Whiner’s
Affordable & Professional: Breakthrough Web Design 515-897-1144
Enter the Whiner’s Den and post your rants, raves, observations, comments, news tips and confessions.
Founded on Oct. 1, 2010
News & Entertainment for Mason City, Clear Lake & the Entire North Iowa Region
Interesting rankings but the #43 ranked President is no surprise.
Periodically historians and scholars assess and rank the performance of U.S. presidents. It’s an exercise with no sure answer – a matter of opinion informed by study, observation and perspective, also influenced by a measure of one’s political worldview.
While interesting on their face, presidential greatness studies can also serve to remind us of the leadership values that brought out the best in America – and warn us that presidential judgement can be terribly misguided, even corrupt.
Projects evaluating presidential achievement have occurred for decades. The Schlesinger surveys are well known to presidential historians. The first was conducted in 1948 by Arthur Schlesinger Sr., a Harvard University historian, with a follow-up project in 1962. Others came after, to include a survey by his son in 1996. Like his father, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was a historian at Harvard.
In his 1996 survey analysis, Schlesinger Jr. cited former President Calvin Coolidge’s thoughts about the complexity of evaluating chief executives. “Trials and encouragement come to each president,” wrote Coolidge. “It is impossible to explain them. Even after passing through the presidential office, it still remains a great mystery . . . Like the glory of a morning sunrise, it can only be experienced – it cannot be told.”
Schlesinger, Jr. also shared an anecdote about John F. Kennedy, who was a recipient of his father’s 1962 survey. He started to fill out the survey before pushing it aside. JFK proceeded to write in a letter to Schlesinger Sr:
“A year ago I would have responded with confidence . . . but now I am not so sure. After being in the office for a year, I feel that a good deal more study is required to make my judgment sufficiently informed. There is a tendency to mark the obvious names. I would like to subject those not so well known to a long scrutiny after I have left this office.”
In recognition of President’s Day – with a nod to the cautionary words of Coolidge and Kennedy – I took a shot at configuring a presidential performance ranking consensus. This entailed conducting a compilation of survey results from three extensive presidential ranking projects undertaken over the past five years. The three contemporary surveys I utilized were:
The CSPAN Presidential Historians Survey, released in 2021. CSPAN has been conducting surveys since 2000. Participants in the 2021 project were 142 historians, professors, and other professional observers of the presidency.
The Sienna College Research Institute U.S. Presidents Study that was published in 2022. SCRI has been conducting similar surveys since 1982. The 2022 study included the insights of 141 presidential scholars, historians and political scientists.
The Presidential Greatness Project, published in 2024. It was the third joint presidential ranking project conducted since 2015 by professors from the University of Houston and Coastal Carolina University. There were 154 participants in the 2024 survey, including current and recent members of the American Political Science Association as well as scholars who had published topic-related peer-reviewed academic research.
A consensus ranking
To attain a consensus ranking, I calculated the average rank of each president over the three surveys. For context, I grouped the presidents into the six performance categories used by Schlesinger, Jr. in his 1996 survey – great, near great, high average, average, below average and failure. It was my intent to allow the ranking averages to inform assignment of presidents to the specific categories, but some personal judgement was required to determine category breakpoints.
Following is the consensus ranking of the 45 men who have served as President of the United States. The ranking is inclusive of Donald Trump’s first term and a portion of Joe Biden’s term. The number in parentheses is the average ranking of that president across the three surveys.
Great: Abraham Lincoln (1.3), Franklin Roosevelt (2.0), George Washington (2.7), Theodore Roosevelt (4.0).
Near Great: Thomas Jefferson (5.7), Harry Truman(6.3), Dwight Eisenhower (6.3).
High Average: John Kennedy (9.0), Lyndon Johnson (9.3), Barack Obama (9.3), James Madison (12.3), Woodrow Wilson (13.7), James Monroe (14.0), Ronald Reagan (14.3), John Adams (14.7), Bill Clinton (15.0).
Average: Joe Biden (16.5), John Quincy Adams (18.0), James Polk (19.3), Ulysses Grant (19.3), William McKinley (20.0), George H.W. Bush (20.0), Andrew Jackson (22.0), William Howard Taft (23.7), Jimmy Carter (24.0), Grover Cleveland (25.7), James Garfield (28.0), Gerald Ford (28.3).
Below Average: Calvin Coolidge (30.0), Martin Van Buren (30.3), Rutherford Hayes (31.0), Richard Nixon (31.3), Chester Arthur (32.0), George W. Bush (32.0), Benjamin Harrison (32.3), Zachary Taylor (36.3), Herbert Hoover (36.3), John Tyler (38.3), Millard Fillmore (38.3).
