Warsaw to erect statue to Reagan

BBC ^ | September 21, 2006

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

   Polish admirers of Ronald Reagan say they will erect a statue of the late US president in Warsaw to thank him for helping to end communist rule.

They say the 3.5-metre (10.5ft) stone and bronze statue will stand opposite the US embassy in the Polish capital.

"The statue is a way for his legacy to live on," said Janusz Dorosiewicz, a businessman behind the private project.

In 1989, Poland became the first nation in Eastern Europe to defeat communism. Reagan died in 2004 at the age of 93.

"This is an entirely private initiative undertaken by Poles in Poland, the United States and Canada," Mr Dorosiewicz said.

"Reagan was the person who defeated the communists and opened the way for freedom in Poland," he said.

The organisers estimate that the statue will cost about 140,000 euros (£94,000).

It will be unveiled on 4 July 2007 - US Independence Day.

[AdvisorB]

Primarily for the Germans certainly, but destroying the Wall destroyed the symbol of Soviet occupation, and had to hasten the end of the Warsaw Pact.

[lowbridge]

First Reuters, and now the BBC. It sure did take the mainstream media long enough to report this:

August 25:

Reagan statue in Warsaw

[dfwgator]

The two giants of the 20th Century.

[philled]

In the mid-to-late 90s I played club soccer with a guy from Poland that had come to live in the USA shortly after they became independent. He was a new citizen but displayed a great knowledge of Reagan era. He was very enthusiastic and reverential when he spoke of him. Post-match beers were very entertaining and enlightening. He was a great guy and provided a spark to me as I was somewhat politically apathetic.

[demkicker]

Thank You Poland for honoring and remembering what a great man Ronald Wilson Reagan was.

Here are some favorite quotes of his:

"Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose."

"The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so."

"Of the four wars in my lifetime none came about because the U.S was too strong."

"I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."

"The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination."

"Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

"The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program"

"I've laid down the law, though, to everyone from now on about anything that happens: no matter what time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet meeting."

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first."

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book."

"No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.

"If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under."

[Dajjal]

BTTT

[Senator Goldwater]

""Reagan was the person who defeated the communists and opened the way for freedom in Poland"

What, no statue for Gorbachev?

I guess Gorbasms only occur here in the domestic US media.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Thank you Poland! A good and kind gesture.

Meanwhile, Gorby is whining about how he would have done things differently if he could go back and do it again...

President Reagan had you owned from day one, Gorby.

[TASMANIANRED]

kinda reminds me of a Prophet not recognized in his own land.

Must work for statesmen too.

[vrwcagent0498]

God bless Poland.

If I ever set foot in Europe again, it will be East Europe.