Being mean, or reports of others being mean.
"Joey is aware that there are a lot of people, especially in the Arab world, who are just batshit crazy. "
- From an article by David Brooks in the Weekly Standard
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Mike, it's remarkable to see you embracing life in this manner. You should put a daisy behind your ear before the feeling passes. heh.
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The preverts are going to drag civilization down.
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From Senator Rick Santorum:
"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything," the Pennsylvania lawmaker said in a recent interview, fuming over a landmark gay rights case before the high court that pits a Texas sodomy law against equality and privacy rights.
"All of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family," Santorum said. "And that's sort of where we are in today's world, unfortunately. It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn't exist, in my opinion, in the United States Constitution."
More information/insight/reaction/yammering at Instapundit, Light of Reason, and the Times-Leader, which is an actual news source.
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Goodwife Two-Cents is certainly right about Jack Kennedy's appeal to the American public: his charisma, cultural stuff, etc. But, that is precisely why he is overrated - people dig him, but his consumate fugbuckery on matters of policy go largely ignored because he was witty, cool, and had chicks.
Side note: I am so tired today, that this is how that passage above was originally typed:
Goodwife tweo cents is certainly right about Jacj Kenenfy;s appeeal to the Ameican public, his cahrisma cltural styuff, etc. But, thatis preciedlety whyy he was ovvertated - people dig him, but his consemmate fugbuckery on matters of policy go largeyl ignored because he was witty, cool and thad chicks.
That is not an exageration. Of course, you will note that no matter how tired I am, I can always type "fugbuckery" and "matters of policy" correctly.
I think "Humility" would be a burdensome monicker for any child carrying my genes. Increase... hmmn. No, I think I'll stick with John Christian. Baby ETA now only 20 days away. Sheesh. At least the new house now has all of our stuff in it, and the furniture in more or less the proper orientation.
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This president stuff is DEFINITELY subjective. One man's Richard Nixon is another man's Millard Fillmore, figuratively speaking.
And ya better stop callin' me Welshy. Words like that really get my Irish up.
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Similarly, I don't see how I was wrong on calling him a tax cutting hawkish democrat. 1) He cut taxes. 2) Vietnam 3) He was a Democrat.
If we we're both wrong on Reagan, I wonder what the truth is, as Mike and I covered pretty much all the options. Like Bush the Younger said, you're either with us or against us - there ain't no middle ground.
You welshman may not all be bastards, but most of you are.
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Senor dos Pesetas, I'm curious as to how I'm wrong about Kennedy. Point 1, "the only Irish Catholic president of this great nation of ours?" was a quote from Edward Burns' The Brothers McMullen. How's that wrong? He wasn't Irish Catholic? Contest that one. The U.S. isn't a great nation? Sure, that one is up for debate. Point 2, good taste in women. What in the hell was wrong with Marilyn Monroe? You got something against Norma Jeane? Them's fightin' words, Welshy. Jacquelyn? Okay, up for debate, but she was hot. Point 3, voracious in his carnal appetites? He had so many notches in his bedpost it was a toothpick. Please explain where I went wrong.
By the way, if you fellas haven't figured this one out already, and I would think you have, none of today's posts, from me, are to be taken too seriously. All the president stuff is very highly subjective anyway.
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We're not all bastards? SO GLAD TO HEAR IT.
*snicker*
Thank you both for weighing in. This has been excellent so far. I'm not going to offer my, erm, two cents yet. Time is short and intelligence is shorter. But I will say now I think you're both right about Reagan, and both wrong about Kennedy.
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Being the overly judgmental and critical person that I am, I'll start with the five presidents I like the least with a brief explanation as to why.
1) Woodrow Wilson. Hated the Irish, Catholics, the Chinese, probably anti-semitic as well, the list could go on and on. Having people as racist as this guy was in the White House is bad news. Loved the English at a time when the English were heinous. As I argued in my senior seminar at the dear old alma mater (snicker), let Irish rebel Roger Casement swing without lifting a finger. Thanks to this jackass, they'll never let another academic be president again. Wilson ruined it for me! Ruined it!
2) Ronald Reagan. When I was a little boy, I thought this guy was the anti-Christ. Now that I'm growed up, I see no reason to disagree with my former self. During his presidency, the mills in my hometown of Pittsburgh shut down, millions were out of work, and he was at least partly to blame. Laissez-faire economics, and breaking the Unions when firing all the air traffic controllers are little bits of evidence. Before Reagan was President, almost 2/3 of the world's steel was manufactured in Pittsburgh or near by. After he was President, about .00000000001% of the world's steel was manufactured in the region. Had a strong role in shutting down and emptying mental health hospitals.
3) George Washington. Back to the Western PA example, personally led 13,000 troops against the insurgents of the Whiskey Rebellion. First, only, and last president to lead troops personally against his own people. Hoover just had them attacked and hid in the White House. Nixon had the gestap- oh sorry, I mean the National Guard to take care of it without even waking him up. Owned slaves. Looked funny. Rich guy. Don't like him.
4) Teddy Roosevelt. Had a little cocktail weiner and overcompensated with imperialism and hunting. Freud musta loved this guy. I don't. He bugs me.
5) Dick Cheney. This guy is just totally out of control, as far as I'm concerned.
6) Nixon. Prick.
