Here's your totally useless fact of the day:

[napi21]

* Before winning the presidential election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln
lost 8 elections for various offices.
* Gerald Ford was once a male model.
* Ronald Reagan once wore a nazi uniform while acting in a film
during his hollywood days.
* Ronald Reagan was the only divorced president, and he was the only
president to be head of a labor union.

[derby378]

1. I've got another one

Roughly one out of every 10,000 atoms of hydrogen in a glass of water is actually an isotope of hydrogen known as deuterium, or "heavy hydrogen." Standard hydrogen only has one proton and one electron, but deuterium has one proton, one electron, and one neutron.

BTW, drinking water that is made up of only deuterium combined with oxygen may be bad for your health. At current levels, it's just hunky-dory.

[napi21]

2. OK. I guess you're a chemist. I believe you, but just tell me it's OK

to drink the damn water out of my kitchen fawcet and make my coffee with and I'll be happy!

[derby378]

3. Yes, it's perfectly okay. No, I am not a chemist.

But my kitchen tap is a bit hit-or-miss due to mineral sediments in our water supply. Maybe I should just break down and attach a Pur filter to the tap.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

6. You're Ok. You'd Have To Drink Like A 5 Gallon Bucket Of It.

[rasputin1952]

9. Depending on where you live, the water can be very...

"interesting". Here in NE Nebraska, the water is so hard, I'm surprised that we don't all pee sand. But far worse than that, the years of using chemicals to treat the fields, and the lowering of the Ogalalla aquifer, has shown that many chemicals have percolated into the aquifer and are becoming concentrated. Things are still "safe" but under the new water quality standards that the administration has implemented....no one agrees on just what "safe is"...


No one knows just what is down there...

[FogerRox]

4. Funny thing

* Ronald Reagan was the only divorced president, and he was the only president to be head of a labor union.

Was Reagan a Wobbly, or was that his dad...a member of the Industrial Workers of the World. The IWW was the antithesis to the Amalgamated Clothing Workers (ACW) which became the CIO, which later joined withe AFL to become the AFL-CIO.
According to wiki, the IWW was organized by socialists & anarchists, though I have read there were also many Russian Immigrants who were considered Bolshevist's, Communists . The early history of the IWW is frought with goon squads and murders, more so than other Unions of the early 1900's.

[napi21]

7. I don't know anything about his dad, but I think the reference was

to Reagan leading the Actors Guild.

[byronius]

5. Siegfried Sassoon was a decorated war hero, and a celebrated gay poet.

Not so useless a fact, I guess.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. How ironic that Reagan should have headed a union, and then as Prez tried to destroy them...

starting the the Air Traffic Controllers.

[rasputin1952]

11. Reagan presided over the SAG because he could use it

as a springboard for his career, nothing else mattered to him. AFAIK, he was ineffectual.

Another little discussed fact is that he was a Captain in the Army Signal Corps during WWII. He knew nothing about Communications, but wanted to join up so he'd look "patriotic". He made several films for the Sig Corps, mostly training films, but also did some serious propaganda films on studio property. He tried desperately to be a "hero" but refused to leave Hollywood and had his agent and the studio convince the Army that he was far better at training films than as a soldier. Years ago in the Seattle Public Library, I got some old 16mm films of him, one of them was on STD's...it was hysterical.

On the other hand, Jimmy Stewart was actually in Bomber Command and flew many missions over Germany, (eventually he became a Brigadier General).

John Wayne got a medical deferment.

Clark Gable was a pilot over Europe.

Lyndon Johnson took a leave of absence from the House of Representatives to go into the Navy.

Jimmy Carter went into the Navy, eventually getting a nuclear engineering degree in a very difficult crash course. (He graduated in the #1 slot).

Nixon went into the Navy. He was also a Quaker, and his parents were not very happy w/his decision.

Eddy Albert commanded Higgins Boats in the Pacific, he often recalled landing Marines on the beach, and then having his Landing Craft filled up with w/the wounded and dead to take back to the transports and hospital ships...:(

bush I was a Navy pilot, shot down by a youngster, (that had less than 100 hours flighttime, and learned most of his skills with a broom handle and a box).

Lot's of others saw serious combat in the various theaters of the war, but Reagan stands out as someone who never got close to anything that could be considered combat, and yet he was portrayed as a Flight Officer of great renown...like evryting else in Reagan's life, it was an illusion.

