NationStates Jolt Archive

Inspired by this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10173272&postcount=1). All the rules that apply to his thread apply here (i.e., disagree respectfully, don't flame, etc.), except for the eye-rolling smilie thing. Instead of keeping them to a minimum, I want to see no eye-rolling smilies in this thread, period. If you can't respect that, don't post. It's as simple as that.

Oh yeah, you don't have to explain your choices, though I'd prefer that you do. But again, it's your choice. And no, you don't have to be American to submit a list.


My top ten (in no particular order):

1. Joe McCarthy

2. Martin Dies

3. J. Edgar Hoover

4. Lysander Spooner

5. Booker T. Washington

6. John T. Flynn

7. Francis Cardinal Spellman

8. Alvin York

9. Audie Murphy

10. The Founding Fathers (a tie between all of them)

Once again, I can't really name specific names, but I'm willing to give it a go with categories:

1] Anyone willing to stand up to the government on behalf of those who can't.

2] Anyone willing to lose their job in order to make sure they get to the voting booth.

3] The eternally vigilant.

4] Dissenters and Subversives.

5] Anyone willing to make their voice heard, even if it isn't popular, just because it's right.

6] Anyone willing to defend the rights of someone else before their own.

7] Anyone capable of looking beyond race, religion, and politics when it comes to defense of rights.

8] Anyone willing to make sure that those in power are held accountable for their actions.

9] Anyone who spits on the idea of American Nationalism.

10] Anyone and everyone who has fought and/or died for my right to post this message.

Once again, I can't really name specific names, but I'm willing to give it a go with categories:

1] Anyone willing to stand up to the government on behalf of those who can't.

2] Anyone willing to lose their job in order to make sure they get to the voting booth.

3] The eternally vigilant.

4] Dissenters and Subversives.

5] Anyone willing to make their voice heard, even if it isn't popular, just because it's right.

6] Anyone willing to defend the rights of someone else before their own.

7] Anyone capable of looking beyond race, religion, and politics when it comes to defense of rights.

8] Anyone willing to make sure that those in power are held accountable for their actions.

9] Anyone who spits on the idea of American Nationalism.

10] Anyone and everyone who has fought and/or died for my right to post this message.

All good choices (some I don't agree with, but good nonetheless), but by top 10 I meant individuals. I should been more specific. Oh yeah, dissenters and subversives are not the same thing.

All good choices (some I don't agree with, but good nonetheless), but by top 10 I meant individuals. I should been more specific. Oh yeah, dissenters and subversives are not the same thing.

I know they're not to same, that's why I said both.

I can't really name specifics. I can't really name everyone, especially the group involved with #10, who I see as great Americans. Malcolm X tops the list as does Nathan Hale and Robert Kennedy, but most of the people I see as great Americans are just those average joes that most folks wouldn't know anyway.

In no particular order

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Paine http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/thomas_paine.html

FDR

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

John Brown http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html

Abraham Lincoln

William Jennings Bryan

Susan B Anthony

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Frederick Douglass

John Brown http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html

John Brown was a murderer, a psychopath, and a terrorist. His intention (ending slavery) was highly laudable (sp?) and his motives were pure, but his methods were not.

John Brown was a murderer, a psychopath, and a terrorist. His intention (ending slavery) was highly laudable (sp?) and his motives were pure, but his methods were not.
He was a soldier fighting for a just cause. Sometimes the ends do justify the means.

John Brown was a murderer, a psychopath, and a terrorist. His intention (ending slavery) was highly laudable (sp?) and his motives were pure, but his methods were not.

Agreed. He was an extremist.

Agreed. He was an extremist.
Well, according to Barry Goldwater "Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice".

In no order

FDR
Abe Lincoln
Jonas Salk
Dr. Richard Charles Drew
James Madison
Fred Rogers
Ted Gisel
Samuel Clemmons
Myrna Loy
Jimmy Carter

In no particular order :

Robert E. Lee

General Patton

Ronald Reagan

JFK

John Rockefeller


Abraham Lincoln

William Renqhuist

Thomas Jefferson

General MacArthur

Lyndon B Johnson

Fred Rogers

Amen

Ronald Reagan
Theodore Roosevelt
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Benjamin Franklin
Audie Murphy
Gen Norman Schwarzkopf
Robert "Marse" E. Lee
Every individual in uniform at home, or overseas.

