Happy Birthday Potus Geeks!
This dorky little community is two years old today according to LiveGerbil. It has transformed from me blogging to myself into a modest membership of over 200 of the most intelligent and adorkable 
potus_geeks on the planet, thanks in part to some time in the LJ spotlight. Thanks to all of you for tolerating my modest little obsession.
It all sprang from me listening to (and liking) a little b-side ditty from a band called They Might Be Giants entitled "James K. Polk". When I realized that I had no clue who James K. Polk was, I decided to read a book about him and then another, and then I read some more about Presidential history and the obsession grew. Presidential history became my porn. I started scouring used bookstores for old history books until my Presidential Library grew into this:
(Actually all of those shelves are now full, I need to add another bookshelf. So many good books, so little time!)
It got so that whenever I was on vacation or at a conference, I would look for the nearest Presidential Library, Museum or other historical spot. I once drove all the way from the beach at Pensacola, Florida to Columbia, Tennessee just because I figured it was the closest I'd ever get to see the James K. Polk Museum at Polk House. On a conference in New York once, I skipped lunch to get on a subway to see Theodore Roosevelt's house and on another day to see Grant's Tomb. Every time I go to visit my partner's family in Kansas, a trip to the Eisenhower Library and Museum in Abilene is always called for. What can I say, I'm such a dork. Thank you for being my enablers.
The first entry in the community (optimistically dated March 26, 2020, but actually posted a decade earlier) read as follows:
This community is intended for anyone with any sort of interest in the office of President of the United States, presidents past and present, presidential history, presidential elections, or pretty much anything presidential. If you're a geek when it comes to such things, then this is really the place for you.
Read a good biography of a president? Tell us about it. Visited a presidential library and have some nifty pictures to share? Post them here. Watched a good (or bad) documentary about a former president? Write a review and post it here. Just feel like blogging on some historical presidential subject? Blog away.
Please be respectful in your post and in how you interact with other members of this community. Avoid profanity, libel or slander, name calling or rudeness. Play nice in this sandbox.
Above all, give in to your inner geek. Extol the virtues of your favorite occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If you think that Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson or Warren G. Harding were misunderstood, we'd love to hear about it. If you have a theory about James Buchanan's sexuality, theorize away. Feel free to post a poll about who was the best ex-general in the white house and why. It's all good, and I know of at least one geek who would love to read what you've got to blog.
I hope this community remains a welcoming and safe place for all manner of Potus geekery.
In 2011 we looked at the civil rights record of every President. We've also enjoyed
direcorrector's entertaining and informative biographies of the Presidents. In 2012 I plan to finish the historical rankings of the Presidents and see how ours compares with that of all the academics and smart guys (ours will be much more reliable because of the collective brainpower of this group.)
It's an election year, the first in the community's history, so I plan to monitor the 2012 campaign, as well as look at elections past, and call on you to make your predictions of not just the winner, but of the final electoral college result too. Historically, no President has ever won re-election where unemployment rates are over 7.2%, will Barack Obama be the first? Or will the year close with a few posts about President-elect Romney? As the election gets closer, I plan to poll this group for your opinions on Professor Allan J. Lichtman's Thirteen Keys system that has successfully predicted the outcome of every modern Presidential election.
Thank you for your continuing membership in this community, for your insightful comments, posts and most of all for putting up with my geeky obsession. I am grateful for your kindness, encouragement and participation. Here's to whatever wonderful geekiness 2012 will bring!
potus_geeks on the planet, thanks in part to some time in the LJ spotlight. Thanks to all of you for tolerating my modest little obsession.It all sprang from me listening to (and liking) a little b-side ditty from a band called They Might Be Giants entitled "James K. Polk". When I realized that I had no clue who James K. Polk was, I decided to read a book about him and then another, and then I read some more about Presidential history and the obsession grew. Presidential history became my porn. I started scouring used bookstores for old history books until my Presidential Library grew into this:
(Actually all of those shelves are now full, I need to add another bookshelf. So many good books, so little time!)
It got so that whenever I was on vacation or at a conference, I would look for the nearest Presidential Library, Museum or other historical spot. I once drove all the way from the beach at Pensacola, Florida to Columbia, Tennessee just because I figured it was the closest I'd ever get to see the James K. Polk Museum at Polk House. On a conference in New York once, I skipped lunch to get on a subway to see Theodore Roosevelt's house and on another day to see Grant's Tomb. Every time I go to visit my partner's family in Kansas, a trip to the Eisenhower Library and Museum in Abilene is always called for. What can I say, I'm such a dork. Thank you for being my enablers.
The first entry in the community (optimistically dated March 26, 2020, but actually posted a decade earlier) read as follows:
This community is intended for anyone with any sort of interest in the office of President of the United States, presidents past and present, presidential history, presidential elections, or pretty much anything presidential. If you're a geek when it comes to such things, then this is really the place for you.
Read a good biography of a president? Tell us about it. Visited a presidential library and have some nifty pictures to share? Post them here. Watched a good (or bad) documentary about a former president? Write a review and post it here. Just feel like blogging on some historical presidential subject? Blog away.
Please be respectful in your post and in how you interact with other members of this community. Avoid profanity, libel or slander, name calling or rudeness. Play nice in this sandbox.
Above all, give in to your inner geek. Extol the virtues of your favorite occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. If you think that Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson or Warren G. Harding were misunderstood, we'd love to hear about it. If you have a theory about James Buchanan's sexuality, theorize away. Feel free to post a poll about who was the best ex-general in the white house and why. It's all good, and I know of at least one geek who would love to read what you've got to blog.
I hope this community remains a welcoming and safe place for all manner of Potus geekery.
In 2011 we looked at the civil rights record of every President. We've also enjoyed
direcorrector's entertaining and informative biographies of the Presidents. In 2012 I plan to finish the historical rankings of the Presidents and see how ours compares with that of all the academics and smart guys (ours will be much more reliable because of the collective brainpower of this group.) It's an election year, the first in the community's history, so I plan to monitor the 2012 campaign, as well as look at elections past, and call on you to make your predictions of not just the winner, but of the final electoral college result too. Historically, no President has ever won re-election where unemployment rates are over 7.2%, will Barack Obama be the first? Or will the year close with a few posts about President-elect Romney? As the election gets closer, I plan to poll this group for your opinions on Professor Allan J. Lichtman's Thirteen Keys system that has successfully predicted the outcome of every modern Presidential election.
Thank you for your continuing membership in this community, for your insightful comments, posts and most of all for putting up with my geeky obsession. I am grateful for your kindness, encouragement and participation. Here's to whatever wonderful geekiness 2012 will bring!