I Miss Reagan

Want to hear a good speech? Want to hear about a great America? Want to have a dream that actually has a plan to go along with it - a plan that works? Watch this. President Obama, please take notes. This actually works - no theory, no pie in the sky. It was proven and ushered in the greatest period of prosperity that our nation has ever known.



It is amazing how far we have strayed in just a little over 20 years. I really miss Reagan.

Died On The Fourth Of July

I was saddened to learn this morning that Jesse Helms died yesterday, July 4, 2008. Yahoo! News ran a no-gloss story about him this morning. It seems appropriate that he would die on our nation's birthday. Some truly great American statesmen (including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson) have died on the anniversary of our freedom. Jesse Helms was certainly worthy of this title and the honor of dying on the 4th of July.

Jesse Helms was the only other American politician that I know that was as maligned and hated as much as George W. Bush. I think that is because both of them had something in common: they both believed in standing up for what they believed was right and in the best interest of their constituency and frankly didn't care who it offended.

It turns out that there are a lot of people who really don't like it when you tell them the truth. I guess Jesus Christ found this out too. Not that Jesse or Dubya are or were perfect - far from it. I never liked Jesse's racist tendencies. But no one would question that these men stood for what they believed. (Whether you like what they believed or not.) Perhaps the good news is that there are a lot of people who DO like people who have some character and some spine.

I decided to post the headline picture today because Jesse Helms had so many really bad pictures published throughout his lifetime. I guess a pretty big part of that came from journalists who hated him (this was nearly universal it seemed) and picked the worst, most unflattering picture they could to run with stories about him.

I had the opportunity to meet Jesse when I was in High School. I wish I had a picture. I was honored to receive a nomination to West Point from Senator Helms back in the late 80s. It was then that I began to respect him more and more as a sharp-minded conservative. I began to take a greater interest in politics, and noticed how he voted. I cannot recall a single time that I checked that Senator Helms had not voted in a way that was pleasing to me. Both he and Ronald Reagan influenced my political thought significantly. They will always be my two favorite politicians. Dubya comes in a close third. It is just sad to me that two of them have died, and one is very close to the end of his political career.

Perhaps one of the most shocking things that happened during Jesse's tenure in office was his meeting and befriending of U2 lead singer Bono. It caught even his (probably both Bono's and Senator Helms') fans totally off guard. It was this friendship that caused Senator Helms to soften the stances that he had taken on a few issues. And in a way, I think that it shows that there was far more to this man than the media allowed us to learn. I believe and hope that history will vindicate him one day.

As far as I am concerned, Jesse Helms will be missed sorely. He was one of the pillars in American society that made me believe that everything wasn't so bad - that there was still hope. Ronald Regan was another. Even though they weren't actively involved in American politics it was comforting to know that they were still there. Now both are gone, and that makes me wonder if anyone will step up to take the mantle that they have left behind.

More On McCain

It would seem that conservatives are fairly divided on McCain. As I reported earlier, Michael Medved is squarely in McCain's corner, but I have since read or heard several absolutely blistering condemnations of him as a candidate only today.

The first that I read was written by Ronald Reagan's son, Michael Reagan, and was entitled John McCain Hates Me. He said in as many words later in the article that the sentiment is echoed back towards the Senator.

The feeling is mutual between McCain and me. I don’t like the way he treats people. You get the impression that he thinks everybody is beneath him. He seems to be saying, “I was a war hero, and you had damn well better treat me as your superior.”

He has contempt for conservatives who he thinks can be duped into thinking he’s one of them, despite such blatantly anti-conservative actions as his support for amnesty for illegal immigrants, his opposition to the Bush tax cuts which got the economy rolling again, and his campaign finance bill which skewed the political process and attacked free speech.

I am appalled by his contempt for the intelligence of his listeners when he flat-out lies and expects them to believe what he says even when the truth is staring them in the face.

So, there you go.

Later I heard Ann Coulter say that she would vote for Hillary Clinton over John McCain. Yes, you heard that right, and she said it with all of the vitriol that she could muster. Sean Hannity wasn't terribly supportive of him either.



