July 21, 2008
Maui Curmudgeon, U.S. Presidents
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By the Maui Curmudgeon (16th in a 43-part series)
How do the U.S. Presidents stack up? I thought I’d find out by reading biographies of all 43 presidents, in the order of their administrations. Here are briefly the pros and cons of my discoveries, the interesting bits, and how I’d rank him. For comparison, I give you the 1982 Murrary-Blessing ranking, a survey of hundreds of leading historians who ranked each president by number. This survey is the gold standard of presidential rankings and is most cited when this kind of thing needs bringing up in media.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN: 1861-1865 ~ 16th U.S. President
More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than all other presidents combined. Books have been written about single speeches he made (Gettysburg, Second Inaugural). His presidency has been called the defining moment in American history. No national poll of historians ranks him lower than 3rd all time, and most put him as the greatest president. He was certainly one of the great presidential writers. To write a few words about him here seems hardly worth the effort. So I will break the form I’ve been using and simply put forth some ideas, a few of which you may not have heard, and others which bear repeating.
Since shortly after his death, the early history of Abraham Lincoln has been questioned. Many historians now think that Lincoln was the illegitimate son of Abraham Cloe, not Thomas Lincoln. We’ll never know for sure. It sure as hell doesn’t matter.
Read the rest…
July 21, 2008
> MAUI TODAY, > mEnvironment
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 Guam Independence Day
Day 203 of 2008
163 days left in this year
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HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY —
Lioho: Algae
PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY
— Ailan: Island
HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY
— “Look for the plant that stands alone.”
HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY
— “Never confuse movement with action.” (Ernest Hemingway)
Maui Program Recycles Algae Into Compost: A $10,000 pilot project, funded by the county in cooperation with the state, scrapes often foul-smelling algae from Maui beaches, washes it with sea water, and sucks it into a large container where a screen filters the algae and returns the water to the ocean. The seaweed can then be used by local farmers for composting. Read more …
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EVENTS ON THIS DAY — July 21st
1588: The English fleet defeats the Spanish Armada
1873: Jesse James conducts the world’s first train robbery
1898: Spain cedes Guam to the U.S.
1930: The U.S. Veterans Administration is established
1944: U.S. forces land on Guam and free it of Japanese invaders
1949: The U.S. Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty by a vote of 82-13
1954: At Geneva, France agrees to the independence of North & South Vietnam,
1955: The first submarine powered by a liquid metal-cooled reactor is launched (USS Seawolf)
1976: The first outbreak of “Legionnaire’s Disease” kills 29 in Philadelphia
1980: Draft registration begins in the U.S. for 19 & 20-year-old men
1999: Navy divers find the bodies of John Kennedy Jr. his wife, Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette in the Atlantic wreck of his plane (off Martha’s Vineyard)
BORN ON THIS DAY — July 21st
1899: Ernest Hemmingway, author
1899: Hart Crane, poet
1911: Marshall McLuhan, media writer
1920: Isaac Stern, violinist
1924: Don Knotts, actor
1926: Norman Jewison, film director
1947: Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam, rock musician
1949: Gardy Trudeau, cartoonist (Doonesbury)
1952: Robin Williams, actor/comedian
1957: Jon Lovitz, actor/comedian
1978: Josh Hartnett, actor
1985: Dan Block, actor
