Froth Slosh B'Gosh

I went to the grocery store today. The clerk wished me a 'Happy Holiday." I was offended!!! Doesn't he realise that arbitrary temperol divisions are the reason for the season??? Happy New Year I sneer to those happy holiday types!

I just cannot get excited about arbitrary temporal divides. I also don't give a hoot about my birthday, I feel no different from 9/8 to 9/9 to 9/10. In any case, Happy New Year if its really that important to you.

The United States of....Canada???

Rick Perry beclowns himself...AGAIN!

“Every barrel of oil that comes out of those sands in Canada is a barrel of oil that we don’t have to buy from a foreign source”

Do the Canadians know that they're now part of the U.S.?

Sisters Three

I was wondering if the legal problems bedeviling Jane and Janine Orie would come to cause problems for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin.  In a commentary in today's P-G, Bruce Ledewitz calls on the judge to resign.

There was reason for her to resign when criminal charges involving her judicial election campaigns were brought against her two sisters, Jane Orie and Janine Orie. Certainly the taint of those charges intensified, and the administration of justice was undermined, when forged documents forced a mistrial in that case. Now, with new criminal charges filed Dec. 16 against Janine Orie that relate directly to activities in Justice Melvin's office, there is no way for her to continue on the court.

The actions of Justice Melvin indicate that she understands why she cannot continue to serve. She has taken the extraordinary step, whether of her own accord or out of pressure from the other justices, of recusing herself in all criminal cases from Allegheny County, even though no criminal charges are pending against her and the cases do not involve her family. She is under no legal obligation to do this. Justice Melvin thus must know that any action she would take in such cases would be suspect. But she does not appear to realize that her actions in every other case are now similarly suspect.

I have to wonder if Judge Melvin is the ultimate target of the Allegheny County District Attorney?

The Socialist Scouts!

The right-wing is truly unhinged.

“My sister and I started a website to help inform families of the more leftward leanings of Girl Scouts because they promise to be neutral politically and about certain social issues,” Volanski explained, “but when you examine the women that they promote and the websites and books that they refer girls to, there is a clear liberal ideology, like with the MediaMatters site.”

“For eight years we were in Girl Scouts and we didn’t realize that Girl Scouts was promoting such a liberal ideology,” she added.

(via A Spork in the Drawer)

Transit Musings

I'm just thinking aloud here, but the North Shore Connector project is nearly complete, and the next question will be, "Now what?" 

I'm a North Boroughs resident, so I'm naturally inclined towards seeing the line, which ends at Heinz Field, come out the Ohio River Valley along the Route 65 corridor.  I really don't know if it is practical or not, it would be handy if the Norfolk & Southern right of way along the river could be used, otherwise the project would probably require tunnelling. 

In a perfect world with unlimited funding, it would be nice to see the line stretch west towards Sewickley.  One of my biggest complaints with the "T" is that it has too many stations spaced too close together.  I'd put stations at Bellevue and Sewickley, with buses feeding those stations and plenty of commuter parking.  Bellevue would be a junction with one line headed out towards Sewickley, and another curling north towards McKnight Rd and ultimately Cranberry.  I'd build another junction at Sewickley, with the line continuing west towards Beaver and a line recrossing the river to Moon Twp. and the airport. 

From Downtown, lines could extend east towards Oakland, Monroeville and Murrysville, and north to Aspinwall/Harmarville/Pittsburgh Mills and Harrison Twp or New Kensington.  Again, limit the number of stops, provide LARGE stations with plenty of parking.

Its all pie in the sky though, its more likely that this is the last extension we'll see of this project for a long time, if ever.

So, if you had your way, how would you extend the "T?"  This isn't meant to suggest one way or another is the best, I'd just like to see some ideas, some group think, if you will.

Its....THE BISHOP!

And he has a sad.

...most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in Illinois are closing down rather than comply with a new requirement that says they can no longer receive state money if they turn away same-sex couples as potential foster care and adoptive parents.

For the nation's Roman Catholic bishops, the outcome is a prime example of what they see as an escalating government campaign to trample on their religious freedom while expanding the rights of gay people. The idea that religious Americans are victims of government-backed persecution is now a frequent theme not just for Catholic bishops, but also for Republican presidential candidates and conservative evangelicals.

"In the name of tolerance, we're not being tolerated," said Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Ill., a civil and canon lawyer who helped drive the church's losing battle to retain its state contracts for foster care and adoption services.

No, you have that backwards.  You are as free to be as bigoted and intolerant towards teh gay as you want to be.   No one is preventing you from being an intolerant and bigoted Catholic.  You just can't get taxpayer money while you're being intolerant and bigoted. 

Catholic Charities affiliates received a total of nearly $2.9 billion a year from the government in 2010, about 62 percent of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion. Only 3 percent came from diocesan churches (the rest came from in-kind contributions, investments, program fees and community donations).

Most of their funds come from the taxpayer?  And yet they answer to local bishops and dioceses?  Well boo hoo, that's just too frickin' bad that you're not going to get money from the state because you practice discrimination.  Get your damn money by passing the plate a second time on Sunday.

Delicious Irony

Pretty funny when you reflect on all the "VOTER FRAUD" squawking that comes from conservatives.

Pack Up Your Troubles

This is appalling.

The mother of a nine-year-old autistic boy who was placed in a duffel bag with the drawstring pulled tight has called for the teacher responsible to be dismissed and for the practice to be banned...

Baker, who was called to the school on 14 December by an official who said her son had been acting up, said she was horrified to find him inside the bag.

She said: "I can't describe the feeling of seeing him. It was so disturbing. I saw a big green bag in the hallway outside his classroom and I thought, 'no'. I was in shock. I froze. I stood up against the wall and I thought, 'What in the world?'"

  Who the hell thought it was a good idea to stuff a child into a duffle bag in the first place?

In a statement, Dennis Davis, the interim superintendent, said state and federal confidentiality laws forbade him from commenting, even to confirm or deny any allegations. He said the matter was being reviewed by the school and was being "handled consistently with school district policies and with state and federal law".

He said: "The employees of the Mercer County Public Schools are qualified professionals who treat students with respect and dignity while providing a safe and nurturing learning environment."

If they're shoving difficult  children into bags the employees of the school not qualified, and they're not treating children with respect or dignity.

Cheetah Dies

At the ripe old age of 80.

A Florida animal sanctuary says Cheetah the chimpanzee sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the early 1930s has died at age 80.

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor announced that Cheetah died Dec. 24 of kidney failure.

According to the sanctuary, Cheetah was an outgoing chimp who loved humans. Yet like many Hollywood stars, he could also be temperamental. Sanctuary volunteer Ron Priest conceded the animal had a habit of throwing his faeces when discontent. "When he didn't like somebody or something that was going on, he would pick up some poop and throw it at them," Priest said. "He could get you at 30 feet, with bars in between."

I never knew that Cheetah was ALSO a right-wing radio talk show host!