Go here & vote to keep Bush off Discovery Channel as Greatest American

[DuaneBidoux]

You can cast three votes once a week. I suggest that if DU wants to have its largest influence we focus. I voted MLK Jr., FDR, and (open for debate) JFK. It seems we can have the most impact however if we focus on a few indisputably great Americans (who all just happen to be Dems.).

Bush, by fact of being in the final 25 will already be ranked in the top 25 and I would imagine it will be hard to keep him below a rank of about 10 based on the name recognition of some of the other people there.

<http://tv.channel.aol.com/greatestamerican>

[beyurslf]

1. I think I am going with MLK. Maybe FDR.

Not a sinlge Supreme Court justice on the list anywhere. Marshall? Jay? Even Rehnquist? Too many stupid Americans couldn't name one is why, I would imagine.

How did Bret Farve end up on the list? And Ellen?

[acmavm]

2. Went with another famous George. But a truly honorable and patriotic

one who's first concern wasn't how he could cash in on a national catastrophe he helped to create. In fact, his war was a glorious and just war for freedom, independence, human rights, and self-government of the people, by the people and FOR the people (all the things the one who went AWOL claims about his war).

[DuaneBidoux]

3. I know. On Daily Jon Stewart says the list is all about "Q" rating

I gather that essentially means name recognition.

[buczak]

6. albert einstein?

Um... isn't Albert Einstein German?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein

After 1933...
Einstein renounced his German citizenship and fled to the United States, where he was given permanent residency. He accepted a position at the newly-founded Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton Township, New Jersey. He became an American citizen in 1940, though he still retained Swiss citizenship.

[DuaneBidoux]

15. I think Einstein would definitely qualify as a top 100--but if we have an

impact it has to be focused. FDR seems to be emerging as a favorite for top vote.

[leesa]

7. Walt Disney?? The murderer Bush???

[beanball]

32. The greatest

one vote for Fredrick Douglass.

[DuaneBidoux]

84. Definitely a fantastic pick

Did you vote for others?

[Imagevision]

63. Sounds like a Rove stunt - and who happens to own Discovery Channel

Clear Channel??

[Greylyn58]

4. I had voted earlier this week,

I'm just horrified that he was even put into this company of people. I personally would like to keep Regan off that list too. Just shows you, how stupid some of the sheeple are in this country for putting him on that list in the first place.

Ugh!!! Makes me sick. At least the picture they chose to display fits the arrogant SOB. That smug and sanctimonious smirk of his.

God forgive me, but I've never hated someone so much in my life.

[BrklynLiberal]

37. Could not agree more....

:grr:

[Alizaryn]

5. Einstein and MLK

[leesa]

8. I think FDR. What that man did to turn around the Republican depression

was amazing.

[DuaneBidoux]

85. More importantly, FDR set us on the path from 3rd world country

which we were before him, to first world country, by building an infrastructure on which we as an entire nation could grow for decades to come.

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. or why not take the American Idol "vote for the worst" approach?

There was a website that, in order to prove how meaningless these kinds of contests are, organized support for the worst Idol constestant, Scott Savol. Scotty made it to the final 5, ahead of many other immensely more talented singers, before the "vote the worst" website crashed, and he was eliminated.

So, rather than fight this tooth and nail, and see Bush mentioned as one of the 25 greatest Americans, why not push for him to be #1, make headlines, and have to defend himself on why he should be considered a greater American than MLK, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, or anyone else on that list? Think about it!

the fact that Bush is even in the top 25 tells me this poll is obviously being freeped; why not help the freepers along in their folly rather than resist them?
Surely there is someone out there in DU-Land who could craft a website to promote this idea to all the internets, not just DU'ers.

I'm going to recommend this thread on the merits of both approaches and see what develops...

[DuaneBidoux]

16. You make a great point. If we do that: Elvis Presley #1!

[Fiendish Thingy]

10. p.s. only 1 more vote needed for "greatest" page...

let's give these ideas a little more attention on the "Greatest" page!

