Froth Slosh B'Gosh

IOKIYAR

Because it always is.

"And you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options," Shannon Edwards, a forensic psychologist in Pittsburgh with whom the congressman admitted last month to having a relationship, wrote to Mr. Murphy on Jan. 25, in the midst of an unfounded pregnancy scare.
A text from Mr. Murphy’s cell phone number that same day in response says, "I get what you say about my March for life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will."
The congressman has been lauded by the Family Research Council, for his stance on abortion, as well as for family values, generally. He also has been endorsed by LifePAC, which opposes abortion rights, and is a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, an affiliation that is often cited by his office.

And he will pay no price politically, because he's a Republican.

Froth Goes To TJ Buffet Sushi and Grill

This place is foul. 

Before I get to the incredible nastiness of this place, some background: This place sits where the old Tokyo Sushi Buffet used to be, next to Best Buy on McKnight Road, and the Tokyo was great for sushi.  There was a massive u-shaped buffet, with sushi around 2/3rds of it, the sushi chefs in the middle cranking out many different varieties of sushi and sashimi.  There was a grill, and a pretty extensive buffet of your standard Asian buffet staples, but most everyone went there for the sushi.  Unfortunately, the Tokyo had recurring problems with its steam tables, and was cited several times by the Health Department for holding food at unsafe temperatures.  The problem would be corrected, but then several months later, the same thing, until the place abruptly closed over a year ago.  TJ's recently opened in its place.

When walking into TJ's, I was struck by an overpowering stench of fish.  Now I like fish, but this was not a "good" fish smell.  The sushi selection is miniscule, nothing like the old Tokyo buffet, and was dominated by imitation crab and cream cheese.  The spring rolls stank of old cabbage.  The squid was actually pretty good, not rubbery, but was coated with a raw-flour tasting batter.  The shell on shrimp was breaded before being fried, who the heck breads shell-on shrimp?  You just wind up peeling the breading off with the shell!  Ribs were fatty and tough.  Crawfish were mushy.  There were oysters and mussels on the raw bar, but given the off-putting fishy smell, I wasn't about to try them.  If you wanted beef, there was one choice, roast, and you have to carve it yourself.  There were two things I had here that were good.  The seaweed salad was fantastic, and the baby clams pretty good.  The rest of the buffet is your bog-standard Asian buffet stuff, poorly prepared and in tasteless sauces.  Oddly, the entire staff was Asian, except for the cook at the grille, who was Hispanic.  Now there's nothing wrong with a Hispanic chef/cook, even in an Asian restaurant, I just found it odd.  Verdict:  Not worth the trip.    

Three hours later, colon blow.  Avoid this place!

Brave Tim Murphy Ran Away!

What a craven, gutless little coward.

It was supposed to be a chance to “Join Representative Tim Murphy as he discusses his Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.” But Mr. Murphy. an Upper St. Clair Republican, canceled a workshop scheduled at Duquesne University’s student union at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon.

The decision was hastily made: A Duquesne University spokeswoman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of the cancellation roughly 45 minutes before the event was set to begin.

“We were disappointed to learn that Congressman Murphy’s long-planned tour of the Duquesne University Psychology Department and discussion with students on his Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act had to be cancelled today,” said a spokeswoman for Mr. Murphy. “Duquesne staff brought to our attention at the last minute that organizations not affiliated with the university were planning to disrupt the discussion and campus security was unable to guarantee the safety of all involved.”

Brave Tim Murphy ran away.  Bravely ran away away!  When danger reared its ugly head he bravely turned around and fled!  Bravely taking to his feet he beat a very brave retreat!

Some Good News

Its that time of year when people drop by the station, and deliver cookies, baked goods, and such for the officers to share, as a thank you for the job we do.  This week, a woman dropped off one of those huge decorated chocolate-chip cookies, with a piece of paper that said "To the Officers."

It wasn't until about an hour later, I noticed the paper was a thin card.  Written on the card was a note.  The note related that four years ago, the woman who gave us the cookie attempted suicide in the park.  My troops found her, got her to the hospital, and her life was saved.  The cookie was a "thank you" for saving her life. 

Those are the moments and stories that make my job so satisfying. 

Well Isn't This Special

Racist attacks Indian man he thought was a Muslim at local restaurant.

Burgess allegedly began making racial and ethnic epithets and told Mehta that “things are different now” and “I don’t want you sitting next to me. You people.”

Burgess then used an ethnic slur commonly used against those of Middle Eastern descent. But Mehta is not of Middle Eastern descent, he is Indian.

According to the criminal complaint, the racist asswipe called Mehta a "sandnigger."

Thanks Trump supporters!  You own this.

Light-Up Night!

Fantastic photograph of the Allegheny County Police Mounted Unit at Pittsburgh's Light-Up Night Friday.  I'm planning on contacting the studio to see if I can get a professionally framed and printed and framed copy.

Cheering Them On

 

I used to like basketball, but I find the pro game and men's college basketball essentially unwatchable.  Last year, I discovered the Duquesne Duke's women's team, and I really enjoy it.  No showboating and actual teamwork.  I took the Frothling to Duquesne's home opener Sunday afternoon.  You can see us near the top of the screen, sitting behind Lehigh's bench (the Frothling picked the seats).  She's wearing a pink sweater, and you can see her enthusiastically waving her pom-pom when the Dukes score! 

Its also inexpensive entertainment.  Tickets, parking and snacks (you can watch the Frothling eat popcorn at the 1:10 mark) for under $20.00.

Frosty

I never thought our first killing frost would come as late as mid-November.

I Wish I Had A Camera

So much to blog about!  There was the FBI's announcement that the e-mail search turned up nothing, the non-assassination attempt on Trump, or the Post-Gazette's cowardly non-endorsement, but something on my way home from work really struck me.

I work in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, primarily in Bethel Park and South Park townships.  Now these areas, especially Bethel Park, are pretty affluent.  So what do I see  at the main intersection?  A Trump supporter with a brown cardboard box sign on a pole reading Vote Trump.  Now this part of Allegheny County has a fairly large population of Republican or Republican-leaning voters, so seeing a Trumpkin there wasn't unusual.  What was unusual was his garb.  He was dressed in a manner that someone who knew nothing of steel working might imagine how a steel worker dresses.  He was wearing some sort of overall, and had what looked like a grey-plastic civil defense helmet from a costume shop atop his head, I guess to emulate a hardhat.  Like I typed earlier, I wish I had a camera! 

I suspect he might have been an out-of-town operative attempting to garner working class votes by pretending to be a steel worker?  Of course, most of the mills are long gone from this area, and as noted, Bethel Park is pretty affluent, it is unlikely to harbor a large number of blue collar workers.

But I guess that's what you get when you have no GOTV operation.  A show, instead of an effort.

Tell Me About Running Government Like A Business Again?

Once again, the profit motive does a disservice to the public.

The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority filed a lawsuit today against a company that used to manage the utility.

PWSA alleges that Veolia North America-Northeast LLC “grossly mismanaged [the authority’s] operations, abused its positions of special trust and confidence, and misled and deceived PWSA as part of its efforts to maximize profits for itself to the unfair detriment of PWSA and its customers,” the authority said in a statement.