Here's something.  Today, Bruce Kraus was sworn in along with other new City Council members Patrick Dowd and Ricky Burgress.  Doug Shields was reelected as City Council President without the vote of Tonya Payne.  Maria of 2 Political Junkies called Kraus' speech "very inspirational."

Mr. Kraus, who is openly gay, cited gay rights icon Harvey Milk, a San Francisco politician who was assassinated in 1978 "so that one day, some 30 years later, one's orientation would no longer be a factor in determining their ability to serve as an elected official."

He called for "a city where all people are invited to our great common table, to share in an equal voice and have every opportunity to participate in the stewardship of their futures, and have access to every resource that will lift them and their loved-ones up [to] the very highest quality of life."

That's lovely. The phrasing "life them and their loved-ones up" is so inclusive and respectful, especially when you consider how many heterosexual families don't fit the mold.  I wish I could have seen it, but we don't have cable.  People should put this stuff on YouTube.  I like how he folds his groundbreaking election into a call for inclusiveness throughout the City. 

I wonder how many openly lesbian committeemembers have served Allegheny County's Democratic Party? 

From the PG's Morning File comes word <ahem> that the American Dialect Society has deemed the phrase "toe tapper" as a synonym for homosexual the most outrageous word usage of 2007.

Cool.  Toe tapping, you might recall, references Larry Craig.  Chalk up another notch on the giant belt of American homophobia.  Larry Craig isn't even gay.  Duh.

Runner up was the phrase that got Don Imus fired.  I don't know about that ... seriously, I think the racist and sexist phrase he used was far more outrageous than people making snide remarks about toe tappers.