[DuaneBidoux]

24. I don't understand your post. Please clarify.

[chaska]

11. VOTE FDR for number one. He is the obvious counter to Bush.

[chaska]

12. We could do a poll here to decide how to vote en mass.

[Alizaryn]

17. Now thats a great idea!

Our votes would mean a lot more.

[acmejack]

13. I voted for Thomas Jefferson

He was an amazing person, a true champion of democracy. He would be appalled by what we have let happen to this republic! What Would Jefferson Do-the real meaning of WWJD!

[Sherwood]

78. Yes!

Thomas Jefferson is the greatest American politician of all time. He would be appalled by what has happened to what was once such a free and virtuous republic. Ever since the Civil War, the American people have been subject to tyranny, either from the business world of from government too eager to reach into people's lives. Both parties would make the poor man sick.

[norml]

14. I voted for Bill Clinton, FDR, and George Washington.

Washington is a George I can vote for.

[AntiCoup2K4]

18. It's on an AOL website? Might as well be voting on a Diebold machine

Between that and Matt Skinhead Lauer already being a known Bushwhore, it's inevitable that they will proclaim Emperor Chimpatine the New Messiah.

[DeepGreen]

26. Right On !

:toast:

[Joey Liberal]

19. I voted for FDR n/t

[femme.democratique]

20. If * gets into the top 5 I am going to throw up

Then I am going to scream - because if this thing happens it is surely being rigged by Rove

[longship]

21. Voting starts on June 19th

It says clearly on the page that the voting starts on June 19th.

So, how are all you people voting?

[IndyOp]

28. Voting on the top 5 starts on the 19th - right now we are voting on

the top 25 to narrow down the options - and keep the people who should win in the top 5. (Unless of course this is exactly like voting on a Diebold - which I suspect it is). I'll vote anyway!

:bounce:

[DeepGreen]

22. Lincoln, FDR, MLK

:)

[DuaneBidoux]

23. I agree: you can't lose with those three votes.

[deadparrot]

81. The exact three I chose.

Nice choices. :)

[Branjor]

25. I voted for Rosa Parks

n/t

[rucky]

27. Henry Ford is almost as insulting of a nominee as W. n/t

[Zhade]

71. Indeed. He accepted an award from HITLER...

...yet he's considered a "great American".

Man, people in this country ARE SO IGNORANT OF REALITY.

EDITED to add proof of my statement:

http://www.thememoryhole.org/fordnazi.htm



>>> From Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler's Rise to Power 1919-1933 by James Pool and Suzanne Pool (The Dial Press, 1978), pp 111, 129:

"That Henry Ford, the famous automobile manufacturer gave money to the National Socialists directly or indirectly has never been disputed," said Konrad Heiden, one of the first biographers of Hitler.<87> Novelist Upton Sinclair wrote in The Flivver King, a book about Ford, that the Nazis got forty-thousand dollars from Ford to reprint anti-Jewish pamphlets in German translations, and that an additional $300,00 was later sent to Hitler through a grandson of the ex-Kaiser who acted as an intermediary.<88> The US Ambassador to Germany, William E. Dodd, said in an interview that "certain American industrialists had a great deal to do with bringing fascist regimes into being in both Germany and Italy."<89> At the time of Dodd's criticisms, the general public was aware that he was speaking of Ford because the press made a direct association between Dodd's statements and other reports of Ford's anti-Semitism.

....

Henry Ford's reward from Hitler finally came in July 1938, when on his seventy-fifth birthday he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the German Eagle. Ford was the first American and the fourth person in the world to receive this medal, which was the highest decoration that could be given to any non-German citizen. Benito Mussolini, another of Hitler's financiers, had been decorated with the same honor earlier that year.<128>

The presentation was made in Ford's Dearborn office by the German Counsul on Cleveland, Karl Kapp, and Consul Fritz Hailer of Detroit. Kapp placed the silk red sash over Ford's right shoulder. The sash was worn in a diagonal line from the right shoulder to the left hip where it was clasped with a gold and white cross. Kapp then pinned a large, shining star-shaped medal of Ford's white suit. The decoration was given "in recognition of pioneering in making motor cars available for the masses." Hitler's personal congratulatory message accompanied the award.<129>

[IndyOp]

29. I voted for MLK three times - one way to concentrate the vote. (nt)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

30. I had a hard time deciding..

One for Rosa Parks, one for MLK and one for FDR.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

31. Electronic voting. No paper trail.

'Nuff said.

