Game Scores:
Ford at Washington, 36-35 Washington
Kennedy at McKinley, 37-29 McKinley
Jefferson at GW Bush, 36-28 GW Bush
T Roosevelt at Lincoln, 37-34 Lincoln
Reagan at Grant, 37-25 Reagan
Harding at Polk, 32-24 Polk
Fillmore at Garfield, 31-29 Fillmore
Taft at J Adams, 31-30 Taft
Truman at F Roosevelt, 33-28 FDR
Taylor at Buchanan, 28-20 Taylor
Madison at Eisenhower, 30-21 Ike
Monroe at Wilson, 26-25 Wilson
Pierce at Cleveland, 31-21 Cleveland
JQ Adams at Jackson, 30-28 JQA
Nixon at B Harrison, 28-22 Nixon
W Harrison at Hayes, 28-25 Hayes
GH Bush at Coolidge, 27-22 GH Bush
Van Buren at Tyler, 32-26 Tyler
A Johnson at Arthur, 26-23 Arthur
Carter at Clinton, 25-21 Clinton
L Johnson at Hoover, 27-26 LBJ
Three Presidents have one loss, another 1 has 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
Modern U.S. History, According to the Democratic Party of the United States
[ the following story was channeled through the mind of former Senator and famous hair model John Edwards ]
Once upon a time, there was a great leader in the White House, a man who loved everyone. His name was Bill. Bill loved everyone so much, he sometimes got carried away and had sex with them. Almost everyone understood this and did not mind, except the mean evil hater Republicans who never have enough sex and so hate the ones who have free love and flowers and stuff. The Republicans said that Bill was bad because some of the people he had sex with, did not want to be raped, but America knew how much Bill loved everyone, and so they did not listen to the haters.
Because Bill was so loving, everyone outside loved America. There was no war or crime or poverty or problems of any kind, and every nation loved America. But the evil Republicans did not like peace and prosperity for other nations, and so they went out and started evil groups like Al Qaeda, who would not have existed except that Halliburton wanted to take over the world, which was not cool. So Osama bin Laden started a group which wanted to help widows and orphans and puppies and kittens, but Halliburton said no, so Osama got mad and started blowing up things and killing people. The evil Republicans said that Osama was a terrorist for killing people, but America knew that was not true, that the real terrorists had to be people who built refineries and gave people jobs, because working cut down the time available for free love and for loving Bill. So Bill arranged for tax hikes, to take away more of the money which was poisoning people and making them evil, and that money went to good useful government programs which were all good and in no way wasteful, because after all Bill was in charge, and he put good people in charge of things, like Attorney General Janet Reno, who never used excessive force, and Secretary of State Madelaine Albright, who always blamed America so that the world would not feel bad about Communism and the things their own despots did, which after all were the fault of American corporations like Halliburton. The evil Republicans said that raising taxes was bad, but everyone knew that the Republicans only said that because they loved money so much, and everyone thanked Bill for taking the evil money away from them. Yaaay Bill!
Halliburton and other evil U.S. corporations continued to do bad things, like build schools and give jobs to people in other countries, which were obviously tricks so that they could take over the world. This was obvious because the jobs paid well and offered a different way of life, one without disease and which promoted independent accomplishment, which the world knew was bad. So Osama got angry and blew up some embassies. But Bill knew that Osama was only angry because the evil Republicans wanted Muslims to think for themselves and not just do as they were told by the Mullahs, so he apologized again for America and Osama calmed down. Everyone was happy again.
The evil Republicans schemed and schemed. They schemed mean schemes, they dreamed mean dreams. They found a woman who had been loved by Bill, but who said she had not wanted his love, which we all know is a lie, because who would not ant Bill’s love? Anyway, this woman sued Bill, because she wanted money, even though she said she wanted her honor back. Silly woman! The Republicans next found a judge who had a reputation for being honest – even Democrats had said so. The Republicans somehow made this judge turn evil like them, so he looked and looked and found a way to trip Bill up so that he would have to lie, because Bill loved America enough to lie to it. Even under oath and on national television. Bill wanted to protect his marriage, and his reputation, so he told the nation that he did not have sex with that woman, even though he did. But America loved Bill and knew he did nothing wrong, even if he committed felonies.
The evil Republicans impeached Bill. Mean Republicans! But AlGore defended Bill, saying Bill was the “best President in history”, and AlGore was right! Smart robot! Bill was better than George Washington, better than FDR, better than even Jimmy Carter! And of course President Bill was a better President than evil President Lincoln and President Reagan or President Eisenhower, because everyone knows that no Republican can be good. Silly Republicans, thinking that saving the Union or defeating the Soviet Union is as good as loving everybody the way Bill does! So America forgave Bill, and he loved America even more. Osama was angry at the Republicans for almost taking Bill from the White House, so he blew up a Navy ship! But Bill knew Osama was not mad at America but only at the evil Republicans, so he made sure no one hurt Osama. Three times the bad men came to Bill and told him how they could kill Osama, and every time Bill made sure no one hurt Osama. Yaaay Bill!
But it was soon time for Bill to leave the White House, because the Constitution said he could not run again, even though Bill said he would like to. Bad Constitution! And America wondered who would be President next? Maybe the good robot AlGore? Maybe Hillary, who forgave Bill for loving everyone else? Either of them could be trusted to keep evil money away from the American people, and to blame America so that the rest of the world would know we were sorry for being strong and successful. The robot AlGore was better programmed than Hillary, so Hillary went off to run New York and AlGore got ready to run America, as he knew the people wanted.
But the Republicans sent an evil trained money monkey they called “Dubya” to steal the election! Bad Republicans! The Republicans tempted many people away, by promising tax cuts – boo! – and a strong defense – boo! – and reforming the courts to do what the Constitution said, instead of listening to loving people like Bill – boo! Boo! AlGore did everything he could to make sure America got what it should get, instead of what the Constitution said, but the courts did not let him claim Florida because he did not win that state. Bad courts! The state court tried to give AlGore the state by counting votes over and over again until they got the result they wanted, but the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution would not let AlGore claim a state where he did not actually win. Bad Courts! Bad Constitution! Even getting military votes thrown out could not get AlGore elected, and so Dubya became President. Boo! Boo! All across America, the kind and loving people who voted for AlGore decided to reject President Money Monkey. If the Constitution made Money Monkey President, then they would reject the Constitution, and that’s what they did. Every Democrat running for office since 2000 has been careful to ignore the Constitution. Clever Democrats! Yaaay Democrats!
But Dubya the evil Money Monkey was not like Bill. Dubya wanted tax cuts, so that many Americans had to put up with extra money. Boo! Dubya wanted the courts to reform, to obey the Constitution, and so he appointed judges and justices who followed the Constitution. Boo! And over and over again, Dubya did what he promised he would do. Silly Monkey! Real politicians know you have to lie and lie, to show how much you love America.
