Coming Attractions

Another tawdry sort of amusement is on its way, as the teabaggers entering Congress put the true face of the Republican Party on view.

And, non-believing as I am, this year is on the long list of reasons for believing that God does exist—
and is Republican:

February 6, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of St. Ronald Reagan.

It will divert attention from the antics of those teabagging heirs to Reaganism; after all, the propaganda machine has been working on this year's rollout for a long, long time.

The show starts today; from the Reagan Foundation/Library—

Make sure to watch this year's 2011 Tournament of Roses Parade, which will include a float honoring the life of and legacy of one of America's heroes, President Ronald Reagan. This is the first ever presidential-themed float to participate in the annual parade. Entered on behalf of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the float theme showcases the official parade theme, "Building Dreams, Friendships and Memories." President Reagan’s life and legacy inspired freedom, and contributed to lasting change across our country and around the world.

With the sleek visuals that will be fed to broadcast media, I'm bracing myself for Morning in America, He Won the Cold War, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

Throughout this year, I plan to revisit as much as I can of the reality of the Reagan years.

In trying to research aspects of that period, I'm finding that it has to be done pretty much the old-fashioned way: by going to books.

If I know of a specific newspaper or magazine piece from the time, I can look for that, but the material is not always available to a general reader (I do have access to Lexis).

Also, there are recent pieces online from expected sources; a search of "Reagan worst president" yields Robert Parry. Parry's piece at least comes up before the inevitable RW link to the glorious Reagan record, versus that of the horrid Dem presidents.

But general surfing for anything critical—or for just about any topic added to Reagan's name—is another story.

The usual result: page after page of book titles in the ever-growing Reagan hagiography; material by Reagan-dedicated foundations; and all manner of propaganda by the wing-nut welfare network. Just as intended: this is what the general public—or someone too young to remember the guy—will most easily find online.

So, there are those musty old books to consult.

A situation which, Clever Sister points out, could change fast.

In libraries all over, Decision Makers are getting rid of print, claiming that "everything is online." This, as CS says, may mean a window of opportunity being quickly lost.

Material online now that's from the pre-Internet '80s is haphazard and often inaccessible to the general public. With the Reagan brand so valuable to the Right, rewriting history online is a well-funded breeze; there are open questions of how well the print record of the time will survive, and if anyone will make an effort to effectively digitize it.

Also from CS, on hearing "February birthday":

"So: they're adding him to Presidents' Day?"

I hadn't even thought of that.

She's right, of course; another sign that God is Republican.

It won't take long, and—need I mention—it will be bipartisan.

And so begins my Year of Ranting Reaganly.

I do expect a lot to be written this year about the real Reagan, as independent journalists and liberal bloggers have an outlet that didn't exist in the '80s.

And there's this from over a year ago; Dr. Krugman should have a very busy year of trying to set the economic record straight.

Was cockroach racing really that big in the '30s? I suspect advertiser exaggeration, in the service of drumming up customers.

We know that by the '80s, Ronald Reagan could be sold to the portion of America that bothers to vote.

And once Reagan was sold, it was clear that anything could be.