Comments by "silat13" (@silat13) on "Thom Hartmann Program"
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Bernie please pull Hillary further and further to the left.
Thom you need to question Bernie on his support of immunity for the gun manufacturers.
GUNS and BERNIE
Bernie is far from perfect on guns
Sanders’ vote for a different kind of pro-gun bill is more puzzling—and profoundly disturbing. In 2005, a Republican-dominated Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). This law doesn’t protect gun owners; it protects gun manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers. The PLCAA was the No. 1 legislative priority of the National Rifle Association for years, because it shields gun makers and dealers from most liability when their firearms are used criminally. It is one of the most noxious pieces of pro-gun legislation ever passed. And Bernie Sanders voted for it. (Sanders’ campaign has not replied to a request for comment.)
Because the PLCAA deals with tort law—not a topic of great interest for most Americans—it didn’t stir much outrage when first passed. But the act’s primary purpose is as simple as it is cold-blooded. Every state imposes liability on manufacturers who are negligent in their production and sale of products. If I crash my Prius because its accelerator malfunctions, I can sue Toyota for negligently manufacturing a faulty pedal. If my child dismembers himself with a blender at Sears, I can sue Sears for negligently leaving that blender within a child’s reach. If I get stabbed by a teenager with a switchblade, I might be able to sue the pawn shop owner who illegally sold a knife to a minor.
Before the PLCAA, most states imposed some form of tort liability on gun makers and sellers. If a gun manufacturer made an assault rifle that could slaughter dozens of people in a few seconds, for instance, one of its victims might sue the company for negligently making a gun that could foreseeably be used for mass murder. If a gun seller sold a gun to a customer without performing any kind of background check—and then the buyer opened fire on the subway—his victims might sue that seller for negligently providing a gun to a mentally unstable person. The standards in each state differed, but the bottom line remained the same: Victims of gun violence and their families could recover financially from the people and companies who negligently enabled gun violence.
The PLCAA changed all that. Remarkably, the act wiped out gun liability laws in all 50 states, rendering them invalid except for a handful of narrow exceptions. (So much for states’ rights.) Thanks to the law, victims of mass shootings are barred from suing the companies that produced a wartime weapon that no civilian could ever need. With few exceptions, victims cannot sue a gun seller for negligently providing a semiautomatic weapon to a lunatic who shoots them in a movie theater. Even if a jury decides a gun maker or seller should be liable, the PLCAA invalidates its verdict. The law tramples upon states’ rights, juries’ rights, and fundamental precepts of America’s civil justice system. And it received Bernie Sanders’ support—in both 2003 (when it was first introduced) and 2005 (when it finally passed).
Every few years, the families of mass shooting victims take gun makers to court for creating a weapon seemingly designed to kill as many people as possible in as short a time as possible. Every time, they run headfirst into the PLCAA. Right now, the families of Sandy Hook victims are searching for a loophole in the law, so they can sue Bushmaster for making the gun that sent 154 bullets through 20 children and six adults in 264 seconds. They will probably fail.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2015/05/bernie_sanders_on_guns_vermont_independent_voted_against_gun_control_for.html
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Libertarianism in the KKK errr the USA is a different animal altogether.
Ga here is the American Libertarian Platform and plan for America.
Senator Bernie Sanders went back in time to 1980, when David Koch ran as the Vice Presidential candidate on the Libertarian ticket. He found their platform for that year, and published it again. It is a manifesto of what David and Charles Koch expect to receive in return for their large investment in American politics.
• We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
• “We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
• “We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
• “We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”
• “We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”
• “We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”
• “We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”
• “We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
• “As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”
• “We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”
• “We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”
• “We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”
• “We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”
• “We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
• “We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”
• “We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.”
• “We demand the return of America's railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”
• “We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.”
• “We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
• “We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”
• “We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.”
• “We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”
• “We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.”
• “We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”
• “We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
• “We support the repeal of all state usury laws.”
Every single one of these ideas is rooted in John Birch Society dogma. His sons are just expanding capacity for them now, not abandoning their principles.
Keep this list handy. You're going to need it in the days to come.
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Taxpayers Funding Creationism In Schools Across The Country
Politico has found that taxpayers in 14 states are paying a billion dollars this year in school tuition's and hundreds of them are religious which teach that evolution is a fraud while science is a form of hocus-pocus nonsense.
Taxpayers in 14 states will bankroll nearly $1 billion this year in tuition for private schools, including hundreds of religious schools that teach Earth is less than 10,000 years old, Adam and Eve strolled the garden with dinosaurs, and much of modern biology, geology and cosmology is a web of lies.
