Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Pharmacist 
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Written by Rob Rogers

Catholic Bishops are suing to stop Obama's health care mandate, despite the compromise that the White House made for churches. Catholic leaders still feel like the bill is an attack of religious liberty. That is ridiculous. Many non-catholics work at those schools and hospitals and should have fair access to contraception.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

DAVE: My hairline is receding. How did this happen?

MICHELLE: Genetics?

DAVE: I should probably be happy for the hair that I have, rather than mourning the hair that I have lost.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Great cartoon . . .

Facebook 
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Written by Rob Rogers

Facebook's public offering is off to a rocky start. No, not for CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the original investors who sold $9 billion worth of their own shares, but for regular investors. Many analysts are saying the stock was way overvalued and will be hard-pressed to deliver the kind of returns people were hoping for. I don't "like" it.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Fat Lady 
Monday, 14 May 2012
Written by Rob Rogers

Governor Tom Corbett has been given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pittsburgh Opera for achievements and contributions to the arts. This is ironic since Corbett is responsible for cutting the funding for arts education programs in Pennsylvania.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Jane Orie suspended from practicing law 
May 8, 2012 6:03 pm
By Paula Reed Ward / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State Sen. Jane C. Orie has been temporarily suspended from the practice of law based on her criminal conviction.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued the decision on Monday. Her sister, state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, who is a target of the investigating grand jury, did not participate in the decision.

Ms. Orie, R-McCandless, is scheduled to be sentenced on 14 criminal counts on May 21 by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning.

The defense had filed a motion asking for her sentencing date to be postponed so attorney William Costopoulos could have more time to prepare, but today Judge Manning denied that request.

Ms. Orie was found guilty by a jury of misusing her legislative staff to campaign and do fundraising for herself. Ms. Orie will be sentenced on counts including theft of services, ethics violations, forgery and tampering with evidence.

Mr. Costopoulos has said his client will resign her Senate seat before the May 21 sentencing date.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

I actually know this drag queen, Sharon Needles. He is a barista in Point Breeze. Small world.


Brewed On Grant: Drag Race
Wednesday, 02 May 2012
Written by Rob Rogers

Pittsburgh likes to be number one, whether you're talking about the "most livable city" or the most Super Bowl rings. Now we have another "best of" honor. A Pittsburgh drag queen, Sharon Needles, has been crowned "America's Next Drag Superstar" on "RuPaul's Drag Race."

Friday, May 4, 2012

Keeping up with the Ories . . .

Daughter of state Supreme Court justice under investigation for insurance fraud
May 3, 2012 1:05 am
By Paula Reed Ward / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The daughter of a state Supreme Court justice is being investigated by the Allegheny County District Attorney's office for insurance fraud.

Casey Melvin, 24, of Sharpsburg was involved in a one-car crash in March in Shaler. She is the daughter of state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin, who has been identified as the target of a grand jury investigation for possible misuse of her staff for campaign purposes.

According to a police report, completed by Officer Richard J. Fowler Jr., the accident involving Casey Melvin was reported at 12:54 p.m. on March 29 in the 800 block of Butler Street.

Ms. Melvin told Officer Fowler she was distracted when leaving Shaler Plaza and drove into a utility pole as she entered a Sunoco gasoline station. The concrete base of the pole was not damaged, but both air bags of Ms. Melvin's 2011 Jeep Laredo deployed. The vehicle was towed from the scene. She was not injured.

Shaler police Chief Bryan B. Kelly said Ms. Melvin was eating when the crash occurred. She was not cited on-scene.

According to Jeff Sibel, a representative with Progressive insurance, Ms. Melvin attempted to submit a claim for the crash, but it was denied because her policy had been canceled.

There is a grace period, generally, of 15 to 20 days, if a policy has lapsed, he said, and Ms. Melvin's crash happened after that.

"Due to Pennsylvania law, it automatically has to be referred to law enforcement," he said.

Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney, said there is a pending review by his office.

