Ronald Reagan - Revision history

Spider of Destiny: /* Zappa and Ronald Reagan */

2026-08-08T15:30:59Z

Zappa and Ronald Reagan

Spider of Destiny: /* Zappa and Ronald Reagan */

2026-08-04T18:36:55Z

Zappa and Ronald Reagan

Spider of Destiny at 20:28, 4 July 2026

2026-07-04T20:28:08Z

Spider of Destiny at 21:29, 1 July 2026

2026-07-01T21:29:48Z

Spider of Destiny: /* Zappa about Ronald Reagan */

2026-06-05T19:25:06Z

Zappa about Ronald Reagan

Jason.Kreitzer at 15:53, 19 October 2021

2021-10-19T15:53:59Z

Jason.Kreitzer at 19:48, 4 October 2021

2021-10-04T19:48:54Z

Jason.Kreitzer at 01:27, 29 July 2021

2021-07-29T01:27:36Z

Jason.Kreitzer at 21:59, 21 July 2021

2021-07-21T21:59:19Z

PopFanDoug: fix errors & ce lede.

2020-11-07T19:30:41Z

fix errors & ce lede.

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:30, 8 August 2026
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	During a photo shoot for the cover of ''[[Video From Hell]]'' (also used in a chapter of ''[[The Real Frank Zappa Book]]'') Zappa had a quote from Reagan during the Republican Convention in 1988 written on the wall: ''"Facts are stupid things."''		During a photo shoot for the cover of ''[[Video From Hell]]'' (also used in a chapter of ''[[The Real Frank Zappa Book]]'') Zappa had a quote from Reagan during the Republican Convention in 1988 written on the wall: ''"Facts are stupid things."''
		+
		+	Zappa and Ronald Reagan's name were included on the [[Freedom Wall]] in [[Chicago]].

	Ronald Reagan was also mentioned in the liner notes of ''[[The MOFO Project/Object (Fazedooh)\|The MOFO Project/Object]]'' (2006) album. <ref>http://donlope.net/fz/notes/The_MOFO_Project_Object.html#Contributors</ref>		Ronald Reagan was also mentioned in the liner notes of ''[[The MOFO Project/Object (Fazedooh)\|The MOFO Project/Object]]'' (2006) album. <ref>http://donlope.net/fz/notes/The_MOFO_Project_Object.html#Contributors</ref>

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:36, 4 August 2026
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	Frank Zappa was very critical about the Reagan administration. As early as the 1960s Zappa criticized Reagan, while he was still Governor of California. The liner notes of ''[[We're Only In It For The Money]] (1968)'' mention that the concentration camp in ''[[The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny]]'' is called ''"Camp Reagan".'' The song ''[[Agency Man]]'', performed during the 1968 concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London, was inspired by Reagan (the give away line is "From the heart of old Death Valley, to the ruling of our land" Reagan hosted a TV show in the early 60s called 'Death Valley Days'. That show is also mentioned in'The Blue Light' which was released just before Reagan took office as president: "Death Valley Days, straight ahead! The future is scary - YES IT SURE IS").		Frank Zappa was very critical about the Reagan administration. As early as the 1960s Zappa criticized Reagan, while he was still Governor of California. The liner notes of ''[[We're Only In It For The Money]] (1968)'' mention that the concentration camp in ''[[The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny]]'' is called ''"Camp Reagan".'' The song ''[[Agency Man]]'', performed during the 1968 concert in the Royal Albert Hall in London, was inspired by Reagan (the give away line is "From the heart of old Death Valley, to the ruling of our land" Reagan hosted a TV show in the early 60s called 'Death Valley Days'. That show is also mentioned in'The Blue Light' which was released just before Reagan took office as president: "Death Valley Days, straight ahead! The future is scary - YES IT SURE IS").
		+
		+	During ''[[Botulism On The Hoof]]'', [[Howard Kaylan]] says: ''"It's like having Ronald Reagan for a road manager."''