1. John Lennon. Oh. Wait.
2. Sitting Bull.
3. Cesar Chavez.
4. Albert Einstein. Does that one count?
5. Martin Luther King Jr.
6. Nina Simone.
7. Alfred Kinsey.
8.....

10 is too many.

In no particular order -

-FDR
-Benjamin Franklin
-Thomas Jefferson
-John Adams
-Lincoln(I know he did some fucked up shit and was still a racist... but ending slavery and attempting to make generous peace with the south after the war does put him on the list)
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
-Henry David Thoreau
-Thomas Edison
-Eugene V. Debs
-Roger Baldwin(founder of the ACLU)

In no order

Dr. Richard Charles Drew
Ted Gisel
Samuel Clemmons
Myrna Loy

Who are they?

4. Albert Einstein. Does that one count?

Eh...why not.

In no particular order:

Theodore Roosevelt: Because he proved that geeks really can be both important and popular. Moreover, he was the first President to host an African-American at dinner and began the long and arduous tasks of breaking trusts and saving our lands. He also nearly succeeded in changing America's political system from a two-party to a three-party.

Franklin Roosevelt: A man who could not win an election in our times simply because of his disability. His vision kept the nation going through depression and war.

Dwight D Eisenhower: For keeping the Allies together during the Second World War. Only he could make Monty, Patton, and De Gaul come together and fight the Germans, instead of each other. His presidency was another matter entirely....

Thomas Jefferson: For penning the Declaration of Independence, signing the Louisiana Purchase, and waging America's first ever war on terrorism, against the Barbary pirates.

John F Kennedy: For seeing us through the Cuban Missile Crisis. Everyone should be thankful for that, although half of the seeing through was done by the Soviets (it takes two for an international crisis!).

Douglas MacArthur: For his enlightened rulership over Japan during the occupation, though his generalship skills against the Japanese were somewhat lacking. He fought brilliantly against the North Koreans, though, only to be hindered by President Truman.

Marshal: For the Marshal Plan, of all things....

The Gentleman-Formerly-Known-As-Deepthroat: For having the nessesary testicular fortitude to pass secrets to the Washington Post concerning Watergate.

Ruddy Giuliani: For spit-polishing New York City's image. For crushing crime and bringing prosperity back to Times Square. And for seeing the City through 9/11 and its after-effects.

Albert Einstein: For his sheer genius and humility in the face of things that he didn't understand. The impact of his works are unlikely to fade in the slightest for decades, if not centuries.

Who are they?

Dr. Richard Charles Drew : He established the blood blank system and created Plasma

-edit- Whoops a dsylexia moment. That is Dr. Charles Richard Drew.

Ted Gisel : Dr. Seuss

Samuel Clemmons : Mark Twain

Myrna Loy : Actress. Did a great amount of humanitarian work, Unesco, spoke out against Hitler(made his black list), and she challenged McCarthy. Ballsy woman!

IN order:
Links provided for info. I guess I really like Jims and Toms.

1. James K. Polk
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jp11.html

2. Thomas Paine
http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/political/bldef_painethomas.htm

3. Thomas Jefferson
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html

4. James Madison
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jm4.html

5. Thomas Edison
http://www.thomasedison.com/

6. Edgar Allen Poe
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/LIT/poe.htm

7. Ben Franklin
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/bfranklin/franklin.htm

8. H.L. Mencken
http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/mencken/

9. Larry Flynt
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=72

10. Gene Roddenberry
http://www.pathcom.com/~boby/gene.htm

Eh...why not.

I think it was a question of people born here or became one....

IN order:
2. Thomas Paine
http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/political/bldef_painethomas.htm

3. Thomas Jefferson
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tj3.html

5. Thomas Edison
http://www.thomasedison.com/

7. Ben Franklin
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/bfranklin/franklin.htm

8. H.L. Mencken
http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/mencken/


Good choices. Curse me for forgetting Mencken!

Any list that doesn't include Ben Franklin is incomplete. He was the one that started to call Americans "Americans."

1. Ben Franklin
2. Les Paul
3. Mel Brooks
4. George Washington
5. Thomas Edison
6. Babe Ruth
7. Myself
8. Martin Luther King Jr.
9. Eli Whitney
10. Bruce Lee (Yes, he was born in America, we claim him)

Note the lack of politicians.