Hmmmm...

Now I see that Dr. Dobson won't support him either. He recently reaffirmed his views which were aired months ago. Well, crap.

It looks like McCain will probably wrap up the support he needs to win the nomination on Super Tuesday. Both Huckabee and Romney are fading fast. It's not looking good for the Republicans in November. If the conservative base balks at McCain there is no way that he will win. That leaves us with Hillary or Obama at the helm. (Excuse me while I shudder uncontrollably.)

So what is the answer? Well, I am still pulling for a Gingrich upset at the convention - but I'm not holding my breath either.

Here is the thing. I just cannot vote for either Obama or Hillary. They have way too many stupid ideas. I will not vote for either of them under any circumstances - barring the sudden appearance of the Antichrist as a candidate.

And sorry, I cannot abstain from voting simply because there aren't any perfect - or even nearly perfect candidates to choose from. To abstain is childish, overly-idealistic, and incredibly irresponsible even if you are Dr. Dobson. There is no way that McCain, Huckabee, or even Romney could be worse than Clinton or Obama. No way at all.

I would rather put in a vote for the best of the bad choices than stick my head in the sand, bitching the whole time, and wait for the inevitable bad choice to be elected so that I can bitch about it some more. Guess what, Republican party: Ronald Reagan isn't running for either party's nomination. Get over it and make the best of what you have to work with or provide a better alternative. And if you find someone better then let me know so that I can vote for him too.

More On Terrorist Activities

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
- President Ronald Reagan

There was a really disturbing article that I discovered yesterday via the Hog On Ice blog that I frequent. It was written by a staffer from Women's Wall Street and describes an event that she experienced that would have caused anyone distress. The article was titled, "Terror In The Skies, Again?"

The things that WB pointed to on his blog have finally hit the mainstream media. I saw a report on Fox News this morning about the woman that was caught illegally entering Texas from Mexico via the Rio Grande.

This is a real world, real stuff, no bull event. It REALLY happened. If you can stand to read the description of what happened on that flight, I'm willing to bet that you would interpret what happened as an aborted terrorist attack. I'm sure that Michael Moore would be trying to spin this as Anglo-racist behavior - unless he had been there. I doubt that he would have been quite so smug had he been. Then, after he cleaned out his trousers, he would be spinning it as more evidence that President Bush had failed in his job.

I wish that I were making this stuff up. I really do, but the very sad and disturbing truth is that our world has changed, and, to borrow and improve on some of the Democrats' convention rhetoric, saying that there is no terrorist threat in our country doesn't make it so. I have been told that there have been at least 22 thwarted terrorist attacks on our country since 9/11.

Two thoughts on this change: first of all we need to continue to be vigilant in our day-to-day life. I don't mean to look for terrorists under every rock and around every corner. Let's not run around scared all the time! That's not living, and if we do that the terrorists have won. But we need to pay attention to the things that are going on around us and not dismiss things that seem out of place or out of the ordinary. The unthinkable may not be so unthinkable after all.

Secondly, we really need to turn to the only one who can protect us (God) and call upon His mercy and protection. Turning to God doesn't mean that we don't do other things, but it does mean that we make sure that He has our "six." Without His protection it is only a matter of time until the terrorists succeed.

We have to realize that this battle isn't merely against flesh and blood; it is also spiritual and is rooted in a struggle for the destiny of our nation. As the quote above says, bullets and bombs won't be enough. We are going to have to call out for some divine intervention to win this one.

The Voice of Reason

Terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength. They are invited by the perception of weakness.
- Vice President Dick Cheney

I find it amazing that the Democrats can't come up with anything so profound as this statement by Mr. Cheney. Certainly amongst them there is ONE person who truly understands where we stand as a nation. But then again, I am talking about Democrats.

Last night, in the thirty seconds before my blood pressure hit critical mass, I heard Dick Gephardt talking about how imperative it is for us to include such "world powers" as France in any of our efforts to rid the world of the terrorist vermin that have infected it. How ridiculous is that?

