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Thanks for the stealth ping, Steve. :)

A modern rule of grammar: 'Bush' and 'Reagan' should never be used in the same sentence.

Despite a seventeen-year concerted effort by left-leaning politicians, media decision-makers, and members of academia to tarnish his legacy, Ronald Reagan's influence on America’s collective courage and conscience will never die, as long as those of us who recognize his greatness are still living.

Unlike during the Cold War, during these precarious times, when our enemies are less defined/confined within prescribed borders, lacking a leader of Reagan’s incomparable stature represents America’s Achilles heel. And, try as they might to superficially and symbolically emulate him, there is not an American leader today worthy of taking up his mantle.

From my profile page, fondly ...

It was the ‘Rendezvous With Destiny’ speech that introduced me to Ronald Reagan. My Dad, more than anyone else I have ever known, embodied the noble qualities that defined ‘the greatest generation’ – and, from the time my sisters and I were very young, he steadfastly attempted (with varying degrees of success :) to instill in the four of us a sense of civic responsibility and involvement. To that end, he urged us to read and listen to a certain amount of news and commentary (which, in those more honest days, was clearly labeled ‘editorial’). My Dad was a staunch Goldwater supporter and he suggested that I watch the Reagan speech on that fateful autumn evening in 1964. At that time, I wasn’t terribly impressed with Barry Goldwater (although I became significantly more so later on), and I had never heard of Ronald Reagan, other than in echoes of conversations when people would occasionally discuss movies, etc.

I fell in love the evening of October 27, 1964 and haven’t been the same since.

Sixteen years later, during Reagan’s first presidential campaign, my husband and I and our two very young children went to Millersville University to hear him speak. His words were electrifying. His faith, wisdom, decency, honesty, and love of this country were awe-inspiring … and his sincere, unabashed passion literally filled the auditorium, wall to wall, floor to ceiling. Afterwards I was fortunate enough to make my way up to the stage and shake his hand. I am not, and never have been, starry-eyed about any public figure, so it was not the reaction of a ‘groupie’ when I felt an unmistakable strength and warmth run through me as his hand gripped mine. And the indescribably kind, knowing, optimistic twinkle in his eye is something I have never witnessed in the eyes of anyone else, before or since. Not ever.

My tribute to …

America's Greatest President

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He enunciated his words deliberately, so that the last four words, each a monosyllable, sound like hammer blows:

'Mr. Gorbachev! Tear down this wall!' ... 12 June, 1987

incomparable leadership embodied in faith, integrity, dignity, decency, character, intelligence, compassion and love of country in the Oval Office
(1981-1989)

There is no question that we have failed to live up to the dreams of the founding fathers many times and in many places. Sometimes we do better than others. But all in all, the one thing we must be on guard against is thinking that because of this, the system has failed. The system has not failed. Some human beings have failed the system ... 21 June, 1973

The work of volunteer groups throughout our country represents the very heart and soul of America. They have helped make this the most compassionate, generous, and humane society that ever existed on the face of this earth ... 16 October, 1973

We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look ... 20 January, 1981

...peace is the highest aspiration of the American People. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it, we will never surrender for it, now or ever ... 20 January, 1981

The house we hope to build is not for my generation but for yours. It is your future that matters. And I hope that when you are my age, you will be able to say as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom. We lived lives that were a statement, not an apology ... 18 May, 1984

On The Eve Of The 2000 Republican Convention, An Open Letter To Ronald Reagan

by joanie-f

America Says A Grateful Goodbye, In Stirring Music and Moving Images ...
Photographs (Souza), 'Mansions of the Lord' (Smith/Wallace)

11 June, 2004:

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others,
faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms … 1 Peter 4:10

The Lord graced and blessed us with your presence during the time when we, and the world, needed you most. He has declared an end to your pain and suffering and now envelopes you in His own loving arms. Your beloved Nancy, your family, and your countrymen, who know that we will never again be the same without your precious presence, must also seek His strength and comfort, for the void that is left by your passing can never be filled.

May we prove to have been deserving of your leadership, by never relinquishing those convictions that you held sacred – the ultimate importance of, and reliance on, Divine direction, and the sanctity of human life, liberty and dignity. May we never abandon the exquisite example you have set for us. Through it, your spirit must remain forever alive in America, and your legacy must prevail, so long as humanity places value on righteousness.

A reluctant and tear-filled good bye, Ronald Reagan.

Precious Lord, take my hand.
Lead me on, help me stand.
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.

When my way grows drear,
Precious Lord, linger near –
When my life is almost gone.
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand, lest I fall.
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home.

Viewing the Caisson, Bidding Farewell

... and the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father ... Mat 13:43

~ joanie …