Now a major push to expand these voucher programs is under way from Alaska to New York, a development that seems certain to sharply increase the investment.
Public debate about science education tends to center on bills like one in Missouri, which would allow public school parents to pull their kids from science class whenever the topic of evolution comes up. But the more striking shift in public policy has flown largely under the radar, as a well-funded political campaign has pushed to open the spigot for tax dollars to flow to private schools. Among them are Bible-based schools that train students to reject and rebut the cornerstones of modern science.
When you're dealing with the religious right, no matter how many times the courts shut them down, they always come back with something new to circumvent the rules. And as much as they attack the government for overreaching, they certainly squeeze out oodles of cash for their own causes.
Decades of litigation have established that public schools cannot teach creationism or intelligent design. But private schools receiving public subsidies can — and do. A POLITICO review of hundreds of pages of course outlines, textbooks and school websites found that many of these faith-based schools go beyond teaching the biblical story of the six days of creation as literal fact.
Their course materials nurture disdain of the secular world, distrust of momentous discoveries and hostility toward mainstream scientists. They often distort basic facts about the scientific method — teaching, for instance, that theories such as evolution are by definition highly speculative because they haven’t been elevated to the status of “scientific law.”And this approach isn’t confined to high school biology class; it is typically threaded through all grades and all subjects.
One set of books popular in Christian schools calls evolution “a wicked and vain philosophy.” Another derides “modern math theorists” who fail to view mathematics as absolute laws ordained by God. The publisher notes that its textbooks shun “modern” breakthroughs — even those, like set theory, developed back in the 19th century. Math teachers often set aside time each week — even in geometry and algebra — to explore numbers in the Bible. Students learn vocabulary with sentences like, “Many scientists today are Creationists."
The lies they tell their children is mind boggling.
If only these people worked half as hard to try and fix the real problems of our country and stop buying into Conservative economic principles that only support the phony "job creators" meme, we'd be so much better off.
http://crooksandliars.com/2014/03/us-taxpayers-funding-creationism-schools
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+Scotto Wd you are living in a world of delusion.
"More guns equal less crime!"
John Lott Jr. wrote a controversial book titled More Guns, Less Crime that has been debunked by peer review. The Harvard Injury Control Research Center discovered a positive correlation between gun ownership and violence. Since the 1970's crime has been declining with gun ownership in the United States. However, recently gun ownership has been increasing and not surprisingly, violent crime.
The south is the most violent region in the country, and has the highest prevalence of gun carrying. The Johns Hopkins Center For Gun Policy and Research found that expanding conceal carry laws increases aggravated assaults. European countries have strikingly more stringent gun restrictions and less gun violence. Comparatively, 15 of the 25 worst mass shootings in the past 50 years have occurred in the US.
"The UK has the highest violent crime rate in the world!"
Based on statistics, the UK's violent crime rate is the highest in Europe and is higher than that of the US. However, gun violence in the UK is substantially lower than in the US. There are several potential reasons for the high violent crime including the rise and fall of lead-based paint and leaded petrol. Researchers have linked lead to violent behavior. Another factor could be the UK's judicial system. Many repeat offenders serve shorter prison terms and find themselves back on the streets. There is no evidence however, to suggest that the high violent crime rate in the UK is due to the lack of guns.
"Australia's gun control caused its murder rate to increase!"
This claim is false. Murder rates in Australia reached record lows in 2009.
"But Chicago is more violent than Houston!"
In the US gun laws are not uniform between or even within states. Chicago has tight gun laws, but the rest of Illinois does not and neither does Indiana. It was found that many of Chicago's guns come from surrounding areas in the state or Indiana. Firearms travel from areas with loose gun laws to those with tight laws. Weak national regulations undermine attempts at gun control everywhere. The number of illegal firearms in circulation is a testament to the inadequacy of national gun laws. Most gun violence occurs with such weapons. There are also other factors that determine gun violence, but the guns themselves cannot be excused.
"But I need my gun for defense! Gun restrictions hurt law abiding citizens!"
John Lott Jr. and professor Gary Kleck, a criminologist, argue that guns are frequently used for self defense. These claims have also been debunked by peer review. A study by Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig titled "Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms," found that Kleck's defensive gun use numbers are "far too high" to the point of suggesting bias, as are numbers by similar studies. The National Institute of Justice found that there is even an overestimation in Cook and Ludwig's study. Another study by the Berkley Media Studies Group found similar discrepancies with Kleck's and Lott's defensive gun use claims. According to the Harvard Injury Control Research Center a gun in the home is more likely to be used to commit suicide or to threaten or kill an intimate than used to deter an attacker. The Stanford Law Review found More Guns, Less Crime to be lacking in statistical support. Lott has also come under scrutiny for ethics violations regarding his research. There has been doubt cast on whether or not Lott actually conducted his study at all.