Osama was angry again because the Money Monkey was President, and he must have been psychic too, because in 2001 Osama attacked the United States, using a plan he began working on years before while Bill was President. Osama must have known about the evil Monkey President plan, and got ready ahead of time. Smart Osama! But many Americans were sad and angry about the attack, which they blamed on Osama and the terrorists, not blaming the Money Monkey and Halliburton, who were the real bad guys, even if it was Osama’s people who actually killed folks. It’s complex, just trust the Democrats and say ‘Bad Republicans’. Bad Republicans! The Republicans wanted a war, a big war, because the Monkey President thought that Democracy is a good thing, even for Muslims, and that we should do what we warned Saddam we would do. Silly Monkey, thinking that Muslims are real people! Everyone knows Muslims cannot be trusted to govern themselves or to have a democratic government! But the Republicans controlled Congress and forced many Democrats to vote for the war, which was obviously mind control, since no Democrat would ever vote for a war, even if they made hundreds of statements indicating they would do so. After all, no war is worth an election! The war went badly at first, as the United States chased the Taliban out of Afghanistan and ejected the regime of Saddam Hussein from Iraq. Boo! Bad Republicans! Bad Army! But the Democrats did not give up, not even when Saddam was captured, not even when the top Al Qaeda operatives were killed or captured, not even when Zarqawi was stopped. Brave Democrats! Little by little, the Democrats made Americans doubt the military, little by little they lied about the Monkey President and his motives so that support would slip, and little by little the Democrats made America believe the war could not be won, and that quitting was the only real option. Clever Democrats!
The Democrats told stories and made up claims to make America realize that they were the party which should be in charge, and after a while America believed them. How clever of the Democrats, to make America hate Republicans for the same things Democrats did, and to ignore criminal action by the Democrats and overreact to mistakes by the Republicans. Yaaay Democrats!
As the next election approaches, America rejoices not only that there is no one like the evil Reagan or Dubya to worry about, but that both the good robot AlGore and the wise and all-knowing Hillary are available to support. America can soon expect the hated tax cuts to be repealed, and once again whenever an evil act is done, America will apologize and blame the Republicans and evil corporations. Bill must have planned this. Clever Bill! Yaaay Bill!
Once upon a time, there was a great leader in the White House, a man who loved everyone. His name was Bill. Bill loved everyone so much, he sometimes got carried away and had sex with them. Almost everyone understood this and did not mind, except the mean evil hater Republicans who never have enough sex and so hate the ones who have free love and flowers and stuff. The Republicans said that Bill was bad because some of the people he had sex with, did not want to be raped, but America knew how much Bill loved everyone, and so they did not listen to the haters.
Because Bill was so loving, everyone outside loved America. There was no war or crime or poverty or problems of any kind, and every nation loved America. But the evil Republicans did not like peace and prosperity for other nations, and so they went out and started evil groups like Al Qaeda, who would not have existed except that Halliburton wanted to take over the world, which was not cool. So Osama bin Laden started a group which wanted to help widows and orphans and puppies and kittens, but Halliburton said no, so Osama got mad and started blowing up things and killing people. The evil Republicans said that Osama was a terrorist for killing people, but America knew that was not true, that the real terrorists had to be people who built refineries and gave people jobs, because working cut down the time available for free love and for loving Bill. So Bill arranged for tax hikes, to take away more of the money which was poisoning people and making them evil, and that money went to good useful government programs which were all good and in no way wasteful, because after all Bill was in charge, and he put good people in charge of things, like Attorney General Janet Reno, who never used excessive force, and Secretary of State Madelaine Albright, who always blamed America so that the world would not feel bad about Communism and the things their own despots did, which after all were the fault of American corporations like Halliburton. The evil Republicans said that raising taxes was bad, but everyone knew that the Republicans only said that because they loved money so much, and everyone thanked Bill for taking the evil money away from them. Yaaay Bill!
Halliburton and other evil U.S. corporations continued to do bad things, like build schools and give jobs to people in other countries, which were obviously tricks so that they could take over the world. This was obvious because the jobs paid well and offered a different way of life, one without disease and which promoted independent accomplishment, which the world knew was bad. So Osama got angry and blew up some embassies. But Bill knew that Osama was only angry because the evil Republicans wanted Muslims to think for themselves and not just do as they were told by the Mullahs, so he apologized again for America and Osama calmed down. Everyone was happy again.
The evil Republicans schemed and schemed. They schemed mean schemes, they dreamed mean dreams. They found a woman who had been loved by Bill, but who said she had not wanted his love, which we all know is a lie, because who would not ant Bill’s love? Anyway, this woman sued Bill, because she wanted money, even though she said she wanted her honor back. Silly woman! The Republicans next found a judge who had a reputation for being honest – even Democrats had said so. The Republicans somehow made this judge turn evil like them, so he looked and looked and found a way to trip Bill up so that he would have to lie, because Bill loved America enough to lie to it. Even under oath and on national television. Bill wanted to protect his marriage, and his reputation, so he told the nation that he did not have sex with that woman, even though he did. But America loved Bill and knew he did nothing wrong, even if he committed felonies.
The evil Republicans impeached Bill. Mean Republicans! But AlGore defended Bill, saying Bill was the “best President in history”, and AlGore was right! Smart robot! Bill was better than George Washington, better than FDR, better than even Jimmy Carter! And of course President Bill was a better President than evil President Lincoln and President Reagan or President Eisenhower, because everyone knows that no Republican can be good. Silly Republicans, thinking that saving the Union or defeating the Soviet Union is as good as loving everybody the way Bill does! So America forgave Bill, and he loved America even more. Osama was angry at the Republicans for almost taking Bill from the White House, so he blew up a Navy ship! But Bill knew Osama was not mad at America but only at the evil Republicans, so he made sure no one hurt Osama. Three times the bad men came to Bill and told him how they could kill Osama, and every time Bill made sure no one hurt Osama. Yaaay Bill!
But it was soon time for Bill to leave the White House, because the Constitution said he could not run again, even though Bill said he would like to. Bad Constitution! And America wondered who would be President next? Maybe the good robot AlGore? Maybe Hillary, who forgave Bill for loving everyone else? Either of them could be trusted to keep evil money away from the American people, and to blame America so that the rest of the world would know we were sorry for being strong and successful. The robot AlGore was better programmed than Hillary, so Hillary went off to run New York and AlGore got ready to run America, as he knew the people wanted.
But the Republicans sent an evil trained money monkey they called “Dubya” to steal the election! Bad Republicans! The Republicans tempted many people away, by promising tax cuts – boo! – and a strong defense – boo! – and reforming the courts to do what the Constitution said, instead of listening to loving people like Bill – boo! Boo! AlGore did everything he could to make sure America got what it should get, instead of what the Constitution said, but the courts did not let him claim Florida because he did not win that state. Bad courts! The state court tried to give AlGore the state by counting votes over and over again until they got the result they wanted, but the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution would not let AlGore claim a state where he did not actually win. Bad Courts! Bad Constitution! Even getting military votes thrown out could not get AlGore elected, and so Dubya became President. Boo! Boo! All across America, the kind and loving people who voted for AlGore decided to reject President Money Monkey. If the Constitution made Money Monkey President, then they would reject the Constitution, and that’s what they did. Every Democrat running for office since 2000 has been careful to ignore the Constitution. Clever Democrats! Yaaay Democrats!
But Dubya the evil Money Monkey was not like Bill. Dubya wanted tax cuts, so that many Americans had to put up with extra money. Boo! Dubya wanted the courts to reform, to obey the Constitution, and so he appointed judges and justices who followed the Constitution. Boo! And over and over again, Dubya did what he promised he would do. Silly Monkey! Real politicians know you have to lie and lie, to show how much you love America.
