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February 14, 2008 at 03:49:37
by Len Hart Page 1 of 3 page(s) |
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The GOP must be terribly disappointed in the way things are going so far. Mitt Romney, for example, built his campaign around two words: 'Ronald' and 'Reagan' just as Giuliani built his around 'nine' and 'eleven'. The party would make of Ronald Reagan a "savior". Failing live leadership, they would settle for dead heroes and in the end, a political rapture, a "second-coming" of Ronald Reagan! It didn't work. Reagan is still dead!
At another level, rank and file GOP understand that if deified Reagan should fall out of the Pantheon, the party itself is finished. Reagan was all they had left. In the blogosphere, Reagan defenders themselves are resurrected and more vehement than ever. To wit: The lies of the left about Ronald Reagan stink up the blogosphere worse than a rest room at a Greyhound bus depot.
The GOP, of late, is most certainly expert in assessing the stalls at Greyhound or, for that matter, any place in which stalls and booths of some sort are frequented for various purposes. Therefore, I leave it to Larry Craig to write up that review.
The left, meanwhile, has been entirely too polite, too timid. If it were not for the blogosphere, the MSM would still be treating Bush as if he were a real and/or credible President. It depends upon what your definition of the word "is" is! If Bush is a real President, then he is the very worst President in American history. If he is not the President then he has dared to stink up the White House like Larry Craig's rest room stall!
It is not only the conduct of Larry Craig in a seedy stall or Bush's malfeasance in the Oval Office that shapes my opinion of the GOP. Although it is true that in both cases the place had been "stunk up". More worrisome is the party's adulation of Ronald Reagan. Until Ronald Reagan, I was tolerant of acquaintances who espoused the cult of gopperism. I owe a debt of gratitude to the ghost of Reagan. It was his Presidency that confirmed my opinion of the GOP. It is not a political party, it is, rather, a crime syndicate, a criminal conspiracy, a kooky cult! Reagan was precisely what the GOP needed at the time. A former movie star, he was a practiced Spellbinder. In my book, Without Conscience, I argued that we live in a "camouflage society," a society in which some psychopathic traits- egocentricity, lack of concern for others, superficiality, style over substance, being "cool," manipulativeness, and so forth- increasingly are tolerated and even valued. With respect to the topic of this article, it is easy to see how both psychopaths and those with ASPD could blend in readily with groups holding antisocial or criminal values. It is more difficult to envisage how those with ASPD could hide out among more prosocial segments of society. Yet psychopaths have little difficulty infiltrating the domains of business, politics, law enforcement, government, academia and other social structures (Babiak). It is the egocentric, cold-blooded and remorseless psychopaths who blend into all aspects of society and have such devastating impacts on people around them who send chills down the spines of law enforcement officers.
-- The Role of the Psychopath in the Generation of Global Evil
There is enough probable cause in the public record alone to indict the leadership of the GOP for violations of various US Criminal Codes having to do with "criminal conspiracy". Now we know why the GOP is eager not only to keep Reagan alive, but to disprove the existence of conspiracies. If conspiracies did not exist, Ronald Reagan himself need not have worried about the opinion of Iran/Contra Special Prosecutor Lawrence Walsh who believed Reagan guilty of conspiring to arm an avowed enemy of the US while funneling money to a right-wing terrorist organization.To the spellbinder, everything becomes subordinated to their conviction that they are exceptional, sometimes even messianic. An ideology can emerge from such individuals that is certainly partly true, and the value of which is claimed to be superior to all other ideologies. They believe they will find many converts to their ideology and when they discover that this is not the case, they are shocked and fume with "paramoral indignation." The attitude of most normal people to such spellbinders is generally critical, pained and disturbed.Reagan apologists often attack Jimmy Carter because, like the predators they are, they smell weakness. It is a mistake. Carter, is in fact among the best Presidents in job creation and he is the only US President to have brokered a Middle East peace --the Camp David Accords. In the wake of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Carter acted quickly. He replaced Kissenger's incremental, shuttle diplomacy with a comprehensive, multilateral approach that included reconvening the 1973 Geneva Conference to include a Palestinian delegation. The GOP feared to duplicate that approac. It might have succeeded. Democrats, meanwhile, should stop running away from what it means to be a Democrat. Get a spine! Stand up and be counted! You have nothing to fear from a gang of lying perverts, bigots and war mongers.
