Ronald Reagan

...died over the weekend. And I have very mixed emotions about that. I'm sad he's gone...but he's been "gone" for awhile now, and now I firmly believe he's in a better place. So. I will not mourn his death, but, rather, I'll celebrate his life.

A lot of younger people don't remember him, and have no idea why the country's been thrown into such a tizzy over this. A few reminders:
1. He ended the Cold War, which had been hanging over this country like a set of ugly drapes for over forty years.
2. He made it "okay" to be a proud American again. We'd just been through four years of the Carter presidency, which was an unmitigated disaster (remember gas lines? Double-digit inflation, unemployment, and interest rates? "National malaise"?), and before that we'd had the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon's impeachment, and his subsequent resignation. We were pretty bummed out as a country when he came along.
3. He was an eternal optimist. But he was also a realist. This combination allowed him to see the best in us while also being able to deal with the "Evil Empire" (nothing like calling a spade a spade, is there?).
4. His tax cuts resulted in the longest peacetime economic recovery in history at that time. The eighties were a decade of prosperity never before seen, and he proved that cutting taxes actually increases revenue.

Okay, I'm not as eloquent as Rush, so I'm going to stop there and let Mr. Limbaugh speak for me.

Goodbye, President Reagan. We'll miss you.

Rush's remarks.

Ronald Reagan

...died over the weekend. And I have very mixed emotions about that. I'm sad he's gone...but he's been "gone" for awhile now, and now I firmly believe he's in a better place. So. I will not mourn his death, but, rather, I'll celebrate his life.

A lot of younger people don't remember him, and have no idea why the country's been thrown into such a tizzy over this. A few reminders:
1. He ended the Cold War, which had been hanging over this country like a set of ugly drapes for over forty years.
2. He made it "okay" to be a proud American again. We'd just been through four years of the Carter presidency, which was an unmitigated disaster (remember gas lines? Double-digit inflation, unemployment, and interest rates? "National malaise"?), and before that we'd had the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon's impeachment, and his subsequent resignation. We were pretty bummed out as a country when he came along.
3. He was an eternal optimist. But he was also a realist. This combination allowed him to see the best in us while also being able to deal with the "Evil Empire" (nothing like calling a spade a spade, is there?).
4. His tax cuts resulted in the longest peacetime economic recovery in history at that time. The eighties were a decade of prosperity never before seen, and he proved that cutting taxes actually increases revenue.

Okay, I'm not as eloquent as Rush, so I'm going to stop there and let Mr. Limbaugh speak for me.

Goodbye, President Reagan. We'll miss you.

Rush's remarks.

Drabble for open_on_sunday LJ Community

Title: African Night Flight
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Words: 100
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're Whedon's. *sob*
Written for: open_on_sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.
Notes: Inspired by the title "African Night Flight."

---

"We will return your soul."

And, God, it burned. Spike had been burned before, by the sun, by fire, by holy water...but it had never felt like this. This felt like it was going to consume him from the inside out. They were all within him now, screaming, whimpering, begging. Sometimes he'd hear a whisper among the cacophony. Those were the worst. "Please. Please don't," the voice would breathe. But he had.

Stumbling away from the African cave, he thought that if he could just run fast and far enough, he might be able to get away from them.

Drabble for open_on_sunday LJ Community

Title: African Night Flight
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Words: 100
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're Whedon's. *sob*
Written for: open_on_sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.
Notes: Inspired by the title "African Night Flight."

---

"We will return your soul."

And, God, it burned. Spike had been burned before, by the sun, by fire, by holy water...but it had never felt like this. This felt like it was going to consume him from the inside out. They were all within him now, screaming, whimpering, begging. Sometimes he'd hear a whisper among the cacophony. Those were the worst. "Please. Please don't," the voice would breathe. But he had.

Stumbling away from the African cave, he thought that if he could just run fast and far enough, he might be able to get away from them.

Another drabble for open_on_sunday

Heh. I bet I could do these all night. And I know I'm probably not the only one who's thought of these particular situations for these particular song titles, but I don't read previous entries before I post mine, so if I've ripped anyone off, it's entirely unintentional.

Title: Let's Dance
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Words: 100
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're Whedon's. *sob*
Written for: open_on_sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.
Notes: Inspired by "Let's Dance."

---

Smoking a cigarette behind a crypt, Spike watched surreptitiously as Buffy took out another fledge. Graceful as a swallow in flight, she tumbled and spun through the air, kicked and punched the newborn vampire into submission, then staked it with a flourish.

He stepped out from behind the mausoleum, applauding, not entirely ironically. "Nice moves, Slayer."

Her lip curled. "Spike. Spying on me again?"

"If you like. How about you and me have a go? I'll wager you haven't had a worthy opponent in a good long while."

She allowed a tiny smile to tug at her lips. "Let's dance."

Another drabble for open_on_sunday

Heh. I bet I could do these all night. And I know I'm probably not the only one who's thought of these particular situations for these particular song titles, but I don't read previous entries before I post mine, so if I've ripped anyone off, it's entirely unintentional.

Title: Let's Dance
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rating: PG
Words: 100
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're Whedon's. *sob*
Written for: open_on_sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.
Notes: Inspired by "Let's Dance."

---

Smoking a cigarette behind a crypt, Spike watched surreptitiously as Buffy took out another fledge. Graceful as a swallow in flight, she tumbled and spun through the air, kicked and punched the newborn vampire into submission, then staked it with a flourish.

He stepped out from behind the mausoleum, applauding, not entirely ironically. "Nice moves, Slayer."

Her lip curled. "Spike. Spying on me again?"

"If you like. How about you and me have a go? I'll wager you haven't had a worthy opponent in a good long while."

She allowed a tiny smile to tug at her lips. "Let's dance."

Another drabble for open_on_sunday

Title: Gunman
Fandom: Angel
Rating: PG-13
Words: 100
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're Whedon's. *sob*
Written for: open_on_sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.
Notes: Inspired by "Gunman."

---

"I crap better magic than this," Vail had said.

Hanging in the air, a knife twisting in his gut, Wesley was able to pick a few coherent thoughts out of the maelstrom of his mind.

He was severely out-magicked.
This frail-looking little demon had some real power at his command.
He had badly overestimated his own power.
His little pocketknife had been pitifully inadequate.
Damn, this hurt. Like a mother, as Gunn would say.
He'd failed. Again.
I love you, Fred.
Why, oh why, on this day of all days, hadn't he brought a gun instead of a knife?

Another drabble for open_on_sunday

Title: Gunman
Fandom: Angel
Rating: PG-13
Words: 100
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're Whedon's. *sob*
Written for: open_on_sunday's David Bowie Song Title challenge.
Notes: Inspired by "Gunman."

---

"I crap better magic than this," Vail had said.

Hanging in the air, a knife twisting in his gut, Wesley was able to pick a few coherent thoughts out of the maelstrom of his mind.

He was severely out-magicked.
This frail-looking little demon had some real power at his command.
He had badly overestimated his own power.
His little pocketknife had been pitifully inadequate.
Damn, this hurt. Like a mother, as Gunn would say.
He'd failed. Again.
I love you, Fred.
Why, oh why, on this day of all days, hadn't he brought a gun instead of a knife?