What is it about this guy that, not only don’t I like him, I don’t think he’s remotely impressive? In fact, I think he’s cringe-worthy. His talking grates on me. I don’t think he thinks he’s full of shit (like some politicians actually do), but I think he’s full of shit.

I could say he’s not made from presidential timber, but as my reading of presidential biographies has taught me, few people have been, and somehow this country has stumbled along. What I’ve decided to do is read some of his speeches, and see if I can get into the man behind the persona. Maybe I just don’t like his persona, which strikes me as being ultra lightweight.

I remember a story about Harry Truman. When Ike was coming into the White House (and here I paraphrase), Truman sat in the Oval Office and said, “Poor Ike. He’ll sit here and say ‘do this and do that’, and nothing will get done. It’s not the army.” I feel that way about Obama. He’s all energized with hope, and will tell the government to do this and do that, and nothing will get done.

Truman was truly a common man (so poor that when he left the White House, it was his dire straights which forced Congress to vote former presidents a pension - until that time, they received none). He spoke, acted and legislated for the common man, fought for civil rights when it didn’t even have a name, stood for the New Deal and liberal policies and helping everyday people. To the extent he succeeded (and today he is considered a “near great” president), it is because he railed against the republicans, he fought furiously for his programs, he worked hard at defeating his opponents.

Truman’s experience had taught him something very valuable: it is not enough to work day and night for your programs, you have to work hard at defeating your opponents, too. Obama has no experience, and is so damn touchy-feelly he has refused to address his opponents in this way. (We’re all just one big happy American family - I mean, where has this guy been?) This is why Truman succeeded where Obama will fail - if he is elected.

– Maui Curmudgeon

By the Maui Curmudgeon (7th 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.

ANDREW JACKSON: 1829-1837 ~ 7th U.S. President

With Andrew Jackson, we come to the first candidate for worst president of the United States. A virulent racist, a corrupt politician, anti-Semite, misogynist, and abusive soldier, he fought most of his public life against the National Bank, refused to take paper currency in any transaction, and tried during his presidency to have paper currency rejected as payment for taxes and other public debts. This from a man who over the the course of the past 150 years has been on the $5, $10, $50 and $10,000 bills before settling on the current $20 bill. During his life, Jackson gave the term “hypocrite” a bad name, if that’s possible.
Read the rest…

I draw your attention to two items which are available now, and which should be required reading for anyone caring about freedom. Both come from Naomi Klein (http://www.naomiklein.org/main). Ms. Klein is a brilliant Canadian who has written several astonishing books detailing the bad news which comes about when governments use technology to invade an individual’s freedom.

To listen to some of her ideas, please go to  HERE and click on the link “listen to the programme”. It’s a short BBC program, well produced and clearly recorded, and worth your time.

The second is Klein’s book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism is available in paperback. The shock doctrine may be the finest non-fiction I’ve read in ten years. You owe it to yourself to take a look.

– Maui Curmudgeon

Have you ever wondered why “ghosts” almost never speak?

It is one thing to gather together enough subtle substance to materialize; it is quite another–and more difficult–task to reproduce human speech.

It can be done, but anyone who has actually heard a being from this more subtle world speak, will never forget the sound. One can gain an idea of the frightful comicality of ghostspeak, by trying to make animal sounds.

Of course, among themselves, these subtle beings use mental telepathy, which requires neither speech nor a particular language.

There is usually great urgency or significance when a materialized being makes the supreme and awkward effort to speak, and to use a language that you can understand. It is downright silly to think that a ghost is malevolent, just because he is a ghost. Or that a ghost has specifically come to haunt, or to communicate with, you. Usually we have wandered into an area, which is rich in stratified sediments–residues of human activity, thought and speech–and which are being used to construct a temporary form.

One is wise to say nothing and keep on moving.

– Raphael O’Suna

By the Maui Curmudgeon (6th 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.

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS: 1825-1829 ~ 6th U.S. President

The only elected president who was the son of a president (no, the current occupier of the White House was appointed and doesn’t count), John Quincy Adams was without a doubt one of the smartest men to hold the office. He amplified his father’s dedication to honesty, fought slavery, and was a great president - who had what most every historian considers to be a failed presidency. Read the rest…