	During the 1980s, when Reagan became U.S. President, Zappa targeted his administration very directly. In the music video of ''[[You Are What You Is (The Music Video)\|You Are What You Is]] (1981)'' a lookalike of Reagan is featured on the electric chair. Reagan is mentioned in Zappa's songs ''[[The Untouchables]], [[Star Wars Won't Work]], [[Dickie's Such An Asshole]], [[When The Lie's So Big]], [[Reagan At Bitburg]]'', the [[Broadway The Hard Way]] version of [[What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?]] and ''[[Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk]]''. Reagan is also a character in ''[[Dio Fa]]''.		During the 1980s, when Reagan became U.S. President, Zappa targeted his administration very directly. In the music video of ''[[You Are What You Is (The Music Video)\|You Are What You Is]] (1981)'' a lookalike of Reagan is featured on the electric chair. Reagan is mentioned in Zappa's songs ''[[The Untouchables]], [[Star Wars Won't Work]], [[Dickie's Such An Asshole]], [[When The Lie's So Big]], [[Reagan At Bitburg]]'', the [[Broadway The Hard Way]] version of [[What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?]] and ''[[Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk]]''. Reagan is also a character in ''[[Dio Fa]]''.

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:28, 4 July 2026
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	[[Category:Targets\|Reagan, Ronald]]		[[Category:Targets\|Reagan, Ronald]]
	[[Category:Conceptual Continuity\|Reagan, Ronald]]		[[Category:Conceptual Continuity\|Reagan, Ronald]]
		+	[[Category:The MOFO Project/Object (The List)\|Reagan, Ronald]]

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 [[File:Ronald Reagan poster.jpg|500px|thumb|right|Ronald Reagan poster which hung in Zappa's basement from 1988 until his death.]]
-'''Ronald Reagan''' (February 6, 1911- May 5, 2004) served as the 40th [[The President|President]] of the [[United States of America|United States]] from 1981-1989. He had been a Hollywood movie actor before serving as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975.
+'''Ronald Reagan''' (February 6, 1911- May 5, 2004) was a Hollywood actor in the 1940s and 1950s. Joining the [[Republican Party]] in the 1960s, he was elected Governor of California (1967-1975) and between 1981 and 1989  served as the 40th [[The President|President]] of the [[United States of America|United States]].
 The Reagan administration was also noted for spending millions of dollars on defense, especially against international [[communism]]. During the early 1980s Reagan was both praised and criticized for his aggressive denouncing of the Soviet Union (even calling it ''"the evil empire"'' in 1983). His government ordered several nuclear missiles to be placed in Europe, which lead to large protests in the continent. In 1983 Reagan introduced his [[Star Wars]] defense plan, intended to protect the U.S against possible space missiles. After [[Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev]] became Soviet leader in 1985 Gorbachev and Reagan started more peaceful negotiations and signed several treaties decreasing both countries' nuclear arsenals. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and total collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Reagan is often seen as the man who ended the [[Cold War]], even though this honor could also be attributed to Gorbachev.
-Reagan's foreign policy was criticized for financially supporting several dubious organizations and Presidents in their battle against Communism, including Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. After a left-wing military coup in Grenada in 1983 Reagan sent troops to successfully restore the old regime. In 1985-1987 Reagan ordered bombings in Libya in reaction to several terrorist attacks supported by [[Muhammar Khadaffi]].
+Reagan's foreign policy was criticized for financially supporting several dubious organizations and Presidents in their battle against Communism, including [[Manuel Noriega]], Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. After a left-wing military coup in Grenada in 1983 Reagan sent troops to successfully restore the old regime. In 1985-1987 Reagan ordered bombings in Libya in reaction to several terrorist attacks supported by [[Muhammar Khadaffi]].
 In 1986 the Iran-Contra affair severely damaged President Reagan's believability. He and several other U.S. officials, including [[Oliver North]], [[Ed Meese]], Caspar Weinberger and [[John Poindexter]] secretly facilitated the sale of weapons to Iran in exchange for hostages so that the money could be used to finance the Contra rebels in [[Nicaragua]] who wanted to overthrow the socialist government in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras had been prohibited by the U.S. Congress, making the entire affair illegal. While North, Meese, Weinberger and Poindexter were forced to resign and convicted, it remains unclear how much Reagan knew about these illegal proceedings. The Tower Commission, who investigated the case, could not find direct evidence that he had prior knowledge of the program, but did claim that he as President was responsible and should've informed himself more about these activities.

