No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
This is exactly what President Obama did to U.S. Citizen Anwar al-Awlaqi yesterday – deprived him of life without due process.
All Americans, and that means ALL are granted the right to our day in court if we are charged with committing a crime. Our government has no authority to hunt any of us down and murder us because they don’t like an organization we belong to, or like any set of beliefs we subscribe to for any reason.
Every president takes an oath of office when they are inaugurated to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. This means they uphold and defend every word of the Constitution, not ignore parts of it when it doesn’t fit their agenda. Have other presidents in the past done this? Sure, going back to Jefferson there are examples of the US Constitution being bent to fit an agenda. This time however the Constitution has been seriously broken.
When I heard the news that Anwar al-Awlaqi had been allegedly killed, I remembered that his father had through the courts tried to stop the president from declaring his son an outlaw and fair game for killing. The judge threw out the case without hearing any evidence. This sends a chill down my spine, as it should all Americans. Now we have a government that will disregard the law and declare any American they want deserving to die. Who’s next? Bradley Manning? Anonymous? Anyone who’s views they don’t like?
More people need to make noise about this. This is terrifying, and an America I don’t want to live in.
Alright, Mitt Romney saying that corporations are people in Iowa was pretty goddamn funny, but over in Merry Old England PM Cameron said something that made me laugh out loud.
“We’re going to look at cities like Boston for inspiration on how to fight gangs”
Buh …. Wha????
Gangs in Boston … really.
Boston, like all large American cities has gangs. Boston has had gangs for about as long as there has been a Boston; in colonial days there were two main gangs working the streets of the town – The North Eng Gang and the South End Gang. Gang territory was separated by Mill Creek that ran through the city peninsula to the mill pond on the northern edge of the city. Around the time of the Boston Tea Party, the leader of the South End Gang was a cobbler in his thirties. The leader of the North End Gang was a man in his fifties. The gang members consisted of dock workers, ship builders, craft guild apprentices, school boys, servants and anyone else inclined join in the fun.
The most well-known gang related event from Boston’s colonial era was Pope Night. This event was held on November 5, which in England is known as Guy Fawkes Day. Most New England colonial communities had their version of Pope Night, but the most notorious and violent celebrations happened in Boston, where the two rival gangs would erect their versions of the Pope cart, parade through the streets of Boston with them going door to door collecting money before meeting in the center of town for a huge brawl. More than a third of Boston’s population of 16,000 inhabitants in colonial times was made up of males aged 16 and under, so there were plenty of boys and young men in the town willing to participate in the festivities. The gang that had the most members still standing after the fight won the losing gang’s cart. They would haul that cart back to their turf (Copp’s Hill for the North End gang, Boston Common for the South End gang) and burn it in a bonfire which provided heat and light for a large drunken celebration for the winning gang. It’s not hard to understand why the residents of Boston who had a place outside of the city to spend Pope Night away from the celebration and out of harm’s way did just that.
These gangs were useful during the Stamp Act protests, harassing British soldiers and people loyal to the British crown that eventually led to the Boston Massacre (Only 2 weeks before, an 11 year old boy was shot dead when a group of youths harassed a loyalist merchant outside of his shop), and it is very likely some of these gang members participated in the Boston Tea Party, although we will never know for sure because the identities of the Tea Party participants is still one of Boston’s best kept secrets.
And like the reasons that spark violent protests today, Boston in colonial times had plenty of reasons for people to become violent. The Stamp Act led to some incredibly violent riots where British government officials’ homes were looted and destroyed. The same happened in 1773 over the Tea Act. There were plenty of incidents of home grown protests too, involving merchants who sent shiploads of grain to the Caribbean instead of selling it in Boston, because they could get a better price if they shipped it out, to people rioting and destroying the local market when merchants set food prices so high people couldn’t afford to buy anything. Boston suffered through financial meltdowns, and wealth disparity that we’ve all become too familiar with today. In Boston, less than 5% of the citizens held more than half of the taxable wealth of the town. This led to some members of Boston taking matters into their own hands to deal with the currency shortage for the majority of people, which the British Government and merchants took harsh steps to stop.
Now, I am aware that PM Cameron referred to Operation Ceasefire in his statement, but I think if British officials as well as American business owners and politicians were to take a look at colonial Boston before the American Revolution, they would find a better example of what NOT to do when dealing with the current crisis. As we all know, everything they could possibly do wrong to fix the problem is happening as you read this. It seems the Brits still haven’t learned their lesson.
Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past week by now you’ve probably seen Mike Bettes from The Weather Channel choke up on camera while reporting on the devastation from the Joplin, MO tornado. The images online and on TV have been just horrific. Currently 116 are dead and they are still pulling bodies and people from the wreckage. Minneapolis, MN also had a tornado on the same day that caused widespread damage and loss of life. This brings the current death toll for the tornado season in the US to 481, and it’s only May.
When you think about tornadoes in North America the infamous “tornado alley” of the Great Plains comes to mind. Storm chasers, aka crazy adrenaline rush addicts drive around in these regions of the country looking for tornadoes. It’s become such a popular thing to do there are nowvacationpackages where you can ride around in a van with storm chasers and watch tornadoes from a hopefully safe distance. It’s spawned a TV “reality” show, and a big Hollywood production movie with lots of CGI effects (The best movie tornado ever is still, in my opinion, the tornado in The Wizard of Oz ). Most of the tornadoes this spring that have caused so much death and destruction have been in the south. There are no wide stretches of open prairie to watch storms there, and a large percentage of people in the south live in homes that don’t have basements. Even with the early warning systems in place to alert of incoming severe weather, people couldn’t get to adequate shelter fast enough.
The deadly storms have many people asking why does it seem that the weather is getting more violent with every passing year? The answer is obvious to those of us who pay attention: Global warming and climate change. Despite the solid science that supports global warming, there are plenty of prominent Americans with TV shows, newspaper columns and politicians more than willing to say that this is simply not the truth. One of them is Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri, who referred to Global Warming as “international junk science.” That’s good Christian American speak for “evil commie godless foreigners trying to destroy the American way of life.” Blaine Luetkemeyer only has his constituents’ best interests in mind, which is why when you check his list of campaign contributions you find one of the biggest corporate donators is Diamond Pet Foods. What does Diamond Pet Foods have to do with global warming? It’s all speculative connect the dots of course.
Congressman Luetkemeyer’s district is in the northeast corner of Missouri, and Joplin is in the opposite corner in the southwest. This doesn’t stop the great state of Missouri from having a state-wide anti global warming opinion. Just 140 miles north of Joplin is Lee’s Summit, a suburb of Kansas City. Lee’s Summit became known nationally after the documentary Jesus Camp hit the big screen. The film focuses on youth pastor Becky Fischer and three pre-teen children who go to Jesus Camp and other church sponsored programs, training the children of Missouri to be Good Christian warriors and fight evil. Evil like Islam, abortion, homosexuality and international junk science. One scene looks at a home schooling lesson for one of the children with his mother, where they discuss global warming.
