Be sure to check this aht ...

On May 11th and 12th, the Renaissance City Men and Women's Choirs will perform their spring concert at the Hazlett Theater downtown.  The repertoire includes tributes to famous Pittsburghers, including Stephen Foster, Mimi Lerner, Andy Warhol, Lilian Russel, Erroll Garner, Thomas Mellon, and others.  For more information on the program, visit   here.  
For those who have never seen the choirs, which are comprised of all volunteer GLBT and GLBT-friendly singers, they offer an impressive performance sure to please everyone.  Please come and support a great organization offering an outstanding musical program!
 
When:  May 11 & 12,  8pm
Where:  Hazlett Theater, North Shore
Who:  The Renaissance City Choirs
Prices:  $7 student, $15 general admission, $50 patron, which includes a $25 dinner with each ticket
For Tickets:  The RCC Office 412-362-9484, individual choir and board members, A Pleasant Present in Squirrel Hill, or go to the website www.rccpittsburgh.org  AND AT THE DOOR!!

Bloggings favorite mystery woman, Agent Ska, will be managing the stage.  I have to work late Friday and have a previously scheduled PghLesbian interview set for Saturday so I will miss the good times AND meeting Agent Ska.  Drat. 

From Young Philly Politics

CALL OUT FOR SUPPORT TO DEMAND JUSTICE FOR ERICA KEEL

THIS FRIDAY, MAY 11TH, 4pm, at 12O1 LOCUST ST
OPEN PLANNING MEETING

On March 22nd of this year, Erica Keel, a 20-yr-old African American trans woman, was fatally run over at Broad and Thompson streets in North Philadelphia. According to witness accounts, the driver in question intentionally ran over Erica four times after ejecting her from his car. A medical examiner's report supports these accounts. However, the police have ruled Erica's death an accident and have refused to conduct an investigation. The driver, Roland Button, fled the scene but was later apprehended by police. He has yet to face criminal charges, including "hit and run." When friends of Erica, who are themselves trans, questioned police officials about the classification of Erica's death as an "accident," they were asked to disclose their "birth" names and were told they were "trying to make something out of nothing."

As community members and allies, we are asking for your support in challenging police injustice by demanding a thorough investigation of the circumstances surrounding Erica's death. Our efforts to demand justice for Erica are part of building a larger strategy to address state violence against trans youth of color in Philadelphia.

Please join us THIS FRIDAY at 4pm at the Washington West Project, 1201 Locust St., to help plan a demonstration. For more information contact Savannah: 267-879-1339 n_hornback@yahoo.com

Be sure to read the comments.  It would be great to see this kind of dialogue happening in Pittsburgh, but instead we have a candidate for Sheriff and former Pittsburgh Police Officer who sees no real law enforcement issues with the LGBTQ community.  Ahem. I guess that stuff just happens in Philly?

I had a hard day and only just now realized that it has been 48 hours without fresh content.  So here's what I've come up with ... from John McIntire's column in the City Paper:

Should I really be afraid? When Dina McGreevy started making the talk-show rounds to promote her new book -- in which she writes about discovering she was married to the gay governor of New Jersey -- I did a phone poll. "How do you know if you're married to a homo?" I asked. Bad taste? Yes. Am I attempting to encourage homophobia? Absolutely not. Will I be hoisted on my own petard if I continue to throw caution to the wind?

I'd like to know the results of that phone poll. 

Bad taste?  Of course.  Funny?  So-so.  Homophobic?  Not so much.  Maybe I'm biased because I know John isn't a homophobe, but is willing to exploit society's latent homophobia for his own amusement (and career).   Maybe I'm biased because he invented the Lesbian Correspondent shtick. 

Here's where we disagree.

As snotty newspaper executives like Chris Potter of the City Paper will tell you, everybody needs an editor. But could we please all get a grip? We've got much bigger problems than edgy radio. Like, you know, the war and stuff.sdf

Tis true that the way is a bigger problem than edgy radio.  But for those of us on the short end of the hate stick, Imus and ilk are a real problem.  Even some of John's stuff can be problematic precisely because there are yinzers out there who wouldn't know irony if it kicked them in the ass and bought them an IC Light.  Does that mean we should censor John or give Gab a bigger dump button?  Not necessarily.  But shock jocks have to take some responsibility for their words and their medium.  Being provocative carries some responsibility. 

Let's be fair -- edgy radio is commodity and when people stop buyin', things change.  Imus and John and Gab have the right to express themselves as much as they please.  There is no right to get paid for it.

I hope John and Gab keep throwing caution to the wind b/c, frankly, radio can be really boring in Pittsburgh.  And people who think Johnny Mac rocks need to realize that he loves him some homos (not that there's anything wrong with that), black people, women and even homeless people. Forcing people to take a look at their own prejudice is a good thing.  Ridiculing and demeaning any group of people because they are gay, female, black, disabled, etc is not okay. 

Thin line, huh?  I'm glad I just wrestle with social problems in a more clean cut human servicy kind of way.