The Green Wave Gazette January/February 2014 | Page 7

February/March 2014

Page 7

Who Were the Most Attractive Presidents?
-Let us know if you agree at greenwavegazette.org
the presidents by attractiveness. This has
been a year-long project that started out as
little joke in history class, but then it got
very serious, very quickly. I used presidential
President‘s day is a time for us to celebrate
Ian portraits as Associate in the ranking, so I‘m
MacLeod, references Editor
our presidents and the things they have done
sorry if some of these presidents were not
for our country. But enough about that, let‘s
exactly judged in their prime.
talk about the important stuff, like which
On January 4, the city of Fallu- that have
This project has spawned debates
presidents are the most attractive?
jah in the Anbarof my friendships to the very
rocked some province of
I have painstakingly and meticulously com- Iraq, fell to Islamic militants
core, but the end result is worth it. There
piled this list along with some friends ranking

Kim Phan
Associate Editor

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

John F. Kennedy
Franklin D. Roosevelt
James Monroe
Barack Obama
William J. Clinton
James Madison
Thomas Jefferson
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin Pierce
Abraham Lincoln.
Ulysses S. Grant
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan
John Tyler
Lyndon B. Johnson

affiliated with al Qaeda, the
Islamic State in Iraq and the
Levant, after a three day clash
with government
16. Gerald Ford forces. On the
31.
19th the Iraqi government an- 32.
17. Zachary Taylor
nounced an offensive to retake 33.
1 8. Jimmy Carter
19. Calvin Coolidgeareas of the 34.
the city and other
20. James Madison
35.
province.
21. Dwight Eisenhower
36.
22. James K. Polk
37.
After the 2003 invasion
23. Benjamin Harrison of Iraq 38.
led by the U.S. that
24. Harry S. Truman resulted in 39.
25. Hebert W. Bush dictator 40.
the overthrow of the
26. William H. Harrison
41.
Saddam Hussein, a Sunni,
27. Andrew Jackson
42.
many other Sunni Mus28. George Washington
lims grew resentful over the 43.
29. Herbert Hoover
loss of their prominence and the
30. James A. Garfield

have been countless revisions and challenges
to duel me over some rankings on this list.
Now that this is published, I‘ll open the
door for more of that. If you have a problem with FDR being ranked so high tell me,
(or comment at greenwavegazett.org) but
fair warning, I will argue that polio may have
affected his walking ability but it did not
affect his looks.

Warren Harding
Richard M. Nixon
George W. Bush
William McKinley
James Buchanan
Rutherford B. Hayes
Chester A. Arthur
Millard B. Fillmore months later Operation PhanMartin Van Buren tom Fury and the second battle
John Quincy Adams of Fallujah began. After weeks
Grover Cleveland
of room to room searches and
William H. Taft
building by building combat,
John Adams

close to 100 Americans had
died with roughly 1,000 more
wounded, according to Fox (MCT)
News.

establishment of the new Shiite
dominated government. Sunni
and Shia are the two main denominations of Islam, and tradiSince the withdrawal of U.S.
tionally don’t have the best of
troops in 2011 violence in Iraq,
relationship dating
Pulling the Curtain Back on Oscar: back to the
especially between Sunnis and
deathAcademy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
of Islam’s founder Muauthor‘s grandfather is a member of the
Shias has been on the rise. Achammad. The desert province
cording to the UN, the death
of Anbar is a region almost
count for 2013 was 8,868. This
entirely made up of Sunni Mus- very famous Oscar winning actors,
is the highest since the end of
lims in a country where the
Paige Reynolds
Charlton Heston, James Garner and
the Iraqi insurgency’s height in
majority of people are Shiites.
Walter Pidgeon. In addition to the
Contributor
2007. This recent string of
As such the province was a
three nominations, onefighting in the Anbar province
must have
You might think the Academy
hotbed of insurgent activity and
experience in their linebegan after the breakup of a
of expertise
Awards are given based on public
according to the BBC, claimed
(his is acting) and be accepted protest in Ellen provincial
Sunni by the the Oscars for a second time on
the DeGeneres returns to host
opinion. The truth is
about a third of all U.S. casualcapital my
Sunday, March 2,
board. It took only a month forof Ramadi by govern- 2014, televised
that 6,000 members of the Acadties during America’s eight year
Network.
ment troops last live on on ABC TelevisionABC/
year the Mongrandfather to hear that he had
emy of Motion Pictures Arts and
(Andrew Eccles/Courtesy
stint in the country.
day, December 30 of last year.
been accepted into the Academy.
Sciences vote to decide who
According to the BBC, many
Now he votes every year for the
wins. Members are the top artists
Sunni Muslims are angered (of the
Members
Fallujah, located only a few
best actors and actresses. He has
in their field and only vote in their
because they believe “their
―Thelma and Louise‖ and ―The Anmiles from the capital of Baghto watch each movie inminority community is being are the
order to vote Academy)
area of expertise. My grandfather,
dad, was the home of one
dromeda Strain.‖ He appeared in of the
top artists in
for the films in that category. The anti-terrorism meas- their
actor Ken Swofford, is one of
targeted by
bloodiest engagements in
dozens of television shows includ-U.S.
academy provides him ures copies of
with implemented to stem the
field and only
them.
Marine Corps history. Fighting
ing ‖Murder She Wrote,‖ ―Fame,‖
surge player. vote in their area
the movies and a special DVDin sectarian violence.”
Mr. Swofford acted in many movies
started there after the
―Columbo,‖ and many othersdeaths of
The not day
Even though the awards arenextuntil Iraqi Prime Minis- My
and television shows in the ‘60s,
of expertise.
four Americans and the public
your parents and grandparents would
March, my grandfather ter Nouri Maliki, a Shiite, anlet me know
‘70s and ‘80s. He was a character
desecration of their bodies in
grandfather, actor
nounced the withdrawal of
remember. ―Iin April of 2004. Seven
that he voted for Cate Blanchett as
the city have never worked a
actor who played a lot of policeKen Swofford, is
troops from Anbar’s cities and
day in my life,‖ he would always say.
Best Actress for her role in ―Blue
men and crooks. He‘s retired now
towns so that the police can
one
Eventually he joined the Academy of
Jasmine‖ and Christian resumeBest
Bale as regular duty. of them.”
and most of his work was done
between 1962 and 2004. The movies he appeared in include ―Annie,‖

Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
after being nominated by three

Actor for his role in ―American Hustle.‖

- Paige Reynolds

Almost immediately Islamic
militants started attacking gov-