They are feeling the freedom in Lewis County Kentucky.
Governor Ernie “Not Currently Under Investigation” Fletcher and local dignitaries were on hand for the dedication of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Parkway.
This proud addition to the Ever Expanding Things Named Reagan Galaxy runs from an industrial park [hence the Parkway part?] to a highway. It’s touted as economic development, and as support for the 120 current jobs in the industrial park. Or at a cost of $10.3 million, about $110,000 a job. There’s Reagan Spirit in action!
How did the Bluegrass State fare in the reign of Reagan? His Administration let it rip on strip mining coal, limited access to compensation for Black Lung, and cut safety enforcement at underground mines.
“Wednesday’s ceremony was completed with the Lewis County High School Band and its rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home.” Onlookers of the ceremony could be heard wondering if this day was a sign of their new Kentucky home.”
Backwards in Britain
I got mine!
The Churchill family cashing in threatens to set the United Kingdom on the path to more presidentialism: cults of personality, motorcades, and our gift to the world, the presidential library.
History News Network reports they aren’t there yet, but are plugging away.
Britain has a functioning National Archives, but that can’t stop the empire builders. The Churchill papers were bought back from the family with public money, and rest at the Cambridge college named for him. Margaret Thatcher is tagging along there, but appears to be thin on actual material.
Her archive head says “What we have here …are the private letters to Baroness Thatcher from members of Parliament, copies of official letters that she was allowed to take with her and much more.â€
The Thatcher web site illustrates the redundant nature of the enterprise:
“MT’s own collection includes copies of most of the White House material relating to her meetings with successive Presidents. Gaps in her collection have been filled, in some cases, from the Carter and Reagan Library photographic collections. Bush material will be placed on line with documentary material in early 2006.”
A search in multimedia for “Reagan” gets you nothing but White House photos. There are some bugs to work out on the site itself. Even the link to the Churchill archives is a bust.
The Churchill site is more fun, including Churchill’s memorandum calling for poison gassing Bolshevik troops during the British intervention in Russia’s Civil War.
Last night Stephen Colbert took the campaign for Reagan money to exciting new heights, with a proposal to hijack upcoming changes in the Lincoln penny in order to provide a fitting salute to Ronald Reagan.
In 2009 the penny will be coming out in four versions, each with a panel illustrating an aspect of Lincoln’s life.
Colbert would insert “Reagan teaching Lincoln that slavery was wrong” in order to “do the right thing and honor America’s finest leader. And Lincoln. he was pretty good too.”
PC World offers a tutorial on how to cheat on the Lessons Of History: Photoshop it.
Dave Johnson offers step by step instructions on how to do it just like the golden days of yesteryear in the USSR, when Trotsky and others disappeared
before and after
from photographs, and often the world.
The starting point is of course Elvis and Nixon at the White House. 
Their standing in cultural memory may be indicated in the fact that it’s Nixon who has to go
and “your name here” steps into the breach. 
Presidential History takes many forms across our broad land, and Flickr has joined the fight.
“Do fries come with that shake?” he asked grimly.
