Can U-Ga. Republicans Minor in Influence Peddling? [Also posted at the Political State Report.]
Courtesy of a friend, I received a fax last week that could raise some eyebrows among state ethics authorities. It's from the U-Ga. College Republicans, and advertises the "Ronald Reagan Golf Tournament" — a one-day event scheduled for the first week of October.
The greens fees look steep. (A gold-level sponsorship will set a buyer back $2500.) To make the price worthwhile, though, the college group promises that "sponsoring a team can ... have an influence with the Republican officials you sponsor."
That statement creates a problem: it amounts to an invitation to break the state's bribery laws. According to O.C.G.A. §16-10-2(a)(1): "A person commits the offense of bribery when he or she gives or offers to give to any person acting for or on behalf of the state or any political subdivision thereof ... any benefit, reward, or consideration to which he or she is not entitled with the purpose of influencing him or her in the performance of any act related to the functions of his or her office or employment."
Toast the Buns!: If you need a fix of surrealism, you can get a heady dose from PaRappa the Rappa 2 — a music game that melted my brain Saturday night while I tried to watch a game of chess.
Watching the PlayStation 2 render two-dimensional characters on a wall-sized projection TV would make anyone do a double take. As if that weren't enough, though, the game designers one-upped that stunt with one of the most daft storylines I've ever heard. Stage one of the game looked like an interactive training exercise for a Japanese McDonald's ("French the fries! Toast the buns! Heat the grill! Better execute faster!"), and stage two featured a sensei — who went by the moniker "Chop Chop Master Onion" — doling out televised lessons in "romantic karate." ("Love chop! Love kick!")
Damn — I've got the songs stuck in my head again. Better execute faster!
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