Osama was angry again because the Money Monkey was President, and he must have been psychic too, because in 2001 Osama attacked the United States, using a plan he began working on years before while Bill was President. Osama must have known about the evil Monkey President plan, and got ready ahead of time. Smart Osama! But many Americans were sad and angry about the attack, which they blamed on Osama and the terrorists, not blaming the Money Monkey and Halliburton, who were the real bad guys, even if it was Osama’s people who actually killed folks. It’s complex, just trust the Democrats and say ‘Bad Republicans’. Bad Republicans! The Republicans wanted a war, a big war, because the Monkey President thought that Democracy is a good thing, even for Muslims, and that we should do what we warned Saddam we would do. Silly Monkey, thinking that Muslims are real people! Everyone knows Muslims cannot be trusted to govern themselves or to have a democratic government! But the Republicans controlled Congress and forced many Democrats to vote for the war, which was obviously mind control, since no Democrat would ever vote for a war, even if they made hundreds of statements indicating they would do so. After all, no war is worth an election! The war went badly at first, as the United States chased the Taliban out of Afghanistan and ejected the regime of Saddam Hussein from Iraq. Boo! Bad Republicans! Bad Army! But the Democrats did not give up, not even when Saddam was captured, not even when the top Al Qaeda operatives were killed or captured, not even when Zarqawi was stopped. Brave Democrats! Little by little, the Democrats made Americans doubt the military, little by little they lied about the Monkey President and his motives so that support would slip, and little by little the Democrats made America believe the war could not be won, and that quitting was the only real option. Clever Democrats!
The Democrats told stories and made up claims to make America realize that they were the party which should be in charge, and after a while America believed them. How clever of the Democrats, to make America hate Republicans for the same things Democrats did, and to ignore criminal action by the Democrats and overreact to mistakes by the Republicans. Yaaay Democrats!
As the next election approaches, America rejoices not only that there is no one like the evil Reagan or Dubya to worry about, but that both the good robot AlGore and the wise and all-knowing Hillary are available to support. America can soon expect the hated tax cuts to be repealed, and once again whenever an evil act is done, America will apologize and blame the Republicans and evil corporations. Bill must have planned this. Clever Bill! Yaaay Bill!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Mindsnap
The terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 astonished the world. Rather than admit that the plot was well-designed and executed, many people fell back on acceptable assumptions and conceits. I call this behavior “mindsnap”. Another example of this may be found in the way so many analysts address the JFK assassination in 1963. There are, to be plain, a lot of questions which should be considered about that assassination, yet many who believe the government’s original case that Oswald acted alone (1964) refuse to consider evidence which contradicts the claim. On the other hand, many who believe there was a conspiracy to kill JFK, as Congress also concluded in 1978, also refuse to consider evidence which did not fit their own assumptions. The trauma of having to deal with a horrific event causes people to lock out difficult concepts and questions which cannot easily be answered. It is my belief that only be acknowledging the existence of such a behavior, can one begin to correct that bias and approach difficult questions with a fair hope for resolution.
Recognizing this syndrome is helpful in comprehending the behavior of certain groups. Mindsnap is why people afraid of Islamofascism can ignore that the horror or Terrorism is carried out by less than one-tenth of one percent of Muslims. It’s why millions of American Muslims can demand that they be respected without publicly denouncing the murder of innocents in the name of their religion. It’s why people will angrily denounce cartoons rather than stand up for helpless victims of repression, come to that. It’s why people who are determined to believe a conspiracy theory for major events will ignore all the evidence that they embrace an absurd fantasy. It’s why folks can support a leader at one point, then later pretend he is a fraud for maintaining the same position he always did. It’s why so many people feel obliged to refer to an unpopular leader as the “worst in history”. It’s why masses of people can blame the federal government for state and local government blunders, or for acts of Nature. It’s why people can still presume that folks will act a certain way, according to their appearance and genetic background. It’s why people can demand they and their community be respected , even as they show no such respect to anyone not aligned with their political and cultural opinion. It’s why various hatemongers can be not only excused for their venom, but lionized as some kind of hero for even the most vicious lies. It’s why some can claim they “support the troops”, when they do absolutely nothing to back them up in their mission or needs, or to care for their families. It’s why the MSM tosses off a few selected sound bytes which match their perspective and call it “news”. And it’s why rational attempts to discuss issues and reach a consensus are all but doomed before they begin.
So what does the mature mind do when faced with such a massive syndrome affecting the sanity and reason of the species? Well, that’s where you and I come in. The only cure is to sit people down, one by one, show them their false assumptions, challenge them to look at the broader perspective, and hope for a few grey cells to kick in and move the brain to cogency. The bad news is, this is a huge problem and it’s growing fast. The good news is, we’ve seen this before. Those who know History will remember the arrogant assumptions of the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Romans, and all the various monarchies throughout Time. Every time, someone took up the challenge and forced a look at the facts. It’s just that time again.
Recognizing this syndrome is helpful in comprehending the behavior of certain groups. Mindsnap is why people afraid of Islamofascism can ignore that the horror or Terrorism is carried out by less than one-tenth of one percent of Muslims. It’s why millions of American Muslims can demand that they be respected without publicly denouncing the murder of innocents in the name of their religion. It’s why people will angrily denounce cartoons rather than stand up for helpless victims of repression, come to that. It’s why people who are determined to believe a conspiracy theory for major events will ignore all the evidence that they embrace an absurd fantasy. It’s why folks can support a leader at one point, then later pretend he is a fraud for maintaining the same position he always did. It’s why so many people feel obliged to refer to an unpopular leader as the “worst in history”. It’s why masses of people can blame the federal government for state and local government blunders, or for acts of Nature. It’s why people can still presume that folks will act a certain way, according to their appearance and genetic background. It’s why people can demand they and their community be respected , even as they show no such respect to anyone not aligned with their political and cultural opinion. It’s why various hatemongers can be not only excused for their venom, but lionized as some kind of hero for even the most vicious lies. It’s why some can claim they “support the troops”, when they do absolutely nothing to back them up in their mission or needs, or to care for their families. It’s why the MSM tosses off a few selected sound bytes which match their perspective and call it “news”. And it’s why rational attempts to discuss issues and reach a consensus are all but doomed before they begin.
So what does the mature mind do when faced with such a massive syndrome affecting the sanity and reason of the species? Well, that’s where you and I come in. The only cure is to sit people down, one by one, show them their false assumptions, challenge them to look at the broader perspective, and hope for a few grey cells to kick in and move the brain to cogency. The bad news is, this is a huge problem and it’s growing fast. The good news is, we’ve seen this before. Those who know History will remember the arrogant assumptions of the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Romans, and all the various monarchies throughout Time. Every time, someone took up the challenge and forced a look at the facts. It’s just that time again.
