Wal-Mart Strikes Again

Anyone who knows me is quite aware of my sever hatred toward Wal-Mart. There is nothing positive about that company with exception to their low prices, but the real cost is much higher. Well the long list of injustices keeps getting longer. An article over at The Raw Story was brought to my attention (original story) about Wal-Mart's meetings to "give the negatives of a Democrat controlled government".

To try and be slightly unbiased, lets us remember a few things here. First off, it is illegal to tell your employees how to vote, but that is not what Wal-Mart is doing at all. They are merely trying to get their points across in an effort to stop their employees from unionizing. Second, Wal-Mart is not he first and only company to ever do such a thing, in fact it happens everyday and many companies across the country, but you never hear about it.

Now, in light of that, I still must say what they are doing is still unethical and immoral. Just because it's not illegal doesn't make it wrong. Wal-Mart has every right to hold positions on politics and union rights, however doing what they are doing is a classic example of why we need unions. Unions are necessary to protect workers from poor conidtions, poor hours, poor pay, and overt or covert influence, everything Wal-Mart has managed to get away with.

The beauty of a democracy lies in it's people, in their right to vote, and to express themselves and their opinions. Corporations do not hold this same right, and it is important to remember this. While a lot or corporations do use tactics to try and make politicians see it their way, they do not have a vote, nor any control over their employees voting. While groups are created in order to pursue certain rights (PETA, WWF, ACLU, etc.), corporations like Wal-Mart are not special interest groups, but a for profit corporation trying to push it's views on others. Does that mean that Wal-Mart executives can't share their opinions? Of course not, but doing it on company time and money is just wrong.

With all the unethical practices over at Wal-Mart, it still blows me away that people shop there religiously.

Compounding Interest: Young Voters in the 2008 Elections

Politics was not always an elder man’s game. Looking back on history, it was more a young man’s game. Most of the U.S. elections have shown a turn in the other direction, and this year epitomizes it as we have seen three of the oldest candidates ever to play the game (Mike Gravel, 77; Ron Paul, 72; John McCain, 71). The 26th Amendment never lived up to its promise of a youth filled elections. Ever since the 1972 elections where an estimated 50% of citizens under the age of 24 voted, there has been a steady decline.

However recent years has shown a new interest in politics for the long forgotten age group. While the 2000 elections show a dismal 37.3% turnout, it was then followed by a 47.7% turnout in 2004. While a substantial jump, that percentage still trails all other age groups. With the increasing number of youth voters, could this year be the tipping point?

We have seen candidates who formed a strong youth backing before, most of whom were never elected. This year we see another candidate with a strong youth backing. Barack Obama has managed to create quite a stir across college campuses this year, fostering a serious interest in voters between the ages of 18 and 24. The question is whether all of that excitement will actually translate into votes this coming November.

There has already been a light shown at the end of the tunnel, as youth voters have shown up in record numbers in party primaries, on both sides of the coin. A small example lies in the Democratic South Carolina primary where only 9% of the turnout was under 29 four years ago, this year rose to 14%. Doesn’t sound like much, but in reality the actual count rose six fold to over 10,000. New Hampshire saw an even greater increase from 28% in 2004 to an astounding 43% this year.

This great jump in youth participation can be attributed to a large number of issues and events. The war in Iraq has clearly been a factor as was Vietnam back when the voting age was lowered. There is no doubt that the war is in the back of the mind of every draft-aged voter when a vote is placed. However the real reason behind the expansion is much more simple and apparent, the Internet has finally fulfilled it’s promise.

It is almost too clear with the great fundraising success of former Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul that the Internet is serving as a debating floor for this election. Without trying to sound to stereotypical, it is also clear that the youth voting population is much more computer inclined creating a generation ready to absorb all the information it can. But people have been saying this for years, and it has been true, so why has it taken of now?

The real reason is not the current generation of youth computer users, but the previous. That previous generation has finally reached the big leagues and knows how to use the web to market. They know how to get information out there, they know where and why the youth will read it, and they are getting it where it will be read. This is not in anyway undermining the tenacity of a college freshman looking for answers, but to show that those who aren’t looking for answers are finding them anyway. Social networks have embraced politics in a new way that generally appeals to the current generation in a huge way. Places such as StumbleUpon force new views and possibilities onto the screen. Whether or not they are swayed either way, the youth of today is forced to acknowledge this instead of ignoring it.

This is no way of truly judging how this will translate in November, but if the current numbers tell us anything, an educated guess would say that the youth vote with finally fulfill that great promise. With issues such as war, privacy, and net neutrality on the line, not only will the youth take notice, they will stand up and fight for their rights, their wants, and their needs. Whoever is elected in November, it is almost guaranteed that the youth will take them there.

Check Your Bike For Bombs

Original Video Location Here

I was stumbling just a few minutes ago and came across this video, and thought it was too funny not to repost here on the blog. Personally, I always check my bike for bombs planted by commies, but it is important message because I don't see enough people doing it these days. You could be out on the road and, BAM! Dead. I really hate it when that happens.

