"Alan Greenspan has proclaimed himself 'shocked' that 'the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders equity' proved to be an illusion... The Reagan-Thatcher model, which favored finance over domestic manufacturing, has collapsed. ... The mutually reinforcing rise of financialization and globalization broke the bond between (British &) American capitalism and (Britain's &) America's interests. ...we should take a cue from Scandinavia's social capitalism, which is less manufacturing-centered than the German model. The Scandinavians have upgraded the skills and wages of their workers in the retail and service sectors -- the sectors that employ the majority of our own workforce. In consequence, fully employed impoverished workers, of which there are millions in the United States, do not exist in Scandinavia." - Harold Meyerson, "Building a Better Capitalism", The Washington Post, March 12, 2009.
Ronald Reagan: The Most Egregious Political Flip Flop In American Presidential Politics
"(Reagan) has the most fraudulent reputation of any who has ever served in public office. He was certainly genial, a decent guy, a 3rd rate actor that had his career revived by the advice by his new father-in-law, Dr. Davis (a supporter the John Birch Society) 'Go where the money is!' In other words flack for 20 Mule Team Borax and GE. This confused guy even voted for FDR four times by his own admission. He learned that it was 'good business' to give up a lifetime of supposed ideals. He was a quick study, but basically a 'dope' who was lost without a script. ... He even thought that the CO2 from a tree was equivalent to a car's emissions. He was a 'stiff' built up by his handlers. His last term was a disaster, and to cap it off, during the Poindexter and McFarlane Trials, he said under oath over 400 times that he did not remember! With a history of Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Nixon I can understand easily that the 'flat-earth' luddites of the new GOP love to worship the memory of the 'Gipper' whose understanding of the problems of this country matched his inability to answer a question 'off the cuff.'" - Richard J. Garfunkel, American Daily, Phoenix, AZ, 5/1/07
Alan: Having worked in Sandinista Nicaragua during the Reagan administration's Contra War, I live with constant revulsion at Reagan's sustained effort to supply money, arms and logistical support to the end of overthrowing Nicaragua's democratically-elected government. That Reagan financed the Contra War by "sleeping" with Iranian mullahs exhibits unprecedented vility. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair
Ronald Reagan, The Slaughter Of 241 Marines In Beirut and "The Forgotten Sequel" To That Terror Attack http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/10/cover-letter-to-beirut-bombing-mass.html
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What Would Reagan Really Do?