MLP Round 030
Game Scores:
Washington at Madison, 38-25 Washington
Grant at Ford, 35-25 Ford
Harding at McKinley, 37-24 McKinley
L Johnson at GW Bush, 36-20 GW Bush
Lincoln at Reagan, 37-31 Lincoln
Hayes at T Roosevelt, 33-26 TR
Truman at Polk, 32-30 Polk
Fillmore at Taylor, 34-30 Fillmore
Jefferson at Wilson, 29-25 Jefferson
J Adams at A Johnson, 28-19 J Adams
F Roosevelt at Taft, 30-29 Taft
Eisenhower at Carter, 29-26 Ike
Monroe at Coolidge, 27-22 Monroe
Kennedy at B Harrison, 30-22 JFK
Garfield at Cleveland, 31-29 Cleveland
Arthur at JQ Adams, 29-27 Arthur
Jackson at Van Buren, 29-23 Jackson
Nixon at Hoover, 26-25 Hoover
GH Bush at Clinton, 31-25 GH Bush
Tyler at Pierce, 25-22 Tyler
Buchanan at W Harrison, 35-23 W Harrison
Three Presidents have one loss, another 2 have 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
Washington at Madison, 38-25 Washington
Grant at Ford, 35-25 Ford
Harding at McKinley, 37-24 McKinley
L Johnson at GW Bush, 36-20 GW Bush
Lincoln at Reagan, 37-31 Lincoln
Hayes at T Roosevelt, 33-26 TR
Truman at Polk, 32-30 Polk
Fillmore at Taylor, 34-30 Fillmore
Jefferson at Wilson, 29-25 Jefferson
J Adams at A Johnson, 28-19 J Adams
F Roosevelt at Taft, 30-29 Taft
Eisenhower at Carter, 29-26 Ike
Monroe at Coolidge, 27-22 Monroe
Kennedy at B Harrison, 30-22 JFK
Garfield at Cleveland, 31-29 Cleveland
Arthur at JQ Adams, 29-27 Arthur
Jackson at Van Buren, 29-23 Jackson
Nixon at Hoover, 26-25 Hoover
GH Bush at Clinton, 31-25 GH Bush
Tyler at Pierce, 25-22 Tyler
Buchanan at W Harrison, 35-23 W Harrison
Three Presidents have one loss, another 2 have 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Spook Stories
I don’t agree with everything my colleague Jay posts at Wizbang. I, for example, give a lot more credit to the Bush White House for competency than he does, although I have to admit that on the subject of Immigration, Dubya’s mental acuity is far less than optimal or his usual standard. Jay has mentioned that recently we have been thinking along the same lines, so much so at times that it is eerie. In this case, his article about the CIA operations in Iran gave me a nudge to think about past performances.
It is somehow not commonly understood about Intelligence people, that they like to be thought of as ‘incompetent’ and ‘stupid’. As in, ’That guy? He’s not smart enough to have figured out what we’re doing, much less be part of any group which could do something about it’. The Intelligence Community is counter-intuitive that way, preferring to avoid stories which raise awareness of their successes, even choosing to embrace stories which make them look like they could not possibly do the job. The image of the suave and brilliant spy makes for good movies, but such people are always watched too closely to be truly effective as operatives. In the actual case the ideal spy, whether collecting information or performing an operation, wants to be nondescript, impossible to remember or identify with any specificity, and so common that he or she is taken for granted. Like a janitor or a clerk, like some ordinary schmoe who attracts no attention. Ordinary, casual, nobody.
I could point to obvious works of impressive effort and brilliance, which are to often taken for granted. It is understood that the National Security Agency can monitor and track thousands of international telephone calls and radio transmissions. A large reason for this is the network of cables laid in oceans and tapping into foreign telecom lines. Few people think about how we did that. Or for that matter, how the United States anticipates, then thwarts online warfare efforts, such as the repeated efforts to crash the NYSE transaction records or the Treasury Department internal servers. Yes folks, there are fed-geeks protecting America’s data infrastructure. And what about multi-lateral data mining for referent decisioning by crisis managers? The integration of universities into the national infrastructure predates FDR, but has been radically reformed in recent years. The image of cloak and dagger has been obsolete since before you were born, and the ubiquitous black helicopter is so last-Century.
Personal stories do come out from the field, though. They tend to be anecdotal, so that verification is impossible, but every so often you hear one which reminds you that the spooks may be invisible, but not inactive. I try to be somewhat careful with the stories I hear, because I have friends in the business, and so nothing new or particularly detailed can be relayed, even if someone scrubs a story before I hear it. But I can remind the reader of some of the older stories, classics if you will, which convey a sense of what’s going on. Like the incident where the crew of a Soviet submarine in the Pacific killed their political officer and captain, and radioed the U.S. Navy about defecting to the West – after surfacing in the middle of San Diego Bay. Like the defection of the Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations in 1979 after denouncing the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan, which required the armed assistance of the United States BDS and a helicopter rescue. Like the steal-and-switch of a nuclear warhead which Hussein tried to buy in 1994, replacing a small plutonium warhead from a Warsaw Pact device with radioactive waste. Like the Chinese couple given ten million dollars for the purpose of setting up a network in the United States, who chose instead to go on the run and live off the money, neither defecting to the West nor serving their Communist paymaster. Like the field technicians who “repaired” countless Soviet ICBMs with weak wire connections which would be likely to fail if they were ever actually launched. Some of those stories are bound to be garbage, some true but unverifiable, but the emphasis here is that there are many brave and hard-working people in the Intelligence Community, whose anonymous efforts have saved the world many times over.
Have you hugged your spook today?
It is somehow not commonly understood about Intelligence people, that they like to be thought of as ‘incompetent’ and ‘stupid’. As in, ’That guy? He’s not smart enough to have figured out what we’re doing, much less be part of any group which could do something about it’. The Intelligence Community is counter-intuitive that way, preferring to avoid stories which raise awareness of their successes, even choosing to embrace stories which make them look like they could not possibly do the job. The image of the suave and brilliant spy makes for good movies, but such people are always watched too closely to be truly effective as operatives. In the actual case the ideal spy, whether collecting information or performing an operation, wants to be nondescript, impossible to remember or identify with any specificity, and so common that he or she is taken for granted. Like a janitor or a clerk, like some ordinary schmoe who attracts no attention. Ordinary, casual, nobody.
I could point to obvious works of impressive effort and brilliance, which are to often taken for granted. It is understood that the National Security Agency can monitor and track thousands of international telephone calls and radio transmissions. A large reason for this is the network of cables laid in oceans and tapping into foreign telecom lines. Few people think about how we did that. Or for that matter, how the United States anticipates, then thwarts online warfare efforts, such as the repeated efforts to crash the NYSE transaction records or the Treasury Department internal servers. Yes folks, there are fed-geeks protecting America’s data infrastructure. And what about multi-lateral data mining for referent decisioning by crisis managers? The integration of universities into the national infrastructure predates FDR, but has been radically reformed in recent years. The image of cloak and dagger has been obsolete since before you were born, and the ubiquitous black helicopter is so last-Century.
Personal stories do come out from the field, though. They tend to be anecdotal, so that verification is impossible, but every so often you hear one which reminds you that the spooks may be invisible, but not inactive. I try to be somewhat careful with the stories I hear, because I have friends in the business, and so nothing new or particularly detailed can be relayed, even if someone scrubs a story before I hear it. But I can remind the reader of some of the older stories, classics if you will, which convey a sense of what’s going on. Like the incident where the crew of a Soviet submarine in the Pacific killed their political officer and captain, and radioed the U.S. Navy about defecting to the West – after surfacing in the middle of San Diego Bay. Like the defection of the Soviet Ambassador to the United Nations in 1979 after denouncing the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan, which required the armed assistance of the United States BDS and a helicopter rescue. Like the steal-and-switch of a nuclear warhead which Hussein tried to buy in 1994, replacing a small plutonium warhead from a Warsaw Pact device with radioactive waste. Like the Chinese couple given ten million dollars for the purpose of setting up a network in the United States, who chose instead to go on the run and live off the money, neither defecting to the West nor serving their Communist paymaster. Like the field technicians who “repaired” countless Soviet ICBMs with weak wire connections which would be likely to fail if they were ever actually launched. Some of those stories are bound to be garbage, some true but unverifiable, but the emphasis here is that there are many brave and hard-working people in the Intelligence Community, whose anonymous efforts have saved the world many times over.
