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Monday, Feb. 15, 2010 | 12:05 a.m.
What local celebrities would name after Ronald Reagan
I'm being subjected to Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" yet again, this time in a 1984 campaign video for Ronald Reagan, one of the highlights of a 99th "birthday" celebration for our nation's 40th president Feb. 6 at the M Resort. It was a pretty decent turnout — around 90 suit- and dress-clad conservatives gathered by Citizens Outreach Foundation to both honor Reagan's legacy and hear about efforts to name a local landmark after him.
But what to name for the man considered by many as one of the last century's biggest game-changers? We've certainly got some cool options locally — something at Red Rock, perhaps? A section of the I-15 near the Strip? A building at UNLV? Uh, none of those, actually. If this group gets its wish, it will be Boundary Peak near Hawthorne, a whopping 330 miles from Las Vegas and 135 miles from Reno. The middle of nowhere.
But that's how politically polarizing Reagan is still considered. Chuck Muth, CEO of the nonprofit Citizens Outreach Foundation, who coordinated the event, says the attempt to establish Mount Reagan will work best where red or blue areas can't get their grubby hands on it.
"We are looking at the Mount Charleston area as well, but quite likely we'd get resistance from [blue] Clark County," Muth says. "Congress knows there's a downside in opposing this, but people who don't like Reagan will object to it." Perhaps he's right — only 14 presidents have had mountains named after them. What's more, Nevada has named only a handful of landmarks after presidents, and one of them, Hoover Dam, continues to be referred to by many as "Boulder Dam."
Saturday night's event also served as the kickoff for the Reagan Legacy Project in Nevada, which hopes to get the landmark established by Reagan's 100th birthday, next February. The Reagan Legacy Project was started in 2000 by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, and has so far resulted in about 100 dedications. But Norquist added that Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK each have at least six times that number, and that much more is needed.
The U.S. Board of Geographic names has to approve the application, and the process can take anywhere from eight months to two years, although sometimes the process can be expedited by an act of Congress. "That's possible, but not likely," explained Karri Bragg, Citizen Outreach's executive vice president and local director of the Reagan Legacy Project.
At least they know they have the support of politicians such as Bill Raggio and Dean Heller, not to mention political consultant Sig Rogich, who worked on Reagan's campaigns.
Attendee Dani Denton said she was there "just to celebrate Reagan. He brought optimism at a time of great depression. Right now we need optimism again, and the current administration isn't doing much for that."
"Hey, this is a night for celebration," Bragg half-joked.
When asked if he expects a Reagan memorial to become partisan in Nevada, Norquist responded, "I hope not."
But even Saturday evening's celebration was tinged with a bit of partisan snark. Enthusiasm was high during Saturday's event, particularly whenever a sharp barb was pointed Obama's way. (This from guest speaker, impressionist Rich Little: "People ask, "Do you do Obama?" I say, "No, he couldn't even do himself.") After a Reagan video, Muth mused, "Just think, it took Jimmy Carter to get us Ronald Reagan. Imagine what we have to look forward to in three more years if we don't blow it."
Does that mean he's gearing up for the Palin Legacy Project?
— Originally published in Las Vegas Weekly
Huh?
Really?
Reagan's "greatest legacy" is that our troops are still being shot at by guns that he traded hostages for and that the "War on Drugs" became just that when we handed over weapons and money to Nicaraguan guerillas. Don't wonder why we have a Republican governor who wants to cut education. If our kids never learn the truth we can fill their heads with a lot of mythical crap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%...
"He brought optimism at a time of great depression." It seems the only time Republicans are "optimistic" is when their party is sitting in the White House creating tax cuts for their rich friends. Give me a big fat break.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaganomics...
Conservatives can try to rewrite history all they want but when their greatest hero was a president with Alzheimer's it really says a great deal about their so-called values.
Re-writing history? Let's not forget that ALL tax rates went down under Reagan. The top marginal rate was 70%. How would you like to work and earn a paycheck where the fed gov gets 70% off the top.
Yeah - Iran-Contra had a good motive behind it(ousting a communist dictator), but could have been better executed. Nobody ever said Reagan was perfect. The two main things he did was get our economy back on track by lowering all fed taxes and standing up to the Soviet Union that finally lead to it's demise.
Both of those are pretty significant.
While, of course you go to personal attacks and that most reliable source, Wikipedia, Reagan did change the face of America in a time where Jimmy Carter nearly destroyed the country.
