Go_Aachmed's Blog - 2old2play

Beating The Odds And a Weekend Of Crime

As I've posted, I've had an issue with my Xbox 360. It was giving me a "unbreadable disk" error, no matter what disk I put in. I tried and tried, but to no avail, it just wasn't going work. I resigned myself to the fact that it was just my Irish heritage attacking me as usual, and planned to get a replacement box just as soon as I could. One day while browsing the forums I was checking the clan pages for Porkchop Platoon, Jagerwick posted that he was having disk reader issues and it was taking 15-20 attempts to load a disk before the machine would read it. Wha... 15-20 times! Jeeze, that's a lot of attempts. I only tried maybe 3 or 4 times, then swapped out the disk. I tried it on four games then decided it was hopeless. Seeing that I didn't have anything to loose, I decided I would give it twenty tries. I loaded a disk in the machine and of course it told me that I had an unreadable disk. Tried again... eject... close... unreadable disk. I admit that I didn't have any hope that this would work (Irish, remember) but I kept trying. LOW AND BEHOLD...on the NINETEENTH attempt... it read the disk. I was in awe. Not only did it read the disk and let me play, but it has read the disk on the FIRST attempt ever since. I'm not naive and I know full well that old Mr Murphy will strike once again. I do plan on getting a replacement box around Christmas, but until then, knock on wood, I'll still be in the action.

I was only out of action for about 3 1/2 weeks, but it did have longer term effects on my gaming. I had three games that were bought and paid for: Fallout 3, Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead. Due to some real life money pinches, I wasn't able to replace the box or get it fixed. Since I was going to miss the launch for these games I decided to go to Game Stop and get my money back. I had some bills that needed catching up. This was a depressing time for me. I had saved up all year...since January to by these games. Now, my Xbox was on the blink and my games were gone. Fallout 3 came and Gears 2 came and I was left trying to find another outlet for stress relief. The good news is that now my box seems to be cooperating (thanks Jager) and my bills are caught up, so I'm back on track. I picked up Gears the other day and plan to get Left 4 Dead tomorrow. I'm not going to get Fallout 3 yet. I know it's a great game, well worth the price but I decided it could wait.

I had just bought Saints Row 2 before my box went down and had only invested a few hours in it. I wasn't sure if I would like the game to be honest. While I do like RPG's, I haven't really liked sanbox games. The one exception was Burnout Paradise, which is a racing game in a sandbox type format. I never played the first Saints Row and was only going on recommendations from clanmates in The Ground Baggers when buying it. I have to say that it is totally addicting. I absolutely love this game. It has RPG elements, it's a shooter, it reminds me of Burnout Paradise at times, and it has some of the funniest bits of dialog and cut seens I've ever seen. I'm affraid that if I was to get Fallout 3 and load it in the machine, that it would be the curtain call for Saints Row 2. I fully intend to enjoy SR2 until I complete it or get tired of it before I pick up Fallout 3. Fallout3, like Oblivion, will be around for a very long time, so I'm not worried. BTW, Saints Row co-op is an awesome way to spend some gaming time. There is so much to do and so much fun to be had, as always it's better when you get a good gaming friend to enjoy it with.

Funniest Saints Row 2 line I've heard yet:

"Look at them. They're covered in more shit than a German porn star."

-Jim

[2 Comments]

Just a little somethin'

Soft Hands

Soft hands hold me for the very first time. A loving smile, a loving voice, they welcome me to the world.

Desperate hands wash me, frantically trying to cool the fever. Sickness is invading my body but those desperate hands have come to do battle. No, sickness! Not this day, not this child.

Strong hands gripping mine lovingly prevent my escape. Large feet dash, dart and stomp around me but those strong hands… They keep me safe from harm.

Firm hands show me the way. The path may seem like a wide and winding road, but those firm hands teach me how straight and narrow it really is.

Joyous hands give praise and thanks. They show me that if there is nothing Earthly for you to hold on to, you need NOT be empty handed. Lifting your hands in joyous praise brings rewards of its own.

Forgiving hands embrace me. Failure need not become an impenetrable fortress. No castle or keep can prevent the cradle of those forgiving hands

Proud hands clap and cheer for me. The road to this day was long and toilsome but today those hands are happy. Accomplishments may seem rare, but that is even more of a reason to wear proud hands.

Soft hands, aged hands, weathered and freckled hands… so frail they became. Those soft warm hands have grown cold now. If I could have just one wish, if I could have just one prayer, it would be to one day feel the touch of those soft hands again.

Charlotte Church (and NO... it's definately not Ave Maria!)

-Jim

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Then & Now

Then

Now

Stay tuned for more.