[d_b]

33. My 3 for MLK

[ClayZ]

93. Me Too!

THE GREATEST.........MLK! I still have his dream, and am willing to MARCH for it!

[Beacho]

34. Had to go with Franklin

I seriously think the dude was time traveller

[DuaneBidoux]

62. Go back and kick this thing up. We can make a difference but it

is a long process (like the Conyers letter) so we must keep it near the top.

[truthisfreedom]

35. Orville and Wilbur Wright... hey, why not? i love inventors.

i am one! 8^)

[laugle]

36. Interesting Bush Sr. is not there! n/t

[BlueStateGirl]

38. Going with Franklin,Jefferson and FDR.

[terrya]

39. Lincoln, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King

[patricia92243]

40. Didn't see a place to vot on the link

[NYFlip]

44. Neither do I

How are they voting

[Zhade]

72. Hover your mouse over your choice...

...and a "VOTE" graphic comes up.

[BuelahWitch]

41. Eleanor Roosevelt, her husband and MLK

n/t

[BooScout]

46. Same here. n/t

[checks-n-balances]

55. Me too on MLK, FDR & Eleanor Roosevelt - VERY influential

I hope MLK gets it, but if FDR were to win it would be a great statement for the ruling MINORITY of freepers.

[TriMetFan]

42. My 3 votes went to MLK.

[bigwillq]

43. I just voted for MLK and FDR

Voted for JFK earlier in the week.

[usregimechange]

45. I clicked on the picture, is that all I needed to do?

[usregimechange]

47. Ok, had to do it 3 times. FDR and MLK, where is TJ?

[Tesla]

48. How come, when I went to vote for Jefferson

It rang up a vote for BUSH??? jk

[DuaneBidoux]

49. You have to place your pointer over the bottom part and wait then click

It took me a while to figure it out too.

[Cats Against Frist]

50. My three just went to Thomas Jefferson

Why the HELL is dumbmotherfucker nominated in the first place?????

[nevergiveup]

51. Lincoln and King

[nickgutierrez]

52. MLK and FDR definitely need to be high on the list.

As for *, I wouldn't mind seeing him drop off of it entirely. He's not a great American, by any stretch of the imagination.

[bvar22]

53. 3 for FDR

FDR is the antithesis of today's Republican.

[90-percent]

54. FDR

When I first watched the show I knew I had to vote FDR #1.

Antithesis of repukes is spot on!

FDR as #1 American would send a fantastic message. My other 2 choices were TJ and Ben F. Gotta be founding fathers all the way. All the FF's gotta be making major dynamoe hum noise spinning in their graves since 2000.

Anybody got a DU link to maybe a Blumenthal piece about Bush psychology getting his dad's approval by taking out Saddam and being a better pres? cant find it and it really resonated... I think it was a journo write up from late 90's?

So many others on that list are so deserving.

-90-percent

now known as 85-percent, thanks to recent nhra rules changes

PS - only #1 vote I'd give GWB is #1 traitor in USA history (edit)

[Ioo]

56. Done NT

[DuaneBidoux]

86. Don't forget you can vote once a week...

...and more if you use different computers.

[baron j]

57. Dr. King, FDR, and

Bob Hope: for tirelessly lifting spirits--humor is alway needed! Thanks for the memories..

[baron j]

58. Now, how in the CRAP did dumbya get on that list?

My head is reeling!

[Greylyn58]

59. Back in Feb or March the Discovery Channel

asked people to nominate people they thought were the Greatest American. Out of those names submitted, they put together a list of 100--who they talked briefly about on the show last Sunday night. Then they put together a list of the 25 most popular.

That's why I find Shrub being on the list just sickening.

[baron j]

60. The people who nominated him

are sickening, as well.

