This past week was the Fifth Anniversary for Sue Kerr and her Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents blog. Pittsburgh has seen a number of women leading with their voices online over these last several years. Maria Lupinacci has been blogging as one part of the duo of 2Political Junkies since 2004. 2005 saw the launch of Lindsay Patross and Natalia Rudiak?s Iheartpgh.com and seven years ago Virginia Montanez began blogging anonymously as PittGirl and then in 2006 outed herself and launched her new blog That?s Church.com.  Through the years, Agent Ska, MsMon, and at least 50 other women have joined the ranks of Pittsburgh bloggers. Nationally Jessica Valenti and the brilliant women at feministing.com, dailykos, slate, and of course Huffington Post took over our computer (and blackberry and iphone) screens.

So as Sue celebrates 5 years of lesbian blogging I find myself reflecting on the importance of women bloggers and raising a glass of Champaign this week to toast all of these fierce media savvy women to thank them for their biting wit, strong sarcasm, courage, conviction, humor, hormones, and did I say courage? For many of us, having women bloggers to read is as important as having Rachel Maddow on TV. Their reporting and their words help us feel sane, make us feel less alone, shine a light on topics and stories mainstream media are usually all too happy to keep in the shadows, and their sharp fierce honest intelligence is so refreshing compared with the world of mediocrity that saturates most news outlets and websites, that reading their words often feels like finding a full canteen on a desert trail. Lesbian bloggers and media writers in particular play an important role in our lives. They report on issues of particular concern to gay women, issues that hetero women writers/activists and gay male writers might just get wrong or ignore. Lesbian bloggers that post political opinions, and who do so without being anonymous, are especially courageous, as they battle discrimination and prejudice related to sexual orientation, gender, and politics. Lesbian women of color who blog about politics are just all out goddesses and the rest of us need to be thankful for their courageous writing and support them at every turn. The blogosphere is interesting because we see folks utilize the medium to explore identity politics and explode them. Often it seems the best bloggers attempt to do both.

Happy Anniversary Sue and thank you to you for your bravery, honesty, sharp words, and cunning wit. You never fear or shrink from telling us your truth. And we are grateful for it. And thank you to all of the women bloggers out there who fill our lives each day with new information, new questions, new things to be angry about, new causes to care about, new jokes and people to laugh at, new friends, new fears, new thoughts, new ideas, new places to go, new people to avoid, new issues to rally around, and new blogs to read. As one humble reader to all of you, many tidings of comfort and joy as we ring in another new year!

Heather Arnet, CEO, Women and Girls Foundation, @heatherarnet on twitter

Bram Reichbaum from The Pittsburgh Comet alerted me to an exchange between City Councilors Bruce Kraus and Ricky Burgess during the pension plan bailout meetings.

According to Bram:

Kraus: "I am neither a Republican, a racist nor am I rich." Points out that Burgess never has supported gay lesbian & transgendered legislation and so doesn't want to hear implications of such out of him, and wants the Clerk to look up the record so he can read it tonight. "Speak about that, Rev. Burgess."

Burgess: "I am sorry that Mr. Kraus is upset about my conversations about poor and low-income families." Says not attacking personally. Thinks he's been consistent supporting equal rights.

Having worked in Reverend Burgess' district for nearly five years, I can state unequivocally that LGBTQ families and inviduals live there. I am equally comfortable stating that there are many low income, working class LGBTQ families among them.  Reverend Burgess likes to posture himself as the defender of the oppressed, but only certain oppressions fit under the umbrella. 

I believe Bruce Kraus is right and that Burgess has NOT consistently supported equal rights.  I used to think capitulation to his base was acceptable, but not when he uses gay stereotypes to isolate the courageously openly gay member of Council.  Burgess won't even sign on to support PrideFest.  He would not co-sponsor legislation in support of HB 300, only agreeing to vote for it.  He clearly wants to have it both ways --- warrior for equal rights, but only so equal. 

What the hell this had to do with the penion plan is anybody's guess but kudos to Bruce for calling Burgess on the carpet for his hypocrisy.  The homophobia on Grant Street is rampant and we need more champions to call it out, especially when it is tossed around for filler during a filibuster.  I think the gays should continue to call out men like Burgess whose hypocrisy contributes to the isolation and alienation of LGBTQ folks living in his district and throughout the City.

It does damage and deserves to be challenged. 

Prior to 2010, I used to contribute to Lez Get Real and Pam's House Blend routinely.  That sort of fell to the wayside, but I have resolved to get back in the saddle in 2011. 

Here's my first step courtesy of Lez Get Real.

Happy 2011!

From the Morning Call

Allentown may soon become the first municipality in the Lehigh Valley to offer medical benefits to partners of gay employees, whether active or retired.

Under a domestic partnership bill before council, partners of gay employees would be eligible for health benefits as long as the couple can illustrate they live together and are jointly responsible for household finances.

Many private companies and institutions in the Lehigh Valley, such as Muhlenberg College and The Morning Call, offer similar benefits, as does the city of Philadelphia.

It appears it might make headway with some support from the local council and a sort of generalish "no comment" from the Mayor

The bill, introduced on Dec. 15 and slated for a final vote as early as next month, has broad support among council members, who say gay couples deserve the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts.

"This is about fairness and equality," said council President Michael D'Amore, one of the driving forces behind the bill. "Gay employees' inability to get married in this state should not preclude them from getting health benefits."

Mayor Ed Pawlowski has yet to reveal his position on the measure, saying it's "under review."

This is the argument I've made over and over with regard to Allegheny County.  There are hard-working public servants who are treated like second-class citizens by our County government simply  because they are gay.  What's worse is that government is the bastion of health enforcement through the County Health Department so they should be setting the bar high, not cowering behind labor-management relations as a cover for a failure to act.

Unfortunately, LGBTQ persons will still be held to a higher standard of proof than heterosexual couples, many of whom are not even required to produce a marriage license for some employers.

In order to qualify for the benefits, the employee and partner must provide the city with at least three documents that show that they are living together and are jointly responsible for basic living expenses. Acceptable documents include mortgages, leases, utility bills and joint bank accounts, according to the bill.

This is a sore spot with me.  It can be challening to meet these criteria, based on the ignorance of the utility companies or simply the frustrating number of hurdles.  Verizon told me they had to actually literally disconnect all of our services, open a new account, CHARGE US to keep our number and come out to the house to get the DSL reconnected.  That's a lot of inconvenience (and expense) to meet a standard. 

I think one form of proof and a sworn affidavit is more reasonable.  Yes, it will be abused just like heterosexual couples abuse marital benefits every day in much, much greater numbers. 

Still, it is progress for Allentown. Here's hoping Allentown's leadership inspires Allegheny County.