Missouri is a church going bible reading Christ loving God fearing state. One of my college professors years ago used to live there and she told us about how every job listing in her local paper started with “Good Christian _________ wanted.” Being Jewish, she admitted this made her feel uncomfortable.
Will this be a wake up call for the Good Christian people of Missouri, or the rest of the Good Christian people of the southern United States? Will they consider the possibility that global warming is real now that they’ve almost beat the national record for most deaths caused by tornadoes in a single year, and its only May? Not as long as Good Christian ministers preach from the pulpit that it’s a lie and large polluting corporations finance politicians willing to go to Washington and naysay global warming on their behalf.
And even post the ones I find interesting. Who said the Cold War was over, tovarish?
07HELSINKI553 2007-07-20 10:10 2011-04-15 16:04 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Helsinki
VZCZCXRO8092
RR RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHHE #0553/01 2011037
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 201037Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3594
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0118
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0033
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 4796
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 4726
RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0327
RUEHMO/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 0143
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0069
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA 0033
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HELSINKI 000553
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL EUN UN TU FI YI
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR’S MEETING WITH EU COMMISSIONER OLLI REHN
Classified By: POLITICAL CHIEF GREGORY THOME FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)
¶1. (C) Summary: EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn
told Ambassador Ware that French President Sarkozy’s
opposition will complicate Turkey’s EU accession bid, but
does not necessarily need to derail it if the EU manages
the process carefully. Rehn was pessimistic about
Kosovo, and very disappointed in the Serb leadership’s
failure to realize that Russia’s cynical handling of the
UNSCR process is directly contrary to Serbia’s long term
interests. He predicted that the US and each EU member
state will ultimately be forced to make a decision about
unilaterally recognizing Kosovo’s independence. EU
unanimity on recognition will not be possible, but
recognition “by the US and 15-20 member states” will be
necessary in order to demonstrate to Russia that it
cannot “dictate Europe’s security policy.” Rehn expressed
appreciation for US efforts to promote EU unity on Kosovo,
noting that our leverage with Romania could be useful.
End Summary.
¶2. (U) Ambassador Ware and PolChief met with EU
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn July 19 on the
margins of the “Finland Arena,” a gathering of Finnish
political leaders that takes place annually on the
margins of the world famous Pori Jazz Festival.
MANAGING TURKEY. . .AND MANAGING SARKOZY (Because America has to “manage” everyone)
—————————————-
¶3. (C) Rehn suggested that Turkey’s July 22 election
could have an “unpredictable” effect on Turkey’s troubled
EU accession process. The AKP remains the best bet for
keeping reforms on track, and one-party governments — as
opposed to coalitions — tend to have the best record,
both on reform and in managing domestic expectations. One troubling aspect, he added, is that the rapidly growing
youth vote in Turkey is divided, and there are no clear
leaders emerging. (damn youths! )
¶4. (C) Turning to the EU’s role, Rehn emphasized that the
Council-approved policies currently in place regarding
Turkey’s accession process will not change — despite
clear messages from President Sarkozy suggesting
otherwise. That said, Sarkozy promised the French
electorate he would seek to slow or even halt Turkey’s
bid, and “one should not underestimate his determination”
to deliver on them. Rehn outlined one possible solution: The EU may ultimately need to draft new conclusions that
allow Sarkozy to say to the French public, “I’ve
introduced ‘privileged partnership’ to the EU
discussion.” At the same time, those conclusion’s “fine
print” would have to include language that allows the
Turks to say that if they stay on track, they still have
some control over their long term EU prospects. “It’s
not very elegant,” Rehn smiled, “but that’s how the EU
works.”
KOSOVO: RUSSIA’S GAME IS SIMPLE
——————————-
¶5. (C) Turning to the Balkans, Rehn reluctantly predicted
that Moscow, will probably never allow a UNSCR mandating
Kosovo’s independence to move forward. “Russia’s UN
strategy is very simple,” he explained. “If Kosovo is
resolved, Serbia is relieved of the burden of relying on
Russia and thus can immediately put itself on the faster
road to the EU.” Russia is determined not to lose its
client relationship with Serbia, and will veto a Kosovo
UNSCR on that basis alone. Russia’s stance on Kosovo has
everything to do with Russia’s own interests, nothing
really to do with Kosovo, and — perhaps worst of all –
runs directly counter to Serbia’s long-term interests,
Rehn continued. Unfortunately, most of the Serb
leadership, including the Foreign and Prime ministers,
cannot or will not grasp this reality, and
President Tadic — who does understand it — “doesn’t
have the guts or the tools” to move Serbia away from
Russia and toward the West.
¶6. (C) For now, EU unity behind Ahtisaari’s proposals has
been shaken a bit, but remains intact. However, he
warned, if a UNSCR on Kosovo fails to emerge following a
brief period of additional negotiations, all bets on EU
unity are off. He singled out Romania as being
HELSINKI 00000553 002 OF 002
particularly susceptible to Russia’s shop-worn arguments
about setting an international precedent on ethnic
minorities, and suggested that the US could play a helpful
role in convincing Bucharest otherwise. Rehn also suggested
that while Chancellor Merkel remained committed, the German
Parliament might move in a different direction absent a UNSCR.
UNILATERAL RECOGNITION
———————-
¶7. (C) In the medium term, Rehn said that the US and the
EU still need to try to show the Serbs that Russia is not
acting in their country’s best interests. However, in
the long term, the US and the 27 EU MS will need to face
the reality of unilaterally recognizing Kosovo’s
independence. If, after four months, Moscow remains
obstructionist, “we have to be prepared to say to Russia
that it cannot dictate Europe’s security policy.”
Unanimity among the 27 will not be possible, Rehn added,
but we can still send a clear message to Russia if “the
US and 15 to 20 member states” unilaterally recognize
Kosovo. EU unanimity will, however, again be crucial on
the issue of a post-independence ESDP mission for Kosovo,
because “a coalition of the willing with no full EU
mandate would be a disaster,” Rehn said.
WARE
What most struck me was this discussion took place during a Jazz Festival in Finland.
The latest possible contender for the GOP nomination in 2012 is Donald Trump. Trump has been taking some heat from the media because of his comments about … wait for it … Obama’s lack of a legal birth certificate, which Obama does have, has provided proof of to the public and the state of Hawaii insists is real and legal.
But don’t bother Republicans with facts …
The media of course wants us to think Donald Trump is an idiot. Donald Trump is not an idiot, he’s a business man. Like all successful business men, he paid for market research to find out what the typical Republican thinks about his possible future presidential opponent and based his public comments about said opponent.
What does the typical Republican from say … Iowa think about President Obama?
Add this to the recent news that half of the Republicans in New Hampshire believe President Obama is not a legal US citizen, and you don’t have a moron spouting nonsense, you have a savvy business man who did his homework and now parrots the morons in the states who spout nonsense. If there’s one thing Republicans have proven over the years, you don’t need to use your brain to be a Republican. Muslim brown people can’t be president, no matter what the Constitution says about it.
