[Vision2020] Professor, educate thyself....

[Ted Moffett]

Joan et. al.

Speaking of having to answer for something Ronald Reagan said or did, did
you have to answer for this statement below?

http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/129.html

http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/quotethis/a/reaganquotes.htm

"My fellow Americans. I'm pleased to announce that I've signed legislation
outlawing the Soviet Union. We begin bombing in five minutes." –joking
during a mike check before his Saturday radio broadcast.
-----------
I don't really expect an answer, it's just that this quote is so totally
incredible and reveals much more about Reagan's mindset than just that he
made a dark joke during a mike check.  Reagan was such a rabid anti-Soviet
hawk that the policies of his administration can be linked to the rise of
Islamic fundamentalism and Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, another case
where to oppose the Soviets the US supported factions that came back to
haunt the US.

http://www.slate.com/id/2102243/

Blow back, anyone?

Ted Moffett




On 3/22/06, Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com> wrote:
>
>
> On 21 Mar 2006, at 19:54, Chasuk wrote:
>
> > On 3/21/06, ToeKneeTime at aol.com <ToeKneeTime at aol.com> wrote:
> >
> >> You say Bush has done more to destroy America's reputation than ANY
> >> AMERICAN
> >> you know.  We are still recovering from eight years as the
> >> laughingstock of
> >> the world thanks to Bill Clinton.  He confirmed the impression many
> >> foreigners have of Americans as vulgar hedonists.
> >
> > I have tried to stay out of this, but this statement is too absurd to
> > ignore.  I had the experience of living for half of my lifetime
> > overseas, and can report that Reagan was largely considered a charming
> > buffoon.  He actively made made foreigners laugh at us, and in droves.
> >  Clinton was, and is, greatly admired.  Most of the world laughed
> > themselves sick that Americans wasted so much time chasing our
> > voyeuristic blowjob obsessions while ignoring real issues.  You are
> > WAY off the mark, here.  If you don't trust my experiences, look at
> > any polls.  Reagan was considered an unclever chimp, and Bush is
> > considered his less intelligent successor.
>
> I spent 1985-1986 living in Glasgow, Scotland.  Ronald Reagan was an
> enigma to the Scots, the English, the Norwegians -- in short, to every
> non US-citizen I ment.  No one could imagine how (or why) Americans had
> elected a man who seemed to them such an obvious corn-pone phony.  I
> frequently found myself in the awkward position of being called upon to
> answer for something Reagan had said or done -- like his insistence on
> calling the Soviet Union the "Evil Empire," or his bizarre remarks to a
> group of German schoolchildren about how "we" should have invited the
> Native Americans to become a part of the United States and not let them
> go about doing their own thing on reservations.  (No, I am not making
> this up.)  I soon grew tired of answering for Reagan, and tired of
> defending myself -- I didn't vote for him.  Eventually, I'd just snap
> that he was my President, not my father.  I was no more responsible for
> his actions than the British were for Margaret Thatcher's.  If they
> were willing to take the blame for the Falklands, then I'd be happy to
> answer for Grenada, but otherwise, how about some commiseration and a
> friendly pint?
>
> Chasuk is quite right about Bill Clinton's reputation in Europe (and
> Toe-Knee, quelle surprise, is quite wrong).  Clinton remains a
> political hero in Ireland for his part in bringing about the Good
> Friday peace accords.  There's an enormous bronze statue of him in
> Northern Ireland and countless plaques honoring him throughout the
> Republic.  Anyone who has traveled or, better yet, lived abroad knows
> that Clinton was always quite popular outside the United States; the
> only British newspaper I remember calling for his head over the Monica
> Lewinsky affair was The Economist.
>
> Who's the most popular U. S. President out there in the wider world?
> Jimmy Carter, of course.  A tireless peace activist, an international
> elections observer, a respected mediator -- Ford, Reagan, Bush the
> Elder, Clinton, and Bush the Younger didn't/don't hold a candle to
> Carter in terms of international stature.  I'm sure Toe-Knee will have
> something half-assed and snotty to say about Jimmy Carter, but actions
> speak louder than words.  Who's out building houses for Habitat for
> Humanity and who's raking in war bucks from the Carlyle Group?
>
> Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
> www.joanopyr.com
>
>
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