If your Gov. wants to "cut" education, it must be that the teacher's union, like the one here in WI, has over the top benefits that suck the tax payers dry. I bet you much rather continue teaching the kids about the farce of Man-Made Global Warming and lining Al Gore's pockets with Millions.
Let's not rip a President who actually did some good for the country just because no country in the history of the world has ever succeeded with liberal, socialist ideology.
It's okay. You'll be alright.
The Marginal rate is very different from the off set rate. Do you really think there was anyone getting a 'pay check' and getting 70% taken off the top? People who made that kind of money knew how to shelter it.
Let's be sure to also remember all the Salvaroran and Nicaraguan farmers and poor people who Ray Gun had killed at the hands of mercenaries, which he paid for by selling illegal weapons to Iranian terrorists.
As even high schools students know, Wikipedia is NOT a valid source for information on any subject. It is especially inaccurate when the subject is at all controversial, because it is a collection of rantings by interested parties who in fact want to "rewrite" history.
Accurate accounts of Reagan's presidency based on actual facts show Reagan saved this country from the failed economic model of the Carter years. Those of use who lived through those terrible times of Carter "malaise" of 10% unemployment and 20% interest rates know the truth.
Don't forget that Reagan also won the cold war through strength and not apology tours. Obama might consider that lesson of success before the next terrorist attack.
what happens when someday...
someday soon...
everybody finally acknowledges that supply side economics is a complete and total failure...
that greed trumps all and nothing ever trickles down...
that the main principle of our stupid pathetic ugly lying republican friends is a greed...
greed destroys community...
greed leaves us $12 trillion in debt...
greed ruins the next generation...
our poor poor terribly misguided stupid pathetic ugly lying republican friends...
terribly terribly misguided...
l-o-s-e-r-s!!!
Reagan was the worst president the US ever had.
He was the "Killing president."
He stopped the installation of air bags in cars that resulted in the death of 30,000 people before the Supreme court ruled he could not do this.
He authorized the CIA to sell cocaine in the US to fund right wing militia groups in central america. These group killed over 10,000 people.
He ruined the US economy by letter corporation merge and eliminate competition. This has eliminate millions of jobs and lead to increased violent crime deaths.
Reagan cut taxes for rich people and increased the national debt by 700% during his 8 years in office. The debt increased from 1 trillion to 7 trillion dollars.
The economy under Reagan was a false economy because the republican were deficit spending almost a trillion dollars per year.
The interest on the deficit now goes into rich people's pockets.
Reagan said "greed" was good. The greed is good philosophy has destroyed the US economy FOREVER.
Reagan changed the way the consumer price index is calculated to HIDE the INFLATION he caused.
Reagan changed the way unemployment is counted in this country to HIDE the UNEMPLOYMENT he caused.
Reagan passed stupid anti drug laws to put over a million people in prison for non violent crimes.
He did this to HIDE 1 million UNEMPLOYED people.
If these non violent people were not in prison today UNEMPLOYMENT would be 1% higher.
Reagan increased this size of the army to HIDE unemployment. The US has the biggest army in the world to HIDE unemployment.
If the 2 million people in the army were in the job market UNEMPLOYment would be 2% higher.
What this means is that structural unemployment in the US is now at least 15% when you count these people who used to be counted in unemployment.
15% unemployment is like a third world country which is what the US really is now.
No health care like a third world country.
Infant mortality like a third world country.
Reagan killed the US. That is the truth.
Reagan was one of the worst presidents ever. a bigot, with horrible policies. Sank our debt and worked only for the elite.
Name a sewer after him like they did to Bush in San Francisco!
Paul Volcker had more to do with changing the economic course in the early '80s than did Reagan. Volcker has good advice about what should be done to get through these difficult times.
And don't forget the Chinese embassay that was bombed. The U.S troops killed in east Africa, and the invasion of Hati that re-installed a brutal socialist leader as president.
Oh wait that was under Clinton, never mind.
PS, most of the debt from the Reagan era was from a rapidly expanding welfare state. He did have some bad policies, but lower taxes and at least talking about limiting government wasn't one of them. He could and should have done a lot more.
Rename the Southern Nevada Mental Heath agency for him.
Liberals represent the party of brotherly love...
