The Not-So-Great Pretender:

All is quiet for about a minute, and then Charlie speaks again.  “Sally, tell me please, what’s an actor?”  

“An actor is someone trained to pretend to be and to portray someone he or she is not.”  

“And when the actor acting, who’s in charge?” 

“What do you mean?”  

“When a film or TV actor is playing a roll, who’s in charge on the set?”

“The director.” 

“Yes.   Unless he is an extraordinarily talented actor, the director tells him how to play the role.   And even when the most talented actor are on the set, the director is still in charge.”  

“So what has this to do with Reagan lying?” 

“I’m getting to that,” Charlie says.   “Reagan, like any other actor, was trained to take directions and to pretend to be someone he was not.”  

“But he held the office of the President of the United States.   He could do anything he wanted to do.“  

“Yes, that’s true, and when he started out as governor of California, he was reasonably OK at his job, however, by the time he got to the Whitehouse, he was pretty much of a lost rabbit.   In Washington, he was way out of his league, and the precursors to Alzheimer’s were already hampering his mental ability.   He simply did not have the capacity to adequately deal with the extremely complex matters that a sitting president is called to deal with.   And when it came to dealing with the secret criminal government that actually controls the country, he probably didn't even know it existed.

     He was a rather mediocre actor, so he simply did what he new best.   He went into his acting mode and played the roll of 'President Nice Guy.'   He’d had years of dress rehearsals as a public speaker for the General Electric Corporation and as governor of California, so when the presidential position came along, he took the one roll he could play, stepped onto the national stage with it, and played it over and over and over again.   As President, he always played the same role, and, with all practice he’d had, he played it well.   With the help of the Republican specialists in manipulate and con, he made a life-long career out of playing that one role.   

“What do you mean by the help of specialists in manipulate and con?”  

“It’s the nature of politicians to lie and manipulate because, if the public really knew what those who actually run our government were up to, they would never stand for it.   For the shear sake of survival, political parties must have to a powerful team of bullshit specialists whose job is to deceive the public.  Lies by omission are their specialty.   They stand in front of the media and intentionally omit part of the truth and then tell the other part of truths as though they were the whole truth.   Today, they call these people spin-doctors.

     And Reagan fits into this because he was an incredibly good at delivering a public lie.   He had another very valuable attribute that his handlers loved.   Reagan and his handlers held the same personal philosophy --  ultra-conservative.   So he usually believed in the stories he told, and, in that sense, he really wasn’t lying at all.   This gave him great credibility and great believability with the public.   Why do you think that corporations pay celebrities millions of dollars to endorse their products?  Because of their credibility, their believability, and, in that area, Reagan was at the top of the list.

      The bottom line here is that Reagan was an actor playing the roll of president, and, although he was technically the man in charge, he was, in reality, taking stage directions from the specialists in manipulate and con who put him into office.   Now, I’ll give you the third example of Reagan’s lying to the public, this time, in the context of the political con and manipulate game."  

“I’m still listening.”   

“At one point Reagan made a big, public issue about getting corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.”  

Sally says, “Yes, I remember that.   Why shouldn’t corporations pay their fair share of taxes?”   

“Because corporations do not now nor have they ever paid taxes.”  

“Come on, Charlie, that’s an absurd statement.   Corporations pay money to the government all the time.”  

“I’ll certainly agree corporations do send money to the government, which bring us to where the con comes in.   Who’s money are the corporations sending to the Government?   To answer that question, we simply need to take a moment and become aware of the basic economics of how a corporation functions.”  

“And that is...”  

“They add up the costs — the costs to produce the product, plus the costs for the factory, for the offices, and for management, plus the cost for advertising and promotion, plus a mark up for profit, plus the cost for taxes, plus however much more money they can get away with charging the customers, and that's the selling price of their product.   That’s the price the public pays.   So who pays the taxes and who’s money are corporations sending to the government?  

     Your money, my money, and the money of very other paying customer.   Corporations simply collect the tax money hidden within the cost of the product.   They collect that money from their customers and pass the money along to the government, yet Reagan and his handlers withheld this information from the public and proceeded to con a lot of people into demanding that corporations pay their fair share of taxes.  