This makes me think about future presidents, and when the time comes for the US to have our first woman elected president. Are people going to demand that she show her penis to prove she’s qualified for the office? It’s the same line of brain malfunction that people use now when talking about President Obama’s qualifications. I realize the issue for our first female president will be more along the lines of personal appearance, is she too emotional, what time of the month is it …
The good progressive folks of Wisconsin have been protesting now for 14 days straight. Some of them sleeping in the rotunda of the capital building in Madison. One of the issues that comes from a mass ongoing protest like this is taking care of basic human needs to keep the effort going. One pizza place is doing their part, with the help of the planet.
Ian’s Pizza in Madison, Wisconsin is one establishment that has been working to keep hungry protesters fed. The amazing thing is donations to buy the pizza have come from all over the world.
This is nothing short of awesome. Remember that struggles to restore basic human rights and dignity are happening all over the world. Help out where and if you can.
Once upon a time there lived a governor who ruled over a land where high statesmen used their authority and influence to financially benefit family members. The people didn’t like that much, but what they really hated was when the governor, who turned out to be something of a douchebag decided he would help out some buddies of his by forcing the people to give up their rights whether they liked it or not to pass new laws and help his buddies get rich(er).
The people ruled by this douchebag governor really got pissed off, and began assembling in large gatherings to let him know how pissed off they were. The governor didn’t seem to care, and told them they could protest all they wanted; he had every intention of taking away the people’s rights whether they liked it or not. You see, by taking away the rights of the people, this douchebag governor also benefited financially and would be given more power.
The people refused to give up. The rallies grew larger and larger as more people came to the city where the douchebag governor ruled, some coming from other towns or even states. The douchebag governor refused to budge, and even threatened the people with military force if they didn’t agree to give up their rights.
As day followed day this douchebag of a governor refused to budge. The people tried to talk to him; the people tried to reason with him. They offered compromises to the douchebag governor if he would just stop trying to take away their rights.
The governor refused. He told those good people they had to give up their rights or else.
So you know what those people did? About a hundred and fifty of them dressed up as Mohawk Indians, marched to Griffin’s Wharf, hauled the tea out of the ships and tossed it into Boston Harbor while three British Man-O-Wars bottled up the harbor and watched.
The name of that douchebag governor? Thomas Hutchinson of Massachusetts. Two of his sons were tea merchants, his son in law was a tea merchant. Some of his closest friends in Boston were tea merchants. Also, because he was governor, he would get paid from the sale of the tea.
Which douchebag governor did you think I was talking about?
While Repugnicans insist we can no longer afford a-drop-in-the-spending-bucket programs like public broadcasting, Planned Parenthood, social security, WIC, and so on … you know, all that stupid stuff that helps poor people. Programs like this must be saved because well … Boeing gets so many federal contracts, they’ve pretty much ceased being a privately stock traded corporation and become more like a bureaucracy of the federal government.
The V-22 Osprey is a tilt rotor helicopter plane hybrid that has the capability of vertical take offs and landings … provided the pilot is skilled enough to fly one of these things without crashing it. They’re incredibly tricky to operate because the design is shit. The Germans in World War II had a similar design for an aircraft that they scrapped because they discovered the problems with it back then and realized it was shit.
So sit back and read this interesting tidbit from the congressional record, and discover what some dirty, sneaky, tax and spend liberal Democrat tried to do, and how a decent, freedom loving Republican came forward to save this important piece of American taxes sucking flying deathtrap from the scrap heap … where it will end up eventually because the damn things crash so much.
Madam Chair, I rise today to introduce my amendment to cut funding for the V-22, a hybrid helicopter/airplane that was in development for more than 25 years, cost the lives of 30 individuals before it ever saw combat, and still does not meet operational requirements in Iraq. Cost overruns have plagued the V-22 since its development. Initial estimates projected $40 million per plane. But today it has exploded to $120 million per plane–a threefold increase. This amendment would save $415 million for the remainder of fiscal year 2011 by cutting funding for the V-22 from the Air Force and Navy’s aircraft procurement accounts.
In 2009, the GAO found that the Marine Corps received 105 V-22s. Of those, fewer than half–only 47–were considered combat deployable. But on any given day, there are an estimated 22–fewer than one in four–ready for any combat. This is largely due to unreliable parts and maintenance challenges. It was reported that 13 of the V-22′s parts lasted only 30 percent of their life expectancy and six lasted less than 10 percent. In addition, the GAO found that the V-22 did not have weather radar and its ice protection system was unreliable. Not me. GAO. So that flying through icy conditions is prohibited on this plane. Can’t do it. Icy conditions are often found in Afghanistan. Oddly enough, the V-22 also had problems in dusty conditions, which, coincidentally, also exist and is common in Afghanistan.
So I ask my colleagues, why do we continue to fund this boondoggle? The majority claims to have made some tough choices in this bill. Apparently this includes continuing to fund a plane that Dick Cheney called, a, quote, turkey and tried to kill four times when he was Secretary of Defense.(Yep, even that heartless neo-con wretch thinks it’s shit) It should also be noted that Dick Cheney did not often meet a defense program he didn’t like, so this should be very telling to everyone here. In order to continue funding this plane, this Congress proposes steep cuts to be made on the backs of the most vulnerable citizens.
H.R. 1 puts the safety of American families at risk. The bill eliminates COPS hiring, a program that will put 1,330 fewer cops on our streets. The bill cuts the SAFER program, which means there are 2,400 fewer firefighters protecting our communities; so that we can build a plane that can’t fly under icy conditions, can’t fly when there’s sand, and one out of four is ever used at any given time?
The majority has made the shortsighted choice to cut $1.3 billion from community health centers which, according to the CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers, is equivalent to terminating health care to the entire population of Chicago, or to everyone living in the States of Wyoming, Vermont, North and South Dakota and Alaska combined. Why? For a plane that cannot fly when it’s icy, which cannot fly when it’s dusty. And where are we at? In a combat situation where we need it to do both things.
Look. If this weren’t enough, the bill also eliminates title X funding which provides services for cancer screenings, annual exams, STD testing and contraceptives.
H.R. 1 would also cut $5 billion from Federal Pell Grants. In Illinois, this will reduce financial aid to 61,000 poor students. And as I had suggested earlier here today, maybe as Members of Congress, maybe because we are in the top 1 percent of wage earners in the United States of America, people of America understand we make $175,000, each and every one of us, and there are over 150 millionaires in this body, maybe we don’t care. Maybe you can cut the Pell Grant program because you don’t care whether kids get ahead and are able to go to college. But some of us should, especially those of us that have been blessed with the riches of wealth in this Nation and allowed to be able to serve in this body.
And so I simply say, Let the kids go to school. Let there be health care for the most vulnerable of Americans. And all we will be missing is this boondoggle of a hybrid helicopter that does not serve the purpose for which it was proposed.