[BrklynLiberal]

14. Yep. He was just an actor, not a very good one..who if I recall correctly, cooperated with the

McCarthy HUAC hearings.... A real POS

[rasputin1952]

16. He was essentially a McCarthyite, that's why he was so big

on the Communism thing. In his deluded mind, he carried on the fight against Communism right up until the end, but he never gave credit to anyone else. Fact of the matter is, he was just the president on watch when the USSR caved in. Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon se the foundation for beating Communism, and all of them knew it could not be taken down w/force. Economic and societal issues tore the USSR apart from within. Basically Western nations outspent the USSR and it's always tenuous economic based just collapsed.

Reagan, like most likely anyone in his position, took credit for something he had nothing to do with.

Far more important is that w/all of Reagan's "tough-talk", he was a wimp, and the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut proved it. The really horrific thing about that bombing though, is that it showed the people in the ME, especially wild-eyed mullahs, that we were bailing out immediately...hence the terror attacks on the WTC. In reality, Reagan set us up as a target, and he should get "credit" for that...:grr:

[BrklynLiberal]

17. I read that it was the war in Afghanistan that finally broke Russia. Ironic..

that is the same war that could prove to be the cause of the collapse of the "American" civilization.

[rasputin1952]

18. One of the reasons we should always look to history to learn

lessons...:)

Since we were involved in arming the Afghan people, you'd thhink we would have had some sense of what could come down the pike...:(

Then again, when we have an administration that has no concept of history, muchless of reading, what can one expect...:shrug:

[BrklynLiberal]

20. Exactly right. History is a great teacher, but Prez Shit-for-Brains cannot even

spell History, much less learn with from it.

The only one that BushCO has learned from is George Orwell...
Of course we are a lot closer to this that we were when this article was written.
Learning to love Big Brother
George W. Bush channels George Orwell
Daniel Kurtzman
Sunday, July 28, 2002

Here's a question for constitutional scholars: Can a sitting president be charged with plagiarism?

As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to create a huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing heavily, if not ripping off ideas outright, from George Orwell. The work in question is "1984, " the prophetic novel about a government that controls the masses by spreading propaganda, cracking down on subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism -- not a how-to manual.

Granted, we're a long way from resembling the kind of authoritarian state Orwell depicted, but some of the similarities are starting to get a bit eerie.

<snip>

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/28/IN244190.DTL

[BrklynLiberal]

15. Self-delete...Double post. Hiccup, I guess.

[mitchum]

23. Reagan also sold out the SAG membership (particularly on residuals negotiation)...

the sonofabitch was ALWAYS a tool of business

[rasputin1952]

25. The quintessential "I got mine, the hell w/you" conservative

groupthink.

I can only imagine what would happen at a GOP "big guy" meeting if some normal workers or a poor individual showed up to opine on the disastrous route this nation is taking...

Makes me sick to even thinkl about it...

[OneBlueSky]

10. and George Bush is the first psychopath to steal two presidential elections . . . n/t

.

[DearAbby]

12. Now, if I am ever on Jeopardy

I can say..."I'll take useless shit for $500, Alex.

[lpbk2713]

13. RayGun was once a Dem

Does that make him the only turncoat to become prez?

(Serious question)

[rasputin1952]

19. You've got to remember ...the Old D's were the party of the KKK

segregation and a host of other societal ills and abominations. Perhaps Reagan thought he could return to the "good old days"...but much to our chagrin, the GOP turned out to be the enabling party for "the good old days", and as we march backward in time under the GOP, Reagan leads the way, even after his death...

[BrklynLiberal]

21. I am always nauseated when I hear people carry on about what a great pres Ray-Gun was.

Last week the bus-driver on my commuter bus was carrying on about him...and saying how great he was cause those Iranian hostages were released within hours of Raygun's election!!!

His ignorance was bottomless, and I could have gone on for hours about the Iran-Contra stuff, the secret pact to keep the hostages until after election, and of course, Raygun's union busting tactics...

This idiot was a union member, driving a bus for $30-$40 with all kinds of health benefits and vacation, etc..and he was there touting the jerk who would have busted the very union that got him these benefits.

Some people are just too stupid. "What's Wrong with Kansas?" can apply to people in other states as well.

