Damn, I love pomp and ceremony as much as the next guy, but this week was starting to look like "Weekend at Bernie's" but with Reagan taking Terry Kiser's place. I would not be surprised if we wake up to tomorrow and see on the news that the body of Reagan was found on an Oxnard beach wearing oversized novelty sunglasses and an empty Schaefer tall-boy beer.

And, I hear there's a pissed-off Cub Scout troop out in Fairmont, Ohio because they were the only uniformed group in America that didn't get to carry the casket, march in a ceremony or get to fire a salute this week.

Well, we have three elderly ex-Presidents (Ford, Carter and Bush I) so I guess we'll see more funerals over the next few years. DC really goes ape for these types of events - state funerals, inaugurations, stuff like that, here in the DC metro area, those days become holidays. Federal employees and contractors get the day off, half of everybody else takes the day off as well, half of the city is roped off, basically everything for locals comes to a standstill. We all retreat into our homes as the tourists and out-of-town officials decend on us. Kind of like the cicadas, except we know when the cicadas will come and they only visit once every 17 years.

Having Reagan die, right in the middle of one of the worst Republican presidential administrations in history is the neo-cons wet dream. The administration in power could not do enough pomp-and-circumstances for their most beloved figurehead.

What did Nixon get!! Hell, some people don't even know he's dead. No, they quietly buried Nixon without a lot of fanfare because he fucked-up. He got caught doing to the Democrats much the same things Bush is doing with the American people. In a way, he's probably happy that there is now a worse president in office than he could ever hope to aspire to.

Reagan now, is God's gift to all the righteous Republican idealogues. The Great Communicator used his acting abilities in his greatest role; pretending to be a president. The last year of Reagan's "great" legacy should be attributed to his wife, who, as we all know now, made the crucial decisions when Ronnie could not remember where he was on a particular day. All the presidential staff has admitted in their memoirs of the Reagan administration, that "they made" a lot of key decisions on behalf of the president during the latter half of Reagan's final term. The President was "out to lunch" even then.

Florida made recent headlines when a judge sentenced an Alzheimers patient to a criminal asylum (since overturned) because he ignored the judges ruling taking away his driving priveleges, the man believed he needed his car to go to work selling rotary phones to busineses. Most likely Ronnie showed up to work everyday thinking he was a cowboy.

Leave it to the conservative right to glorify a man who, at one time, as President of the United States, was completely incapable of driving a car much less leading a nation.



THE REAGAN LEGACY: AN EPONYMOUS EPIDEMIC GRIPS WASHINGTON.

The Ronald Reagan Legacy Project is dedicated to making sure that Americans are reminded of Reagan every day as they go about their business. The top priority is to replace Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill. But Reagan is too big for a sawbuck. Too big even for Rushmore. So why not go for the moon? Everybody loves the moon, and it's badly in need of a real name. Other planets have moons with dynamite names like "Phobos" and "Titan." What do we call our moon? "The moon." It's an embarrassment. Why not call it "Reagan"? We were there first, and we should name it. But we'd better do it before China gets there and names it "Mao."


OG

good riddance gipp

I still remember standing in line for lunch in about the 8th grade and one of the teachers walked by and said "remember what President Reagan says, don't forget to eat your ketchup and relish"........

The "Watt SWAT Team" jibe from "Not Necessarily the News"......

Reagan was the prototype for Bush II, i.e. the way that he was more of a front man for the real guys. Reagan at least was a great speaker, did have some real ideas (at least in his first term), wasn't the strict ideologue that Dipshit Bush is (Reagan knew how to cut deals and keep things civil). And, he was generally likable. You could tell that there was some intelligence there.

I am highly uncomfortable of any cult of personality. Thankfully I wasn't around in the 60's, but from a historical standpoint I don't like the concept of the Kennedys and can't stand the Bushs. Nor do I approve of the concept of Hilary Clinton possibly running for President. If Jeb Bush even remotely runs for President in 2008, I'll probably give up my US citizenship. America is not supposed to be led by a family, be it Democrat or Republican, commie liberal to, well, Jesus-freak conservative.

For example, here in the DC area, Bob Barr (who, for a black man, did an excellent job of convincing everyone he's white) rammed through the change of National Airport to Reagan National. You can always tell who are the Bush administration recent arrivals because nobody locally, even most Republicans, call it Reagan. Fuck the locals, who pay taxes to fund the bonds on the airport, work there, use it and live near it.

Then, the Reps once again intruded into local matters when they made Metro, the local subway system, spend a shitpile of dollars to change all of the signage, literature, maps, etc to show the change in the name of the airport. They couldn't wait for the usual transition time - I remember when they added some stuff to the Vienna metro station name, it took a year for everything to switch over. No, they demanded that the local governments waste a few million dollars junking lit, painting signs, etc.

Shit like that just pisses me off, especially from the "less government" party.

INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM (unless we disagree with you)
LOWER TAXES (especially for rich folks)
CURB SPENDING (except on subsidies and programs that we use)

Isn't that 3/5ths of the Republican creed?

I say we need to pitch in and get Cat out on the talk show circuit now. I hope his spoken presence is as good as his written one. This is good stuff...

Org, Nixon was buried without pomp and circumstance at the families request, not for the reason you suggested.

Regarding Reagan, I for one was very proud to have had him as our President. 68% of Americans polled agreed with me when he left office so although I agree with Cat on most things I believe he is in the minority on his Reagan views.

Reagan was unique. Fortunately he fulfilled his potential. I cant imagine how he could have accomplished more.

Bush on the other hand... well he has turned me around for the next election. I will vote for Kerry.

Okay, I cant believe I entered into a political discussion. I have to get refocused on important things again and quit thinking about this stuff.

Cowboy Ronald Reagan and Brazil's Mystique
Brazil is the last big frontier of retirement for Americans. The city
of Barretos is on the road for those Americans who live and love
the country lifestyle. Whether Reagan's legacy has any meaning
for Brazilians in Brazil, Barretos can only gain by honoring
President Reagan in a city where the cowboy is still king.
Edgardo Quintanilla

A significant legacy of President Ronald Reagan is that image embodies the medium and the message. It is the photo of Reagan riding a horse and dressed as a cowboy while waving and flashing a big smile which lingers for some of us. Such picture is a perennial montage of hope in the big frontier.

The only Brazilian place which should put the memory of Reagan to some use is Barretos. Set in the arid northern hinterlands of the state of São Paulo,Barretos is famous for the biggest rodeo of South America, which this year will be celebrated the last week of August.

Recent reports from the Festa do Peão de Boiadeiro indicate that American cowboys are traveling to Barretos to compete, to fall in love, and to enjoy the pleasantries of finding so much in common with their fellow Brazilian cowboys.

Whether it is naming a street after Reagan or erecting a statue of Reagan as a cowboy, Barretos would do homage to the American cowboy lifestyle. It is such way of life which Reagan enjoyed while away from politics.

The use of Reagan's image might bode well for Barretos's economy. It is not a sign of partisanship. It would create a bridge of goodwill and friendship with the Colossus of the North, especially with the western states of the United States.

It would attract more American tourists and dollars. It would place Barretos on the map of cities associated with Reagan. Above all, it would be a celebration of hope in the big frontier which the image of Reagan as a cowboy epitomized.

The big frontier of open spaces and blue skies is basically a myth made in Hollywood. Under the seemingly free and open spaces were always the native indigenous communities who were there before the first American cowboy got into a horse.

The story of how the cowboy won the American West by displacing the indigenous communities is told in such non-fiction books as Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Interestingly, some indigenous communities have publicly celebrated the memory of President Reagan as one who advocated for the rule of tribal government as shown by a June 11, 2004 one-page homage paid by a tribal association of indigenous communities to the Los Angeles Times.

The money used for such ad came from legalized gambling in casinos on tribal lands in California.

In the era of globalization, every town shapes its own destiny and history while never remaining an island unto itself. Whether Barretos wishes to cast its lot in honoring Reagan is up to the people and government of the municipality of Barretos. Even if Barretos decided not to have anything to do with Reagan, the ensuing debate in Barretos would be useful to all of us.

Every year more Americans are attracted to the hope of retiring in Brazil. It is not the lifestyle of big cities that these Americans will be looking, but the comfort and safety of small towns and cities, like Barretos, where the dollar might go a long way. It is better to be a big fish in a small pond.

Brazil is the last big frontier of retirement for Americans. Barretos is on the road for those Americans who live and love the country lifestyle and wish to see the end of their days in Brazil.

Whether one loves or hates Reagan, and whether Reagan's legacy has any meaning for Brazilians in Brazil, Barretos can only gain by considering whether to honor President Reagan in a city where the cowboy is still king.


Edgardo Quintanilla, an American Immigration Lawyer, is a member of the State Bar of California and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He can be reached at eqlaw@pacbell.net

This Edgardo Quintanilla seems a bit nutty.

Typical Latin American boosterism. Along the same lines, there is a city in Goias (near Brasilia) who's main claim to fame is being a UFO landing strip/harmonic energies convergence point. And they make plenty of tourist cash from all the yippies and freaks... And Macapa (capital of an Amazonian state) milks being on the Equator for all it's worth.. fer chrissakes, it's just a line on the map! Well, I'll have to admit I'm a bit curious about how the toilets flush in Macapa, does all the water just go straight down? And believe me, if the Macapa Tourism Board ever reads this post, they'll probably construct a giant crapper right on the equator....

BS

Edgardo ties in a brazilian town to reagan almost as good as bush ties in iraq to al-quaeda. I am american and ronnie is an american, therefore, me and ronnie are the same. lmao.