Who are your favorite Americans?

[mix]

Mark Twain

Martin Luther King Jr.

Willie Nelson

[Captain Hilts]

1. Eleanor Roosevelt, George C. Marshall, Mary McLeod Bethune, Molly Ivins, Ella Fitzgerald, Kath Hep..

John Marshall, Eugene Fluckey.

[roguevalley]

61. My Mom and Dad.

[leftofcool]

2. Sojourner Truth, Kathryn Hepburn, My Mom

[bigwillq]

3. My parents (nt)

[Swamp Rat]

4. My family n/t

[cali]

7. hey, swamp rat. I was just thinking of you.

click this link and you'll see why.

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/02/boom-town-to-put-the-ugli-in-repuglicans/

[Swamp Rat]

36. LOL!

Thanks! :D

[mix]

41. She's stinking the joint up. nt

[sharesunited]

5. Garrison Kiellor. Brian Lamb.

I'll try to stick with living Americans.

[Captain Hilts]

23. Two very good choices.

It bothers me to see the shit Lamb catches here.

He's the guy who pointed out the phone-banking the right wingers do, etc.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

6. My wife, my parents, my brothers and sisters, you get the idea.

[mix]

8. But beyond family, which Americans do you admire? nt

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

10. That's a tough one. So many of the public ones have been such disappointments.

[Mike 03]

9. You made some awesome selections, to be sure.

On my mind tonight:

Ernest Hemingway
Cormac McCarthy
Don Delillo
Joyce Reilly
Francis Ford Coppola
Martin Scorsese
Joseph Heller

But ask me on another day, it will probably be another list.

Your selections are excellent, to say the least.

Maybe divide it into "living" and "deceased" Americans, so we can have more people to add. There are so many.

[mix]

25. .

[H2O Man]

11. Oh, lots of them.

I tend to like people, and have many favorite friends. But in terms of national figures:

Muhammad Ali
Malcolm X
Robert F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King, Jr.
John F. Kennedy

In terms of those with a green card:

John Lennon

On edit:

Add Crazy Horse

[phasma ex machina]

34. "Today is a good day to die for all of the things of my life are present." - Crazy Horse

Then you got Chief Washakie of the Shoshone (snake) who literally put the Crow's heart into Crowheart, Wyoming. :rofl:

[hisownpetard]

12. Besides family & friends? The Obamas, all 4 of them!

I admire the respect with which they treat each other, the obvious love
that exists between them and the way in which Michelle and Barack are raising
their children.

[mix]

13. I do too. They are a beautiful family. nt

[timeforpeace]

16. They are my favorite Americans.

[demosincebirth]

14. Cesar Chavez

[mix]

17. A man I have long admired as well.

[quinnox]

15. too many to list

So many great artists, writers and visionaries. But I agree any list would have to have Martin Luther King, Jr. near the top.

[kgnu_fan]

18. Daniel Ellsberg --- He is my hero

Amy Goodman --- I admire her so much

[Brother Buzz]

19. Will Rogers always makes my 'short list' of favorite Americans

[Captain Hilts]

24. Oh yeah. A real rock star. Multi-media star...

eclipsed only by the advent of the Roosevelts full scale assault on all media.

[mix]

70. The idea of this thread came from a conversation about

everyone's "favorite Americans" yesterday....Will Rogers came up quite often, very fondly remembered.

[CBR]

20. Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, FDR, Jackie Robinson

many more but those were my initial reactions.

[Captain Hilts]

22. Damn. I shoulda mentioned Jackie. I thought about FDR....nt

[AndrewP]

21. Malcolm X

[mix]

37. Malcolm X is someone I need to study.

His life has always intrigued me, as well as his faith and politics.

[gimama]

26. Favorites!

Members of Veterans for PEACE
& Iraq(& Afghanistan!)Vets against war

Willie Nelson
Craig Ferguson
Dr. Cornell West
Max Clelland
Gen. Wesley Clark
Rep. Dennis Kucinich
David Swanson (DUer!)
Jeremy Scahill
Amy Goodman
Helen Thomas
Mark Benjamin
Keith Olbermann
Jason Mraz

Peter McWilliams

Albert Einstein
Carl Sagan
John Lennon
~wow,I surprised m'Self! Thanks for asking!
may have more after a few minutes' thought.. :hi:

[whathehell]

27. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Will Rogers, Howard Dean

Howard Dean, Thom Hartmann, Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow, Representative Jan Schakowsky, Russ Feingold, Dennis Kucinich,Bernie Sanders,Mark Twain, John F. Kennedy. Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Jr. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan. George Clooney,Paul Krugman, Barbara Boxer.

