I was facebooking with a nameless colleague about finding interesting people to follow on twitter. I'm following Ashton Kutcher based on the recommendations of Television Without Pity.  I also follow Ellen but she's pretty quiet.  Ashton is fairly active.

Locally, I follow my friends and a few politicians.  I have to admit a lot of it is ho hum.  I don't care about the fact that you are heading out the door.  I want the juicy details from the conversations you have.  The ones that you have to stop to capture before trudging on down the block. 

So who is cool to follow locally? 

Woycheck is prolific.

JimLokay is good for traffic detours.

The papers are good for breaking news.

Anyone else? Suggestions?  Who SHOULD be tweeting? 

The transformation from cuddly Siamese kitty to mutant superhero begins as Coco/Wolverine subdues her foe.

Uh oh ... our mutant superhero is overcome by her foe ....

Don't let her fuzzy cuteness detract from her vicious attack of the renegade (but 100% recycled content) paper towel roll.

Keori has a legislative round up over at Pam's House Blend.  Great job wrapping up the national scene in terms of LGBTQ legislation.  No news in terms of Pennsylvania. 

And because it is so wonderful, GAINESVILLE VOTED DOWN A REPEAL OF ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS THIS WEEK!!! WOOOO!!!!

I encourage you to check it out.  There's really quite a lot going on.  The comments section is filled with even more detail.  It would be awesome if some of the local folks working on the Allegheny County Anti-Discrimination Ordinance tapped into Keori as a resource to keep some national scrutiny on their efforts.

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Persad is launching a new afterschool program for LGBT youth.  This is awesome news.

Beginning in April, Persad Center will offer after-school services to youth ages 14-18.  The after-school program will be housed at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center and will operate from 3-7 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, expanding days as attendance increases.  Unfortunately, many GLBT youth are confronted with bullying regularly as part of their school day.  Harassment results in youth avoiding certain classes or missing school and this leads to poor school performance and can affect students? lives far beyond their school years.  Many youth struggling with their sexual or gender identity lack adult support and their isolation makes them vulnerable.

 

The After-School program will provide a safe, supervised and supportive environment for teens to interact with their peers, receive important prevention information and treatment services when needed, and get their homework done.  Persad is looking for a few teachers and educators who are willing to become volunteer tutors in the program.  For more information about the after-school program or to apply to become a volunteer, contact Melissa at 412-441-9786 x233.

This is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference and a much needed resource.  I know from personal experience that having supportive adults in your academic world can just make a world of difference. 

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The Bilerico Project, a huge national LGBTQ blog, went "dark" after being targeted by anti-progressive hackers.  Read about it here.

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Bill Peduto is asking you to turn off the lights from 8:30 - 9:30 tonight to help raise awareness about environmental issues.  Can you do that?  Can I?  Ledcat is going out tonight so I am wondering if I can cheat by turning out my lights and using my laptop battery?  Does that count? 

The Hawaiian Civil Unions bill died in committee.

DISAPPOINTMENT:  A motion to pull the Hawaii civil unions bill from the deadlocked Senate Judiciary Committee failed this afternoon 18 to 6, effectively killing the measure. The legislation passed the House of Representatives by a 33-17 vote on February 12.

Sen. Gary Hooser, who made the motion to pull the bill from committee, urged support for the bill; however, opposition by Senate President Colleen Hanabusa helped convince senators to vote against bringing the bill to the floor.

?Today?s vote is a great disappointment for loving, committed Hawaiian lesbian and gay couples,? said Family Equality Coalition Co-Chair Alan Spector. ?We share the sadness of all who hoped this vote would go differently and that the state would take a step toward equality for all Hawaiians.?

Joe Solmonese issued this statement this afternoon:

Today?s vote helps no one in the state of Hawaii. It protects no one?s marriage. It grants dignity to no couple?s relationship. It does nothing to ensure that all families receive the equal rights and responsibilities they deserve. But no one is giving up.  The Human Rights Campaign is proud to have partnered with the Family Equality Coalition on behalf of this critical legislation. It has been a long, hard struggle for couples and families in Hawaii who simply want equal rights, and this effort continues, as it does across the nation.

In an AP story, Senate Judiciary Chairman Brian Taniguchi said there?s still hope that the bill could be amended and revived, but that probably wouldn?t happen until next year.

You may remember an earlier story I did highlighting an offensive cartoon published in a Hawaiian newspaper owned by owners of the Pirates. 

This is one of those complicated corporation issues.  On the one hand, the Nutting family makes money selling papers that bash our community (the cartoon compared gay marriage to marrying a sheep).  On the other hand, they make money organizing a "Pride Night at PNC Park" during PrideFest. 

So complicated.  Do they want our pink dollars or do they want our pink dollars and the bigot dollars, too?  In the midst of pondering this, I received the following information about Pepsi.

Domald Wildmon's conservative homo-hatin' AFA is at it again. That dodo  is pissed at PepsiCo because the soda company gave $500,000 to PFLAG and another $500K to the Human Rights Campaign. And to add insult to injury, Dobson he got what he terms a "condescending" letter about the matter from Pepsi's director of public policy Paul Boykas. Wildmon has worked his Bible into a bunch because the organizations are using the money to:::gasp!::::

help promote homosexuality in the workplace. Pepsi refuses to give money to any pro-family organization that opposes the homosexual agenda. Plus, every homosexual organization we know of is overwhelmingly pro-abortion. 

And Wildmon reports, in bold letters signifying super outrage,:

Pepsi forces all employees to attend sexual orientation and gender identity diversity training where they are taught to accept homosexuality

Apparently, Pepsi isn't trying to have it both ways.  Pepsi.  I drink Coke so this is like a little moral quandary for me.  Hmmm.  However, we should take a moment to say "thanks" to Pepsi for being consistent.  Here's the contact information courtesy of the AFA.  Just reverse the information.

Sign the Boycott Pepsi Pledge. After signing the pledge, please call Pepsi (914-253-2000 or 1-800-433-2652) and tell the company you will boycott their products until they stop promoting the homosexual agenda.
Call the Pepsi bottler nearest you and ask the bottler to ask Pepsi to stop supporting the homosexual agenda.
Pepsi's products include Pepsi soft drinks, Frito-Lay chips (800-352-4477), Quaker Oats (800-367-6287), Tropicana (800-237-7799) and Gatorade (800-367-6287).
Print out the Boycott Pepsi Pledge and distribute.
Forward this e-mail to your friends and family so they will know about Pepsi's support of the homosexual agenda. Millions of people are not aware of Pepsi's support of homosexual organizations.