-Jim

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Year End Party

My work is having their Year End Event, formerly knows as the Christmas Party, tomorrow. There are going to have all sorts of food games and prizes. It is scheduled during work hours, so we just leave our desks and head to the party. I have a very large company with hundreds of people working at my site so I didn't think I would be missed. My plan was simple: blow off the party and go spend time with the wife and kiddies. That's what I really want to do. These types of gatherings tend to bore me. I hate to be a party pooper, but they just do.

Then today in my email box I get the following:

"Just to add a little more excitement to your adventures tomorrow we wanted to tell you about some fabulous door prizes. We will have X-Boxes, Wii's, and $500.00 in Southwest Airlines Gift Cards and many wonderful prizes."

<perk> Wha...? I'm sorry but did you just use the magic words. Did gaming terminology just exit your mouth?

Screw family time, I'm going to the party!

-Jim

[5 Comments]

RIP Michael Crichton

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/...n4575403.shtml
(CBS) Best-selling author and filmaker Michael Crichton died unexpectedly in Los Angeles Tuesday, after a courageous and private battle against cancer, according to a statement released by his family. He was 66. Crichton is best known as the author of "Jurassic Park" and the creator of "ER." His most recent novel, "Next," about genetics and law, was published in December 2006. "While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us -- and entertained us all while doing so -- his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," the statement said. "He did this with a wry sense of humor that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget." Through his books, Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way all could understand. "He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched, but he leaves behind the greatest gifts of a thirst for knowledge, the desire to understand, and the wisdom to use our minds to better our world," the statement added. Born in Chicago Oct. 23, 1942, Crichton graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College, received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, researching public policy with Jacob Bronowski. He has taught courses in anthropology at Cambridge University and writing at MIT. Crichton's 2004 bestseller, "State of Fear," acknowledged the world was growing warmer, but challenged extreme anthropogenic warming scenarios.Crichton's first bestseller, The Andromeda Strain, was published while he was still a medical student. He later worked full time on film and writing. One of the most popular writers in the world, his books have been translated into thirty-six languages, and thirteen have been made into films. Crichton won an Emmy, a Peabody, and a Writer's Guild of America Award for "ER." In 2002, a newly discovered ankylosaur was named for him: Crichtonsaurus bohlini. A private funeral service is expected, but no further details will be released to the public.

I was and am a big fan. Iv'e enjoyed his books since the Mid 80's. I first read Congo wich was a mediocre movie but a great book. After that book I was hooked and picked up everything of his I could. Eaters of the Dead and The Great Train Robbery remain two of my all time favorites. He will be missed.

-Jim

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Thanks!

First of all, thanks for checking out my blog. I don't do it that often, more so when my 360 is broken (as it is now). Still, I've had well over 9,000 views so thanks!

I also wanted to thank the Tampa Bay Rays for a great season!. It was so much fun to watch them this year and I can't wait until spring. My favorite Rays player, Carlos Pena has just won his first Golden Glove.

Congrats Carlos!

Ghost Busted

One of my favorite shows has been Ghost hunters on the ScFi channel. My wife really enjoyed it and it just became something we would watch together each week. We liked it because it really seemed genuine. They would go to check out a haunt, debunk the claims and leave finding absolutely nothing. I guess it didn't make for the most exciting television, but it really leant itself to the credibility of the TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team. Then when they would find something, it was exciting and cool. Usually whenthey did find something, it was just a small whisper of a voice or a blink of a shadow darting away that there was no explanation for. The team leaders, Grant Wilson and Jason Hawes, seemed like down to Earth nice guys that were really just looking for the truth. You really felt that you could trust them.

On Halloween they did a live 7 hour show from Ft Deleware. SciFi devoted all that air time, investing millions to put this on. In the end, TV money is about TV ratings so an uneventful night just could not fly. They did the same thing last year at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. They caught some evidence but it was mainly chasing random shadows and noises, and disembodied voices that were only picked up on recording devices that was dicovered after the event was over. Not exactly edge of your seat kind of stuff. This year it seems, ScFi wanted a sure thing. I can go on and on about what happened that night, but I'll just concentrate on two things.

"You are not supposed to be here."

While "investigating" in the dungeon area of the fort, a sudden and suspiciously loud voice stated "you are not supposed to be here." The sound just seems like it was digitally altered and Grant Wilson really over acts after it's heard, Check it out:

I mean c'mon! It sounds like the voice from the Saw horror movie series. Later, they give us the pièce de résistance, some well placed jacket tugs, and more over acting from Grant. Notice that his left hand seems aweful busy trying to stay hidden from the camera.

