Reagan essay sorry for posting it three places

[JohnKleeb]

Its mine btw.
“Keep Ronald Reagan off My Money”

I do not think Ronald Reagan should replace Franklin D Roosevelt or for that matter get on any money at all. Roosevelt deserves to be on the dime more so than Reagan for one. There is a much more deserving candidate if we are going to put a new man on money, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King. Reagan didn’t do too many good things as president either if any. I don’t think Ronald Reagan belongs on any money because FDR deserves to be on the dime and if we’re going to take Hamilton off the ten dollar bill or Jackson off the twenty, let’s not put Reagan on there but Martin Luther King, and just what has Reagan done to deserve to be on our money exactly/

The proposed legislation to take Franklin D Roosevelt off the dime and replace him with Ronald Reagan is the wrong thing to do; it not only insults the memory of the best president of the 20th century but insults our grandparents’ generation as well. Franklin D Roosevelt was without question the best president of the 20th century. The New Deal, his masterful and amazing economic program not only brought hopes to millions of Americans but boosted their morale; thanks to the New Deal we have a minimum wage, a ban on child labor, social security, and other great programs that help people out still today and are a part of our lives and that we take for granted.. Roosevelt like many great leaders in history not only was a terrific and inspirational domestic leader but led at wartime as well. His leadership during the Second World War was part of why he was a great president. He cared for the troops like they were his own children. When he died on that April 12 day in Warm Springs, Georgia, many of the fighting men in Europe and Asia mourned him as one of their own. FDR was also involved in the march of dimes to end Polio. The mere thought of replacing Roosevelt on the dime is just wrong especially considering the many great things Roosevelt did for the country.

Some in congress do realize that is wrong to take FDR off and replace him with Reagan, but Dr. Martin Luther King is also a name suggested to replace either Hamilton or Jackson on the 10 and 20 dollar bills respectively. King is much more deserving than Reagan is for a number of reasons. Martin Luther King helped many Americans see beyond race as a person’s value but a person’s soul more so. You would think that a man like Reagan would be supporting King’s movement to allow Blacks to vote and to be able to have equal opportunities as whites but Reagan was out in the 1964 election campaigning for Barry Goldwater and both of these men, both Reagan and Goldwater opposed the long overdue civil rights act of 1964 because it interfered with “states rights” that is the right of a state to discriminate against someone because of their skin color and after all in 1967 Reagan was elected governor of California because of white anger over support for civil rights of the democratic governor Pat Brown. King also like many thought the Vietnam War was a terrible mistake and he promoted peace, he was a man of his word, his marches were peaceful, he had been inspired by Gandhi, in a sense, both King and Gandhi were inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s civil disobedience. Reagan like many in his party supported the Vietnam War; he defended the Vietnam War often, and using harsh tactics on protesters. King towards the end of his life also began to talk about fighting the crippling poverty in the country as well; he was in fact helping out workers in Memphis, Tennessee when he was assassinated in 1968. Again Reagan was on the wrong side of the issue, he felt that “big government” was bad, of course because it meant higher taxes for him and other rich people who didn’t care for the well being of others , but Great Society was a good and needed legislation by President Johnson, anti poverty programs are needed, Reagan thought that this was “big government” and wrong, however it is in my opinion the duty of the government to help those who can’t help themselves, it is not only the right thing to do but it is a moral thing as well. Big government can be a good thing too if the government doesn’t intrude on personal freedoms. If Congress wants to replace Hamilton or Jackson, I say fine but give that honor to Martin Luther King not Ronald Reagan, after all King won a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on civil rights which is one of the highest honors one can have.

Reagan despite being elected by big margins was not a good president either. His supporters like to say he ended the Cold War but the Cold War started to end not when Reagan took office but when Mikhail Gorbachev became premier of the Soviet Union, and Gorbeichev was willing to negotiate unlike his predecessors. A lot of people deserve credit for ending the Cold War like Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa, leader of Solidarity, a Polish trade union dedicated to reforming communist policy in Poland and of course Mikhail Gorbachev but Reagan doesn’t deserve credit I believe. Reagan also handled the AIDS epidemic very poorly; he didn’t recognize the seriousness of the disease until his friend and fellow actor Rock Hudson died of it. Reagan did in fact fund Saddam Hussein with money and weapons to help Hussein fight his war with Iran. The ironic thing is Reagan who pledged to reduce government ended up having a bigger government than President Clinton did. Reagan also increased the national debt which was later turned in to a surplus by President Clinton. Reagan’s historic tax cut was much like that of Bush’s 2001 tax cut, the people who benefited the most from it were wealthy. Then of course there’s the infamous Iran-Contra affair when the Administration secretly sold arms to Iran, the proceeds from these sales were used to fund right wing revolutionaries in Nicaragua who were trying to overturn the left wing elected government who the Reagan administration considered linked to Cuba and the Soviet Union, international and independent observers considered the Sandinistas elections fair and free but the US rejected this claim. Reagan may have been a popular president but he was far from a good president.

