The deception with tact, just what are you trying to say? You've got a blank face, which irritates Communicate, pull out your party piece You see dimensions in two State your case with black or white But when one little cross leads to shots, grit your teeth You run for cover so discreet, why don't they:
Do what they say, say what you mean One thing leads to another You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long But then one thing leads to another.
The impression that you sell Passes in and out like a scent But the long face that you see comes from living close To your fears If this is up then I'm up but you're running out of sight You've seen your name on the walls And when one little bump leads to shock miss a beat You run for cover and there's heat, why don't they:
Do what they say, say what they mean One thing leads to another You told me something wrong, I know I listen too long But then one thing leads to another One thing leads to another
Then it's easy to believe Somebody's been lying to me But when the wrong word goes in the right ear I know you've been lying to me It's getting rough, off the cuff I've got to say enough's enough
Bigger the harder he falls But when the wrong antidote is like a bulge on the throat You runs for cover in the heat why don't they
Do what they say, say what they mean One thing leads to another You tell me something wrong, I know I listen too long But then one thing leads to another One thing leads to another (Repeat)
The military thinks we are stupid enough to accept a faux-relaxing of policies in lieu of real reform on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. You still aren't supposed to tell, but now if a third party tells on you --- they aren't so quick to take action. Geez.
I completely missed this Tribune-Review posting on State Rep Darryl Metcalfe's run for Lt. Governor.
If the next governor doesn't stick to cutting "excessive spending and reducing taxes and protect the liberties of Pennsylvanians," Metcalfe said, he would run for governor in 2014.
Metcalfe said he is the first "accountability candidate" for lieutenant governor in state history and will have the next governor "looking over his shoulder
Here's the scary ... and comforting ... part.
Metcalfe's reputation could galvanize support in the primary season but be more damaging in the longer term, said Christopher Borick, a political science professor at Muhlenberg College in Allentown.
"In the short term, in the primary -- where the electorate is more conservative -- it may strike a few chords with your base," Borick said.
The homo card will pay off in the primary, especially in Jason Altmire's district. Great. At least, we can *hope* that the actual Lt. Governor will support Domestic Violence Awareness Month proclamations.
The Trib also reprints an AP story questioning whether loosening DADT will impact military benefits for the families of LGBT soldiers.
It really is just a matter of time folks until these walls finally crumble down, but it is tough to wait it out especially when we watch our so-called allies doing patchwork that keep the wall up. Imperfect analogy, but you get my point.
The First Presbyterian Church of Beaver has been allowed to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) and take its property into the more theologically conservative Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
An agreement between the 700-member church and Beaver-Butler Presbytery was reached Tuesday. The congregation made a parting gift to the presbytery of $133,700 from its reserve funds, and the presbytery signed over the deed to the property. The settlement was reached through a process that the presbytery approved in 2009, when it became apparent that several congregations wanted to leave over issues including gay ordination and biblical authority.
At least this was resolved amicably, but how very sad that entire congregations are so rooted in bigotry against the LGBTQ community that the church must change hands. Even more sad that the "theologically conservative" denominations are preying on these same fears to swell their ranks.
This brought to mind the Washington Post blog of Reverend Janet Edwards, a Pittsburgh based minister in the Presbyterian Church. She writes that the call of pastoral ministry is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
But if a pastor is struggling with a conflict between his or her faithful knowledge of Scripture and the traditional assumptions of the congregation -- even when congregants hold to them tightly as defining beliefs -- then welcome to ministry. There is no getting around the fact that afflicting the comfortable is an aspect of our calling.
While it is comfortable to see the lack of acrimony among the church and the presbytery play out across the front pages, I can't help but wonder if genteel agreements about the distribution of property are the way to go. Is the further entrenchment of the gay-friendly and the gay-phobic faith community consistent with the obligations of the pastors, the bishops -- the calling?
This is an updated version of a very useful resource. It is a .pdf file which you can download or you can go to the Allegheny County Health Department website.
HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTORY UPDATED FOR UNINSURED & UNDERINSURED
Guide to Remain Valuable Tool Until Health Care Reform Fully Goes Into Effect
The Allegheny County Health Department has updated its directory of local health centers and clinics that serve people with minimal or no health insurance.
?Until the new health care reform law fully goes into effect and expands access to health care, our guide will remain a valuable resource for the uninsured and underinsured,? said County Health Director Dr. Bruce W. Dixon.
The directory has been expanded to include additional resources such as help for compulsive gamblers, Neighborhood Legal Services, the LatinoFamilyCenter, the Library for the Blind and Handicapped, and Health Care for the Homeless.
First published in 2007, the directory is intended primarily for social service agencies and other community organizations dealing with the uninsured, but individuals also may find it useful as a handy guide to health care providers.
