What a tough year for Joe Sestak and Dan Onorato. Philly and Pittsburgh Pride are on the same days.  Onorato made the good call to attend Pittsburgh's event, but Sestak is in Philly. 

Sestak is sending a surrogate to Pgh, but I think it might speak volumes as to whom he sends.  As I said earlier in the year, I truly think his failure to attend the Steel City Stonewall endorsement event cost him the endorsement. Of course, it could be the decision to endorse Specter that impelled him to stick with Philly.  Who knows?

I spoke with Bill Peduto last night and he confirmed he's attending (he was out of the country last year).  I think there were years when Bill was the only politician who attended.  How far we've come ...

Right now, thousands of lgbtq folks are on their way down to Liberty Avenue for the biggest celebration of the year ...

I hope you have a wonderful day! :-)

Check out this nice piece in the Post-Gazette.  It is a nice article and a nice festival, but I have to admit some sadness that the political/activist edge of Pride has morphed into a celebration of assimilation.  I know that's the trend and it certainly isn't the fault of anyone local that Pride has lost some of that bite. Still ... it seems less than stunning when three white men are the symbols of progress.  All three are accomplished certainly, but I'm just reflecting the disillusionment women and persons of color have been sharing with me.  It is "nice" but not really telling all of us that we belong , isn't it? 

And then there is this column from the Tribune Review.  Again another nice piece.  I like the Mr. Rogers references ... he was known for being a gay advocate in a quiet appropriate way for a preschool rock star. 

Still, Pride coverage hit both papers proving once again that the local media is paying attention to LGBTQ issues. I'll be at Pride and admittedly would like to see a Kip Williams moment when the ahem, elected advocates take the stage. Maybe I'm naughty, but I'm sucking it up for the good of the cause.  I do deserve a little snark here and there, though.  You wouldn't believe me if I extolled Onorato's LGBTQ credibility anyway, would you?

I don't really care. I care about Ricky Burgess not putting his photo in the Pride Guide. What's up with that?  Who is working on it or are we supposed to once again let the behind the scenes folks take care of it? That didn't work out so well for Cue Magazine's coverage of the homo-donut shop and it won't work here.  Well, let me correct myself, it will work for the time being but at some point ... do we all belong if a significant leader in the African-American community bitch slapped the Pride committee?