"The only thing I can say is that we have received a referral from Progressive concerning [Ms. Melvin], and we are in the process of reviewing the material."

Chief Kelly said it is a matter of course for traffic officers to check driver's licenses, registration and insurance at the time of a crash.

If there is a lapse in insurance coverage, the company is supposed to notify the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which then suspends the driver's registration, the chief said.

"I don't know what the lag time is for that," he said.

Mr. Sibel said Progressive does its own "due diligence" on a questionable claim before referring a case to police.

"A lot of times you can tell right away if it's a misunderstanding. You're not going to send that forward," he said.

Ms. Melvin could not be reached for comment.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

DAVE: Lots of day games today. I see that your Phillies beat Atlanta. Pirates are losing 2-1 to the Cardinals. Erik Bedard is the Pirates' best starter.

JIM: Yes. I like it when there is day baseball.

I still hate Chipper Jones.

DAVE: I know you hate Chipper Jones. And Jason Bay.

I don't hate anyone. Adam LaRoche would be at the top of the list, though.

Pedro Alvarez has been hitting the ball lately, so the Pirates are a little more interesting at the moment. He hit a homerun, 4-2.

JIM: Nice.

With Pablo Sandoval getting a broken hand last night, it looks like Pirates slugger Garrett Jones is now leading active players on my team in HRs. Probably RBIs too.

DAVE: Garrett Jones? That's not good. To me, he's so blah.

JIM: That's my team. The Blahs.
The republicans are such hypocrites and history revisionists that it truly makes me sick sometimes.


Dead
Thursday, 03 May 2012
Written by Rob Rogers

It's the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden and President Obama is not afraid to brag about it. Mitt Romney and the GOP are criticizing the president for using the war on terror as a campaign device. They clearly forgot that they (the GOP and George W. Bush) invented using the war on terror as a campaign device in 2004.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Both college and graduate school are crazy expensive these days, compared to when I attended them. And the salaries that you get with a degree have not kept up with the price of higher education. It's just more debt for young people before they have even gotten started with their lives. I think college is important. But at what price?


Higher Education
Monday, 30 April 2012
Written by Rob Rogers

It's graduation season, but for some state budgets, it is also open season on higher education. State legislatures across the country, including Pennsylvania, are cutting funds for colleges and trade schools, forcing institutions to raise tuition. It was already hard enough for kids to afford a college education, now it will be even harder.
 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

DAVE: No Hannah Storm this morning. So sad. I hate when they have two guys hosting Sportscenter.

I'm so glad the draft is over. Now, I just have to listen to them talk about the results of the draft for the next two months.

JIM: I did a pretty good job of avoiding the draft. I know that the Eagles first round pick was a defensive tackle, Fletcher Cox. And I think at some point they drafted a QB. But other than that, I know nothing. and I'm pretty happy about that.

DAVE: I know virtually nothing about the Steelers except that they took a couple of offensive linemen with their first two picks of the draft. Now, I just want it to go away and never come back.

JIM: I'm already reaching the point where I want this baseball season to go away and never come back. We'll get 'em next year!

DAVE: It's way too soon for that. For you, anyway. The Phillies can still get back into it. It's not like they're the Marlins.

JIM: You mean the Phillies that got two hits yesterday against the Cubs? The first batter of the game and the next-to-last batter of the game? The Phillies who just got smoked at home over the weekend by the Cubs, probably the worst team in the NL? Those Phillies?

DAVE: Yep. The baseball season is way too long to give up so soon. It's not like the football season, which you wanted to end early as well. The Nationals are not going to win that division. The Phillies just need to get Howard back (I don't think they really miss Utley in his condition), maybe make a trade, and then just plug away. They still have a better record than the offensive-less Pirates. And the Pirates don't have a Ryan Howard coming back. What they got is what they got.

JIM: I'm depressed. It is not fun to watch these Phillies.

DAVE: They are celebrating the 20th anniversary of what they call "The Slide" in Atlanta on June 9th with a bobblehead of a sliding Sid Bream.