Re: The topic of 750 pages. Seriously, that's it.

[Mysterious F.]

Sam

I Am

[Hi no Seijin]

I do not like green eggs and ham.

[Keaton]

I ate some green eggs and ham once.

The bathroom hasn't been the same since.

[Mysterious F.]

*random discussion idea I thought of to get the topic to 500 pages*

The Five Worst Presidents in the History of the United States

1. James Buchanan (1857-1861) - I can imagine actual conversations in the White House going something along the lines of this: "So, Mr. President, the nation is very split about this slavery issue. What are you going to do about it?" "Oh, nothing. It will pass soon enough." Needless to say, it didn't.

2. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) - The only Southern Senator to stay with the Union, Lincoln made him his veep to gain a few votes from Southerners who stayed with the Union, but then Lincoln got shot. Whoops. Then Johnson was all like "Hey, we'll have none of that 'civil rights' and 'equality' and 'reforming the South' stuff now." Congress almost impeached him, and he was saved only because a few felt that the nation, having just come out of the Civil War, didn't need an incident like this to remove faith in the presidency.

3. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) - He caused the nation's first economic crisis, destroyed the national bank, passed the Indian Removal Act (despite it being against Supreme Court rulings), and his administration was just as corrupt as Grant's and Harding's would later be. He also murdered several men during his lifetime. Dear God, has there ever been a bad leader who has gotten so much acclaim?

4. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) - Oh come on, while in office he himself said that he wasn't fit to be president. He just wasn't intelligent enough to run a nation, and had to rely on his Cabinet to get anything done. Speaking of his Cabinet, Harding just couldn't say "No." to his friends, so several heads of departments and such were taken up by corrupt people not really qualified for the job.

5. George W. Bush (2001-2009) - This man is very, very YMMV territory still (I imagine he will still be so until at least 3 decades from now), but I think by this point this site's members know to keep things civil, so I won't hold back. I do not think the US had any reason to invade and occupy Iraq and I do not like how he handled the occupation. I think No Child Left Behind backfired and is only harming the education process. I think the PATRIOT Act is one of the most vile laws in this nation's history, right up there with its ancestors from the presidencies of John Adams and Woodrow Wilson. I don't like his tax cuts for the rich. I don't like how he handled the recession late in his second term. I don't like how he handled the relief efforts for the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

I will admit that his presidency wasn't completely bad, though. PEPFAR, you know.

John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and Calvin Coolidge were also candidates.

[Hi no Seijin]

3. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) - He caused the nation's first economic crisis, destroyed the national bank, passed the Indian Removal Act (despite it being against Supreme Court rulings), and his administration was just as corrupt as Grant's and Harding's would later be. He also murdered several men during his lifetime. Dear God, has there ever been a bad leader who has gotten so much acclaim?

He may have been a bad president and a horrible man, but you can't deny that he was bad***.  The first president an assassination attempt was made on, and it failed because the bullets in the would-be-assassin's guns were too scared of Jackson. (Link leads to Cracked; there will be strong language.)

[Mysterious F.]

And then Jackson proceeded to beat up the would-be assassin with his cane! Terrible man, but wow, what an awesome moment.

He also had a pet parrot, and he taught the bird to cuss like a sailor. At Jackson's funeral, the bird wouldn't shut up so they had to take him away.

[Keaton]

Teddy Roosevelt was the best president in US history.

Prove me wrong.

[Mysterious F.]

Teddy Roosevelt was the best president in US history.

Prove me wrong.

...Maybe. One could argue that he basically stole the Canal Zone and that he was too imperialistic, but it all turned out well in the long run.

Best is probably Lincoln. Most underrated is James K. Polk.

Also, you know what's even worse than Andrew Jackson being on the $20 bill? He's above Alexander "$10 bill" Hamilton, the man whose ingenious economic system was destroyed by Jackson.

[Mysterious F.]

Heh, several websites are having an anti-SOPA blackout tomorrow. I'm beginning to doubt that the bill is even going to get passed now.

[Hi no Seijin]

Wikipedia will redirect you to a page that lists your Senators and Representatives so you can contact them and tell them you oppose SOPA and PIPA.

[MagmarFire]

I find Wikipedia's blackout methods to be rather funny. The information on the pages will be in the source code. Methinks they should've disabled their content entirely.

[Mysterious F.]

I find Wikipedia's blackout methods to be rather funny. The information on the pages will be in the source code. Methinks they should've disabled their content entirely.

I like this current method. Those few seconds where you can clearly see the page, only to be overtaken by the anti-SOPA screen = nice demonstration of what we could lose.

[MagmarFire]

...You know what? That's a nice point! I didn't think of it that way.

Wikipedia, you and your subtle, yet clever, humor.

[Mysterious F.]

...Okay then! Best Presidents:

1. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
2. James K. Polk (1845-1849)
3. George Washington (1789-1797)
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
5. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
6. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)
7. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
8. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
9. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
10. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, and William McKinley are close behind. We had a remarkable run of presidents from 1933-1969, but then Tricky Dicky came and ruined it.

[Hi no Seijin]

Did Tricky Dick have that nickname before he was elected president?  Because if he did, then maybe that should have been a hint for everyone to, you know, not elect him president.

Also, I would probably put Teddy Roosevelt in the number one spot, if only to stop his ghost from rising from the grave and beating me to death.  After all, the guy did take a bullet to the chest while giving a speech and just kept on talking.  I'm not even sure he really is dead.