2024 Political Q&A with Summer Lee: What You Need to Know About This Incumbent Candidate for US House District 12

Summer Lee for Congress

Beyond these fundamental protections, my campaign focuses on meaningful representation for the LGBTQ+ community in politics, warding off a right-wing Supreme Court that could poke holes in LGBTQ rights based on “religious liberty,” and addressing the many disparities that the LGBTQ+ community faces in affordable, inclusive health care. Meet the Candidate This is the next […]

Q&A With a Pittsburgh Dad Trying to Protect His Multiracial, LGBTQ Family From an Abusive Neighbor

Content Note: racism, transphobia, homophobia, harassment of children, police, legal case, fear I did a little research and started to get a sense of how these transphobic bigots operate, the playbook they use. These people are truly despicable. To answer your question, no, I don’t think people connect the dots. And that’s not a condemnation, […]

Life on the Ground in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (Yep, The Home of Pittsburgh)

I live about a mile from the vote tallying garage. The past few days have been rife with tension, heightened by the incessant whir of the helicopters from the local TV stations. I can’t figure out why they need to send helicopters when a van would be sufficient. Maybe they are afraid of violence? The […]

UPDATE: White Supremacy Billboards along Route 51 in Allegheny County near Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties

White Supremacy Signs Route 51

UPDATE below: How did I spend my 4th of July? We took a local road trip out to Belle Vernon/Rostraver to check out rightwing political signs posted on the property of a local business, Elizabeth Equipment Services. I got the tip last night while watching Hamilton (of course) so Ledcat and I decided we would […]

Transphobic Sandwich Shop Owner Removes Content, Issues Non-Apology

Portogalla Peppers N'at Transphobia

So Robert Portogallo seems to realize that transphobia is bad for business. He removed the content about Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Health Department. And added a non-apology. If you take a look at this thread, you will see the heart of the problem. Bob Portogallo posts some “funny” content and it unleashes […]

My Hometown: Living in Two Pittsburghs #NaBloPoMo2019 #NaBloPoMoPgh

Two Pittsburghs

The prompt – There’s a phrase often used describing us as living in “two Pittsburgh.” Pittsburgh has multiple legacies, from being named ‘Most Livable’ to the recent report from the Pittsburgh Gender Equity Commission describing the magnitude of racial inequality in our city. How do you relate to this dual nature of Pittsburgh? There are […]

Kids in Blackface Controversy in Armstrong County

White silence

Content Note: racism, racial justice, white complicity   Around Halloween, two 12-year-old girls allegedly decided to dress up in blackface for Halloween. They were spotted and photographed at a local Dunkin Donuts. The ensuing thread on Facebook, seemingly including the girls’ family members, is filled with threats and more racism and also resistance. While I […]

Peters Township Voted Racist School Board Director, William Merrell, Out of Office – What’s Next?

Peters Towsnship Non-Discrimination Ordinance

Soooo in a very snappy and necessary turn of events, racist School Board Director William Merrell got his comeuppance. First, the School Board censured him on Monday night. He owned up to the nasty racist tweets, but didn’t resign. He’s a jagoff. In its motion to censure, the board stated Mr. Merrell violated the district’s […]

Racist Billboard Owner in Armstrong County Jabs at Sunoco in Latest Narrative Twist

Worthington Armstrong County billboards

As we’ve been talking this week about racist behavior by a School Board Director in Peters Township (and his wife’s opposition to considering a non-discrimination ordinance on the Peters Township Council), it seems like a good time to drop back in to Worthington, Armstrong County and see what the racist billboard has to say. You […]

Peters Township School Board Director’s Racist, Sexist Social Media Content Illustrates Need for Local Non-Discrimination Ordinance

William Merrell Peters Township

Content Note: racist slurs, sexism, lying white men (vile images below) Efforts are underway in Peters Township to introduce an ordinance establishing a local Human Relations Commission and to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the protected classes. The Township Council decided that there was not evidence of local discrimination and opted to table […]