On this date in 1984, during a radio voice test, President Reagan joked he “signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes.”
With the speed words travel today, what consequences could have been?
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On this date in 1984, during a radio voice test, President Reagan joked he “signed legislation that would outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in 5 minutes.”
With the speed words travel today, what consequences could have been?
Filed under The Public Square
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
Good morning one and all.
Reagan supporters think the man was a saint and a great American but as demonstrated by the above ‘joke’ he told, I think he was nothing more than a very mean-spirited man – and not a very wise one, at that.
In today’s world – that joke would have been seen in the same light as John McCain’s little song about bomb, bomb, bomb Iran during the 2008 presidential campaign.
But my question is this: Why are Republicans so quick to drop those bombs?
There are consequences to words.
Good morning!
Honestly, today words spread faster than wildfires. Words typed on a blog or tweeted are repeated worldwide. So if Reagan’s joke (see header) had been heard today, it certainly wouldn’t have been a relatively unknown little tidbit in history. Today we could make that little joke at least as important and newsworthy as Levi and Bristol getting back together or breaking up or…
Sometimes I think the stupid fluff stuff is made out to be important where as Reagan’s joke would have been soft-soaped – just like McCain’s little bombing song.
It was a joke, Reagan was Hell bend on using anything thing to stop the Soviet threat but to stop the possibility of a war with them.
Now the Soviets did not know that and it was that question of whether Reagan would go to war with them? That was an incentive to deal with him on ending the cold war and the mutual threat to each other.
That was said by the Soviets themselves.
It didn’t hurt that Russia had been fighting a lost cause in Afghanistan for so many years that its economy was suffering as a result. People like to give the supposed Reagan hard line credit for the fall of the USSR, but they should note what is happening in our country today and how long we have been at war and see the parallels. The Russians couldn’t afford to keep the arms race going, and, considering the deficits Reagan was running up at the time, neither could we.
Not to mention that the Russians couldnt feed themselves at the time, due to drought and the economy.
And say, isnt it mighty dry in the grain belt this year? 🙂
The difference between Reagan’s joke and McCain’s is that McCain actually believe there is a real need to be at war with Iran….. That whole Neo-Conservative thought process and all.
It was reported last week that Newt Gingrich publicly stated that we should finish what GWB started and destroy the rest of the axis of evil by attacking Iran and North Korea.
Gee, I wonder whose taxes they are going to raise to pay for those wars?
I’m scratching my head as to why any of this is surprising, although I gather it is (at least to some):
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/11/us/politics/11tax.html?_r=1
So whichever party sells their ‘story’ best may be favored at the polls in the fall. To hell with facts.
The ‘facts’ are fairly straightforward. Either way, there are winners; the only question is how much.
The facts are what each person chooses them to be.
Not really, but those who don’t agree with your facts will tell you their facts are the real ones.
Remember when Nathan used to argue with me that his opinion was superior to mine because his opinion was based on facts?
Different subject, but relevant: Now we know why getting surgery in foreign countries, even though cheaper, may not be a good idea
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100811/wl_uk_afp/healthdiseasebacteriaantibioticstravelindiapakistan
Making American costs for healthcare competitive would seem one way to address this consequence of going to foreign countries.
What is more pathetic is when American health care is costly but yet so many people die from preventable things like wrong medication given, over dosing of medication due to illegible handwriting, wrong limb amputated due to carelessness.
And then to top it all off – Republicans think health care providers should never be sued.
Oh, that makes me feel much better now and to think – we Americans have the privilege of paying MORE for such good American healthcare.
My point was that there are reasons that healthcare in those places are “cheaper”. Lack of regulations being a major concern.
I see that point, but don’t see how it changes the need to lower costs in America. As that article pointed out some scary infections from having surgery overseas, don’t you think we could find some evidence of similar scares happening right here?
Medical care like any other industry has need for improvement. People deliver health care, people are fallible. I have a sister who works in infectious disease control in a Texas hospital. She said recently if she could just get nurses, doctors and technicians to wash their hands half her job would be done.
I thought all conservatives and republicans believed unregulated businesses were the way to go? Isnt that what their St. Ronnie Raygun preached? Regulations, bad. Unregulated and unfettered business, good?
Oh, but in this case, it was foreigners that don’t have regulations – and that is bad.
Unless, of course, the no regulations is going to help some American company make billions off those foreigners’ cheap labor.
Heh, good one indy!
No regulations=good when it promotes cheap labor, cheaper manufacturing by raping the environment, and underhanded trade deals.
No regulations=bad when it can be a boogy man to keep those medical tourists at home!
Got it!
“She said recently if she could just get nurses, doctors and technicians to wash their hands half her job would be done.”
Of that, I have no doubt.
Occupational apathy to the “dangers” is rampant in all occupations. That’s why you see electricians
working on hot lines because it’s quicker, radiation workers treating contamination as just another day at the office, farmers and other machinery workers removing safety guard because they “just get in the way”, etc
I have worked in health care for 20+ years – do you know how hard it is to get Americans to wash their hands?