Myself.:hi:

[ChicagoSuz219]

29. My list would be close to this... & Jan?

You must live in the 'hood... :-)

[whathehell]

35. No...but I used to live close by...Highland Park....I now live further

West but get into the citeee!..as much as possible.

[ChicagoSuz219]

48. Oh... I'm in Edgewater. n/t

[whathehell]

66. We should "meetup" some day.

[ChicagoSuz219]

72. Absolutely!

I'll pm you...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

28. Norman Thomas, Adlai Stevenson.

Both brilliant men.
Norman Thomas was a Presbyterian minister as well as a Socialist.

[dmr]

30. My Dad, FDR, RFK, EMK, Norman Lear, Morris Dees, Cornel West,

My dad wanting safer working conditions & fair pay was severely beaten and tossed down wrought iron stairs to his near-death by Ford Motor goons. (Google 'Battle of the Overpass')

My favorite Americans are those who truly sacrificed their well-being so that I may have an easier life. Much respect, for example, to the Union Movement and to the Women's Rights Movement.

My dad once told me that the future will never know how good they have it unless they relinquish or squander it away. I never really fully understood those words until this last decade. I just had no way, or to be honest, an interest in understanding what those words meant. Shame on me.

[upi402]

62. Thank god for folks like your dad

In solidarity
:fistbump:

[LWolf]

31. I don't really have "favorites," but

there are people I appreciate, that have been important to me. Most are private citizens. Publicly?

Your 3 fit.

Also: Pete Seeger. Mary Travers. Arlo Guthrie. Mike McGrath. William Stafford.

There are plenty more, but I've got to get out to do barn chores before the light fades any further.

[Sixties guy]

32. I have always been partial to

Rutherford B. Hayes and Millard Fillmore. They seem to lack much of a fan base/

[MrSlayer]

33. Martin Luther King, Kerry King, Stephen King, Billie Jean King, Evelyn Champagne King

Ok, maybe not the last two enough to make my list of all-time favorites but I really do like the first three.

[Canuckistanian]

38. JFK, MLK and Jimmy Carter

3 people who pointed the way.

[mix]

39. I also admire President Carter, deeply.

:thumbsup:

[closeupready]

40. FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, Walter Cronkite, Teddy Kennedy,

Eartha Kitt, MLK Jr., Gershwin, Mark Twain definitely. My rep. Nydia Velazquez, :) Gosh, I know I'm missing a lot of people, but off the top of my head.

[UTUSN]

42. FDR. Eleanor "Lee" ROOSEVELT. Lady Bird JOHNSON, LBJ. many many others. n/t

[UTUSN]

43. HST, Adlai, Hubert, I'll get back to you!1 n/t

[Captain Hilts]

49. Okay, I'll bite. What up with the "Lee?" nt

[UTUSN]

71. HaHAH!1 Dave calls Regis & Kelly "Regis Lee" & "Kelly Lee" (from Kathy Lee of yore)!1 n/t

[saltpoint]

44. Bella Abzug. Ann Sexton. Livingston Taylor.

Jack Kirby.

Herman Melville.

Harriet Tubman.

Jon Stewart.

John Stewart.

Robert Redford.

Barbara Boxer.

Doc Watson.

Robert Altman.

Cesar Geronimo.

[superduperfarleft]

45. Cindy Sheehan, Malcolm X, Bobby Seale, H Rap Brown, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn.

And Assata Shakur, if she still counts.

[saltpoint]

46. Joan Didion. Adrienne Rich. Simon & Garfunkel.

Lou Reed. Julian Bond. Wendell Berry.

Ella Fitzgerald. Georgia O'Keeffe. Lilly Tomlin.

Ramsey Clark. Dr. Don Blake.

Dar Williams.