Have you hugged your spook today?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Reformation
"Nobody believes them. It goes to the bigger issue of the lack of credibility our government has these days"
- Fred Thompson, about the proposed Immigration Reform bill under debate and attack
For the past few days, I have addressed weak spots and gaping holes in the various plans to address the problem of illegals in the United States. The response has been contentious, and more than a few people have proven themselves unwilling to do anything more than spew venom and insults. Even among those who claim to be experts in this area. Several people have challenged me to announce my own plan, which sounds fair enough, except that most of those wouldn’t give it attention except to attack it and target their present phobias and malice upon it.
I also held off presenting my ideas for three additional reasons. First, I wanted the readers to note that many of the Blogosphere’s leading figureheads are not presenting any substantive ideas. They’re quick to condemn others and to attack anything someone tries to do, but they are not doing much to try to solve the problem, and therefore they become part of the problem. The Democrats and Liberals have tossed out a lot of garbage, but it’s too easy for me as a Republican to just focus on why Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have neither the inclination nor the mental acuity to present a cogent plan, to say nothing of the wisdom needed to plan for the long term and the nation’s welfare. It is necessary and appropriate to sometimes rebuke the self-anointed “leaders” of the Conservative Movement, who collect lots of money and attention but do not feel that they should be answerable for their decisions and positions. The second reason, was that I wanted readers to realize how much of this depends on recognizing the complexity of the problem and the crucial need for each of us to participate in our own interest. The third reason, was that when one seriously thinks through the problem, one inevitably comes to the hard conclusion that the real solution is not the specific plan to address this issue, so much as it is that we as Conservatives have lost what we once were, and we need to reform – once again – for the good of the nation.
Not so long ago, Democrats were soiling their pants on a daily basis. America had acted unilaterally, and worse – successfully – in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our enemies fled before us, and from National Security to Tax Cuts to Supreme Court picks it seemed that Common Sense had returned home and taken up residence, even in D.C. to a degree. This was very good for Dubya and the Right, and awfully scary for the Left and the Wrong. But suddenly it was gone, and the Donkey Kong took over Congress and the Old Media sneered in its renewed influence.
Where did those days go?
The corruption of a few, the indolence of many others, and the self-serving routine of almost everyone else in the GOP is what happened. In a matter of months almost too fast to believe, the ‘Party of Lincoln’ devolved into egos and petty feuds. An unpopular pick for the Supreme Court was hounded mercilessly, rather than let her have the hearings which the GOP once said were the minimum reasonable standard. A trusted ally was insulted and told – in effect – that the United States would rather have Communist China in charge of our ports than them, simply because they are Arab. Our strongest voice for sanity in the United Nations was deserted by our Senators because the Left didn’t like him. And promising initiatives to reform Social Security, pursue Tort Reform, and yes, to set comprehensive, effective, and consistent laws and metrics on sealing the borders and stopping the flood of illegals entering the United States, were all ignored because the politicians did not see personal gains for tackling them. We had chances, many of them, but the Republicans did not want to do the hard work when they had the majority, so it seems more than slightly naïve to imagine that being in the minority will make things better, especially given the way most Republicans have acted since the 2006 elections. Yeah, elections have consequences, and the 2006 elections seem to have turned most Republicans into spineless narcissists. I mean, besides those who were already that way.
Fixing the Illegal Migration and Border Security problems is not really that hard, fortunately. All it really takes is the will to get the current laws enforced, put up the means to physically enforce the law, like a good fence and document sweeps at businesses, and after some consideration, pass laws to cover the grey areas and what was missed before. But what that will require is the willpower, the party discipline, to make a plan and have everyone support it. To understand that getting some of what you need now and some later, is much better than all-now-or-nothing. That’s why I kept poking at the suggestions made, because while some were good and some were poor, none of them has a prayer of happening unless the Conservatives realize they have to support the Republican Party, and Republicans realize that they have to stand together. The good news is, that the specific actions which will make it possible to seal the borders and reform Immigration, will also make it possible to tend to the other needs of the nation.
So, here are my specifics:
First off, we have retake Congress. There is no chance, whatsoever, that a Congress under the thumb of the Democrats will ever address the key issues with an attendant sense of responsibility or accountability. To that end, even a RINO is more desirable than a Democrat who sounds reasonable but votes along party lines. Obviously, the more conservative the better, but the first critical action is to seek out and support Republicans. All Republicans.
The second step is just as hard, will take just as long, but is just as important. The original Republicans banded together on one key issue – abolishing Slavery – and never yielded on that point. The new Republicans will also have to decide where their home turf is. I had believed that turf would be National Security, but if it is, then anything and everything – including Immigration Reform – comes after that, and cannot be allowed to break ranks. That does not mean that Republicans should not have a party platform on secondary issues, but we must agree to stand together as a party in order to advance the main issue, even when we disagree on other important decisions. I know that some people want to call dealing with the Illegals a National Security issue, but diluting our position with regard to our response to Terrorism has allowed the Left to call for a retreat from Iraq. If that happens, they will next want to quit Afghanistan and anywhere else that our Democracy is incompatible with the Left. The defense of the nation must not fail, no matter what else it costs.
The third step is to remember that the GOP is the party of ideas and open discussion. No, not all ideas are equally valid or good, but the GOP has always allowed for a range of opinion and even dissent. Slamming alternative proposals by other Republicans goes against the spirit of decades of Conservative and GOP ideals, but this repression of simple conversation is an appalling practice which must end now. Bloggers may certainly prefer one program or proposal over others, but I personally find it obscene how often leading figureheads will deliberately misrepresent alternatives in order to avoid a serious debate. Let’s leave that to the Democrats.
- Fred Thompson, about the proposed Immigration Reform bill under debate and attack
For the past few days, I have addressed weak spots and gaping holes in the various plans to address the problem of illegals in the United States. The response has been contentious, and more than a few people have proven themselves unwilling to do anything more than spew venom and insults. Even among those who claim to be experts in this area. Several people have challenged me to announce my own plan, which sounds fair enough, except that most of those wouldn’t give it attention except to attack it and target their present phobias and malice upon it.
I also held off presenting my ideas for three additional reasons. First, I wanted the readers to note that many of the Blogosphere’s leading figureheads are not presenting any substantive ideas. They’re quick to condemn others and to attack anything someone tries to do, but they are not doing much to try to solve the problem, and therefore they become part of the problem. The Democrats and Liberals have tossed out a lot of garbage, but it’s too easy for me as a Republican to just focus on why Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have neither the inclination nor the mental acuity to present a cogent plan, to say nothing of the wisdom needed to plan for the long term and the nation’s welfare. It is necessary and appropriate to sometimes rebuke the self-anointed “leaders” of the Conservative Movement, who collect lots of money and attention but do not feel that they should be answerable for their decisions and positions. The second reason, was that I wanted readers to realize how much of this depends on recognizing the complexity of the problem and the crucial need for each of us to participate in our own interest. The third reason, was that when one seriously thinks through the problem, one inevitably comes to the hard conclusion that the real solution is not the specific plan to address this issue, so much as it is that we as Conservatives have lost what we once were, and we need to reform – once again – for the good of the nation.