In conclusion, I offer my sympathies to Nancy Reagan and the Reagan family on his recent death and suffering of Alzheimer’s disease. My nana has lost her memory as well, she doesn’t have Alzheimer’s but I do realize that is a sad thing to see a person slowly lose their memory and forget who important people are. I personally think if we want to cure diseases like Alzheimer’s, we need to permit Stem Cell research. This will enable many diseases to be cured. Reagan may have been a popular president but he wasn’t a good president, and I think he doesn’t belong on any money.

[wtmusic]

1. You tell 'em JK

Well thought out.

Don't think we need to worry. Once everyone gets beyond this media blitz the idea will lose its wings.

[JohnKleeb]

2. thanks

[Rhiannon12866]

3. I really enjoyed your essay, John

I am so glad that you posted it. You really deserved your high mark for this. Thanks and a big :kick: from me!

[Rhiannon12866]

4. No need to ever be sorry, John

This is really good and should be printed everywhere. Did you think of submitting it as a "letter to the editor" of your local newspaper, like the Washington Post (not the Times, LOL!)? It is that good, as your teacher certainly agrees.:-)

[Rhiannon12866]

5. I loved this! More people need to see it! Kick!

:kick:

[swinney]

6. Eulogize this great Reagan Record

--------------------------RONALD REAGAN RECORDS AS FIRST---------------------------
(1900-1989)

(Peggy Noonan pay attention)

1.First to turn America into a DEBTOR nation
2. First to increase DEBT faster than growth of national income in eight years
3. First to increase DEBT faster than growth of gdp over eight years
4. First to double the deficit in just eigh t years
5. First to “almost”: triple the national DEBT in just eight years
6. First to increase SPENDING by 80%--over 8 years.
7. First to SPEND more in eight years than was spent in prior 50 years.
8. First to have “real” INTEREST RATES of 8% after averaging 1% over 35 years.
9. First to keep PRIME INTEREST RATES at 20%.
10.First to over value the dollar to the yen at rate of 262 yen to 1 dollar.
11.First to have served as Governor and increase STATE SPENDING by 112%
12.First to have HOME LOAN INTEREST RATES as high as 16%
13. First to CUT TAXES by 60% for his rich pals
14. First to allow the SAVINGS AND LOAN INDUSTRY to be raided after signing a deregulatory bill and proclaiming “I think we have hit the jackpot”. Come and get it the vaults are unguarded.
15. First to deal with TERRORISTS
16. First to send an AUTOGRAPHED BIBLE to a man he called “The Satan of Terrorists”.
17. First to have an ADMIRAL plead the Fifth Amendment.
18. First to have a stealing, lying, gutless wife abusing MARINE LT. COLONEL plead the Fifth Amendment.
19. First to have a “sitting” CABINET MEMBER INDICTED
20. First to have an ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE INDICTED.
21. First to have an ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE SENT TO PRISON.
22. First to have over 100 MEMBERS OF AN ADMINISTRATION CHARGED WITH CRIMES..
23. First to have more members of his administration charged with crimes than CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF ALL OTHER PRESIDENTS in the twentieth century
24. First to set a record for the LARGEST ONE DAY PERCENTAGE DECLINE in the DOW in history. 10-19-87
25. First to have over $10,000,000 INCREASE IN WEALTH from serving for 8 years as president.
26. First to testify ”under oath” 130 times that ”I DON’T REMEMBER” .
27. First to have an Admiral with a photographic memory testify 128 times “ I DON’T REMEMBER”.
28. First to undergo BRAIN SURGERY a few months after leaving office. No pain no gain.
29. First to, repeatedly, FALSIFY HIS WIFE’S AGE. As tho anyone cared.
30. First to promote his religious faith and never have an ACTIVE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP.
31. First to never use the term JESUS CHRIST in speeches.
32. First to seek GUIDANCE FROM THE STARS not from God
33. First to have had a SHOTGUN WEDDING.
34. First to have worked as a SHILL in Las Vegas.
35. First to call a Stealing, Lying, Psychotic, wife abusing Marine a “LIAR.
36. First to have been OPENLY ALIENATED from his children.
37. First To have served with ALZHIMERS
38. First to have UNEMPLOYMENT AT 10.8% since great depression.
39. First to attack a small unprotected nation with 88,000 inhabitants and 10,000 bb guns then PROCLAIM -“America stands tall again”— “we have whipped the Vietnam Syndrome”-we have defeated communism”. Gosh! What if we had whipped Cyprus?.
40. #1-in FARM FORECLOSURES
41. #1-In BANK FAILURES
42. #1-In SAVINGS AND LOAN FAILURES
43. #1-In Percent increase in PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES
44. #1-In recorded MISSTATEMENTS
45. #1-In never having a single press conference in which he did not make at least one or more INCORRECT STATEMENTS.
46. #1-In needing a staff person standby during press conferences to tell the press “WHAT HE REALLY MEANT”.
47. #1-In having SERVICEMEN KILLED during peacetime.
48. #1-In largest DROP IN POPULARITY in one week.
49. #1-In being first to HONOR NAZI STORM TROOPERS by calling them” Innocent Victims”
50. #1-In being first to be labeled “BRAIN DEAD AFFABLE DUNCE’ by this writer.
51. First to lie-over and over-to reporters “I DO NOT DYE MY HAIR my barber uses a special shampoo”
52. First to have a wife who ”forced” him to WEAR THREE SUITS in one day
53. First to boast “Not bad for a DUMB GUY who worked only 20 hours per week”.
54. First to have his wife sit nearby and WHISPER ANSWERS to questions
55. First to FALL ASLEEP while the Pope spoke
56. First to invite the Pope to visit the White House and “BRING THE WIFE AND KIDS”
57. First to have his press secretary remove him from the microphone because he could not answer questions. Then, as the reporter
yelled out “answer my question” he replied “MY HANDLERS WON’T LET ME SPEAK”. Quick get the white coat.
58. First 20th Century president to have historians RATE HIM BELOW every president of the 20th except for Richard Nixon. 1994 Poll.
59. First to give us a First Lady with a past reputation for giving the BEST BJ in Hollywood.
60. First to suggest his eldest son undergo PSYCHIATRIC examination
61. First to have been voted in British polls (twice) as the ”MOST FEARED LEADER IN THE WORLD” sic em Rambo.