"But I need a gun because the government might become tyrannical!"
The idea of government corruption is nothing new. The Founders understood that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. They designed the system with checks and balances in order to combat this problem. Constant competition within the bureaucracy and between the three branches would assure no one person or group became too powerful. A testament to the success of this system is the fact that we have seen people like Tom DeLay, Scooter Libby, and Jack Abramoff come and go, and the machinery has kept turning.
There are 456 reported federal agencies in our government. Within each of these there are bureaucracies. What most people do not realize is that the size of government is actually a check on its power rather than a sign of it. It is true that as government grows, so too does the number of regulations, but the more people means more competition, and competition means security.
Still, safeguards against tyranny are not only systemic. America's political culture is one with a deep-rooted, 200 year tradition of democracy. The American people are extremely wary of government infringing on individual liberty which can be traced back to our revolutionary experience. There is no way in our system for one person or party to consolidate power.
This paranoia has increased greatly among right wing groups since the election of President Obama even though he is by no means the first president to support gun control measures. He is different from previous president's in one very superficial way. Given the history of the America's right, promotion for political purposes of fears that Obama is going to take away the guns and become a tyrant is reminiscent of the Southern Strategy.
"But Hitler and Stalin took away the guns and look what happened!"
This argument is historically inaccurate. University of Chicago law professor Bernard Harcourt explained in his 2004 paper, Weimar Germany had tougher gun laws than Nazi Germany. Hitler expanded private gun ownership. It is true that Gypsies and Jews were not permitted to own guns, but there is no basis for the belief that these two groups would have stopped the Holocaust had they been armed. If anything, it would have "hastened their demise" according to Robert Spitzer, Chair of SUNY-Cortland's political science department. Hitler was extremely popular among the German people and throughout the world. To suggest that the only thing keeping Hitler in power was control of guns exonerates the many who supported him. The same is true of the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia: the idea that an armed populace would have stopped Stalin is a fantasy. Like Hitler, Stalin was extremely popular.
"But cars kill more people than guns!"
Yes, but automobiles have a purpose other than killing people. Moreover, we regulate cars, we require seat belts, restrict speed, and require a license and insurance in order to drive. Police nationwide are cracking down on drunk driving with checkpoints. These actions have cut down on fatalities. Before you get a license you have to demonstrate ability to drive.
"But legal gun owners don't commit crimes!"
We covered the fact that the likelihood of homicide increases with a gun in the home. It is true however that the majority of gun crime occurs with illegal guns, but that number, as established, speaks loudly to our weak national gun laws due to interstate gun trafficking. Guns become illegal when they are bought in an area with lax laws and sold in an area with tight laws on the black market. Even then, as the number of legal guns increases, so too does the likelihood of a gun falling into the wrong hands, as shown by the Sandy Hook shooting.
According to the Cook and Ludwig survey, male gun owners in 1994 were two and a half times as likely to be arrested than non gun owners for non-traffic offenses. A Mother Jones report found that the majority of the guns used in mass shootings have been legally purchased.
"Criminals will not submit to background checks!"
As established, defensive gun use is extremely rare. People disobey speed limits all the time, but does that really mean we shouldn't have them? Do speed limits do no good?
"But the '94 Assault Weapons Ban did not work!"
The ban was riddled with loopholes gauged into the legislation thanks to efforts by the gun lobby. What's more, research on the effects of the ban is lacking due to congressional restrictions.
Aside from assault weapons, large capacity magazines were also outlawed by the ban. While the former only account for a fraction of gun crime, the latter are much more common in murders and mass shootings according to the only formal assessment of the ban. A Mother Jones report revealed that mass shootings have been on the rise, particularly since 2007. A recent study by Johns Hopkins University found that high capacity magazines allow for higher casualties.
It is worth considering that three of the recent mass shootings have involved an AR-15 which was illegal under the ban.
"But the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!"
This argument is based more on fantasy than practicality. Columbine High School had an armed guard during the shooting in 1999 and Virginia Tech had its own campus police force, and in neither case did these good guys stop the shooter(s). During the mass shooting in Tucson, AZ, an armed man nearly shot the unarmed individual who disarmed Jared Loughner when he was reloading. Now let's apply the good guy argument to Aurora. Shouting "fire" in a crowded theater is the classic example of endangering others, one can only imagine the catastrophe that would have occurred at the Aurora theater had more people had guns.
