Saturday, June 10th Pride Erie Picnic Once again, the Pride Erie Picnic will be held at Presque Isle State Park at the Rotary Pavilion.We are back to having the Picnic on the traditional 2nd Saturday in June (June 10) and we will run from 1 PM to 6 PM (starts 1 hour earlier)
Now here's something very cool In addition to celebrating gay pride, these fine folks up in the Northwestern regions also use Pride to generate support for hunger programs.
Food Bank Donations
As we did last year, in addition to the potluck buffet, we will also be collecting nonperishable items for the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania. Last year generous GLBT people and their supporters collectd 99 pounds of food. Let's see if we can top that!
Below is a list of the most needed items. Please no home-canned foods, glass containers, unsealed or opened packages, outdated baby food or formula, or bulging or severely dented cans.
Marriage may be safe in Ohio, but unmarried women aren't. This past week, an appellate court overturned the conviction of an Ohio man convicted of domestic violence (a fourth degree felony) because he was not married to his victim. The court found that the domestic violence sentence violates the constitutional amendment designed to protect marriage from activist judges and homos.
The prosecutors can opt to file a lesser charge and may appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Hopefully, all the homo-haters appreciate the sacrifice their heterosexual, unmarried compatriates must make for their peace of mind.
One of Pittsburgh's most creative political bloggers put up a nugget this morning about former KDKA talk radio personality Mike Pintek using the word "homo" while hosting a program on PCNC. Pintek was discussing the use of South Park restrooms for sexual encounters among gay men.
According to Maria:
Mike Pintek was the host for Fridays' Get To The Point show on PCNC. During the discussion of a public restroom in South Park being listed on the Internet as a hot spot for gay men to meet, Pintek repeatedly used the word "homo." The show's panel of guests looked appalled at the use of that word, but sadly, none of them actually voiced an objection.
Now I am no fan of Mike Pintek. And while I didn't see the show, I'm fairly certain Pintek was pressing all the gay panic buttons -- we are sexual freaks, we like to have sex near children's areas (playgrounds, daycare, etc), blah, blah, friggin blah. Actually, I should say "gay men" not "we" because I don't think there have been many crackdowns on lesbians getting it on in the public toilets of Allegheny County. If lesbians listed their hookup sites on the internet, there would be a line of straight men three miles long outside those venues.
But I digress ... so yes, Mike Pintek is pretty much a bona fide idiot. And I've expressed my thoughts on the public sex spankings.
But the word "homo" is a favorite of mine. And I go outside the tribe all the time on this usage when I'm talking queer turkey with John McIntire on KDKA -- we homo everything. And he pushes all sorts of boundaries; last weekend, a woman complained about the phrase "carpet muncher" in a bit he aired. She's going to launch a hunger strike or withhold sex from her husband or something like that ... whatever.
SATIRE. It is satire.
Pintek was not being satirical. He was being a fucking dickwad. So good for Maria for calling him out.
If you are looking for something to do this weekend, check this out:
Steel Queer N'At BlowOUT Show
at Pittsburgh Eagle
June 2nd
Doors open at 8:30, Show starts at 9pm.
Tickets are $5 in advance, $8 at the door.
ADVANCE TICKETS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
THIS SHOW WILL SELL OUT.
Tickets are available at A Pleasant Present and A Big Idea, or send us a message for more information.
This is a 21+ show.
Showcasing the best queer art Pittsburgh has to offer, it'll be a night of sexy burlesque, fresh musical performances, some of the region's hottest spoken word artists, and much more, topped off with a headlining performance by Sonji Woodruff (myspace/sonjimusic). The show's lineup performances by The Sweet Jezebels, Thrive, Joey Edgar, Colelea, Lakisha Wolf, Cathryn Calhoun, Grit of the Grass, ISIS da Genius, The Butch Kings, Yah Lioness, Sonji Woodruff, and more, plus surprises and giveaways.
These Russian gays are quite an intense bunch. After facing brutality at the hands of the skinheads, the Russian Orthodox faithful and the police, they plan to rally again next year.
"The 27th of May has been for us so far an anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1993 in Russia. But the gay parade in 2006 in Moscow and the situation in which it was held has given much more weight to this date," Nikolay Alexeyev told the Interfax news agency on Tuesday.
Alexeyev, who was one of about 120 gays detained by police Saturday when they attempted to hold a pride parade after Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov refused to issue them a parade permit.
Members of an extremist national group and Russian Orthodox church members attacked the marchers. At one point a gas canister was tossed at a group of gays.
