The return
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I started this blog as an unofficial vehicle for interesting statistical
information. When I retired, I let it lie fallow. I'm going to post here
period...
Gender Wage Gap By State - Census Bureau
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If you need a reason to start a business, the gender wage gap may be a
factor. The Census has created a new visualization of the disparity between
male ...
It takes a lot of practice
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A friend asked: “If you had the chance to ask three different people
(living or dead, famous or not) ONE question… who and what would you ask?”
The one req...
Faded road markings cause concern
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Q: Can someone at New York state tell me why the DOT doesn’t use a better
reflective paint when the lines are painted? It appears the paint used has
no ref...
Goodbye but NOT farewell
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Using the words which Roger used in his intro for the last post of round
20--- Z
*With joy, we'll dream away each sorrow, With love we'll live for each...
Alan Moore's Twilight Proposal
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Introduction by Alan David Doane:
Honestly I didn't intend the irony, but this week's FMF, looking at Alan
Moore's never-published Twilight proposal, also ...
Empowered Minds: Celebrating Women in Research
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SUNY Researchers Making an Impact Here at SUNY, we have no shortage of
women who have made a mark on our world. Throughout Women’s History Month,
we’ve had...
The Best Films of 2023
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Martin Scorsese, left, Lily Gladstone, and Robert DeNiro all received Oscar
nods for *Killers of the Flower Moon*. Some say Leo DiCaprio, right, was
snubbe...
Getting Ready To Die
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Getting Ready To DieNo, as far as I know, it’s not imminent, but you never
know. An awful lot of people are checking out in the seventh decade that I
just ...
Petitioning season cut short
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Political "petitioning season" for U.S. Congress, NYS Assembly, NYS Senate,
and a host of other positions, was cut short. Like all the other things
that...
Eagle Scout Project
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Rutherford neighbor Krish Soni is getting started on his Eagle Scout
project on Saturday, October 26. He will be labeling storm drains in the
neighborhood ...
We’re Off On An Adventure!
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Just now, Marge and I are doing a bit of adventuring. The next adventure
will include a whole new online reality and presence for me and my work…
See you i...
It Changes
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Living with Lupus and Fibro and Asthma is often not so much 'one day at a
time.' It is much more like one fifteen minute segment of time - at at time.
This...
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye…
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Well, kids, this is it. I’m leaving first thing tomorrow morning. My visits
home will be few and far between, and when they happen, they’ll be
exclusive...
Spring is here?
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As far as the pro peloton goes, it’s on! I watched the Tour of Flanders
today, and it was one of the best races I’ve ever seen. “Looking back, you
get a b...
Modern Types-Ronald Searle,Geoffrey Gorer
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With the recent attention given to Ronald Searle's 90th birthday and new
interview,I decided to look at one of his books.
The book is titled Modern Ty...
Autumn adventures
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Autumn is definitely here, and I’ve been watching its progress on a tree on
my street, a tree that’s been in many of my photos over the past 4+ years
(inc...
March Photo Challenge: Eleven
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Welp, I missed last month’s photo challenge due to our winter vacation from
February 22-March 2, and came down with the flu in record time on March
3rd, wh...
colo(u)rful sauces
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In 2009, my parents came over from the US and we took a trip to Italy:
Florence, Pisa, and Rome. The food, of course, was gorgeous, but often
clashed wit...
1, 2, 3, 4: You Can Count On It
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Up the stairs, count the steps1, 2, 3, 41, 2, 3, 41, 2, 3…Crap, it didn’t
come out even, it’s eleven But 1-2-3-4-1/ 2 /3-4-1-2-3 will have to do; the
middl...
AmeriNZ 412 – Returning to normal mode
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This week I’ve been starting to get back to regular life after my holiday.
February is already shaping up to be a busy month. I start today with
updates to...
Here we are at 21.
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Happy 21st birthday, Johnny Bacardi Show!
Probably won't begin writing here again anytime soon, but hey, if you like
my stuff I have a Substack now and...
Check me out!
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Over the years I have collected a range of recipes to help me lose weight.
I attend Slimming World and achieved my target weight in November 2022.
Read...
This is The End (a follow-up)
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I wrote yesterday about my possibly retiring this space in favor of
migrating all of my blogging to ForgottenStars.net, because of Reasons. I
am now pul...