France is the world's greatest has-been. They have no military clout and they have no economic clout. France's economy has been wrecked by the "intellectuals" that have been running it (into the ground) for the past 30 years, and France hasn't been an effective military world power since Waterloo. Besides that, the French hate us. They have had a chip on their shoulder at least since we pulled their burnt bacon out of the fire in the 40s. (We did it again in Vietnam too, by the way.) If you want to see what America will look like if the Democrats succeed in creating a completely secular society, just look at France. Absolute chaos.

I think that all of the people that have been speaking at the Democratic convention have been taking mind altering drugs. That, of course, assumes that they would have something for those drugs to operate on, (which is a HUGE assumption) but one always does try to give the benefit of the doubt. One thing that does amaze me is the way that the Democrats regurgitate the same little sound bytes verbatim. You would think that there would be one of them that could figure out a way to restate the party line without quoting it word for word. I guess the benefit of the doubt is too generous.

I am not blind to President Bush's weaknesses. He is soft on illegal immigration. He hasn't taken advantage of the Republican controlled House and Senate to get his appointees put in place or to control the runaway spending in the Congress. And his policy regarding the protection of American industry hasn't produced the most impressive results. All of this is true, but I have to weigh that against what he has accomplished since he took office: terrorists are on their heels and haven't succeeded in attacking us since 9/11, two countries have been liberated from oppressive regimes, the economy has grown at its fastest pace since Reagan was in office, he has restored dignity and honor to the office of President, and he has cut taxes. That's pretty impressive. In addition to that, the President has made many decisive moves based on the information that was available to him and hasn't wavered from those decisions regardless of the opinions of vocal opponents. For all of these things he has my undying respect and trust. We haven't had many Presidents as honorable as George W. Bush and history will be very kind to him, regardless of his detractors around the world and in the Democratic Party.

Thank you, President Bush for helping America to find her spine again. Your policies echo those of another President that I respected greatly:

Above all, we must realize that 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. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.
- President Ronald Reagan

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- President Ronald Reagan

The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas-a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
- President Ronald Reagan

To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last--but eat you he will.
- President Ronald Reagan

You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.
- President Ronald Reagan

History teaches that wars begin when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.
- President Ronald Reagan

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.
- President Ronald Reagan

It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad, and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile, because they might just wind up lowering our flag.
- President Ronald Reagan

The Democrats may remember their lines, but how quickly they forget the lessons of the past. I have witnessed five major wars in my lifetime, and I know how swiftly storm clouds can gather on a peaceful horizon. The next time a Saddam Hussein takes over Kuwait, or North Korea brandishes a nuclear weapon, will we be ready to respond? In the end, it all comes down to leadership, and that is what this country is looking for now.
- President Ronald Reagan

We need true tax reform that will at least make a start toward restoring for our children the American Dream that wealth is denied to no one, that each individual has the right to fly as high as his strength and ability will take him. . . . But we cannot have such reform while our tax policy is engineered by people who view the tax as a means of achieving changes in our social structure.
- President Ronald Reagan

They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong. There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. Winston Churchill said that "the destiny of man is not measured by material computation. When great forces are on the move in the world, we learn we are spirits -- not animals." And he said, "There is something going on in time and space, and beyond time and space, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty."
- President Ronald Reagan

Folks don't like talk of being inconvenienced or of duty, they would rather be promised pie in the sky. The simple fact is that there is no reward without struggle, and it has been that way since Adam chose to sin in the Garden of Eden. Thank goodnes our Commander-In-Chief understands this and has taken steps to assure that the flag won't falter on his watch. God bless President George W. Bush.

Don't Mess With Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton 

Following the death of President Reagan there has been a good bit of talk about replacing Alexander Hamilton's portrait on the $10 bill with President Reagan's. Those of you who have read my posts surrounding President Reagan's death realize how much I think of him so it may surprise you to find out that I am not an advocate of the removal of Hamilton's portrait from the $10 bill. I do think that President Reagan is worthy of such an honor, but I believe the same about Alexander Hamilton too.

