Most Overrated Presidents

Recent "State of the Nation" by Brandon Jones posts this week on Desk of Brian: http://sites.google.com/site/thedeskofbrian/state-of-the-nation/mostoverratedpresidents

A Special Happy President's Day Happy Birthday to Presidents Lincoln and Washington.



For various reasons a President's legacy is defined and ranked in the minds of historians and the American public. Below is a short list of the "Most Overrated" Presidents in our history and why I put them on this list.



Abraham Lincoln: Concerned more with secession and the economy than ending slavery, Lincoln violations of habeus corpus is ignored. Lincoln could not afford to lose the Tariffs from the South and gets to much credit for repairing the damage of James Buchanan and Pierce.



"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the
institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have
no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." - 1860

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not
either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without
freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some
and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery,
and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union." - Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862



Lincoln is always mentioned in the Top Five Presidents of all-time mostly as a savior of civil rights which was an afterthought - he was certainly no advocate for blacks or ending slavery.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: The icon to leftists, socialist, and Democrats get credit for surviving the Great Depression and turning the country around.



In fact, it was his endless spending, government intrusive programs and massive national debts that prolonged the Great Depression. Calvin Coolidge faced a similar collapse and used a less taxes and smaller government to lead the country to recovery in months.



FDR's legacy was salvaged with World War II as we should realize that we are still paying the price for many of these bankrupt government programs and agencies today.



Ronald Reagan: A hero to modern Republicans and self-proclaimed Conservatives, Reagan's speeches were far superior than his actions and the results.



Compared to liberals that preceded his administration and those that followed, Reagan appears very conservative. Unfortunately, he hardly  deserves his iconic reputation.

Reagan raised the national debt, carrying massive deficits, started the ineffective War on Drugs and has an overrated credit for the fall of the Soviet Union.



A selective memory has given modern conservatives a celebrity of their own.



Barak Obama: A Peace Prize and ranking as a contender to have his face added to Mt. Rushmore - all within months of inauguration. The celebrity, rock star meteoric rise as masked the escalating debt, rising unemployment, apologetic and contradicting foreign policy.

Many historians and Democrats would already put Obama in the top five of all-time -- absurd considering his tenure to date.



I believe Obama's race will garner favoritism and loyalty from many supporters who already hold him elevated asteem.



Obama still has plenty of time to rise to the hype and expectations after the failures of his predecessor; however, he's continued most of those mistakes and avoids responsibility on his lack of success to date.



Theodore Roosevelt: Many credit Teddy with shaping the modern persona of the Presidency and I criticize him for it. The arrogance that led to the formation of the Progressive movement and acquisition of land for the "national good" illustrate the origins of the celebrity nature of our commander in chief.

Liberals ignore the Filipino-American War, Roosevelt's steps to exercise international power (particularly on small countries) and has ill-defined the term monopoly for generations to come.



Teddy's role in "Night of the Museum" will likely perpetuate his likable personality without acknowledging his love of war and big government.





These are hardly our worst Presidents, but they all have reputations and legacies that far outweigh all of the facts.



You could easily include John F. Kennedy, whose assassination and incredibly motivating speeches, lends him unfair positive bias a mediocre presidency.



Likewise, the humanitarian reputation of Jimmy Carter to Democrats masks a term full of countless blunders and tragic decisions or Harry Truman for simply "dropping the bomb."



These men would still be in the Top Tier of "Best Presidents" list (well mostly) but we should challenge ourselves, and more importantly, the next generation to scrutinize facts to better learn from our mistakes.



"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." - George Santayana



"All history becomes subjective; in other words
there is properly no history, only biography." - Ralph Waldo Emerson























All pictures from Wikipedia:



Emancipation Proclamation painting, 1862

FDR and Hoover: 1933

Reagan and Gorbachev signing INF treaty, 1987

Obama giving his acceptance speech, 2008

Teddy - around turn of century

Jihad environmentalist attack Target

Desk of Brian home to "State of the Nation" by Brandon Jones

Desk of Brian


Pull the Valentine Bears from Target.



The AP reported that Target will pull the pink bears which the CEH, The Center for Environmental Health has discovered contain eight times the federal limit of lead on the inflated letters on its chest.

The CEH is NOT a government agency, but a non-profit "watchdog" acting as the "Lead Police" asserting that children will (I theorize) chew on the "XO" from the bear and suffer a lead poisoned demise.

 

Does this bother you? Should it?