A Dumb God
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People who believe in God but don’t believe that creation is teleologically
imbued essentially believe in a dumb God, likely a God who merely exists to
ser...
18 and life, you got it
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It's the 18th of April, and that means it's the anniversary of Mia's
accident - 18 (!!!!) years ago today, we were in the crash that damaged her
brain ir...
Sunday Round-up
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Wash your mouth out
In these ultra-hygienic days, Russian artist Yulia Popova has come into her
own by making models of foodstuffs out of soap. What makes y...
I believe ..Religion
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Written by the Rev.Jeannette van der Veen-Bosgra
I believe in a world where all people can live in happiness,
and that I too have a duty to create such a wo...
Tough Day
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A few weeks ago, I turned 38, and I am still under the scrutiny of
strangers in public. One would think that once you're out of grade school,
middle school...
Change
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Group Reading “The only thing we have in this world that is utterly and
intrinsically ours is our integrity.” ~ Mira Grant One- to find the
universal eleme...
Retro Y'all!
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Still jumping. In place, mostly. Someone should do one of these rap battle
style brags about being a junker. Seriously. Big sale at the Peddlers Mall
today.
X is for XMAS
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*MERRY CHRISTMAS (XMAS) EVERYONE!*
I thought I'd put a link to the top 100 Xmas songs for 2017 so you could
click on it and play anything your heart d...
The Myth Memers
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One of those little questionnaires just to dip a toe back into blogging.
Took this from Chris Hull's Facebook.
1. Do you make your bed? No.
2. The first c...
Now available in paperback!
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*Sharp: A Memoir*. William Morrow & Co, 2012. Print.
We lost 4 members of the Guilford High School Class of 84: David Ciardello,
Richard Eaton, Ronnie Burn...
No parallel
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Get a good look at these: Whence they came: After seeing that incredible
glow-in-the-dark Zac Posen dress that Claire Danes wore at the 2016 Met
Gala, Lori...
ABC Wednesday: The Importance of Being Bored
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When I was growing up, you being bored was your problem that you were
responsible to rectify. As children we learned never to be bored- or at
least not t...
Monday PSA: The Pioneer of the Pole
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Click on the image for the full ad As promised, the second of two
Antarctica themed PSAs. Today: “Pioneer of the Pole.” Just like last week,
this is from D...
Final Act
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Dear Followers of Berowne's "Savage Reflections." I'm very sorry to have to
inform you that my father, John Savage, passed away on December 26, just a
week...
Friday Post - Your services are no longer needed
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Heads will roll
While the good news fairies of Wall Street would have you believe that
everything is just hunky dory the truth is it's not. In order to m...
Age is a State of Mind, Somewhere Near Nebraska
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What a year it has been! After surviving the odometer rolling over to 40, I
had a year of sabbatical. That gave me plenty of time to think about my mid-lif...
The End of a Long Day
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You know those days where all you really want to do is change into your
pajamas and curl up on the couch while you decide which comfort food would
mak...
#Freaking Out -AND!
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Calmly completely freaking out about my move. AND! I quit smoking. I feel
this qualifies me to have an opinion on how to do it.
So I am calmly completel...
Gaze Upon My Works and Snicker, Part 53.
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[image: DP700-F365028]
Another quickie sketch at work, because I wanted to draw Pandora A in a
white fuzzy hat (no, I don't know the name for them) and a b...
Superheroes I Love #10: Deathlok
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Every red-blooded boy loves cyborgs. Half-man, half-robot, what’s not to
love? The Marvel Comics character Deathlok is a bit on the obscure side,
but debut...
The Party Crasher
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“Here I am mourning the end of my 6 years as a pampered only child. Suburb
of Paris, 1992.” (submitted by IG @ladame.en.noir )
The post The Party Crashe...
Episode 326: The WGA Strike
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One by one, Ken goes over the many issues the WGA is fighting for and why
they’re important. He also gives an overview of the situation and how it
might...
The dopamine jail of joke Twitter
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I’m home from vacation and the Planet Funny promotional engine is slowing
down. (There’s still one last signing at Powell’s City of Books in two
short week...
Rex Smith: Free speech, pulpit speech and tax laws
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Each school day when I was a little boy began with the Pledge of
Allegiance, followed by all the students bowing their heads to recite the
Lord’s Prayer. T...