[rasputin1952]

26. It is indeed a fascinating look at society, as to those who

believe that Reagan was anything other than a $2 piece of crap shoved into a 10 cent bag. History has been kind to him for a couple of reason, the most important is the collapse of the USSR on his watch. However, the "Tin Man" could have held the office at that point, and the USSR would still have collapsed. The soviet model could not stand up on it's own, since it's inception, it relied on lies and coercion to make it appear that people would benefit, they died by the millions, and human suffering reached incredible levels.

The other main reason for the history of Reagan to be elevated to some kind of "saint-like" status, is the fact he had Alzheimer's, and that adds the "pity" element. Whether we like it or not, we all feel a little compassion for those afflicted w/horrible diseases, and that is commendable; we should feel compassion, it is what makes us human, regardless of our political position. But, it should not be how we look at what actually is the 'legacy' of Reagan, that legacy is one of greed, corporate intrusions upon the worker, the deregulation that gave us the Savings and Loan horror, (bailed out by the US taxpayer, and very few convictions), and incredible manipulation of the laws of this nation.

Reagan was a dud. He was lazy, he was inept, he was stupid, and above all, ignorant. He was the check-point for all of the corruption that went on during his tenure, and he did nothing to stop any of it. Reagan will go down in history as one of the worst presidents we've ever had, (but he'll never beat bush in that area), his legacy, like that of bus, will be seen as failure.

[BrklynLiberal]

27. Couldn't agree more...except I have no pity for him. My view is that Karma is a bitch.

Also..Wasn't it the cost of the war in Afghanistan that was the straw that finally broke the back of the USSR? And we are headed in the exact same direction at this very moment...in the same area of the world.

[rasputin1952]

29. Yes, the USSR sent an incredible amount of it's money in

Afghanistan, and got nothing for it.

The same is happening to us right now; the cost in our lives, limbs and national debt cannot justify the stated purpose, and it certainly cannot justify the real purpose.

The stated purpose is asinine, bringing peace and democracy to the ME. To me that is the dumbest reason ever to go to war...how does one bring peace by being an aggressor? Democracy is one of those things that must be instigated and grown internally. One exposed to a democratic-republic, people may gravitate to the same, but one cannot force it upon others; forcing democracy is about as hypocritical as one can be.

The real reason for being in the ME is far more dangerous and deadly...it is all about oil wealth. There are no ways around this, it is so obvious that even the lowest on the IQ scale can see it plainly. They've tried to hide this w/all kinds of jingoism, but the bottom line is, those who are around bush know that we are there, sacrificing the lives of our youth to enrich and empower the already rich and powerful.

[BrklynLiberal]

36. How can it seem so obvious to us, for so long, and others seem unable or

unwilling to see what is as plain as the nose on one's face?

[rasputin1952]

37. One of the hardest thngs a human being can do, is accept

that they made a mistake. When you add the abstract personality of bush, it is almost impossible for him to admit he can ever be wrong, even though he has been remarkably wrong on just about everything he has attempted...not just as president, but throughout his entire life.

[BornagainDUer]

33. He was denied membership in the Communist party for lack

of cerebral matter.

[mitchum]

22. A useful fact: FRED THOMPSON IS DYING

[rasputin1952]

30. Another useful fact...

We're all dying...I just hope it takes a while longer...

[Bucky]

24. Fred Rogers never served a day of his life in the army.

Contrary to what you might have read, Mr Rogers was not a ranger, nor an army sniper, nor a Navy Seal with 18 confirmed kills in either Korea or Vietnam. He was a life long Presbyterian minister who spent his whole life talking to puppets and encouraging children to explore and understand their emotions. He never killed anyone, in fact, except for that one set designer in '67 who said King Friday "looked stupid." But that little punk had it coming to him and the police quietly dropped the charges.
.

[BrklynLiberal]

28. :-)

[rasputin1952]

31. I heard the body was taken away by the trian, into the night...

never to be head from again...

[BornagainDUer]

32. Most methane in the atomosphere is caused by termites.

Heard it on a science program some time ago.

[Madspirit]

34. Reagan was a McCarthyite

Reagan used his stint as president of the actor's guild, not for progressive purposes but to "out" his fellows to McCarthy and the House UnAmerican Affairs...
Lee

[doggyboy]

35. A taste for spicy food can be genetic

In some people, the genes that are responsible for our tast dictate that when the nerves in our taste buds encounter something spicy, the chemical that causes the heat "sensitizes" the nerves, causing us to have a more sensitive palate. In other people, their genes cause the nerves to react to spicy food by shutting down, making these people less sensitive to taste.