Reagan May Have Died, Cannot Recall At This Time

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This is rude, one should not critisize the dead.

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I'll have to remember this next time Syamsu claims Darwin was a racist

The Iran-Contra scandal was also a nice piece of work. It is still one of the most wonderful examples of hypocrisy that one can point to in U.S. politics.But this thread illustrates a disturbing trend. This "Don't criticize Reagan (and more importantly, his policies) because he is dead" is akin to the "Don't criticize George Bush because we are at war and that would make you unpatriotic". Meanwhile, U.S. talking heads blabber endlessly about spreading "freedom" around the world while at the same time statements like these condemn the excercise of one of said freedoms. I think it would be more honest to say that you can be any way you want, be anything you like, believe what you want, and speak freely...so long as it agrees with whatever everyone else wants...dare to be different by conforming...now pass me my Starbucks coffee Hambre..I am on my way to buy my new Nke's and shop at Wal-mart..am I a rebel or what?

Hi berberry,
I do understand your point. But this is not what is actually happening in the news. It is not about respect. It is not even the lack of criticism of Reagan that is my problem. It is that the media is presenting Reagan as some kind of saint who did no wrong and not reporting that he was controversial when he was president and was involved in several huge scandals. This is an activist agenda driven historical revisionism that is being promoted by the media as respect for the dead. If the respect you appear to envision were to be observed, they would merely report that he had died, have issued the statement made by his wife and drop it from the news. If Reagan's last wish was to be splashed all over the media then so be it...but the criticism of his policies and government would also have to be presented. Not the fairy tale that is being aired now. Imagine when Clinton dies if the media out of "respect" for the dead omits that he was controversial, that there was the Lewinsky scandal, that he oversaw lots of brain dead policies. Would this be ok? When we start to view elected officials as somehow "above" the sweating masses and beyond reproach then we might as well admit that our democracy is a charade.

I actually only knew he was still alive because Nancy Reagan has been pushing for stem cell research. I also work a bit on Alzheimer's (a side project)so Reagan's name sometimes comes up....I could not remember if Ford was dead or not

Hi Ab,
You will notice that I did not sleaze-ball Reagan. I pointed out that he was controversial. It is an inopportune moment to attack him right now I agree. However, if public claims are made about him that are entirely inaccurate and we are told to not counter them out of "respect", I view it as an underhanded way of pushing a particular view or agenda and an attempt to supress the truth. It is just like the Camelot mythology that was pushed after Kennedy was assasinated.In my own personal experience, when someone dies, one remembers the person and usually remembers them as they were...good or bad (or good and bad). Pretending that they were only good is not respectful to them either as it would be a lie. And if you did not like the person when they were alive, it is unlikely they will change your mind by dying.Since I did not even personally know the guy, about the only feeling I get is that it reminds me that I was in high school during his first term and college during his second...and that fills me with dread because Poison was a popular band at the time..which is dreadful.

Ok Ok..I admit it, I am merely jealous...they all looked way better in makeup and high heels then I do...damn genetics

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Do you think the news networks will provide round-the-clock live coverage of that chimney when the current pope dies?

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It depends..if Janet Jackson's other nipple (one down one to go) makes an appearence at the same time, they will interupt chimney coverage to show an edited version of said offending body part (unless Eminem shows his ass again..and no Mr.Hambre, I don't mean Kid Rock!)...and of course, there will always be the mandatory commercial interuptions by Budweiser and Depends incontinence protection which are usually broadcast in a logical order.