The Skammunist

My debit card number was recently stolen and a little over $2,000 charged. I ve already reported it, closed the card etc. One purchase was for something called "Family Safe Life Lock" identity protection. I can t imagine any reason for he/she to do that other than an ironic sense of humor. It just seems like an easy way to get caught whether they used my info or theirs. Am I not considering something here? Any thoughts?

If an Airmen sincerely recognizes a drinking problem and gets better in ADAPT, would it be harmful to include it in his EPR? He's come a long way....

C-Span conducted a survey of Presidential historians to rank the Presidents. Below are their findings today and in the year 2000. Any thoughts, disagreements, surprises?

2009 Ranking / 2000 Ranking

Abraham Lincoln 1 1

George Washington 2 3

Franklin D. Roosevelt 3 2

Theodore Roosevelt 4 4

Harry S. Truman 5 5

John F. Kennedy 6 8

Thomas Jefferson 7 7

Dwight D. Eisenhower 8 9

Woodrow Wilson 9 6

Ronald Reagan 10 11

Lyndon B. Johnson 11 10

James K. Polk 12 12

Andrew Jackson 13 13

James Monroe 14 14

Bill Clinton 15 21

William McKinley 16 15

John Adams 17 16

George H. W. Bush 18 20

John Quincy Adams 19 19

James Madison 20 18

Grover Cleveland 21 17

Gerald R. Ford 22 23

Ulysses S. Grant 23 33

William Howard Taft 24 24

Jimmy Carter 25 22

Calvin Coolidge 26 27

Richard M. Nixon 27 25

James A. Garfield 28 29

Zachary Taylor 29 28

Benjamin Harrison 30 31

Martin Van Buren 31 30

Chester A. Arthur 32 32

Rutherford B. Hayes 33 26

Herbert Hoover 34 34

John Tyler 35 36

George W. Bush 36 NA

Millard Fillmore 37 35

Warren G. Harding 38 38

William Henry Harrison 39 37

Franklin D. Pierce 40 39

Andrew Johnson 41 40

James Buchanan 42 41

Gallup Poll. Three-day rolling average. N=approx. 1,600 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?"

Approve Disapprove

2/10-12/09= 66 21

Ipsos/McClatchy Poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs. Feb. 6-9, 2009. N=1,042 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"Overall, do you approve, disapprove or have mixed feelings about the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?" If mixed or unsure: "If you had to choose, do you lean more toward approve or disapprove?"

Approve Mixed Disapprove Unsure

2/6-9/09= 69 3 26 1

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Feb. 7-8, 2009. N=806 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.5.

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?"

Approve Disapprove Unsure

2/7-8/09 = 76 23 1

Pew Research Center Poll. Feb. 4-8, 2009. N=1,303 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?" If "depends": "Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?"

Approve Disapprove Unsure

2/4-8/09= 64 17 19

CBS News Poll. Feb. 2-4, 2009. N=864 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3 (for all adults).

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?"

Approve Disapprove Unsure

ALL

62 15 23

USA Today/Gallup Poll. Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009. N=1,027 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.

"Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?"

Approve Disapprove Unsure

1/30 - 2/1/09= 64 25 11

FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Jan. 27-28, 2009. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 3 (for all registered voters).

"Do you approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president?"

Approve Disapprove Unsure

ALL

65 16 19

Is overt bias the best response to perceived subtle bias?

http://www.conservapedia.com/Bill_Clinton

http://www.conservapedia.com/Barack_Obama

http://www.conservapedia.com/Howard_Dean

http://www.conservapedia.com/Deceit

How do you suppose things would look today if President Bush's Social Security privatization plan had passed in 2005?

I'm asking here, because I'm tired of all the nasty partisanship in the "elections" category...how do you feel he's doing so far?

Do you suppose Holly, Charlemagne and Gideon are real people that Mr. Finn wrote about or are they imagined?

Or is extreme partisanship now a permanent fixture, regardless of who is in office?

I haven't seen any yet. It seems like they are having trouble finding a good verbal or body language tic to exploit. This question isn't meant to be partisan, I just enjoy political humor.

Do you feel lifetime appointment of US Supreme Court Justices is wise?

Is it good because it insulates the court from reactionary public opinion?

Or is it bad for giving Justices reason to postpone retirement until a President they agree with is in office?

Or other reasons either way?

I'm 30 and have following politics since the 1992 election. It seems to me that partisanship has been getting increasingly crass over the past two decades, but my perspective might be skewed by my age. I'd like to hear Baby Boomers and WWII generation views on the uglier aspects of partisanship in the 1960's and 70's to compare/contrast with today.

Just a thought experiment. I'm sure turnout would have been different, but would anyone on either side have voted the other way?