Not so long ago, Democrats were soiling their pants on a daily basis. America had acted unilaterally, and worse – successfully – in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our enemies fled before us, and from National Security to Tax Cuts to Supreme Court picks it seemed that Common Sense had returned home and taken up residence, even in D.C. to a degree. This was very good for Dubya and the Right, and awfully scary for the Left and the Wrong. But suddenly it was gone, and the Donkey Kong took over Congress and the Old Media sneered in its renewed influence.
Where did those days go?
The corruption of a few, the indolence of many others, and the self-serving routine of almost everyone else in the GOP is what happened. In a matter of months almost too fast to believe, the ‘Party of Lincoln’ devolved into egos and petty feuds. An unpopular pick for the Supreme Court was hounded mercilessly, rather than let her have the hearings which the GOP once said were the minimum reasonable standard. A trusted ally was insulted and told – in effect – that the United States would rather have Communist China in charge of our ports than them, simply because they are Arab. Our strongest voice for sanity in the United Nations was deserted by our Senators because the Left didn’t like him. And promising initiatives to reform Social Security, pursue Tort Reform, and yes, to set comprehensive, effective, and consistent laws and metrics on sealing the borders and stopping the flood of illegals entering the United States, were all ignored because the politicians did not see personal gains for tackling them. We had chances, many of them, but the Republicans did not want to do the hard work when they had the majority, so it seems more than slightly naïve to imagine that being in the minority will make things better, especially given the way most Republicans have acted since the 2006 elections. Yeah, elections have consequences, and the 2006 elections seem to have turned most Republicans into spineless narcissists. I mean, besides those who were already that way.
Fixing the Illegal Migration and Border Security problems is not really that hard, fortunately. All it really takes is the will to get the current laws enforced, put up the means to physically enforce the law, like a good fence and document sweeps at businesses, and after some consideration, pass laws to cover the grey areas and what was missed before. But what that will require is the willpower, the party discipline, to make a plan and have everyone support it. To understand that getting some of what you need now and some later, is much better than all-now-or-nothing. That’s why I kept poking at the suggestions made, because while some were good and some were poor, none of them has a prayer of happening unless the Conservatives realize they have to support the Republican Party, and Republicans realize that they have to stand together. The good news is, that the specific actions which will make it possible to seal the borders and reform Immigration, will also make it possible to tend to the other needs of the nation.
So, here are my specifics:
First off, we have retake Congress. There is no chance, whatsoever, that a Congress under the thumb of the Democrats will ever address the key issues with an attendant sense of responsibility or accountability. To that end, even a RINO is more desirable than a Democrat who sounds reasonable but votes along party lines. Obviously, the more conservative the better, but the first critical action is to seek out and support Republicans. All Republicans.
The second step is just as hard, will take just as long, but is just as important. The original Republicans banded together on one key issue – abolishing Slavery – and never yielded on that point. The new Republicans will also have to decide where their home turf is. I had believed that turf would be National Security, but if it is, then anything and everything – including Immigration Reform – comes after that, and cannot be allowed to break ranks. That does not mean that Republicans should not have a party platform on secondary issues, but we must agree to stand together as a party in order to advance the main issue, even when we disagree on other important decisions. I know that some people want to call dealing with the Illegals a National Security issue, but diluting our position with regard to our response to Terrorism has allowed the Left to call for a retreat from Iraq. If that happens, they will next want to quit Afghanistan and anywhere else that our Democracy is incompatible with the Left. The defense of the nation must not fail, no matter what else it costs.
The third step is to remember that the GOP is the party of ideas and open discussion. No, not all ideas are equally valid or good, but the GOP has always allowed for a range of opinion and even dissent. Slamming alternative proposals by other Republicans goes against the spirit of decades of Conservative and GOP ideals, but this repression of simple conversation is an appalling practice which must end now. Bloggers may certainly prefer one program or proposal over others, but I personally find it obscene how often leading figureheads will deliberately misrepresent alternatives in order to avoid a serious debate. Let’s leave that to the Democrats.
MLP Round 029
Game Scores:
Carter at Washington, 36-24 Washington
Ford at Lincoln, 37-31 Lincoln
McKinley at Truman, 37-32 McKinley
GW Bush at Nixon, 37-30 GW Bush
Reagan at Hayes, 37-28 Reagan
T Roosevelt at Buchanan, 34-20 TR
Taft at Polk, 32-28 Polk
W Harrison at Fillmore, 31-28 Fillmore
Coolidge at Jefferson, 34-26 Jefferson
JQ Adams at J Adams, 31-30 JQA
Taylor at Garfield, 31-29 Taylor
A Johnson at F Roosevelt, 33-21 FDR
Eisenhower at GH Bush, 30-28 Ike
Clinton at Monroe, 30-24 Monroe
Hoover at Kennedy, 32-25 JFK
Cleveland at Tyler, 33-32 Cleveland
Pierce at Jackson, 28-19 Jackson
Madison at Grant, 25-21 Grant
Van Buren at Arthur, 27-26 Van Buren
Wilson at L Johnson, 23-21 Wilson
B Harrison at Harding, 27-25 Harding
Three Presidents have one loss, another 2 have 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
Carter at Washington, 36-24 Washington
Ford at Lincoln, 37-31 Lincoln
McKinley at Truman, 37-32 McKinley
GW Bush at Nixon, 37-30 GW Bush
Reagan at Hayes, 37-28 Reagan
T Roosevelt at Buchanan, 34-20 TR
Taft at Polk, 32-28 Polk
W Harrison at Fillmore, 31-28 Fillmore
Coolidge at Jefferson, 34-26 Jefferson
JQ Adams at J Adams, 31-30 JQA
Taylor at Garfield, 31-29 Taylor
A Johnson at F Roosevelt, 33-21 FDR
Eisenhower at GH Bush, 30-28 Ike
Clinton at Monroe, 30-24 Monroe
Hoover at Kennedy, 32-25 JFK
Cleveland at Tyler, 33-32 Cleveland
Pierce at Jackson, 28-19 Jackson
Madison at Grant, 25-21 Grant
Van Buren at Arthur, 27-26 Van Buren
Wilson at L Johnson, 23-21 Wilson
B Harrison at Harding, 27-25 Harding
Three Presidents have one loss, another 2 have 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Seeking the Facile Mind of the Hewitts and the Malkins
Almost everyone outside Washington D.C. agrees that the Immigration Reform bill cooked up this week by a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Idiots, Poseurs, Bureaucrats, Gullible, and their assorted staffs, is at best a poorly-designed and incomplete work. For example, in my opinion the bill has some good points and some weak ones, but is useless because it has absolutely no enforcement provisions, as if the federal government will enlist the help of the Keebler Elves to make it work.
