Maybe its just me, but isn't the mayoral race important to the region, too? Luke Ravenstahl isn't exactly Mr. Progressive per 2 Political Junkies on issues like choice, contraception, free speech, open government, blah, blah, blah. I know the muckety muck rich Riccardi loving homos embrace these Social Conservative Democrats for all they are worth, but I'd think most of us should recognize a clear distinction between Ravenstahls "love the sinner/hate the sin" stance on most things involving women and gays and the TRUE progressive in this race, Bill Peduto, who actually seems to value women and gays for more than our ability to contribute to campaigns.
Will Luke show up next week? Stay tuned ...
2007 Candidates Forum
Wednesday, Febuary 28th
6:30 pm-Union Project
801 North Negley Ave Sponsored by:The Steel-City Stonewall DemocratsDemocracy for Pittsburgh The League of Young Voters The Getrude Stein Club Progress Pittsburgh
After the Meet & Greet our forum will focus on 3 important races!City Council District 7 - Bloomfield, Highland Park, East Liberty City Council District 9 - East Hills, Homewood, Point Breeze City Controller - citywide with impact on the whole region
We here at Lesbian Central are pleased that our good friend and all-around groovy middle aged white guy John McIntire wants to expand his repetoire of gay jokes beyond the phrase "butt fuck." He now seems hung up on kissing (lesbian kissing, Snickers eatin' men kissing, Ravenstahl's ass kissing ...) but that's movement in the right direction. We hope one day soon he'll be able to get through an entire broadcast without sexualizing lesbians for his own sordid pleasure. We doubt it, but one can always hope. :-)
Now for the real homo round up. Not the City of Pittsburgh Police on a Friday night in Schenley Park homo round up.
Check out Pam's House Blend on DOMA stances of the assorted Presidential candidates.
Why the statement "I support civil unions" is meaningless
All of this nonsense is why I've been saying that the Dem presidential candidates have an obligation to voters to define what they mean when they toss out "I support civil unions" as a salve to gays. Asking for clarity, commitment and well-thought-out answers on the matter is not flogging the issue. There is a morass of separate-but-unequal legislation being debated and amendments voted on "by the people" right now.
Meanwhile, the Anglican and Episcopal chuch struggles to find unity in the midst of turmoil over gay and female ordination among other social justice issues.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski told Ireland that homosexuality will lead to the destruction of the human race. However, he is willing to refrain from forcing people into therapy as long as they don't promote their orientation. The Irish were not impressed.
Two lesbians were arrested for a non-violent protest at the Focus on the Family headquarters. Big Daddy Dobson was not available for comment.
The US Air Force considered developing a "gay conversion" chemical weapon in the mid-nineties. Because apparently turning your opponents gay somehow makes them less effective in the battlefield.
And, finally a shout out to another homo-lovin comedian, Sarah Silverman who was quoted in Out thus:
"The people -- both the Republicans and the pussy Democrats -- that won't stand up for gay rights have made the idea of marriage ugly to me."
Discovery Institute is pleased to co-present with CityClub of Seattle and the Seattle World Affairs Council a luncheon featuring U.S. Senator John McCain.
The Discovery Institute is a right-wing think tank with a well established track record as a proponent/defendant of Intelligent Design.
Think Progress also notes that McCain has been for creationism and against it -- flip-flopperama. In 2005 he said that intelligent design should be taught in schools, but last year he stated that ID didn't belong in science classroom.
For those of us unable to to attend Senator McCain's pandering er, presentation there is comfort to be found in the fact that the Creation Museum, located near Cincinnati, will open in June 2007.
[W]e'll take guests on a journey through a visual presenation of the history of the world, based on the ?7C's of History": Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. Throughout this family-friendly experience, guests will learn how to answer the attacks on the Bible?s authority in geology, biology, anthropolocy, cosmology, etc., and they will discover how science actually confirms biblical history.
According to the Dayton Daily News, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland may soon sign an executive order protecting state workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The even better news is that the Secretary of State and Attorney General plan to expand that to include gender identity.
"Frankly, I don't think we should discriminate against anybody against anything related to their sexuality or gender identification in the broadest sense that you can apply it," said Attorney General Marc Dann. "I just want the best lawyers, best victim advocates ... the best investigators in the world. I don't care, frankly, as long as they do their jobs well."
As expected, the fundies and wingnuts are up in arms over the "liberal agenda." Visit Pam for more details on that thread.
