Wanna Vote? Take a test.

To drive a car, you need to take a test. But to elect the leader of your country, step right up and vote. Leave your Brain at the door.  I've always wondered why we don't require all citizens to have some basic knowledge and intelligence in order to have the privilege of voting for their candidate. I'm not necessarily advocating an IQ test although I think they should have an IQ test for anyone getting a drivers license cause there are way too many idiots on the road but thats another topic. Its kind of amazing the power and the responsibility that a President or Prime Minister is entrusted with and yet the people that elect him aren't held to the same level of scrutiny. I seriously think a mandatory national test whereby every interested voter would be forced to take a test on the issues of that election would reduce the sway that the window lickers have on an election. I'd like to live in a country where the people that vote with me are as knowledgeable about the issues as I am, if not more. If these candidates knew that the people that were electing them had some education, some knowledge about the issues, then maybe when they say "Our citizens aren't stupid, they get whats going on", they'd actually mean it.

Instead of using religion, race and gender to divide and alienate the masses, they would actually give us some real solutions to solve our economic and political woes. They'd be somewhat scared to give us false promises and grand sweeping plans without any concrete detail because they'd know, "shit the guy that votes for me passed the test, I can't just say what ever the fuck I want." (Or maybe their lies would just get more elaborate.) Right now, the people in power take the every day man for granted because well, they can feed gen pop any kind of nonsense and the majority of the people out there swallow it up without questioning the source or the validity of said nonsense. If nothing else, knowing that the voters weren't total morons who could actually identify Iraq on a map, and ask intelligent pertinent questions, maybe they'd be scared of the people instead of the people being scared of them. The law that states every man and woman has the right to vote should be changed to every INTELLIGENT man and woman has the right to vote imo.  I would also pass that law for anyone that wants to be a new parent but thats just me.

Posted by th3midnighter @ 12:29 pm EDT | Permalink | 26 Comments

From wheelchair to fade away

I consider myself a sports fan, not a rabid one but a passionate one.  I tend to follow the NFL and NBA quite closely but I also follow a bit of European soccer and some baseball when the playoffs kick in.  Last night was Game 1 of the Lakers and Celtics and if you are any sort of NBA fan, this HAS to get you excited.  This is like if baseball finally came to its senses and separated the Sox and the Yankees so they could meet each other in the World Series to finally decide who has the bigger budget, er the better team.  Or if the Pats and the Colts said FU to the NFL and played their own game to decide the real champ.  This is THE premiere match up in the NBA and I don't know how many refs Stern had to bribe to get this matchup but I'm glad he did because you couldn't ask for a better final.  On one side, you have the hard nosed, defensive oriented Celtics, from a blue collar sports crazed city versus the finesse, offensively gifted Lakers, whose fans leave early during playoff games because of the traffic and whose mascot is a geriatric Jack Nicholson.  On a side note, do the teenagers Jacko's dates know that he was alive during WW 2?

The series really does have it all.  Names? Yeah its got that.  You have the most passionate athlete I've seen play in any sport since LT in Kevin Garnett.  The most gifted and talented player to play in the finals since his Airness himself.  I know Kobe will never ever be Jordan but hes the closest thing we have until Lebron learns how to shoot a 19 footer.  Legacy? Check.  The Lakers and Celtics have combined for 30 titles between them.  Thats almost as much as ALL of the other NBA teams combined.  Showtime vs. the Gaaaarden.  Anyways, you get the picture.  If you were an NBA fan, this is your dream match up.  So the intro to the game happens and I hope some of you saw it.  They had Clint Mansell playing in the background while they showed clips of the Celts.  If you dont know Clint Mansell, he is the composer behind some of the best music in film.  The score on Last of the Mohicans, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Smoking Aces just to name a few.  Anyways, his music comes on, the crowd goes crazy and you can tell, the people in the arena GET IT.   This is a big deal. 

Anyways, the game starts and its very competitive in the first half.  It's  going back and forth.  Very entertaining, pretty plays.  Celtics defense seems to be giving Kobe fits cause he cant seem to get inside but Kobe being Kobe is able to suck in the defense and give Odom and Gasol easy layups.  I've always thought Kobe's  passing was underrated.  He can get his shot off anywhere but he is also a great passer.  Halftime comes and goes and both teams exchange the lead back and forth until the end of the 3rd quarter when Paul Pierce, the captain of the C's goes down with what looks like a very painful, knee injury.  Now i watched the play like 3 times and he looked like he was in more pain with each replay.  My heart sank right at that moment not because I'm a Paul Pierce fan but I knew, if he's gone for the series, the Celtics have no chance in this series.  They had to take him out on a wheelchair cause he couldn't put any weight on his knewe.  Wheelchair people!  It was like the Boston fans just learned Marky Mark was releasing another rap album.  I've never seen a crowd get taken out of a game sooo quickly.  I had no rooting interest, I just wanted an entertaining series but I was almost certain this would kill the series.  So you watch the Celtics scratch and claw to keep their slim lead and about 5 mins after he was carted off in a wheelchair, through the dark tunnel, you see #34 jogging back into the arena.  I've never seen the Willis Reed come back in Game 7 of the Finals back in the 70s but I imagine this is what it felt like.  Goosebumps.  He comes hopping back into the arena, and the crowd goes insane.  Standing O.  He has this crooked grin.  Phil Jackson calls a timeout before the fans all rush the Celts bench to give Pierce a 20,000 person group hug.  (Side note:  I wish the announcers had shut the hell up so the tv audience could've heard how loud the crowd really was when he walked back in.  Pissed me off)

He comes back, hits 2 3's back to back after being almost near tears in pain less than 10 mins ago and really at that point regardless of the score, I knew the Celts were gonna win.  If I'd seen it in a movie, I'd have walked out, thats how cliche it was but when it happens in the sporting world, well, it just doesn't get any better.  For the rest of the game, I just sort of sat back and took it all in because as a sports fan, GOOD championship games/series are few and far between.  The Celtics went on to win the game and really, I don't think any Celtics fan had any doubt after P.P came back in the game and now we have a real series.  Celts were the dogs heading into the series and now you have to wonder how LA matches their emotion for Game 2.  Kobe will bounce back from his bad game, I'm positive of that but I don't know if he can carry LA on his own.  LA seemed confused in their offense all night long and never got in a rhythm like they did in their other pervious series so I'm curious to see what Phil Jackson does.  You know he has some trick up his sleeve.  Either way, I'm not missing a game in this series, not after last night.