Most of the people have this attitude of ‘don’t tell me what to do’.
And that arrogance leads to ignorance.
Scanning the news I saw that Ramadan will begin tomorrow. I remembered a trip to Boston. This was a few years ago and my sister from Charlotte and I were meeting in Boston. My son mailed me a key to his place because he was out of town for the first two days we would be there.
My sister and I carefully planned our flights so we would arrive Boston airport around the same time, catch a cab to my son’s place… All went well, we followed the airport signs to the cab stand and saw a huge crowd of people. We had neither one ever taken a cab from the Boston airport so we didn’t know whether this number of people was unusual or not. It took a bit of time and lots of questions to learn we had arrived on a Muslim holiday and there weren’t any cab drivers working. Seems cab drivers in Boston are mainly of one ethnicity.
We finally found a hotel shuttle that took us close and we dragged our luggage a bit further than we would have liked, but we got there.
The details you need to know in order for a trip to go smoothly are almost unlimited!
Michael Moore on Robert Gibbs “inartful and counterproductive” comments: “You don’t want him drafting the fundraising letter for the next election cycle. It will begin something like, ‘Dear biggest Obama supporters: YOU SUCK! Now send us money, please.'”
I have to say, when I was campaigning for Obama in 2008, of the fellow volunteers I met, most would classify themselves as liberal and only a couple were “reformed Republicans” who would self-identify as moderate or conservative.
I guess the Democratic party has decided, once again, that they don’t need to reach out to the liberal base. I think it’s a big mistake, but we’ll see. They sure as hell don’t have my vote locked.
As far as his remarks, Dennis Kucinich, indeed. If we had Kucinich in office, we would have gotten a much better health care bill, guantanamo would be closed and we would be much closer to bringing our troops home. As Rude Pundit said (paraphrase), Screw YOU Bob.
Heh. That exact fundraising letter has been going to the gay community for YEARS!
And we keep falling for it, thinking the alternative is worse.
Now, you all tell me, which is worse. An honest FU or a lying FU? ‘Cause the repukes are honest about killing and burying us. The dems tell us sweet nothings, but do the same.
It is ALL still an FU to us, whether it’s done openly or covertly.
While the Ground Zero mosque generates nationwide debate, America has become a country of thousands of mosques, cultural institutions, and halal restaurants. VIEW OUR RANKING of America’s 30 Muslim centers.
#1, Detroit, Michigan
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.3%
Total mosques (rank): 3
Number of halal restaurants: 89
#2, Washington, D.C.
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 2.1%
Total mosques (rank): 7
Number of halal restaurants: 134
#3, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.2%
Total mosques (rank): 2
Number of halal restaurants: 5
#4, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.3%
Total mosques (rank): 9
Number of halal restaurants: 62
#5, New York, New York
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.6%
Total mosques (rank): 12
Number of halal restaurants: 325
#6, Atlanta, Georgia
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 0.8%
Total mosques (rank): 9
Number of halal restaurants: 22
#7, Peoria, Illinois
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 0.9%
Total mosques (rank): 5
Number of halal restaurants: 1
#8, San Francisco, California
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.1%
Total mosques (rank): 24
Number of halal restaurants: 176
#9, Houston, Texas
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.2%
Total mosques (rank): 15
Number of halal restaurants: 50
#10, Chicago, Illinois
Estimated Muslim population (percentage): 1.3%
Total mosques (rank): 27
Number of halal restaurants: 61
#11 Cleveland, Ohio
#12 Columbus, Georgia
#13 Toledo, Ohio
#14 Boston, Massachusetts
#15 Lansing, Michigan
See 15 more of the top 30 here —
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-08-11/the-biggest-muslim-capitals-in-america/?cid
On a different, but relevant topic, here is an interesting article that I found through a posting on facebook.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reagan-insider-gop-destroyed-us-economy-2010-08-10?pagenumber=1
Always nice to see someone say it outloud.
NBC/WSJ poll: Public is fed up with Congress
From NBC’s Mark Murray
In the past year and a half, Congress has produced plenty of legislative achievements. The far-reaching health-care law. The landmark financial reform. The economic stimulus.
But the public isn’t buying those legislative successes.
According to the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal, a combined 60 percent say that the Congress is either below average or one of the worst in history — the highest percentage here in the history of the poll.
By comparison, 31 percent say it has been average, and only 6 percent believe it has been above average or one of the best.
The attitudes about President Obama are slightly better, however. In the poll, 58% think the president has performed as expected, 29% say he’s done worse than expected, and 12% who believe he’s done better than expected.
The poll — which was conducted Aug. 5-9, and which has a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points — will be released in full at 6:30 pm ET.
I know this sounds cold, but…
Ruth Bader Ginsberg needs to resign before the democrats lose the house, senate, and white house.
It’s gonna happen, starting this November and continuing on through 2012. The democrats (with the exception of the ever demonized Nancy Pelosi) from top to bottom, have made such a hash of things that stupid american voters will believe the repukes will do better.
