Okay, I know, Ronald Reagan walked on water. He almost single-handedly got the hostages released in Iran (arms for hostages?) and brought down the Soviet Empire (looked like they were coming apart anyway?). He was a saint. Okay? I’ll give that to the Reaganites, who won’t accept anything else. He also busted the air traffic controllers union (PATCO), opening the door on a management philosophy of getting more work done with fewer employees. Jobs fell like cordwood, millions of jobs were outsourced overseas and unions became a thing of the past as the destruction of the American middle class was officially underway.

In the case of PATCO, specifically, fears were expressed that cutting costs by using fewer and less experienced air traffic controllers at the nation’s major airports would endanger lives.

And now comes this: “Federal authorities are reviewing the staffing of air traffic control towers nationwide after two passenger jets were unable to reach a controller at Washington’s Reagan National Airport to guide their late-night landings.

An aviation official said that an air traffic supervisor — the lone controller on duty around midnight on Tuesday when the incident occurred — had fallen asleep. The official spoke on grounds of anonymity because an investigation is ensuing.”-AP

One controller on duty at Reagan National Airport? Just one?

Thank you, Mr. Reagan. Your legacy is alive and unwell.