Last time I checked, East Liberty morphed up into Eastside. Last time I checked, the agencies who came to a local community event brought abstinence brochures while the Army seduced kids with personalized dog tags.
It may not be sexy political like Luke chasing after Tiger Woods or Bill Peduto taking on self-styled anarchists. But five African-American children died in one of the worst fires in Pittsburgh's history in one of the region's poorest neighborhoods. It deserves some attention. The political future of Pittsburgh is as much tied up in the lives and deaths of these five children as in Luke Ravenstahl's dereliction of his duty.
Those children, all of region's most vulnerable children, need someone to hold the higher ups accountable for their welfare and their lives.
UPDATE: One Pittsburgh blogger covered this story. Her name is PittGirl and she is a self proclaimed non-political blogger. Still, she captured a moment of the underlying human aspect.
Caught a story in the PG this morning stating the Peduto won't retract his accusations that the Pittsburgh Organizing Group (POG) is responsible for vandalizing several Shadyside businesses. Peduto claims they fit the profile, given recent acts of vandalism at a military recruiting station and Carnegie Mellon University. The most recent acts were tied to opposition of the G-8 Summit,
POG representatives vehemently deny responsibility for participating in or organzing destruction of property. They don't condemn it either.
I have said before that I am no fan of POG's. Two years ago, they protected a member who had assaulted a cameraman from arrest, leading to a semi-violent confrontation with the police. They then turned that into a media frenzy. It may not be a popular interpretation, but it is consistent with the video evidence. I think POG and like minded grops do damage to the peace and justice movement, but they are usually their own worst enemies. Anybody remember Antifa from the anti-Dobson rally? However, in March, POG organized a protest at CMU's National Robotics Engineering Center that was, IMHO, excellent.
It makes me sad to drive by The Quiet Storm each morning and see the plywood in the windows. It makes no sense to vandalize two independent small-businesses as a protest of the G8 (the East End Co-Op was another target).
It is hard to think that members of POG would do this to businesses they probably frequent. I can't wrap my mind around connecting the Co-Op with corporatism. It doesn't make any sense. POG claims that they get blamed for any act of anarchy, in spite of the hundreds of anarchists around the region. They perceive this as an attempt to minimize the scope of anti-war movement. Hmmm.
But why would Bill Peduto make this up? What does he have to gain? He claims he has received threatening calls. What's up with that?
What's going on in this part of the world when G8 protests involve anti-war anarchists, a vegetarian coffee shop and Bill Peduto -- on OPPOSITE sides? Geez.
The boy who would be Mayor President is making us feel guilty for upsetting his mama. According to the Post-Gazette's front page propaganda, er, article, the Mayor laughs in the face of those who would mock him. His sainted mother, however, weeps as we merrily make up awful crap about her son. Ha!
Then there are the Internet blogs.
"Many of them are interesting in the way they portray what I'm doing," he said. "Very negative. And my mom, she reads those all the time. ... It bothers her more than it bothers me."
First, someone from U-Haul's corporate headquarters came to my site because I said I need a U-Haul to escape Luke Ravenstahl. That's just really funny.
To be fair, Mama Ravenstahl, I do acknowledge that your son is a handsome lad and I'm sure you are proud of him for that. Just like Barbara Bush. And he's quite the sly one lobbing the "bloggers diss me and I don't care" pitch to which any response merely proves his point.
What I want to know is if Erin Ravenstahl is the next Hillary? I mean Erin Feith Ravenstahl, of course. Now that would be cool.
I spoke directly with Tiffany at the ACDC yesterday morning. She clarified the names and contact information for my committefolks. I asked her what their duties are and explained that I've never had any political contact with them (no contact at all with one). She told me she would mail the handbook out and asked me to read it over then call her back if I find that my committefolks have not been living up to their responsibilities.
Whew. Sooo, I'm waiting for the handbook. Unfortunately, it is not online. The ACDC website could use some work - it is very boring and staid. Surely, there's some loyal Democrat they could contract with to redesign it (perhaps a political junkie)?
I'm not really intending to diss my committeefolks b/c I bet they are no better or worse than others. But how do we bring about change if we don't take a close look at what isn't working for the best interests of the party AND the residents of the county?
