UPMC Mans Up, No Thanks to Luke

UPMC has bowed to public pressure over their generous "donation" to Pittsburgh Promise, which they made contingent on receiving future tax breaks if necessary and ceasing to contribute their annual pithy amount that they currently voluntarily give up. Understandably, city council members got pissed about that and thankfully didn't just bend over and take it. It should be noted, though, that UPMC isn't relenting on its demands all around, just what city council has to approve, which I assume means it will still be taking that tax break from the school district.

I would like to point out very plainly that this turn of events is in no way due to Lukey, who--rather than looking out for the city's best interests--scolded city council like school kids for taking offense to UPMC's demand, basically asking them how they dared look this beautiful gift (Trojan) horse in the mouth.

Really, I don't even want to comment further on that line, and go into how our cherubic mayor is at worst downright corrupt, and at best a starry-eyed kid caught up in rubbing elbows and being chums with the big money. Or about how this city clearly needs to be run by someone with the resolve and maturity to stand up for his city, not someone who will use his poise and position to con it into a bum deal. Or about how it's just sad that this kid got re-elected in the first place, and is a classic example of why what boils down to a single-party system is doomed to failure.

So all I'll say is that I'm glad city council isn't as firmly tucked into UPMC's pocket as Lukey is.

Baby Steps

Like most folks confronted with blatant discrimination against GLBTQ people, I've often wished there was a magic wand I could wave that would just wipe out all the homophobia, bigotry and misunderstanding (or, in my less graceful moments, all the homophobic and bigoted people). Legally speaking, I've often had the same wish; one fell swoop to give the GLBTQ community the same rights that heterosexual and gender-conforming people enjoy. Let's just jump to the dramatic legislative victories already!

But that's not reality. The dramatic legislative victories aren't going to come less than four years after the issue of gay marriage brought conservative voters to the presidential election in droves, at a time when the current Republican golden boy puts out an ad blatantly touting his Christianity and appealing to belief in a Christian god in order to attract voters.

So what is reality? Reality is baby steps. Reality is education. Reality is the building of understanding and comfort, and the reduction in fear, that can't come from anywhere other than familiarity. This familiarity comes from asserting ourselves into mainstream everyday life in whatever meaningful ways we can achieve, whenever we can achieve it. Making ourselves seen and known AND ACCESSIBLE to the people who don't yet understand, in the hopes that little by little the unknown and dangerous becomes less so, and the things we're asking for become less outlandish to them. You push the envelope, and eventually the edge is no longer the edge.

I was happy this past week to see one such case, where legislation is being introduced to include domestic partner benefits for federal employees. A couple people that I've talked to have had the reaction of, "Well, it's not like legal protection, and it only helps people who work for the federal government." But, I think it would do more than that. It used to be that asking for domestic partner benefits in an interview was enough to not get you hired. Nowadays, domestic partner benefits are widely recognized as a legitimate request, and necessary to remain competitive in the employment market.

Being able to put the federal government on the list of leading employers that recognize our relationships and grant us more the same access to benefits and health coverage as heterosexual couples, would be a pretty good step. It would be one more step along the road to formalizing and legitimizing GLBTQ relationships, having them formally recognized by yet another entity...and a fairly significant one at that.

Of course, this all certainly doesn't mean we should not push for the dramatic legislative victories, and instead accept what is handed to us. It just means that if those victories don't come, these baby steps can still eventually lead to something great.

What a Coincidence

Everyone remember over the summer when UPMC dropped $9,000 for it's share to send Lukey golfing with a bunch of bigwigs and famous people? So who is surprised that, if the city gets the ability to tax nonprofits, Lukey is calling for tax breaks for UPMC for money it donates to Pittsburgh Promise.

Now, somewhat of a break I can understand; give UPMC some additional business incentive to help the very worthy cause that Pittsburgh Promise represents. But Luke is calling for a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. This could equate to up to $10 million each year. Call me crazy, but that's a pat on the back I don't think this city can afford to give. And if it can, why not spread it around a bit to encourage donations from other, smaller foundations and corporations that couldn't otherwise afford to give much of a contribution?

If UPMC truly wants to help city students achieve the dream of going to college, it should actually be willing to pay something, not require tax credits that result in no financial sacrifice but happy warm and fuzzy brand development. No financial sacrifice beyond Luke's golfing fees, that is.

Mmm... Xenophobia!

Horror of all horrors, Kennywood has been bought by a bunch of dirty Spaniards. Shame on the previous owners for selling out to foreign interests--as if we don't already have enough people who refuse to learn how to talk English good, now we're probably going to have to ride the "Venganza del Fantasma" instead of the Phantom's Revenge, and get burritos and sopapillas instead of burgers and waffle cones. The "You Must Be This Tall to Ride" signs will now probably be in centimeters, the "Guess Your Weight" thing will probably be in kilograms. And don't they know that after the terrorist bombings in Madrid the Spanish government is actually a puppet front for Osama?