Its just nice to get some good news from our neighbors, isn't it? Especially good news related to the gay agenda. Now that's we've conqured the Ohioan Executive Branch, can the schools and churches be that far behind?
Never fear, wingnuts, for Ohio is still the land of the "Creation Museum" - upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse.
Today I join hundreds of other bloggers around the nation to share why I am pro-choice. Please forgive if this does not flow as well as I would like - I'm not feeling 100% today.
Blog for Choice Day is a chance to raise the profile of reproductive rights issues in the blogosphere and the media, and to let everyone know that a woman's right to choose is nonnegotiable.
Why do I support a woman's right to choose?
I believe that our society has been structured on principals of men exerting ownership over women, but that is not necessarily how the law has been structured. Thus I believe that much of dialogue around choice/life is about women being free to make their own choices, not about unborn children. Choice is about power and control, something our society does not easily impart to women. Thankfully, not all men fall into this trap and, sadly, too many women do.
I also believe that most people who are pro-life REALLY are anti-choice if you look at the sum total of their political stances and personal actions to "protect life." Displaying a bumper sticker is not the same thing as becoming a foster parent or donating to child abuse prevention organizations. Waving a dead fetus is not the same thing as cradeling a baby born addicted to cocaine or holding the hand of a 14 year pregnant girl facing her rapist in court. Confronting clients at women's health clinics is not the same thing as teaching young men to value and respect women (and themselves) or speaking up when they don't.
Perhaps I focus to much on what the other side does or fails to do. The hypocrisy around respecting life saddens me and sickens me, especially given that I work every day with children that are not being cared and tended for as they should. Children who need society to step up and provide their families with adequate resources to parent effectively and children who sometimes need someone to step in and parent them directly.
Choice is about power and control. I am in control of my body and my reproductive decisions. I will not willingly relinquish that power.
Now that Main Stream Media (MSM) has sunk its teeth into this little tale of a man and his handcuffs, the gay drama just escalates. This is like Queer Eye meets Cops.
WPXI airs previous interview where Ravenstahl plays word games to essentially deny being handcuffed. If he didn't actually lie about it, he omitted to tell the truth. Or did he?
The Post-Gazette runs a story from former Chief McNeilly calling for an investigation. To be fair, McNeilly is completely disengenuous when he claims no political motivation to speak out (his wife is Catherine McNeilly), but he's probably the only police-related person involved (or not) who has the ability to speak out. No cop who wants a future in this little metropolis that could is gonna speak out after the Mayor bitch slapped Catherine McNeilly into the warrant office, which I understand is the police equivalent to Siberia.
The the PG editorial board minces into the scene and bitch slaps (sorry for being repetitive) the Mayor's critics, especially ooohhhh ... the bloggers for engaging in rumor mongering. The High-Priestesses of Hissy have their feather boas in a furor because the facts don't support the accusations. I'd suggest the facts equally fail to support the defense. Not to mention the fact that we'll have a hard time getting the facts since the Mayor is the boss of everyone involved.
To sum up, we've got handcuffs, gagged cops, axes to grind, peeved members of the Main Stream Media, outraged husbands, silent sturdy types in uniforms, alcohol and a privileged frat boy with a pretty wife claiming that just because he wore the handcuffs doesn't mean he did the deed.
Shout out to all the Pittsburgh Episcopalians who have supported the Grand PooBah of Intolerance, Bishop Duncan and his desire to break away to form his own sect. We've covered his longstanding attachment to Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola.
Well you should be congratuled b/c your bigotry and anti-gay sentiment have built a direct bridge to the impending misery of gay individuals and families throughout Nigeria. Not only will they be prohibited from attending church to taint your sanctimonious little Christian family values, they will be prohibited from ... well, pretty much existing (365gay.com).
Legislation that would strip gays and lesbians of all civil rights has passed its final hurdle and is set for a vote in Nigeria's Parliament.
The bill started out as a ban on same-sex marriage and has been revised to make it a crime for more than two gay people to be in the same venue at the same time.
It prohibits LGBT social or civil rights groups from forming. It would be illegal to sell or rent property to same-sex couples, watch a gay film or video, visit an LGBT web site, or express same-sex love in a letter to one's partner.
The legislation goes so far as to make it a criminal offense to impart information of HIV/AIDS to gays or for non-gays to meet with any group of gays for any purpose.
The penalty would be five years in prison with hard labor.