Most of the providers listed in the directory use a sliding fee schedule based on household income and family size for patients with no insurance. The fees may be as little as $25 or less and possibly even waived in cases of extreme financial hardship.
The 34-page guide lists more than 40 local clinics and health centers as well as resources available to help with other needs, including prescription drugs, vision care, dental care and transportation. It also features a listing of health insurance options for the unemployed and low-income families.
Just an FYI. I've turned on comment moderation and will now require commenters to register with blogware. I encourage anyone who feels silenced to go to blogspot and start a blog!
Today, I was unsuccessful in getting the Onorato campaign or executive office to provide follow up information to the reports of a commission to provide domestic partner benefits to Allegheny County. One gay supporter confirmed the existance of the commission, but could not name its members. So I've tried another round of contacts with the blessing of other advisors.
I'm speculating that they are saving the reveal for Sunday to achieve maximum impact for the LGBT endorsement. I'm looking forward to the details because I sincerely do not understand how this works. As I've shared, I've been researching the domestic partner benefit process through County Council and the Executive branch. County Council has been very helpful with information from the Home Rule Charter. I can't say the same for the Chief Executive's office. I sort of got the brush off (read I was ignored), but I also really want my friends who work for the County to have domestic partner benefits. They deserve health insurance for their families, just like all of the married heterosexual employees.
The process is very important. Our next Governor will need to expand statewide domestic partner benefits to the state workforce because while the benefits exist, not all of the unions are playing ball. We need a Governor committed to equality to ensure that everyone on his team has access to these benefits and that requires a significant culture shift in the workforce as well as going out on a limb politically.
I guess the next four days will show us if Mr. Onorato is the kind of Governor we need. Yes, I might be somewhat arrogant to assume I deserve an answer in four days. But I've been asking for two years. And never once in that entire period has Mr. Onorato's team even acknowledged me. No matter how politely I've asked. No matter how many proper channels I've followed. No matter how many allies I've approached. No matter that I'm a resident and a voter. They've just ignored the question and all that it represents.
I've been accused of bashing Onorato. The truth is that I'm the one who has been on the beat down side of this entire discussion. I have no money, no power, no particular influence. No one has even paid attention to this issue until the past few months. Where have you all been these past years? I've been responding to every inch of newsprint even hinting of a City-County merged function (ask Michael Lamb how often I've emailed him).
So condemn me for being negative on this issue, but I think years of good faith efforts to get to the truth when I didn't have campaign contributions to help me -- I think that gives me a little room to be skeptical. I can show you the email from the County HR Director saying she'd be in touch ... then show you how she didn't, even when her colleagues at County Council urged her to do so.
Something changed Monday evening. The question was acknowledged by Onorato himself. So now we wait to see if this is more than another promise to be in touch. And we keep hoping that our families get what they deserve.
After four + years of covering the LGBT community in this region, I was depressed that Onorato was the best we could get for our next Governor. Then I met Joe Hoeffel last September and was immediately struck by his intelligence, his broad grasp of issues and his willingness to learn (even from me!). I began reading about is position on the environment, especially Marcellus Shale drilling. I learned about the way he treated his campain staff when health insurance for campaign staff wasn't sexy. Taxes, education, PennDOT funding, issue after issue. So much that makes me hopeful, so pleased to find someone who stands behind his convictions.
But mostly, I'm still struck by how intelligent he is. I want the smartest person possible to be at the helm of our Commonwealth. I want someone who can govern Pennsylvania, not just someone who can be elected.
My hope is that Joe Hoeffel's candidacy shines a light on what an equal society can look like. Let's elect a Governor who has more to offer us than more promises to be in touch. Let's elect the Governor who *is* in touch.
Just a quick nod to our friend, the wonderful Mr. Potter over at Slag Heap.
In a gesture of bipartisan conciliation, I've been trying to find an upside for conservatives in all this, and I think I've found one, thanks to lefty media watchdog group Media Matters (motto: "We listen to Glenn Beck so you don't have to"). It comes courtesy of Pittsburgh's own Jim Quinn, who raises the possibility that healthcare reform will be bad for gays.
Huh. You wonder why Rick Santorum didn't support it.
Good stuff. We are very lucky Mr. Potter is among us.
I have done you all a great disservice on this topic. Someone I trusted told me that Pittsburgh City Council never took a vote on domestic partner benefits and I took that person at their word. I went with the assumption that Onorato has never cast a vote on LGBT issues. I should have done my own research. Bad enough, I thought.
I was wrong. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette May 1999 (I apologize that it is broken into two images, but you can click the link to see the original).
He voted against domestic partner benefits in 1999 as a City Councilman and then spent six years not taking action on them as the County Chief Executive. When he runs for Governor, as I reported earlier, he forms a commission the week before both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia's Stonewall clubs hold their endorsement votes.