So the gays remain courageous under fire while the religious faithful turn violent? How is this a sign of Russian moral superiority a la Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov?
Shows what he knows. Here in America our religious thugs don't need to team up with skinheads b/c they are already in bed with the political powers that be.
Our homo-bigot friends at the American Family Association have taken their gay hate campaign up a notch by setting up a website dedicated to boycotting Ford. Because Ford hates freedom and is out to destroy the fabric of American families by selling cars to homosexuals.
Mayor Bloomberg landed another left on the right yesterday, coming out strongly in favor of gay marriage - and vowing the city will perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, if allowed.
The Republican mayor used his weekly Sunday radio address on Memorial Day weekend to say he is "firmly opposed" to any constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.
President Bush and other prominent Republicans endorse the Federal Marriage Amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The measure is set for a Senate vote next month.
"The U.S. Constitution should be something that unites, rather than divides Americans," said Bloomberg, a life-long Democrat who joined the GOP to run for mayor in 2001.
"I do not believe that government should be in the business of telling people who they can and can't marry," he added during the address on 1010 WINS.
The mayor took pains to give his comments local context, referring to a lawsuit due before the state Court of Appeals tomorrow that focuses on five same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses in New York City.
Bloomberg recently took a stand against the Bush White House by advocating for stronger gun control laws as well as lambasting the wingnuts for their anti-stem cell research, pro-intelligent design stance.
Bloomberg was slightly more subdued yesterday, saying he was trying to strike a balance between enforcing the laws of the land and working to change those laws that he considers unconstitutional.
"I believe New Yorkers should have the right to marry whomever they choose, regardless of sexual orientation," he said.
"If they [the Court of Appeals] rule that same-sex marriages are legal, then we'll perform them," he vowed.
This terrifies Pennsylvania wingnuts who recognize that banning gay marriage is ultimately unconstitutional and tremble as the interstate marriage recognition issue inexorably inches toward the Supreme Court. Hence, the desperate scramble to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution.
If marriage is legalized in NY, we may go there to wed. That would be nice.
From Saturday's Post-Gazette comes word that the Allegheny County Police successfully prevented five gay men from having sex. Or at least they successfully punished five men for having sex by arresting them. Or somewhere in between.
As we reported last week, these intrepid cops have been monitoring a men's bathroom on Corrigan Drive (the park's main drag - no pun intended) that is listed on an Internet site as a "popular place" for sexual encounters.
And, of course, it is near a children's playground. No mention of the fact that most likely the sexual encounters take place after dark when the children are, hopefully, home with their parents pursuing wholesome activities. If children are lurking on a South Park playground after dark, the Allegheny County Police should probably focus more of the lack of parenting angle than the potential exposure to homosex angle. But I digress ...
So just in time for park season, Allegheny County decides to flex their homophobic muscles to make the parks safe for breeders everywhere.
The Stonewall Democrats 2006 National Conference will take place right here in Pittsburgh this coming weekend, June 2-4. Howard Dean will be the keynote speaker with Governor Rendell making an appearance on the last day of the conference.
But you won't read about it here.
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents applied for press credentials to cover the conference. As the region's largest LGBT blog, we believe that covering THE national gay democrat conference in Rick Santorum's hometown would be relevant to our focus. And that the rest of the LGBT community might want our perspective, especially given Howard Dean's recent headlines on a variety of gay issues.
Apparently, we were wrong. Because the local chapter hosting the event, the Steel-City Stonewall Democrats. has decided that bloggers will not receive press credentials.
I was still invited to attend the conference as a paid attendee.
DISCLAIMER: Sue is a former board member of the Steel City Stonewall Democrats chapter. She resigned this past fall along with most of the Executive Board (before launching this blog). Thus, she is somewhat biased on this issue.
Pam's House Blend is one of my daily absolute must-reads. Her take on all things anti-gay, anti-black and anti-woman is smart, insightful and devastating. I've borrowed her phrase "wingnuts" here and linked to her site more frequently that just about any other except the Post-Gazette.
The Washington Blade offers up a feisty look at what makes the House Blend tick and what ticks her off. She's labeled "the most important lesbian blogger in America" and attracts 3,000 unique visitors a day. As an African-American lesbian, her voice is especially unique and a necessary part of the contemporary gay experience.
Given the dearth of LGBT women's voices in the blogosphere (both among gay blogs and feminist blogs), Pam's House Blend sets the bar high for the rest of us. And I prefer it that way.
These Russian gays are quite an intense bunch. After facing brutality at the hands of the skinheads, the Russian Orthodox faithful and the police, they plan to rally again next year. 