"But gun laws in general do not work!"
Aside from the information given above, there is something else to consider before making this claim: Automatic weapons. Automatic weapons are used infrequently in crimes and are well regulated.
"But assault weapons aren't frequently used in crimes!"
It is true that most gun violence occurs with handguns, but attacks with assault style weapons have been found to have 54 percent more deaths.
"But violent video games are just as responsible for gun murders!"
Video game consumption is higher in other countries. The US is an outlier due to its high levels of gun violence.
"But the Second Amendment is absolute!"
The Supreme Court has ruled that this is false. Even Justice Antonin Scalia has acknowledged that the Second Amendment has limitations. Every other right Americans have has limitations. These include both speech and privacy. While people were busy defending their guns, the government has slowly been encroaching on the Bill of Rights with laws like the PATRIOT Act.
"But the NRA represents freedom!"
The biggest problem with today's discussion about gun control is that ideology clouds the facts. People seek confirmation bias on the internet as opposed to forming their opinions based on real information. The NRA spends large amounts of money to skew the debate. But why is the NRA so set on opposing all gun legislation? Republican pollster Frank Luntz found that most gun owners, even those who are members of the NRA, favor tighter gun laws. In the past it has supported gun control measures. Today, the NRA represents gun manufacturers on its board of directors' Nominating Committee.
"But...you're wrong. This is a mental health problem, and nothing is going to change!"
Don't shoot the messenger. Guns give people a sense of power and in the wrong hands that is a deadly combination. There is no question that poverty, a poor mental health system, drugs, and gang activity play roles in this issue; the problem of gun control is multifaceted. But, part of the solution must be tighter enforcement and tighter regulation.
The tide is turning in spite of the NRA's efforts. Popular support for gun control will eventually win out. Two-thirds of Americans favor tighter gun laws. If Congress does not act, there is reason to believe that there will be political ramifications. Every day people are killed by guns, legal and illegal.
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When David Koch ran as the Vice Presidential candidate on the Libertarian ticket in 1980 this was their platform for that year. It is a manifesto of what David and Charles Koch expect to receive in return for their large investment in American politics.
• We urge the repeal of federal campaign finance laws, and the immediate abolition of the despotic Federal Election Commission.”
• “We favor the abolition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.”
• “We oppose any compulsory insurance or tax-supported plan to provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.”
• “We also favor the deregulation of the medical insurance industry.”
• “We favor the repeal of the fraudulent, virtually bankrupt, and increasingly oppressive Social Security system. Pending that repeal, participation in Social Security should be made voluntary.”
• “We propose the abolition of the governmental Postal Service. The present system, in addition to being inefficient, encourages governmental surveillance of private correspondence. Pending abolition, we call for an end to the monopoly system and for allowing free competition in all aspects of postal service.”
• “We oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes.”
• “We support the eventual repeal of all taxation.”
• “As an interim measure, all criminal and civil sanctions against tax evasion should be terminated immediately.”
• “We support repeal of all law which impede the ability of any person to find employment, such as minimum wage laws.”
• “We advocate the complete separation of education and State. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended.”
• “We condemn compulsory education laws … and we call for the immediate repeal of such laws.”
• “We support the repeal of all taxes on the income or property of private schools, whether profit or non-profit.”
• “We support the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
• “We support abolition of the Department of Energy.”
• “We call for the dissolution of all government agencies concerned with transportation, including the Department of Transportation.”
• “We demand the return of America's railroad system to private ownership. We call for the privatization of the public roads and national highway system.”
• “We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.”
• “We advocate the abolition of the Federal Aviation Administration.”
• “We advocate the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration.”
• “We support an end to all subsidies for child-bearing built into our present laws, including all welfare plans and the provision of tax-supported services for children.”
• “We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and ‘aid to the poor’ programs. All these government programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient. The proper source of help for such persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.”
• “We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution system that brings water to industry, agriculture and households.”
• “We call for the repeal of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”
• “We call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.”
• “We support the repeal of all state usury laws.”
Every single one of these ideas is rooted in John Birch Society dogma. His sons are just expanding capacity for them now, not abandoning their principles.
Keep this list handy. You're going to need it in the days to come.
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Reagan a steaming pile
Ronald Reagan represents all of the worst elements of the American political experience of the last 50 years. All of them. He was, and always will be, nothing but a steaming hot pile of filthy hyena puke.
Intellectually, Reagan gave chimpy a run for his money. He was vacuous. He was shallow. He was incurious. He was a puppet and a door stop for a group of sick ideologues who really ran the country. He was a bad actor and foolish tool.