That's a pretty brazen maneuver. I was trying to be open-minded and pleased for County employees until I realized that I was played or just lazy.
There's more. While we know that the City Council vote on adding sexual orientation to the human relations ordinance took place in 1990 before Onorato joined the Council, I have a 1998 Beaver County Times article filed from the Associated Press that describes the vote to add gender identity and expression to the same ordinance.
Guess who voted against it? Yes, the sole "nay" vote was Onorato.
Onorato voted no on including protections for gender identity and gender expression. In 1998, he didn't think persons were experiencing discrimination -- there wasn't proof. Do you think that was a reasonable perspective in 1998 Pittsburgh?
Well. I just had a piece published statewide stating that Onorato has no voting history on LGBT issues and I was completely wrong. His voting record on LGBT issues has been 100% against us. Yikes.
But he's a changed man and, oh yeah, he wants to be Governor. To prove he's sincere, he waits until one week before the gay endorsement ... oh, I already said that.
I'm going to take a few hours to rethink all that has transpired over the past 72 hours here at Lesbian Central. I think people are trying to hoodwink you into thinking Onorato has been benign. The articles show that has not been the case. They are also trying to get you to believe that he's changed, but the domestic partner issue flies in the face of that argument.
To be fair, there are Onorato supporters who seem to truly believe he's changed. They didn't obscure anything. But the best I can say is that it is far too little, too late. I'm done with the meaningful conversations with my frenemies. Get me to the nearest Hoeffel phone bank.
Sure, you can go with the inevitability argument and vote for Onorato. He needs our votes and with his alleged speech tonight to Liberty City Democrats, he's indicating he'll tell us what we want to hear. He may even extend domestic partner benefits.
But you have a choice. You aren't bound to the laws of war chests and political family dynasties and loyalties and all of that. You can vote for the candidate who believes in full equality for all persons - Joe Hoeffel.
Turn out Sunday for the endorsement. Don't let the gay community settle for the candidate who is a lukewarm version of an ally when we can have the real thing. You are the only one who can make that happen. You need to show up on Sunday, you need to join Steel City Stonewall and you need to cast your endorsement vote. Plus, there's food. What's not to love?
Joe will be there. He's traveling across Pennsylvania to be there because he believes you deserve equality. Can you give up a few hours of your Sunday to believe in yourself?
I had never heard of him. I began following him on Twitter simply because he's a PA elected official. He's a somewhat frequent tweeter so he began catching my attention. Here's his website.
Last night, he made a comment Speaker Pelosi that caught my attention:
So I retweeted questioning if this is the kind of thing a leader should tweet? Really? I figured it was typical Republican Teabagging bull.
He responded. Oh my God, I'm conversing with a Republican during HCR and no slurs are being exchanged! :-)
So I looked him up. He represents the 150th district which is Montgomery County -- home of our friend and future Governor, Joe Hoeffel! Yes, he's a Republican, but here's what his bio says ...
As a state lawmaker, Mike will work to achieve true property tax reform for all Pennsylvanians. He also will work to preserve valuable open space and improve regional traffic planning. Finally, he will fight to reform the way government does business in Harrisburg.
Public service has long been a calling for Mike. He served as president of the West Norriton Board of Commissioners, where he worked hard to make government more responsive and accountable to the taxpayers by holding the line on taxes, preserving open space and supporting first responders.
He also served as a board member-at-large for the West Norriton Little League, a member of the Hancock Fire Company, a member of the Pastoral Council for Visitation BVM, a board member for Visitation BVM Children Youth Organization and an advisory board member for the Norristown Police Athletic League.
Mike also brings plenty of professional and real world experience with him to Harrisburg. He has 20 years of combined law enforcement and corporate security experience, including 10 years with the West Conshohocken Police Department, and corporate security work at both Comcast and Day and Zimmerman Security Services.
Mike and his wife are raising their family in West Norriton, where Mike has been a life long resident.
Note the lack of references to family values. He's concerned about taxes, urban sprawl and reform. If you follow him on Twitter, you'll see a lot of references to his own family so he's clearly a family man. He just doesn't seem to think MY family has a negative impact on his family.
Then I learned this.
I was like "Shapiro's Discrimination" what? So off I surfed to look this up. Rep Josh Shapiro is also a tweeter. I found out that Shapiro introduced Hate Crimes legislation in 2009. And sure enough I find that Rep Vereb voted "aye" for HB 745 which expanded hate crimes protections to the LGBT community when it was in the Judiciary Committee. The legislation has been recommitted to Appropriations.
I knew this legislation existed, but what a pleasant surprise that a Republican brought it up in conversation.
So that's pretty cool. He saw my screen name and took the time to connect with me. In the midst of a real hatefest over #hcr, I had a nice little interlude with an elected official from across the aisle.