But then Congressman Meehan waved his American flag, put his hand over his beating American heart and recited the pledge of allegiance, said ‘screw you!’ to poor people to save the piece of shit boondoggle of a hybrid helicopter from being defunded.
Boeing’s V-22 Osprey program escaped the federal budget chopping block after the U.S. House of Representatives voted against an amendment that would have slashed funding for the tilt-rotor aircraft.
“This is an instrument that has proven itself in the theater of war,” said U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-7, of Upper Darby.
Meehan vowed to fight for the program in recent months and applauded his congressional colleagues for voting against the amendment Tuesday. U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-4, of Illinois, proposed the failed amendment, which was part of House Resolution 1, or the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act.
“Boeing is grateful for Congressman Meehan’s support of the V-22 Osprey program and we applaud the 325 members of Congress who joined him in supporting the program through yesterday’s vote,” said Andy Lee, spokesman for the Boeing Mobility Division, Wednesday. “The V-22 Osprey continues to receive high praise from the U.S. Marines and Air Force Special Operations Command for its outstanding performance in combat, ship-board and humanitarian deployments around the world. We are pleased that Congress is recognizing the critical role the Osprey is playing for the United States military.”
So remember folks, while we make sure high school graduates have no chance to go to college, or grandma can’t get the lump in her side screened for possible malignancy because there’s no money for it, rest peacefully at night that Boeing will still get paid your tax dollars to keep you free to die of treatable cancer and ruin your chances of getting a career that doesn’t exist anymore anyway by building more of these:
The Pharaoh is gone, long live the will of the people.
And I mean that with all sincerity because despite the people of Egypt achieving the impossible they still have a long, bumpy road ahead to realize all of their goals. If there is a merciful God out there, they will accomplish everything they want. I for one hope they do. The Egyptian people have an idea of what kind of state they want to live in, and it’s the best idea I’ve come across in a long time. Can they accomplish it? Deposing Mubarak was only the first hurdle.
No, I don’t think Glenn Beck and the rest of the idiots at Fixed Noise are right that the end of US/Israeli-backed colonial rule in Egypt will usher in some new, satanic-Islamo fascist commie jihadic evil caliphate. There’s a good reason why the old caliphate collapsed, and that reason still exists today. The Middle East is no closer now to combining into a Muslim superpower than they were when Muhammad (pbuh) died and the Muslim world started fighting over who should succeed him. Nothing brings a movement to its’ knees faster than the loss of a leader. We’ve listened to even “liberal” mainstream media try to find a villain responsible for the uprising in Egypt, but anyone with a brain realizes there is no such person or group to point a finger at. The movement in Egypt isn’t a movement of people as much as it’s the movement of an idea.
Sure, lots of people became involved in the movement in Egypt, but that is not what made it successful. The overthrow of power came about because of an idea; not a leader or a group of leaders. The supporters of the Western puppet regime in Egypt tried intimidating, harassing and even killing anyone they thought was responsible for keeping the momentum going. They managed to kill 300 and injure thousands more, but that only caused more people to come out in support of the uprising because they also wanted the idea of democracy in their country to become a reality. A concept leads the revolution in Egypt.
Leaders are easy to topple, concepts are much harder. The funniest thing I’ve read recently described the FBI wasting time, money, people etc. to find the leadership of Anonymous. Good luck with that. Anonymous isn’t a person or even a group of people – it’s a concept. Anyone on the street today can decide to be Anonymous because the concept trips their trigger. When it stops, any individual will stop being Anonymous and move on to the next thing that trips their trigger. As long as Anonymous remains a concept, it will continue doing whatever it desires and succeed at it. Anonymous has no king, Anonymous needs no king.
The concept behind Wikileaks – that information should be available to anyone interested in knowing – became compromised because a face and name became the “leader” of Wikileaks. I love the concept of Wikileaks, and I support it. Thanks to a face being associated to Wikileaks however, the idea of free information has been forgotten for vilifying the leader over his sex life and alleged criminal activities; much like the message Ted Haggard had for his followers that homosexuality is bad was compromised when his followers found out his favorite way of getting closer to God involved taking drugs and jacking other men off.
The concept of the Tea Party has been so badly damaged one of the nameless original organizers of the Tea Party told the “douchebags” who destroyed the Tea Party to fuck off. What happens when a leaderless movement based on an idea becomes riddled with astroturfing fucknuggets who could give a shit less about the idea? It’s looks like this, and this,this and especiallythis.
Anyone can have an idea and share that idea with others. Others can either choose to agree with the idea or discard it. When enough people agree with an idea it becomes a movement. The movement carries the idea until it’s no longer valid, or is destroyed when people focus on a leader rather than the idea. As long as concepts can survive the crippling effect of leaders, humanity has a chance.
So yeah, if you’ve been like me this week you’ve been watching TV, reading Al Jazeera’s live blog and following every tweet out there about the revolution in Egypt. It’s been a harrowing 13 days and counting for this nation, but their efforts have been rewarded with gradual results. I find it significant that this nation is finally working to throw off the shackles of 30 years of totalitarian rule now, because in this country, as we watch the people of Egypt struggle, some people are celebrating the centennial of a man who was our president 30 years ago, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
For some reason many Americans today seem to look back on the Reagan years with an odd, rose-tinted nostalgia. Perhaps it’s the ketchup Ronnie claimed was a vegetable when funding was slashed for the nation’s school lunch program that’s tinting your view. I mostly recall 8 years of stagnating wages, no real economic growth, run-away spending, (That thing only Democrats do), Oliver North, Contras and Sandanistas, Iran being a nation our president did business with (on the sly) and calling men from Afghanistan “freedom fighters.” Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times, increased the size of the federal government, and started the wave of corporate deregulation that has given us Monsanto owning patents on our food, 85% of our media being owned by 5 corporations, and sweeping deregulation legislation that has since allowed three major bank failures including the most recent 2008 financial crisis. Couple that with bureaucratic inertia that became a hallmark of the Reagan administration, and you have the real Reagan Legacy.
But enough of that! Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and remember some other highlights of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, shall we?
1981
1/21/81
At his first Cabinet meeting, President Reagan is asked if he intends to issue an expected Executive Order on cost-cutting. He shrugs. Then, noticing Budget Director David Stockman nodding emphatically, he adds, “I have a smiling fellow at the end of the table who tells me we do.”
2/2/81
At his hearing to become Undersecretary of State, Reagan associate William Clark answers no to all of the following: “Are you familiar with the struggles within the British Labour Party?” “Do you know which European nations don’t want U.S. nuclear weapons on their soil?” “Can you name the prime minister of South Africa?” “Can you name the prime minister of Zimbabwe?” All of the above questions were being addressed in the daily news at the time. Despite his lack of knowledge in current events, he is confirmed.
2/5/81
James Watt is asked at a Congressional hearing if he agrees that natural resources must be preserved for future generations. “Yes” he says, then adds “I do not know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns.”