The spellbinder places on a high moral plane anyone who succumbs to his influence, and he will shower such people with attention and property and perks of all kinds. Critics are met with "moral" outrage and it will be claimed by the spellbinder that the compliant minority is actually a majority.
Such activity is always characterized by the inability to foresee its final results, something obvious from the psychological point of view, because its substratum contains pathological phenomena, and both spellbinding and self-charming make it impossible to perceive reality accurately enough to foresee results logically.
In a healthy society, the activities of spellbinders meet with criticism effective enough to stifle them quickly. However, when they are preceded by conditions operating destructively on common sense and social order - such as social injustice, cultural backwardness, or intellectually limited rulers manifesting pathological traits - spellbinders activities have led entire societies into large-scale human tragedy.
Such an individual fishes an environment or society for people amenable to his influence, deepening their psychological weaknesses until they finally become a ponerogenic union.-- The Role of the Psychopath in the Generation of Global Evil
Reagan's election in November 1980 also was welcomed in other quarters. His victory set off celebrations in the well-to-do communities of Central America. After four years of Jimmy Carter's human rights nagging, the region's anti-communist hard-liners were thrilled that they had someone in the White House who understood their problems. The oligarchs and the generals had good reason for optimism. For years, Reagan had been a staunch defender of right-wing regimes engaged in bloody counterinsurgency campaigns against leftist enemies. In the late 1970s, when Carter's human rights coordinator, Pat Derian, criticized the Argentine military for its "dirty war" -- tens of thousands of "disappearances," tortures and murders -- then-political commentator Reagan joshed that she should "walk a mile in the moccasins" of the Argentine generals before criticizing them. [Martin Edwin Andersen's Dossier Secreto.] Despite his aw shucks style, Reagan found virtually every anti-communist action justified, no matter how brutal. From his eight years in the White House, there is no historical indication that he was troubled by the bloodbath and even genocide that occurred in Central America during his presidency, while he was shipping hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to the implicated forces. The death toll was staggering -- an estimated 70,000 or more political killings in El Salvador, possibly 20,000 slain from the contra war in Nicaragua, about 200 political "disappearances" in Honduras and some 100,000 people eliminated during a resurgence of political violence in Guatemala.
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| 13 comments |
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If the Republic had not died a long time ago...
... this indeed would be the death of the Republic. Reaganism is only a symptom... and gazing into the mind of the gooper puts one in touch with the infinite... for as Einstein speculated, only human stupidity may be more boundless than the universe. For the non-gooper, turning the gaze inward may give the same result. Everybody wants to be Clark Kent "...highly motivated people who support the team and, when needed, can put work on hold to develop a personal life." The cops who taser the kids are perfectly capable of going home and being good daddies. For now. What is a "personal life" when there is no "person?" Exercise removing our own "persona" (whatever that is) to become a "team player." Better yet, "motivate others" to do the same. Step into the phone booth one day, and rip off that mild-mannered reporter suit... and there we are... standing on the sidewalk in polka-dot Clark-Kent boxer shorts, hopping for blocks in our shoes and socks, fist held high. Because we never were Superman... and we never could fly. by waldopaper (15 articles, 3 quicklinks, 34 diaries, 609 comments [84 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 10:26:03 AM  (0+)
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Great Article......
But I am still a Regan fan.....althought is was Nancy who wore the pants... by Michael Morris (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 316 comments [4 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 2:34:10 PM (0+)
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That's why Reagan was so dangerous...