Thomas Edison
Ben Franklin
Henry Ford
Woodrow Wilson
Rosa Parks
Martin L. King
Hugh Heffner
Various Indian Chiefs I don't remember the names of (those that tried to live in peace with the "invaders" but couldn't)

And I'm sure I forgot some.

I would also say that I cannot at all agree with the nomination of Joe McCarthy in the OP: The guy was about as un-American as it gets.

Oh, and Einstein...not really all that American. But if the rules are the same as in the other thread, I'd add him too.

1. Joe McCarthy
Gotta disagree with you on that one...yes, there was some threat of communist infiltration - however it did not merit the degree of abuse McCarthy committed. In contrast to McCarthy I offer Edward R. Murrow

Gotta disagree with you on that one...yes, there was some threat of communist infiltration - however it did not merit the degree of abuse McCarthy committed. In contrast to McCarthy I offer Edward R. Murrow

What abuse? He's not the bully-boy ogre the left makes him out to be.

Dr. Richard Charles Drew : He established the blood blank system and created Plasma

Created the American Red Cross, he did. A fine man. A fine doctor. Singularly responsible for saving millions of lives.

The "died in front of a white's only hospital" thing is a myth (pre-emptive strike before anyone tries to bring it up).

What abuse? He's not the bully-boy ogre the left makes him out to be.
Actually, he was.

He was a bully, he accused everyone and everything of being a commie, he basically manufactured a threat in order to get reelected, he got Charlie Chaplin (!) kicked out of the country, and finally he accused the military of being communist.

There is only two ways to describe that sort of thing: Either he believed what he was saying, in which case he was paranoid³, or he didn't in which case he was a liar and a cheat who destroyed people's lives.

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Senate_unseals_050503.htm

Created the American Red Cross, he did. A fine man. A fine doctor. Singularly responsible for saving millions of lives.

The "died in front of a white's only hospital" thing is a myth (pre-emptive strike before anyone tries to bring it up).

Then what did Clara Barton do? IIRC, she had something to do with the development/founding of the Red Cross.

He was a soldier fighting for a just cause. Sometimes the ends do justify the means.

I don't think I can emphasize this enough, but...

Committing a little evil to cause a greater good is always moral. It is not moral, however, when that little evil is in the name of a greater good, but a greater evil results.

The personality in question, however, did nothing for black rights. Except to murder people at seeming random, smearing the names of every abolitionist in existence. If you think that isn't the case, try blowing up a Federal Building to protest the War in Iraq and see how the reputation of anti-War folk drops like a rock, while those who say that liberals are terrorists and scum suddenly get a large boost to their arguement. He did, at the end of the day, nothing but murder and terrorize. He did nothing for the plight of black slaves.

In his case, because the ends were simply his death and the deaths of many, many of his followers and a strengthening of pro-slavery legislation, his little evil in the name of a greater good wound up creating a greater evil.

In no particular order:

Eugene Debs (Helped to found the IWW)
Elizabeth Gurley-Flynn (Helped to found the IWW and the ACLU)
FDR (Duh)
Benjamin Franklin (Duh again)
Henry David Thoreau (Started the doctrine of civil disobedience)
Susan B. Anthony (Duh yet again)
Martin Luther King Jr.(Duh x4)
Thomas Paine (Wrote "Common Sense")
Crazy Horse (Fought against the invaders)
The founders of ACT-UP

Actually, he was.

He was a bully, he accused everyone and everything of being a commie, he basically manufactured a threat in order to get reelected, he got Charlie Chaplin (!) kicked out of the country, and finally he accused the military of being communist.

There is only two ways to describe that sort of thing: Either he believed what he was saying, in which case he was paranoid³, or he didn't in which case he was a liar and a cheat who destroyed people's lives.

http://www.veteransforpeace.org/Senate_unseals_050503.htm

Not to mention he tried labeling Murrow and implied Ike.

He was an opportunist....

I can't see why just about all these lists have "FDR" on them. He just wasn't all that great for the country in the long run. The New Deal is crushing taxpayers today. What he did was a quick fix and it should have been temporary. I will not elaborate as i'm sure that would belong in a different thread.

I can't see why just about all these lists have "FDR" on them. He just wasn't all that great for the country in the long run. The New Deal is crushing taxpayers today. What he did was a quick fix and it should have been temporary. I will not elaborate as i'm sure that would belong in a different thread.