Lots of reading so I added some eye candy to make it easier:



Seriously, i get it she has fake boobs and probably couldn't do a BXB to save her life but jesus shes hawwwt.  Its a dress like that on a body like that sometimes makes me think God really does exist.


If Reggie studied holes on the line like he studied her....well you get what I'm sayin...
 


Posted by th3midnighter @ 11:55 am EDT | Permalink | 6 Comments

Bizarro George W. Bush

So I'm watching the victory speech by Barrack Obama on Tuesday night, seeing how energized the crowd gets with his every word, how he seems to be able to control the audience with the tone and the volume of his voice and I find myself smiling just watching him do his thing. Its amazing to me how incredibly different he is from George W. Bush. In almost every way in fact. This blog isn't about me gushing over Mr. Obama because in all honesty, whomever wins the election in November has a hell of a challenge to get the US out of its economic and political funk. The last Administration has done a great job of killing any faith the public has had in the Government and flushed it down the toilet. Surveys released by CBS as recent as June 3rd have Bush with an approval rating of 25%. What I find fascinating is how incredibly different Obama and Bush are portrayed in the media and how they are perceived by the public.

Bush is white. Obama is black. Bush is from the south. Obama from the North. Bush has had trouble grasping the English language at times. Obama almost sounds more like a Reverend leading his congregation than a politician giving a speech on public policy. Bush is depicted as using fear and hate to pass laws and policies. Obama seems to focus on hope, faith and the promise of a better future to unite his followers. Bush seems to be heading down the same path as Nixon, to be remembered as one of the most unpopular Presidents of the last 100 years. Obama is portrayed as a second coming of JFK, exciting the college kids and grandmas alike by the thousands. Its fascinating to me how incredibly different these two men are portrayed. If the Democratic party went into a science lab and created a human being who would be the Bizzaro G.W., they couldn't have done a better job than Obama.

Even with all the positive vibes that Bizarro Bush is exhibiting, and all the excitement he is generating among the younger voters, I have one major concern. How can he possibly fix all these issues all at the same time? If you listen to his speeches, he wants to fix the economy, the crumbling school system, the corruption in Washington, the environment, the war in Iraq, and bring universal health care to all Americans. How exactly hes going to solve all these issues without bankrupting the country I don't quite understand but maybe thats why I'm a Canadian. lol.

When you make such grand sweeping plans for a country, and you get millions of people to believe again after giving up for the last 8 years, you better be able to live up to those promises. After all the bad news we've had the last few years, people are ripe for some hope and faith. Bizarro Bush is coming in at the perfect time for that. If he does get elected in November, I hope he does have some super powers because hes going to need it to deal with the mess thats ahead of him.

Posted by th3midnighter @ 11:49 am EDT | Permalink | 6 Comments

Things that made me go hmmm.

Marriage made in heaven....Brett Ratner and Beverly Hills Cop 4. I wonder if he'll be able to top the masterpiece that was BH Cop 3 or Indy 4. Probably not.
www.aintitcool.com/node/36906

I liked this list but how the hell did the yellow line in Madden not show up on this list? They had that in the game which eventually made it into the TV broadcasts. Shame I tell you. Btw, I loved making Gretzky bleed and flop on the ice like a lil goldfish. Me and my buddies used to play NHL just to see who could make the other person bleed first in the game. Makes sense why I play Halo now.
sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story

I can't wait to have another Windows OS that makes me reboot every 20 mins. Is Vista going to replace Windows ME as the worst OS theyve ever released?
gizmodo.com/393552/windows-7-first-official-photos

I found this article pretty interesting. A fully web based OS is not that far in the future me thinks. (if it isnt out already)
www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/29/the-next-gen-web-browser-storage-support/

Seriously, I read this and screamed at my screen. I was sayin this in site chat the other day. I am Legend could've been a great movie if not for the "smart" Zombie plot twist.  If you are going to follow the message of the Book, follow it all the way.  Don't tease us then go back to shit exploding.   Brilliant Zombies WTF? Isnt that an oxymoron?
www.cracked.com/article_16258_5-awesome-movies-ruined-by-last-minute-changes.html

You know, when i read this yesterday I wondered why he did this now. What is he trying to get out of it. I know all of W. Senior staff are jumping ship because they see the dead end ahead and maybe hes trying to distance himself from W. as much as possible but burning the Prez on such a public stage cant improve your chances of finding a new job in Washington can it? It's funny that he kept his mouth shut until AFTER he left his job, and AFTER his book got published. You want to make a name for yourself? When the whole should we / shouldn't we go to Iraq argument was going on, he could've gone on TV and told the public what he really knew. If he'd done that, it would've had a much more meaningful effect than what his book is going to accomplish. He might even have been more popular than Barrack.......Ok maybe not THAT popular but still.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/29/former-bush-aide-mclellan_n_104102.html


Posted by th3midnighter @ 3:47 pm EDT | Permalink | 0 Comments