Mixed Results for The Rules
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Well that was an “interesting” Emmy Awards. There were enough surprises to
make the alteration of the voting rules to a single round plurality rather
than ...
Mom Has Stacked Dinner Party Roster
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GOLDEN, CO—Their eyes widening in amazement as the 43-year-old rattled off
the names of heavy hitter after heavy hitter, impressed members of the
Dreesh...
Week 17 NFL Picks
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Last week’s 10 wins leaves me with 153 wins. Weak season. Sorry. Week 17
picks NFL Picks Away Home Chicago Detroit NY Jets Buffalo Tampa Bay Atlanta
Caroli...
Coverville Countdown 2012: Nominations Begin NOW!
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It’s that time of year again! Time for you to nominate and vote for your
favorite covers, and for me to spend the last few shows of the year to line
them...
Obama’s speech coverage on NPR
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What were the people at NPR thinking? The coverage of President Obama’s
speech on National Public Radio on Wednesday was just awful. I’ve never
minded anal...
2PP132 – 16 May 2020
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This episode was delayed, yet again, because Arthur didn’t have enough
time. Anyway, here we are—were? Today’s chat was about the changes to New
Zealand’s ...
My New Venture: Top Flight Family
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You may have noticed that you haven’t heard much from me lately. That’s
because I’ve been quietly working on new passion of mine, a digital media
startup o...
First blog post
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This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it,
or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you
started t...
10.29.15 GOOGLE UBER ALLES
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This article originally appeared in the 10.29.15 issue of Metroland.
You may have heard that the New York federal appeals court granted Google a
big win ...
This Is Not A Joke
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A new ball game - with tasers. Hat-tip : The Volokh Conspiracy According to
The Daily Caller, Eric Prum, one of the founders of Ultimate Tak Ball,
said, “I...
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Monday, February 19, 2007
Presidents' Day
Here's a link to all of the Presidential Libraries. It, and the holiday, got me thinking about how I would rank the Presidents. Thing is, though, while I REMEMBER all the Presidents, and their years in office (very useful if you ever go on a game show), I don't always recall just what they DID. I could look it up, but why do that when I have you to fill in the holes? Washington- the Kelly Clarkson or Richard Hatch of Presidents. It's tough being first. He could have turned the office into a quasi-monarchy. That he didn't serves us well. He also came up with that two-term idea. J. Adams- The fact is that I'm not recalling much other than the Alien & Sedition Act Jefferson-I think he gets a lot of points for his pre-Presidential stuff, like that Declaration thing. It's so fortunate that Napoleon was so hung up on holding on to Haiti that he'd sell Louisiana to us for a relative pittance. Madison- Of all the wars the US ever fought, the one I probably understand the least is the War of 1812. Monroe-He had some doctrine that said, "Europe, stay out of the Americas! It's our turf now!" And, over the years, we've acted accordingly. J.Q. Adams- Strange. I remember his controversial 1824 election, and his subsequent service (and death) in the House, but his Presidency doesn't register. Jackson- The guy who appears on the $20 bill wasn't that fond of the national bank. He also believed in the spoils system. Van Buren-the Herbert Hoovers of his half century, with the downturn in 1837, probably not his fault. W.H. Harrison-Gave a killer of an inaugural speech. Tyler-As the first person to become President after not being elected President, don't think he had much leverage. (But his post-Presidential career really weirded out some guy in Buffalo.) Polk-I read recently someone comparing his adventurism in Mexico to GW Bush's actions in Iraq. Taylor-Was he poisoned? Fillmore-The last of the Whig Presidents (4 guys, 8 years). Don't remember if the Fugitive Slave Laws were passed under his tenure or his predecessor's. The guy pictured, as though you didn't know. Pierce-Another one of those ineffectual antebellum Presidents. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowing new states whether they'll be slave or free, didn't help the situation. Buchanan-The "bachelor" President. Way out of his league in stopping the war, or maybe it was inevitable. Lincoln-On the one hand, he saved the Union. On the other hand, he used tactics suspending liberties that the current occupant seems to have purloined. A. Johnson-From a different party from Lincoln. Impeached and almost convicted. Grant-Was he sober by then? Hayes-One of my least favorite Presidents. Not only did the 1876 election vs. Tilden make Florida in 2000 seem like due process at its finest, but the end of Reconstruction was disastrous for freed blacks, as the rise of the KKK and other groups took place. Garfield-Lived a while after being shot, which probably ground the government to a halt. Arthur-Seemed like a competent public servant. Cleveland-Definitely need to read up on this - I remember labor and currency issues abounded in the 1880s and 1890s - B. Harrison-But I'm not remembering... Cleveland-...the major issues of these administrations. McKinley-Definitely the hard money, backed by gold, issue. Also the Spanish-American War. T. Roosevelt-Environmental stuff, didn't shoot a baby bear, won the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the Russo-Japanese War. One of my faves. Taft-Even though he was TR's VP, TR was so ticked off by him that he ran as a third party, giving the election to the Democrats. Wilson-Kept us out of war, for his first term. Got us into war in his second. Was too ill to really push the League of Nations. Harding-The first President elected after women's suffrage, and I recall some historian saying "See? See? They should have had the vote," as though they voted for him because he was (arguably) good looking. Teapot Dome. Coolidge-Don't know. They called him Silent Cal. Hoover-Depression. If he never became President, he would have remembered much more kindly by history. F.D. Roosevelt-Term 1: great programs to try to get folks out of the Depression. Term 2: the great overreach, with the Supreme Court packing plan. Term 3: TERM 3? WWII, of course. Term 4: TERM 4?! Died early on. Truman-Dropped the A-bomb (yuck), instituted the Marshall Plan for post-war Europe (yay), was declared politically dead in '48 (but wasn't), fired MacArthur over Korea. Eisenhower-selected Earl Warren to head the Supreme Court (apparently to his later chagrin). Sent troops into Little Rock, which is probably the first event I remember separate from things immediately in my life. Kennedy-On one hand, Bay of Pigs; on the other, the successful (and ultimately peaceful) 13 days in October. On one hand, VietNam; on the other, coming around on civil rights, especially after the August '63 March on Washington. L.B. Johnson- Great Society (Medicare/Medicaid), civil rights, VietNam. But guns and butter didn't work. In some ways, nearly as tragic as Nixon. Nixon-EPA, China on the one hand; VietNam and Watergate on the other. He's better than I thought at the time, or maybe his successors are worse than I could have imagined. Ford-Revisionists now praise him for his courage in pardoning Nixon. I'm not convinced yet. Carter-I thought he was saying a lot of the right things about conservation. Perhaps he didn't communicate them well enough: his Moral Equivalent Of War became dubbed as MEOW. Then the 11/4/79 capture of the hostages in Iran sealed his fate. Reagan-At the time, I thought he ought to have been king. He was a great cheerleader for America. His greatest accomplishment was surviving the assassination attempt in good spirits, for it generated the political capital to propel his budget-busting tax cuts in that first year that the election alone would not have provided. 200+ dead in Lebanon? Invade Grenada! After VietNam and Watergate, he discerned America needed a win! Even if it was some place most of them never heard of. Reagan was also helped, oddly, by the Carter-directed boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, for when the Soviet bloc retaliated at the 1984 Olympics in L.A., the US really cleaned up. Born in the U.S.A. indeed. The fact that I disliked Reagan more than any President in my lifetime, over Star Wars, Iran-Contra, his positions on race, doesn't negate the fact that, in large part, that people seem to have bought his message. G.H.W. Bush-The ex-head of the CIA made me nervous going in. "100 points of light" SOUNDED good, but I'm sure that it really translated into policy. History, though, will be kinder to him, though, because while he did engage in war with Iraq, he didn't invade Baghdad, which would show the geopolitical wisdom the next Republican President would seem to lack. Clinton-"The first black President" - don't know where that came from, but it annoyed the crap out me. Oh, where was I? Oh yeah, Clinton's Presidency. First two years - a disaster over health care and "Don't ask, don't tell." His successes in balancing the budget, albeit it with a Repub Congress will stand out. Monicagate, and the fact that THAT was the source of his IMPEACHMENT (as opposed to, say, a successor's twisting of the truth to go to war) should make historians chuckle. I remember very specifically, during that mess, when he tried, and failed, to get Osama bin Ladin, and the general consensus was that it was a ploy to distract us from the importance of the stained blue dress. G.W. Bush- After 9/11, with the world united behind the United States, this President had the opportunity to be a great President. And he blew it. Won't even get into his dismal environmental record, which is actually mildly surprising, given his reasonably positive record - I hear - as Texas governor. Or his suspension of liberties, for which the Repub Congress in his first six years must share the blame.