The Best Movie Ever

There has been a lot of debate around in the movie world recently, well at least over at IMBD anyway, about the best movie ever created. For those of you unfamiliar with the Internet Movie Database, it allows users to rate movies based on a scale of 1 through 10, one being the worst and ten clearly then being the best. For a long time, The Godfather has been sitting in the number one spot on the IMDB top 250 movies of all time, but has recently been dethroned by the Dark Knight and then managed to drop farther down the list to number three thanks to a voting war between the two films. The question I have been asking myself through this hole interesting situation is, "How does one determine the greatness of a movie?"

Now personally, I never really enjoyed The Godfather, and I haven't seen the Dark Knight yet, but that's okay. To be one of the greatest movies ever in my book, there must be an amazing combination of acting, vision, creativity, and landmark breakthrough techniques. By these measures, I'm not sure either movie would actually be a top movie in my book. By my standards, movies such as Citizen Kane, who pioneered a movie style we still see today, or Star Wars and Jurassic Park for taking the next step in effects, creating new worlds. Clearly the IMDB top 250 is judged more open overall enjoyment and acting, and if we are going to measure a movie by those measures, by personal top goes to the Shawshank Redemption (which is currently number two).

In light of these two revelations, I've begun to think about movies as more than an art form. What is more important is judging a movie, mass appeal or quality content? Originally I thought that they were mutually exclusive, however I know realize this is not true in many cases. Now clearly The Dark Knight, who has broken records and has money coming in from all over the place seems to have both, which would make it a great movie, however let's take a movie like Young Frankenstein. It ranks on the top 250, but at 239 at the publishing of this post. It has fairly good acting and is arguably one of the funniest movies of all time. But it also appeals to a lot of people. I have never met anyone who didn't enjoy the movie, and anyone I debuted it to enjoyed it as well. Now take Citizen Kane, ranked at 28 currently, but most people I have talked to about do not enjoy the movie. Arguably, in today's time, Young Frankenstein would be a greater movie than Citizen Kane.

I suppose only history will tell on what impact a movie will make and where it will rank. While I enjoy the idea of ranking the movie, I have had a final revelation that movies are just fun emotion filled windows into different lives that are simply here to induce feelings and take us away from the everyday grind. So when it comes down to it, who cares? Just enjoy your movies and explore new horizons, unless you think the movie Monkeybone was the greatest film ever made. Then you need to take a cinematography class.

I Got Fucked Up

As you can see, I have a bit of a wound dressing going on my arm at the moment. How did this happen? Well, it was another battle in Pennypack Park. I was coming down a curvy hill I have called Suicide Hill because of it's steepness and sharp turn. A few people are taking up a little more than half the paved surface facing me fixing their baby carriage. Seeing my coming, they do not try and move to a single file, as the rules of the park stipulate. The one guy moves a little and we hit shoulders. I managed to recover, but couldn't pull out the rest of the turn and hit loose debris. For those who don't know, loose debris and road bikes don't mix. I went down, hard. I have multiple wounds up my left arm, hence the dressing. Blood was dripping off my elbow, and down my leg, as I have manged two other wounds on my right leg. I found some large leaves and managed to bleed through two of them before I could get a pick up because my front wheel was bent.

So this is too all those with strollers, dogs, and iPods. Everyone who thinks that paved paths are there for their own enjoyment and no one else matters. They are called bike paths for a reason, and as such you have to be aware and courteous to those around you. I am constantly aware because of my speed of those around me in order to avoid such accidents, but it's not only my responsibility as a biker. There are foot paths in the park that bikes cannot used. Yes they are unpaved, but there you can actually stroll along without anyone bothering you. This is the last time I will give the other person the benefit of the doubt. You can tell who is paying attention and who isn't, and these people weren't, as most don't.

Rain Falls Like Daggers

For once, the weathermen has managed to get it right. Just when I was actually hitting a stride playing tennis today, the skies opened up and well, the rest is history I suppose. Although dad was optimistic the whole time, and overwhelming optimism rarely overtakes the seriously unpredictable powers of nature. So we cut this week short and headed over to the Drake Tavern for a beer and some food, which was great because watching the Phillies rain delay without sound is just about as exciting as getting hit in the forehead with a wet tennis ball.

So I suppose this means that tomorrows bike ride is off as well. The park tends to flood with any amount of rain, but when it rains this hard, it will probably stay damp for at least a day or two, and apparently it will continue to rain for the next few days here. Let's here it for the weather, because without it we would not have to have fluid schedules revolving around unforeseen circumstances! Anyone!?

You know the rain is refreshing though, it feels good to see the world in a weird peace. Thunder seems so calming as it rolls across the city and slams into the mountains without wonder or worry. Sometimes it's easy to forget the miracles that make our planet so unique and delightful. So don't turn around and screw it up by being an asshole and littering and polluting! Just because we live in an urban setting doesn't make it cool to through trash out the window, even if it's a cigarette butt. Assholes.