Failure: Warren Harding (39.7), William Henry Harrison (40.3), Franklin Pierce (41.7), Donald Trump (43.0), Andrew Johnson (43.7), James Buchanan (44.0).
https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/16/the-great-american-presidents-and-the-failures/
Mason City Road Closure: South Carolina Avenue Between 12th Street SE and 14th Street SE
Starting at 7 am, Tuesday, February 17, South Carolina Avenue between 12th Street SE and 14th Street SE will be closed to through traffic due to tree removal and trimming in that area. The area should be returned to normal traffic flow by the end of the day Thursday, February 19. Please avoid this area and choose alternate routes during this time.
If you have any questions, contact the Street Department at (641) 421-3675.
How did you feel about trump’s racist post last week depicting the Obamas as apes?
“Several social media sites suspended Trump’s accounts after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. They’d do Trump a favor to block them again. He lacks the maturity, judgment and decency to be trusted with screens.”
So true.
Public meeting to discuss Smith Lake improvement plan
Algona – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Kossuth County Conservation Board will host a public meeting at 6 p.m., February 26, at the Water’s Edge Nature Center, located in Smith Lake County Park, to discuss plans from improving water quality and recreational opportunities at Smith Lake.
In the event of inclement weather, a backup meeting will be held at the same time and location on March 5.
Findings from the recently completed diagnostic and feasibility study, as well as proposed restoration activities for the park will be presented at the meeting, along with an opportunity for the public to express their comments and ask questions about the long term management and park improvement plan. Proposed restoration activities for the lake include removal of excess sediment to increase lake depth, shoreline stabilization, a fishery renovation, fish habitat installation, dam/outlet improvements, and recreational access improvements. Work is slated to begin in Fall 2027 and be completed in early 2029.
Smith Lake is currently listed on the state’s list of impaired waters due to high levels of algae. The overall goal of this restoration project is to improve water quality and recreational opportunities in the lake and remove the lake from the Impaired Waters List.
Well, we have the Super Bowl tomorrow and it brings with all its hoopla another reason for MAGA to be upset. Bad Bunny will be the halftime show and MAGA is mad because he isn’t an American. Of course, he is an American because he is Puerto Rican but that doesn’t make any difference to MAGA. They are all going to switch channels at halftime to watch Kid Rock perform on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) a network that says it is a Christian network. So who do they have headlining their show? Kid Rock. He is certainly indicative of MAGA and their American model male figure. What a joke.
More yet..
•Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
•Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).
•Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.
•Republican County Councilman Keola Childs* pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.
•Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.
•Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.
•Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.
•Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter* pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
•Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.
•Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.
This is why the Republican party is not going to prosecute pedophiles unless they are Democrats:•Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.
•Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
•Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
•Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.
•Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.
•Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.
•Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.
•Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.
•Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.
•Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
Republican Congressman Donald “Buz” Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.
•Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.
•Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
•Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.
•Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.
•Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.
House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is in on the game. In 2024 he told reporters, “We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections.” Yesterday, defending Trump’s demand for federal control of elections, he went further: “We had three House Republican candidates who were ahead on Election Day in the last election cycle, and every time a new tranche of ballots came in, they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost…. It looks on its face to be fraudulent.” Then he added the same caveat Republicans have used since 1996: “Can I prove that? No.”
I see our gov wants to give more money to private schools. Private schools students make up 7 1/2% of the total school enrollment in Iowa. Most of those who attend were going to their school before kimmee started giving them money to go to a private school. 42 counties in Iowa don’t have a private school and the private school doesn’t have to accept anyone they don’t want to accept. 10 of the top 20 basketball teams in Iowa’s Class A and 1A are private schools. I don’t know but that percentage seems a lot larger than 7 1/2%. The thing that really irks me is that these schools have no accountability. They don’t have to publicly state where their money goes. Why is that?
Do you block comments now?
News story
Multiple segments of border wall construction are being held up by a lack of final sign-off from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem,
Later in the article.
A senior DHS official confirmed the contracts have yet to be signed, saying they’re going through the review process at headquarters and haven’t reached Noem’s desk.
Both statements true….have to read the whole article to understand, not just lead in.
What happened to the latest posts on Whiners Den?
You got them…now what?
Wonder why Springsteen didn’t write a song about the killing, murders in Minneapolis in the summer of love? Because it was Democrats doing the will of the people. George would of been proud.
Just dump them all, no redactions. Let them all suffer again.
A lot of Viking fans are going to be angry…….but, you know, the truth is the truth. Deal with it.
Norsemen Nation
“You don’t see what’s coming, or are you just afraid to say it out loud?” Kevin O’Connell spoke, his voice low, steady, and controlled, carrying evenly across the studio.
The entire room fell silent. The cameras kept rolling as the atmosphere grew heavy. O’Connell leaned forward, his gaze resolute—not an outburst of anger, but the gravity of someone accustomed to bearing responsibility.
