The Ronald Reagan has died thread

[Moderator]

Please post your feelings in this thread.
Let's make room on the first page for
other subjects.


Thank you for understanding.

DU Moderator

[ButterflyBlood]

1. My response:

:toast:

[Endangered Specie]

19. .

Sick

[baldguy]

2. Another of Karl Rove's screw-ups.

He should have had him killed off later in the year.

[jono]

3. Good riddance to the man's politics.

Sympathies to the man's family.

[cindyw]

4. I celebrate the death of no one.

My only celebration is that he is with God and not suffering anymore. I hope his family will find peace. Politics stops at the waters edge people.

Flame me, but I had to chime in.

[Endangered Specie]

17. Very classy.

no flames here.

[tcfrogs]

35. Agreed

I celebrate no one's death.

[onehandle]

5. In honor of Reagan I just sent more cash to Kerry...

Kerry will support Stem Cell research that can help those in Reagan's condition.

Like Reagan's family wants.

Win one for the Gipper.

[JohnLocke]

8. That was an excellent post, onehandle.

Thank you. Well done!

[blm]

12. Best post award.

Thankyou onehandle.

Deserves its own thread. Would be a great action project for DU to undertake for this week.

[ronnykmarshall]

13. Well done onehandle!

Could you imagine if Nancy came out and backed Kerry?

[Hippo_Tron]

20. She basically does, she doesn't like the Bushes (n/t)

[ronnykmarshall]

24. Every see Terry Sweeny as Nancy?

This was old SNL from the 80's.

Terry/Nancy to the Secret Service: Who's that woman out in the rose garden?

Agent: Why that's Barbara Bush, the Vice-President's wife.

T/N: Well go turn the hose on her and rough her up a bit.

[LiberalManiacfromOC]

14. I agree with the other replies to your post

[Endangered Specie]

26. That is a damn good idea.

[Uzybone]

60. Excellent response

I could care less about Reagan, but lets make a positive from his negative.

[JohnLocke]

6. Let us refrain from judgment for awhile; history will do that well enough.

[TlalocW]

7. I'm remembering my dad who passed away in 1990

Not because he also died of Alzheimers, but because whenever he came out of his bedroom to get a bowl of ice cream and Reagan was on the TV, he would yell, "Lying bastard!" at it and then proceed to get his ice cream and go back to his room.

Dad was an ironworker - union, which is why he hated Reagan. While not a great cityscape, most of downtown Wichita's skyline has his mark on it. :)

As for Reagan, I wish I could be more charitable, but the man was truly a bastard, and it's ironic that not only did he cut funding into Alzheimers research, but he spawned a political philosophy that veered so far rightward that it won't allow for research into a possible method to cure other sufferers of the disease. There's not much to do but watch how this plays out and affects the campaign. Hopefully Nancy will revert back to true type (Dragonlady) and attack any of the Bushites who try to capitalize on this.

TlalocW

[connecticut yankee]

9. Sorry --

I just can't think of anything good to say about the man.

Well, maybe that he was good-looking when he was younger.

But that didn't make him a good person.

I remember the 1992 GOP Convention, when he so sanctimoniously said --"my heart cries out for those millions of unborn babies."

But what did he ever do for the ones that were born?

[Endangered Specie]

21. You dont have to say anything good about someone to respect them,

and their family in time of mourning.

[blm]

10. May we show ourselves to be truly compassionate and not as the right who

failed that test of humanity when Paul Wellstone died before his time.

Condolences to the family.

[Cocoa]

11. why did ABC News use the "ET" soundtrack in their tribute

they used that or some other John Williams piece. Is it because it was from the 80's?

[FarLeftRage]

15. I look on the bright side

if no one has already said this...

At least hell's population increased by one today.

[Deja Q]

16. His politics were akin to Satan's and Maragret Thatcher's. The fact he

believed in them so strongly makes me vomit. His politics were part of his very soul, assuming his soul was more than a lump of iron pyrite (aka "fools' gold")...

