Unsought Input

Apparently the CBC in Canada thought they would involve the fans in a contest to pick out a new theme song for hockey broadcasts.  This is just the sort of interactive, crowd-sourcing, brand-building exercise the Internet excels at.  It’s also a ripe invitation to pranksters like the Something Awful forum goons.

Here’s the top-viewed, top-voted entry right now:

This is the most beautiful sound ever to be associated with hockey.

Please, do your part and log in and vote for this anthem. Give the other entries a fair listen, but I think you’ll agree nothing captures the spirit of hockey quite like this techno mashup of sheep and babies crying.

Here’s the official music video:

Just for a change of pace let’s talk politics.  I mean, just in case you aren’t already bored to death of the presidential campaign yet, we can talk about it here.  I am surprised how early in the campaign it is and how much I really don’t want to hear about it.  Maybe it’s just because I am politically lazy.  But I hate to lay all the blame on myself, so I am going to blame it on the heavy press over it for the last three months when, in my opinion, I shouldn’t have been hearing about it yet.  I mean, shouldn’t I normally be just starting to care now?  But since I have already had this presidential election forced on me I have a feeling I am going to be very very very tired of it well before the actual elections.

There are a couple of things I hope to see in this election, though.  I am hoping to see some actual honest campaigns where there is no mudslinging and no school yard bully tactics similar to those employed in the last election.  I know, keep dreaming.  I just want to live in a country where I don’t have to worry about political commercials telling me how presidential candidate X is a doodie head who supports killing babies and puppy dogs.  I mean, I am glad I graduated from high school.  I thought that meant I would never have to deal with these kinds of antics again.  But, oh, how naive I was.  So young.  So naive.  I guess it’s good to have a dream.

I also want to see a minority in office. I think that is progressive and would let the world know that we are not just a country run by legislative fat cats who inherited their political career from their parents and know nothing of the real world.  I mean, right now we have kind of a bad rap with the rest of the world and this might be our chance to let everyone else know that we are ready to make drastic changes to make things right.  I don’t know, it’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it.

You know what else I want to see?  I want to see the celebrities who made all those sappy commercials  to go out and vote actually vote.  I know they probably need to register to vote first but it’s so simple.  They can get their agent or publicist or whoever to go down to the post office or town hall or where ever and fill it out for them.  Hell, they can even get them to help them at the polls if they need it.  I am just tired of the hypocrisy that fills this nation.  And the laziness. I mean, I am a lazy person when it comes to politics but I vote in every election, not just the presidential elections.  And honestly, if you can’t be bothered to vote for president you have no right to complain about anything ever.  Unless you are complaining about your family, and in that case, you are still not allowed to complain about anything ever.

Since I am already tired of the presidential race I decided to try and figure out what the candidates stand for without actually listening to any debates or what have you.   I found this website that asks you what your opinions are and how strongly you feel about them and based on your answers tells you what candidates are supporting issues closest to your opinions.  It’s kind of cool and only takes a few minutes so you should check it out.  It might save you the time of having to watch more debates and mudslinging commercials.

If you just skipped to the last paragraph, I will say it again.  Check out this website. It asks you your opinions and tells you who you might want vote for in the election.  It will save you a lot of annoyance this year which is sure to be filled with lots of political bull crap that you might not want to wade through.   Just trying to help.

The House of Representatives has voted to expand democracy to American citizens in Washington DC. Over the past 200 years, through the Civil War, the end of slavery, the women’s suffrage movement, two World Wars, and the defeat of the Soviet Union, America has neglected to expand voting rights to hundreds of thousands of its own citizens. Washington DC has no real representation in the House or the Senate.

And despite this latest vote it’s likely to stay that way. It doesn’t look like the bill will pass in the Senate, and even if it does George W. Bush is likely to veto it.

“It’s unconstitutional!” is the whine from Republicans like Senator Mitch McConnell. You see, it’s not because they are afraid that Washington DC residents will vote for Democrats, or because DC residents are largely poor and black. Of course they think everyone should have the right to vote! Of course they aren’t elitists or racists!

It’s just that the procedural steps for granting suffrage properly is much more important to a democracy than, you know, actual democracy.

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One of the most shameful facts about the United States of America has been in the news lately.  No, I’m not talking about the Iraq war, teen pregnancy, urban poverty, or even election fraud.  I’m talking about the fact that U.S. citizens who live in Washington DC have no Senators and no Congressmen.

DC has more people than Wyoming, and almost as many as Vermont.  So why are they treated like felons?  The problem, at least right now, is that a majority of DC residents are black.

Now, this isn’t old school Jim Crow racism; the real issue is that blacks tend to vote overwhelmingly for the democrats.  Giving DC the vote would be giving the Democrats two Senators and a member in the House.
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