[saltpoint]

47. Johnny Carson. Barbara Streisand. Pat Nixon.

Pony Rider Billy Tate. Red Cloud. Ed Bach.

Amelia Earhart. Emmylou Harris. Barry Lopez.

Janis Joplin. Larry McMurtry.

Paul Winter. Bill Bradley.

[reformist2]

50. Barack Obama.

In the spirit of the Nobel Prize Committee, I'm basing my decision on what I *hope* he does.

[tekisui]

51. My Grandparents.

My wife. My professors. My friends.

[Throd]

52. Dave Attell, Edgar Allen Poe, Jimi Hendrix, Richard Petty, Jack Daniel,

So many to choose from.

[Luminous Animal]

53. Several dead ones but...

I like to concentrate on those who are alive and can currently effect change.

Michael Moore
Barbara Ehrenreich
Van Jones
Rachel Maddow

[saltpoint]

54. Claiborne Pell.

Meriwether Lewis.

Lucille Clifton.

[readmoreoften]

55. Eugene Debs, John Reed, Leslie Feinberg, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky

if David Horowitz hates 'em, I'm probably for 'em.

[EFerrari]

56. I'm still grieving Howard Zinn.

This was a heck of a time for him to go away.

He went to Hanoi with Dan Berrigan in 1968 and not only negotiated the release of three American pilots, but he brought back word to Johnson that the North Vietnamese wanted to negotiate. That was years and many deaths before the war ended at our politicians' pleasure. Hanoi was being bombed the whole time they were there, too.











Trailer for "You can't be neutral on a moving train"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehc3V1g5pm0

[mix]

67. Wonderful man and historian.

:cry:

[MilesColtrane]

57. President James Earl Carter

He's a Christian who walks the walk.

You've got to admire a man who leaves his denomination despite sixty years of loyalty due diverging principles.

[Maru Kitteh]

58. My mom and my husband.

[donheld]

59. Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman, Rosa Parks

[cliffordu]

60. WEll....

Grantcart, NanceGreggs, JeffR, Babylonsister, NYC_SKP (so he doesn't snivel) FrenchieCat, Skittles, Cha, SwampRat, BlooinBloo, The Magistrate, RedQueen, UppityPerson, and about three dozen other people who's name escapes at this moment...

AW HELL, I LOVE YOU ALL.

Wait a minute. Valentines' day is over??

Well fuck.

NEVERMIND.

[sohndrsmith]

63. Chief Joseph. Danny Kaye. Abraham Lincoln. Ella Fitzgerald. Walt Kelly. (cont.):

John Lewis.
Amelia Earhart.
Mark Twain.
Julia Child.
Stevie Ray Vaughan.
MLK.
Several Kennedys.
Several Roosevelts.
My mom.
My daughters.
My grandmother.
Andrew Wyeth.
Georgia O'Keeffe
(okay, the last two aren't heroes as much as they are idols/icons 'damn-they're-incredible' masters).

Some of my non-U S heroes:

Gerald Durrell.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Victor Frankl.
Jane Goodall.

And, of course:
My countless unknown, un-named fellow humans who are helping others: in Haiti, ravaged, desperate US cities, towns, families, individuals (or any struggling community/person) regardless of where they were born, privilege/class they have or haven't enjoyed - degrees, skills or achievements they have/haven't acquired. Regardless of same in the ones (or one) they help.

They are my heroes through their empathy, conscience, resilience and heart, whether manifested towards their family, to children, towards animals, in helping aid workers, selflessness, generosity or care...

Apologies. I know I left a few hundred out - in all categories...
Feels good to say that, though. : )

[Jamastiene]

64. FDR, MLK, JFK, RFK, and Al Gore. n/t

[Mendocino]

65. Aldo Leopold, Thoreau, John Muir

Walter Cronkite
Tecumseh
Winslow Homer
Louis Armstrong
Jack London
Ansel Adams
Rachel Carson
Bob Marshall
Robert Frost
John Wesley Powell

[dajoki]

68. My family, FDR, RFK, MLK n/t

[earth mom]

69. FDR, RFK Jr. Michael Moore, Al Gore, George Carlin, Dennis Kucinich, Cindy Sheehan

and a several more that I know I'm forgetting right now.