I mean, really? Before this happened (my wife recorded the entire 7 hours and we watched it frame by frame over and over) Grant kept is right hand swinging at his side or holding something. After this happened, the same thing. Only during this event was it stuck in or around his pocket. His over acting sucked and quite frankly, so did Jason's. Here you are looking for ghosts when your parter is claiming actual physical contact that is getting cought on camera and what... you are more interested in a bat? Also, you may need to replay this to see it. Right after Jason digs around into the jacket collar and proclaims it all good, just as soon as he lets it go, the collar gets tugged again. You can see it but Grant and everyone else seems not to notice. It must have been an accidental tug.

Oh well, what can you expect. If it was real and genuine in the begining, it was doomed to fall. Just as soon as it got popular and the advertising dollars started pouring in, so would the TV executive control. Kinda reminds me of when Dog the Bounty Hunter turned out to be an asshole. Yeah, I liked that show too, and just like I did with that show, I can choose NOT to watch this one. I might not be the brightest bulb around, but I'm not a complete stooge either.

Later peeps,

-Jim

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My Vote Is Worth More Than Yours!

That's right, it is. Your vote is worth a measly vote. My vote is worth a vote AND a hotdog!

Yes, with sauerkraut and mustard. Mmmm... it was delish too. It was care of the Desoto Masonic Lodge #105. They are the great people who run my polling place and we get to vote in their hall. Every time we have a vote, they are out there making sure that along with getting to vote, everyone get's a hot dog. They always have all the fixings too. Sometimes they will even have hamburgers soda's along with the dogs and in the mornings they will offer coffee for everyone. By the way, I parked up front, walked straight to the counter with my wife and son. We got our ballots right away, went straight to the booth, voted, went straight to the machine and fed it, got our stickers and went straight for the food. No wait, no lines, no fuss. I never want to vote anywhere else. Thanks Masons!

Election projection: Obama by a landslide

I voted along party lines (Libertarian). I really didn't think Mccain stood a chance and I didn't see a reason to prostitute my vote. In the end, I just want a smooth election with no controversies. Whoever gets elected, my wish is that they are the best president we ever had. The odds of that are very slim to no chance in hell, but the sentiment holds true. I wish only the best for whoever wins. We are really in the shit, and it's more important to get out of it than anything else.

I'll leave you with some famous Libertarian recording artists.

Rush (Neil Pert)

Blues Traveller w/ Ziggy Marley (John Popper)

Jimmie Vaughan

Dwight Yoakam

Later peeps.

-Jim

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Time To Vote!!!!!

Hooray, I'm very excited... yay.

Yippie... yeah.

Gee, who do I vote for. Lets check the options, shall we?

A) Socialist

B) Vey, Very Socialist

Hmmm..... what to do?

As I've stated in this blog many many times, I'm a Libertarian. I hate the Republicans and despise the Democrats. National elections are a time of depression for me. Especially since the Republican party has become a party of goons, idiots and liars. Yes, I said liars. They call themselves conservatives and blame the Democrats for being too liberal. Then when it's time to vote, they act just as irresponsible. Don't get me wrong, the Democrats made lying into an artform.

Shit. I hate voting anymore. It's become such a popularity and beauty contest. Lincoln wouldn't have stood a chance today. Who are these people that want to become our leaders and decide to pursue that power? In today's age it is easier to find out who these people really are. It is also easier to give in to all the abundant disinformation that is out there. Here's a tip: If you saw it on a commercial, forget it because it's at least a partial, if not a total lie. Try not to even watch them at all if you can help it.

Here's what you do, if you haven't already done so.

First: Figure out where you are politically. Are you a conservative or a liberal? Maybe you're somewhere in between. Most people are somewhere in the middle. Here's a test that will give you an idea. Before you start on me, I know it's not the only or the best test, and it's not without it's criticisms, but it's a short test and pretty accurate.

www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html

Now that you have an idea where you stand, you need to find out where the politcal parties stand. I would take the time to read their platforms. The all have websites that list the platforms. I know, you're saying that you vote for person, not the party. Well, if the person is inclined to vote with the party, you better educate yourself.

Now that you have an idea where you stand, and where they stand, choose a party that meets YOUR ideals. It's not enough to just get more people to get out and vote. The uneducated really should just stay home. If you can't make an educated informed decision, do us all a favor and go see Beverly Hills Chihuahua instead.

This is how I became a Libertarian. Maybe they are not powerful and perhaps a Libertarian will never make it to the White House. At least I can say that I know the issues, I know the stakes, I know who these people and parties are and when I vote, I know what I'm doing.