Most of us are victims of a public school system that has totally deprived us of an adequate understanding of our own history and the figures that loomed so large in it. Alexander Hamilton is one of those figures. Sadly, most Americans - even those of us who love history - have little knowledge of who Alexander Hamilton was or of his significant contributions to America's government and economy.

Daniel Ruddy has done an excellent job writing about this great man in an article published by Newsmax.com. It is called The Little Lion's Roar: Remembering Alexander Hamilton.

Please take a little time and get to know this towering figure in America's history, and spare him his place on the $10 bill!

What It Is All About

Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.

- President Ronald W. Reagan

Hard to See Through All This Smoke...

"What is truth?" Pontius Pilate's words seem to echo loud this evening. Truth is a commodity that is very scarce in the public forum anymore. I look at the mainstream media, and it is full of Os blatantly trying to influence America to turn away from support of President Bush and away from the mores that have defined America for over 200 years.

According to them, President Bush's days in the White House are numbered because against all reason John Kerry's support is surging. (Never mind that article yesterday about the VERY unscientific nature of some of these polls that are being reported as "fact" by various media outlets around the country.) What is even scarier is that it is difficult to get a clear picture of what is going on in America's psyche even from conservative news outlets like Newsmax or the Drudge Report. I find myself questioning just how divided America is, despairing that we have fallen too far.

It's in moments like this that I miss President Reagan's optimism and gift of communication. I know that President Bush believes that the future is bright, but I miss the way that President Reagan communicated that to us. I hope that the President will learn from his example and bring that message of hope to the forefront of his message in the closing months of this election.

Anyway, that is neither here nor there for the purposes of this discussion. I am curious whether there still exists a corporate American identity. It is so hard to tell for all of the smoke out there. For me (I was born a patriot) it is fairly easy to identify what America is supposed to be all about. America represents freedom; not license. (There is a huge difference. Freedom knows where the boundaries of one individual’s freedom end and another’s begin. License cares about nothing but its own satisfaction.) It is about mercy in strength and honor in victory.

It was built upon the very outspoken faith of dozens of men and women throughout our history. These individuals knew that the only sure foundation for our country’s success was the Word of God. Here's the amazing paradox, though. That faith was not threatened by other faiths (or even lack thereof.) We actually granted American citizens the right to worship any way that they saw fit (within reason.)

America is brave and willing to fight for her freedoms and for the freedoms of others. We are about free enterprise and allowing an individual the right to reap the benefits of hard work. Americans are creative and hard working. We believe in justice and fairness even for the guilty. These traits have drawn people from the ends of the earth and have made us the greatest nation on the earth.

Reading the daily headlines, it is very difficult for even an optimistic idealist like me to believe that we haven’t departed from this identity. Life is very different today than it was when I was a kid back in the 70s – VERY DIFFERENT. Regardless, there is a hope inside of me that throughout this country there is a (currently) silent mass of people that are eventually going to stand up and say, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!”

I think that the coming election will show us more clearly where we are on the whole continuum. If President Bush wins in a landslide, my faith will be somewhat restored. I certainly hope that I will get that clear an indication of where we are as a people. I just hope that it isn’t a massive tilt in the other direction. What do you do then? I don’t think that I can survive another Clintonesque era. The very thought of it makes a Mexican prison sound pleasant.

It seems evident to me that America is headed for a showdown as surely as we were in the 50 years leading up to the Civil War. There are two distinct elements in our society, and they are quickly coming to a head. My hope is that we will not abandon our heritage and the God that has defended us for the past 228 years.

Long Live The King

Usually with the passing of a famous person I can get the essence of what that individual accomplished from 3 or 4 articles. Not so with President Ronald Reagan. The number of articles and the amount of information about President Reagan this week have been staggering. Just keeping up with the photographs and coverage of the ceremonies has taken an incredible amount of time. Even now that he is buried and the official tributes are over, the outpouring from the hearts of those who loved the President continues.