5/21/81
White House Seeks Eased Bribery Act. Says 1977 Law Inhibits Business Abroad By U.S. Corporations – The New York Times The U.S. casts one of only three votes against a World Health Organization ethics code preventing the sale of American infant formulas to Third World countries, where their use with contaminated water has killed thousands of babies.
6/16/81
At his third press conference, President Reagan responds to the following:
· The Israeli attack on Iraq – “I can’t answer that”
· Israels’ refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty – “Well, I haven’t given very much thought to that particular question there”
· Pakistan’s refusal to sign the treaty – “I won’t answer the last part of that question”
· Israeli threats against Lebanon – “Well, this is going to be one, I’m afraid, that I can’t answer now”
· The tactics of political action committees – “I don’t really know how to answer that.”
When faced with skepticism about his administration’s grasp of foreign affairs, the President declares “I’m satisfied that we do have a foreign policy.”
6/30/81
“We love your adherence to democratic principle, and to the democratic processes.” – George Bush, toasting newly re-inaugurated President Ferdinand Marcos, whose fondness for democracy is less celebrated by those who know him better.
7/23/81
“Heck, no. I’m going to leave this to you experts. I’m not going to get involved in details.” President Reagan declining Treasury Secretary Donald Regan’s invitation to join the negotiation session at which his tax-cut bill is being shaped.
8/6/81
White House Seeks To Loosen Standards Under Clean Air Act – The Washington Post
10/23/81
The national debt hits $1 trillion. (WOOHOO! USA! USA! USA! We’re also months into one of the worst economic recessions the country has ever experienced at this point)
11/23/81
President Reagan vetoes a stopgap spending bill, thus forcing the federal government – for the first time in history – to temporarily shut down. Says House Speaker Tip O’Neill, “He knows less about the budget than any president in my lifetime. He can’t even carry on a conversation about the budget. It’s an absolute and utter disgrace.”
1982
1/15/82
President Reagan phones The Washington Post to explain that when his new policy toward segregated schools was announced, he “didn’t know at the time that there was a legal case pending.” CBS quickly obtains a memo in which intervention in the Bob Jones University case was specifically requested, and on which Reagan had written, “I think we should.”
1/19/82
At his seventh press conference, President Reagan:
· Claims there are “a million more working than there were in 1980,” though statistics show that 100,000 fewer people are employed.
· Contends his attempt to grant tax-exempt status to segregated schools was to correct “a procedure that we thought had no basis in law,” though the Supreme Court had clearly upheld a ruling barring such exemptions a decade earlier.
· Claims he has received a letter from Pope John Paul II in which he “approves what we’ve done so far” regarding U.S. Sanctions against the USSR, though the sanctions were not mentioned in the papal message.
· Responds to a question about the 17% black unemployment rate by pointing out that “in this time of great unemployment,” Sunday’s paper had “24 full pages of … employers looking for employees,” though most of the jobs available – computer operator, or cellular immunologist – require special training, for which his administration has cut funds by over 30%.
· Misstates facts about California’s abortion law and an Arizona program to aid the elderly
· Responds to a question about private charity by observing, “I also happen to be someone who believes in tithing – the giving of a tenth,” though his latest tax returns show charitable contributions amounting to 1.4%.
2/27/82
The Congressional Budget Office finds that taxpayers earning under $10,000 lost an average of $240 from last year’s tax cuts, while those earning over $80,000 gained an average of $15,130.
3/1/82
Sen Bob Packwood (R-OR) claims President Reagan frequently offers up transparent fictional anecdotes as if they were real. “We’ve got a $120 billion deficit coming,” says Packwood, “and the President says, ‘You know, a young man went into a grocery store and he had an orange in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, and he paid for the orange with food stamps and he took the change and paid for the vodka. That’s what’s wrong.’ And we just shake our heads.”
3/16/82
“Is it news that some fellow out in South Succotash someplace has just been laid off, that he should be interviewed nationwide?” – President Reagan, complaining about coverage of the nation’s economic suffering.
3/24/82
Agriculture official Mary C. Jarratt tells Congress her department has been unable to document President Reagan’s stories of food stamp abuse, pointing out that the change from a food stamp purchase is limited to 99 cents. “It’s not possible to buy a bottle of vodka with 99 cents” she says. Deputy White House press secretary Peter Roussel says Reagan wouldn’t tell those stories “unless he thought they were accurate.”
6/12/82
Regarding the 750,000 supporters who showed up for the largest disarmament demonstration in US history in Central Park, President Reagan opines that “the Commies are behind it.”
10/9/82
Jobless Rate Is Up To 10.1% In Month. Worst In 42 Years. 11 Million Are Idle – The New York Times
10/19/82
During a White House meeting with Arab leaders, President Reagan turns to the Lebanese foreign minister. “You know”, he says, “your nose looks just like Danny Thomas’s.” The Arabs exchange nervous glances.
11/25/82
The White House announces it is considering a proposal (conceived by Ed Meese) to tax unemployment benefits. This, says Larry Speakes, would “make unemployment less attractive.”
12/04/82
U.S. Jobless Rate Climbs To 10.8%, A Postwar Record. 11.9 Million Out Of Work – The New York Times
12/09/82
“Sometimes I look out there at Pennsylvania Avenue and see people bustling along, and it suddenly dawns on me that probably never again can I just say “Hey, I’m going down to the drugstore to look at the magazines,’” – President Reagan discussing his feelings of confinement with a People reporter
12/16/82
“Sometimes I look out the window at Pennsylvania Avenue and wonder what it would be like to be able to just walk down the street to the corner drugstore and look at the magazines. I can’t do that anymore.” – President Reagan conveying one of his regrets to The Washington Post
12/18/82
“Sometimes I look out the window at Pennsylvania Avenue and wonder what it would be like to be able to just walk down the street to the corner drugstore and look at the magazines. I can’t do that anymore.” – President Reagan sharing a sudden thought with a radio interviewer
1983
1/19/83
President Reagan tells reporters about “the ten commandments of Nikolai Lenin…the guiding principles of communism,” among them “that promises are like pie crust, made to be broken.” Soviet scholars claim that no such commandments exist, and point out that Lenin’s name was Vladimir.
4/18/83
Seventeen Americans and 46 Lebanese are killed when a truck bomb plows into the US embassy in Beirut.
6/29/83
President Reagan suggests that one cause of the decline in public education is the schools’ efforts to comply with court-ordered desegregation.
7/26/83
In response to a question at his 19th press conference as to why there are no women on his 12-man commission on Central America, President Reagan says “Maybe it’s because we’re doing so much and appointing so many that we’re no longer seeking a token or something.”
8/2/83
Poverty Rate Rose To 15% In ’82, Highest Level Since Mid-1960′s – The New York Times
10/4/83
At a meeting with congressmen to discuss arms reduction, President Reagan (now in office for almost three years) says he has only recently learned that most of the USSR’s nuclear arsenal is land-based.
