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Not many speeches are mighty deeds. When Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987, he performed a mighty deed by giving the speech he gave. Our friend Peter Robinson was the man who wrote the speech. He tells the story behind the speech in his memoir How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, Peter recalled the events leading to the speech for Power Line readers in a form condensed from his book. As we celebrate the fall of the Wall today, we remember: "In...

Cold War: The White House has announced our absence at ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Meanwhile, Russia has been practicing a nuclear invasion of an abandoned Poland. The Berlin Wall has been a famous backdrop for American presidents sounding the battle cry of liberty in the struggle against tyranny. It was there that John F. Kennedy expressed our solidarity with the encircled residents of that outpost of freedom with his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner." And it was there that Ronald Reagan, with a defiant "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," voiced our...

We win. They lose.

Twenty years ago today, November 9, should be forever remembered as a truly great day in the course of human history. Without a shot being fired, few could believe the exhilarating fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain just a little over two years after President Ronald Reagan audaciously demanded, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” How was this advancement of human freedom achieved? Resolve and unity of purpose of people, motivated by the visionary leadership of Ronald Reagan and steadily supported by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, and the unique moral respect of Polish-born Pope...

Ronald Reagan brought two things to Washington that were very much out of fashion, I enjoy telling student interns at Family Research Council: brown suits and freedom for a hundred million people in Eastern Europe. When Reagan swept into office in a landslide in 1980, the reigning view of Washington’s foreign policy elites toward Eastern Europe was that expressed in the Sonnenfeldt Doctrine. State Department Counselor Helmut Sonnenfeldt in the 1970s was a disciple of Henry Kissinger. TIME Magazine explained Sonnefeldt’s ideas: He was quoted as saying that U.S. policy in Eastern Europe should “strive for an evolution that makes...

Reagan's courageous act in '87 is worth noting by today's GOP For conservatives and Republicans who are wondering what in the world happened to their party, we should recall June 12, 1987. On that day 21 years ago, President Ronald Reagan stood before the wall dividing East and West Berlin and directed his famous appeal to the leader of the then Soviet Union: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Two and half years later, the wall was down and a new chapter had begun. It's always worth recalling Reagan's courageous act and words of that time. But we particularly should...

MOSCOW - Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev criticized the United States, and President Bush in particular, on Friday for sowing disorder across the world by seeking to build an empire. Gorbachev, who presided over the break-up of the Soviet Union, said Washington had sought to build an empire after the Cold War ended but had failed to understand the changing world. “The Americans then gave birth to the idea of a new empire, world leadership by a single power, and what followed?” Gorbachev asked reporters at a news conference in Moscow. “What has followed are unilateral actions, what has followed...

In April 1987, when I was assigned to write the speech, the celebrations for the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin were already under way. Queen Elizabeth had already visited the city. Mikhail Gorbachev was due in a matter of days... I was told only that the President would be speaking at the Berlin Wall, that he was likely to draw an audience of about 10,000, and that, given the setting, he probably ought to talk about foreign policy...

Twenty years ago today Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate and gave the speech heard 'round the world. Our friend Peter Robinson was the man who wrote the speech. He tells the story behind the speech in his terrific book How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life. Peter has kindly condensed his account for Power Line readers today: In April 1987, when I was assigned to write the Brandenburg Gate address, I spent a day in Berlin with the White House advance team, the logistical experts, Secret Service agents, and press officials who went...

Thank you very much. Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty-four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the City Hall. Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin. And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city. We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it's our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we're drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than...

Straight From the Gipper's Pen HarperCollins to Publish Reagan's Personal Diary Of His White House Years Ronald Reagan kept a diary -- handwritten, blue-inked reflections and observations of nearly every day of his eight years in the White House -- and now it will be published, executives of HarperCollins and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation announced yesterday. The existence of the five leather-bound volumes embossed with a gold presidential seal was not a secret. Key entries were quoted in the press during the investigation into the Iran-contra arms sale controversy in the mid-1980s: "I agreed to sell TOWs to...

In this war freedom should come first not after! In New Hampshire the Motto is Live free or Die! I don't need Bush spying on law abiding americans and taking our freedoms. Anyone who surrenders a square inch of freedom to the government in the name of saftey is a traitor and should be treated like one! Let the Bush Fashists all drop dead! Filthy Commys! LET FREEDOM RING!

Friends of Anton Srdanovic is happy to host two New York City sneak previews of the new film: "In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word & Deed" on October 17th at 12pm and 2pm. "In the Face of Evil" recently premiered at the very first Liberty Film Festival and has finally made its way to New York. Be one of the first New Yorkers to see this amazing documentary about our beloved 40th president, Ronald Reagan. RSVP for location information and ticket reservations at: info@antonforcongress.com Suggested Minimum Donation: $25 Seats are limited! and tickets will be available only...

MIDI - CANDLE IN THE WIND We have lost a man...quite a man who loved liberty His strength of purpose set the standard for all history His name was Ronald Reagan...he had chased our malaise away He promised fellow countrymen there'd be a better day Think of him when things are getting rough...your adversity you'll face In your heart, keep him with you there in a special place 'Cause his inspiration is limitless...you will want to sing Around the whole world, because of him, the bells of freedom ring He believed that God led him toward things that he...

A Personal Account of The Fall of the Berlin Wall: The 11th and 12th of November, 1989 Andreas Ramos On Thursday, the 9th of November, 1989, and Friday the 10th, the TV and radio in Denmark was filled with news about the events in Berlin. The Berlin Wall was about to fall. On Saturday morning, the 11th of November, I heard on the radio that East Germany was collapsing. At the spur of the moment, I suggested to Karen, my Danish wife, and two Danish friends, Rolf Reitan and Nana Kleist, that we should go to Berlin. We talked about...

I understand that President Reagan's body will be at his library in Simi Valley for 24 so that we may come and pay our respects. Okay, who is going?

ABC just announced :( Ronald Reagan was 93

Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate West Berlin, Germany June 12, 1987 This speech was delivered to the people of West Berlin, yet it was also audible on the East side of the Berlin wall. 2,703 words Thank you very much. Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty-four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the City Hall. Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin. And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city. We come to...

Hi! My name is John Martineu. Im 18 and a student of Dover high School in Dover Delaware. I have been assigned a final term project. We are to do a 20 page turn paper on different subjects. I am doing one on the collapse of communism. Since you coservatives know alot about this, I was wondering if you could help me out. First Id like to know what communism is and how it is different from socialism? Second I would also like to know about why Russia collapsed. Third could you tell me why you refer to certain people...

Gorelick Rejected Attempt to Revise 'Wall' Memo By Scott Wheeler CNSNews.com Staff Writer April 29, 2004 (CNSNews.com) - One of America's most prominent federal prosecutors sought changes to the 1995 "wall" memo authored by then-Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, but most of the concerns expressed by U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White over the barriers erected between criminal and counter-intelligence investigations were rejected. Gorelick's "wall" memo was the subject of an April 26 CNSNews.com report, which quoted four sources as saying the memo erected barriers to intelligence-sharing between the FBI and intelligence agencies -- and impeded the investigation of alleged Chinese...