Over the course of this week I have heard various people criticizing the extravagance of a week of mourning for the President. By any account both the response to the President's death and the amount of activity surrounding the event have been overwhelming: lying in repose in his California library, followed by the funeral procession to the Capitol building, then lying in state in the Capitol, followed by the state funeral and concluded with the private funeral. Many are criticizing this response as somehow inappropriate.

I beg to differ with this assessment. The ceremony was entirely fitting, considering the greatness of his life, and I believe that we will see that a week of mourning for President Reagan will not nearly be enough.

There is certainly precedent for extended periods of national mourning. Jacob, the patriarch of the nation Israel, was mourned by his descendants and the Egyptians for an amazing 77 days. Moses was mourned for 30 days and, depending on the account, President Lincoln was mourned from 20 to 24 days.

I am not suggesting that there should be more ceremony surrounding the President’s passing. I am sure that everyone is ready for all of the public ceremonies to come to an end. There is something exhausting and overwhelming about the scale of what is happening. However, the private mourning for this great leader will continue. It really says something about the man. Hundreds of thousands of people are mourning his passing as if he were a close relative. That in and of itself is an amazing tribute. It is astounding that so many people could love someone that they never met so dearly.

I think that outpouring is a direct result of the realness of President Reagan. There was never the feeling that he was pretending to be something that he wasn't. Numerous articles and interviews that I have seen indicate that he was the same in private that he was in public, and I believe that people pick up on that. President Reagan was also very down to earth and approachable. He was like a member of the family.

I must admit, that I have felt the grief of his loss very deeply, and, to a point, it doesn't seem logical. I never personally knew him. In fact, I never even had the pleasure of meeting him. I suppose that in a way he represented a very happy era in my life - a time that it was easy to be proud to be an American. It was an era where America was safe from her enemies, largely because he was at the helm. But I am sad too, because an icon of what it means to be an American has departed. He was a man of great vision driven by principle. He was a man of compassion. He was a man of humor. He was a man of strength. He was a man of faith. And he was a man of kindness.

I hope that when he is finally gone, President George W. Bush will be similarly honored. I hope that time will have proven by then that he is right. He has within him so much of the strength of character that made President Reagan great. My greatest hope is that our country will continue to produce men like Presidents Reagan and Bush. The world will be a much better place if it does. God bless Ronald Reagan and bring comfort to all of us who are sad to see him go.

Can Someone Get Clinton a Kleenex?

Breaking news!

According to Matt Drudge , Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have been excluded from the speaker list at President Reagan's funeral. According to him,

Former President Bill Clinton has privately expressed anger he has apparently been left off the speakers list of Friday's Reagan State Funeral

He's angry and disappointed neither he nor President Carter have been asked to speak, as of yet.

The top source says Clinton has been critical that both Bush presidents will address the crowd gathered at National Cathedral.

Can someone look around and see if they can find the ex-president a Kleenex and a ladder so MAYBE HE CAN GET OVER IT?!!

All I have to say is, "THANK GOD!

The absolute last thing that I want to see when I watch President Reagan's funeral is that "man" sitting there spouting lies about how much he respected President Reagan and his policies etc, while looking sad and biting his lower lip. I am sure that he would have used the event to say something inappropriate too.

I am absolutely sick of ex-president Clinton taking advantage of America to stroke his hemispheric ego. He did it for eight VERY LONG years and I, for one, would rather not see his face again until some future Republican President is delivering a very short eulogy over him (short, because ex-president Clinton never accomplished one thing for America in 8 long years). Sadly, I'll still probably end up having to endure visions of the lip-biter regardless of whether I am spared to hear him run his whiny little mouth.

Drudge's report goes on to say,

Clinton's inner circle is convinced Nancy Reagan has personally shut out Clinton from any high-profile participation.

Well that would hardly be a shock. Good for her (and us)! Nancy was always good at smelling a rat. This one comes with his own cheese.

