So Reagan died. When I went to get my head drilled some days ago the TVs were all set to FOX news, and so I was exposed to a lot of the lamentations. Lying there, I could see (beyond the paunchy, intelligent face of the dentist, various blood-flecked steel instruments, and something that looked exactly like a power drill but actually ) various concerned-looking people waxing grandiose about Reagan the magnificent. THe camera skimmed somberly over large heaps of roses and bits of paper. One insider deadpanned for a while about Reagan singlehandedly ending the Cold War by “refusing to raise the white flag to the Russians.” Hm. I was sorry to hear about Reagan’s Alzheimer’s, but I wish his death was met with sober regret rather than delusive histrionics.
12:57 pm on Tuesday, June 15th, 2004
comments
Tied to a dentist’s chair with FOX + Reagan? Oh you poor thing…
Yes, the overcoverage of Reagan’s death is rather annoying. With the June 30 deadline for the Iraq government handover fast approaching, Kerry in the process of finally selecting a running mate, and top officials and well-known Conservative talking heads downplaying the severity of the Abu Gharaib scandal (Rush going so far as to call it “brilliant” and say the soldiers were just “letting off some steam”), surely there must be something to report besides the fact that Reagan, who died nearly two weeks ago, is still dead.
Also, the revisionist history that can be seen everywhere is most alarming in its effectiveness on the average American viewer/reader- Reagan ended the Cold War? He almost started World War 3 due to a stupid remark he made one morning. Reagan a great leader? Aside from his dismal foreign policy record and perhaps the worst mishandling of the US economy in history, (other than, arguably, our current President), what exactly did he do?
THIS JUST IN! REAGAN STILL DEAD!
lol Soli
Does the “stupid remark” you’re talking about happen to be this one?”My fellow Americans, I’m pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes.”That little joke was made, of course, during what Reagan thought was a mic check before his live radio broadcast…
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“what exactly did he do?”
To be honest, Reagan did have some genuine accomplishments. He negotiated a lot of nuclear arms reduction treaties with the Soviet Union, for example. He also choked HIV/AIDS programs while spending zillions on “defense” and made a point of ripping Carter’s solar water-heater off the roof of the White House, which I’m sure some people would see as accomplishments.
i am terminally lame when it comes to acknowledging comments (although i do read them, of course, and furthermore LOVE YOU ALL OMG) but i thought i’d mention that my mom thinks you two are pretty smart. so. there we go. don’t stop being right about things. =]
have the flags gone back up yet?
does somebody know what the standard length of time to have flags at half-staff is? i thought it was a week- but we’re way over.
my stepdad says the longer they hang on to this story, the less they have to deal with new, more threatening ones. i said maybe they’re still at half-staff to pay respects to horrifically abused and tortured iraqi prisoners. that’s what i’ve decided to think about when i see a flag at half-staff this week. during the moments of silence at school last year i used to think up people to be silent for - the aids victims reagan screwed; children in afghanistan; our troops dying for lies; enron victims; women in burqas.