Metallica: The Day That Never Comes. From Death Magnetic

-Jim

Note: I'm sure this blog is loaded with spelling errors. Please forgive me but It's Sunday and I just don't care, lol.

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How to loose your job.

You may have seen this, I'm a little late posting it. This happened just over a week ago on 10/18/08. The USC (Gamecocks) QB gets forearm blocked by the referee... on purpose! He must be an LSU fan.

This just in...

The umpires working the World Series have just seen the video. They were overheard saying "Damn, why didn't I think of that?"

-Jim

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The First Black President...

Should NOT be Barack Obama!

It should be Mike Singletary

That is all.

-Jim

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Melancholy

With no more 360 for an indeterminate amount of time, my life has gotten a bit blah. I guess I never quite realized how much time I spent gaming, reading about gaming, blogging and forum posting about gaming and reading the works of other such souls. Perhaps too much. I used to be a big reader, but not so in recent years. I had been thinking about taking a break from gaming, but with all the great games coming out, it wasn't going to be any time soon. Fata volentem docunt, nolentem trahunt: the fates lead the willing and drag those who are unwilling.

Consider me dragged.

Melancholy Music. See if you can guess the artists. (the 1st one is a gimmie)

-Jim

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Deep depression with suicidal tendancies

My Xbox 360 crapped out again and this time it's the disk reader. I never thought I would wish for RROD. Financially, it's going to be a while before I'll be back up. All my buds are playing and here I am... pissed.

...blah

-Jim

[2 Comments]

Irish Wedding... YEAH!

Just a quick update.

I went to a wedding with my wife last night and had the best time I ever had at a wedding. It was outdoors and didn't start until 6pm. At 11pm people were still hanging around. This was an Irish wedding, so I knew there would be alcohol but I didn't get my hopes up. The last wedding I went to had an open bar... all the Bud Light you could drink. I could drink about a beer and a half, till I couldn't take it anymore. Yeah, I'm a beer snob, This wedding also had an open bar, but you would have thought the family owned a liquor store seeing what all they had. I drank 3 pints of Murphy's Irish Stout, 2 pints Newcastle Brown, 2 pints of Spaten Octoberfest, a pint of something imported that I don't remember, 2 Jack and Cokes, and 2 Sangria's. I was pretty lit. They also had some great food and a fabulous blues band that were friends of the family. God bless Irish wedding when the parents of the bride fork over the funds!

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Political BS and quip one liners

Love him or loathe him, he nailed
this one right on the head..........

By Rush Limbaugh:

I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million
If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable.
Next , you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18 When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt.

Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 million are complaining that it's not enough Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers.

We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from theOklahoma Citybombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of th ose bo mbed in the embassies are now asking for compensation as well.

You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine i s in combat in theMiddle Eastwhile their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing Make sense?

However, our own US Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pens ion of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month.

I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

Funny Stuff:

From The Hollywood Squares with Peter Marshall hosting....

Q. Do female frogs croak?
A. Paul Lynde: If you hold their little heads under water long enough.

Q. If you're going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be?
A. Charley Weaver: Three days of steady drinking should do it.

Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years.
A. George Gobel: Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes.

Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman?
A. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me a wake.

Q. According to Cosmopolitain, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?
A. Rose Marie: No; wait until morning.

Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?
A. Charley Weaver: My sense of decency.

Q. In Hawaiian, does it take more than three words to say "I Love You"?
A. Vincent Price: No, you can say it with a pineapple and a twenty.

Q. What are "Do It," "I Can Help," and "I Can't Get Enough " ?
A. George Gobel: I don't know, but it's coming from the next apartment.

Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands while talking?
A. Rose Marie: You ask me one more growing old question Peter, and I'll give you a gesture you' ll never forget.

Q. Paul, why do Hell's Angels wear leather?
A. Paul Lynde: Because chiffon wrinkles too easily.

Q. Charley, you've just decided to grow strawberries. Are you going to get any during the first year?
A. Charley Weaver: Of course not, I'm too busy growing strawberries.

Q. In bowling, what's a perfect score?
A. Rose Marie: Ralph, the pin boy.

Q. It is considered in bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps. One is politics, what is the other?
A. Paul Lynde: Tape measures.

Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet?
A. Rose Marie: Unfortunately Peter, I'm always safe in the bedroom.

Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls?
A. Marty Allen: Only after lights out.

Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose do?
A. Paul Lynde: Make him bark?

Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?
A. Paul Lynde: Whatever it is, it would never be afraid of the dark.

Q. According to Ann Landers, is there anything wrong with getting into the habit of kissing a lot of people?
A. Charley Weaver: It got me out of the army.

