Ronald Reagan is dead....

[omae mona]

---------Condolences--------
A condolence book will be open to the public for signature at the American Embassy in Tokyo June 8-10, from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Condolence books will also be available to the public at our Consulates during their regular business hours, June 8-10. Visitors should bring photo ID with them, preferably their passports, to access our facilities.

Anybody want to meet me over there, and we can take turns writing nasty notes?

[dingosatemybaby]

GOOD.

Great eulogy of Ronnie by Christopher Hitchens. As always, whatever Hitch writes seems to perfectly sum up my own feelings.


Not Even a Hedgehog
The stupidity of Ronald Reagan.

By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Monday, June 7, 2004, at 10:03 AM PT

Neither a fox nor a hedgehog
Not long ago, I was invited to be the specter at the feast during "Ronald Reagan Appreciation Week" at Wabash College in Indiana. One of my opponents was Dinesh D'Souza: He wasn't the only one who maintained that Reagan had been historically vindicated by the wreckage of the Soviet Union. Some of us on the left had also been very glad indeed to see the end of the Russian empire and the Cold War. But nothing could make me forget what the Reagan years had actually been like.

Ronald Reagan claimed that the Russian language had no word for "freedom." (The word is "svoboda"]http://www.slate.com/id/2101842/[/url][/b]

[GuyJean]

Enough dead Reagan, already!!

Geeeez.. Seven endless days of mourning, 24 hour reporting on selectively 'Remembering Reagan', and a fucking Holiday!!? He's dead! Move on!.. It aint gonna help you Bush, cuz you aint no Reagan!

I mean, I liked the guy his first term; brought us back from the doldrums, had charisma, etc. But didn't he also spawn/support/create the likes of Bin Laden and Hussein? Nobody sees any connection there?..

Mourn, learn, then fucking move on!! .. In 3 days, not 10!

GJ

[kamome]

Enough dead Reagan, already!!

It's amazing how people get selective amnesia when someone dies. It's like all of the crap they ever pulled in life is instantly forgiven in hindsight. This outpouring o' love for the gipper is pretty goddamned annoying.

It's made worse by the fact that connections of connections of mine know Walter Mondale, who got utterly screwed by Reagan in '84. Mondale was and still is a great guy.

[Andocrates]

Even in the grave Reagan has more charisma then Mondale. Mondale never expected to win, that's why he chose that bitchy running mate.

What did Mondale stand for anyway? Anyone remember?Everyone knows what Reagan stood for. The democrats have a hard time picking a winner. The Presidency is vulnerable and they give us Kerry, good lord.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Reagans death just floods back punk music to me.

From the DEAD KENNEDYS "Moral Majority"
Blow it out your ass, Jerry Falwell
Blow it out your ass, Jesse Helms
Blow it out your ass, Ronald Reagan
What's wrong with a mind of my own?

RAMONES "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg"
If there's one thing that makes me sick It's when someone tries to hide behind politics
I wish that time could go by fast Somehow they manage to make it last

I don't think there is any love lost in the gay community or anyone else who has been affected by HIV for Reagan, a man who would not even say the word AIDS until 1987!

[GomiGirl]

Forgive my antipodean ignorance..

how many former-presidents are still alive?
what is their state of health?
when did the last former-president shuffle off this mortal coil?

I think some people just love a good funeral...

[Caustic Saint]

how many former-presidents are still alive?
what is their state of health?
when did the last former-president shuffle off this mortal coil?

Ford, Carter, Bush the first and Clinton are still alive.

Don't know, don't care.

Nixon was the last former president to die. I forget exactly when.

[Taro Toporific]

how many former-presidents are still alive?
what is their state of health?

Ford, Carter, Bush the 1st, Clinton, are all quite genki. My Dead Pool bet would be on Ford.

when did the last former-president shuffle off this mortal coil?...

NIXON'S THE ONE
Nixon took over for Satan in 1994.

[GomiGirl]

NIXON'S THE ONE Nixon took over for Satan in 1994.

Ah see that is why there is so much hoop-a-la over a dead Reagan.. people and the media love a good state funeral and it has been too long..

The media love it because they can dredge up all the old archive footage and everybody can giggle at the hair/clothes of the anchors when they were mere reporters... lots of montages with music swelling.. a producers wet dream...

