June 5, 2004:Ronald Reagan Dies

Most of the obits and stories about the death of the 40th president three years ago focused on his various achievements in office, or his movie-actor-to-politician success story, his slow decline from Alzheimer's disease, or even talk that he would replace Roosevelt on the dime, Hamilton on the $10 bill or be an added face on Mt. Rushmore -- talk that has faded considerably since then.

Reagan is still a recent enough president to inspire partisan death notices. Fox News had this to say:

"Reagan, known as 'The Great Communicator,' was elected to office in a landslide victory over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1980 and is credited with revitalizing the country's stagnant economy and forcing the end of the Cold War during his two terms in office from 1981 to 1989."

Phil Gasper, writing in the newsletter CounterPunch, had this to say: "Ronald Reagan has finally died at age 93. Predictably, politicians from both major parties have issued gushing tributes to this venal and vicious man, who was happy to slash workers' wages, see families thrown onto the street, support sadistic death squads and bomb other countries, if this was in the interests of the American ruling class."

And even the crackpot community (represented here by one Ellis Taylor) had its say about Ronald Reagan:"Reagan died on Saturn's day just hours before the 666 day of 6th June 2004. He died in Bel Air. Bel is another name for Saturn. I see that this member of the alleged Bohemian Grove child sacrificing ring will have a state funeral on Friday (El's day). El seems to be identified with Saturn's consort Ops. Mythology has become so confused that the origins of all of these deities have become scrambled. My research indicates that Ops was originally a version of Venus, who has now taken on a dark role. Saturn is a god who demands sacrifice..."