     Heads they win.   Tails you loose.   They peddled the illusion that corporations pay taxes, and they peddled that story if it were a factual truth while knowing full well it was a lie.   And the public bought it, at least in part, because Reagan was their chief salesman.   Its such a great con that the public stills believes it to this day, and you, my dear Sally, are living proof of that”.

The Fleecing of the Lambs:

Sally is again quiet.   She sits looking calmly at Charlie, and then says, “Maybe Reagan wasn’t lying.   Perhaps he was simply uninformed and didn’t intend to manipulate anyone.   Perhaps he actually believed the story he was telling.”  

“That is definitely a possibility, but you can bet those who gave him that story to peddle certainly were wise enough to know it was a lie.   If you’re correct and Reagan wasn’t intentionally in on the scam, his behavior is additional evidence that he was not qualified to be president.”

Sally responds, “This is the second time you’ve said that Reagan was the not qualified to be president.   Why did you say that.  

Well, just look at the corporation-tax thing.   Either Reagan was intentionally lying to the public or he was too stupid to realize that he was peddling a lie.   He lacked either the intelligence or the integrity required to be a good president.   Either way, it’s a loosing situation.  Other historical evidence, if you choose to look at it, shows that Ronald Reagan was the least qualified to be president of any modern president.  

“Why do you say that, and what’s the evidence do you have?” 

“Why?   Because he was not in charge of running the government.   By default, he turned control over to those who surrounded him, particularly during his second term, and those people did almost anything they wanted to.   He and the country were at the mercy of the manipulators and con artists.”  

“Please explain.”

"OK," Charlie say and then proceeds with:   "In just eight years, Reagan and/or his handlers doubled the defense budget, increased the national debt by over six-hundred percent,  (from 475 billion to 4,700 billion)  gutted the government's social-service programs; invited the destruction of the two-hundred-year-old principle of separation of church and state; and, via the Iran-Contra Scandal, were probably directly responsible, or at least indirectly responsible, for the greatest threat to freedom and democratic principles since the demise of Adolph Hitler's Third Reich. ^11-1

    And yet, the conservatives just loved Reagan.   They still do.   They think he is the greatest thing since horse-blinders.   Jerry Falwell, creator and leader of the so-called "Moral Majority", credited Reagan as the one man most responsible for what Reverend Falwell calls "The Spiritual Rebirth of the 80's."  ^11-2    

    Falwell conveniently ignored the fact that it was also the era of the Reagan’s anti-sexual Meese Commission and intense government efforts at sexual repression.   And apparently Falwell thinks that raping our environment, gutting our social service programs, doubling the defense budget, inviting the fundamentalist Christians to pass their religious beliefs into secular law, and putting us and our children into debt by another four trillion dollars is a return to moral values."

Charlie then asks, "Sally, would you agree that crooks go where the money is?”  

“Yes.”  

“And what is the greatest money making and money laundering game on the planet.  

“I don’t know, but I think I’m about to find out.”  

“Taxes and government spending.”   It’s bigger than oil, drugs and insurance combined.   And, although he was poorly qualified to be the president,  Reagan was obviously the most qualified to get elected.”  

“What do you mean?”  

“The people elected him didn’t they?   He had charm and charisma.   He was good looking.   He spoke in a pleasing manner and he had the ability to move people emotionally.   He was actually a very nice man.   He had all attributes necessary for getting elected.   He just didn’t have the cunning, the intelligence, and the awareness required to fill the office of president.   Because the cunning and intelligent manipulator/con-artists saw their golden opportunity with Reagan, they promoted him and the public bought him — at a price of only 4.2 trillion dollars.”  

“Why would the manipulators and con artists want Reagan for president?”  

“I just told you, for 4,200,000,000,000 dollars.   That’s the amount the national debt rose during his presidency.   They wanted Reagan in the Whitehouse so they could financially rape the country while Reagan played president.   Who is easier to control, a cleaver and cunning president like Bill Clinton or inept, out-of-place, old man like Reagan?”  