10/19/83
At his 20th press conference, President Reagan is asked about the safety of US Marines in Beirut. “We’re looking at everything that can be done to try and make their position safer,” he says. “We’re not sitting idly by.”
10/23/83
A truck bomb at the US barracks in Beirut kills 241 Marines.
10/24/83
Larry Speakes calls speculation about a US invasion in politically torn Grenada “preposterous”.
10/25/83
Claiming that US medical students are in grave danger, President Reagan launches an invasion of Grenada. Photos are released to the press showing President Reagan, clad in pajamas at 5:15 am, being briefed on the situation. Reporters are not allowed to cover the actual invasion.
11/7/83
For the second time in four months, George Bush breaks a Senate tie by voting to resume the production of nerve gas.
1984
1/27/84
“You find yourself remembering what it was like when on the spur of the moment you could just yell to your wife that you were going down to the drugstore and get a magazine. You can’t do that anymore.” – President Reagan telling Time magazine about being President.
1/31/84
President Reagan on Good Morning America, defending his administration against charges of callousness: “You can’t help those who simply will not be helped. One problem that we’ve had, even in the best of times, is people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless who are homeless, you might say, by choice.”
2/2/84
“He may be ready to surrender, but I’m not.” – President Reagan responding to Tip O’ Neill’s advocacy of a pullout from Beirut.
4/9/84
The day after his administration announced it would not recognize the World Court’s jurisdiction over the U.S. mining of Nicaraguan harbors (which violated international law), President Reagan proclaims May 1 as “Law Day USA”. “Without law,” says the President, “there can be no freedom, only chaos and disorder.”
4/26/84
William Casey apologizes to the Senate Intelligence Committee for keeping the Nicaraguan mining a secret. Barry Goldwater, among others, called it an “act of war”.
5/22/84
Asked about the possibility of secret funds going to the contras, President Reagan declares, “Nothing of that kind could take place without the knowledge of Congress.”
6/12/84
Discussing US-Soviet relations with GOP leaders, President Reagan announces, “If they want to keep their Mickey Mouse system, that’s okay.” “It’s a change in his view,” says an official. “It’s not an evil empire. It’s a Mickey Mouse system.”
7/24/84
At his 26th press conference, President Reagan claims that “not one single fact of figure” backs up Democratic “demagoguery” that his budget cuts have hurt the poor. The next morning, a congressional study reports that cuts in welfare have pushed more than 500,000 people – the majority of them children – into poverty.
8/3/84
The Census Bureau reports that 35.3 million Americans were living in poverty in 1983 – an 18-year high rate of 15.2% of the population.
9/20/84
A suicide bomber drives into the US embassy annex in Beirut, killing two Americans. It is the third such incident in 19 months.
George Bush, explaining the evils of the Sandanistas: “The Sandanistas came in. They overthrew Somoza, killed him and overthrew him. Killed him, threw him out.” – Somoza actually fled Nicaragua when he was overthrown, and was later assassinated in Paraguay.
9/26/84
President Reagan claims the latest Beirut bombing is the fault of Jimmy Carter, who he said “presided over the destruction of our intelligence capability.” Carter responds that Reagan tends “to blame his every mistake and failure on me and others who served before him.”
10/5/84
“I don’t think he’s read the report in detail. It’s five and a half pages, double-spaced.” – Larry Speakes responding to the question of whether President Reagan has read the House report on the latest Beirut truck bombing.
10/7/84
President Reagan engages in his first debate with Walter Mondale. He does so badly his wife confronts aides afterwards, demanding “What have you done to Ronnie?” Some “special moments”:
· Talks about a law he signed in California as if it had been signed by his Democratic predecessor
· Reprises his “hit” line, “There you go again”, only to have it thrown back at him with a sharp rejoinder by Mondale, whose handlers knew the President would use it.
· Blanks out completely in the middle of an answer, bringing up subsequent questions about his mental fitness
· Claims that the increase in poverty “is a lower rate of increase than it was in the preceding years before we got here,” though in fact it is higher
· Explains that a good bit of the defense budget goes for “food and wardrobe”, becoming the first US President to so refer to military uniforms
· Says “I’m all confused now.” as he prepares to deliver his closing statement.
10/15/84
After Mondale makes an issue out of President Reagan’s stated belief that nuclear missiles fired from submarines can be recalled, the President claims he “never said any such thing.”
The Associated Press reports the existence of a CIA-prepared manual teaching Nicaraguan rebels how to, among other things:
· How to blackmail unwilling citizens into supporting their cause
· How to arrange the deaths of fellow rebels to create martyrs
· How to kidnap and kill (the manual uses the word “neutralize”) government officials.
10/18/84
A senior administration official says President Reagan did not know about the CIA manual until “after it appeared in the newspaper yesterday.”
1985
2/4/85
Sen. William Cohen and Sen. William Roth reveal that the Navy has been paying $640 each for toilet seats that sell to consumers for $25.
2/21/85
At his 28th press conference, President Reagan says he is not seeking the overthrow of the Sandinista regime – he’d be satisfied “if they’d say ‘uncle’” to the contras and abdicate.
3/1/85
In an effort to wind contra aid, President Reagan says the Nicaraguan rebels are “the moral equival of our Founding Fathers.” Historical novelist Howard Fast calls this “an explosion of such incredible ignorance that…he is not fit for public office of any kind.”
3/21/85
At his 29th press conference, President Reagan explains that he has no intention of visiting a concentration camp site during his upcoming visit to West Germany. To do so, he explains, would impose an unpleasant guilt trip on a nation where there are “very few alive that remember even the war, and certainly none of them who were adults and participating in any way.” A soldier who was twenty in 1940 would only be 65 at the time this was said.
4/11/85
The White House announces that President Reagan will lay a wreath at the Bitburg, West Germany, military cemetery housing the graves of both American and Nazi soldiers. It is quickly noted that there are, in fact, no Americans buried there.
4/16/85
As the contra aid vote approaches, President Reagan claims he “just had a verbal message delivered to me from Pope John Paul, urging us to continue our efforts in Central America.” The Vatican quickly issues a denial.
4/18/85
While Michael Deaver is in West Germany searching for an “appropriate” concentration camp for the President to visit, President Reagan defends his visit to Bitburg by claiming the German soldiers “were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps.”
4/29/85
President Reagan defends the Bitburg visit as “morally right,” adding, “I know all the bad things that happened in that war. I was in uniform for four years myself.” President Reagan spent his time during World War Two in Hollywood, making training films.
5/5/85
After having visited the Bergen-Belsen death camp, President Reagan makes an eight minute stop at Bitburg. During the ceremony, he cites a letter from 13-year-old Beth Flom who, he claims, “urged me to lay the wreath at Bitburg cemetery in honor of the future of Germany.” In fact, she urged him not to go at all.
5/8/85
Opponents of President Reagan’s Nicaraguan policies heckle him at the European Parliament. “They haven’t been there,” he says. “I have.” In actuality, he had not been there.