7) Collidge. Go play some golf while industry produces more goods than consumers can buy. Real good. When the bottom fell out, you were dead, so what do you care, you do-nothing laissez faire son of a bitch?
8) The rest of them. They all suck for some reason.
Oh yeah. Good presidents. Hmm. Jack Kennedy, "the only Irish Catholic president of this great country of ours." Had good taste in women, if a bit voracious in his appetites. Andrew Johnson, viz-a-viz the south and reconstruction? Sure! Stick it to those noose-swinging, sheet wearing, Jack drinkin', good old boys! "How you like me now, South Carolina? Try to pull that shit again with my presidential foot in your ass!"
Presidents in history are kinda like presidents in the past. They do things some people like and others don't. Bill Clinton tried to make everybody happy, Lyndon Johnson tried to use opinion polls too extensively. They did what they thought was best, like anyone else who held the office. So far, no president has actually sunk the country. I'm sure the Bucketman believes this is because of the brilliance of American governmental structure, so on, such forth. Okay. It seems to have worked to the point where the whole thing hasn't collapsed. Plenty of room for improvement on social and economic levels. Politcally ... 86 the electoral college and I like it a whole lot more. Stop fucking around with the Bill of Rights. Let it stand. It was a good idea.
Well, this could easily turn into something beyond wacky, cynical, slightly satirical rantings. I'll let it go at that.
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Taft may have been a man of many talents, but he wasn't a great president. Ditto Grant. He was masterful with a bottle, and masterful on the battlefield (though, more materiel and resources were a BIG help to him there), but as president, he, more than Wilson, was a disaster. McKinley was middling at best.
I think Wilson was better than you do, but reasonable people may differ.
Name your top five.
Addendum: Speaking of Ohio politicians, the Taft bloodline, whatever it may once have been, has inarguably grown very, very thin.
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Q: Look at this list of Presidents born in Ohio. What do you notice?
A: They suck. It seems that Ohio goes for quantity rather than quality. That's EIGHT Ohisian parsdents so far, and not a one among them was worth a damn. Now, look at this list of Presidents from Virginia:
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! Four of the first five Presidents, and Wilson to boot! Granted, Taylor, Tyler and Harrison aren't much to be proud of, but that's fairly impressive.
Q: If Ohio's going to go for nine, is Kucinich really the guy??
A: No.
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Democratic presidential candidate, Rep. Dennis Kucinich: "Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction. Lack of adequate education is a weapon of mass destruction." I'm sick of Ohio politicians following me around the country. And that does include Voinovich. Though Daffy Denny is certainly the loopier politician
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Via instapundit comes the news that Joe Biden is getting heat at home over his Rave Act shenanigans. Read the article-- very interesting. What I like best are the senators who voted for the bill, but now say they oppose the Biden Amendment. Way to have it both ways guys. Can't vote against a kiddie-protecting law, no matter who else it screws over! Why, that'd be political poison! I'll just vote for it, and then SAY I don't like it!
Well, hope you're happy. It'll be a law soon.
I'm gonna go smoke some grass in Pat Leahy's office on the day the bill becomes law, then call the cops on myself claiming Pat's having a wicked rager in heah, thus sending Pat to jail under the law he just voted for. He's from Vermont. He'll understand about the grass.
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Join the Scorched Earth Party.
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Easter Bunny beaten in savage attack, according to the Smoking Gun. Kinda like that scene from Mallrats...
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In a Washington Post story, we hear that the Palestinian authority has not requested, not asked, not even pleaded; they have demanded that the United States release Abu Abbas, the terrorist reponsible for the Achille Lauro hijacking and the death of American citizen Leon Klinghoffer. They cite the Oslo accords as the basis for their demands, but considering the fact that the entire intifada of the last two plus years is in violation of the Oslo accords, I think they should at the very least shut the hell up.
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Well, I'm still pissed at whoever burned the library of Alexandria.
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I still hold out hope that the UN or a similar body may be a vigorous force for justice and international stability. In fact, a strong and clear-headed UN ought to lead the way as international ties and international government become stronger. But, let's look at the Congo. Four years of civil war. Three million dead, mostly from starvation and disease. Now, a thousand civilians slaughtered by rebels during the drafting of the peace accords. The UN's response to this this humanitarian and military crisis? "We must form a committee to investigate!." In the meanwhile, Uganda is in charge of security in the Congo.
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Perhaps, "to Hitler" can be a sufficient infinitive form of the verb. A definition could go along the following lines:
Hitler, v. 1) To usurp a party and reconfigure it to suit the needs of the usurper. 2) To engage in the annexation of nearby sovereign nations on the pretext that they belonged to you in the first place, eg, "Hussein Hitlered Kuwait in 1990." 3) To engage in acts of genocide, eg, "Milosevic Hitlered the Kosovars." 4) To adorn oneself with strange facial hair. See also, Goering.
Goering, v. 1) To wear tutus and eat whole bakeries. 2) To blame acts of arson at important government buildings on rival political parties and make them illegal. See also Goebbels.
Goebbels, v. To prearrange an act of arson and then be lucky enough to find a rival party member has beaten you to it, then set up that rival party member. EG, "Cheney Goeringed the Capitol building and the Democratic party when, unbeknownst to him, Rumsfeld had Goebbelsed it already, and then they Hitlered Canada."
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