Gay sex already is illegal in Nigeria with sentences up to 14 years behind bars. In the mostly Islamic north homosexuality can be punishable by death.
This is the slippery slope we tread around here in America. Those of you who believe second-class citizenship is good enough for homosexuals open the door to the kind of oppression listed above. I know some of you harbor in your hearts the notion that "gay sex" probably deserves punishment, but can you really say two gay people being in the same place at the same time should result in imprisonment?
This is a human rights travesty of immense proportions. And here in Pittsburgh, just find your nearest Episcopalian Duncan-loyalist and say "Thanks!"
Not a single homo involved and this story has more twists and turns than a drag queen's virginal encounter with panty hose, a site much prettier than watching Luke Ravenstahl contort an explanation out of this story.
If you read the subtext, its right out of a gay movie -- Slightly inebriated guy meets guy in uniform, intense exchange occurs, guy ends up in handcuffs, guy returns to wife and goes on to become mayor. Old guy makes it like it never happened. Denials ensue. MacGuy asks questions. The story comes tumbling out. Wife stands by MayorGuy. UniformedGuy can't tell, so don't ask. I can't make this stuff up.
Except most gay people are smart enough to know not to confront a cop in the middle of police activity. I'm with David at 2PJ's that there's something off about claiming one lone cop surged into a crowd. Plus, there's the claim on KDKA's report that the cop was a rookie. Since the details are good extra money, I'd imagine working Steeler games is a pretty plum assignment. Does it make sense that a rookie would land that assignment? Or someone with a least an iota of seniority?
Its hardly credible that Ravenstahl would pull out his City Councilman credentials to interfere in the midst of a police matter (a big no no) but then put them back in his hip pocket when he himself is cuffed so as to be treated like any other citizen. Any other citizen might have complained a little about being ill-treated and then filed a formal complaint with the Office of Municipal Investigations. Luke, however, was able to independently correct the officer in question. Did he continue to monitor the situation to ensure the officer behaved appropriately? Did he follow up with the officers superiors to discuss his concerns? Did he ask OMI to investigate? Nope, he caught a game, tossed back some cold ones and went about his yinzer frat boy way.
It doesn't make sense either as a gay movie or as mature political conduct.
Much more interesting was WTAE's take on the blogospheric eruption in Pittsburgh. I especially liked when "Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents" rolled across the screen TWO times. We didn't actually get a mention like 2 Political Junkies but lesbian beggars can't be choosers ...
That, my friends, is the gay angle to the story. Sure I could churn out a few more bits of analysis -- Luke's lisping to Marty Griffin, McIntire's obvious homoerotic fixation on putting Peduto on the throne at any cost, David's homoerotic fixation on McIntire's homoerotic fixation, Tony Norman's soon to be written homoerotic interpretation of McIntire's fixation ... it can only go downhill from here.
Not much happening locally in the LGBTQ world. No rancid letters to the editor, no debates over GSAs in the local schools, no closets being opened.
Peduto's announcement is good news for those of us who want an actual Democrat, not the Yinzer Republican Prince in sheep's, oops, lamb's clothing.
For the chicas, coming up on Monday is the monthly Queers: They're Whats for Dinner at the Gypsy Cafe on Pittsburgh's Southside. Much big fun to be had and a great way to get to know some really cool sisters.
Also, coming up on January 20 is Operation Sappho a queer/lesbian dance at Ava Bar and Lounge. Dress in red, enjoy 3 dj's and the smoke free environment.
For those of you who love McIntire, there's the Sex, Religion, Politics, Cats, Lesbians, Cheesy Hawaiian Shirts and Geezers Tour at the Club Cafe on Weds Jan 31. Brought to you by Starbucks and Geritol. Ironically, we cannot go b/c the 11 PM kick-off is past our bedtime. Plus, they smoke there (thanks for that Danny O!).
John McCain was dissed by Christian Grand Poobah Jimmy Dobson for being un-conservative. McCain is now spinning himself into a frenzy to fix things with the wingnuts. Guess what the sticking point is? Bing! Traditional Marriage! Pathetic.
Rudy Giuliani, on the other hand, has actually hired a homo-hater for his will I/won't I exploratory team. Jim Nussle from Iowa is anti-choice and anti-gay.
Madison, Wisconsin city council Tuesday night approved a measure allowing city officials to include a statement supporting same-sex marriage in their oaths of office. Wisconsin has a anti-homo amendment in their constitution, but Madisonians want to work to overturn it.