62. First to serve as Governor on a ”conservative” platform and INCREASE SPENDING BY 112%.
63. First Governor TO INCREASE personal income taxes by 60%, tax increase on cigarettes by 200%, state tax collections by 152%.
64. First to have a Special Assistant say on national TV “sometimes you had to HIT HIM ON THE HEAD with a 2 x 4 to get his attention”
65. First to have his official biographer state on national TV ‘After he was shot in 1981he GOT SLOWER AND SLOWER EACH YEAR. His speech got slower. He deliberated more and he hesitated more when he spoke. He lost his physical quickness and would not make decisions on the spot. It was a very, very slow and steady mental and physical decline”.
66. First to have a POPULARITY RATING OF ONLY 35% after his first two years in office.
67. First president to have been DIVORCED
68. First president to have the Geriatrics Department of a major
university study his behavior and conclude that AFTER THREE YEARS IN OFFICE HE HAD ALZHIMERS.

------------------------------------ THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE-------------------------------------------
Clarence Swinney—Burlington NC.—[e-mail]

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Thanks for the list of facts about Reagan

I'm bookmarking this one.:-)

[swinney]

7. Eulogize this record not Reagans

Comparing Democrat’s hero-CLINTON—versus Republican’s hero--REAGAN
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.JOBS—grew by 43% more under Clinton.
2.GDP---grew by 57% more under Clinton.
3.DOW—grew by 700% more under Clinton..
4.NASDAQ-grew by 18 times as much under Clinton.
4.SPENDING--grew by 28% under Clinton---80% under Reagan.
5.DEBT—grew by 43% under Clinton—187% under Reagan.
6. DEFICITS—Clinton got a large surplus--grew by 112% under Reagan.
7.NATIONAL INCOME—grew by100% more under Clinton.
8.PERSONAL INCOME—Grew by 110% more under Clinton.
SOURCES—Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.BLS.Gov)--Economic Policy Institute (EPI.org)—Global & World Almanacs from 1980 to 2003 (annual issues)
www.the-hamster.com (chart taken from NY Times)
National Archives History on Presidents. www.nara.gov

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Thank you.

There is someone I need to send this information. We are constantly at odds over the jobs growth issue.:-)

[nuxvomica]

8. Well done, Kleeb

You essay hits all the right spots, like a high-scoring pinball game. I only have two teeny tiny criticisms:
1) You gave Carter no credit for the fall of the Soviet Bloc and you give John Paul II too much, IMHO.
2) You should've put quotes around "Civil Disobediance," though admittedly it works either way. ;-)
I think putting Martin Luther King on a 20-dollar bill is a brilliant idea. It would be a daily reminder of the power of nonviolence. The world needs such a reminder.

[Rhiannon12866]

9. I agree.

Carter needs to be given credit, but, of course, I would think this. LOL! But he really does, since he really accomplished this. And I know that nuxvomica has a particular problem with the current pope. He may be right. I don't know. But I agree with him, hands down, on Martin Luther King. What a powerful statement this would make. This is an excellent essay. You deserved your 97. I would probably have given you 99, but, then, I agree with your sentiments.:shrug:

[Rhiannon12866]

12. Another kick for this brilliant essay! Thanks!

I don't want Reagan on my money, either!:grr: