Free Republic

The Iranian people are fighting to create change they can believe in while the Obama team is sending a signal that says "No, you can't."

Missile defense has been a political issue since President Reagan introduced his plan to win the arms race by rebuilding our arsenal while using technology to prevent a successful Russian nuclear attack against us. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., dismissed Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) as "Star Wars." Yet Reagan appealed to Americans' common sense in a 1983 speech: "What if free people could live secure in the knowledge ... that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil?" SDI is now the Ballistic Missile Defense program. Its mission is to defend our forces and...

For a liberal Democrat, President Obama has offered generous praise for the most celebrated of his recent Republican predecessors. Mr. Obama has credited Ronald Reagan with having “changed the trajectory of America” in ways Bill Clinton didn’t. “President Reagan helped as much as any president to restore a sense of optimism in our country, a spirit that transcended politics,” Mr. Obama said earlier this month while signing the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act in the presence of Nancy Reagan. It’s not surprising that Mr. Obama has embraced Mr. Reagan’s achievement since it seems akin to his own aspirations and might...

President Ronald Reagan delivers a remarkable speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of D-Day at Point-du-Hoc, Normandy, France. God bless them all who fought and died so that freedom may live, and may we never forget.

Ronald Reagan delivers remarks on June 6, 1984 comemorating the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy.

We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history. We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40...

Socialized Medicine as proposed by the Democrats, then a private citizen Ronald Reagan Speaks out against ...

Video at the link: This really shouldn't be allowed. In his spare time and while campaigning for various government jobs, Obama often pretends to be Ronald Reagan (minus all the logic, common sense, real solutions or belief in limited government and individual liberty). In the video below, Obama pretends to pay homage to the real thing, while also pretending not to hate Nancy Reagan. It was actually difficult for me to watch. As you can see, Nancy Reagan is on-hand for the act. While not particularly sincere,perhaps it is a better approach than he's used inthe past: Nancy Reagan Says...

President Obama gives Nancy Reagan a kiss after signing the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act into law.

Paul Krugman continues his one man assault on the legacy of Ronald Reagan with a column today that essentially blames the entire financial meltdown on one obscure law passed during the Reagan era, the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982. This is an act that essentially deregulated S&L's and was one factor in their eventual demise in the late 1980's. Now, Krugman purports to blame this very same act on the current crisis. Now, I was very skeptical of Conservatives blaming the Community Reinvestment Act for the crisis. It's very rare that an obscure law actually creates this much...

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... When [Jimmy Carter took office], Reagan had been running for president for a little more than two years, having completed his second term as governor of California in January 1975. He had done this mainly by speaking and writing, following a program devised by three of his aides as he was about to step down from office, designed to keep him in the public eye when he was no longer governor, and establish him as the country's premier conservative voice. The plan, an idea of radio producer Harry O'Connor refined by Reagan aides Peter Hannaford and the late Michael...

During the presidential campaign last year, there was a great deal of talk about the seeming inability of our economic system to solve the problems of unemployment and inflation. Issues such as taxes and government power and costs were discussed, but always these things were discussed in the context of what government intended to do about it. May I suggest for your consideration that government has already done too much about it? That indeed, government, by going outside its proper province, has caused many if not most of the problems that vex us. How much are we to blame for...

LONDON – Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan is being honored with a statue in central London. Westminster City Council says it has changed the usual rules to allow the memorial to be erected outside the current U.S. embassy in downtown London. Normally, the council only permits statues in honor of people who have been dead for more than 10 years. Reagan died in 2004. But it says it has approved a request by the Reagan Memorial Fund Trust to recognize the former president's contribution to world politics.

The former US Ambassador apparently thought it a good idea. His replacement might not be so keen. An interior designer from Chelsea who is a leading light in the Thatcherite Conservative Way Forward group has won approval for a statue of the great American conservative Ronald Reagan to be erected outside the US Embassy in London. The project was given the nod last night by Westminster City Council's planning sub-committee in a break with its policy of allowing memorials only to people who have been dead for at least ten years. The former US president died in 2004 at the...

CORONADO — Vice President Joe Biden spent the day with Navy personnel yesterday, thanking them for their service and announcing plans to expand homeowners assistance to military families with $555 million from the economic stimulus package. Speaking aboard the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, docked at Coronado Naval Base, Biden said military families and civilian Defense Department employees who recently sold their homes at a loss are in particular need of financial assistance. “In the middle of a credit and housing crisis, we recognize that military families cannot generally choose, to put it mildly, when they move,” he said. ... “That's...

Since the election of President Obama -- and now accelerated by the defection of Senator Arlen Specter, much ink and chattering has been devoted the future of the Republican Party. Like any organization either in politics, sports or business which is currently behind, the GOP is struggling with crafting a game changing strategy. Some advocate embracing a big tent strategy by incorporating a variety of disparate and potentially irreconcilable views. Others argue that the party should go back to set of core conservative principles despite the risk it might appeal to a smaller audience than desired to build a new...