But that belief in fairy-tale mechanics is not limited to the proponents of this bill, either. For a long time now, it has been quite the fashion for some people to savagely attack the President and the Congress for whatever they suggest, while presenting no substantive proposal as an alternative. What always happens is that they toss out a goal, like securing the borders, and call it the action, which would be how to make that happen. This is dishonest on its face, especially when it is practiced and repeated by the very people who complain about weak spots in the plans pur forth by the serious people.
This is particularly poor conduct by the media, and there I include the web media and bloggers, especially Hugh Hewitt and Michelle Malkin. There was a time I respected Malkin's well-considered opinion, but she has dived into the sea of 'hate the foreigners' so often and with such clear malice that I cannot consider her work balanced. As for Mr. Hewitt, I generally respect him but have been forced to conclude that on this issue he is not reasonable, and seems unaware that he is using the same rhetorical tactics he has - quite properly - rebuked in others before. So I have a challenge for the Hewitts and the Malkins of the Blogosphere.
The President and the Congress have not been able to come up with an effective, functional plan for securing the borders and addressing Immigration Reform proactively. What specific, detailed plan do you have or know of, which will accomplish the following essential goals:
[] Secure the national borders from constant and pervasive penetration by illegals, and potentially terrorists?
[] Enforce the laws already on the books, which address illegal possession of documents, especially forged and stolen documents, which address employment of illegals by American companies, and which address the disposition of persons found to have entered the United States illegally?
[] Address the presence of more than twelve million foreign nationals already residing in the United States, in a manner which is compliant with the U.S. Constitution, viable given available resources, and realistic regarding the response by those persons to the initiative?
The President has already made specific proposals on these points, and so any claim which effectively tries to take the same suggestion without crediting the President for the idea will be disallowed. Vague homilies such as 'make all illegals leave', or 'we should force businesses to obey the law' will be ridiculed. And in keeping with your own past behavior, ignoring this challenge will allow me to claim that you do not intend to seriously address the issue.
My point is not to harangue or heckle Mr. Hewitt or Ms. Malkin. In the actual case, I frankly do not expect either of them to respond, because neither of them seems interested in solving problems, but only in making a noise about the issue, which is common for media. What I do hope to accomplish, is to remind the reader that complex issues are difficult to sort out in the best of times, and even politicians can be credited with trying to find a good solution with little support or cooperation from the very people who claim they care the most.
But that belief in fairy-tale mechanics is not limited to the proponents of this bill, either. For a long time now, it has been quite the fashion for some people to savagely attack the President and the Congress for whatever they suggest, while presenting no substantive proposal as an alternative. What always happens is that they toss out a goal, like securing the borders, and call it the action, which would be how to make that happen. This is dishonest on its face, especially when it is practiced and repeated by the very people who complain about weak spots in the plans pur forth by the serious people.
This is particularly poor conduct by the media, and there I include the web media and bloggers, especially Hugh Hewitt and Michelle Malkin. There was a time I respected Malkin's well-considered opinion, but she has dived into the sea of 'hate the foreigners' so often and with such clear malice that I cannot consider her work balanced. As for Mr. Hewitt, I generally respect him but have been forced to conclude that on this issue he is not reasonable, and seems unaware that he is using the same rhetorical tactics he has - quite properly - rebuked in others before. So I have a challenge for the Hewitts and the Malkins of the Blogosphere.
The President and the Congress have not been able to come up with an effective, functional plan for securing the borders and addressing Immigration Reform proactively. What specific, detailed plan do you have or know of, which will accomplish the following essential goals:
[] Secure the national borders from constant and pervasive penetration by illegals, and potentially terrorists?
[] Enforce the laws already on the books, which address illegal possession of documents, especially forged and stolen documents, which address employment of illegals by American companies, and which address the disposition of persons found to have entered the United States illegally?
[] Address the presence of more than twelve million foreign nationals already residing in the United States, in a manner which is compliant with the U.S. Constitution, viable given available resources, and realistic regarding the response by those persons to the initiative?
The President has already made specific proposals on these points, and so any claim which effectively tries to take the same suggestion without crediting the President for the idea will be disallowed. Vague homilies such as 'make all illegals leave', or 'we should force businesses to obey the law' will be ridiculed. And in keeping with your own past behavior, ignoring this challenge will allow me to claim that you do not intend to seriously address the issue.
My point is not to harangue or heckle Mr. Hewitt or Ms. Malkin. In the actual case, I frankly do not expect either of them to respond, because neither of them seems interested in solving problems, but only in making a noise about the issue, which is common for media. What I do hope to accomplish, is to remind the reader that complex issues are difficult to sort out in the best of times, and even politicians can be credited with trying to find a good solution with little support or cooperation from the very people who claim they care the most.
MLP Round 028
Game Scores:
Washington at GH Bush, 34-28 Washington
Hayes at Ford, 35-25 Ford
McKinley at Taft, 35-30 McKinley
GW Bush at Kennedy, 36-32 GW Bush
Lincoln at Madison, 31-25 Lincoln
Buchanan at Reagan, 36-23 Reagan
Fillmore at T Roosevelt, 33-31 TR
Polk at A Johnson, 34-19 Polk
Clinton at Jefferson, 34-25 Jefferson
J Adams at Van Buren, 29-23 J Adams
B Harrison at Truman, 32-23 Truman
Taylor at W Harrison, 31-25 Taylor
F Roosevelt at JQ Adams, 30-27 FDR
Eisenhower at Monroe, 31-30 Monroe
Jackson at Cleveland, 33-31 Jackson
Garfield at Tyler, 32-29 Tyler
Wilson at Nixon, 30-21 Nixon
Grant at Carter, 26-22 Carter
Arthur at Pierce, 25-22 Arthur
Hoover at Harding, 27-21 Harding
Coolidge at L Johnson, 27-21 Coolidge
Four Presidents have one loss, another 1 has 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
The new Rankings are as follows:
After Twenty-Eight Rounds
.1. Washington (27-1) beats LBJ, Jefferson, Monroe, GH Bush
.2. Ford (27-1) beats Taylor, Fillmore, Buchanan, Hayes
.3. McKinley (27-1) beats Van Buren, JQA, A Johnson, Taft
.4. GW Bush (27-1) beats Taft, Truman, Harding, JFK
.5. Lincoln (26-2) beats Monroe, GH Bush, Carter, Madison
.6. Reagan (25-3) beats W Harrison, Taylor, Fillmore, Buchanan
.7. Teddy Roosevelt (25-3) beats Garfield, W Harr, Taylor, Fillmore
.8. Polk (22-6) beats Pierce, Van Buren, JQA, A Johnson
.9. Jefferson (22-6) beats Grant, Ike, loses to Washington, Clinton
.10. J Adams (20-8) beats Tyler, Pierce, Van Buren, loses to Cleve.
