Oh, Katy Buchanan of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette travel section has me all a twitter this morning.  In one of her pieces about traveling in India, she hits some pretty uggghhh moments (KFC tastes the same, TMI about her experience with eating fruit, "beggars," etc).  This is the best:

Indian men and boys hold hands, or sometimes just clasp pinkie fingers together, in public. It is not a gay thing, apparently, and I'm not sure it even connotes affection, since PDAs are frowned on in India. It was weird the first time I saw it, but I got a lot more used to that than the habit of public urination and public adjustment. This is seen all over the place.

Are you kidding me?  She opens her story by reassuring people not to freak out about men linking pinkies?  That's the FIRST thing she writes about the culture shock of traveling to India?????

This is beyond ridiculous.  To be precise, this is her sidebar column about "things that might shock you" about India but my shock is pretty much reserved for the editor who okayed this demeaning piece.  "Beggar-women" is a highlight. 

Getting back to the homophobia, Ms. Buchanan's comment that men holding hands or clasping fingers is "weird" pretty much tells you what you need to know about her professionalism.  It is a little suspect that her primary piece opens up with a reference to kissing her female hostess/friend without reassuring us she's not a lesbian.  Perhaps we are supposed to infer that because the friend is married with children?  Or it could be a subtle nod to her savvy hipster approach to life.  Maybe she's just a homophobe.

Shame on the Post-Gazette for tapping into stereotypes and gay panic to sell newspapers. 

Finally I've been able to find information on the individuals running for the Magisterial District Judge race on the Northside (Wards 21-25).

Why do I care?  Well, I gained some interest after I realized how many of my neighbors were supporting the candidate they know without any real sense of his qualifications beyond the fact that he's an attorney.  I can see why people use this criteria as we all want to support our friends and, frankly, finding information is a struggle.  Candidates at this level don't have fancy websites, twitter or so forth.

I had something stuffed in my door today from a Republican running for the office.  His name is Dan Styche who is a State Deputy Constable.  I'm not clear on what that means, but apparently is makes him a lawman and able to claim 12 years experience working in the Magistrate's Offices.

That led me to the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania site which has FIVE candidates listed. 

So what does a district magistrate do?  I'm not sure.  I know they take care of the first steps in a criminal process.  They hear tax cases. I can't find a really good description of what they do.

Our of the five people running in my area, Derwin Rushing is an attorney.  Karen McLellan is a police officer.  We already mentioned the constable.  I think Dean Birdy is also an attorney.   I can't find anything about Jackie Lynn Hoffman. 

I did discover that Dean Birdy and Dan Styche are listed as committeefolks for the Allegheny County Democrat committee.  That's odd that Styche is running as a Republican then.  His literature says Democat. 

So I frankly have no good information in this race.  I have some info that makes me disinclined to vote for one candidate, but without more details it is hard to know who my best alternative is.  It is hard to know who is qualified when you aren't sure what they do.  Clearly, the two lawyers and the police officer have a leg up when it comes to actually knowing the law. 

Frustrating. I'll keep digging.

Kerry and Lucy are in Saturday's Pet Tales column in the Post-Gazette.  Awesomeness! 

Mother's Day is around the corner.  Order your flowers now.  Lucy says yes!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09122/967140-62.stm

Today's Post-Gazette includes a letter from Jeffrey O. Mast of Cecil.  Mast supports the secular equality of the LGBTQ community, but draws the line at religious rites.

I was with the gay activists when what they sought was equal protection under the law. Now it seems the gay activists wish to commandeer the word "marriage." Unless I am wrong, "marriage" is a religious "rite," not "right."

It appears the "slippery slope" is in full effect. If we continue with the slippery slope, in five years we will be debating whether a church leader should be forced to perform a marriage ceremony for a gay couple.

Mast is a proponent of the separate but equal approach to civil rights.  A friend of mine asked me a similar question about whether a "secular marriage" using some other term would satisfy me.  I told her that I have no desire to force any religious group to marry me, but the claim that marriage is a religious institution is deceptive.  The term marriage is inextricably intertwined with the civil institution and clearly a part of the fabric of society.  You can't just parse the language because you will always end up with two tiers -- gay marriage and "real" marriage. 

Mast's other line of reasoning is that equal rights for the LGBTQ community should not infringe on the religious rights for other people:

 I believe that one's secular rights end where another's secular rights begin. I also believe in equal rights (not rites). Considering the fact that liberals believe that religion and government should be as separate as possible, it baffles me that liberals would insist on appropriating religious terminology.

