
06-06-2004, 06:08 AM
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Ronald Reagan - concealed genius?
"Anonymouse Unbeknownst" wrote in message
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Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Can you define bad rubbish and show how person is it?
"Immortalist" wrote in message
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Ronald Reagan
At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with
satisfaction the
achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan Revolution,
which
aimed to reinvigorate the American people and reduce their reliance upon
Government. He felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge of 1980 to
restore "the
great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism."
On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and John
Reagan in
Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked
his
way through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology,
played on
the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon graduation, he became a
radio
sports announcer. A screen test in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood.
During
the next two decades he appeared in 53 films.
From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children,
Maureen and
Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis, who
was
also an actress, and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald
Prescott.
As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled in
disputes over
the issue of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted
from
liberal to conservative. He toured the country as a television host,
becoming a
spokesman for conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California
by a
margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.
Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980 and chose
as his
running mate former Texas Congressman and United Nations Ambassador George
Bush.
Voters troubled by inflation and by the year-long confinement of Americans
in
Iran swept the Republican ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral
votes to
49 for President Jimmy Carter.
On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he was shot by
a
would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned to duty. His grace
and wit
during the dangerous incident caused his popularity to soar.
Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate
economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen
national
defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting taxes and Government
expenditures,
refusing to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led
to a
large deficit.
A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a
second
term with an unprecedented number of electoral votes. Their victory turned
away
Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.
In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which
eliminated many
deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. At the end of
his
administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of
peacetime
prosperity without recession or depression.
In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve "peace through strength."
During his
two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve
relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader
Mikhail
Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range
nuclear
missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism, sending
American
bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libya was involved in
an
attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub.
By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the free flow
of oil
during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the Reagan Doctrine, he gave
support to
anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa.
Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and the goal of
peace
through strength seemed to be within grasp.
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For more information about President Reagan, please visit
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html
wrote in message
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__________________________________________________ _______
From: Jonathan Ball
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals
Subject: OT: A great one nears the end
Message-ID: et
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 2004 18:52:33 GMT
Reagan was a great president. I do not use "great" to
mean he did much with which I agreed, although I did
agree with much of what Reagan did
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
or obvious idiocy?
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