For people who are less than humane, they are less than human. Ronnie was definitely one of them and he was the root of the proverbial Yellow Laburnum tree our country has become. (the tree's seeds are poisonous to the touch, and our seeds have been spread...) A pity that the tree lives on in the way he had created it.

Good riddance to bad bacteria. I wish my feelings toward him were different, but then he's have to be a different man. He'd have to be a man.

[Whitacre D_WI]

22. Good post, HypnoToad.

[Obamarama]

18. I couldn't stand the man, but may he rest in peace...

Compared to Bush & Co., Reagan's administrations were relatively benign. Although I never really cared for him, his leadership did contribute to some very good things for our country.

Too bad the bad things he did made the good things a wash. At least I can find it in myself to give him the respect deserved of a former president.

[Moderator]

23. kick

[greekspeak]

25. Can we have a moritorium on Reagan bashing?

Reagan is barely cold and the bashing has started in earnest. I do not like Reagan any better than anyone else on here, but the only thing that attacking him now is going to do is give FAUX et al more grist for the mill.

Liberals are supposed to be compassionate. I think right now, a compassionate thing to do for the country, for all the misguided people who think that St. Dubya is second only to St. Ronnie, for John Kerry, is not to bash the man.

[ronnykmarshall]

28. My gawd!

Thank YOU!

Jessie H. Christo, some of the shit that's been written is repulsive.

I'd like to ask my fellow DU'ers how outraged you'd be in Clinton or Carter had died? You know damn good and well the freepers would give some of you a run for your money on some of the shit that has been posted today.

[Endangered Specie]

29. Youd think you were reading the archives on FR when Wellstone died...

all the negativity is just amazing... You think Reagen would wish Alzheimers and death on someone?

[UrbScotty]

63. You're all right. (nt)

[Darranar]

27. I disliked him but don't welcome his death. n/t

[Moderator]

30. kick

[fujiyama]

31. Hate him

or hate him (I really can't think of any redeming qualities), atleast he was legitimately elected.

You can't say the same about Bush.

[ronnykmarshall]

32. CNN : Dumbasses!

"Ronald Reagan lost the 1972 primary to Gerald Ford"

:wtf:

This is on their damn rolling horse shit on the bottom of the screen.

Maria madre de dios!

[Zero Gravitas]

33. Reagan

How to say anything good about Reagan? Just compare him to Bush! Next to Dumbass Dubya he was a prudent genius, a true humanitarian and a competent President.

[Moderator]

34. kick

[PretzelWarrior]

36. It's just natural we're going to have a lot to say

and not confine it to one post that is 98 posts down in one thread.

Hey, it's a backhanded tribute to his powerful effect that so many here want to talk about his passing so many years after he stepped out of public life.

[Moderator]

37. kick

[Moderator]

38. kick

[Moderator]

39. kick

[babzilla]

40. Dead at 93 years old

I should be so lucky.

[billhos]

65. guess what

You will be dead at 93, and so will I. I know, such a positive thing too look forward too, right!

[linazelle]

41. Clinton's fault nt

[jono]

45. LOL (nt)

[newyawker99]

42. kick

[WilliamPitt]

43. I don't apologize for how I feel

A lot of people got into politics because of John Kennedy, or because they wanted to fight for justice in the civil rights cause. That entrance to politics was a positive one.

A lot of people got into politics because of Vietnam, or because Bobby got killed, or because MLK got killed, or because of Watergate. These were negative entrances into politics, borne of a need to stop outrages before they swamped the body politic.

Ronald Reagan was my entrance into politics, and it was a negative entrance. I remember very vividly this President telling me that my generation would be the one to face the apocalypse, a statement that was one of the most defining moments in my life. I lived under a cloud of fear after that.

My work in politics, for my whole life, has been in the majority an effort to undo the massive damage from the disaster that was the Reagan administration.

Our mainstream media journalism is a joke because of Reagan dereguation.

Our social programs were savaged because of Reagan.

