Quick Hits: Now with Warm Puppies and Cold Bats

I'm Sorry, What Was That? 

Ms. Angela McCaskill, the chief diversity officer at Gallaudet, the nation's leading university for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, sure stepped in it when she signed a petition in support of putting Maryland's Gay Marriage law on the ballot this November. As a result of her signing, the university put her on administrative leave.

Regardless of her position on the issue, should an employer be allowed to punish an employee for participating in the democratic process?  I don't think so.  It may have been a stupid choice for a chief diversity officer to sign a petition that puts Maryland's gay marriage law at risk of being rescinded, but she has the right to an opinion.

The funny part is, she is getting support for her right to sign that petition from both sides of the issue.  The conservative Family Research Council as well as the pro-gay-marriage group Marylanders for Marriage Equality have both called for her reinstatement saying that she has the right to her opinion. Who can argue, isn't that what diversity is all about?

Yahoo News: Deaf university roiled by gay marriage controversy

Is That A Puppy In Your Pocket...?

Every winter, when I was a kid growing up in the wilds of Iowa, my parents would put an emergency kit in the trunk of the car.  For those who have never been to Iowa in the winter, it can be pretty dicey out on the roads in the middle of nowhere. Winds kick up, roads drift shut and you can quickly find yourself stranded in sub-zero temps with many hours (or even days) before you might be found.  It had a candle, some granola bars, a coffee can, blankets...that sort of thing. 

But as far as I can remember, the kit never contained puppies.  Apparently it should have: Yahoo News: Lost boy kept warm by puppies, officials say

Just Because You're Benched, Doesn't Mean You Aren't A Player

The New York Yankees' are paying Alex Rodriguez $275 million dollars to play baseball.  To put that in perspective, with that kind of cash he could cover the entire city budget for the town of Burlington, Iowa (pop. 25,564) for five years and still have over $10 million dollars leftover for himself.

Despite his gawdy career hitting numbers, ( BA: .300, HR: 647, RBI: 1950 ), he hit a slump of epic proportions in the playoffs this year and found himself riding the pine as the Yankees got handed their hats and sent home. But did that stop A-Rod from playing?  Hell no!  If he couldn't hit baseballs, he was certainly going to hit on chicks and that is exactly what he did, DURING THE GAME!

I guess he found the game as uninteresting as the rest of New York and decided to try and get the phone number of Australian bikini model and swim suit designer Kyna Treacy who was sitting in the stands near the dug out. (Am I the only one with Paradise by the Dashboard Lights playing in their head right now?)

I know what I would do if I was the Yankee's manager, I'd replace my first base coach with a hot chick who stripped down to a bikini and waved at A-Rod every time he came to bat.  For $275 million dollars, I'd need to do everything I could to get A-Rod's head (and bat) back in the game.

Report: A-Rod's flirting fan identified