Charlton Heston

[Cuchulain]

Ronald Reagan did more for this fucking WORLD than you could even imagine. Ever heard of Reaganomics?

ROFL! I LAUGHED. I CRIED, I LOADED MY AK-47! Reaganomics, better known as 'trickle down' is best described as robbing the poor and the middle class to give to the rich. As for what wingnut Ronnie did for the world:

"The deregulation policies of Ronald Reagan did not just deliver journalism to these massive corporations, but handed virtually every facet of our lives into the hands of this privileged few. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat are all tainted because Reagan battered down every environmental regulation he came across so corporations could improve their bottom line. Our leaders are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the corporations that were made all-powerful by Reagan's deregulation craze. The Savings and Loan scandal of Reagan's time, which cost the American people hundreds of billions of dollars, is but one example of Reagan's decision that the foxes would be fine guards in the henhouse.

Ronald Reagan believed in small government, despite the fact that he grew government massively during his time. Social programs which protected the weakest of our citizens were gutted by Reagan's policies, delivering millions into despair. Reagan was able to do this by caricaturing the "welfare queen," who punched out babies by the barnload, who drove the flashy car bought with your tax dollars, who refused to work because she didn't have to. This was a vicious, racist lie, one result of which was the decimation of a generation by crack cocaine. The urban poor were left to rot because Ronald Reagan believed in 'self-sufficiency.'

Because Ronald Reagan could not be bothered to fund research into 'gay cancer,' the AIDS virus was allowed to carve out a comfortable home in America. The aftershocks from this callous disregard for people whose homosexuality was deemed evil by religious conservatives cannot be overstated. Beyond the graves of those who died from a disease which was allowed to burn unchecked, there are generations of Americans today living with the subconscious idea that sex equals death.

The veneer of honor and respect painted across the legacy of Ronald Reagan is itself a myth of biblical proportions. The coverage proffered today of the Reagan legacy seldom mentions impropriety until the Iran/Contra scandal appears on the administration timeline. This sin of omission is vast. By the end of his term in office, some 138 Reagan administration officials had been convicted, indicted or investigated for misconduct and/or criminal activities.

Some of the names on this disgraceful roll-call: Oliver North, John Poindexter, Richard Secord, Casper Weinberger, Elliott Abrams, Robert C. McFarlane, Michael Deaver, E. Bob Wallach, James Watt, Alan D. Fiers, Clair George, Duane R. Clarridge, Anne Gorscuh Burford, Rita Lavelle, Richard Allen, Richard Beggs, Guy Flake, Louis Glutfrida, Edwin Gry, Max Hugel, Carlos Campbell, John Fedders, Arthur Hayes, J. Lynn Helms, Marjory Mecklenburg, Robert Nimmo, J. William Petro, Thomas C. Reed, Emanuel Savas, Charles Wick. Many of these names are lost to history, but more than a few of them are still with us today, 'rehabilitated' by the administration of George W. Bush.

Ronald Reagan actively supported the regimes of the worst people ever to walk the earth. Names like Marcos, Duarte, Rios Mont and Duvalier reek of blood and corruption, yet were embraced by the Reagan administration with passionate intensity. The ground of many nations is salted with the bones of those murdered by brutal rulers who called Reagan a friend. Who can forget his support of those in South Africa who believed apartheid was the proper way to run a civilized society?

One dictator in particular looms large across our landscape. Saddam Hussein was a creation of Ronald Reagan. The Reagan administration supported the Hussein regime despite his incredible record of atrocity. The Reagan administration gave Hussein intelligence information which helped the Iraqi military use their chemical weapons on the battlefield against Iran to great effect. The deadly bacterial agents sent to Iraq during the Reagan administration are a laundry list of horrors.

The Reagan administration sent an emissary named Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq to shake Saddam Hussein's hand and assure him that, despite public American condemnation of the use of those chemical weapons, the Reagan administration still considered him a welcome friend and ally. This happened while the Reagan administration was selling weapons to Iran, a nation notorious for its support of international terrorism, in secret and in violation of scores of laws.....Throughout the entirety of Reagan's term, bin Laden and his people were armed, funded and trained by the United States" http://masters-of-war.org/GEORGIE%20WARBUCKS.html

The only good thing I can say about "the gipper" is he's not the biggest criminal to ever be in the White House - Bush has him beat.

Sorry to hijack the Charlton Heston RIP thread, but sweet Jesus I hated Reagan.

[chefmike]

Ronald Reagan did more for this fucking WORLD than you could even imagine.

