I am sad and disgusted

I generally don't put the same post on both of my blogs, but seeing this story has broken my heart, and I just have to.

Words cannot express the dismay and sadness. This girl was not just abused by her father, she was apparently abandoned by an entire neighborhood. All these people are coming out of the woodwork with stories of how terrible the situation was, how widespread knowledge of the abuse was. Where were they when they could have done some good?

One person could have opened their mouth and saved this girl. Instead they did nothing. They knew what was going on, and did nothing. They heard her screams, and they did nothing.

Now she stands held as an adult, for taking the only option she could see available to end her terrible pain. Unless the authorities rethink this one, she will be victimized yet again.

My heart is broken. My heart is crying and broken for this poor girl.

Please, read about this and take this story to heart. I hope nobody has to be confronted with such a situation, but if you ever find yourself in the same place as these people, I beg you, have the courage to do what is right. Too many children are helpless victims to the people who are supposed to care for them and protect them. You may think it's none of your business, or be afraid of getting mixed up in something. But you can be that child's hero. If the people with the knowledge and ability to save them don't, then no one will.

Fox Tries to Have Morals?

It's been a busy week so I'm a little late on this one. A lot of people are picking on Pittsburgh since our local ABC and NBC affiliates have refused to air Trojan ads for which Pittsburgh was selected as a test market. But I think it's a lot more fantastic that Fox and CBS have rejected the ad nationally altogether. Apparently you're allowed to use Viagra to get it up, just don't slap a rubber on it.

I can rant and rave all day about the hypocrisy of any distributer of modern popular culture being worried about offending public sensibilities. There are commercials on TV these days that I am uncomfortable seeing in the presence of my mother. But rather than dwell on that angrily, I'm going to laugh for a moment at the fact that one of these is Fox.

Yeah, Fox!

This is the network that brought us Married...with Children, Temptation Island, and however many things along the lines of When Animals Attack and Eat the Faces of Innocent Babies, or something. Suddenly these people are worried about sending an appropriate message? For those of you who forgot about it in all it's highbrow glory, Temptation Island was the reality show where they took a bunch of unmarried couples and put them on an island with a bunch of single people to see if they could get them to cheat on each other. I wonder if they let them use condoms in the process.

My Hot & Cold Relationship with Fast Eddie

A few people in the last couple days have asked me about my fairly cynical stance towards Governor Rendell, affectionately known in these parts as Fast Eddie. The truth is, there are some things I like about the guy, and some things I just can't stand.

I can't deny that he has always been a supporter of GLBTQ rights, and takes a positive stance for us on a number of issues. He generally does so quietly, but he still does so, which is more than you can say for some other politicians. And, there are a lot of other areas where I agree with his general ideas--the ends that I think he aims to reach. I did vote for the guy. For these reasons, whenever I mention him in a somewhat harsh light, a few people challenge me on it.

But, try as I might, I just can't get past a sort of smarmy salesman feel that I get from him. I may agree with a number of his ends, but his means give me the creeps half the time. In the recent budget/furlough situation, for example--do I think a lot of the issues he was trying to move forward are worthwhile? Certainly. Do I agree with how he and the Dems went about it? Certainly not. The whole slots issue has the feel of...I dunno...maybe not quite something so sinister as a pyramid scheme, but something close to it. "Free money! Reform property taxes! Bail out public transportation!" Has anyone else felt like they're buying a tonic off the back of a wagon? Step right up, folks--it's the cure for what ails ya.

He just has too much of a sleight of hand, slick grin, bait and switch feel about him for me to really be comfortable. I voted for him, I appreciate the support he has given the community, and I like a lot of the goals that he has. But I can't help but feel like I need to constantly check for my wallet.

-----Update, 7/18 2:21 PM-----
Of course, the day after I post this the guy's wife is in a car wreck. Sorry she got hit, glad she's OK, but I'm still checking for my wallet.

Good Will Is Nice, but Business Is More Powerful

Great news on the benefits front--faculty at the 14 universities run by the PA State System of Higher Education will receive domestic partner benefits under a tentative new contract!

It's always great to see advances such as these. What I think is even better, however, is that the extension of these benefits didn't come after protracted protests and threatened lawsuits, as has happened at other universities. (Although there was a tenuous contract situation in general, it did not revolve primarily around this issue.) With the previous contract the university system agreed to consider domestic partner benefits, but only if they were extended to other unionized state employees. That has not happened, but the university system decided to add these benefits anyway.

The great thing to see is the continued evidence that such previously "outlandish" things as domestic partner benefits are becoming more and more essential to any attractive benefits package. These benefits were not extended out of good will and harmony, but because it is good business sense to offer these things. It's not exactly new, but it's great to see these trends continue and strengthen.

Hate Crime Bill - Go bug people about it!!

I really have no idea if the Senate could actually vote on this within the next day, as the HRC claims it might, but oh well. The federal hate crimes bill has been presented to the US Senate and could be up for a vote soon, having already been passed comfortably in the House.

What's disturbing to me is that if you run a search on Google News about this, the only stuff you will find are articles about protests against this--coverage of protests, columns denouncing it, etc. etc. That really says to me that us folks who are for this thing are doing a lousy job of making that be known!

The HRC is urging everyone to bug their Senators. Absolutely we should, that is step one. But we can't stop there--bug other people too!

Bug your local and state politicians, urge them to contact your US Senators on behalf of their constituents. Bug your local media, let them know that you care about this issue and want to see it covered. In this day and age, visibility is a huge key to success. Balanced media coverage is essential to informing those reasonable, everyday folks who make up the bulk of society (and voters) and getting their support. Bug your friends. Get them to bug people.