Explains why no President has extended it, eh? D'oh!

In no particular order, my top five (too tired to think of ten)

1. Thomas Edison (the lightbulb)
2. Henry Ford (cheap, affordable, black cars)
3. Robert E. Lee (for taking a stand others wouldn't have, despite how he felt about slavery)
4. JFK (youngest ever elected POTUS, faced off against the USSR in the Cuban MC, might have stopped Vietnam before it got rolling)
5. Crazy Horse (for defeating Custer, and never backing down in the face of genocide)

In no particular order, for lots of different reasons and in some cases one entry must stand for many.

Chief Joseph

Aaron Burr

Stagger Lee

Medgar Evers

E E Cummings

Matt Groening

Harriet Tubman

Georgia Sam

Ogden Nash

Neil Armstrong

My list no particular order:


James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
George Washington
James K. Polk
Robert Edward Lee
Thomas Jackson (Stonewall Jackson)
Fredrick Douglas (This man was the best, and probably did the most for black freedom.... "On the sea of politics, the boat of republicanism is the only boat for the negro race")
George S. Patton
Ronald Reagan
Toss up between George W. Bush and Grover Clevland

John Brown was a murderer, a psychopath, and a terrorist. His intention (ending slavery) was highly laudable (sp?) and his motives were pure, but his methods were not.

...and as we have discussed here before, your number one choice drove at least one man to suicide.

Thomas Paine (Wrote "Common Sense")


British, shurely?

1. Henry David Thoreau - Can be credited with heavily influencing Civil Disobediance in America.

2. Martin Luther King Junior - Prooved that you can campaign for civil rights and win peacefully.

3. Thomas Jefferson - The idealist who, while forced to compromise many of them, fought for his ideals against the first vestiges of tyranny in America.

4. James Madison - Wrote our Constitution and campaigned for the Bill of Rights.

5. Herbert Hoover - For all of his presidential inneptitude, he saved millions of lives following World War I.

6. FDR - Not only did he revolutionize our understanding of what our government could and should do, he also won World War II (I despise him in many ways for his tyrranical actions, but I acknowledge that he won the second world war.)

7. Woodrow Wilson - He may have been a racist fuck, but he was also an idealist who beleived in self determination and the end of colonialism throughout the world.

8. Edgar Allan Poe - Without a doubt one of America's greatest, and darkest, authors.

9. Aaron Copland - Possibly America's greatest composer of history.

10. Suzan B Anthony - One of the leader's in the struggle for women's rights in the US.

2. Martin Luther King Junior - Prooved that you can campaign for civil rights and win peacefully.



No, Gandhi proved you can peacefully campaign and win.
Martin Luthor King copied

No, Gandhi proved you can peacefully campaign and win.
Martin Luthor King copied

Well that depends if you can prove he copied him.

What abuse? He's not the bully-boy ogre the left makes him out to be.

Yes, he was. He was a drunk. He was a paranoid. He wasted taxpayers money on an overinflated witch-hunt that ruined innocent people's lives. He did the real communist operatives a favor by being so paranoid that he disrupted the government's ability to concentrate on real threats. In other words, his anti-communist crusade was counter-productive. The fact that you not only defend him but present him as one of the 10 best Americans ever (bypassing politicians who did real good, scientists who made profound discoveries, civil rights leaders, peace makers and many many more,) shows a level of indoctrination that borders on cultish.

If you defend Joe McCarthy, you might as well defend flat Earthers. I'll gladly send you $1 to start you on your way towards buying a clue.

You're so out of touch with reality, I can only conclude that you are posting in jest.

Read a book (other than by Anne Coulter,) it might help.

You realize that McCarthy was officially censured, don't you?

Yes, some of the people McCarthy targeted were actively working against the interests of the US, though part of this is due to McCarthy's scattershot approach which ruined the lives of several innocent and unright people. If you cast an incredibly wide net, you will eventually catch some of what you want.

In no particular order:

Henry David Thoreau
Martin Luther King Jr.
Charles Ives (I like classical music ;-])
Thomas Edison
Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein
Mark Twain, aka Samuel Clemens
O. Henry (I forgot his real name :()
Sitting Bull
Dr. Jonas Salk

To my mind, a good politician is an oxymoron.

