Fort Wayne needs an electoral college to settle this, the people cannot be trusted 

Why not name the building the same as the street. H. W. Baals? That would look legit to me 

Couldn't help but snicker every time the news reporters said his name. 

thank god for democracy
i love living in a country where the majority vote means shit 

Most of the people voting probably aren't from Ft. Worth. This has been all over the internet. 

Pistachio said:

Couldn't help but snicker every time the news reporters said his name.

lol the first time, friend! 

I love the fact that in the polls Harry Baals has Eugene Johnson right under it. 

profesorq13 said:

thank god for democracy
i love living in a country where the majority vote means shit

Shut your fucking mouth and go back to your interwebs, Al Gore! 

Im pretty sure Harry Baals still meant Hairy Balls in the 50's 

alansmithee said:

I love the fact that in the polls Harry Baals has Eugene Johnson right under it.

As english is not my native language, I cannot just grasp why is this funny. Could someone explain? I agree it won't be funny anymore, but I can't sleep without understanding that one. 

I U Lusco Field said:

Most of the people voting probably aren't from Ft. Worth.

I'm willing to bet you're right... 

Hilarious. People said Obama couldn't be president because of his name, too.

If they're serious about it then I think the "H.W. Baals Government Center" would be an appropriate compromise. 

This story really saddens me, I thought as a society we have progressed a lot further then this. I thought that everyone shaved there balls by now 

Not as funny once they start acknowledging the connotation. Also, is his name actually 'Harold?' Why not use that? 

alansmithee said:

I love the fact that in the polls Harry Baals has Eugene Johnson right under it.

How'd they get the beans above the frank!? 

He's a kangaroo? 

So in Austin, The city council decided to let the people pick and vote for the name of the solid waste department. The winning name was the "Fred Durst society of humanities and arts." It had in the realm of 30,000 votes for it with the runner up being around 2000. Unfortunally the city decided... not to name the solid waste department that.

"While we appreciate the enthusiasm of the Austin people, we have decided to give it a name that represents the services that the solid waste department provides."

http://austin.uservoice.com/forums/95799-new-name-for-solid-waste-services-depar tment- 

NASA refused to name their space station section, Colbert, despite that name winning the vote, as well. 

The same also happened for the bridge in Hungary that they had the naming contest for, and that Colbert won each time they restarted it.

Note to bureaucrats: If you're not going to take the voting seriously, don't even bother. It's less frustrating when you don't even pretend to care about what people think than to pretend and then renege on it. 

if people didn't vote like jackasses they would take it seriously. Those are obvious throwaway votes. 

Being from this damn stupid city (Fort Wayne), it pains me to know that while we don't make national news very often, when we do, it typically sucks.

Not too many years ago, there was a highly scientific study performed to find out what the dumbest city in America is. Lo and behold, coming in at #1 was Fort Wayne, Indiana. Close behind at #2, Corpus Christi, Texas. If I recall, a rivalry was born and the two cities battled one another to see who was truly dumber. (...)

I'm waiting on pins and needles for the next ridiculous event to launch our city right back into national news to be laughed at.

Hooray, middle America! 

TyphoidBryan said:

middle America!

Well there's your problem right there.

:) 

Heferito said:

if people didn't vote like jackasses they would take it seriously. Those are obvious throwaway votes.

But seeing as this happens for every one of these kind of polls, they should've known this would happen and planned accordingly.

A much better option, at least, would be to let people e-mail their suggestions anonymously, then select a bunch of them and then let people vote which one they want. 

I heard that Harry Baals was held in high regard. 

wowow

It's my belief they should, be held every night. 

Heferito said:

if people didn't vote like jackasses they would take it seriously. Those are obvious throwaway votes.

If they would take it seriously, people wouldn't vote like jackasses. Because it is not taken seriously (obviously as the top choice is not picked), people will continue to vote like jackasses. 

jeez lady, close your eyes a little 

When I was a kid the dude who dug my neighbor's pool was named Harry Mann. Goddam I was jealous of them. Why were my parents so freaking cheap? I wanted a Harry Mann pool too. 

This is a good example of how 'democracy' really works. We The People don't run this country (or state or city or county), we elect or hire people to do it for us.

Would it have been appropriate to name a solid waste treatment plant '"Fred Durst society of humanities and arts"? No.

This decision is ultimately up to the city council and the only purpose of the internet poll was to get suggestions from the citizenry. There's no doubt that most of the people who voted for Harry Baals did so just because his name is provocative.

By the way, when the building was built 20-ish years ago it was (is) named The Renaissance Center. There's really no good reason to change it. I believe that Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry thought that the poll would come up with The Tom Henry Administration Center. Jokes on him. 

Morel of the story: You don't always win just because you have the most Baals. 

I have vewy gweat fwiend in Wome called Hawwy Balls.... 

The news guy's pronunciation of Haiiirryy Baaaawwwwwls cracked me up each time.