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:25, 5 June 2026
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	After Zappa voiced his intention of running for President, a journalist asked him what would make him different in comparison with other Presidents: ''"I work more hours. And I'm awake!" '' (FZ, interview in ''[[Ein Leben Als Extravaganza - Das Genie Frank Zappa]]''.)		After Zappa voiced his intention of running for President, a journalist asked him what would make him different in comparison with other Presidents: ''"I work more hours. And I'm awake!" '' (FZ, interview in ''[[Ein Leben Als Extravaganza - Das Genie Frank Zappa]]''.)
		+
		+	==See also==
		+	* [[Ed Meese]]
		+	* [[Oliver North]]
		+	* [[John Poindexter]]
		+	* [[George Shultz]]

	==References==		==References==

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 During a photo shoot for the cover of ''[[Video From Hell]]'' (also used in a chapter of ''[[The Real Frank Zappa Book]]'') Zappa had a quote from Reagan during the Republican Convention in 1988 written on the wall: ''"Facts are stupid things."''
-Ronald Reagan was also mentioned in the liner notes of ''[[The MOFO Project/Object]]'' (2006) album. <ref>http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/notes/The_MOFO_Project_Object.html#Contributors</ref>
+Ronald Reagan was also mentioned in the liner notes of ''[[The MOFO Project/Object (Fazedooh)|The MOFO Project/Object]]'' (2006) album. <ref>http://donlope.net/fz/notes/The_MOFO_Project_Object.html#Contributors</ref>
 ==Zappa about Ronald Reagan==

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 ''"The fact of the matter is that if I do an album that has any kind of a vocal on it from now on, the chances are that that vocal is going to be about a sociological or political topic. For example, I thought of one that I want to do just the other day called "Lie To Me," which would deal with a catalog of everything that the Reagan administration has been able to get away with for the last six years. That would be a worthwhile thing to stick in there."'' - Frank Zappa in ''[[Sample This!]]''.
-''"Mount Rushmore should either be replaced or have a companion. Another part of the mountain, carved up with some heads that had the biggest influence on what America is today. [[Joseph McCarthy|His head]] should be there. [[J. Edgar Hoover]]'s head should be there. [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]'s head should be there. And Reagan's head should be there. These people have done more damage to the idea of Democracy than anybody-from another country- could ever imagine."''  (FZ in [[The Lost Interview]], part 1 of 7, 1990)
+''"Mount Rushmore should either be replaced or have a companion. Another part of the mountain, carved up with some heads that had the biggest influence on what America is today. [[Joseph McCarthy|His head]] should be there. [[Wikipedia:J. Edgar Hoover|J. Edgar Hoover]]'s head should be there. [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]'s head should be there. And Reagan's head should be there. These people have done more damage to the idea of Democracy than anybody-from another country- could ever imagine."''  (FZ in [[The Lost Interview]], part 1 of 7, 1990)
 After Zappa voiced his intention of running for President, a journalist asked him what would make him different in comparison with other Presidents: ''"I work more hours. And I'm awake!" '' (FZ, interview in ''[[Ein Leben Als Extravaganza - Das Genie Frank Zappa]]''.)

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 During the 1980s, when Reagan became U.S. President, Zappa targeted his administration very directly. In the music video of ''[[You Are What You Is (The Music Video)|You Are What You Is]] (1981)'' a lookalike of Reagan is featured on the electric chair. Reagan is mentioned in Zappa's songs ''[[The Untouchables]], [[Star Wars Won't Work]], [[Dickie's Such An Asshole]], [[When The Lie's So Big]], [[Reagan At Bitburg]]'', the [[Broadway The Hard Way]] version of [[What Kind Of Girl Do You Think We Are?]] and ''[[Jesus Thinks You're A Jerk]]''. Reagan is also a character in ''[[Dio Fa]]''.
-During the 1984-1985 [[PMRC]] debates Zappa wrote Reagan a letter of protest ''([[Z-Pack - Letter to the President]])''. He received no reply.
+During the 1984-1985 [[Parents Music Resource Center|PMRC]] debates Zappa wrote Reagan a letter of protest ''([[Z-Pack - Letter to the President]])''. He received no reply.
 Zappa had a poster on the wall portraying Ronald Reagan in Nazi uniform, featuring the words, ''"He has the right to do anything they want"'' written underneath. <ref>https://www.julienslive.com/m/lot-details/index/catalog/211/lot/88350?url=%2Fm%2Fview-auctions%2Fcatalog%2Fid%2F211%3Fpage%3D6</ref> He talked about it during the [[Pulse Interview]], April 1993: "''[[Plastic People]] is especially relevant today in the United States," he says, in reference to a poster on the wall portraying a Hitler-like Ronald Reagan with the words, "He has the right to do anything they want" written underneath. Zappa then recites a few lines from the song: "Take a day and walk around / Watch the Nazis run your town/ Then go home and check yourself/ You think we're singing 'bout someone else?"'