From the Mailbag

I received an Email tonight from someone who read the site and took great umbrage at some of the comments about Mr. Reagan. He's dead, the writer said, and deserves far more respect than I'm offering, a poor man who suffered so long with Alzheimer's and is no longer there to defend himself.

I'll buy that his Alzheimer's was a very sad situation, although probably more for his caretakers as well as those who loved him.

But Mr. Reagan chose to run for the highest office in the country, and he chose what policies he supported. We weren't supposed to question him while he was in office, we weren't supposed to question him after he left office, and now,apparently, some would prefer we not bring up unpleasant truths now that he has passed.

As I've said far too many times, patriotism doesn't mean wrapping your brain and mouth in duct tape and just nodding dumbly at what our leaders do. The original patriots did anything but that.

For various reasons, Mr. Reagan was always given a free ride. But accurate history - as opposed to the great myths being perpetrated now - should not be so kind.