[DuaneBidoux]

61. Help kick this thing back up to the front page. This should be a major

project. We can make a diffence in how this goes but only if it stays near the top page.

[99Pancakes]

64. Has anyone experimented

to see if you could vote more than 3 times in one visit? I mean, not that I did, but this all seems so low-tech and the how can we feel comfortable with the results?

[DuaneBidoux]

74. I tried and couldn't on the same computer. But I have 3 computers

and found out I could vote from the other two computers. That gives me nine votes a week. The results are bogus no matter what, we just need to be sure they're bogus in our way!

[99Pancakes]

75. Good point.

What happens when you click a 4th time on the same computer during the same visit?

American Hero? What about this guy?

[DuaneBidoux]

76. If you try to vote a fourth time it comes up and says you have to wait

till next week. So next week, with my 3 computers: 9 more votes (I think I'll cast them all for FDR).

[99Pancakes]

77. Thanks

America's Unsung Hero:

[DuaneBidoux]

69. I'm not sure how he got on that list, but the whole point of this thread

is to try and make sure he ends up no where near the top. As it is he is already, by virtue of being in the top 25 destined to at least be the "25th greatest American" but if he ends up near the top I'll absolutely puke. Try to keep this thing kicked until we at least make sure he doesn't get into the next round.

Email this link to all your buddies (reliable buddies).

[iwantmycountryback]

65. Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of Independence, first Democrat. Strong advocate of both separation of church and state AND religious freedom. He knew people should be able to practice whatever religion they want, but that religion should in now way be involved with the government.

[BikeWriter]

66. Three for Bill.

[patricia92243]

67. EXACTLY where on that page does one go to vote? n/t

[DuaneBidoux]

68. You'll see a bunch of photos in a grid. To vote go to the photo of the

person (for example MLK Jr) and place your cursor over the bottom part of the picture. It will change to say "vote" and that is what you press.

[Zhade]

70. I can't believe the fuckers they have up there.

Some real racists and anti-Semites (not to mention murderous traitors like Reagan and b*s*).

I did MLK, FDR, JFK, though I am ambivalent on some of the things the latter two did.

[AwakeAtLast]

73. I voted for the same three!

Unfortunately, I think the way they have it set up makes it very hard for people to vote in new faces. The three vote thing skews the numbers too much to mean a whole lot.

I will vote again next week, though. :hi:

[ChiciB1]

79. I Voted For Eleanor, Franklin & Bill Gates...

Where would we be without Bill Gates???

I know some have attacked him for having ALL the money in the world, almost, but I do think his heart is in the right place.

[FourStarDemocrat]

80. All of them men except for Oprah--extremely sexist imo nt

[DuaneBidoux]

82. Well unfortunately there is only the choices already there (25)

which are extremely inadequate. At this point we can only deal with what is left once we have become aware of it.

[elperromagico]

87. Rosa Parks and Eleanor Roosevelt are not men.

Women are still horribly underrepresented but there are three women in the top 25.

[DuaneBidoux]

83. Can everyone try and keep this kicked through the process?

I know it will be hard because it lasts a long time...but we really need to keep twit Shrub out of the top.

[WePurrsevere]

88. Very tough choice

on a few of those folks. Finally voted for Jefferson, FDR and, although it was a toss up with Franklin, Bob Hope... mostly because he is someone I actually grew up watching and admiring.

Of course that is JMHO YMMV :D

[DuaneBidoux]

90. Don't forget to vote next week (you can vote once a week)

[Felix Mala]

89. You'd have to think that the Greatest American would had to have

actually accomplished something and that doesn't mean lying us into war and winning to suspicious elections. I'd have to go with Ben Franklin.

[ChiciB1]

91. Three For Eleanor Today...

I mixed it up last week. Decided to go triple today!

She was a GREAT L A D Y!

[peekaloo]

92. I voted for Eleanor, Rosa and Edison.

:kick:

[ChiciB1]

94. Kicking Again... VOTE!

Triple up for one and it will help much more. In my opinion!

[DuaneBidoux]

95. Just voted my second time FDR, FDR, FDR