I've had it up to HERE.

[kellinator]

All right. All week I've been quiet about the Reagan media circus, not wishing to court the drama. But fuck it. I'm not going to take it anymore.

How fucking sad am I supposed to be that Reagan died? Look, people die. It happens. A peaceful death at 93 after a long full life is the best that any of us can hope for. And when that death is preceded by the living hell known as Alzheimer's disease -- well, that's a blessing.

Not that Reagan was exactly interested in providing funds for Alzheimer's research during his time in office. Maybe if that had been more important to him than tax cuts for the rich, he wouldn't have had to suffer through that long death -- and neither would have millions of innocents, including my grandmother.

Not to mention all the other diseases that Reagan ignored -- AIDS, anyone?

Despite his own recollections to the contrary, Ronald Reagan spent World War II in Hollywood making movies. Jimmy Stewart took time out from his film career to be a fighter pilot -- and had a clause in his contract that if the film studio tried to get publicity out of that, he'd walk off the set.

Last Sunday should have been dedicated to celebrating and remembering the brave troops who stormed the beaches on D-Day, not Reagan. Don't insult real heroes by comparing them to this man.

What's with all this misguided 80's nostalgia? See if shawnj refreshes your memory. The '80s sucked, and Reagan was a big part of why.

And for those who are convinced that Reagan was a genius -- well, gaiagurl helped me out with this link to some of Reagan's more bizarre quotations.

What set me off to the point of no return was hearing someone say that it won't be as big a deal when Jimmy Carter dies, he won't be as "well-remembered or missed." Whether or not you like his politics, Jimmy Carter has dedicated his life to helping the less fortunate. He is one of my personal heroes and is respected around the world. If people think Ronald Reagan is a better man that Jimmy Carter -- well, maybe the United States is in even worse shape than I thought.

Go ahead. Have your bread and media circuses devised to get Dubya reelected. You get the America you deserve.

(Just wish I'd had the balls to post this earlier in the week. Nobody reads LiveJournal on Friday.)

Comments

[poprockgrrl.livejournal.com]

amen.

and what about people wanting to put his mug on the $10?

people are so dumb.

[blark.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you.

It seemed that from Sunday until Wednesday, according to the major US news outlets, nothing occured in the entire world except for Reagan's death, and gee, we knew that was going to happen at some point for 10 years now. But no, really, the media is controlled by liberals. Shhhh!

[deza.livejournal.com]

Reagan didn't ignore AIDS. He relied on it to reduce the populations of homosexuals and African-Americans.

[legolastn.livejournal.com]

You go, girl!

[ariedana.livejournal.com]

Until it happens and it's proved otherwise, I think that the Republicans will honor Carter just as much as the Democrats have honored Reagan (and they have - after all, Kerry cancelled all appearances this week and attended the funeral.) That is, if Carter chooses to have the state funeral hoopla. My feeling is that he may elect to be eulogized and buried quietly at the Carter Center. After all, this is the first state funeral in almost 30 years, and ones like Reagan's are even rarer.

I think that, in a sense, the country is mourning the loss of an era more than they're actually mourning the man. A long time ago, I wrote about leaders who could really speak in a way that moves you profoundly in your soul (unlike Dubya, who turns my stomach.) At the time, I was told that Americans don't like to be preached to. But seeing all the speeches this week and his way of speaking (yes, I'm aware he didn't write his speeches) made me realize that he moved people in a way that no one does today. And he also had that air of old, dapper Hollywood and John Wayne and all that stuff in him.

I think that a lot of his policies stunk, and someday I feel sure that history will continue to bear that out. But I don't discredit Americans for showing respect to a dead leader. I don't think Americans respect each other enough, personally.

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Respect is one thing. Canonization is another.

And no, I don't think the Republicans will respect Carter. I'm bitter.

[adgy.livejournal.com]

Here here!!

[stevietee.livejournal.com]

Yeah, let's kick Hamilton off the $10 -- it's not like he had anything to do with setting up the financial structure of the entire fucking country or anything...

(And, really, if we're going to boot someone off our currency, can't we get rid of Andrew "Never Met An Indian I Didn't Want To Slaughter" Jackson???)

Re: Just my two cents

[sempereadem.livejournal.com]

Jimmy Carter is a great man, but was a crappy president. That's exactly what can and should be said of Reagan.

And before anyone bashes me and says what a great president Jimmy Carter was, please read this Encarta entry that covers it.

And it says exactly that - Yes, Carter is a great man, but his presidential record was as miserable as any other president's.