Apparently Billy whined,

President Clinton really held out all hope the funeral would be a nonpartisan event

Give me a freaking break! Any time a Democrat doesn't get his way he whines, "Partisanship! Partisanship!" Of course I'd love for them to explain to me what they would call their stonewalling on the confirmation President Bush's judicial appointees. Sometimes it just makes me want to lock and load!

It is the height of selfishness, over-indulged ego, and backwoods tackiness to pitch a fit over not being invited to speak at President Reagan's funeral like a spoiled child. Some of the President's dearest friends weren't invited to speak either, but oddly enough, they aren't throwing temper tantrums.

Funny thing about funerals, outsiders don't usually get a say in the way they are put together. That is the job of family and friends. I dare say Clinton was never a friend - at least not the type of friend that you trust to hold your ice cream cone. Billy Boy should have been President Reagan's dearest friend, though. It was President Reagan's economic policy that generated the wave of prosperity that Clinton rode into the ground after 8 years.

Funny how President Bush has already gotten the horse turned back around in the right direction. The economy has grown under his watch even faster than it did under President Reagan. I guess "Ronnie" taught "Dubya" well.

I'm sure it is going to gall me to have to see ol' Backwoods Bill at the funeral. Maybe he won't scratch and spit. It's a good thing that I'm not President. I'd give him a reason to be mad: I'd bar him from the ceremony.

The King is Dead

President Ronald Reagan passed away today after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93.

I remember when President Reagan Defeated Jimmy Carter for the presidency back in 1980. I was in 6th Grade. At the time, I had no idea of the difference between conservatism and liberalism. It was the middle of the Cold War. Inflation was rampant, as was unemployment. Iran had kicked out its ruler the Shah and ushered in one of the first Islamic regimes. We were subjected to images of American flags being burned in the streets by crowds of wild Arabs and to images of the 66 Americans that were taken hostage when the Muslim extremists stormed the American embassy. An American rescue attempt failed with all of the troops who were involved being killed. The Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan.

The greatest concern of the smarter kids in my class was that President Reagan was going to get us into a nuclear war. We were only spouting what we had heard in the news and in the political ads that were being played at the time. It was all Left-Wing hype, but we were too young to know.

Then Ronald Reagan took office. He said what was on his mind. He did what he believed was best for America. And he fulfilled everything he promised to do. America shook off the shame of the withdrawal from Vietnam, the Nixon debacle, and the Carter years, and began to assert itself once again as the leader of the world. The economy made an about face and began booming (a boom that President Clinton later rode to his benefit). Taxes were cut. The list goes on and on.

I am so very glad that I was alive to live through the Reagan years. Within 4 years, I had come to realize that Government is supposed to be "of the people, by the people, and for the people," that it wasn't supposed to exist for its own sake. I bought in to the Reagan Doctrine - a plan that said the best deterrent to external attack is a strong defense and the idea that the government should only be big enough to do what it needed to do. By the time that I graduated from high school, I was a dyed in the wool conservative Republican - all because of President Reagan.

I always loved the way that he just seemed to be himself. He would joke around sometimes, and other times he was dead serious. He was real - alot like President Bush is today.

I remember when the Iran-Contra scandal broke. I was disappointed, and tempted to become jaded, but was so proud of Colonel North's testimony before the Congress. Still, that incident put a bit of a damper on my opinion of the President, and that made me sad.

That opinion didn't change until I read Peggy Noonan's book When Character Was King. I found my respect for the President was not only restored, but actually increased. If you haven't read the book you should; it is wonderful.

It was so sad when we found out the President had Alzheimer's disease. It is such a horrible disease and steals so much that people shouldn't have to lose in their waning years. I am glad that President Reagan was honored by America before he died. Flowers don't do much for you when you're dead.

President Reagan reminded me a bit of my mother's father, who passed away almost 2 years ago. They were both very pleasant people with big hearts. They even looked a little bit like each other.

So, with the news of President Reagan's death today, I am a bit melancholy. On the one hand, I am glad that his suffering is past, but on the other I feel like I have lost my grandfather all over again. I wish that I'd had the opportunity to meet President Reagan
when he was at his best. I guess the good news is that one day I'll get to.