Q. It is the most abused and neglected part of your body, what is it?
A. Paul Lynde: Mine may be abused, but it certainly isn't neglected.

Q. Back in the old days, when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what was he trying to do?
A. George Gobel: Get it in his mouth.

Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant?
A. Paul Lynde: Who told you about my elephant?

Q. When a couple have a baby, who is responsible for its sex?
A. Charley Weaver: I'll lend him the car, the rest is up to him.

Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they?
A. Charley Weaver: His feet.

Q. According to Ann Landers, what are two things you should never do in bed?
A. Paul Lynde: Point and laugh.

All that made be a bit nostalgic fo rthe old comedians. I'll leave you with some Don Rickles doing his schtick. Very politically incorrect, I might add. Enjoy:

Roasting Sammie Davis Jr.

Roasting Bob Hope

Roasting Ronald Reagan

-Jim

[2 Comments]

Yeah, you're a dumbass alright.

Unless you're a Libertarian ;)

NOTE: This is safe for work. The NSFW flag is an error.

From the Washington Post:

NEWS TALK
The stupid people who will pick our next prez
Sorry, John and Barack: We’re not nearly as smart as you keep telling us we are.

By Rick Shenkman
Washington Post
Plenty of things are hurting American democracy — from negative campaigning to special interests — but one factor lies at the root of all the others, and nobody dares to discuss it. American voters, who are hiring the people who’ ll run a superpower democracy, are grossly ignorant. Here are a few particularly bogus claims about their supposed savvy.
1. Our voters are pretty smart.
You hear this one from politicians all the time, even John McCain, who promises straight talk, and Barack Obama, who claims that he’s not a politician (by which he means that he’ll tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear). But by every measure social scientists have devised, voters are spectacularly uninformed. They don’t follow politics, and they don’t know how their government works.
According to an August 2006 Zogby poll, only two in five Americans know that we have three branches of government and can name them. A 2006 National Geographic poll showed that six in 10 young people (ages 18 to 24) could not find Iraq on the map. The political scientists Michael Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, surveying a variety of polls measuring knowledge of history, report that fewer than half of all Americans know who Karl Marx was or which war the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought in. Worse, they found that just 49 percent of Americans know that the only country ever to use a nuclear weapon in a war is their own.
2. Bill O’Reilly’s viewers are dumber than Jon Stewart’s.
Liberals wish. Democrats like to think that voters who sympathize with their views are smarter than those who vote Republican. But a 2007 Pew survey found that the knowledge level of viewers of the right-wing, blustery The O’Reilly Factor and the left-wing, snarky The Daily Show is comparable, with about 54 percent of the shows’ politicized viewers scoring in the "high knowledge" category.
So what about conservative talkradio titan Rush Limbaugh’s audience? Surely the ditto-heads are dumb, right? Actually, according to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, Rush’s listeners are better educated and "more knowledgeable about politics and social issues" than the average voter.
3. If you just give Americans the facts, they’ll be able to draw the right conclusions.
Unfortunately, no. Many social scientists have long tried to downplay the ignorance of voters, arguing that the mental "short cuts" voters use to make up for their lack of information work pretty well. But the evidence from the past few years proves that a majority can easily be bamboozled.
Just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, after months of unsubtle hinting from Bush administration officials, 60 percent of Americans had come to believe that Iraq was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, despite the absence of evidence for the claim, according to a series of surveys taken by the PIPA/ Knowledge Networks poll.
A year later, after the bipartisan, independent 9/11 Commission reported that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with al-Qaida’s assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 50 percent of Americans still insisted that he did. In other words, the public was bluntly given the data by a group of officials generally believed to be credible — and it still didn’t absorb the most basic facts about the most important event of their time.
4. Voters today are smarter than they used to be.
Actually, by most measures, voters today possess the same level of political knowledge as their parents and grandparents, and in some categories, they score lower. In the 1950s, only 10 percent of voters were incapable of citing any ways in which the two major parties differed, according to Thomas Patterson of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, who leads the Pew-backed Vanishing Voter Project. By the 1970s, that number had jumped to nearly 30 percent.
Here’s what makes these numbers deplorable — and, in fact, almost incomprehensible: Education levels are far higher today than they were half a century ago, when social scientists first began surveying voter knowledge about politics. (In 1940, six in 10 Americans hadn’t made it past the eighth grade.) The moral of this story: Schooling alone doesn’t translate into better educated voters.
— Rick Shenkman is an associate professor of history at George Mason University and the author of Just How Stupid Are We?

See, I told ya you were a dumbass.

-Jim

[3 Comments]