Actually given the timing, one may be so cynical as to suggest that it was quite timely for upcoming November elections.. focus on the "glory days" to distract from the current debacle...

But I am not as cynical as all that... am I?

[Caustic Saint]

Actually given the timing, one may be so cynical as to suggest that it was quite timely for upcoming November elections.. focus on the "glory days" to distract from the current debacle...

But I am not as cynical as all that... am I?

Well, if you're not, there are plenty who are.

The night before Ronny died, one of my friends was speculating that "they" were going to kill him off, just in time for the election. Guess they'll have to fall back to the original plan of a "surprise" capture of Bin Laden in late October.

[kamome]

Even in the grave Reagan has more charisma then Mondale. Mondale never expected to win, that's why he chose that bitchy running mate.

What did Mondale stand for anyway? Anyone remember?Everyone knows what Reagan stood for. The democrats have a hard time picking a winner. The Presidency is vulnerable and they give us Kerry, good lord.

This is a bunch of crap-ola. Mondale didn't expect to win? You bet he did. And just because he had a female running mate, she's a bitch? For the uninitiated, a woman named Geraldine Ferraro was Walter Mondale's running mate and candidate for Vice-President in 1984. To my knowledge, that's the first time in American history that a woman had ever been selected as a nominee for such a high office. Funny how some people immediately call her a bitch for just that reason.

And I've never understood why "charisma" should be a qualification for President. Attacking someone's lack of charisma totally ducks the real issues about a candidate--their policy choices, their vision, their judgement, their honesty, etc. And if charisma is that big a deal for you, you obviously haven't heard Mondale speak; he's very charismatic, actually.

[Andocrates]

She was a bitch because she was a bitch not because she was a women. She couldn't keep her emotions in check, she was totally out of touch with mainstream America.

Charisma is essential to any leadership position, a really smart guy with no people skills we call an accountant. A leader leads. A president isn't supposed to make policy and come up with ideas, he is supposed to act like the CEO, able to recognize the good ideas his team comes up with and then persuade the people it's a good idea. When a president acts alone you get crap like Iraq.

[omae mona]

NIXON'S THE ONE Nixon took over for Satan in 1994.

Ah see that is why there is so much hoop-a-la over a dead Reagan.. people and the media love a good state funeral and it has been too long..

Actually, longer than you think. Nixon knew better than to show up in Washington again, even posthumously, so there was just a private funeral. No state funeral.I think the last state funeral was for Lyndon Johnson in 1973 (shortly after Harry Truman??)

I don't think the hoop-la is really because people are into the funeral. It's simply an effort to make the presidential campaign a week shorter via distraction, since each passing week sees Bush's approval rating melt away. Boy, is it backfiring, though, since it's reminding people that even though Reagan's presidency was a miserable failure by most measures, the guy looks like a freakin' genius next to Dubya.

[kamome]

She was a bitch because she was a bitch not because she was a women. She couldn't keep her emotions in check, she was totally out of touch with mainstream America.

And your justification for that crack is....?

Charisma is essential to any leadership position, a really smart guy with no people skills we call an accountant. A leader leads. A president isn't supposed to make policy and come up with ideas, he is supposed to act like the CEO, able to recognize the good ideas his team comes up with and then persuade the people it's a good idea. When a president acts alone you get crap like Iraq.

I see your point; charisma is a good skill for leadership. Is it the only skill required for leadership? Hell no. So if you knock Kerry or Mondale for lack of charisma, that doesn't automatically mean they're going to be poor leaders. A person who seems stiff can still be a good leader through exemplary behavior or by persuading others with logical ideas and sound policies.

I am much more interested in a candidate's budgetary priorities than I am in whether or not he can make me laugh with a one-liner. Leave the entertaining to comedians and talk show hosts.

[Taro Toporific]

Enough dead Reagan, already!!

Reagan should be on a $3 bill
by Jimmy Breslin / New York Newsday / June 11, 2004
I offered my small prayer for Ronald Reagan when he was shot by this Hinckley. I said another prayer for him when I read this graceful note that he issued about his Alzheimer's.
Having said this, I now strongly endorse a suitable memorial for him.
Ronald Reagan belongs on a $3-bill.
You are supposed to honor and respect the dead. But you also must respect the truth, and live for the living - and this funeral has gone on for almost a week.