Our environmental regulations, once something to be proud of, were eviscerated by Reagan.

The manifest power of corporations over virtually every facet of our lives came because of the massive deregulations put forth by Reagan.

The AIDS virus found a long, comfortable home in America because Reagan couldn't be bothered with funding research into 'gay cancer.'

Crack owned the urban world, wracked by the aforementioned social evisceration, for years because Reagan couldn't be bothered. Whole generations of Americans died in misery because he couldn't have gven a damn about their problems.

Saddam Hussein was a creation, in huge part, of Reagan.

Same goes for Osama bin Laden, who along with al Qaeda and the Taliban went from being a side project under Carter to a front-and-center priority that led directly to the attacks of September 11, not to mention the African embassy bombings. Those two embassies were destroyed with Semtex sold to Afghan mujeheddin (nee Taliban and al Qaeda) by the Reagan administration.

Dick Cheney was a Reagan creature.

Don Rumsfeld was a Reagan creature.

Paul Wolfowitz was a Reagan creature.

Richard Perle was a Reagan creature.

John Negroponte was a Reagan creature.

Elliot Abrams was a Reagan creature.

Dick Armitage was a Reagan creature.

There was some other guy named George, who spawned an idiot named George, who also came out of the Reagan administration.

If you cannot make the direct 2+2=4 connection between the legacy of the Reagan administration and the goddam intractible swamp we slog through every day today, then I despair of your ability to follow coherent logic.

Am I happy Reagan is dead? No.

Do I have a moment of doubt as to whether or not I should speak the truth of him to as many people as I can reach with my arm? I have not one single moment of doubt.

I'm sorry you feel bad because I don't feel bad enough about this, that I am perhaps being 'disrespectful.' Ronald Reagan was my entrance into politics, and it was an ugly, frightening entrance. The Reagan legacy has been a stain across our national landscape, and my life's work to date has been the process of trying to staunch the bleeding.

[Forkboy]

46. He was my entrance as well

excellent post Will.

[Darranar]

55. Agreed, excellent post. n/t

[Moderator]

44. kick

[Moderator]

47. Kick

:dem:

[Arkana]

48. Sympathy to the Reagans.

To hell with Reagan's politics.

[suegeo]

49. Emptying of mental health institutions

People with mental health problems put out into the streets (Including veterans!)

Cutting Pell grants

Having a secret war in central america, even tho congress said NO! (unconstitutional, as it violates the idea of the separation of the power of the purse from the power of the sword.)

Ollie North

Just say no to drugs, while the CIA was running drugs!

Holding the hostages longer than necessary, to stop Carter's election

Carter tried to rescue the hostages, but the helicopters flown by US servicemen were sabotaged, and the service men died!

John Poindexter, Ed Meese, James Baker, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Elliott Abrams, etc. etc. etc.

The contras! the raped nuns! the dead bishops! the people tossed out of helicopters, and the sacrificed orphans!

Last, but not least, the upcoming, non-stop t.v. specials that we will be subjected to, telling us how great the gipper was.

Memories, light the corner of my mind. Misty water color memories, of the way we were!

[stickdog]

50. WWJVD

What would Jesse Ventura do?

[Hubert Flottz]

51. Good!

Very Good!

[mopaul]

52. here's a great Will Pitt post about the reagan legacy

Don't feel like apologizing for how you feel re: Reagan? Post here.


A lot of people got into politics because of John Kennedy, or because they wanted to fight for justice in the civil rights cause. That entrance to politics was a positive one.

A lot of people got into politics because of Vietnam, or because Bobby got killed, or because MLK got killed, or because of Watergate. These were negative entrances into politics, borne of a need to stop outrages before they swamped the body politic.

Ronald Reagan was my entrance into politics, and it was a negative entrance. I remember very vividly this President telling me that my generation would be the one to face the apocalypse, a statement that was one of the most defining moments in my life. I lived under a cloud of fear after that.

My work in politics, for my whole life, has been in the majority an effort to undo the massive damage from the disaster that was the Reagan administration.

