(I'm keeping this at the top of the blog throughout PrideFest. Scroll down for other current blog posts since Monday)
Tuesday, June 13, 2006 - Pittsburgh City Council will approve the PrideFest Proclamation, 10 AM, City Council Chambers.
Thursday, June 15, 2006 - The 3rd Annual Pittsburgh Pride Theater Festival, a showcase of eight one-act plays with lgbt themes, will take place June 15-25, 2006 at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Co., 542 Penn Avenue (at the corner of Penn and 6th in Pittsburgh's cultural district), downtown. Tickets for show times are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. You can contact the box office at 412-288-0358 or email them at pittsburghpridetheaterfestival@yahoo.com for more information.
Friday, June 16, 2006 - Pittsburgh's 1st Dyke March kicks off at the Carnegie Mellon lawn at Forbes & Moorewood Avenue. Gather as early as 5 PM to mingle, make signs and meet the organizers. The March itself kicks off at 6:30. We are bisexuals, trannydykes, lesbians, boi-dykes, femmes, butches, femmedykeboi's, butchdykeboys, multisexuals, brazen femmes, soft butches, genderqueers, and many more ...For more information, dykemarchpgh@yahoo.com.
Friday, June 16, 2006 - Pride Movie by the Pittsburgh Lesbian & Gay Film Society. "Say Uncle" 7 PM at the Southside Works followed by after-party at Tuscany (with ticket stub). For more information, www.plgfs.org
Awareness March - kicks off at Ross Street at 12 PM, winds through town and the Arts Festival then across the Roberto Clemente Bridge to the festival location on the North Shore.
Festival - 1 PM - 5 PM at Riverfront Park on the North Shore (near Heinz Field) Performers, tons of vendors, a DJ second stage, and a chance to see all the homos who come down to Pgh once a year to mingle in a big family friendly homo loving environment (my words).
Pride Night at PNC Park -- come out and be part of the homo-contingent rooting for the buccos. How gay is that! Tickets will be on sale at PrideFest (yes, the Pirates are setting up a booth). A portion of the sales go to the GLCC.
Sunday, June 18, 2006 - Family Pride Pancake Brunch at East Liberty Presbyterian Church. 10 AM worship; 11:30 am brunch.
Now there are two interesting rumors floating around. First, is that Governor Ed Rendell will be kicking off the Awareness March with a few well-chosen words possibly including "Ladies Start Your Engines!" to our very own dykes on bikes.
Second, is that the divine and delightful Margaret Cho may be popping up at PrideFest since she is in town for the weekend performing at the Improv.
The PG contained three letters to the editor all in support of gay marriage and clearly opposed to amending either the state or federal constitutions.
Wilma Hutchings of Aspinwall writes, "Now the fools need to pass a no-divorce law. Divorce is much more devastating to the family than gays getting married."
Joseph Kowalski of North Huntington writes, "Constitutions, state and federal, should be used to expand on human rights, not to limit the rights of an entire segment of the population. Constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage are nothing more than a political diversionary tactic to keep voters from focusing on the very real problems facing Pennsylvania and this nation."
Finally, Roy Frye resident of Squirrel Hill and registered Republican writes," As a registered Republican I want to congratulate Sen. Arlen Specter for voting against the federal amendment intended to ban gay marriage. This measure would have only fomented division and resentment between fellow American citizens. Since this is the land of the free and the home of the brave, we should be brave enough to allow our fellow citizens who are a little bit different from us to be free in their personal pursuit of happiness. "
Columnist Sally Kalson takes a stab at understanding Metcalfe's rational, but can only conclude that he and his merry band of zealots don't know any homos:
There's only one way social conservatives could believe the things Mr. Metcalfe said about gay families: They don't know any, or don't realize they do. They've never been to their homes, watched them interact with their children over meals, schoolwork or upset stomachs, gone with them to worship. In that vacuum, they've invented cardboard characters who don't share love and commitment, don't need health coverage, joint custody, power of attorney or inheritance rights that others take for granted.
Perhaps some gay parents should invite Mr. Metcalfe over to see if their families are really so different from his own. It won't change his convictions, but it could break down some of his preconceptions.
She also does a nice dissection of that fact that 20 Democrats from Southwestern Pennsylvania voted in support of the Amendment.