Whether it's purses or lunchboxes, the CEH has repeatedly patrolled the lead components of various products and I'm not contending that this is a horrible thing.

 

In fact, I was shocked that the government has done so little to confirm their findings.

 

What I don't want to see is a company seeking high profile press coverage to increase funding at the expense of companies like Target.

 

Target is in a no-win situation because one sick child would yield a public relations nightmare for the company. However, collapsing to these accusations so quickly, without asking Federal Agencies or Independent tests to be performed encourages the CEH and other agencies.

 

There are too many corporations corrupted by profits and it's not hard to comprehend how a watchdog agency can fall into the same trap. Either way the consumers pay for the loss: either through the risk of lead poisoning (in this example) or through price increases as Target recoups the loss of revenue from the exiled bears.

 

 

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/the-savvy-consumer-blog/uncategorized/2010/02/target-stops-selling-lead-tainted-love-bear/

 

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs lowers the bar further to mock Sarah Palin

Originally posted at The Desk of Brian, www.DeskofBrian.com

After Sarah Palin stumbled over her own by writing shallow talking points on her hand to survive a post Tea Party Q&A, our Press Secretary decided to lower the standards even further.

Instead of leaving the jokes to Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel, Gibbs mocked Palin with a grocery list on his hand.

"Eggs, milk and bread," Gibbs read from the black ink stains on his palm, claiming he was going to “make pancakes” for his son Ethan.

"But I crossed out bread,” he added, pointing to the line that showed the word bread with a line through it.

 "Then I wrote down hope and change just in case I forgot them,” quipped Gibbs.

 The details (chronicled by Chattahbox) illustrates the divisive, juvenile behavior that politicians and their administration feel are appropriate.

So this is high brow politics of the Obama administration.

http://chattahbox.com/us/2010/02/09/gibbs-adopts-palins-hand-prompter-hope-and-change-grocery-list/

FOX Defending Palin is Asinine

Follow up to date postings of "State of the Nation" on Desk of Brian: Desk of Brian.com

Even while mocking President Obama's obsessive use of a teleprompter, Sarah Palin has notes on her left hand to assist her in a Q&A session after a Tea Party speech.

 

 

"Energy, Budget(scratched out) Tax Cuts, Lift American Spirits"

 

That's it?!?! Palin needs notes for that?

 

Notes on deficit figures, the latest unemployment data, health care statistics - nope: "lift American spirits" --- apalling.

 

Of course FOX is defending their prized Presidential candidate, but the most absurd was on FOX & Friends:

 

Gretchen Carlson: "I think she did it on purpose… ‘Cause I think it’s an exact opposite of reading off the teleprompter, reading off complete script written for you with every word in a sentence. And here she’s just taken crib notes on her hand. It makes it look as if she can just talk off the cuff and that she just jotted down a few couple notes before she went out to give a big, long speech."

 

Gretchen, of course she DID IT ON PURPOSE! Do you think she let Willow jot down a few suggestions for her Mommy before sending her off to the enormous Tea Party crowd.

 

Co-host Brian Kilmeade made things worse: "There’s nothing wrong if she had a card, just jot a card down… But to sit there, …do the interview and then look down at her hand, I think that is… like you said Gretchen, before, folksy, absolutely down to earth, I can identify. But if you’re gonna write on your hand, why not just say, ‘Staffer, can you hand me a card?’ And then it would have been OK."

 

Maybe I'm alienating myself here but I don't want the President to be a co-dependent shill relying on his teleprompter and I don't want Sarah Palin, who can't speak off of the cuff on her core values or principles.

 

A former Governor, VP candidate, who just spoke on these issues, should NOT need "Budget Cuts"...ugh, sorry, "Tax Cuts" scribbled on her hand to answer ANY question.

 

This is just insanity.

 

Hannity used the incident as a chance to chastise the President over his "corpse-men" miscue. So FOX expects the President to write down that the "P silence in Corps" on his right hand (he's left-handed) and "follow the prompter" on his right.

 

To compound matters, Palin was railing on Obama as a "charismatic" leader who needs a teleprompter just moments earlier, waving around her "lift American spirits" scribble for the world to see. Maybe she can write "hypocrite" on her right hand.

 

From "Palin holds all the answers in the palm of her hand" to using her "palm pilot" or scribbling notes on her "palm Post-it" Palin just became the target for ridicule from her haters.

 

This time it's more than deserved, it's truly telling. Palin has revealed the truth: she's an empty suit like most of her peers.