Our mainstream media journalism is a joke because of Reagan dereguation.

Our social programs were savaged because of Reagan.

Our environmental regulations, once something to be proud of, were eviscerated by Reagan.

The manifest power of corporations over virtually every facet of our lives came because of the massive deregulations put forth by Reagan.

The AIDS virus found a long, comfortable home in America because Reagan couldn't be bothered with funding research into 'gay cancer.'

Crack owned the urban world, wracked by the aforementioned social evisceration, for years because Reagan couldn't be bothered. Whole generations of Americans died in misery because he couldn't have gven a damn about their problems.

Saddam Hussein was a creation, in huge part, of Reagan.

Same goes for Osama bin Laden, who along with al Qaeda and the Taliban went from being a side project under Carter to a front-and-center priority that led directly to the attacks of September 11, not to mention the African embassy bombings. Those two embassies were destroyed with Semtex sold to Afghan mujeheddin (nee Taliban and al Qaeda) by the Reagan administration.

Dick Cheney was a Reagan creature.

Don Rumsfeld was a Reagan creature.

Paul Wolfowitz was a Reagan creature.

Richard Perle was a Reagan creature.

John Negroponte was a Reagan creature.

Elliot Abrams was a Reagan creature.

Dick Armitage was a Reagan creature.

There was some other guy named George, who spawned an idiot named George, who also came out of the Reagan administration.

If you cannot make the direct 2+2=4 connection between the legacy of the Reagan administration and the goddam intractible swamp we slog through every day today, then I despair of your ability to follow coherent logic.

Am I happy Reagan is dead? No.

Do I have a moment of doubt as to whether or not I should speak the truth of him to as many people as I can reach with my arm? I have not one single moment of doubt.

I'm sorry you feel bad because I don't feel bad enough about this, that I am perhaps being 'disrespectful.' Ronald Reagan was my entrance into politics, and it was an ugly, frightening entrance. The Reagan legacy has been a stain across our national landscape, and my life's work to date has been the process of trying to staunch the bleeding.

If you think I'm going to back off because he's dead, think again. If you don't like it, there's a nifty little 'x' next to this thread. Hit it.

Otherwise, speak the truth here and the Devil take the hindmost.

[mzmolly]

58. Worthy of a read! RIP Mr. Reagan. You lived a long life and certainly

made your mark on this world.

[greatauntoftriplets]

53. Ray-goon was numbnuts' political "grandfather".

Had Ray-goon not made Poppy his vice president and passed the mantle along to him in 1988, the DimSon would not be president (sic) today. No one would have heard of him nor cared.

The misadministration of George W. Bush is Ray-goon's legacy.

[Moderator]

54. kick

[Angelus]

56. Good riddance.

One less republican asshole on this planet.

Yes, I am an asshole. You don't need to tell me.

[Cheneys_former_heart]

57. sorry for his family, still think he was a lousy POTUS

I don't think Reagan knew half the shit going on during his administration, but unlike Shrub, Reagan was at least a communicator.

[muriel_volestrangler]

59. Reagan from a UK point of view

Amazingly, I can't find a proper transcript of this sketch anywhere on the Web - I rate it as an all time classic, and just mentioning 'crumbly candy bars' will get some people started on it. It's from "Not the Nine o'Clock News", at the beginning of 1981, a UK satire show, roughly the equivalent of Saturday Night Live, although only running a few years. Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder, Mr. Bean) was the oily aide.


Aide: Welcome to the new President's first press conference. If I can ask you to keep your questions short, and just one each, I'm sure this will be most informative for all of you. Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.

Reagan: Yes, Mr. Smith.

1st reporter: Thank you, Mr. President. What is your energy policy, in particular your relationship with the Arab states?

Reagan:Well -

Aide: - I think the President should be allowed to answer that in his own good time, don't you? Next question.

2nd reporter: Yes, I'd like to ask about the President's intentions on education.

Reagan: -

Aide: - and the President replies mind your own goddam business! Next question.