20 House Democrats from the Pittsburgh area voted for this redundant, mean-spirited amendment. Of course it's a cynical ploy to distract voters from the lawmakers' abysmal record. But it works because it taps a visceral fear that gay people have gained too much ground and must be slapped back into the margins. Then God-fearing "normal" people can go back to pretending they don't exist.
God bless her, Sally may be onto something. But guess what --- the homos aren't going to go quietly into the margins this time. No matter how hard Catherine Specter tries to drag up all back into the 1950's, it ain't gonna happen.
In today's column, Cat Specter taps into her inner-Harriet Nelson to dish out some spectacularly dated 1950's crap advice for her "girl" readers.
First, a reader asks for advice on being set up for a date with the son of her parents' friends, a date on which she does not want to go. Specter tells her that she has to go for risk of embarrassing her parents or offending their friends with the implication that their son is not datable.
Wow, if I lived my life to avoid embarrassing my parents or offending their friends, I'd pretty much not be openly gay, not be a social worker, not be a liberal, and defintely not writing this blog --- I would not be me. But maybe the reader values her parents' comfort more than her own and will suppress her instincts to go on this date. She might get a car, house in Cranberry Township, two kids and the occasional new outfit out of it.
Then there's the anti-woman kicker:
Who knows, maybe he's equally averse to dating you, which could make him more attractive.
Now that's CATTY. What the hell kind of advice columnists INSULTS her readers -- all of her women readers?
And then she does it again in the next round of advice. A concerned dad writes in to ask how to push his 37 year old daughter into marriage with her boyfriend of four years. Specter starts off strong by explaining that marriage is his goal, not necessarily hers and he should relax a little and let her follow her own instincts without judging her. Then she points out that marriage to this guy might not even be an option because he probably won't buy the cow if he's getting the milk for free.
You're right that he probably won't marry her if he can get it all without walking down the aisle, but she may be of the same mind.
What is the "all" that he is getting --- a long-term, committed healthy relationship with a mature woman who shares his values about marriage? Or ongoing access to her vagina with no strings?
CORRESPONDENT'S CALL: Darryl Metcalfe would be proud!
Activists and politicians are planning to march through Warsaw today (Saturday) as a show of solidarity for homosexuals throughout Eastern Europe. 365gay.com reports that gays are under increasing pressure from the left and right in Poland where communists and Catholics alike are exerting tremendous societal pressure to suppress homosexual activism.
Gay rights groups say they've suffered even more of a setback since the election victory last fall of Law and Justice, a conservative party whose leaders have openly denounced homosexuality. A new coalition formed last month has also raised concerns because it includes a right-wing party, League of Polish Families, with a youth wing that has attacked gay pride parades in Poland in recent years.
The group, All-Polish Youth, said Thursday it was canceling plans to rally this Saturday in hopes of preventing a "physical confrontation with leftist fundamentalists."
A member of the League, Wojciech Wierzejski, also caused a stir in past weeks for asking the interior and justice ministers to investigate gay rights groups to determine whether pedophiles and drug dealers were financing them.
Human rights monitors indicate that this latest in a series of clashes between homosexuals and those who would sanction discrimination is a reflection of a larger clash between the East and West.
Organizers expect a large showing of support from activists and politicians throughout Europe.
Saturday's march is expected to draw supporters from throughout Europe, including lawmakers from Germany and Sweden who are mobilizing in reaction to recent violence against gays in the region. A week earlier in Bucharest, Romania, passers-by threw plastic bottles and shouted anti-gay slogans at a gay rights demonstration.
During a march in Moscow on May 27, gay rights activists were pummeled by right-wing protesters and detained by police when they rallied in defiance of a city ban. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said gay parades "may be acceptable for some kind of progressive, in some sense, countries in the West, but it is absolutely unacceptable for Moscow, for Russia."
Several politicians from throughout Europe are also mobilizing to support gay rights. Members of Germany's Greens party plan to travel to Warsaw to take part in the march, including Volker Beck, who was beaten by nationalist youths during the Moscow rally, as well as Renate Kuenast and Claudia Roth.
The Campaign Against Homophobia said lawmakers from Sweden, France and the Netherlands would also attend in a sign of solidarity.