8/24/85
President Reagan tells an interviewer that the “reformist administration” of South African president P.W. Botha has made significant progress on the racial front. “They have eliminated the segregation that we once had in our own country,” says the President, “the type of thing where hotels and restaurants and places of entertainment and so forth were segregated – that has all been eliminated.”
8/25/85
The White House confirms reports that during his days as head of the Screen Actors Guild, President Reagan doubled as an FBI informant (T-10) whose area of expertise was Communist influence in post-World War II Hollywood.
11/13/85
“He’s just so programmed. We tried to tell him what was in the bill but he doesn’t understand. Everyone, including Republicans, were just shaking their heads.” – Rep. Mary Rose Oskar (D-OH) on President Reagan’s reaction to the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget bill.
1986
2/11/86
With Ferdinand Marcos having stolen the election, President Reagan states that he is “encouraged” by evidence of a “two party system in the Philippines,” even if only one is allowed to win.
3/3/86
President Reagan claims that victory for the Sandinistas would create “a privileged sanctuary for terrorists and subversives just two days’ driving time from Harlingen, Texas.”
6/11/86
During his 37th press conference, President Reagan:
· Responds to a question about abortion with an answer about an unrelated case
· Displays confusion about whether or not the SALT II treaty exists and about whether or not he plans to order construction of another space shuttle
· Claims that the government is providing 93 million meals a day to hungry Americans. That would amount to one in three people.
He later explains he spent too much time concentrating on which reporters to call on. “Next time, I’m going to concentrate not on who I’m calling on, but what I’m going to say.”
10/5/86
Three American mercenaries die on a supply run to the contras when their cargo plane is shot down by Nicaraguan government forces. Survivor Eugene Hasenfus is captured in the jungle. The White House, the State Department, the Defense Department and the CIA all claim non-involvement.
10/9/86
Although President Reagan has stated that the downed cargo plane had “absolutely” no connection to the US government, Eugene Hasenfus-imprisoned in Managua-says his mission was supervised by the CIA.
10/10/86
Senator John Kerry suggests that the Foreign Relations Committee question Lt. Col. Oliver North, a National Security Council member reportedly close to the Nicaraguan rebels, in connection with White House involvement in the private arming of the contras.
10/11/86
President Reagan arrives in Reykjavik, Iceland, to meet with Mikhail Gorbachev for their first summit session.
10//12/86
The summit collapses amid mutual charges of intransigence and confusion about just which and how many weapons President Reagan suggested getting rid of.
11/3/86
In Lebanon, the pro-Syrian magazine Al Shiraa reports that the US has secretly been supplying arms to Iran.
11/4/86
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaker of the Iranian Parliament, says that former NSC adviser Robert McFarlane and four other Americans, carrying Irish passports and posing as members of a flight crew, recently traveled to Iran on a secret diplomatic mission to trade military equipment for Iran’s help in curbing terrorism.
11/13/86
In an address to the American people on the Iran arms deal, President Reagan states: “For 18 months now, we have had under way a secret diplomatic initiative to Iran. That initiative was undertaken for the simplest and best of reasons: to renew a relationship with the nation of Iran; to bring an honorable end to the bloody six-year war between Iran and Iraq; to eliminate state-sponsored terrorism and subversion, and to effect the safe return of all hostages…”
“During the course of our secret discussions, I authorized the transfer of small amounts of defensive weapons and spare parts for defensive systems to Iran…These modest deliveries, taken together, could easily fit into a single cargo plane…We did not – repeat – did not trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we.”
This last part was to deny the rumour that the US had traded arms for hostages, implying that it wasn’t a swap because we didn’t give them very much, and what we did give was for defense.
11/14/86
In the wake of world denouncement over President Reagan’s speech, Donald Regan is asked if it isn’t hypocritical to ask other nations not to ship arms to Iran while we do just that. ‘Hypocrisy is a question of degree,” he responds.
11/15/86
A Nicaraguan court sentences Eugene Hasenfus to 30 years in jail. The Sandinistas decide to release him to get home in time for Christmas.
In response to charges of incompetency, Donald Regan tells The New York Times “Some of us are like a shovel brigade that follow a parade down Main Street cleaning up. We took Reykjavik and turned what was really a sour situation into something that turned out pretty well.”
11/19/86
At his 39th press conference, President Reagan describes the arms shipment as “really miniscule,” again claiming that “everything that we sold them could be put in one cargo plane and there would be plenty of room left over.” He also states four times that Isreal had no involvement in the Iran arms deal, but later makes a correction: “There may be some misunderstanding of one of my answers tonight. There was a third country involved in our secret project with Iran.” He does not explain how something stated four times could be misunderstood.
11/21/86
The shredding machine in White House aide Oliver North’s office jams.
12/1/86
In a Time interview, President Reagan:
· Calls Oliver North “a national hero”
· Dismisses the furor over the growing scandal as “a Beltway bloodletting”
· Blames the press for interfering with the release of more hostages “There is a bitter bile in my throat,” he says. “This whole thing boils down to great irresponsibility on the part of the press.”
12/6/86
President Reagan concedes that “mistakes were made,” though he does not suggest who made them.
12/8/86
“If Colonel North ripped off the Ayatollah and took $30 million and gave it to the contras, then God bless Colonel North!” – Pat Buchanan addressing a pro-Reagan rally in Miami.
12/9/86
Oliver North and John Poindexter invoke their Fifth Amendment rights and refuse to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Says North, “I don’t think there is another person in America that wants to tell this story as much as I do.”
1987
1/9/87
The White House releases the finding – signed by President Reagan on January 17, 1986 – authorizing the sale of arms to Iran and ordering the CIA not to tell Congress. Also released is the 2 1/2 page memo justifying the policy, which the President had not read.
1/25/87
Four university professors are kidnapped in Beirut, bringing to 14 the number of Americans taken hostage under President Reagan, who once promised “swift and effective retribution” for such incidents. Several hostages have actually been in captivity longer than any under President Carter, who President Reagan frequently criticizes.
2/19/87
Retrieved computer messages show that Oliver North shared secret information with the Iranians. Says a source, “Ollie was running his own covert operation within the authorized covert operation.”
2/20/87
“The simple truth is, ‘I don’t remember – period’” – President Reagan writing to the Tower Commission to set the record straight about whether he authorized the arms shipment in advance.
2/22/87
Oliver North’s secretary, Fawn Hall – who has been granted immunity – admits helping her boss destroy documents last November.
3/4/87
President Reagan responds to the Tower Commission with a 12-minute speech in which he:
· Acknowledges that the Iran-contra affair “happened on my watch”
· Says nobler aims of long-term peace “deteriorated…into trading arms for hostages”
· Calls the deal “a mistake”
As for his “management style”, the problem was that “no one kept proper records of meetings or decisions,” which led to his inability to recall approving the arms shipment. “I did approve it,” says the President. “I just can’t say specifically when.” He adds, “Rest assured, there’s plenty of record-keeping going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Says Indiana senator Dan Quayle after the speech, “The Gipper’s back.”