Ideologically, he was a hater and an imperialist and far-right loony-tune. He hated the poor. He hated gays. He hated leftists. He hated communists - and he was pretty sure you were one if you disagreed with him. He hated and he hated and he hated. Just ask his own kids. He hated them and himself and his ex-wife. Ronald Reagan was a twisted unrepentant closed-minded waste-bag hate monger. And that's just for starters.
The foreign policy of Ronald Reagan did more to impoverish and kill the poor and helpless humans of the world than any world leader before or since - with the possible exception of our Bush. Reagan just didn't give a hoot. He was going to defeat communism (which was already falling of its own weight) and he didn't care how many children were burned alive or how many people starved to death on the way. Let em die. Reagan was a friggen dirtbag.
On Reagan's watch the military budget of the U.S. grew to the proportions of a heaping pile of 10,000 week-old dead and bloated Blue Whales. And it stunk just as bad. The practice of rewarding incompetent cronies with gigantic useless contracts for unneeded military hardware was elevated to art form under Reagan. Reagan's legendary megalomania, hubris and abject ignorance led him to believe the tales of any crackpot who managed to slither past the goons who comprised his inner circle. Star-wars missiles, atomic shields, space-age death rays. You name it - that loon would fall for it - and blow billions of your tax dollars on it.
And on the domestic front - holy crap the domestic front. Ronald Reagan was a force for the rampaging evil of anti-human destructiveness. He never met a social program he didn't scorn. He never met an American in need he didn't have a bowel movement directly upon. His response to the AIDS epidemic is one of the most sickening cold-blooded expressions of pure murderous political evil in the history of the earth. Genghis Khan could only dream of such depravity and indifference to human suffering. There is so much more, but, hell, if you don't already know about this crap, then go read a book or two.
Then there was Iran-Contra - the infamous orgy of unfettered criminality at the heart of the Reagan legacy. Again, look it up. Rogues, liars, crooks, murderers and ignorant heartless scum surrounded Reagan at all times. Ali Baba would've been shamed. But Ronald Reagan was shameless.
Oh, did I mention The War on Drugs and it's ballooning of the prison/criminal industrial complex and the rise of brainless goon-like authoritarianism? Or the destruction of the modern labor movement including the cowardly firing of the Air Traffic Controllers? Or the beginnings of the current trend of packing the Judiciary with corrupt freakish pseudo-fascist stoolies? Or the repugnant rapes of Lebanon and Grenada? Or the dim-witted goofball junk science that came to known as "Reaganomics?" Or grant rigging at the Department of Housing and Urban Development? Or James Watt and the whole-hearted attempt to destroy the earth and all its inhabitants at the expense of greed mongers and corporate whores? Or the largest white collar theft in the history of planet Earth - the Savings and Loan Bailout? And on and on and on and on.
So let me conclude,
Ronald Reagan will forever be remembered as one of the most idiotic, vile, worthless leaders of any any nation in any era. He presently occupies a special place in Hell beside Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. And I promise you, they all think he's an idiot too. Screw Ronald Reagan. And then screw him again.
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+sausagemcbean Go figure that Reagan would be blamed, when Reagan started this shit.
The history of Ronald Reagan should be written that he was nothing more than a tool to harm the nation. He tripled our debt, he sold weapons to enemies and he started the war against the nation by bringing in trickle down. The man is a disgrace.
Since Reagan the Americans have suffered.
Republicans and those who vote Republicans are nothing more than tories, red coats, the buffoons and suckers who kissess rich man's ass and exist for no other reason than to kiss rich man's ass. It's obscene and it's worse than pornography.
Dispel the Reagan myth. Multiple tax increases, a balloted budget, giant increase to government and deficits. Reagan beyond being a failure as a President was someone that should have been arrested for crimes against humanity for what he did in central america.
Reagan was the first president to politicize the CIA. He told the CIA to lie to Congress by telling Congress that the Soviet Union was a very wealthy country, so he can con money out of Congress.
The Soviet Union was on it's way to a collapse long before Reagan took office. Kurschev already told Nixon the model in the Soviet Union was not working.
Mikhail Gorbachev spoke in a US community, one of only two communities he gave a speech at in the United States. At the speech, Gorbachev blew the Reagan myth out of the waters. Gorbachev blamed himself for not acting quick enough to transform the former Soviet Union into a new model.
The Cold War was long gone and over before Reagan came onto the scene. The Soviet Union knew it was a matter of time. It was Reagan who lied, nothing new there, lied about the economic conditions in the former Soviet Union.
I have heard many Russians say it was the Beatles that taught them about freedom and kept the ideas alive until they could throw off the regime.
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