Happy President's Day...

     Ah, the day we remember the past, when being president was a matter of tending to people's needs, not raising taxes to fund ridiculous research to answer a question a rational thinker could have given you for free. When protecting the people was more important than taxing them into the poorhouse. When the president stood for what was right, not for what was "politically correct" or "internationally acceptable". When people voted for what was best for the country, not for their "favorite". Ah, yes... I hate politics...

     Wait... what was I talking about? Oh yeah, that's right. THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

    Such a 'bully' [read: "first-rate"] president!

     Theodore Roosevelt is my favorite for too many reasons to write down, mostly because most of them I learned from unreliable sources and can't actually verify their authenticity. Some, however, I know to be true, and they're the ones that matter.

      One of my personal favorite quotes is one of his: "Speak softly, and carry a big stick." This idea of peaceful negotiation reinforced by a powerful physical force through military means was something Roosevelt did exceedingly well. I mean, he ordered the "Great White Fleet" to circumnavigate the world just to show everyone that, "Lookie here. We're the biggest. We're the baddest. Don't mess with us." This is something I think we [America] have lost. Sure, we still have a very powerful military, but, with all the military budget cuts and the rising military might of other world superpowers, I believe our bark is far bigger than our bite.

      Did you know someone tried to assassinate him? They didn't do a very good job. When Roosevelt was running for a third term (which he sadly did not win), someone shot him before he was to give a speech. He gave the speech anyway, and spoke for over ninety minutes before deciding the blood flowing from the wound had ruined his favorite shirt quite enough. A few years later, he died in his sleep, which was good because, as one of his fellow politicians said, "If Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight."

     To be honest, I have no idea what the man's political agenda was. I think that, on a personal level, if the sources from Wikipedia are to be believed, we would have gotten along great together. However, as I said above, I hate politics. Unless it directly affects me, I'd rather not talk about it. I do know that I would have stood behind him with his "Big Stick" ideology. Of that, I am sure.

     I'm also sure some of you are thinking, "What does this have to do with video games," or, "I'm not American and I don't care about your petty political figures." Don't worry, the video game posts are coming back soon enough...