1.) George Washington
2.) Teddy Roosevelt
3.) Abraham Lincoln
4.) Thomas Edison
5.) James Polk
6.) Franklin Roosevelt
7.) Ike Eisenhower
8.) Jackie Robinson
9.) Thomas Jefferson
10.) Andrew Jackson

In no particular order

Frank Herbert
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Bill Gates(he's doing alot to fight disease and poverty in the world)
Martin Luther King Jr
Thomas Edison
Thomas Jefferson
Robert F. Kennedy
Albert Einstein(does he count?)
Larry Page and Sergey Brin(yeah I know he was born in Russia)

Inspired by this thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=10173272&postcount=1). All the rules that apply to his thread apply here (i.e., disagree respectfully, don't flame, etc.), except for the eye-rolling smilie thing. Instead of keeping them to a minimum, I want to see no eye-rolling smilies in this thread, period. If you can't respect that, don't post. It's as simple as that.

Oh yeah, you don't have to explain your choices, though I'd prefer that you do. But again, it's your choice. And no, you don't have to be American to submit a list.


My top ten (in no particular order):

1. Joe McCarthy

2. Martin Dies

3. J. Edgar Hoover

4. Lysander Spooner

5. Booker T. Washington

6. John T. Flynn

7. Francis Cardinal Spellman

8. Alvin York

9. Audie Murphy

10. The Founding Fathers (a tie between all of them)

I think trying to list just 10 great Americans is rather silly. By definition, any list is inadequate. All of your picks are men, and, with one exception your picks are all white.

Nonetheless, this list is inspired by yours:

1. Edgar R. Murrow and Joseph N. Welch

2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

3. Martin Luther King, Jr.

4. Clarence Darrow

5. Malcolm X

6. Eugene V. Debs

7. Barry W. Lynn

8. Jane Addams

9. Edna St. Vincent Millay

10. The Founders (particularly James Madison)

John Brown was a murderer, a psychopath, and a terrorist. His intention (ending slavery) was highly laudable (sp?) and his motives were pure, but his methods were not.

I can't believe someone with Joeseph McCarthy, Alvin York, and Audie Murphy on his list can criticize a pick on the grounds of (a) the pick's morality or (b) the pick having killed anyone.

In no order

Dr. Richard Charles Drew
Ted Gisel
Samuel Clemmons
Myrna LoyWho are they?

If you don't know, look them up.

I would have thought you'd know at least Theodor (“Ted”) Seuss Geisel and Mark Twain (Samuel Clemmons).

What abuse? He's not the bully-boy ogre the left makes him out to be.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator... You have done enough. Have you no decency, sir? Have you, at last, no sense of decency?"

I can't believe someone with Joeseph McCarthy, Alvin York, and Audie Murphy on his list can criticize a pick on the grounds of (a) the pick's morality or (b) the pick having killed anyone.

But I can!

Well that depends if you can prove he copied him.

Martin Luther King said that Ghandi was actually just following Reinhold Niebuhr's power principles (which were what King was following).

I should have put Neibuhr on my list!!! :headbang:

In no order

1. Abraham Lincoln

2. Ronald Wilson Reagan

3. Benjamin Franklin (saved Constitutional Convention)

4. Admiral Hyman G. Rickover

5. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

6. Fleet Admiral William "Bull" Halsey

7. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry

8. John Paul Jones "I have not yet begun to fight."

9. Every other man who has served in the United States Navy.

10. Any man who has served in any other branch of the United States Military.

10. Any man who has served in any other branch of the United States Military.[/b]

David Berkowitz was one of the ten (+) best Americans? I would hate to see the worst.

9. Every other man who has served in the United States Navy.

10. Any man who has served in any other branch of the United States Military.

I assume the seperation of the two, because the United States Navy isn't good enough to be part of America's military? ;)

9. Every other man who has served in the United States Navy.

10. Any man who has served in any other branch of the United States Military.[/b]

The contributions of women to our Military are, of course, not worth mentioning. :rolleyes:

Do you know how many psychos and serial killers have served in the military? :headbang:

The contributions of women to our Military are, of course, not worth mentioning. :rolleyes:

Do you know how many psychos and serial killers have served in the military? :headbang:

Timothy McVeigh comes to mind....