Here goes: This presidential candidate talks pro-life, but has a mixed record on abortion, including passing legislation as governor removing restrictions on abortion. In addition, the person he wants as VP is outspoken in his support of pro-choice, warning against candidates who would throw women back into back alley clinics. He talks about Christian faith, but also openly admits he very rarely goes to church. He has been a supporter of 2nd amendment rights, but also openly endorsed the Brady Bill. He wants to balance the budget partly by tax cuts, but mostly by cutting spending back to around 19%...

The Unforgettable Great Communicator by: Malcolm A. Kline, May 12, 2009 The conservative pundits seeking to accumulate intellectual bona fides by aping the intelligentsia’s call to “forget Ronald Reagan” only succeed in proving themselves to be as vacuous as the allegedly educated elite. For example, one cultured pearl of current wisdom is that conservatives have to move beyond “variations of no.” Well, for openers, you have to move towards it before moving beyond it. A federal budget that rose by about $1 trillion when Republicans controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress does not indicate that the GOP...

If some media reports are correct — a dangerous assumption nowadays when media skepticism has given way to unquestioned Obama worship — former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says the GOP needs to abandon nostalgia for the Reagan era. I’m inclined to doubt the accuracy of that report since Jeb Bush probably was the best governor Florida ever had and one who clung ferociously to the Republican principles my father, Ronald Reagan, exemplified. Even if he did say something silly like that, my argument with him and Mitt Romney and the other participants in the so-called listening tour is not about...

According to the headline of an online article in the Washington Times, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush believes that it's "time to leave Reagan behind." If true, this illustrates one of the reasons so many Americans have concluded that it's long past time to leave the Republican Party behind.

Santa Barbara, California -- You drive up a steep, rough and winding road to reach Ronald Reagan's ranch in the Santa Ynez mountains. For eight years, from 1981 to 1989, this place north of Santa Barbara was the Western White House; Reagan spent nearly a year of his time in office here. Now, what he called Rancho del Cielo is pretty much deserted. ... The first thing that strikes you as you approach the house is how modest it is. The main part of the building was constructed in 1871. Even after Reagan added a couple of rooms when he...

Rookie President Barack Obama has been pounding policy after policy through the Republicans' hapless defense. His approval is out of the park. He's teeing up his first Supreme Court appointment. Al Franken -- in a "say-it-ain't-so" moment if ever there was one -- is close to giving the Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate majority. And Republican voters are heading for the exits, with a puny 31% willing to tell a pollster they belong to the party. During downturns in sports, three rules of thumb are: Don't panic, stay within your game, play to your strengths. This being politics, the Republicans naturally...

Quarterbacking for Growth by: Malcolm A. Kline, May 05, 2009 It wasn’t only the Republican Party and the Conservative Movement that lost an elder statesmen with the passing of former Congressman Jack Kemp. Known for the historic tax cuts that bore his name, the former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills also consistently argued that inflating the money supply endangered the nation. I personally watched him do this 24 years ago. In those days, he would deliver a speech the way that he delivered touchdowns. “When the coat comes off, look out,” a co-worker warned me before then-Rep. Kemp spoke at...

Even those who count Ronald Reagan among the handful of great American presidents have a hard time saying exactly where his greatness lay, or how it made itself felt. Reagan was an enigma: affable but friendless, a nonintellectual man of ideas, an ingenuous power politician. His presidency seemed like a success until 1986 and a failure thereafter, yet his most important legacy — the ending of the cold war — dates from those last two lame-duck years. The central puzzle is whether Reagan actually “won” the cold war at all. Did he cannily bring the Soviet Union to its knees,...

      May 1, 2009 A Tribute to Margaret Thatcher--30 Years On  by Robin Harris, D. Phil. WebMemo #2419 Thirty years ago, Britain embarked upon a conservative revolution that not only transformed the country but left an indelible and unmistakable impact on the rest of the world. Only two British Prime Ministers--Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher--have by force of personality and power of example done anything like this.In The Gathering Storm, Winston Churchill wrote of his initial thoughts after his election as Prime Minister in May 1940: As I went to bed at about 3 a.m., I was...

Ronald Reagan describes liberalism and socialism. He also talks about compulsory insurance and healthcare. Very eerily similar to today.

Everybody complains about taxes and government spending, but nobody does anything about them. Perhaps that's because whenever they do something, they're often labeled as racists, right-wing extremists or worse. That's what happened when various news organizations covered the April 15 "tea parties" across the country; the media clearly did not know what to make of such a robust turnout for the loosely organized events, and wound up dismissing or belittling them. The tea party movement may or may not go forward -- but anytime the media or politicians dismiss a grassroots effort, they do so at great peril. People attending...

