Dear UPMC – I Am Not “Other”

I’ve been at UPMC Shadyside since 6 AM as Ledcat is having some routine procedures. Like many others, I awoke early, dealt with an already crowded parking garage and sent my better half off to “the back” with a wee bit of anxiety. Just another family member. Except UPMC says I’m not. According to their […]

This Week in LGBTQ – February 24, 2013

The New York Times reported on a study that found that the effects of bullying last into adulthood. Individuals who were bullied are more than 4x likely to have an anxiety disorder as an adult. Bullies who were also victims were 14.5x more likely to have a similar disorder  A Puerto Rican court has ruled […]

Losing my religion: Part 2

Losing my religion: Part 2

(Part 1.) My mom guessed I was transgender before I was ready to tell her. She had noticed a couple of things, like my long fingernails and plucked eyebrows. But the thing that really convinced her was when I told her I was leaving the church of my birth — the Roman Catholic church. I […]

NaBloPoMo: It Sucks Up My Energy When You Don’t Believe Me

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 What reoccurring thought uses up a lot of your mental energy? This theme ties very nicely into an ongoing discussion I’ve been having on Facebook about being gay bashed. THAT is a thought which consumes a lot of my mental energy. Not in an obsessive think about it with anxiety every […]

NaBloPoMo: Energy Redux

I’ve never consumed an energy drink. I tasted Red Bull once. It was awful. That was in 2004 at PrideFest. It was free. I sipped and promptly tossed the entire thing. I’ve also never used medication to get energy. I take an antidepressant seasonally, but that’s not the same thing as a “very special episode” […]

NaBlogPoMo: Energy Consumption

So today’s “prompt” Wednesday, January 2, 2013 Which daily tasks take up the most of your energy? This is an interesting question. My instant reaction was to list the tasks that I dislike, but procrastination is the real energy suck in those cases – when I just go ahead and do them, tis fine. On […]

Who is the Jagoff? Jumping to Conclusions about Disability Parking

Who is the Jagoff? Jumping to Conclusions about Disability Parking

Major fail on the part of the website Ya Jaoff! with regard to stereotyping people with disabilities, especially those that are considered “hidden” or “invisible.” We first met the “YaJagoff” team via Twitter. The site is a series of submissions by Pittsburgh folks who encounter quintessential examples of “jagoff” behavior. I should acknowledge that I […]

The debate about Islam

The debate about Islam

Today's Post-Gazette has an interesting piece by a former intern about his identity as a Muslim-American. I've been thinking a bit as to how it might feel to be a Muslim in the United States TODAY and realize we've made almost no progress in terms of our religious bigotry and prejudice since September 2001.  I have […]

Don’t vote for Joan Orie Melvin … here’s why

Don’t vote for Joan Orie Melvin … here’s why

This is somewhat breathtaking … Judge Orie Melvin dissented from an en banc Superior Court decision in Thierfelder v. Wolfert, 978 A.2d 361 (Pa. Super. May 19, 2009), which held that when a physician is providing specific treatment for psychological problems, and has a sexual relationship with the patient, if that sexual relationship directly causes […]

PA Rep Darryl Metcalfe won’t help victims of domestic violence because of ties to homosexual agenda

PA Rep Darryl Metcalfe won’t help victims of domestic violence because of ties to homosexual agenda

File this under WTF? Our home brewed hatefest that is Western Pennsylvania's House Rep Darryl Metcalfe strikes a blow again, literally, for the kind of perverted family values that revictimize victims of domestic violence.  From the Keystone Progress Blog: A simple resolution to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month by the Pennsylvania House of […]