he was a liar and he admitted it under oath. On Friday, November 13, 2015 at 8:15:31 AM UTC-6, KeithInTampa wrote: > > No lies there, and actually, a piss poor attempt at trying to brand the > greatest President in your lifetime, "A Liar" > > Shame on you! > > > > On Fri, Nov 13, 2015 at 8:57 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > > President Reagan's record does speak for itself. > --- > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGdWIwiVMF4 > > > On Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 9:24:31 PM UTC-6, KeithInTampa wrote: > > LOL! This article is so biased, non-sensical, lacking in the total, > complete facts, and asinine, that all I can do is laugh! > > You're correct however, President Reagan's record does speak for itself. > > > > On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 9:41 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> > wrote: > > his record speaks for itself > --- > > In fact, Reagan’s presidency was marked by a record-setting number of > scandals and crimes. > 10Throwing Mental Patients Onto The Streets > > [image: ronmentalhealth] > > Reagan’s mass purging of mental health hospitals first began when he was > the governor of California. As governor, Reagan threw more than half of the > state’s mental health patients out of hospitals and onto the streets. He > abolished > <http://www.povertyinsights.org/2013/10/14/did-reagans-crazy-mental-health-policies-cause-todays-homelessness/> > the > hospitals’ ability to institutionalize patients with severe mental illness. > With nowhere else for these mental patients to go—most with disabilities > that prevented them from working—they simply became homeless. > > As a result of the actions of Ronald Reagan and others like him, America’s > mental health system as a whole deteriorated > <http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-mental-patients-began.html> > so > much that Congress was compelled to act. President Jimmy Carter signed into > law the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 > <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=32339>. The legislation sought to > reform and rebuild America’s mental health system by developing community > mental health programs and provide mental health services for Americans > suffering from chronic mental illnesses. > > Curiously enough, one of the first major legislative actions Reagan > undertook as president was to repeal this reform of America’s mental health > system and slash federal funding for mental health care by 30 percent. As > his presidency progressed, Reagan continued his former practice of throwing > patients out of mental health hospitals, albeit on a much grander scale > than what he undertook as California’s governor. During his presidency in > the 1980s, some 40,000 beds > <http://www.salon.com/2013/09/29/ronald_reagans_shameful_legacy_violence_the_homeless_mental_illness/> > in > state mental hospitals were eliminated. > > During the aftermath in 1988, the National Institute of Mental Health > estimated that 125,000–300,000 > <http://www.salon.com/2013/09/29/ronald_reagans_shameful_legacy_violence_the_homeless_mental_illness/> > mental > patients with chronic mental illness were homeless. > > As a result of Reagan’s actions, America’s mental health care system > remains debilitated. Despite lawsuits, states like Nevada continue to > illegally empty their mental hospitals and place their mental patients on > buses thattake them out of state > <http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/09/10/nevada-pushes-back-against-san-francisco-patient-dumping-claims/>, > > thus avoiding the bill. > > 9Supporting And Creating Islamic Terrorists > > [image: ronosamabinladen] > > At over 13 years in length, the War in Afghanistan is the longest war that > America has ever fought. Over those 13 years, the United States has spent > as much as $4 trillion, lost the lives of 3,500 troops, and injured another > 23,000 fighting the Taliban > <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/study-iraq-afghan-war-costs-to-top-4-trillion/2013/03/28/b82a5dce-97ed-11e2-814b-063623d80a60_story.html>. > > But amid all of this protracted chaos, we seem to have forgotten how > Afghanistan got into such dire straights. > > Before Reagan, Afghanistan more closely resembled Ohio than a Stone Age > war zone. In 1978, the Saur Revolution saw the Middle Eastern country turn > from an Islamic monarchy into the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The > new DRA government modernized and secularized Afghanistan in a way no other > Middle Eastern government had in history. One of the most noticeable of > these revolutionary reforms was a massive leap forward in women’s rights > that has yet to be matched in the region, let alone Afghanistan. Needless > to say, these reforms were not without their detractors, which included the > odd alliance of both Islamic extremists and United States President Ronald > Reagan. > > It just so happens that the Soviet Union supported these advances. > Therefore, the Reagan Administration sought to overthrow the DRA > government. Publicly and privately, Reagan and the CIA began to support, > fund, and even arm a series of jihadist militants in Afghanistan, loosely > known as mujahideen. Reagan was so fond of these Islamic jihadists that > after arming and funding them with almost $5 billion of taxpayer money > <http://books.google.com/books?id=meihAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=reagan+mujahideen+$630+million&source=bl&ots=GImNDEEqQW&sig=7094UD9lHgXG58u9YTtx21EKIRI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8nJ1VPvFN6a1sQTRnoGYAw&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=reagan%20mujahideen%20%24630%20million&f=false>, > > he invited them into the White House and called them “freedom fighters.” > > With the blessing of Reagan, the mujahideen militants violently overthrew > the DRA government and instituted a repressive Islamic state in its place. > They removed all advances in women’s rights, economic reforms, and > education reforms. > > However, the mujahideen would soon fracture. Some of the mujahideen forces > became the Taliban, which the United States has spent countless dollars and > American lives fighting. Others worked with Osama bin Laden and became > Al-Qaeda, which carried out a litany of terrorist attacks including those > of September 11. Perhaps one of the most notable figures supported and paid > by the Reagan Administration and CIA was Ayman al-Zawahiri, whose group of > jihadist fighters received a portion of the $500 million > <http://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jan/17/yemen.islam> that the CIA > sent to Afghanistan. Al-Zawahiri was closely associated with Osama bin > Laden and orchestrated a variety of terrorist attacks > <http://edition.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/zawahiri/profile.html>, > earning him the title of “terror mastermind.” After September 11, the State > Department placed a bounty on his head, offering $25 million for any > information leading to his capture. > > One of the mujahideen fighters was even Osama bin Laden > <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/155236.stm> himself. In fact, bin > Laden got his start in the terrorism game by joining the mujahideen > bolstered by Reagan and the CIA. Before joining the mujahideen, bin Laden > wasn’t even ensconced in terrorism or Islamic radicalism; he was studying > to get a degree in economics and business administration at a Saudi Arabian > college before he abandoned his education to join the mujahideen in 1979. > > Controversy remains to this day as to whether or not Reagan and the CIA > directly funded bin Laden himself, particularly because bin Laden was > fighting with the mujahideen based in Pakistan, while the initial > mujahideen forces bolstered by Reagan were based in Afghanistan. In 2004, > the BBC claimed that bin Laden himself was not just supported by, but given > military > training <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1670089.stm> from > Reagan’s CIA. Others have corroborated the claims, includingBritish > government officials > <http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jul/08/july7.development> and an FBI > whistle-blower > <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-nafeez-mosaddeq-ahmed/whistleblower-alqaeda-chi_b_3305954.html>. > > Unsurprisingly, United States government officials have denied > <http://www.newrepublic.com/article/back-front> the reports. > 8Involvement With McCarthyism > > [image: rondaltontrumbo] > > Before he entered into politics, Ronald Reagan was your average B-list > actor. However, it was recently discovered that Ronald Reagan led a double > life at that time as an informant > <http://www.salon.com/2012/08/19/ronald_reagan_informant/> for the FBI. > > Even more interesting is whom Reagan was spying on. They included fellow > actors, writers, and directors in Hollywood who held what he and other > right-wing politicians suspected were “un-American” views. Reagan was > contracted by the FBI to spy on actors and filmmakers as part of Joseph > McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee. > > Reagan used his position as president of the Screen Actors Guild to invade > the privacy of other actors, writers, and directors whom he thought had > un-American > views > <http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/108/110880/ch26_a5_d1.pdf> and > labeled them as budding communists to the FBI and Un-American Activities > Committee. > > As a result of Reagan’s snitching