3rd reporter: This one's for the President.

Aide: (laughs) Aren't we all!

3rd reporter: How do you feel about your victory?

Reagan: -

Aide: - Well, it wasn't that big a deal, you know, you win, the other schmuck loses, that's politics. Next question.

1st reporter: WHAT ABOUT ENERGY?

Aide: Don't be so damn insulting, he's got lots of it! Really, the standard of the press corps these days ...

4th reporter: What are the President's views on the Cold War?

Aide: He's fairly relaxed about -

Reagan: Look, I'd like to answer that myself.

Aide: Really sir, this is most irregular, it would be much more productive if you let me structure the press conference to optimise youe time. Now, if you'd let me do my job -

Reagan: - No, I must be allowed to answer my own questions.

Aide: Oh. Right. Okay then, go ahead, Mister President. Run you own conference. Ladies and Gentlemen, The President of the United States will now answer these and any other questions you choose to throw at him with his massive Presidential Brain.

Reagan: Miss Jones, you asked about the Cold War. My feelings are -

Aide (sotto voce) - are entirely irrelevant -

Reagan: - are that over 200 years ago, this great nation of ours embarked on a quest for liberty; for justice; for ... (pauses)

Aide: (whispers) ... freedom ...

Reagan (confidently) freedom;

Aide: (whispers) ... truth ...

Reagan ... truth;

Aide: (whispers) ... cup cakes ...

Reagan ... cup cakes;

Aide: (whispers) ... crumbly candy bars ...

Reagan ... crumbly candy bars.

Aide: (slightly louder) It's incredible, isn't it ...

Reagan: (following confidently, just a couple of words after) It's incredible, isn't it,

Aide: ... that a cretin such as this ...

Reagan: ... that a cretin such as this,

Aide: ... should become President of the United States.

Reagan: ... should become President of the United States.

[charlie]

64. Haw!

That's brilliant, thanks!

There's a video somewhere with Nancy doing Atkinson's bit, talking towards her feet while Ronnie parrots every word. Hopefully, someone will dredge it up and post it on the net soon.

[gauguin57]

66. kerry issued great statement ...

... praising Reagan's patriotism, and yet the Freepers are ripping him a new one.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1148205/posts

Well, let them Freep. I reserve my right to mourn and cry and keen and tear my clothing when Carter, Mondale, McGovern, Clinton etc. die someday in the future. And I don't want to hear their Freeper crap when I'm mourning any good Dem's passing. So I'll let them have their little moment of undiminished love for their guy. We'll let the historians truly deal with Reagan's legacy someday.

Condolences to Reagan's family. None of them deserved what Alzheimer's did to RWR and his kin. Can't say I like any of them except Ron Jr. (who is a HOOT doing political color commentary on MSNBC (I think it's MSNBC)!) -- but they didn't deserve this.

Keep on pushin' on the stem-cell research, Nancy! You go girl! Get those Repugs who worshiped your husband to get reasonable on this issue!!!!

[ulysses]

61. never send to know for whom the bell tolls.

We all get to shuffle out of this mortal coil eventually. I mark the man's death as I would any other. He gets that much, and no more.

That said, I've never been sure which to damn him for more - the crimes perpetrated under his administration or his astounding ignorance of them. The damage is long since done, and now the man himself has passed into the void. So may his politics, and soon.

[OneTwentyoNine]

62. I'm glad his suffering is over but that changes nothing....

I don't like to see anyone suffer,even if they are assholes. But...looking at the big picture Reagan made millions and millions suffer during his eight years of Presidency.

My father lost his job with PPG Industries after nearly 25 years,I damn near lost a 2 year old house. Dozens of great people I knew personally that were home builders lost everything under his "tinkle" down economics. It was a horrible,horrible time for the working class and a GD dream come true for the rich.

David

[gauguin57]

67. just an update from freep-land

... they're calling "the majority" of us DU-ers "classless vile creatures" for what we're saying about Reagan.

Don't get me started.

