I have made no secret of the fact that Ronald Wilson Reagan was my favorite president. We named our son Wilson after him. He could be funny when the occasion called for it and be serious when he needed to. In the video clip below he talks about the sacrifice of those who died on D-Day. Below that I have included some of Reagan’s humor.

Reagan’s D- Day speech

Reagan’s humor

I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. congress
***Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
[ Funny Government Quotes]***Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his. (During 1980 presidential campaign)
[ Funny Political Quotes]***Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.
[ Funny Government Quotes] [ Funny Economics Quotes]***Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.
[ Funny Political Quotes]***A Hippie is someone who walks like Tarzan, looks like Jane and smells like Cheetah. (Second book of Insults, 1981, ed. Nancy McPhee)

[ Funny Character Quotes]***Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
[ Funny Political Quotes]***I’ve talked to you on a number of occasions about the economic problems our nation faces, and I am prepared to tell you it’s in a hell of a mess—we’re not connected to the press room yet, are we?
[ Funny Government Quotes] [ Funny Economics Quotes]***The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.
***

1980 Presidential Debate between Reagan and Carter

Presidential Debate with Jimmy Carter

10/28/80

MS. HINERFELD

Good evening.

I’m Ruth Hinerfeld of the League of Women Voters Education Fund. Next Tuesday is election day. Before going to the polls, voters want to understand the issues and know the candidates’ positions. Tonight, voters will have an opportunity to see and hear the major party candidates for the Presidency state their views on issues that affect us all. The League of Women Voters is proud to present this Presidential Debate.

Our moderator is Howard K. Smith.

MR. SMITH

Thank you, Ms. Hinerfeld.

The League of Women Voters is pleased to welcome to the Cleveland, Ohio, Convention Center Music Hall President Jimmy, Carter, the Democratic Party’s candidate for re-election to the Presidency, and Governor Ronald Reagan of California, the Republican Party’s candidate for the Presidency. The candidates will debate questions on domestic, economic, foreign policy, and national security issues.

The questions are going to be posed by a panel of distinguished journalists who are here with me. They are: Marvin Stone, the editor of U.S. News and World Report; Harry Ellis, national correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor: William Hilliard, assistant managing editor of the Portland Oregonian; Barbara Walters, correspondent, ABC News.

The ground rules for this, as agreed by you gentlemen, are these: Each panelist down here will ask a question, the same question, to each of the two candidates. After the two candidates have answered, a panelist will ask followup questions to try to sharpen the answers. The candidates will then have an opportunity each to make a rebuttal. That will constitute the first half of the debate, and I will state the rules for the second half later on.

Some other rules: The candidates are not permitted to bring prepared notes to the podium, but are permitted to make notes during the debate. If the candidates exceed the allotted time agreed on, I will reluctantly but certainly interrupt. We ask the Convention Center audience here to abide by one ground rule. Please do not applaud or express approval or disapproval during the debate.

Now, based on a toss of the coin. Governor Reagan will respond to the first question from Marvin Stone.

MR. STONE

Governor, as you’re well aware, the question of war and peace has emerged as a central issue in this campaign in the give-and-take of recent weeks. President Carter’s been criticized for responding late to aggressive Soviet impulses, for insufficient buildup of our Armed Forces, and a paralysis in dealing with Afghanistan and Iran. You have been criticized for being all too quick to advocate the use of lots of muscle, military action, to deal with foreign crises, Specifically, what are the differences between the two of you on the uses of American military power?

GOVERNOR REAGAN

I don’t know what the differences might be, because I don’t know what Mr. Carter’s policies are. I do know what he has said about mine. And I’m only here to tell you that I believe with all my heart that our first priority must be world peace, and that use of force is always and only a last resort, when everything else has failed, and then only with regard to our national security.

Now, I believe, also, that meeting this mission, this responsibility for preserving the peace, which I believe is a responsibility peculiar to our country, that we cannot shirk our responsibility as the leader of the Free World, because we’re the only one that can do it. And therefore, the burden of maintaining the peace falls on us. And to maintain that peace requires strength. America has never gotten in a war because we were too strong. We can get into a war by letting events get out of hand, as they have in the last 3 1/2 years under the foreign policies of this administration of Mr. Carter’s, until we’re faced each time with a crisis. And good management in preserving the peace requires that we control the events and try to intercept before they become a crisis.

But I have seen four wars in my lifetime. I’m a father of sons: I have a grandson. I don’t ever want to see another generation of young Americans bleed their lives into sandy beachheads in the Pacific, or rice paddies and jungles in Asia, or the muddy, bloody battlefields of Europe.

MR. SMITH

Mr. Stone, do you have a followup question for the Governor?

MR. STONE

Yes. Governor, we’ve been hearing that the defense buildup that you would associate yourself with would cost tens of billions of dollars more than is now contemplated. In assuming that the American people are ready to bear this cost, then, nevertheless keep asking the following question: How do you reconcile huge increases in military outlays with your promise of substantial tax cuts and of balancing the budget, which in this fiscal year, the one that just ended, ran more than $60 billion in the red?

GOVERNOR REAGAN

Mr. Stone, I have submitted an economic plan that I’ve worked out in concert with a number of fine economists in this country, all of whom approve it, and believe that over a 5-year projection this plan can permit the extra spending for needed refurbishing of our defensive posture, that it can provide for a balanced budget by 1983, if not earlier, and that we can afford — along with the cuts that I have proposed in Government spending — we can afford the tax cuts I have proposed — and probably, mainly because Mr. Carter’s economic policy, has built into the next 5 years, and on beyond that, a tax increase that will be taking $86 billion more next year out of the people’s pockets than was taken this year. And my tax cut does not come close to eliminating that $86 billion increase. I’m only reducing the amount of the increase.

In other words, what I’m talking about is not putting Government back to getting less money than Government’s been getting, but simply cutting, the increase in spending.

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n pictures: Japan earthquake and tsunami

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The quake was felt in the capital Tokyo, where workers evacuated swaying buildings, trains and underground services were halted, plants closed and the international airport temporarily shut.

President Reagan and Nancy Reagan Reagan dancing with (left to right) Stubby Kaye, Shirley Jones, Marvin Hamlisch and Lee Roy Reams during a rehearsal for “In Performance at the White House.” 8/5/88.

My University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Trojans played a great game last night, but just a great shot in the closing seconds from way out allowed their opponents to get to overtime. The Trojans can be proud!!!!It was the first game in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and it has been 21 years since they were in the tournament. I remember when Mike Newell took the Trojans to the tournament 3 of the 6 years he was here. I didn’t know if UALR would ever get back and I am glad they did.

In a prophetic speech concerning the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan predicted that “the march of freedom and democracy will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history.” I am posting in the coming days excerpts from one of Reagan best speeches ever.  He addressed the members of the British Parliament on June 8, 1982.

The march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history

At the same time, we invite the Soviet Union to consider with us how the competition of ideas and values — which it is committed to support — can be conducted on a peaceful and reciprocal basis. For example, I am prepared to offer President Brezhnev an opportunity to speak to the American people on our television if he will allow me the same opportunity with the Soviet people. We also suggest that panels of our newsmen periodically appear on each other’s television to discuss major events.

Now, I don’t wish to sound overly optimistic, yet the Soviet Union is not immune from the reality of what is going on in the world. It has happened in the past — a small ruling elite either mistakenly attempts to ease domestic unrest through greater repression and foreign adventure, or it chooses a wiser course. It begins to allow its people a voice in their own destiny. Even if this latter process is not realized soon, I believe the renewed strength of the democratic movement, complemented by a global campaign for freedom, will strengthen the prospects for arms control and a world at peace.

I have discussed on other occasions, including my address on May 9th, the elements of Western policies toward the Soviet Union to safeguard our interests and protect the peace. What I am describing now is a plan and a hope for the long term — the march of freedom and democracy which will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people. And that’s why we must continue our efforts to strengthen NATO even as we move forward with our Zero-Option initiative in the negotiations on intermediate-range forces and our proposal for a one-third reduction in strategic ballistic missile warheads.

Our military strength is a prerequisite to peace, but let it be clear we maintain this strength in the hope it will never be used, for the ultimate determinant in the struggle that’s now going on in 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, the ideals to which we are dedicated.

No. 29: Mike Miller sparks a Final Four run

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Little known presidential facts:

1. Abraham Lincoln was the only presidential candidate who was not a Mason in the 1860 election.ⁱ
2. President James Buchanan (1791-1868) quietly but consistently bought slaves in Washington, D.C., and then set them free in Pennsylvania.^g

n pictures: Japan earthquake and tsunami

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In Ichihara giant fireballs rise from a burning oil refinery. Thousands of people have also been evacuated from the area around a nuclear power plant, over fears its cooling system was damaged.

President Reagan and Nancy Reagan posing with Lady Bird Johnson during a Congressional Medal reception for Lady Bird Johnson in the Blue room. 4/28/88

Reagan documentary clip from PBS

Tubby Smith to Arkansas? We will have to wait and see. Tim Floyd to Arkansas? These are just some of the names being mentioned.

In a prophetic speech concerning the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan predicted that “the march of freedom and democracy will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history.” I am posting in the coming days excerpts from one of Reagan best speeches ever.  He addressed the members of the British Parliament on June 8, 1982.

Reagan: Freedoms  are always preferred by the people

 
The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster the infrastructure of democracy, the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universities, which allows a people to choose their own way to develop their own culture, to reconcile their own differences through peaceful means.