and the House Un-American Activities > Committee witch hunt, a series of artists were blacklisted and prevented > from working in the industry again. Some were even imprisoned merely for > the political beliefs they held. Targets of the committee ranged from > Spartacus and The Brave One screenwriter Dalton Trumbo > <http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/dalton-trumbo-a-list-blacklist-article-1.294499> > to On the Waterfront director Elia Kazan > <http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_browser/1999/01/blacklist_and_backstory.html>, > > to Shampoo actress Lee Grant > <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lee-grant-on-life-beyond-the-hollywood-blacklist/>, > > all Academy Award winners. > > The blacklist not only marked one of the most shameful moments in American > history, but it also demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the First > Amendment and the freedom of speech in America by Reagan and those like him. > 7The Grant-Rigging Scandal > > [image: ronhudgrnat] > > You may have heard of the Savings and Loan Scandal > <http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/26/news/economy/where_bailout_stands/?postversion=2008112615>, > > which occurred when President Reagan began to deregulate the banking > industry. Soon after 747 financial institutions failed as a result of the > deregulation, they were bailed out with $160 billion of taxpayer money. > Among others, five sitting senators—the Keating Five > <http://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1848150,00.html>—were > investigated for corruption following the bailout to institutions they had > close ties to. However, a lesser-known case study in corruption happened > around the same time with closer ties to President Reagan: the HUD Grant > Rigging Scandal. > > The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Reagan > Administration hatched a scheme to funnel money to contributors to Reagan’s > campaign by rigging housing bids > <http://www.nytimes.com/1989/07/14/us/hud-grants-under-reagan-a-case-study-in-connections.html> > in > their favor. Grants for low-income housing were rigged so that Republican > lobbyists and contributors to Reagan’s campaign received them over other > bidders who were otherwise more qualified to receive them. > > The HUD scandal wasn’t uncovered until Reagan left office, but when it > was, it saw the convictions of 16 players in the Reagan Administration and > Department of Housing and Urban Development. Reagan’s Secretary of the > Interior, James Watt > <http://articles.latimes.com/1996-01-03/news/mn-20444_1_grand-jury>, was > indicted on 24 felony counts. Watt pleaded guilty to only one of the > charges and was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a > $5,000 fine. High-ranking HUD officials testified that Samuel Pierce, > Reagan’s HUD secretary, was “intimately involved in decisions to award > contracts > <http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/19/opinion/the-hud-scandal-widening.html> to > personal or political friends.” Pierce admitted responsibility for the > corruption as the head of the department, but the prosecutor in the case > never > charged <http://articles.latimes.com/2000/nov/04/local/me-47066> him with > a crime, citing Pierce’s poor health. > 6The Office Of Public Diplomacy > > In the middle of his presidency, Ronald Reagan created a secret agency > known as the Office of Public Diplomacy (OPD) with one nefarious purpose in > mind: propaganda. This was no ordinary propaganda. It was deemed “white > propaganda,” designed to be used on the American people. > > The Office of Public Diplomacy began a widespread and sophisticated > propaganda campaign both in and out of the United States with a special > focus on manipulating politics in South America. > > One of its specialties was manipulating the media. They planted fake news > stories throughout newspapers about the right-wing Contra terrorists Reagan > was arming to try to overthrow the Nicaraguan government. > > Some “white propaganda” by the agency ran in newspapers ranging from theWall > Street Journal to the Washington Post to the New York Times. The Office > of Public Diplomacy created a widespread media tour for the Contra > terrorists and even created a fake news segment that aired on the NBC > Nightly News after sending NBC reporter Fred Francis > <http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/05/world/state-dept-linked-to-contra-publicity.html> > on > a fake trip to see the Contras (who were really actors coached by the > Reagan Administration.) > > The OPD also surveiled, harassed, and intimidated > <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-05-09/news/0105090043_1_latin-america-otto-j-reich-helms-burton-act> > journalists > who