Stop being so lewd, mom

I was very happy to see that Pennsylvania mothers can now breastfeed their babies without fear of being kicked out of wherever they are. On the other hand, it's kind of sad that we have to pass laws that specifically protect this.

Truly, American society is such a mixed bag of paradoxical values, mores and ideals. So lenient in some areas, so regressive in others. We have such a popular culture of sexuality and promiscuity, yet at the same time mothers actually fear getting publicly punished for feeding their children.

I guess it's comparable to how I'll never really escape some aspects of that fantastic Catholic childhood...in many ways America just can't shake those Puritanical roots. Man that sucks.

Well thank goodness we saved the booze

Much to everyone's shock and surprise, Fast Eddie and the GA didn't get it done so the furloughs have taken effect. Too bad these workers didn't have the good fortune to work in an area with as much pull as the casinos. Granted, I'm happy for the guy sweeping the casino floor, but it's nice how we can overlook a little thing like the law in order to keep the cash cows open.

Speaking of cash cows, it's very enlightening to see which state services made the "essential" list, and which did not. Out of the following, which do you think should be candidates to be considered essential, and therefore remain open?

- Inspector General investigations and prosecutions
- Highway department road maintenance
- Driver license centers

...or...

- Liquor stores
- Lottery
- Casinos

OK, I know nobody is going to die because they can't get their driver's license today, but it's the principle of the thing. Combating public fraud is nice and all, but dangit, there's just no money in it.

I love Tony Norman

Don't send me hate mail. Sarcasm, people!

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07187/799724-153.stm

Oh, and completely unrelated... A quick thanks to Kevin McClatchy for keeping our Buccos around (even if they are lousy), and to Bob Smizik for the reminder. Of course, I'm also the only person in Pittsburgh who doesn't boo Jagr every time he touches the puck.

So How Many Other Questions Did He Miss?

Some schmuck in Massachusetts failed the Mass. bar exam and has decided to blame the gays.

I wonder, is he suing because the question is there, or because he flunked? If he had passed, would he still sue? The question still would have been there, persecuting away, but maybe the sting would not have been so great...say only $5 mil or so.

Perhaps more pressing, is he later going to sue himself for defamation of character? He certainly is ruining whatever career he might have left by very publicly letting the world know he can barely pass the bar. (This assumes, of course, that he knew the answer to the question and would have passed if he had answered it.)

But just when I lose all hope for those in my future profession, I find these reactions:

"David Yas, editor of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, said the suit was 'idiotic' and that Dunne was 'completely missing the point about what it means to be a lawyer.'"

And even better:

Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders: "The bar exam was a test of whether he knew how to apply domestic relations law, and he refused to answer. Now he's suing, and I think that makes him a loser."

The article also says that he's representing himself. Let's suppose for a moment that he would have passed if he had answered. Tell me, would you want to be represented in court by someone who passed the bar exam by only one question?

Furlough Rant Part Deux

I know I just posted about this budget crap the other day, but I'm really pissed. First of all, and this is a minor point, but I'm perplexed at how little media coverage there is. Every other year the media are on this weeks ahead of time, screaming about how government will collapse and children will be starving in the streets. This year it actually looks like a furlough may happen, and there's hardly anything. Maybe it's just locally because everyone is focused on Lukey's latest antics (don't get me wrong, that sucks too, but Luke going golfing isn't going to cost 24,000 people their paychecks...yet).

Anyway, what got me re-pissed-off was reading about Fast Eddie comparing this situation to a transit strike in Philadelphia back in the 90's, as reported by the PG's Tracie Mauriello.

OK. Growing up in the dying industry of northeastern Ohio, I know unions and strikes come with their own political quagmires--don't get me started on how many times I've seen everyday workers get crushed between the dualing machines of business and unions. But let's take a gross oversimplification for a second and look at what a strike is: Party A and Party B do not agree, so Party B chooses to not work and not get paid.

How in the world is this situation comparable? Party A and Party B can't agree, so Party C is not allowed to work or get paid. 24,000 people who presumably would be more than willing to go to work on Monday and earn their paychecks will be told they can't, and won't get paid, and there is not a damn thing they can do about it.

Sorry Ed--those are not the same thing, not by a long shot, and shame on you for saying that they are. At what point do these people accomplish little enough that we can declare them to be not "essential to public health, safety and welfare," and furlough them, too?

Note To Harrisburg: People Depend on You

My friend's husband works for the state as a historian at Fort Pitt. With all the state budget mess--which I'm surprised hasn't been covered a bit more in the news--they are preparing for him to get furloughed temporarily come next Monday, because no one has much faith that the General Assembly and Fast Eddie will remove their collective head from their collective rear end by then.

What I've gathered from the minimal news coverage is, Fast Eddie and the Dems want to use budget negotiations as leverage to address other, non-budget issues, whereas the Pubs refuse to
address those issues until later. My translation: Both sides are engaged in a political pissing contest, with 24,000 state employees on the receiving end of all those golden showers.

Really, Harrisburg, why don't you just whip 'em out and measure already, so you can get back to the business of keeping this state up and running? In case you forgot, that is your damn J-O-B.

My friend and her hubby should be fine financially, but there are a lot of people who won't be in the event of a furlough. How much breathing room do you think the guy working the counter at the PennDOT license center has in his savings account? What about the guy sweeping the floor at one of the new casinos? (Oh, sorry--yeah that 24,000 number is only state employees, it doesn't count the people who just got their casino jobs a few months ago.)

Right now there are 24,000 Pennsylvanians out there thinking, "If I don't do my job, I get fired. So if these guys don't do their job....I get fired. WTF???"