 

 

 

 

Pics from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stefan-sirucek/did-palin-use-crib-notes_b_452458.html

 

 

Most Corrupt Politicians of 2009

Original Post on Desk of Brian: State of the Nation by Brandon Jones at DeskofBrian.com

No real surprises on this list.

 

The same old names just keep showing up over and over again.

 

#1 - Christopher Dodd, recently retired Senator from Connecticut headlines the list as Dodd continued his shady past with backroom deals with Countrywide, Fannie and Freddie Mac and now, undervalued property in Ireland which is leading to a new investigation.

 

#2 - Republican John Ensign (pictured here) ranks number two as Judicial Watch site a NY Times article which aptly summarizes the Ensign scandal:

 

"The Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee are expected to conduct preliminary inquiries into whether Senator John Ensign violated federal law or ethics rules as part of an effort to conceal an affair with the wife of an aide."

 

#3 - Barney Frank: Fannie and Freddie Mac -- nuff said to quote Marvel Comic Books.

 

#4 - Timothy Geithner's tax evasion and ties to the AIG corruption lands the Treasury Secretary in the top five.

 

#5 - Eric Holder, the Attorney General arbitrarily decides what to investigate and what to sweep under the rug.

 

#6 - Jesse Jackson Jr./Roland Burris: How much for the Senate in 2010? Seriously, how much?

 

#7 - President Obama and #8 - Nancy Pelosi - nothing needs to be added here.

 

#9 - Recently deceased John Murtha and the PMA seven, a defense lobbyist group that has finally been shut down. Murtha's family was receiving millions along with the PMA earmarks.

 

#10 - Charles Rangel - has he paid his taxes? That's all I'll say.

 

 

The list is hardly shocking. Previously Republicans graced the Top Ten board proving what little "Change" President Obama actually brought to Washington.

 

What interesting is if you look at the older lists, Judicial Watch did a great job of including stories and corruption that we're still discussing today.

 

Same corruption, just with different letters after their names.

 

 

 

2009 Most Corrupt Politician List

 

2008 Most Corrupt Politician List

 

2007 Most Corrupt Politiican List

 

2006 Most Corrupt Politician List

Analyzing "Why are Liberals so Condescending?" by Gerard Alexander

Originally post at Desk of Brian: State of the Nation by Brandon Jones

Before I get to the article by Alexander, let me confirm that outrageous onslaught from those on the left. Time and time again my point made or attempted to discuss was always under some sort of attack.

 

"But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct, self-evident, and based on fact and reason, while conservative positions are not just wrong but illegitimate, ideological and unworthy of serious consideration."

 

Alexander's statement totally summarizes much of those on the left. This is particularly intense for former Democrats like myself as any position of dissent is always attributed to brainwashing emulating FOX news or a right-wing talking head.

 

Alexander's Washington Post column quotes President Obama:

 

"We were so busy just getting stuff done . . . that I think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly to the American people about what their core values are."

 

The American people just don't understand or have succumb to the latest rant by Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh.

 

Alexander describes it as: "The benighted public is either uncomprehending or deliberately misinformed (by conservatives)."

 

He then sites "Lionel Trilling's 1950 remark that conservatives do not "express themselves in ideas but only in action or in irritable mental gestures which seek to resemble ideas."

 

Most liberals hold the 1950s-1960s as an age free of biased journalism untainted by the evil shepards of FOX News and talk radio.

 

But Trilling's comment articulates the marginalizing attitude that dissenters are crazy, paranoid or simply irrational.

 

Alexander perfectly tackles another condescending tone that I've hard: "...it was all part of the conspiracy to support conservative candidates for their nefarious, self-serving ends."

 

Bush lover, Obama hater, Beck doesn't even believe what he's preaching and any opposition is just the marching orders of the right -- heard it all.

 

The article quotes NY Times writer Paul Krugman:

 

"What do these people really believe? I mean, they're not stupid -- life would be a lot easier if they were. So they know they're not telling the truth. But they obviously believe that their dishonesty serves a higher truth. . . . The question is, what is that higher truth?"

 

Just like the President, we just don't understand. However, unlike the President (who feels another speech just might work) Krugman just labels us all liars and phonies.

 

Alexander hits on the race card as well and all I'll add is that I've been called (and those on the right) KKKonservative.