"This isn't just about gays and lesbians anymore," Biedron, the leader, said in an interview. "This march will be a big demonstration against fundamentalism and the violation of human rights."
It is unbelievable that the only trump card the Republicans have is to try to scare people into believing that gay unions will somehow destroy the institution of marriage. The Republicans have no solutions or new ideas except tax breaks for the wealthy and scaring people who they hope will vote for them in November.
Kathy Brennan, Squirrel Hill
Shame on the Pennsylvania Legislature and President Bush for wasting our time and money on an issue that is none of their business
Amy Kellman, Oakland
What is needed is an amendment banning divorce. Of course, the homicide, abuse, adultery and suicide rates will skyrocket, but you can't have everything. Most important, the "sanctity" of marriage will be preserved.
Gerry Walkowski, Brookline
Nothing in the Tribune-Review or its underlings. Its important to keep this up as the Senate Judiciary Committee considers the Senate bill on Tuesday. We want them to hold hearings on the bill; its proponents will want a straight up or down vote because there's only so much of the democratic process necessary when you are pushing through a hate amendment.
Apparently, someone has their panties in a knot about a recent Correspondent post "Post Gazette Kisses White House Ass, Fawns Over Local Sibs" where I exercise my remaining freedom of speech and criticize Pittsburgh residents who make a living supporting a murderous, hate-mongering, deceitful Administration. That post has been getting an incredible amount of visitors over the past few days, indicating that someone has passed around the link so all of their friends can click their tongues in outrage, stomp their expensively shoed feet and call me a mean bitch.
They also insult my family by insinuating I didn't get enough hugs AND imply that I don't know from good ice cream. Perhaps I should be grateful the ice cream twins haven't set the FBI on me.
But the ice cream bit is just blatantly not true. We regularly have ice cream and have found that hands down the best place in town is
Shakes, floats, sundaes ... they do it all. They will even give your dog a baby cone if you bring her with you.
And, best of all, your hard earned money willl go into the coffers of someone who isn't employed by George Bush. Now that's a sweet deal!
According to the Post-Gazette, our esteemed legislators have had the bright idea of fast-tracking the marriage protection amendment through the Senate.
House Bill 2381, which would amend the state constitution to limit marriage to between one man and one woman, is set for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning. The bill was approved by the full House this week by a 2 to 1 margin.
If approved by the Judiciary Committee Tuesday, as several senators expect, it could be voted on by the full Senate as soon as June 19, Senate Republican Whip Jeffrey Piccola of Dauphin County said yesterday.
He and another supporter, Sen. Bob Regola, R-Hempfield, said they expect the bill to get full Senate approval on June 19 or soon thereafter -- definitely before the Senate recesses for the summer in late June or early July.
Keep that in mind as you toodle off on your summer vacation over rutted state highways; as your grandmother tries to stretch her social security to pay for all her prescriptions; as your son looks for a job or faces moving your grandkids out of state; as your parents struggle to pay their property taxes and keep the home they worked a lifetime to own.
I'll be here still not married to my partner. Don't you feel your interests are well protected?
Here's a message from LGBT political organizer Dana Elmendorf:
The amendment will now go to the Senate for a vote as SB1084 by the end of June before the legislators go home for summer vacations. From there, both bodies will need to vote on it again in the next session - if they vote yes, it will end up on the ballot and serve as a divisive issue in 2008. Even though proponents of the amendment succeeded at this step in terms of numbers, when we look at the amount of thoughtful discourse that has been happening around the issue of fairness and equality and compare our efforts with even ten years ago, we feel we are involved in an historic effort.
PLease send a letter to or call your STATE Senator in the next week urging them to vote against SB1084. You can easily do this by visiting www.center4civilrights.org . If you prefer not to get on a mailing list, you can go to www.vote-smart.org to find out who your STATE Senator is and call them directly with a quick message.
While I was initially saddened by the result of Tuesday night's vote, I am now more grateful than ever to have friends and allies like yourself willing to step forward for the people you love.
Feel free to forward this info along..................Dana Elmendorf
I have been married for almost 45 years. Not once in all that time did either my wife or I feel threatened by the gay people we knew. What I need is protection from people like the "jubilant" state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Cranberry
The PG contained three 
