Ledcat and I attended the women's version of this event last spring. It was quite nice.  Come out to support the partnership between the GLCC and Adagio Health. 

Let the stress melt away:

Relaxation and Wellness

night for MEN

Mini spa night featuring:

chair massages

hot wax hand treatments

guided meditation, facials,

hand massages

manicures

 blood pressure monitoring

 cancer screenings

hemoglobin checks

 BMI, STD testing

Refreshments provided

Sponsored by Adagio Health, Inc

and the GLCC

Gay and Lesbian Community Center

of Pittsburgh

210 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

When:   Tuesday March 23, 2010

                        4:00-7:00 PM.

Who:    Gay and Bisexual Men

Why:  Because healthy living is relaxing

RSVP required

call Kat  412-304-8181

March 23rd will be Men's Wellness night

April 6 will be Women's Wellness night

May 4th will be Trans Wellness night

sdf

Great piece from Sally on the need for good laws to help families of all types step up when crisis happens.

sdf

My mother-in-law is a Democrat with liberal leanings.  My father is a Catholic Republican with small government leanings.  My cousin is well, I don't know, but a proponent of education, decent roads and elected officials paying attention to small towns. 

In the past 24 hours, I've had conversations with all three about my reasons for supporting Joe Hoeffel.  And to my surprise, all three were willing to listen. 

For MIL and my Dad, it was all about the Marcellus Shale.  MIL owns farm land and Dad has worked on wastewater emissions for coke plants (steel mills) for two decades.  They both care about the environment and they both have witnessed firsthand the devastation that unchecked corporate greed can wreck on our planet. They both agree that drilling the Shale will overload the municipal water treatments of small communities and that the gas companies should have to basically clean up their mess.  My Dad would prefer if the companies would be forced to do it themselves, but he recognizes the improbability of  that option so he agrees that taxes to fund the clean up are fair and just.  The both want their grandchildren to grow up with a cleaner environment and believe that dedicating this tax to environmental preservation is something they support.

My Dad thinks the County tax assessment is ridiculous and my cousin agrees. She wants more detail on education and she is beyond angry that PennDOT ignored small towns outside of Allegheny County while getting all this glory about their stellar road clearing inside the County. 

None of them think Onorato has been doing a heck of a job, Danny.  And all three are giving a second look at the "Socially Progressive, Fiscally Responsible Candidate" from the East, Joe Hoeffel.

You can have an impact if you talk with your families about this race.  The numbers are amazingly close considering the size of the Onorato war chest.  Folks like my family members have not been impressed with Onorato's ability to deliver to struggling communities in this region so they don't buy the argument that electing a Western PA Democrat will be good for us.  They don't buy it.

You just need to read this for yourself ...from the AP.

Virginia's attorney general has advised the state's public colleges that they don't have the authority to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, saying only the state legislature has that power.

The letter sent by Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli to state college presidents and other officials Thursday drew swift criticism from Democrats and gay rights activists.

Mr. Cuccinelli said the legislature has repeatedly refused to exercise its authority. As recently as Tuesday, a subcommittee killed legislation that would have banned job discrimination against gay state employees.

"It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification, as a protected class within its nondiscrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly," Mr. Cuccinelli wrote.

The Republican advised college governing boards to "take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the law."

Jon Blair, chief executive officer of the gay rights group Equality Virginia, said Mr. Cuccinelli's "radical actions are putting Virginia at risk of losing both top students and faculty, and discouraging prospective ones from coming here."

C. Richard Cranwell, state Democratic Party chairman, said Virginia's colleges and universities were more than capable of setting policies that work for them "without meddling from Ken Cuccinelli."

Rebecca Glenberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said colleges are bound by U.S. Supreme Court decisions not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

Wow.  This could get interesting.  Surely there are much more worthy issues for the State Attorney General to worry about than academic institutions creating inclusive environments.  Is he going to poke into the anti-discrimination practices of all private contractors receiving state funding? 

Yet another reason for you and your family to get involved/pay attention to LGBT politics. 

sdf

Thought this is something interesting worth noting ....The conference is April 1-3 at the University of Pittsburgh.  Just one of those things you might not realize takes place in Pittsburgh (unless you subscribe to the Queer Events list).

Sexuality Studies and LGBT
Activism in Latin America

The Sixth International Latin American Cultural Studies Conference, to be held at the University of Pittsburgh the first three days of April 2010, will gather a number of people who have been key to activism and academic work on LGBT issues in Latin America. Many of them have organized events in their countries on issues of sexual minorities and LGBT issues; many have published anthologies of queer writing and sexuality studies within their national contexts. Many of our participants have worked intensely at a national as well as at an international context, often at personal risk and in the midst of complex political situations.

Their many publications have broadened and deepened our knowledge of sexual cultures throughout Latin America. Events in Caracas, Santiago de Chile, Rio de Janeiro, Havana, Montevideo, La Paz and other important cities have helped give LGBT communities a public presence, while fostering academic work on LGBT issues. This event, which will include presentations, panel discussions and readings of creative work, will bring their (and others?) experience at the local and national levels to Pittsburgh.

sdf