4/1/87
A White House official admits that President Reagan has never discussed AIDS with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop and has yet to read Koop’s six-month–old report, which predicted 180,000 deaths from the disease by 1991.
4/9/87
President Reagan tells reporters the Soviet bugging of the US embassy in Moscow was “outrageous”. When asked about the US bugging of the Soviet embassy in Washington, the President says further discussion “wouldn’t be useful.”
4/28/87
Benjamin Linder, an American volunteer working in Nicaragua, is shot to death by the contras.
5/3/87
The Iran-contra hearings get underway in Washington. The first witness, arms profiteer Gen. Richard Secord, claims the administration approved his pro-contra activities with Oliver North, who stood at attention while talking to the President on the phone. “I hope I’m finally going to hear some of the things I’m still waiting to learn,” said President Reagan.
5/6/87
Less than 24 hours after Richard Secord implicates him in the Iran-contra scandal, William Casey, 74, dies of pneumonia.
5/12/87
Investigators discover that the $10 million solicited for the contras by Elliott Abrams from the Sultan of Brunei – which had been missing for nine months – was mistakenly deposited to the account of a Swiss businessman after Oliver North transposed two digits in his arms network’s secret account.
5/17/87
Thirty-seven sailors are killed aboard the USS Stark when the ship – in the Persian Gulf to protect Iraq’s ally Kuwait’s oil tankers from Iranian attack – is hit by an Exocet missile fired (accidentally) by an Iraqi fighter jet.
5/27/87
CIA operative Felix Rodriguez (aka Max Gomez) testifies that Oliver North once said of a congressional investigating committee, “These people want me, but they cannot touch me because the old man loves my ass.”
6/9/87
Describing Oliver North as “every secretary’s dream of a boss,” Fawn Hall defends him against charges of illegality. “Sometimes,” she observes, “you have to go above the written law, I believe.”
7/7/87
Lt. Col. Oliver North begins six nationally televised days of testimony before the Iran-contra committee.
7/8/87
Oliver North testifies that the late William Casey helped run the secret contra program.
7/9/87
On his third day of testimony, Oliver North states that he shredded documents in the presence of Justice Department officials.
7/10/87
Manucher Ghorbanifar denies Oliver North’s story that they negotiated the Iran arms deal in a men’s room.
7/23/87
John Poindexter is reported to have used the phrase “I can’t recall” (or some variation thereof) 184 times during his five days of testimony.
7/29/87
During two days of testimony, Ed Meese used the phrase “I can’t recall” (or some variation thereof) 340 times.
8/3/87
The Iran-contra hearing close.
9/30/87
President Reagan complains to the Washington Times that a Soviet “disinformation campaign” has made anti-Communism in the US “unfashionable.” He speaks nostalgically of the good old days when Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee would investigate suspected subversives. “They’ve done away with those committees,” says the President. “That shows the success of what the Soviets were able to do in this country.”
11/18/87
The Iran-contra committee’s final report says President Reagan bears ultimate responsibility for the scandal because he failed to carry out his oath to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” Ed Meese is singled out for having “poorly served” the President – first, with his advice on the legality of the arms deal, and then when he “departed from standard investigative techniques” in conducting his probe.
12/3/87
President Reagan, in an interview with four news anchors, criticizes opponents of the arms treaty he is about to sign, although their objections are similar to the ones he himself raised against previous treaties. Far-right activist Howard Phillips denounces him as a “useful idiot for Soviet propaganda.”
12/8/87
Before signing the arms treaty, President Reagan once again cites his favorite Russian proverb, “Doveryai, no proveryai – trust, but verify.” An exasperated Mikhail Gorbachev says, “You repeat that at every meeting!”
1988
1/7/88
Bush Regularly Attended Meetings On Iran Sales – Records Indicate Knowledge Understated – The Washington Post
3/1/88
George Bush attacks Congress for cutting off aid to the contras, claiming it “pulls the plug out from under the President of the United States.”
3/16/88
President Reagan claims Nicaragua has invaded Honduras – just as he claimed two years earlier – and send 3,200 US troops as a show of support. Even so, Congress pass no aid to the contras.
Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord and Albert Hakim plead not guilty to charges of conspiracy, theft and fraud in connection with the Iran-contra scandal. North, who calls the indictment a “badge of honor”, retires from the Marines to defend himself more freely. Says President Reagan of the indictments, “I have no knowledge of anything that was broken.”
5/30/88
At a state dinner at the Kremlin, the President falls asleep during Gorbachev’s toast.
5/31/88
In a speech to students at Moscow State University, President Reagan explains the American Indian situation: the US has “provided millions of acres” for “preservations – or the reservations, I should say” so the Indians could “maintain their way of life,” though he now wonders, “Maybe we should not have humored them in that, wanting to stay in that kind of primitive lifestyle. Maybe we should have said, ‘No, come join us. Be citizens along with the rest of us.’” For the record, Indians have been citizens since 1924.
7/3/88
When the U.S. battleship Vincennes mistakes Iran Air Flight 655 for a fighter plane and blasts it out of the sky, killing 290, President Reagan calls the incident an “understandable accident.” Vincennes is one of the Navy’s ultra-sophisticated computer-supported Aegis cruisers. Though reliable reports say the Soviet downing of KAL 007 was also inadvertent, he insists there is “no comparison” between the events. Says George Bush, “I will never apologize for the United States of America! I don’t care what the facts are!”
9/14/88
“Landslide: The Unmaking of the President: 1884 – 88″, by White House correspondents Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus, reveals that Reagan was so detached during the Iran-contra scandal that aides signed his initials to documents without his knowledge. Says an aide to Howard Baker of Reagan’s underlings, “They told stories about how inattentive and inept the President was…They said he wouldn’t come to work – all he wanted to do was to watch movies and television at the residence.”
12/8/88
President Reagan holds his 44th and final news conference, for an average of one every 66.4 days. As he has at almost every previous one, he blames the Congress and previous Democratic Presidents for his budget deficits.
12/13/88
President Reagan delivers his farewell address on domestic policy, in which he continues to deny that his defense spending increases and tax cuts were in any way responsible for the $155 billion deficit, blaming instead an “iron triangle” of congressmen, lobbyists and journalists.
12/22/88
President Reagan – whose tenure has coincided with a huge increase in the homeless population – uses his last interview with David Brinkley to again claim that many of these unfortunates are homeless by “their own choice,” as must be many of the jobless, since he again points out that the Sunday papers are full of want ads.
Ronald Reagan’s son has recently made it publicly known (As if no one suspected while he was still in office) that his father was already suffering from dementia caused by Alzheimer’s Disease while in office. I personally feel anyone who remembers Reagan today as a good president who used the office he occupied for 8 years to change the world for the better is also suffering from dementia. Whether you remember him like this:
Or like this:
The facts of his legacy are in plain sight for all to see. We’re still suffering the effects today, and will be for a long time.
This time line was shamefully cut and pasted from here
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