 

Diving headlong into political discussions and debates thickens the skin rather quickly. My favorite nickname, which I will gladly wear as a badge of honor, was and is: Brainwashed spewer of bile and filth.

 

 

 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/04/AR2010020403698_2.html?sid=ST2010020403858

Duggars still under attack

Follow "State of the Nation" by Brandon Jones on The Desk of Brian

Original post: http://sites.google.com/site/thedeskofbrian/pop-culture-other-topics/duggarsstillunderattack-nowfornumber19

The Duggars didn't quietly wander into the mainstream of America, it was a stampede as their family was profiled on a TLC reality show. Their family, as you may or may not know, stands now with 19 children.

The arrival of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's new daughter Josie, who was born 15 weeks premature at 2 pounds 4 ounces, brought a surprising and arrogant magazine headline from People magazine: "How Many Kids Are Too Many?"



In the article, Michelle confesses her desire to possible have another, leaving God in charge of their destiny.



"When I say we would love more children, we open ourselves up for
attack," says Michelle, 43. But, she adds, people shouldn’t be so quick
to judge. "Only one person can live the life that I live, and that is
me," she says. (People magazine¹)



After citing the health risks for women over forty, People decided to quote an "expert": "I think that’s too many kids," says Dr. Douglas Downey, a general surgeon based in Florida, in People. "From a family resource perspective, there is no way you can give the
emotional and financial resources you would need to support that many
children."¹

Let's be fair, the same article did include a more rational expert:

Dr. Jeffrey Richardson: "The average woman isn’t able to handle such a high number of
pregnancies. The risks of additional pregnancies start to
go up dramatically after four."

Of course, Michelle had already had 18 and this new child is not unhealthy, just premature.



Now Dr. Richardson is an experienced obstetrician practicing over thirty-five years, now in Ventura, California. Moreover, Richardson's comments were limited to general health concerns applicable for most women.



But let's go back to Dr. Downey.



Why did People include an opinion of a Florida surgeon? His comments were more general and insulting: he doesn't know anything about this family, so how dare he judge them?



"There is no way you can give the emotional and financial resources..." - really? Have you watched the show to even witness their family structure?

Yes, there are a lot of children.



However, they must be doing something right as two of their boys were involved in the rescue of a 6-year-old girl from a car accident.





CNN reported that the victim's grandmother brought the child into Josh's car dealership (he's 21) who immediately called 911 while his brother John (age 20) performed CPR on "the unresponsive child" (a link to the entire CNN story below)



Not exactly brainwashed, robotic, icky or creepy - are they?



The Duggars are a special family. I have a huge family with five kids and I cannot fathom having more, let alone nearly four times that many. However, the one storyline that runs through their reality shows is how they deal with this massive demand.



Unfortunately, hatred, animosity and criticisms is the norm in today's society.



From Momlogic.com in a column "The Duggars Make Me Sick":



"Every time I see something about the Duggars
on TV, I get really annoyed. I'm annoyed that they have so many kids,
I'm annoyed that all their names start with "J" and I'm annoyed that
everything, EVERYTHING, they do and say in life is about
their belief in God. Look, I'm all for faith. I'm all for religion. But
I lose my patience when it comes to fanatics whose convictions are SO
over the top that their very own children (in my opinion) end up
brainwashed and robotic."





That was just the introduction as the author can't handle the concept of abstinence and directs her incredible condescending attitude on the Duggars' religious beliefs.





This blogger from Hubpages authored this gem: "The Duggar Family America's Creepiest Family?"



The author toils over how "normal" the Duggars are, not being on public assistance, loving and caring for ALL of their children and yet concludes:



"Normally, I would admire a nice, clean-cut, law-abiding family with
loving, caring, involved parents who put their children first. But
something about them is just plain scary and icky. They give me the
creeps."

It's amazing how the normalcy of people's lives is inconceivable for so many. These same individuals race to judgment and criticisms leading them to conclude that they know what's best for these folks and their children.



People Magazine should be ashamed for blatantly seeking out this perspective and trying to give it credibility under the guise of a physician's diagnosis.



God Bless the Duggars and I hope the Lord comforts and guides them beyond the scope of this television show. Lord knows they may need it.















1. Confirmed transcript of the article in People magazine



2. CNN: Duggar boys help save little girl's life



http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20339922,00.html



http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/35102784/



http://www.momlogic.com/2009/01/the_duggars_make_me_sick.php?page=9



http://hubpages.com/hub/The_Duggar_Family__Americas_Creepist_Family