NOT!!!
ronald reagan was an idiot...
without a doubt...
a complete moron...
his supply side economics has been proven to be a complete and total failure...
nothing more than a greedy money grab...
and yet...
i think even that idiot would be absolutely appalled by the current state of the stupid pathetic ugly lying republican party...
with w the scum bag liar loser clown...
and cheney the evil doer...
and sarah dumb as a bag of rocks palin...
that old idiot is probably rolling over and over in his grave...
what a bunch of l-o-s-e-r-s!!!
If supply-Side economics fails, please, share the economic formula that has succeeded for any extent of time, in any part of the world, at anytime.
Lower tax rates provide a greater incentive to earn more because the government will not be punishing hard work.
Lower tax rates also allow small and large business to invest more in workers, supply, etc.
With greater output and greater buying power, the economy grows.
The debt - to much government spending - has nothing to do with supply-side economics. It has to do with taking in more tax revenue once the economy grows and liberals of both parties increase spending like a cyclical economy won't have a slow-down period.
Other than that - I still would like an provable, non-attacking, well-thought-out alternative as expressed above.
Good luck.
Bob635 - Also, you are not being honest about unemployment during the 80's - Here is a link to the IRS concerning Unemployment Rates over the years.
Please notice how the unemployment fell after the 1982 tax cuts.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104719.h...
The best line I ever heard about Ronald Reagan came from Rosalyn Carter. She said, "He makes us comfortable in our prejudices."
best political line i ever heard...
was about w the scum bag liar loser clown...
from chris rock...
chris was often asked if he thought america was ready for a black president...
to which he responded...
i don't see why not...
we just had a retarded one for 8 years...
hee hee hee...
hoo hoo hoo...
haa haa haa...
that is too damn funny...
still makes me laugh...
w the scum bag liar loser clown...
what an idiot...
a snot nosed spoiled rich kid who went to washington to fight for other snot nosed spoiled rich kids...
kinda like johnnie boy i'll slept with my best friend's wife then ran to mommy and daddy to fix my boo boo ensign...
sad...
truly sad...
who the hell would join the stupid pathetic ugly lying republican party these days...
only l-o-s-e-r-s!!!
Let's also not forgot that under Clinton - he benefited from the internet boom which hugely increased economic growth.
But I do give Clinton credit - He worked with the new Republican Congress and learned that a more moderate approach to the nation's economy was warranted.
While short-term increases coupled with the brand new internet boom helped the economy, unless there is another brand new industry that will come out of nowhere to boost the world's economy, something tells me that tax increases will not work again.
There are many articles that the 1993 tax increases hurt the economy which lead to the 1997 tax cuts.
I appreciate your numbers though.
At Treasury Direct - You can see that the US Debt grew - and while that White House Claimed surpluses, Anyone can say that in 10 years something is going to happen because they won't be around to be confronted with the actual results.
Lastly, without the benefit of the internet boom, the economy grew 60 straight months under Reagan and 52 under GW Bush. That's a pretty good record.
There are other times where across the board tax cuts helped the economy as well. BUT - spending was out of control under Bush and that was frustrating.
But - if deficits and too much spending was wrong under Bush, I wonder why, in our current state of affairs, that the current administration is spending so much more for things that are not paying off and we all know that everyone's taxes are going up at the end of 2010. Why?
Why did the current President recently say that he is agnostic to the idea of taxes being raised on those making less than 250K?
You're awesome Gordon. Thanks for your info.
I've got a way better idea ffor a Ronald Reagan honor. Since the Reagan administration the average american workers standard of living has fallen so low and their household income is now lower than it was than 1973. So for this reason I think it would speak volumes to those who Reagan trully served, The very wealthy, if we replaced Ben Franklins image to Ronald Reagan's on the 100 dollar bill. This is a denomination that few working americans see anymore BECAUSE of Ronny Reagan, but the wealthest 1 percent see all the time. The great commmunicator my foot!!
Let California rename Death Valley for him.
It's bad enough we're stuck with stuff named after McCarren, a bigotted, red-bater.
Now you want raygun to be remembered here. remember him in California in Death Valley, name all 20 of the mules Ronnie 1 - 20.
barry yomamma obama is an idiot...
without a doubt...
a complete moron...
his deficit creating economics has been proven to be a complete and total failure...
nothing more than a greedy money grab...
and yet...
i think even that idiot would be absolutely appalled by the current state of the stupid pathetic ugly lying democratic party...
with harry reid the scum bag liar loser clown...
and biden the evil doer...
and nancy dumb as a bag of rocks pelosi...
that old idiot harry reid should be rolling over and over in his grave...
what a bunch of l-o-s-e-r-s!!!