In 1993, Bill Clinton joked, "Gosh, I miss the Cold War." And, he explained, somberly: "We had an intellectually coherent thing. The American people knew what the rules were." Such Cold War nostalgia vexed many conservatives. It seemed to us that the Cold War consensus had broken down with the Vietnam War. Clinton himself didn't much like that Cold War endeavor, which is one reason he worked so assiduously to avoid serving in it. A young John Kerry did serve, but he also threw away his medals and denounced his fellow servicemen as war criminals. Jimmy Carter, meanwhile, had proclaimed...

Our times are complex and getting more so. New government initiatives meant to help the economy, to keep companies and financial institutions from going under thus resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs are only going to mire this country into a deeper crisis that will - in the long run - merely help a few, selected elite. HOW WE MISS RONALD REAGAN You don’t realize how much you miss him, until you read and remember some of the stuff he said and stood for: “Here’s my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.� -...

Statue of former president to replace that of ministerAfter 78 years of standing in the Capitol, Thomas Starr King is on his way out, ousted by a better-known Californian —Ronald Reagan. A bronze statue of Reagan, who was born and raised in Illinois, will soon replace that of the relatively obscure King as one of California's two representatives in Washington's version of a national hall of fame. The Reagan likeness will be unveiled in a June ceremony to be attended by former First Lady Nancy Reagan. The state's other representative is Father Junipero Serra, who, like King, has been a...

After 78 years of standing in the Capitol, Thomas Starr King is about to be ousted by a better known Californian -- Ronald Reagan. In June, a bronze statue of Reagan will replace that of the relatively obscure King as one of California's two representatives in Washington's version of a national hall of fame. The Reagan likeness will be unveiled in a ceremony attended by former First Lady Nancy Reagan. The state's other representative is Father Junipero Serra, who, like King, has been a fixture in the U.S. Capitol since Herbert Hoover was president. SNIP The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation,...

Warner Bros. today will launch a service giving the public the opportunity to custom-order DVDs of films never before released via the medium. The move is seen as a response to dwindling DVD sales and also to customer demand for titles that while not totally obscure, didn't necessarily generate enough heat to merit a full-on DVD release. The Warner Archive Collection, available at WarnerArchive.com, includes films dating back to the silent age and for $19.95 per disc Warners will burn, package and ship for receipt within an estimated five days. Currently there are 150 titles available with for a total...

Ted Daum’s astounding April 1 claim that President Reagan’s economic policies amounted to “war on the poor and middle class” raises a perplexing question. Most would agree that the poor and middle class make up at least 80 percent of the population, with 20 percent at most considered wealthy. If Reagan was waging economic war on 80 percent of the population to benefit 20 percent, how did he win reelection in 1984 with 59 percent of the popular vote and how did he carry 49 states? How did his vice president get elected in 1988? If Reagan garnered 95 percent...

"You cannot pour billions of dollars into make-work while destroying the economy that supports them and call that opportunity. And you cannot build up years of dependence on government are dare call that hope." RR - March 2, 1984 "It has been said that anyone who seeks success or greatness should first forget about both and seek only truth, the rest will follow." RR - March 20, 1981 "You and I are told we much choose between left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as left or right. There is only an up or down." RR...

What would Reagan do? Rick Reiss Friday, April 10th, 2009 Last month, members of the Temecula community met at the Ronald Reagan Sports Park to celebrate “Can Do” Day. The annual Can Do Day event recognizes the time when President Ronald Reagan commended the people of Temecula for their self-reliance and initiative in building the sports park that now bears his name. On March 3, 1983, while addressing the US Olympic committee, President Reagan remarked, “The folks in a rather small town, Temecula…got together and built themselves a sports park, held fundraising barbecues and dinners. And those who didn’t have...

President Barack Obama is ordering the release of nearly a quarter of a million pages of records from the Reagan White House that were kept from the public during a lengthy review by President George W. Bush. The Reagan documents – which include presidential briefing papers, speechwriting research materials and declassified foreign policy records — are expected to be released Monday. Officials said the Obama administration’s quick verdict on the documents was prompted by an executive order Obama signed in January that gives the incumbent president 30 days to make such a decision, unless he sets a longer period. By...

1981 Notre Dame Commencement Address by President Ronald Reagan

Now, as I concede to the effects of the anesthesia, I find myself once again sitting next to a past American president. Given that this time the figure happens to be Ronald Reagan, I enter into this experience with a certain sense of anticipation.

.......This nation fought a terrible war so that black Americans would be guaranteed their God-given rights. Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some could decide whether others should be free or slaves. Well today another question begs to be asked: How can we survive as a free nation when some decide that others are not fit to live and should be done away with?...... The Department of Health and Human Services has now published final regulations to address cases such as Baby Doe in Bloomington. The child was denied lifesaving surgery and starved...