... ????

OK, a bit of reality now. I read the news about Kennywood being sold with nothing more than mild interest and didn't think twice about it, until of course I made the mistake of looking through the Post Gazette public forum about it. Holy pathological xenophobia, batman. Here are some choice quotes:

One of the few simple things left, and now that is gone too. It is just so sad.

Ummm...you know it's still open, right?

So much for keeping America, America. Let's look at the bright side... At least it was not sold to the Chinese.

Ooohh...classy! Just spectacularly classy! And of course, what's xenophobia without a little conspiracy theory?

I believe that our government and big business are selling us out only for money in their hands now. They don't care where it can lead the country. IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY AND THEY ARE TAKING IT FROM US.

I would really like to know how many of these people knew jack shit about Kennywood's ownership before reading about the sale. I sure didn't. Well, actually I take that back--Pittsburgh is the kind of place where I wouldn't be surprised if most "true Pittsburghers" did know about it.

Not wanting to do a disservice to all residents of the area, there were a fair number of comments that were more thought out and decried the hate mongering and small-mindedness. But really, this situation perfectly illustrates why even though I love Pittsburgh, it often drives me downright nuts. The truth is that, at the risk of advocating a stereotype, most well-established Pittsburghers fear and hate change, anything that isn't like them and anything that isn't what they grew up with. Different automatically equals bad.

This attitude has significant impacts on the region. The good-old-boy political network is nauseatingly unshakable, even after it sent the city to the brink of bankruptcy. The city elects an immature and ethically questionable mayor because people refuse to vote for a Republican. The region could save tens millions of dollars by consolidating services between the city and county, or some of the 127 municipalities in this county alone, but every step on that road is a struggle and a fight. And yes, there is absolutely truth to the fact that it is hard for someone from outside Pittsburgh to establish social connections here--with one exception (significant though it may be) all of my closest friends are not originally from Pittsburgh.

But the really sad thing is that the fear and hate mongering here is by no means limited to Pittsburgh. Just today I got a forwarded email loaded with surprise and outrage at the fact that Barack Obama has a Muslim background and his middle name is Hussein. It very clearly implied that he is an agent for violent radical Muslim groups, trying to infiltrate America for the purpose of attacking it. Now, I have no idea who I'm going to vote for yet, but COME ON!! I'll reserve my outrage for the guy who wanted to quarantine everyone with AIDS, thanks.

At any rate, these two events on one day are just a sad reminder of the closed-minded hatred that pervades our world, driven by fear of the unknown and a stubborn refusal to learn and accept.

Hey, look on the bright side--maybe the Spanish will try to reinstitute some kind of Inquisition, and Kennywood can become the center of a new, truly God-fearing fundamentalist Christian nation. That's fine, just so long as they leave the yellow arrows up.

Do It Right

Over the past month we've seen two pieces of hate crime law that we thought were making ground wiped out--one at the Pennsylvania state level, and one at the national level. Understandably, a lot of people are upset about this; I certainly am not thrilled.

However I have to admit that I understand the reasons why they were wiped out--I can't argue against it. In the case in PA, the law actually was passed but was later overturned by the courts because of the manner in which is was passed; it had been tacked on as an amendment to a bill that dealt with agricultural vandalism. The court ruled that the amendment substantially changed the bill so that it bore little or no resemblance to its original purpose. At the national level, the hate crime piece was tacked on as an amendment in the Senate to a Department of Defense authorization bill, resulting in people on both sides being committed to opposing it; conservatives because of the hate crimes portion, and liberals because of the DOD portion.

I understand the political strategy, I do. Put legislation that others are opposed to in a bill with things that they want, to increase your chances of passing it. I just don't agree with it. Even though in this case it was attempted in order to pass something I think is very necessary and worthwhile, I don't agree with it. I'm always irked when I hear about someone advancing an extreme or wasteful agenda by riding on the back of otherwise worthwhile legislation. Legalize the ritualistic beating of kittens by adding it to a bill outlawing murder. Yeah!

So, yeah--another reason why I could never be a politician. Just vote on things and attempt to get them passed on their own merit. If you have to trick people into voting for them, maybe something isn't quite right. And as we saw here in PA, you just leave the door open into getting it tossed out and having your cause accused of using underhanded political strategy.

I have to wonder, though, about the closed mindedness of the group that challenged the PA law in court, resulting in it getting thrown out. I don't think we would be friends.