I assume the seperation of the two, because the United States Navy isn't good enough to be part of America's military? ;)

Guess the Air Force people are screwed. ;)

If you don't know, look them up.

I would have thought you'd know at least Theodor (“Ted”) Seuss Geisel and Mark Twain (Samuel Clemmons).

Hmpf? I wonder if he knows who Fred Rogers was?

British, shurely?Yes, by birth. Didn't he settle here after the war was over?

Yes, by birth. Didn't he settle here after the war was over?

I know he lived in America for a while, but was he ever granted citizenship?

9. Every other man who has served in the United States Navy.

10. Any man who has served in any other branch of the United States Military.[/b]
What about women?

I know he lived in America for a while, but was he ever granted citizenship?I dunno, I assumed he was as much of an American as Thomas Jefferson was. <Checks wikipedia> Wikipedia seems to say that he was a citizen.

What about women?

They ain't done shit for the USA. Nor have those engaged in the medical field or in fighting fires. All of these people have less value to the US in IDF's eyes than the Son of Sam. But hey, what's a couple of sexually motivated murders between friends?

I dunno, I assumed he was as much of an American as Thomas Jefferson was. <Checks wikipedia> Wikipedia seems to say that he was a citizen.

The line in the Wiki article which uses the word 'citizen' is unclear as to whether he was actually a citizen or just claimed to be so. I'll look it up over the next couple of days.

The line in the Wiki article which uses the word 'citizen' is unclear as to whether he was actually a citizen or just claimed to be so. I'll look it up over the next couple of days.
Okay, thanks. :) If he doesn't qualify, then Emma Goldman can have his place.

well ok, hes only somewhat american, dont know if he was ever naturalized or not doesnt really matter to me he easily takes the prize
ludwig von mises (can you tell i love him from my name)
www.mises.org

Not exactly the ten best, more like ten of the best. Some have explanations; most need none or I was just to lazy. Arranged in no particular order:

Bill Gates
Albert Einstein
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dr. Suess-I didn't put his real name as to avoid confusion for some people.
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight D. Eisenhower-Gave us NASA and the interstate highway system. But mostly NASA.
Bob Hope-Everyone needs to laugh now and then, especially people serving in the millitary.
Edward R. Murrow
Susan B. Anthony

For shame that no one has mentioned Tesla (foreign born, but Ameruican nontheless.)

One of the most underappreciated minds ever.

In no particular order and considering people that are currently alive.

1. Russ Feingold
2. Bill Clinton
3. Colin Powell
4. John McCain
5. Al Gore
6. Warren Buffett
7. Paul O'Neill
8. Steven Spielberg
9. Marty Scorsese
10. Quentin Tarantino

Ben Franklin
Abe Lincoln
George Washington
Albert Einstein

I can't think of anymore right now, I'll do it later...

1. Martin Luther King Jr.
2. Eugene V. Debs
3. Emma Goldman
4. Susan B. Anthony
5. Helen Keller
6. William Lloyd Garrison
7. John Brown
8. Abraham Lincoln
9. Harriet Tubman
10. Daniel Shays

In no particular order and considering people that are currently alive.

1. Russ Feingold
2. Bill Clinton
3. Colin Powell
4. John McCain
5. Al Gore
6. Warren Buffett
7. Paul O'Neill
8. Steven Spielberg
9. Marty Scorsese
10. Quentin Tarantino
Hey hey, one of the 10 best Americans according to Canada6 lives in the same city I do. We go way back, I have a picture of me and him at a baseball game. To sum it all up, I should be 11 on that list simply by association.

When I get around to making my list, it will include Refused Party Program even though he is not American, because he pwns j00 all. That is all.

In no particular order:

Martin Luther King Jr.
Thomas Jefferson
John McCain
Mark Twain
Bill Clinton
Susan B. Anthony
John Stewart
Helen Keller
Colin Powell
FDR

1) Spencer Silver
2) Joseph Cayetty
3) William Middlebrook
4) Hugh Hefner
5) Refused Party Program
6) Carl Reiner
7) Armand Hammer
8) Dr. Louis Fieser
9) Chester A. Arthur
10) Dr. Seuss.

5) Refused Party Program

That's more like it. You only get a A- because everyone knows there's only 1) Refused Party Program.

