Does anybody else find this offensive?

[Keyplayer]

Ronald Reagan dies and the world bends over backwards to show his legacy in the best possible light. Whether you were a Reagan fan or not is irrelivant. The guy deserved a nice "Send Off."

 

But Ray Charles dies and you get two 3 minute segments about his artistic contributions and the next thing is previews about all the dirt on him!

 

Entertainment Tonight is promoting the Monday night episode on Ray's Will, his kids, ex-wives and the squabble over who will get what.

 

What kind of crap is that? Nobody said anything about a "Jane Wyman/Nancy Reagan Cat Fight." So why do they have to go for some sordid B.S. on Ray? Regardless of the circumstances, it's none of our business any more than the Reagan's PRIVATE LIVES.

 

Anybody else think this is wrong?

[Henchman]

Originally posted by Keyplayer:

 

Anybody else think this is wrong?

Ytes. especially since nobody ever died as a result fo anythign Ray Charles ever did.

[antimatter]

Yes it's wrong. That show is crap.

[not coaster MODERATOR]

Originally posted by Keyplayer:

Ronald Reagan dies and the world bends over backwards to show his legacy in the best possible light. Whether you were a Reagan fan or not is irrelivant. The guy deserved a nice "Send Off."

 

But Ray Charles dies and you get two 3 minute segments about his artistic contributions and the next thing is previews about all the dirt on him!

 

Entertainment Tonight is promoting the Monday night episode on Ray's Will, his kids, ex-wives and the squabble over who will get what.

 

What kind of crap is that? Nobody said anything about a "Jane Wyman/Nancy Reagan Cat Fight." So why do they have to go for some sordid B.S. on Ray? Regardless of the circumstances, it's none of our business any more than the Reagan's PRIVATE LIVES.

 

Anybody else think this is wrong?

you're comparing a piano player to the president of the united states?

[LawrenceF]

Well that's to be expected. A "President" is considered to be "more special" than mere citizens.

 

That's kinda how I feel when Jon Benet Ramsey was all over the news when she was missing while the missing little poor girl on the milk carton fades into oblivion.

 

Look at the bright side... Ray doesn't need the media crawling up his casket to be remembered by millions.

 

He actually earned it. His recordings and performances will be played long after Reagan is a distant memory.

 

Lawrence

[StinkMonkey]

Yeah, I agree the Regan stuff was pretty long winded. But he was a beloved president. One of the rulers of the 'free' world. When Nixon passed in '94, because of the scandles, the media couldn't get it off the air fast enough.

I've actually seen several great tributes to Ray. Cheer up and look at the bright side, no matter what the scandal loving Media say, the people who love Ray know: He lost his sight at (was it?)seven, from glauoma a few months after he saw his brother drown. His Parents then died and he grew up in a musical school for the blind where he became proficient in several insturments. So a poor, blind, black man in the times of heavy segregation, despite many personel tragedies and many huge obsticels, over came them all. Yeah, I'd rather (and I'm sure we will) see more on Ray Charles. I don't really care about the Regans personal lives. Although Regan was an actor and President. who do you think the people will remember the longest. Ray will have the last laugh. Most people know at least a couple of his songs. How many Regan movies can you name? As far as the dirt on Mr. Charles, that's not 'dirt' that's real history, that's what makes him such the colorful, partying, fun, charcter he was. Would you rather party with Snoop or Barry Manilow? I know who'd I'd want to party with! We should all be so lucky to have so many such stories about us. Now I'm not black, but I can relate to Ray Charles a heck of a lot better than ANY of the elite, superwealthy, over priveliged.

Side Note: On June eighth a music innovator who's Ampeg design acrylic guitars still bring over a thousand dollars on Ebay, even though they were only made a couple years at the end of the 60's, died. You probably didn't even hear about it. His name was Dan Armstrong.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Originally posted by StinkMonkey:

Would you rather party with Snoop or Barry Manilow? I know who'd I'd want to party with!

Me too! Barry's an animal!!!

 

- Jeff

[Super 8]

I didn't see the thing on Ray.

Actually, I didn't see the thing on Reagan either....I don't watch much TV.

 

Yes, I think it sucks. That's 'tabloid television' for ya.

 

Maybe that's why I don't watch much TV....

 

They would probably attack Reagan too, if they thought it would juice up ratings.

[Dan South]

Not MY President.

 

Too bad Ray's passing has been upstaged by reactionary zealots. It's not fair.

[Stephen Fortner]

Last night at a nightclub gig, we did a breakdown in the middle of "Sex Machine" where we gave props to Ray. People offered various sentiments on mic, and after a couple of shots of Patron that friends had bought me earlier, I blurted out the following with no preparation:

 

"Ray's up there in heaven right now, teaching Ronald Reagan how to see."

 

Crowd went nuts, and I didn't see a single pissed-off face. I meant something like see with one's soul, through music, which is, I think, how people took it.

 

As for media coverage of Reagan's passing, though there were things I liked and disliked about him, there's no question that historically he was a very significant president. Still, it seemed like for four days I couldn't turn on any news channel without seeing lengthy footage of people standing in line to view the casket. I almost think that something less lingering, like coverage of his state funeral, would have been more respectful.

[Raymar]

Ah, the Reagan years.......