Short term memory loss. It’s the American way!
Short term memory loss or just the flavor of the month?
As far as Muslims go, my oncologist is a Muslim black man. And this man had more compassion, knowledge and more heart than the Christian white male doctor that I was originally referred to for my cancer.
I was at Stage III and the Christian white male was too concerned about his God-like ego, his take of my insurance coverage payments and he was way too busy to be bothered by the likes of me – so I fired his
butt.
The Muslim black male doctor saved my life through a teamwork approach.
BTW – That Christian white male doctor referred to the black Muslim male doctor a few of his own patients that maxerd out their insurance coverage – and the Muslim doctor took those patients to treat them without blinking an eye.
Now who is the evil – the Christian or the Muslim?
Of course, the Christian. Christians are always evil. It’s in their nature. They only care that their God is better than anybody else’s God, that they are superior to everybody else, and on and on and on
I find it more accurate to say that there is no religion superior to another and none whose adherents are superior to other people.
Although I’ve heard it said that a theocracy based on the Christian religion wouldn’t be like those based on other religions because of course the Christian religion is a superior one.
I was only relaying a personal experience and from everything I hear from the Republican side of the political debate is that all Muslims are evil.
And in from my personal experience, I would have to say the Muslim is far superior.
But you may choose otherwise – and that is your right to do so.
More specific to the point – in THIS case, the Muslim is far superior.
I am not saying all Muslims are superior to Christians just like I believe Christians should not say all Muslims are evil.
What is so wrong with that?
Wow, I see you finally get it!
I know you were being sarcastic. Too bad you cant see that post for the truth that it is.
Believe me, that IS the message christians as a group send out every day.
Oops, that was for itoldyouso, not you indy.
I am beginning to have Doctors as not my favor subject.
Each time the Doctor said he wants to see me in a week or few days the visit cost me $40.00 that I do not have or means I have to not pay a bill. The first visit to my M.D. I had to wait three days because I did not have 40 dollars to my name.
Then within two days it was the eye Doctor and once again another 40 dollars!
He wanted to see me again last Monday to check and see how and if my eye was getting better… Again 40 dollars.
He then discovered my eye pressure was too high and there was new vein growth in my retina which the first time he had look at the first appointment he said he saw but then upon taking a closer look said no it was not.
On top of this new finding he did a special test and said that he saw new vein growth around some duct that allows fluid to drain out of the eye.
So he made an appointment for me with a specialist you guessed it another 40 dollars next Monday!
And he set another appointment with himself for tomorrow another 40 dollars.
$200.00 dollars in less then two weeks and I can not see any better out of that eye then I was before the treatments and Doctors visits.
In fact it is worse then before the doctors and treatments!
My left eye is still dilated and the effect of the medicine to dilate it is suppose to wear off after at most three hours.
And it has been since Monday was the last time the medicine was put in.
But he said today when I call not to worry!
My wife said it is the way they make more money is to keep you coming back even if they do nothing.
Oh here is a good one!
A sign in the lobby of the M.D.’s office said that without insurance the office call is $175.00.
But today my wife found out they charged the insurance $195.00 for the office call.
My 40 dollars and the insurance
195 dollars for the office call = $235.00.
No tests and only prescribing a pill to be taken, one I had already been on and for a condition he had diagnoses me having two years ago.
But guess what there was no problem with that system or medical care in the United States.
So said all those who opposed reform!
I will upset some here but there was nothing done by the reform that will correct any of the above!
In fact it will only compensate big insurance for the Doctor over charging for their service.
And allow big insurance to charge me up to triple the rate for having a preexisting condition and being over 45 years old…. Gee I wonder why people are complaining?
You’re right about the reform that finally got passed. It’s alot like that Republican pushed Medicare Drug Program – that helped the pharmaceutical companies.
And then Republicans voted against allowing Medicare to negotiate cheaper drug prices – AGAIN, a giveaway to the phamaceutical companies.
My husand went to our primary doctor two weeks ago because he was having abdominal cramps, heartburn, unusual bowel movements and a horrible headache.
The doctor ran blood tests and stool samples. The bill just came in and it was $997. He was referred on for a colonoscopy – and those bills have not come in yet. But my last colonocopy 2 years ago was around $2,500 total (the doctor, the outpatient facility, the anesthesiologist).
Is it any wonder people do not have money to go to the doctor?
And the diagnosis we wound up with is – allergic to wheat/gluten. He was put on a gluten free diet.
So now he has a pre-condition and God knows how that will affect any future medical bills.
But, sure, there’s nothing wrong with our healthcare system – it is especially good for those who do the billing and not the paying!
BTW – insurance wrote off about $550 of that $997 and we paid $25 plus we owe another $75 for things that were not covered by insurance.
So out of that $997 – insurance paid $347. Wow – just wow.
Why do you think doctors charge $550 more than they know what my insurance will pay (it is a negotitated contract price).
It’s for those people without insurance who make up that difference – and we still have people who think our health care is just fine?
Money talks and bullshit walks