“Listen to me carefully,” he continued. “What’s happening right now isn’t accidental. This chaos isn’t an accident. It’s being fed. It’s being engineered.”
FULL DETAILS https://fynero.biz/…/kevin-oconnells-stark-warning…
Someone on the panel tried to cut in, but O’Connell raised his hand, calm yet firm.
“Hold on. It’s the same in football. When discipline breaks down, when structure collapses, that’s when dangerous people take advantage. T.r.u.m.p doesn’t fear chaos. He needs it.”
He paused, letting the words settle.
“Martial law. Emergency powers. Suspended norms. And then—no midterm elections.”
A quiet voice spoke up: “That sounds extreme.”
O’Connell slowly shook his head.
“Extreme? Dismantling democracy to keep yourself out of prison—that’s extreme. Do you really think a man staring down impeachment and handcuffs is going to respect the rules of the game?”
The camera moved in closer. O’Connell spoke slowly and deliberately, as if underscoring a principle that could not be compromised.
“Watch him closely. He’s not trying to win an election. He’s trying to erase it. And if people keep reassuring themselves that this is impossible, they’ll wake up one day—with soldiers in the streets and no ballot left to cast.”
The silence that followed was heavy, deeper than any argument.
Melania Trump’s movie is flopping so badly that Amazon has shifted from hype mode to full-on damage control
The documentary reportedly cost around $75 million—about $40M to acquire it and another $35M to push it into more than 1,400 theaters across 27 countries . Even with that massive spend, it’s tracking at roughly $5 million for opening weekend. That’s a straight-up face-plant ♂️
According to reports, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has ordered executives to physically show up at premiere events nationwide to make the film look supported ️. Nearly two dozen premieres are planned the night before release, with corporate brass sent in as morale boosters.
The contrast is brutal. Amazon is spending more on marketing this film than it did on The Eras Tour, which opened to over $120 million worldwide and eventually cleared $260 million . Meanwhile, Melania Trump documentary might not earn back ten cents on the dollar.
Social media clips show audiences booing the trailer in theaters . Amazon isn’t screening it for critics. At this point, it feels less like a movie rollout and more like a corporate hostage situation
#BoxOfficeBomb #AmazonFail #DamageControl #MelaniaTrump #jeffbezos
Just a few people protesting ICE in Minneapolis. Sorry Donny boy, your bs is not working.
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1343841814454880&set=a.225551149617291
Cohen accused both James and Bragg of blurring “the line between justice and politics” to advance their careers as the officials who “took down Trump.”
This isn’t Cohen defending Trump.
He made clear he’s speaking out because “prosecutors pick their target first and then seek evidence to fit a predetermined narrative.”
That’s exactly what happened with Michael Flynn during the Mueller investigation
A US army veteran and Purple Heart hero was shoved to the ground by ICE, arrested and thrown in jail for 8 hours without access to a lawyer just for standing and watching them!
William Vermie, a veteran of the Iraq War who sustained injuries in combat, said he was “standing on a sidewalk observing agents arresting two people when he says officers began pushing bystanders back.”
“They were bringing out those two young boys … then the ICE agents were moving down the sidewalk, shoving people and telling them to get off the sidewalk,” Vermie said. “They shoved me when I didn’t move out of the way fast enough.”
They cuffed him almost immediately. “I tried to keep onto my feet and then eventually somebody grabbed one of my legs and then I went over and they all toppled on top of me and got me in cuffs,” said Vermie.
He was taken to the federal gulag at the Whipple building, where he was held for 8 hours and denied his Miranda right to a lawyer.
“They did offer bathroom breaks and water breaks, and I did ask for a band-aid and they gave it to me. But I’d rather have a lawyer than a band-aid when I’m being detained,” said Vermie.
KARE11 reports that “Attorney John Chitwood, who said he was hired by Vermie’s family, said he went to the Whipple Building and waited hours to speak with his client. Chitwood said he was told he could not meet with Vermie because Vermie had not requested him by name — something Vermie wouldn’t have known since he did not get in contact with family.”
“I have represented people accused of the most horrific crimes, and I have never encountered the type of stonewalling, deliberate stonewalling and delay, that I experienced in trying to see Will,” Chitwood said.
“He is a combat-wounded Iraq War vet, and if someone who has honorably served their country is treated this way by the federal government, by these ICE agents, then how are they treating other people?” Chitwood said. “It’s shameful. It is un-American to the core.”
What ICE is doing is indeed beyond shameful and wildly un-American. It is shocking to see the sheer contempt that these ICE goons have for their fellow countrymen, no matter who they are or what they’ve done.
For people who call themselves “patriots,” they sure hate everyone else in this country. It’s almost like this is not about immigration or nationalism but solely about the exercise of power and violence for the sake of it.