 

The firing of the air traffic controllers, winnable nuclear war, recallable nuclear missiles, trees that cause pollution, Elliott

Abrams lying to Congress, ketchup as a vegetable, colluding with Guatemalan thugs, pardons for F.B.I. lawbreakers, voodoo economics, budget deficits, toasts to Ferdinand Marcos, public housing cutbacks, redbaiting the nuclear freeze movement, James Watt.

 

Getting cozy with Argentine fascist generals, tax credits for segregated schools, disinformation campaigns, "homeless by choice," Manuel Noriega, falling wages, the HUD scandal, air raids on

Libya, "constructive engagement" with apartheid South Africa, United States Information Agency blacklists of liberal speakers, attacks on

OSHA and workplace safety, the invasion of

Grenada, assassination manuals, Nancy's astrologer.

 

Drug tests, lie detector tests, Fawn Hall, female appointees (8 percent), mining harbors, the S&L scandal, 239 dead U.S. troops in Beirut, Al Haig "in control," silence on AIDS, food-stamp reductions, Debategate, White House shredding, Jonas Savimbi, tax cuts for the rich, "mistakes were made."

 

Michael Deaver's conviction for influence peddling, Lyn Nofziger's conviction for influence peddling, Caspar Weinberger's five-count

indictment, Ed Meese ("You don't have many suspects who are innocent of a crime"), Donald Regan (women don't "understand throw-weights"),

education cuts, massacres in El Salvador.

 

"The bombing begins in five minutes," $640 Pentagon toilet seats, African- American judicial appointees (1.9 percent), Reader's Digest,

C.I.A.-sponsored car-bombing in Lebanon (more than eighty civilians killed), 200 officials accused of wrongdoing, William Casey,Iran/contra.

 

"Facts are stupid things," three-by-five cards, the MX missile, Bitburg, S.D.I., Robert Bork, naps, Teflon.

[Alndln]

Originally posted by Cereal:

you're comparing a piano player to the president of the united states?

I guess your right,Reagan's legacy pales in comparison.Ray Charles was an American Icon,Reagan was another in a long list of politicians,more meaningful to some,not at all to others.I agree with the original sentiment of this post.Nothing less than a televised New Orleans Jazz send off cuts it for me.

[spokenward]

Ronald Reagan was easily understood and perfect for television. The world should have blown up. It didn't. We are all grateful.

 

Ray Charles is harder to understand. Ray Charles was touched. He could sanctify. He could rock. He had ears for country. He had ears for the easiest of easy listening. So, since art is too complicated they will talk about the ladies.

 

It's just filler between commercials in the primetime fringe. Which, oddly, has a lot to do with deregulation and our 40th President. (It was strange seeing Ray at the Republican convention, though - anybody catch that?)

[Philter]

Originally posted by StinkMonkey:

Yeah, I agree the Regan stuff was pretty long winded. But he was a beloved president. One of the rulers of the 'free' world. When Nixon passed in '94, because of the scandles, the media couldn't get it off the air fast enough.

I've actually seen several great tributes to Ray. Cheer up and look at the bright side, no matter what the scandal loving Media say, the people who love Ray know: He lost his sight at (was it?)seven, from glauoma a few months after he saw his brother drown. His Parents then died and he grew up in a musical school for the blind where he became proficient in several insturments. So a poor, blind, black man in the times of heavy segregation, despite many personel tragedies and many huge obsticels, over came them all. Yeah, I'd rather (and I'm sure we will) see more on Ray Charles. I don't really care about the Regans personal lives. Although Regan was an actor and President. who do you think the people will remember the longest. Ray will have the last laugh. Most people know at least a couple of his songs. How many Regan movies can you name? As far as the dirt on Mr. Charles, that's not 'dirt' that's real history, that's what makes him such the colorful, partying, fun, charcter he was. Would you rather party with Snoop or Barry Manilow? I know who'd I'd want to party with! We should all be so lucky to have so many such stories about us. Now I'm not black, but I can relate to Ray Charles a heck of a lot better than ANY of the elite, superwealthy, over priveliged.

Side Note: On June eighth a music innovator who's Ampeg design acrylic guitars still bring over a thousand dollars on Ebay, even though they were only made a couple years at the end of the 60's, died. You probably didn't even hear about it. His name was Dan Armstrong.

In the early 90's Reagan was the second most unpopular living president, just behind Nixon. There has been an amazing public relations campaign since then to repair his reputation. People forget that he left behind a number of bloody scandals and a long trail of dead bodies in poorer corners of the world.

[Anderton]

<>

 

You heard about it here. I think of lot of us not only recognize the name, but respect and admire what he brought into the world. True, he was behind the scenes, but that doesn't make his contributions any less important.

[Franknputer]

Damn...

 

I remember Dan Armstrong guitars. Damn fine guitars. RIP, Dan.

[Philip OKeefe]

Originally posted by Jeff Da Weasel:

Originally posted by StinkMonkey:

Would you rather party with Snoop or Barry Manilow? I know who'd I'd want to party with!

Me too! Barry's an animal!!!

 

- Jeff

The ladies in the audience don't throw their undergarments at him while he's on stage for nothing.

[Tedster]

Heck, ladies have been throwing their undergarments at me for years. That's what I get for playing nursing home gigs with that polka band.