They Ball A Lot, We Ballot A Lot

Democracy is a broken system. You give stupid people a voice and the result is a slurring or stuttering garbled mess. You give stupid people a vote and the result is a slurring or stuttering garbled mess:



I think I make my point.

What does this have to do with NBA? Well the first returns of the All-Star ballot has been revealed and there are some interesting results. Notably, Yao Ming isn't leading the pack for the sixth straight year with a billion votes but instead, is falling behind Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony of all people. I don't know if David Stern implemented a gerrymander tactic where all votes in Denver are worth five times of those in Utah/Texas/China but somehow Melo is tallying more votes than genuine MVP candidates Nowitzki, Boozer and the aforementioned Yao.

Another travesty worth mentioning. With 101,878 votes, Eric Dampier is in front of:
- Marcus Camby (94,473)
- Pau Gasol (73,461)
- Chris Kaman (40,256)

And in the East, he's besting the likes of Wallace (of both varieties) and Jermaine O' Neal.

Eric Dampier has fans? Eric Dampier?