Now THAT'S funny.

It's also a heaping crock of shit.

[Floyd R]

Criminals that commit crime own lots of guns bought through illegal channels. Decent law-abiding citizens have the right to protect themselves against the criminal element. If a criminal invades your home at 3am, what are you going to do to defend yourself?

I never agreed with his politics and I am not a fan or the NRA, nor do I think people should be able to own guns-

but RIP

[hondarobot]

Lol. We've had the gun debate several times here. I suppose a Chuck Heston thread would be the place to get that going again.

Film noirish private detectives in rumpled suits need to have a .38 in their pocket. That's just a law of nature, hence guns must be legal. End of debate.

Personally, I've never owned a gun, but then again, I'm not a detective. I'm going to start lobbying for the rights of film noir detectives.

[TJT]

People are too quick and too wrong to use the term fascist.

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Under the real definition, and distinguishing characteristics, Bush's goverment and its supporters, like Heston, exemplify a modern fascist philosophy.

That said, a society that shows a little respect for the dead, at least until he is buried, would be nice. But that would be utopian.

FK

So I've got to wait until he's off to the processing factory to make "Charlton Heston is Soylent Green" jokes?

[TJT]

People are too quick and too wrong to use the term fascist.

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14pts.htm

Under the real definition, and distinguishing characteristics, Bush's goverment and its supporters, like Heston, exemplify a modern fascist philosophy.

That said, a society that shows a little respect for the dead, at least until he is buried, would be nice. But that would be utopian.

FK

So I've got to wait until he's off to the processing factory to make "Charlton Heston is Soylent Green" jokes?

[trish]

Ever heard of Reaganomics?

Actually I have. It’s the sorriest crock of shit ever to hit the fan. Ah yes, the Reagan years, when interest rates on mortgages were 16 fucking percent. Those were the days! Ever try to buy a house at 16% interest?

Ah yes, Reagan and the famous trickle down theory. The trickle-down metaphor for the flow of money in our economy has always relied on the trick of a hidden assumption: the rich are high, the poor are low and like water attempting to lower its gravitational potential, money flows downhill. It’s a false exercise in vertical thinking. The real situation is this:

Money attracts money. There are individuals in this world who are worth more than whole nations. The super-massive sums in the pockets of the wealthy attract and accrete more and more money. The power of these black holes is indifferent and uncaring to the society around them. They warp the culture and the lives of people throughout the world. Dollars are literally sucked out of the pockets of ordinary people as they walk down the street or just up the driveway to the mailbox to retrieve the day’s harvest of bills. What keeps your savings, your car, your home from falling into the abyss? What keeps these dark holes at bay? Believe me; they don’t check themselves, except when one swallows up another to create an even more dangerous, more massive super-attractor. Government of the people, by the people and for the people keeps them in check. Regulation, control and oversight is required to keep the economy working for US and not just for the top 5% of the wealthiest Americans. He who is for himself alone is an asshole and a jerk; not a patriot. Reagan was an asshole.

So as not to totally waylay this thread, let me opine that Heston was descent in Ben Hur, but pretty lousy in Omega Man, Planet of the Apes and Soyent Green. As an actor in his prime he was pretty good. However, he never matured into a great actor. I give him two and a half stars.

[OEMEnemyNum1]

Like I said before, I own several guns and I'm a reloader. I've never shot anyone and I never plan on it, but I will defend myself if need be.

I don't know what Reagan has to do with this thread, but my view on the president can boil to this theory. The president doesn't help or hurt the economy, it's total perception of the public. So if the media would just tell people the economy is strong, people would make it happen. lol

[Realgirls4me]

I am still wondering what the Reagan administration actually did for this country that would place him historically as a good president, let alone a great one? What policies of that administration can anyone point to that benefited the country as a whole and not just the wealthy? Put aside the fact that his legacy is firmly cemented as one of unprecedented debt and ushering in homelessness -- which are both still with us -- but that he also reignited the Cold War in Latin America and has the dubious and shameful distinction of having possibly the most corrupt administration ever -- more from his administration were indicted and convicted than any other in modern history.

Again, what did Reagan do to make him so great? And please don't tell me he ended the Cold War. The Soviet Union was already imploding under the Ford Administration, this according to Gorbachov as well as our own intelligence.

[trish]

The president doesn't help or hurt the economy

Like when a president borrows a trillion dollars from China and dumps three trillion down a rat hole. That doesn't help or hurt the economy.