Friday Fun Facts

History is judging, and it's a bitch.  George W. Bush is the most unpopular living ex-president.

While a paltry 43 percent of those questioned had a favorable opinion of Dubya, dad George H.W. Bush sailed in with a respectable 59 percent.

Coal kills ... as many as 100 people in Alabama every year.  And that's just one plant.

Pollution from Alabama Power's coal-fired power plant in Greene County contributes to between 49 and 100 premature deaths a year, according to a new report from the Environmental Integrity Project. 

40 million Americans are living in homes with underwater mortgages.  More than the population of the 22 smallest states ... put together ... plus the District of Columbia.

People who owe more than their homes are worth have the power to become the a powerful new political and economic force. They've got the numbers, they've got the votes, and - if they can get organized - they've got the economic clout.

A majority of Americans either support health care reform or oppose it because it doesn't go far enough.

51% of Americans say they oppose the health care law, while 43% say they favor it. It’s important to note, however, that of those who disagree with the law, only a third oppose it because it’s too liberal, while one in six oppose it because it doesn’t go far enough. 

Conservatives won't believe this, but it's true: Reagan was a bigger spender than Obama.  Krugman looks at government spending 3 years into each administration:

Under one president [Reagan], real per capita government spending at that point was 14.4 percent higher than four years previously; under the other [Obama], less than half as much, just 6.4 percent. 

Lower than the President's approval rating ... not that it matters, since US Supreme Court justices are appointed for life:

Just 44 percent of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing and three-quarters say the justices’ decisions are sometimes influenced by their personal or political views

Despite all the folks who decry "partisan politics," the partisan divide is getting bigger ...