[poprockgrrl.livejournal.com]

yeah, hamilton didn't do anything really.

let's just put reagan on all the currency and be done with it.

[blistermoth.livejournal.com]

i read it on fridays!

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That makes me feel a little better :)

[harleen.livejournal.com]

*applauds*

as for the $10 bill debate...Alexander Hamilton did *way more* for the US than Reagan ever did!! just because Hamilton was never a President...*sigh*

if I were old enough to vote when Reagan was up for election, I would never have voted for him.

Re: Just my two cents

[gaiagurl.livejournal.com]

from what i have read about carter, his problem seemed to be that he was a good man but a bad politician. he wouldn't play the political games that others wanted him to play. a lot of the reason he wasn't a "good president" was that he spent a lot of time fighting with congress.

i went into encarta's entry about reagan and it's interesting--whoever wrote those entries obviously has some economic biases in favor of reagan and against carter, and doesn't even get into the role congress plays in passing government budgets, nor points out that running up a government deficit is generally a Bad Idea (tm).

Re: funny thought i just had, even though it's pocky...

[ilexx.livejournal.com]

maybe the $10 bill thing is part of a bigger conspiracy to get more people away from using cash altogether so we can eventually all participate blidful and willingly in that whole revelations "mark of the beast" stuff....

ehhh... don't mind me. i'm on a low blood sugar brainfuzz right now...

[ilexx.livejournal.com]

*I* read it.

i'm glad you spoke your mind.

i just personally am peeved that the whole thing is overshadowing the loss of Ray Charles.

[piratejenny.livejournal.com]

Hey, I read lj on Friday, and I totally agree with you. I'm so damn sick of hearing about Reagan. I'm far more sad that Ray Charles died--*that*'s cause for a national day of mourning.

[jesshelga.livejournal.com]

Damn, girl, I read LJ on Friday, and that was ass-kicking. And THANK YOU for standing up for Jimmy Carter, who remains proof that a one-term president can mean more to politics and causes than any stagnant-ass Brylcreemed actor-turned-politician ever did.

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

I read on Fridays. I read all the time.

I don't have much to say about Reagan -- I was a teenager when he was president, and I haven't ever been really politically minded, until recently.

I graduated from high school in 1985, so I get a big kick out of the 80's remembrance shows (is that what you meant there?), just because, hey, I do remember that stuff, and I did enjoy some of those movies and that music.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

If we're going to change any of our money, getting rid of Jackson would be my choice. Replacing him with Reagon wouldn't be my choice though.

[jack-mccoy-fan1.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the insightful entry. You spoke volumes and you speak for many here. I just hope that more people would speak their minds and remember those "good old days' weren't that great for us that were in the lower middle class. Screwed us over royally, but I digress. thanks again.

[football-swan.livejournal.com]

From what I understand, the President plans his (or one day, her) funeral shortly after the Inaugaration. A "just in case" deal.

Every President has fans and detractors. Reagan wasn't my favorite president - I've not lived long enough to have a favorite, ask me the day before I die. However, he, and 39 men before and three men hence, have had the courage to take on an office that I could never do myself. It's not much, but it's something everyone should remember.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

I agree. I am so sick of all this hoopla over Reagan. One of our city police officers died over the weekend in a shootout. He deserves to be mourned with much to-do. He died protecting us. He left a daughter who is not quite two. Reagan was 93. He lived a good long life. It was probably a kindness for him to die. Alzheimer's is not a nice thing to have. Even if I'd liked the things he did, I'm not sure I'd mourn much under those circumstances. When Carter dies, I will mourn. He may not have been good at being president, but he is a great man who does what he believes in instead of just talking about it.

[dwivian]

Yes it is. Which is why we're hearing a lot of the negative things about Reagan along with the coverage of the processions and funeral. The media recognizes that Kerry had to take a week off because of this, and Bush can only gain from it, so they're limiting the Rah-Rah attitude that they could have given it (ala Fox News, which is tedious after 15 minutes of watching).

Media, because they are an investigatory function, necessarily cannot be conservative in tendency, which advocates status quo. Their very existance requires a left-of-center position.

But, in contradiction, I learned of a chinese coal mine catastrophe, the loss of Ray Charles, and the killing of construction workers in Afghanistan, all on the media that was only talking about Reagan. Shhhh!

[wyvernfriend.livejournal.com]

Hey, tho person to admire is the Irish Tenor who sang at the funeral, Ronan Tynan, A doctor who lost his legs at 20 due to a car accident! see http://www.theirishtenors.com/biographies/ronan.html