were not reporting what the Reagan Administration wanted. Employees in > the OPD would routinely show up to major newspaper and TV news offices to > bully reporters and editors into changing their news coverage into what the > Reagan Administration wanted. When reporters and editors didn’t follow the > orders of the Reagan Administration, the OPD waged their own war on the > non-compliant journalists. They planted fabricated stories that claimed the > anti-Contra journalists received sexual favors from male and female > prostitutes paid for by the Nicaraguan government the Reagan Administration > was trying to overthrow. > > The OPD’s activities were uncovered by the Comptroller General—a > Republican appointee—in September 1987 and declared illegal > <http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB40/> soon after. In his > report on the illegal propaganda agency, the Comptroller General claimed > the Office of Public Diplomacy engaged in “prohibited, covert propaganda > activities” which were “beyond the range of acceptable agency public > information activities.” > > 5Using Taxpayer Money To Influence Election Outcomes > > [image: rontoxicwaste] > > Under the Reagan Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and > its Reagan-appointed employees became embroiled in a host of scandals > <http://books.google.com/books?id=NUZ1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT108&lpg=PT108&dq=reagan+twenty+high+level+epa&source=bl&ots=kauODcHj4p&sig=SBW2MYAqClxY_-omCkoPGX2-Txc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vGZ2VL2tBtffsATauILICw&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=reagan%20twenty%20high%20level%20epa&f=false>. > > In Reagan’s first three years as president, over 20 high-ranking EPA > employees were removed from their positions and in some cases imprisoned. > Perhaps the most roundly illegal of these scandals was a scheme to fix > elections with taxpayer money, otherwise known as “Sewergate.” > > The scheme was principally orchestrated by Rita Lavelle, a > Reagan-appointed EPA administrator who began to tap into the EPA’s > “Superfund” for quite nefarious purposes. The EPA’s Superfund is designed > to be used to help clean up environmental disasters, but instead Reagan’s > EPA administrators began to divert the fund > <http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1697&dat=19830520&id=FzUqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RUcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5155,4006054> > into > the campaigns of Republican candidates for state-level elections. > > An investigation began into Lavelle and the EPA after an EPA > whistle-blower brought forward evidence that Lavelle had misused Superfund > monies. The roughly $1.6 billion in Superfund monies were supposed to be > used to clean up toxic waste dumps, but that didn’t quite happen. The > cleanup efforts were used as opportunities to announce grants in Republican > districts right before reelections > <http://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/18/us/trial-is-started-for-ex-epa-aide.html> > while > Democratic districts were ignored. Allegations were made that the money had > acquired a political tinge. Lavelle was convicted of lying to Congress > during the investigation and was stripped of her position, then convicted > of perjury > <http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-7563-how-reagan-and-the-largest-epa-scandal-in-history-may-explain-why-valmont-butte-is-still-contaminated.html>. > > She was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $10,000. > > Lavelle wasn’t the only Reagan confidant in the EPA who was penalized for > the scandal. Another employee of the Reagan-era EPA named Anna Burford > <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3418-2004Jul21.html>refused > to turn over the records of the Superfund during a Congressional > investigation into their scheme. She cited “Executive Privilege” as her > reason for refusing to turn over the criminal evidence, suggesting the > Executive branch directly dirtied its hands with the criminal activity. She > was found in contempt for refusing to turn over the evidence, and resigned > her position in the EPA. > 4Selling Illegal Arms To Iran > > [image: Oliver_North_mug_shot] > > After Congress passed a law making it illegal for Reagan to fund > right-wing terrorists known as the Contras in South America, the Reagan > Administration attempted to work around the law. They hatched a series of > schemes to launder money to the Contras in a way that would be untraceable > to the prying eyes of the American public. One of these schemes involved > illegally selling weapons to Iran for a profit while Iran was holding > American citizens hostage. > > ...
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