Why don't religious folks come up with their own special new word and leave secular marriage alone? Hmm.  Seriously, he's playing into the fear that equal rights will destroy religious freedom which is ludicrous.  Lots of things limitt religious freedoms  - tax laws, building inspections, education laws,etc.  Lots of things in society are offensive to one religion or another - consumption of pork/beef, premarital sex, short hair, birth control, female Secretaries of State, etc.  Some you can simply ignore, others you must endure. Taking offense doesn't translate into your rights being violated.  There is no right "not to be offended."

Still, this letter does illustrate a welcome change from the usual gay bashing rhetoric.  Acknowleding that the LGBTQ community deserves equal protection is a good thing.  That's a shift and, I think, evidence that the gay agenda is working!  :-)  

I read the Post-Gazette's endorsement of Robert Daniel Lavelle this morning with some skepticism.  I've lived on the Northside for almost 4 years.  Tonya Payne is the only elected official representing Manchester who has showed up IN MANCHESTER.  Not only that, she actually organizes meetings specific to our neighborhood. 

I've never seen Robert Daniel Lavelle in Manchester.  Someone did shove campaign literature behind my door knob one day. I was actually on my way to answer the door, but they walked away after two minutes and disappeared. 

We have other good legislators and elected officials, but they don't roll into our community.  They have come to nearby communities when invited, but I'd expect at least one appearance per term.  Is that too much?  She doesn't think so and she's here much more frequently.

Tonya makes time for Manchester.  She answers my inquiries on a regular basis.  She has been honest with me when her ability to intervene is limited.  She's trying to develop affordable housing in our neighborhood against the wishes of the mighty mighties who want to focus on housing for the $250,000+ crowd. 

The Post-Gazette editorial board also focuses on the Hill District issues and doesn't even mention Northside issues.  I guess the North Shore development's impact on Manchester doesn't generate the sexy headlines from the Hill District.

Then there's the gay issue.  Read the candidates questionnaires from the Steel City Stonewall endorsement process.  Lavelle is quasi pro-choice, tepid on comprehensive sex education and uninformed on LGBTQ issues -- he says some of his "associates" are part of the community.  I guess he must take a page from Luke.  It is infuriating that someone can be so uninformed on issues that have been extensively covered by the media, lack the initiative to get informed before completing the questionnaire and put the responsibility on us to educate him.  What? Ask an associate!

************************************************************************************** UPDATE:  A Lavelle supporter has pointed out to me that I misrepresented Lavelle's response.  Lavelle referred to friends/associates.  I should have caught that.  I still believe the distintion is necessary in the context of Lavelle's overall answers -- he clearly is uninformed on LGBTQ issues and lacks the motivation to educate himself.  That's unacceptable for a so-called progressive and I am somewhat disappointed that progressives ally himself with him, but fail to see this as a serious problem.  That's staggering.

Lavelle's supporters are using snark to mock Tonya Payne's name.  It is utterly ridiculous how well-respected leaders can engage in such behavior.  Sayeth the blogger, LOL.

***************************************************************************************

Tonya, on the other hand, acknowledges her FRIENDS who are part of the LGBTQ community.  She's for civil marriage equality.  She understands the issues and she has a long record of turning out for LGBTQ events.  I always find it compelling that she marches in the Pride Parade and doesn't necessarily need the microphone.  It seems more genuine.  I've seen her show the same restraint in other situations and I admire her for trying to walk in people's shoes rather than bask in the limelight.  That, Mr. Lavelle, is how you educate yourself on the issues and the people whose lives they impact.  You don't go to a bar crawl for heaven's sake.

The Post-Gazette is wrong to say that Tonya has been indifferent to constituent needs.  I'm also not a fan of the editorial board painting her as an overwrought "more heat than light" kind of woman.  I guess they don't pay attention when Tonya quietly turns out for events and talks one on one with people.  They also haven't seen her wade into the political muck that is Manchester's housing development issues and deftly handle the minions of the local barracuda without losing her cool or becoming "heated."  This is a tough neighborhood -- there's little sense of community, tremendous socio-economic/racial divides and a bad reputation. 

Lavelle may be all things described in the editorial, but I believe the piece missed the boat on Tonya.  Labeling her with quasi-sexist paint as the overwrought woman who needs to let the men get the work done is a disservice to all of us. 

Associates?  Really?  You don't have any gay friends? Geez.  That's the language of people who tolerate my kind, not someone who values us.

Let me rephrase that.  It is good to acknowledge having LGBTQ friends and associates.  The inconsistency is how you can have those relationships and remain uninformed on basic issues of equality, especially if you are running for office. I don't get that at all.