Sally acknowledges, “Well, Reagan of course.” 

Charlie continues, “And so while Reagan sat in the white house and played the roll of president the crooks, manipulated, coned, lied, and stole billions of dollars from the American people, much of it in the form of debts against the public treasury.   Like I just said, during the Reagan years, the national debt went from 475 billion to 4, 700 billion -- a six-hundred increase -- an increase of 4,225 billion dollars.  That’s six times more money in debt in just eight years than all the former president going all the way back 204 years to George Washington.  

     How many people lost their life saving during the Reagan years?”   How many retirement funds were emptied of their content during the Reagan years?   How many people lost their homes because interest rates skyrocketed in the Reagan years?   Do you remember Charles Keating and the multi-billion-dollar savings and loan scandal? 

Someone asks, “Is he the same Charles Keating who made the big stink when the result of Nixon’s commission on obscenity showed that exposure to sexually explicit materials had no adverse effects upon the viewers?”  

Charlie adds, “Yes indeed!   That’s the same, anti sexual, anti-abortion, anti-women’s right, Charles Keating, a staunch supporter of Richard I’m-not-a-crook Nixon and Ronald Reagan.   When Keating got caught stealing billions of dollars, his former buddies, like all good con artists, abandoned him and went on to steal somewhere else.”    

“Is he still in prison?”  

“I doubt it.   He must be dead or out by now.   But getting back to Reagan, he was an actor playing the roll of president.   He even rehearsed his lines before making public presentations.”  

“Don’t all presidents rehearse?”  

“His crony, George Bush didn’t.   Rumor has it that bush privately scoffed at Reagan for doing so.”  

Someone asks, “Charlie, I take it you don’t like Reagan.”  

Charlie responds, “I hope I am speaking from the space of observing rather than from one of condemning.   Ronald Reagan was a nice man and a likable person.   He’s the kind of person who would make a good personal friend.   I have nothing against Reagan as a fellow human being.   He was just being himself.

    I point no blame at him, nor do I condemn him for any of his actions.   He did nothing to us.   It’s you and me and all the rest of the people in this country who are collectively responsible for what occurs in our political and economic system.

     Political ineptitude is nothing new.   Will Rogers stated it quite clearly back in the 1930’s.   Two of his best lines are ‘It’s a good thing we don’t get all the government we pay for.’ and ‘We have the best politicians that money can buy’.  

He laughs and continues, “Bullshit and presidents go together like fish and water.   Eisenhower peddled another great con to us in the 1950’s about inflation.”  

“What was that?” someone asks. 

“In a publicly televised press conference, Eisenhower said that the government had hired the greatest economic experts they could find and not one of them could solve the horrendous problem of inflation.”

Sally pipes up with, “Well we still haven’t figured that one out.”  

Charlie smiles at her and says, “Sally, You’ve just struck out three times.   Are you sure you want to do it again.”   She playfully splashes water at him, and he continues, “It’s not a question of figuring out what causes inflation.   That’s simple.   The problem is being willing to do what is required to eliminate it.”  

Sally comes back with, “OK, Charlie, since you smarter than all of Eisenhower’s experts combined, tell us what causes inflation?” 

“I’ll tell you quite simply, and in one sentence.   Inflation is the result of deficit spending and is compounded by the interest charged on that debt.”  ^11-3 

“And what’s your solution?”  

“It’s not my solution.   It’s simply the solution.   Stop deficit financing.”  

“That’s it?”  

“Yes!   That’s it.   Stop deficit financing.  Voilà!  No more inflation!   It’s just that simple, yet politicians have been conning the public on this issue longer than any of us have been alive.”  

“If you’re saying that inflation is nothing more than a con game, then what’s the con and why use it?”  

“Why?   Because it’s a great money-making scam.   If you can’t steal the money, you can still steal the value out of the money.  

How does that work?”  

“I’ll give you an example.   American workers are now taxed in higher tax brackets than they used to be because they are receiving more dollars in our pay checks, yet the buying power of those dollars (the goods and service one can buy with those dollars) has dropped drastically because of inflation.”  