Perhaps it would be appropriate to name one of Nevadas many ghost towns after Runny as his presidency was pretty much like one.
Ghost town folk moved in,took what was quick and easy then left the mess behind .. kinda like Ron and henchmen did to America!
Jim and Dani Denton, the people who brought us Gov. Jim Gibbons. Great. Add Rogich to that and you got the whole responsible gang.
Enough with Ronald Reagan, he didn't do all that good as President but the Republicans stirred up by his wife just want to keep naming something for him. Next thing you know they'll be reviving the idiot suggestion by one of them to ruin Mt. Rushmore by putting his face up there.
He was nothing but an actor who was playing a role as President with speeches written by Hollywood script writers.
Let us not forget Iran/Contra. You know, Iran, the country that wants to nuke us and everyone else. He made unsavory deals with them and gave them arms made in the US.
Give him an honorary Oscar for his role as President and tell Nancy to give it a rest.
HEY GEMSOFNIRVANA,
You can't be serious about Reagan and Russia. You think because he told Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall that Gorbachev was shaking in his boots in the Kremlin telling the others,"oooh MR. Reagan wants us to stop what we're doing and dismantle the wall and the Soviet Union. We better do it or he's gonna get mad at us."
YEAH RIGHT.
Gorbachev changed the Soviet Union because he was smart enough that their economy and people were in trouble if they continued being the closed nation that they had been, and he opened it up to make their economy and financial situation of the Russian people more viable in the world.
Reagan's Berlin speech was straight out of a Hollywood movie written by a script writer.
You Reagan worshippers want to honor him in Vegas so bad, have his face painted in one of the Forum Shops ceilings and have it light up everytime they play "Hooray For Hollywood."
"Wow, I've never heard our national defense described as 'welfare state'; as this is the only part of government that rapidly expanded during Reagans presidency."
Are you saying Reagan EXPANDED the defense budget??? I tend to disagree. I believe he slashed it to the tune of cutting military personnel during their tours of duty.
BCDAVE
Stay on topic, please. Keep your Obama hates for another post that actually has something to do with Obama, not Ronald Reagan,.
"He was nothing but an actor who was playing a role as President with speeches written by Hollywood script writers."
That's when he stayed awake long enough to play the President!!! He and Nancy - the dream roles of their careers - President and First B*tch - oh I mean First LADY!!!
How about the dump at Apex?
Let's not forget that James Earl Carter of Plains, Georgia, allowed a two-bit theocrat, the Ayatollah of Iran, to humiliate him by taking hostage while terrifying, and killing a few American Embassy workers under his watch. He also killed the Air Force strategic bomber command and allowed the Cold War to extend another 10 years. What did Reagan do?
Retrieved our hostages, built up the strategic bomber force, and systematically disassembled the Cold War opponents, the Warsaw Pact powers and the USSR.
Can any other president top that?
Not in this or any other century.
Revisionists have been writing fallacious stuff on Reagan since he passed away and the Area 51/9-11 conspiracists like the guy commenting above tend to write stuff for which there is no ground base or fact. It's a good thing no one in the CIA knew Noriega was a double agent for Gorbachev because Bush 41 had the Seal Team 3 commandos arrest him on drug possession charges in December 1989.
thats just silly...if Reagan were in politics today he would be a Democrat. Reagan has nothing in common with the nut job republicans out there today....he inspired me to get involved in politics and to be a republican, but i left the party just like he would have when the nuts took over in 1996 had his faculties still been present....Nancy has said as much....The republicans taking credit for Reagan is as ridiculous as them still taking credit for Lincoln...the current nut jobs dont resemble in the slightest those transformational leaders.
.....and a Ruby Ridge survivor bombed the Twin Towers in '01, huh? Tsk. Tsk.
Since he signed a very liberal pro-abortion bill as CA Governor, why don't they name an abortion clinic after him?
Name what after WHO????????? A president named Reagan... I cant recall any president named Reagan... I think he was an actor but never a prez....
Regarding Frank Marino's wish that "the economy would turn around and be as good as it was when he [Reagan] was in office" and Gemsofnirvana's reminder "that ALL tax rates went down under Reagan", it is useful to remember how Reagan did it-- through deficit spending and leaving the bill for later taxpayers to pay off. As Lloyd Bentsen so memorably put it, "You know, if you let me write $200 billion worth of hot checks every year, I could give you an illusion of prosperity too."