O.K. - so the best Presidents, just based on their terms in office, not before or after- it's hard not to put Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and the Roosevelts in some order. The worst? Aside from those who died too quickly (W.H. Harrison, Garfield), it's difficult not to put those Presidents immediately before and after the Civil War, and of course, Harding. I'd pick Pierce, Buchanan, A. Johnson, Hayes, and old Warren G., in some order. Since his term isn't over, I won't muse about the current occupant as Rolling Stone did, but, absent a miracle in the next two years, bottom five land seems certain. Lucky Franklin Pierce. *** Here's what historians think, and more importantly, what Gay Prof thinks.
Well, that pretty sums them all up. Hoover, though, would probably not be well regarded even if he didn't become president. After all, it was many of his economic policies (i.e. support business, screw the citizen) that compounded the U.S. Depression. Once President, though, he decided to blame others for the economic collapse (particularly Mexican immigrants -- Gee, we wouldn't hear that again...).
I've always been oddly fascinated by the "loser" Presidents like Pierce, Buchanan and Harding - there's been some interesting fictional accounts written around them, like Glen Carter Gold's "Carter Beats The Devil" and John Updike's "Memories Of the Ford Administration" (which despite the title, actually includes lengthy patches on Buchanan's life)
Nixon was the first president I remember. I would read the stories about Watergate in the paper when I would eat breakfast before going to school.
There was a pretty good (for the History Channel)doc on about the Nixon presidency this weekend. Focused on the whole presidency and not just Watergate.
There were some things he did--EPA, Black Lung benefits (I live in a coal-mining state), emphasis on drug treatment as a crime prevention method--which were actually laudable. Bob Dole made the comment that Nixon would actually be too liberal for today's Republican party!
Ford, all I remember are the assasination attempts and Chevy Chase.
Reagan had one of the most scandal-ridden administrations in history, above and beyond Iran-Contra. I remember a Time magazine cover story "Whatever happened to ethics?" in response to something or another in his administration. People forget that in the rush to villify Clinton and canonize Reagan. Why hewasn't impeached is beyond me.
The thing that I will always remember Reagan for, however, is the thousands of people in this country who died while he refused to address the scourge of AIDS.
Let's also not forget that Clinton was responsible for the Defense of Marriage Act.
3 comments:
Well, that pretty sums them all up. Hoover, though, would probably not be well regarded even if he didn't become president. After all, it was many of his economic policies (i.e. support business, screw the citizen) that compounded the U.S. Depression. Once President, though, he decided to blame others for the economic collapse (particularly Mexican immigrants -- Gee, we wouldn't hear that again...).
I've always been oddly fascinated by the "loser" Presidents like Pierce, Buchanan and Harding - there's been some interesting fictional accounts written around them, like Glen Carter Gold's "Carter Beats The Devil" and John Updike's "Memories Of the Ford Administration" (which despite the title, actually includes lengthy patches on Buchanan's life)
Nixon was the first president I remember. I would read the stories about Watergate in the paper when I would eat breakfast before going to school.
There was a pretty good (for the History Channel)doc on about the Nixon presidency this weekend. Focused on the whole presidency and not just Watergate.
There were some things he did--EPA, Black Lung benefits (I live in a coal-mining state), emphasis on drug treatment as a crime prevention method--which were actually laudable. Bob Dole made the comment that Nixon would actually be too liberal for today's Republican party!
Ford, all I remember are the assasination attempts and Chevy Chase.
Reagan had one of the most scandal-ridden administrations in history, above and beyond Iran-Contra. I remember a Time magazine cover story "Whatever happened to ethics?" in response to something or another in his administration. People forget that in the rush to villify Clinton and canonize Reagan. Why hewasn't impeached is beyond me.
The thing that I will always remember Reagan for, however, is the thousands of people in this country who died while he refused to address the scourge of AIDS.
Let's also not forget that Clinton was responsible for the Defense of Marriage Act.
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