Remembering Ronald Reagan
By Dave Hitt on Feb 14, 2011 in QH Podcasts
A new Quick Hitts podcast, Remembering Ronald Reagan, is available.
The left are completely wrong about his role in ending the cold war.  On the flip side, the right is also wrong about it.  You can get smartenized on the subject, as well as understand the historical context for the hero worship, in a mere 15 minutes.
http://www.davehitt.com/podcasts/
Feel free to use the comments section to, well, comment on it.
Is the premise supposed to be that our actions were aimed at bankrupting the Soviet Union? It seems like our massive buildup that they were trying to match had military/strategic objectives. It seems like the USSR bankrupted themselves for a wide variety of reasons, and the amount that the arms race contributed to that would have been accidental on our part. Do we really get to take credit for that (or credit Reagan for it)?
Dan the Man | Feb 15, 2011 | Reply
Good podcast. Another thing that drives me nuts about both the left and the right is crediting (or blaming, depending on which team you’re on)the Reagan administration for deregulating the airline industry. This was actually Carter’s baby, and IIRC most Republicans opposed it at the time. I work at Fed Ex maintaining aircraft. Deregulation enabled Fed Ex and other freight carriers to operate more routes with larger jets — 727’s and DC-10’s instead of the small corporate-sized Falcons. It allowed Fed Ex to grow from a fairly small domestic overnight letter carrier to the international powerhouse it is today, and I can credit Carter’s deregulation for the job I have now. But yeah, other than that he was pretty lame.
Tim S | Feb 17, 2011 | Reply
FINALLY, I know who the asshole was that taxed tips. I’ve gotten into arguments with pricks who think it’s a wonderful idea; I think it’s psychotically greedy. Finding out tips are taxed explained why fast food chains do not allow their employees to accept tips, which was always strange to me.
Ancel De Lambert | Feb 18, 2011 | Reply