This is not cultural imperialism, it is providing the means for genuine self-determination and protection for diversity. Democracy already flourishes in countries with very different cultures and historical experiences. It would be cultural condescension, or worse, to say that any people prefer dictatorship to democracy. Who would voluntarily choose not to have the right to vote, decide to purchase government propaganda handouts instead of independent newspapers, prefer government to worker-controlled unions, opt for land to be owned by the state instead of those who till it, want government repression of religious liberty, a single political party instead of a free choice, a rigid cultural orthodoxy instead of democratic tolerance and diversity?

Since 1917 the Soviet Union has given covert political training and assistance to Marxist-Leninists in many countries. Of course, it also has promoted the use of violence and subversion by these same forces. Over the past several decades, West European and other Social Democrats, Christian Democrats, and leaders have offered open assistance to fraternal, political, and social institutions to bring about peaceful and democratic progress. Appropriately, for a vigorous new democracy, the Federal Republic of Germany’s political foundations have become a major force in this effort.

We in America now intend to take additional steps, as many of our allies have already done, toward realizing this same goal. The chairmen and other leaders of the national Republican and Democratic Party organizations are initiating a study with the bipartisan American political foundation to determine how the United States can best contribute as a nation to the global campaign for democracy now gathering force. They will have the cooperation of congressional leaders of both parties, along with representatives of business, labor, and other major institutions in our society. I look forward to receiving their recommendations and to working with these institutions and the Congress in the common task of strengthening democracy throughout the world.

It is time that we committed ourselves as a nation — in both the pubic and private sectors — to assisting democratic development.We plan to consult with leaders of other nations as well. There is a proposal before the Council of Europe to invite parliamentarians from democratic countries to a meeting next year in Strasbourg. That prestigious gathering could consider ways to help democratic political movements.

This November in Washington there will take place an international meeting on free elections. And next spring there will be a conference of world authorities on constitutionalism and self-goverment hosted by the Chief Justice of the United States. Authorities from a number of developing and developed countries — judges, philosophers, and politicians with practical experience — have agreed to explore how to turn principle into practice and further the rule of law.

In pictures: Japan earthquake and tsunami

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One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded has struck off the coast of north-east Japan, causing widespread destruction. Many casualties are feared.

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Little known presidential facts:

1. James Earl “Jimmy” Carter (1924-) was the first president to be born in a hospital.^k

Jimmy Carter is the first president to report seeing a UFO

2. Jimmy Carter is the first known president to go on record as seeing a UFO.^k

President Reagan meeting with William F. Buckley in the Oval Office. 1/21/88.

I really thought that John Pelphrey would be allowed to coach the fine recruits that he signed. In fact, I thought that since all these recruits signed early that they had been given assurances from Jeff Long concerning that. I guess I was wrong.

In a prophetic speech concerning the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan predicted that “the march of freedom and democracy will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history.” I am posting in the coming days excerpts from one of Reagan best speeches ever.  He addressed the members of the British Parliament on June 8, 1982.

Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings.

 
In the Communist world as well, man’s instinctive desire for freedom and self-determination surfaces again and again. To be sure, there are grim reminders of how brutally the police state attempts to snuff out this quest for self-rule — 1953 in East Germany, 1956 in Hungary, 1968 in Czechoslovakia, 1981 in Poland. But the struggle continues in Poland. And we know that there are even those who strive and suffer for freedom within the confines of the Soviet Union itself. How we conduct ourselves here in the Western democracies will determine whether this trend continues.

No, democracy is not a fragile flower. Still it needs cultivating. If the rest of this century is to witness the gradual growth of freedom and democratic ideals, we must take actions to assist the campaign for democracy.

Some argue that we should encourage democratic change in right-wing dictatorships, but not in Communist regimes. Well, to accept this preposterous notion — as some well-meaning people have — is to invite the argument that once countries achieve a nuclear capability, they should be allowed an undisturbed reign of terror over their own citizens.

We reject this course.
As for the Soviet view, Chairman Brezhnev repeatedly has stressed that the competition of ideas and systems must continue and that this is entirely consistent with relaxation of tensions and peace.

Well, we ask only that these systems begin by living up to their own constitutions, abiding by their own laws, and complying with the international obligations they have undertaken. We ask only for a process, a direction, a basic code of decency, not for an instant transformation.
We cannot ignore the fact that even without our encouragement there has been and will continue to be repeated explosions against repression and dictatorships. The Soviet Union itself is not immune to this reality. Any system is inherently unstable that has no peaceful means to legitimize its leaders. In such cases, the very repressiveness of the state ultimately drives people to resist it, if necessary, by force.

While we must be cautious about forcing the pace of change, we must not hesitate to declare our ultimate objectives and to take concrete actions to move toward them. We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings. So states the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, among other things, guarantees free elections.

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Little known presidential facts:

1. George H. W. Bush (1924-) was the first vice president to be elected president since Martin Van Buren.^k
2. William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton (1946-) was the first U.S. Democratic president to win re-election since FDR.^k