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The issue, in case you haven’t been following the news: The Obama administration’s new regulation requiring employers and insurers to provide contraception coverage to their employees. If you’re an employer whose mores come from 10,000 B.C. and don’t want to pay for your female employees’ birth control, the insurance company will cover the cost and not a penny will come from you.
The opponents: Republicans, who are sponsoring legislation to limit the availability of birth control to women. The regulation, they argue, is an infringement on religious liberty and freedom of conscience.
The picture above: The first panel of witnesses at a house hearing to review the new regulation. Here’s a roll call:
- The Most Reverend William E. Lori: Roman Catholic Bishop of Bridgeport, CT, Chairman Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- The Reverend Dr. Matthew C. Harrison: President, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
- C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D.: Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University
- Rabbi Meir Soloveichik: Director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, Yeshiva University, Associate Rabbi, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
- Craig Mitchell, Ph.D.: Associate Professor of Ethics, Chair of the Ethics Department, Associate Director of the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
They’re all men. It gets better with the second panel, which has two women out of six members:
- John H. Garvey, President, The Catholic University of America
- Dr. William K. Thierfelder, President, Belmont Abbey College
- Dr. Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver, President, East Texas Baptist University
- Dr. Allison Dabbs Garrett, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Oklahoma Christian University
- Laura Champion, M.D., Medical Director, Calvin College Health Services
- Barry W. Lynn, Esq., Executive Director, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Both panels put together have:
- Two women out of 11 panelists
- 10 out of 11 panelists associated with religious institutions
This seems to sit well with House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who insists that “the hearing is not about reproductive rights and contraception but instead about the Administration’s actions as they relate to freedom of religion and conscience”. This line of reasoning was also used to disqualify one witness, a female university student, since she didn’t “have the appropriate credentials” to testify before his committee.
The exchange over the skewed membership of the panels included these moments:
For more, see this article on Think Progress.
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What People Think NASA Employees Do
First, I posted What People Think Entrepreneurs Do. Then, What People Think Libertarians Do. Now, I present this…
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What People Think Libertarians Do
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Thanks to George Stocker for sending this my way!
Shopify Makes Fast Company’s “50 Most Innovative Companies” List
We’re in good company: along with Amazon, Square and Patagonia, Shopify made Fast Company’s “World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” list in the “Retail” category. Here’s what they wrote:
For democratizing and automating ecommerce tools. Shopify offers pre-made templates that allow people to quickly and easily set up an online store without needing to know how to code a website. Shopify creates tools and templates to power online storefronts. (Notable clients include Rovio, Angry Birds’ parent company, and GE.) Shopify has grown to almost 20,000 storefronts in 88 countries, which did a combined $275 million in online sales, up from $120 million in 2010. Up next: Making it as easy to buy sell to mobile customers.
Join Us, It’s Bliss!
If making the Fast Company list doesn’t impress you, maybe my earlier article about why Shopify’s a great place to work will. From the company’s success to interesting projects to the way we get stuff done to the cool gear that’s standard issue for Shopify employees (see the photo above; you get to pick between a MacBook Pro and MacBook Air these days), there are reasons aplenty to hitch your wagon to Shopify’s star.
We’re looking to fill these positions right now:
Software Engineer, Applications
Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaShopify is looking to hire a Software Engineer for our growing Applications Team. The Applications Team is responsible for building supported Shopify Applications for the Shopify App Store as well as 3rd party applications. If you are interested in working on challenging Ruby on Rails projects with a team of highly motivated and talented individuals then this position is for you.
Software Engineer, Billing
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Shopify is looking to hire a Software Engineer to maintain and extend our sophisticated SaaS billing platform servicing over 20,000 merchants. The Shopify billing system is a core piece of infrastructure that handles millions of dollars of financial transactions. If you are interested in working on challenging Ruby projects with a team of highly motivated and talented individuals then this position is for you.
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Valentine’s Day Retro Karaoke
This one’s a Valentine’s gift for my older readers: karaoke versions of love-themed (or lust-themed) hits from my misspent youth!
If you’re in the Toronto area and looking for something to do tonight, Jason Rolland’s hosting a Hard Luck Tuesday Anti-Valentine’s Karaoke night, in which love songs are completely banned. It’s at the Hard Luck Bar tonight (772 Dundas West, 2 blocks west of Bathurst) at 10:00 p.m.. I’d go, but I’m otherwise occupied – I just want to show some support for Jason!
Just Like Heaven (The Cure)
As a matter of fact, I happen to know “that trick”.
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
I love those laserdic karaoke videos where they add footage that matches the song lyrics but is too cheesy for words or doesn’t really match the song at all. Here’s an example of the latter.
There is a Light That Never Goes Out (The Smiths)
This song will always remind me of drinking Jack-and-cokes with cute mopeygoth girls at Montreal’s Thunderdome club during “Kill McGill” when I was in grade 14. (As you might expect, it’s a long story.)
Somebody to Love (Queen)
Gotta get some classic rock in there!
Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode)
Only Depeche Mode can say “Shu’cho mouf, baby” in a really romantic way.
Punk Rock Girl (Dead Milkmen)
Okay, this isn’t a karaoke version, but the album version with lyrics on the video. Still, it’s one of my faves from that era.