.11. Truman (20-8) beats Wilson, Hoover, B Harr, loses to GW Bush
.12. FDR (19-9) beats Cleveland, Pierce, Van Buren, JQA
.13. Kennedy (19-9) beats Clinton, Cool, Wilson, loses to GW Bush
.14. Fillmore (19-9) beats Madison, loses to Ford, Reagan, TR
.15. Monroe (17-11) beats Grant, Ike, loses to Lincoln, Washington
.16. Taylor (17-11) beats W Harrison, loses to Ford, Reagan, TR
.17. Nixon (15-13) beats Ike, Clinton, Coolidge, Wilson
.18. Jackson (15-13) beats Arthur, Tyler, Cleveland, loses to Garfield
.19. Cleveland (16-12) beats J Adams, Arthur, loses to FDR, Jackson
.20. Eisenhower (16-12) beats LBJ, loses to Nixon, Jefferson, Monroe
.21. Taft (14-14) beats Hoover, B Harr, loses to GW Bush, McKinley
.22. Tyler (12-16) beats Arthur, Garfield, loses to J Adams, Jackson
.23. Garfield (13-15) beats Jackson, W Harr, loses to TR, Tyler
.24. Hayes (13-15) beats GH Bush, Madison, loses to Carter, Ford
.25. Quincy Adams (12-16) beats B Harr, loses to McKinley, Polk, FDR
.26. Arthur (10-18) beats Pierce, loses to Jackson, Tyler, Cleveland
.27. Carter (9-19) beats Buchanan, Hayes, Grant, loses to Lincoln
.28. GH Bush (10-18) beats Grant, loses to Hayes, Lincoln, Wash
.29. Harding (8-20) beats Cool, Wilson, Hoover, loses to GW Bush
.30. W Harrison (9-19) loses to Reagan, TR, Garfield, Taylor
.31. Grant (8-20) loses to Jefferson, Monroe, GH Bush, Carter
.32. Madison (8-20) loses to Fillmore, Buchanan, Hayes, Lincoln
.33. Clinton (7-21) beats LBJ, loses to JFK, Nixon, Jefferson
.34. Wilson (7-21) loses to Truman, Harding, JFK, Nixon
.35. Coolidge (4-24) beats LBJ, loses to Harding, JFK, Nixon
.36. B Harrison (5-23) beats A Johnson, loses to JQA, Taft, Truman
.37. Buchanan (5-23) beats Madison, loses to Carter, Ford, Reagan
.38. LBJ (4-24) loses to Washington, Ike, Clinton, Coolidge
.39. Hoover (3-25) beats A Johnson, loses to Taft, Truman, Harding
.40. Van Buren (3-25) loses to McKinley, Polk, FDR, J Adams
.41. Pierce (2-26) loses to Polk, FDR, J Adams, Arthur
.42. A Johnson (1-27) loses to Hoover, B Harr, McKinley, Polk
Washington at GH Bush, 34-28 Washington
Hayes at Ford, 35-25 Ford
McKinley at Taft, 35-30 McKinley
GW Bush at Kennedy, 36-32 GW Bush
Lincoln at Madison, 31-25 Lincoln
Buchanan at Reagan, 36-23 Reagan
Fillmore at T Roosevelt, 33-31 TR
Polk at A Johnson, 34-19 Polk
Clinton at Jefferson, 34-25 Jefferson
J Adams at Van Buren, 29-23 J Adams
B Harrison at Truman, 32-23 Truman
Taylor at W Harrison, 31-25 Taylor
F Roosevelt at JQ Adams, 30-27 FDR
Eisenhower at Monroe, 31-30 Monroe
Jackson at Cleveland, 33-31 Jackson
Garfield at Tyler, 32-29 Tyler
Wilson at Nixon, 30-21 Nixon
Grant at Carter, 26-22 Carter
Arthur at Pierce, 25-22 Arthur
Hoover at Harding, 27-21 Harding
Coolidge at L Johnson, 27-21 Coolidge
Four Presidents have one loss, another 1 has 2 losses, another 1 has 2 wins, and one President has one win.
The new Rankings are as follows:
After Twenty-Eight Rounds
.1. Washington (27-1) beats LBJ, Jefferson, Monroe, GH Bush
.2. Ford (27-1) beats Taylor, Fillmore, Buchanan, Hayes
.3. McKinley (27-1) beats Van Buren, JQA, A Johnson, Taft
.4. GW Bush (27-1) beats Taft, Truman, Harding, JFK
.5. Lincoln (26-2) beats Monroe, GH Bush, Carter, Madison
.6. Reagan (25-3) beats W Harrison, Taylor, Fillmore, Buchanan
.7. Teddy Roosevelt (25-3) beats Garfield, W Harr, Taylor, Fillmore
.8. Polk (22-6) beats Pierce, Van Buren, JQA, A Johnson
.9. Jefferson (22-6) beats Grant, Ike, loses to Washington, Clinton
.10. J Adams (20-8) beats Tyler, Pierce, Van Buren, loses to Cleve.
.11. Truman (20-8) beats Wilson, Hoover, B Harr, loses to GW Bush
.12. FDR (19-9) beats Cleveland, Pierce, Van Buren, JQA
.13. Kennedy (19-9) beats Clinton, Cool, Wilson, loses to GW Bush
.14. Fillmore (19-9) beats Madison, loses to Ford, Reagan, TR
.15. Monroe (17-11) beats Grant, Ike, loses to Lincoln, Washington
.16. Taylor (17-11) beats W Harrison, loses to Ford, Reagan, TR
.17. Nixon (15-13) beats Ike, Clinton, Coolidge, Wilson
.18. Jackson (15-13) beats Arthur, Tyler, Cleveland, loses to Garfield
.19. Cleveland (16-12) beats J Adams, Arthur, loses to FDR, Jackson
.20. Eisenhower (16-12) beats LBJ, loses to Nixon, Jefferson, Monroe
.21. Taft (14-14) beats Hoover, B Harr, loses to GW Bush, McKinley
.22. Tyler (12-16) beats Arthur, Garfield, loses to J Adams, Jackson
.23. Garfield (13-15) beats Jackson, W Harr, loses to TR, Tyler
.24. Hayes (13-15) beats GH Bush, Madison, loses to Carter, Ford
.25. Quincy Adams (12-16) beats B Harr, loses to McKinley, Polk, FDR
.26. Arthur (10-18) beats Pierce, loses to Jackson, Tyler, Cleveland
.27. Carter (9-19) beats Buchanan, Hayes, Grant, loses to Lincoln
.28. GH Bush (10-18) beats Grant, loses to Hayes, Lincoln, Wash
.29. Harding (8-20) beats Cool, Wilson, Hoover, loses to GW Bush
.30. W Harrison (9-19) loses to Reagan, TR, Garfield, Taylor
.31. Grant (8-20) loses to Jefferson, Monroe, GH Bush, Carter
.32. Madison (8-20) loses to Fillmore, Buchanan, Hayes, Lincoln
.33. Clinton (7-21) beats LBJ, loses to JFK, Nixon, Jefferson
.34. Wilson (7-21) loses to Truman, Harding, JFK, Nixon
.35. Coolidge (4-24) beats LBJ, loses to Harding, JFK, Nixon
.36. B Harrison (5-23) beats A Johnson, loses to JQA, Taft, Truman
.37. Buchanan (5-23) beats Madison, loses to Carter, Ford, Reagan
.38. LBJ (4-24) loses to Washington, Ike, Clinton, Coolidge
.39. Hoover (3-25) beats A Johnson, loses to Taft, Truman, Harding
.40. Van Buren (3-25) loses to McKinley, Polk, FDR, J Adams
.41. Pierce (2-26) loses to Polk, FDR, J Adams, Arthur
.42. A Johnson (1-27) loses to Hoover, B Harr, McKinley, Polk
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