“Inflation hasn’t been that bad.” 

“It hasn’t?   That’s what the manipulators want us to believe.   When is the last time you bought a first class postage stamp?”  

“Last week.”  

“And how much did you pay?”  

“Thirty-three cents”

“In 1963, it cost three cents to mail a first class letter.   That an increase of over one thousand percent.   A pair of shoes that I bought in Sears Department Store in the sixties for $3.99  now cost about $45.   Again, an increase of over one thousand percent.   A three -bedroom apartment that I rented in 1965 for $60 per month is now renting for about $800.   Another increase of over one thousand percent. ^11-4

     We have been and we are being regularly ripped of by those who profess to be our servants.”   Paying interest to the Federal Reserve is the greatest financial fraud of all times and yet this con has been going on since 1913 and almost nobody is complaining.”  

“So why focus on Reagan?”   

“Because his behavior is the most clear example of what not to do as president.   As another example, his response to the environmental issue can be best summarized in his own words, and I quote,  ‘If you’ve seen one redwood tree you have seen them all.’   Reagan raised mediocrity to an art form; the con artists and manipulators sold it to us’ and we bought it.”  

Sally says, "Charlie you said there were four areas where Reagan lied.  What's the fourth one?"

"As One of his campaign promises, Reagan pledged to have his budget balanced by his last year in office.  Instead he increased the deficit by over six hundred percent."

Someone asks, “So what do we do about these things?”  

Charlie responds with, “I hope you don’t do anything about them.” 

“What?”  

“I suggest you focus clearly on what you want and avoid trying to fix the past.   Use what happened for the lessons that came out of it and with that information, clearly state what you would have your future be.”  

“How’s that going to end political misconduct.”  

“If you stop watering a plant, what happens to it.”

“It withers and dies.”  

“Do the same with the old political system.   Stop watering it.   Stop supporting it.   Avoid fighting it.   Avoid trying to fix it.   Instead, focus on what you do want.   See possibilities and opportunities.   Hold a vision of the type of world you would like to live in and then ask,  “What can I do today that will make even a small difference in my own life and in the lives of those around me?”  

Sally says, “Charlie, you may know what to focus on,  but I’d like some help.”  

Playing the “What if. . .” Game:

“OK,” he says, “let’s play the What if... game.” 

“The What if... game?  What’s that?” 

“Just imagine something in the world as you might like it to be.   Personally, collectively &/ or globally what would your ideal world look, sound, feel, taste or smell like?   Let you mind run wild and think of some what if  situations.  

     I’ll start with a couple of examples.   “What if God really is too big to fit inside just one religion?”   What if corporations really don’t pay taxes?   OK, now it’s your turn.   Just throw out some questions and do not judge or analyze any of the questions at this point.”  

A rather long list of questions began pouring forth form the group, some of which are listed below.

“What if there were a limit on how much wealth one person can control?”  

“What if politicians told the truth?”  

“What if God doesn’t need your help to punish the unfaithful?” 

“What if marijuana doesn’t kill anybody unlike alcohol and tobacco which kill 500, 000 people each year?”  

“What if all laws had automatic expiration dates and could not be simply renewed in an as is condition?”  

“What if the United Nations would guarantee the sovereignty of any nation that would eliminate its national military forces?”  

“What if George Washington smoked Marijuana?”  

“What if all the Earth’s natural resources such as oil, coal, minerals, etc.  belonged to everyone collectively regardless of where they were located?”  

“What if government agents were held liable for their actions?”  

“What if all of the above doesn’t matter?” 

“What if we really are divine beings and life on earth is just a game?”  ^11-5

Soon after this game ends, several couples decide to call it a night.   Jezebel and I also decide it was time for us to head for home.   We gather out belongings; several of us do a partial clean up of the party setting; and leaving the final cleanup to those remaining, we thank our host and hostess, and leave.   The drive home was mellow and uneventful; however, both of us feel that the political discussion and the strong emotional energy it seemed to bring up put a damper on the party mood and would have been better saved for another time and another setting.  

End of Chapter Twelve --- The Not-so-great Pretender