He could screw over the whole nation and people still swooned! No point in my trying to convince you. Although, I would hope you would confine your admiration to his movies some of which were not all that bad. But, alas, playing 'President' is a role he never mastered and we are still paying for it. And now, on behalf of the Academy --For his supporting role in "The Rise of Iran, Terrorism, Poverty, and Platitudes" I award a debased paper mache Oscar to man who devalued the dollar: RONALD REAGAN!!!!!! CUT TO: BUSH SR LICKIN' HIS CHOPS WITH HIS FORKED TONGUE CUT TO: RONALD REAGAN STRIDING ON STAGE AND ACCEPTING THE OSCAR REAGAN Aw Shucks! There ya' go agin! by Len Hart (134 articles, 175 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 555 comments) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 3:19:01 PM (0+)
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"The Stooge"
Ronald Reagan certainly didn't start this neo-CON snowball ride to hell, but he certainly helped push it down the slippery slope. by Paul Magill Smith (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 135 comments [46 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 4:17:41 PM (0+)
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Still Dead and....
Currently roasting on a spit in the bowels of Hades. by Ed Encho (12 articles, 20 quicklinks, 65 diaries, 438 comments [14 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 4:50:21 PM (0+)
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good article
Remember that it was Gorbachev who also voted himself out of office. We can only wish.. by IwasJulius (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 31 comments) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 4:59:32 PM (0+)
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Reply: The delusional expectation of free elections...
Good point ....indeed, I cannot get excited about all this primary stuff. One would think that the US was actually going to hold a free and fair election where votes get counted and people are free.... by Len Hart (134 articles, 175 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 555 comments) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 5:04:09 PM (0+)
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Who needs Reagan
We've got Ron Paul!! by Ro Bo (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 12 comments) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 5:22:25 PM (0+)
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Reply: And, likewise, who needs Hilter?
We've got Bush..... by Len Hart (134 articles, 175 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 555 comments) on Friday, Feb 15, 2008 at 1:08:25 AM (0+)
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Reagan's Legacy
This article is a good rebuttal to the fabric of lies behind the Reagan myth. Also, let's not forget that he invaded Grenada to distract attention from the fact that 240 Marines were killed in Lebanon on his watch, his subordinates sacrificed the crew of the space shuttle Challenger by pressuring NASA to launch in dangerously cold temperatures so that the Gipper would have a highlight for his State of the Union speech, and he deserved to be impeached for high crimes (including funding terrorists in Nicaragua) that became known as the Iran-Contra scandal. by Blaine Kinsey (12 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 181 comments [80 recommended, 8 rejected]) on Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 at 7:48:22 PM (0+)
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Lawrence Walsh thought Reagan guilty in Iran/Contra
Also, let's not forget that he invaded Grenada to distract attention from the fact that 240 Marines were killed in Lebanon on his watch, by Len Hart (134 articles, 175 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 555 comments) on Friday, Feb 15, 2008 at 1:19:20 AM (0+)
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Your seeming obsession.................
with Ronald Reagan tells me that deep down you loved the guy! I did too,so I understand. by larry booth (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 303 comments) on Friday, Feb 15, 2008 at 8:37:30 PM (0+)
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Obsession???
Five or six artices out of thousands articles total HARDLY amounts to an obsession ; ) I actually prefer to write about thing other than politics --philosophy, science, art, evolution, physics. I've written much, much more about Logical Positivism, Voltaire, Darwin, Keynes, Darrow, and Einstein than Reagan. My own blog started out with reviews and essays about but skewed toward the political only when Bush went nuts and decided to become a dictator. Analysis and Review: Elizabeth (The Movie) Discovery Institute, Free Republic Pimp Intelligent Design, Attack Their Own Strawmen by Len Hart (134 articles, 175 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 555 comments) on Saturday, Feb 16, 2008 at 2:40:16 AM (0+)
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