Job Discussion Forums

[MarcusK]

Lots of news coverage on the 'net.

[laodeng]

He was one of the main reasons for my frequently pretending to be Canadian.

[Aramas]

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy

[Roger]

That guy was 93 and had Alzheimer; what's the matter? He is gone; there is now space for someone else.
HOpefully a different one.

[garbotara]

[Gringo Greg]

I woke up early this morning hoping to see if Smarty Jones pulled off the Triple Crown and was insteadshocked by the news about Ronald Reagan. I was eight when he was elected and I was 16 when he left the white house. He was with me throughout those very formidable years. I got to enjoy ketchup on the free lunch program thanks to Ronnie and I got to eat grilled cheese sandwiches thanks to his free cheese program. Ronnie cared about people and did his best. He made us optimisitc and made us believe that we could succeed.

I look at him as a person, almost a family member, someone who touched my life in a special time. He wasn't perfect, none of us are, but he had the special quality of being able to reach out to people and let them know he cared. Bill Clinton was the kind of President you would like to go out with to drink beers and chase bargirls, Reagan was the kind of President you looked upon as a grandfather.

I cried this morning.

[johnslat]

Dear Gringo Greg,
In no way do I want to belittle or criticize your sentiments; I would like to comment, however, on your enjoyment of ketchup:

[gugelhupf]

Conversely, Reagan's soulmate of the '80s Margaret Thatcher acquired the nickname of "Snatcher" during her time at the Education ministry for abolishing free school milk.

[johnslat]

Dear gugelhupf.
I'd say that no "conversely" was required:

"Reagan lobbied Congress to enact significant tax cuts, while he drastically scaled back government spending. As federal funding for many social services programs were cut, responsibility for efforts such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children and school lunches was shifted to individual states. Reagan called this the "new federalism." His critics called it cold-hearted Hooverism.
Few gave serious consideration to an exploding federal deficit, fueled by tax cuts and record spending for defense, and an increasing disparity between the rich and poor.

The rising economic tide of the 1980s did not lift all boats. By 1984, thirteen million children lived below the poverty line. Conditions in the inner cities grew more desperate as relief services were cut off. While corporate executives enjoyed record profits, legions of blue collar workers saw their jobs shipped to other countries where wages were lower. Observers used the term "social Darwinism" to describe an economy where only the strong survived. But Reagan believed that these people, too, would benefit from a "trickle-down" economy where increased wealth would find its way into every facet of society.

Far into the 1990s, debate continued over the legacy of Ronald Reagan's domestic agenda. Supporters pointed to the 118 million new jobs that were created, and increased trade with other nations. Detractors assailed what they saw as irresponsible deregulation resulting in threats to public health and safety.

Ronald Reagan: hero or villain? In large part, people's perceptions of the man's domestic initiatives depended on how they were affected by them. One fact appeared indisputable: for better or worse, Reagan made a lasting impact."

From:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/printable.html#domestic

Regards,
John

[Hector_Lector]

Gee, Gringo Greg, thanks for sharing that special moment with us.

Free ketchup and cheese - thanks, Ron

That wipes out the rest of the insanity of his years of misrule.

[yaramaz]

66 (Unflattering) Things About Ronald Reagan

By David Corn, The Nation

June 6, 2004 The firing of the air traffic controllers, winnable nuclear war, recallable nuclear missiles, trees that cause pollution, Elliott Abrams lying to Congress, ketchup as a vegetable, colluding with Guatemalan thugs, pardons for F.B.I. lawbreakers, voodoo economics, budget deficits, toasts to Ferdinand Marcos, public housing cutbacks, redbaiting the nuclear freeze movement, James Watt.


Getting cozy with Argentine fascist generals, tax credits for segregated schools, disinformation campaigns, "homeless by choice," Manuel Noriega, falling wages, the HUD scandal, air raids on Libya, "constructive engagement" with apartheid South Africa, United States Information Agency blacklists of liberal speakers, attacks on OSHA and workplace safety, the invasion of Grenada, assassination manuals, Nancy's astrologer.


Drug tests, lie detector tests, Fawn Hall, female appointees (8 percent), mining harbors, the S&L scandal, 239 dead U.S. troops in Beirut, Al Haig "in control," silence on AIDS, food-stamp reductions, Debategate, White House shredding, Jonas Savimbi, tax cuts for the rich, "mistakes were made."


Michael Deaver's conviction for influence peddling, Lyn Nofziger's conviction for influence peddling, Caspar Weinberger's five-count indictment, Ed Meese ("You don't have many suspects who are innocent of a crime"), Donald Regan (women don't "understand throw-weights"), education cuts, massacres in El Salvador.


"The bombing begins in five minutes," $640 Pentagon toilet seats, African-American judicial appointees (1.9 percent), Reader's Digest, C.I.A.-sponsored car-bombing in Lebanon (more than eighty civilians killed), 200 officials accused of wrongdoing, William Casey, Iran/contra. "Facts are stupid things," three-by-five cards, the MX missile, Bitburg, S.D.I., Robert Bork, naps, Teflon.


David Corn, Washington editor of the Nation, is author of 'The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering the Politics of Deception.'

[nawlinsgurl]

[willy]

"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. I'm afraid I have to confess to you that one of the sins of government is that the bureaucracy once created has one fundamental rule above all others: preserve the bureaucracy." Ronald Reagan

hip hip huray!! for whats his name.

[Lanza-Armonia]

...I have no ending so I take a small bow...

(George Carlin in 'Carlin on Campus', 1998, NYC)

LA

[steampig]

One hates to p*ss on this obviously private American parade of liberal (self) loathing, but as someone who married somebody who spent her first seventeen years living under the sublime system that was Communism I have to say that 'The Gipper' was something of a hero. Interestingly, I was in Massachussetts during part of the Reagan years, (the Oxford comma, is it appropriate?)and in a state not exactly known for its Republican sentiment he was incredibly popular. The man must have done something right.