[mopaul]

68. fuckem

i know how they talk when liberals die, so fuckem

[gauguin57]

69. Air America discussing ...

Reagan's legacy (Laura Flanders show) right now.

www.airamericaradio.com

[suegeo]

70. List of Laws that Reagan broke!

Here is a list of laws that Reagan broke. I took this list from a book, source noted below.

I believe this list is only in regard to the Iran-Contra crimes. There may be other laws broken by Reagan, Inc. which are not listed here.

1. The Boland Amendment (Thou shalt not mess with Central America.)

2. The International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985, Public Law 99~83, Section 722 (d). (Thou shalt not provide funding directly or indirectly against Nicaragua.)

3. The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1986, Public Law 99-169, Section 101 and 105. (Thou shalt not plan or covet military or paramilitary operations against Nicaragua, directly or indirectly. )

4. The Neutrality Act of 1974, Section 960 Title 18 of the US Code. (Thou shalt not engage in supporting, funding, planning or aiding military adventures against any country with which the US is at peace.)

5. The Arms Export Control Act, US Code Title 22, Section 2778. (Thou shalt not trade in weapons for export ,,'ithout applying for and obtaining a license to do so.)

6. Intelligence Oversight Act. (The CIA shall inform the Congress of intelligence acti,'ities regarding foreign countties.)

7. Executive Order 112333. (The US and its agents shall not participate in assassinations.)

8. The Anti-Deficiency Act, US Code Title 31, Sections 1341 and 1350. (Thou shalt not spend money for purposes not specifically authorized.)

9. Misuse of Public Money, Property or Records, US Code Title 18, Section 641. (Thou shalt not use US funds or property of value without legal authority.)

10. Fraud and False Statement, US Code Title 18, Section .1001. (Thou shalt not falsify, conceal or cover up by any scheme, trick or device a material fact or make false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or presentations of same.)

11. Obstruction of justice, US Code Title .18, Section .150.1. (Thou shalt not influence, intimidate or impede the due course of the administration of justice, including criminal investigations.)

.12. Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Commit Other Felonies, US Code Title 18, Section 371. (Thou shalt not plot to violate criminal laws.)

13. Misprison of Felony, US Code Title 18, Section 4. (Thou shalt not fail to report a felony to the proper authorities.)

14. Federal Election Campaign Law, US Code II, Section 43. (Thou shalt not use or ~launder~ either foreign or federal funds for political purposes.)

15. Misuse of Appropriated Funds for Publicity and Propaganda, Section 501 of Public Law 98-411 under Departments of Commerce, justice and State, 1985. (Thou shalt not use any appropriation for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by the Congress.)

16. War Powers Resolution, Section 4(a). (Thou shalt report to Congress within 48 hours after US forces have been committed to hostilities. )

17.The foreign Assistance Act of 1961, Section SO2B(a) (2): (Thou shalt not provide security assistance to any country the government of which engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights). These rights are defined as: tortures or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or prolonged detention without ttial or charges, or causing the disappearance of persons by abduction and clandestine detention, or other flagrant denial of the right of life, liberty and security of the person.

SOURCE: "Prophets without honor", by Strabala, Palacek. Algora Publishing, New York, copyright 2002.

[MikeG]

71. Shades of OJ: A helicopter is following the hearse to the funeral home.

Anyone looking for the real killer?

[jono]

72. kick

[Liberal_Dog]

73. Death Is Not Political

I'm no admirer of Ronald Reagan, but I feel very sad today. He was still a big part of our lives.

While a student at NC State, I saw Reagan give a speech in Reynolds Coliseum in September '85. It must have been around 130 degrees in there. I still have the ticket and the school newspaper that covered the speech. I suppose I will never forget it.

[SHRED]

74. Death is not political? Huh?

Tell that to the surviving family members who saw thier relatives raped, tortured, and killed by Reagan's Contras!

Sad? What a bunch of bullshit.
It's a happy day when a murderer dies!
Nothing to be sad about.