State Rep Jeff Pyle Addresses Concerns About Racist Billboards

PA State Representative Jeff Pyle has released a video statement about the billboards in Worthington, Armstrong County. He prefaces his video with this written statement: “To the residents who have been calling my office regarding the distasteful and divisive messages appearing on the billboard in Worthington off of Route 422, I want you to know […]

Four Phases of My Mental Illness Journey (So Far)

CN: mental illness, mental health industry, child abuse, sexual violence, Catholic Church My mental illness journey has four significant chapters, beginning with my decision to seek help. I use the term “phase” rather than stage because it isn’t so much that they play out this way in most people’s lives as my being able to […]

This is Who We Are in Western Pennsylvania: Antwon Rose & White Supremacy

CN: white supremacy, racial slurs, John Placek hasn’t lost any time creating billboards about the not guilty verdict in the trial of Michael Rosfeld for the shooting death of then-17-year-old Antwon Rose. It shouldn’t suprise anyone who has been following his trail of racist, White supremacy messaging. I wouldn’t normally post an image with this […]

Q&A with Olivia ‘Liv’ Bennett, Candidate for Allegheny County Council District 13

Olivia Bennett County Council

We are revisiting our Political Q&A series for the upcoming elections of 2019. We’ve reached out to candidates who are pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ, asking them a series of questions about their campaigns. We’ve sent out about a dozen Q&A’s to folks who agreed to participate. Candidates can be anywhere in Pennsylvania running for any level […]

Holy Fuck – What’s With the Ads on This Blog?

I have sold out and opted into the SheKnows Media advertising network. At least, for now. I’m going to try it for six months. I’ve tried seeking donations to help with the site upkeep, but the truth is – blogging has grown more expensive.  My webhosting is going to spike up to $50/month because I’m […]

Peanuts Worldwide Sends Cease and Desist Orders to John Placek, Worthington-West View Fire Department Over Racist Billboard

Franklin Armstrong Peanuts

Earlier in the month, we reported that the owner of a billboard displaying racist content in Worthington, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania had added an image featuring characters from the Peanuts comic strip. The image included characters Charlie Brown and Franklin Armstong with altered dialogue in which Franklin described Charlie Brown as a racist after he admitted […]

I Miss My Parents

Sometimes, I think about my parents or my brother or his children. Those thoughts are accompanied by deeply painful, gut wrenching feelings of loss, separation, and grief. We are not separated by death, but by the truths and transgressions of our lives. I haven’t spoken with my brother in nearly a decade and I last […]

I feel a kinship with Midge Maisel — do you?

Picture: Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) zips up the dress of a Parisian drag queen. (Screenshot from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) – – – – – – – – – So I just finally started watching “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” on Amazon Prime. I was resisting, because the reviews were so glowing, and I thought, “Meh, […]

Why Aren’t We Talking About The Ties Between the Armstrong County Billboards, White Nationalism, and Domestic Terrorism?

Peanuts Racist

Inflammatory question? Perhaps. John Placek denies that he is a racist white man, but spends thousands of dollars ‘trolling’ Worthington, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania with racist, white nationalist content. And as he told WPXI, he plans to erect two more billboards somewere nearby. When we look at the early deconstruction of white nationalism’s role in the […]

92-year-old Cat Colony Caretaker Receives Food Donation through #CatFoodDrivePgh

Cat Food Drive Pittsburgh

One of the advantages to donating bags of food to our drop-off either in person or via the Amazon wish list is that the food is in the hands of the caretakers within a matter of days. Someone recently donated this bag of food   Within a few hours after arrival, it was taken to […]