Guess the Air Force people are screwed. ;)
I don't know what the Air Force is. I've never heard of them. I have heard of the Chair Force though.

The contributions of women to our Military are, of course, not worth mentioning. :rolleyes:

Do you know how many psychos and serial killers have served in the military? :headbang:
That was my mistake. Many women have served their country well. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper comes to mind.

in no particular order...

- Emperor Norton I
- John Belushi
- Steve Martin
- Malcolm X
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Benjamin Franklin
- Harriet Tubman
- Mark Twain
- Chuck Palahniuk
- Jon Stewart

:)

For those of you that selected him... Einstein isn't exactly American.

For those of you that selected him... Einstein isn't exactly American.
Well, when I did the original "Ten Worst Americans" thread, I noted that naturalized citizens were fair game (mainly because I wanted to pop Rupert Murdoch). Maghda followed the same rules in this thread, as he noted in the opening post, so Einstein qualifies.

In no particular order.

1.Robocop
2.Alexander Graham Bell
3.John Mclane
4.Wheeler and Captain Planet come in at a tie.
5.Mace Windu
6.Neo
7. Homer Simpson and Rex Banner come in at a tie.
8.Bruce Banner
9.Jonny Rico
10.Zordon

1.Robocop

You mis-spelled "Refused Party Program".

5.Mace Windu


He never officially got his citizenship.

Hey, Mace died fighting for freedom, and according to every American cop show I've ever seen, that's what makes you American.

Uhmmmm. Albert Einstein had trouble speaking English and still wrote all his thesis in German up to the day he died. Very American, can't even speak fluently or work with the language :rolleyes:

PS : he was like Arnie, he had a killer heavy accent.

1. Ronald Reagan
2. George Washington
3. George W. Bush (Jnr)
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. Willian T. Sherman
6. U.S. Grant
7. Henry Ford
8. Oliver North
9. Bill O'Reilly
10. William C. Durant

I'm actualy struggling to find "American heroes" whose influence and intentions transcended the USA beyond Roosevelt and Kennedy, and whose intentions were not contrary to those of the recipients of his actions.

I'm actualy struggling to find "American heroes" whose influence and intentions transcended the USA beyond Roosevelt and Kennedy, and whose intentions were not contrary to those of the recipients of his actions.


See Thomas Edision, Alexander Graham Bell and any other inventor really.

Alexander Graham Bell isn't American.

Alexander Graham Bell isn't American.

I just found out that he *gasp* didn't invent the telephone anyway! What is this treachery?!

here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,738675,00.html)

Not sure whether or not to be surprised that Lorena Bobbit's name hasn't made anyone's list.

For those of you that selected him... Einstein isn't exactly American.

He became one and I don't think it was specified that you had to be born here for the thread.

Besides if you become one does that make you less of one?

Some of the better Americans I have known are people that became one vs the people born here.....

Cybach']Uhmmmm. Albert Einstein had trouble speaking English and still wrote all his thesis in German up to the day he died. Very American, can't even speak fluently or work with the language :rolleyes:

PS : he was like Arnie, he had a killer heavy accent.

:D Never visited this country eh?

I can take you to areas where "Americans" speak spanish and vietnamese far better then english.

Hmmm so by you logic, naturalised citizens are second class?

:D Never visited this country eh?

I can take you to areas where "Americans" speak spanish and vietnamese far better then english.

Hmmm so by you logic, naturalised citizens are second class?
Hell, some of my college students, born and raised in this country, full citizens, can't hardly speak English.

He became one and I don't think it was specified that you had to be born here for the thread.

Besides if you become one does that make you less of one?

Some of the better Americans I have known are people that became one vs the people born here.....
That's not what I meant at all. when you consider a discussion on the 10 greatest americans you would normaly expect to talk about people that were "products" of American schooling, society, culture and philosophy. Einstein does not apply.

That's not what I meant at all. when you consider a discussion on the 10 greatest americans you would normaly expect to talk about people that were "products" of American schooling, society, culture and philosophy. Einstein does not apply.
That's what you're expecting--some of us have different criteria. For instance, my criteria would be focused more on contributions to American politics, or culture, art, music, literature, etc., which has little or nothing to do with their schooling or where they were raised. Hell, the Founding Fathers made a lot of the lists in this thread, and none of them were products of what you described above, so are they disqualified?

Probably not. They can be considered as inventors of America.