The Virginia Republicans are getting desperate. They just got permission from the State Board of Elections on Monday to require that all voters in their primary sign an oath promising to vote for the Republican candidate in the general election before they’re allowed to cast a ballot. Looks like they’re afraid that if they put forth an unacceptable candidate (Mitt? Rudy?), the faithful will defect to, God forbid, an independent (Ron Paul?) or worse, a Democrat (Obama?).

There’s no question that it’s legal. The Constitution makes no provision for political parties, and the courts have ruled that parties have full authority to set whatever rules and conditions they wish for participation in their primaries. Hence they are free to shoot themselves in the foot with the bullet of their choice.

I can’t see any way they can enforce the oath, but I’m betting it sticks in the craw of voters. Will it be enough to turn them away from the party? I doubt it, but we can always hope.

Via WDBJ7, Roanoke, VA

This job just posted:

Company Info
Company Name: I Can Has Cheezburger?
City: Seattle
State: Washington

We are looking for upbeat, smart and happy interns to help put moar cheez on the burgers — so to speak. The intern will work on our social marketing, help fulfill t-shirt sales, answer emails from totally random people, bathe Happy Cat (j/k!) and fill in where needed.

Requirements:

* Deep and wide-ranging understanding of popular culture (TV, intertubes, geek, movies, music, games, anime, news…)

* Awsumness. 0.00012 or higher on the Chuck Norris scale.

Please send your resume to:
icanhascheezburger@gmail.com

No mention of whether it’s a paid position.

Recently a lingerie company in Taiwan introduced eight new camisoles into the market and successfully sold more than 20,000 in less than two months. To celebrate, did they hand out bonuses? Host a company party or picnic? Nope. On November 21 they directed their 500 female employees to come to work in their underwear. Men, however, remained fully clothed.

Unsurprisingly, men thought it was a great idea. “We have been waiting for this day all month. Today, we are super high, and don’t know where to put our eyes,” Ananova quotes salesman Cai Mingda as telling Straits News.

How this is a reward for the women, I don’t know. All they get out of it is a day full of leers and probably some goosebumps from the air temperature. If they’re really lucky maybe they’ll get a pat on the head and a “good sport” from their bosses in return for walking around in a camisole and panties for 8 hours.

A lot of circumstances could make it very tough to oppose. I can imagine all sorts of pressure in this situation, including repercussions for refusal in future evaluations, such as a charges of “not being a team player.” That’s a tough reputation to buck when applying for a promotion, probably on par with having your boss be intimately familiar with what you look like in your underwear.

Lawyers say it’s not illegal, as long as it’s voluntary. But Wu Juanyu sees it differently saying, “Some women may feel forced to join in because of peer pressure and job competition. I don’t know if the company is selling underwear or women’s bodies.”

I don’t know, either. I don’t think they see any difference.

12 years ago, when I first started following them, I listened to all the Gonzaga basketball games on the radio. Back then they were an obscure team in the mid-major West Coast Conference, overshadowed by PAC 10 UW and WSU. I discovered them by accident; the AM station which carried my minor league baseball games also broadcast the Zags, and I had the station on preset. Soon I was tuning in from November to March to catch the games.

Then came the Cinderella year and a trip to the Elite Eight. Gonzaga was suddenly on the map. A local cable-only station started covering the games with obvious homemade video and no announcers. Next a bigger local independent picked them up and carried the games until they were discovered by FSN. Last year every game was televised, between Fox, the CBS affiliate, and ESPN.

But this week it’s been back to the radio origins for me. The Zags have become popular enough that some of the obscure companies want to book them — ESPNU on satellite and ESPN360 online have had the lock on 5 of their first 8 games. I can only guess that they pay more for the privilege than the others did.

I’m so hopeless that I would have paid for webcast this past week had it been available, but All-Access only offers audio. For a moment I thought 360 might be a possibility, but then I found out they only sell to IPs rather than customers and Comcast doesn’t participate.

As for ESPNU, I refuse to go to Hooters for satellite. So I’m stuck with the radio, and I’m cranky about it.

How are they supposed to win if I’m not watching?

“You’re wearing your skin like it’s too tight.”

Chiodos, Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered

moar funny pictures

As of today I’ve been 6 months without a cigarette. I think I can finally throw away the 2 in my “in case of emergency” stash.

Listen to Beethoven’s 7th Symphony presented by the Pacific Lutheran University Symphony Orchestra, recorded at their concert last month. Yes, it’s Meredith’s group. Great stuff.

I have to hand it to the Republican presidential candidates — they don’t flinch at throwing people under the bus to support a principle while they stand safely on the curb. Rudi Giuliani, John McCain, and Fred Thompson are all cancer survivors with great health insurance. But in the free market health care system they advocate, their fellow survivors usually can’t get coverage until they’ve been cancer-free for 10 years, if at all, and only then at an inflated premium. Their answer–tax breaks to pay for private coverage–mean nothing to those who have no access. But it’s the principle of the thing; we can’t have the government involved in the system.

Insurance companies make their money by cherry picking, selling only to those in the lowest risk groups to maximize their profits. Some states require them to broaden their pool and regulate their rates, but the companies often respond by pulling out of the state completely, leaving more people uninsured than before. So in most states if you’ve ever had a serious illness or have a chronic condition that requires ongoing treatment, good luck getting anyone to cover you. They can’t make enough money off of you. So you’re left with charity care, if you’re lucky enough to get it, or going without if you’re not.

The Republicans are ok with that. What are their free market answers? McCain says he’d “work with the states” to insure coverage. Guiliani says he’s aware of the problem and is debating how to address it. Thompson says nothing at all. None are willing to admit that fixing this mess is going to take government regulation at a minimum, and optimally active government participation.

This affects real people’s lives, lives very unlike those of Guiliani, McCain and Thompson. They can take health care for granted. The rest of us can’t.

I dare the candidates to apply for coverage under a pseudonym, but with their own medical histories, then publish the rates, along with their plans for working it into a real-world budget. Then we’ll see if they believe a tax credit will cover it.

It should be an eye-opener.

Via the LA Times

On a day like this, I need color more than ever. I’m so glad the grocery store sells flowers.