President Ronald Reagan's Alma Mater hosts a world leader today. Eureka College honors former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev with an Honorary Doctorate. Accompanied by a small entourage, including his daughter, Gorbachev stepped foot on campus looking relaxed and right at home. It was the community that gathered in awe. “This is huge for Eureka College and Central Illinois," Reagan Museum Curator Brian Sajko said., The 78-year-old former Soviet leader came to Eureka to promote the College's new Ronald Reagan society. Gorbachev toured the Reagan Museum before spending a few moments reflecting in the Reagan Peace Garden that includes a five...

[VIDEO of Ronald Reagan Speech] Thanks to the folks at MofoPolitics.com for reminding us of that moment in history when Ronald Reagan was thrust upon the national stage. “It occurs to me having just watched this,” Mofo said, “that Barack Obama isn’t regarded as so charismatic and articulate because he is so charismatic and so articulate, but because he is so charismatic and so articulate in comparison to those politicians he has had the good fortune to run against.” No fancy production values. No special effects. No overpaid speech writers. Just Ronald Reagan being Ronald Reagan.

Ronald Reagan Profile Films in bold will air in March Asked by Bob Hope what it felt like to be president, Ronald Reagan replied, "it's not a lot different than being an actor, except I get to write the script." The leading man in that script was similar to many of the screen roles Reagan played during his Hollywood career - decent, optimistic, a bit of a square, a believer in God, family and country. As a recent book of the diaries Reagan kept as president shows, he was ever mindful of the Production Code, avoiding swear words, and...

It's late and I'm basically amusing myself, but I hope this will bring you a laugh as well: Everyone here at Patriot Room predicted before the election that Barack Obama's election would bring a return to the disastrous 1970s epitomized by the agonizingly awful regime of one Jimmy Carter. How awful were the years 1976-1982? So bad that they had to invent a term called the misery index to quantify it. So bad that Obama insists on calling what we are going through now the worst recession since the Great Depression. The left doesn't want the conversation to focus on...

George Bernard Shaw warned “Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”  The major overhaul of American health care pursued by President Obama and his supporters is based on many false premises and is excessive and likely to do more harm than good.  Tuning up and improvements already always dynamically occurs.  Instead, ObamaCare is aimed at dramatically changing one-sixth of the US economy in ways that are untested or tested and found wanting, primarily involving huge increases in government direction of health care. p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">The details of ObamaCare are largely being left to Congress, the...

The pundits and talking heads have settled on a sensational meme: Obama killed Reagan. To the Old Media and the pundit class, it's got all the requisite characteristics of a great story. New beating old, liberal trumping conservative, it has power, pathos and amazement. But, it is also pure hyperbole and, well, a load of horse puckey. Before I get too much further along here, it would be silly of me to claim that it could never happen that Obama will supplant Reagan as the miracle worker of the Oval Office. We have but to look at the long-term success...

(FORTUNE Magazine) – As we tap out these words on our trusty 101-key enhanced keyboard, the Dow Jones industrial average is around 2700 and also looking enhanced. ... (FORTUNE Magazine) – Easily the most maddening political debate these days is the one about whether Congressman Barney Frank, the Massachusetts Democrat, should resign on grounds of turpitude. ...

I thought y'all might want to know, and to watch. STAR OF THE MONTH: RONALD REAGAN, He's on now. All times in Eastern. 8:00 PM Secret Service Of The Air (1939) A government agent battles smugglers. Cast: Ronald Reagan, Eddie Foy, Jr., John Litel. Dir: Noel Smith. BW-61 mins, TV-PG 9:15 PM Code Of The Secret Service (1939) Secret Service agents try to solve the theft of treasury banknote plates. Cast: Ronald Reagan, Eddie Foy, Jr., Rosella Towne. Dir: Noel Smith. BW-58 mins, TV-G 10:30 PM Smashing The Money Ring (1939) The Secret Service investigates a fleet of gambling...

Asked by Bob Hope what it felt like to be president, Ronald Reagan replied, "it's not a lot different than being an actor, except I get to write the script." The leading man in that script was similar to many of the screen roles Reagan played during his Hollywood career - decent, optimistic, a bit of a square, a believer in God, family and country. As a recent book of the diaries Reagan kept as president shows, he was ever mindful of the Production Code, avoiding swear words, and writing "hell" as "h__l" and "damn" as "d___". Born in 1911...

In early October, as the meltdown of the financial industry gained momentum following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 59% of U.S. voters agreed with Ronald Reagan that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Since then, the stock market has fallen roughly 3,000 points, millions of jobs have been lost, nearly a trillion dollars has been spent so far to bail out the financial industry, an additional $787-billion government stimulus package has been approved, and a new president has taken office who has proposed spending billions and...