Day: September 2, 2011
Eisenhower Administration Believed in Abominable Snowman
Besides ginning up the old military-industrial complex in the Cold War, the Eisenhower administration in December 1959 issued regulations governing expeditions in Nepal that went in search of the abominable snowman or yeti. Judging by the regulations — issued by the State Department to the U.S embassy in Kathmandu — the government of Nepal was a little sensitive regarding the illusive beast.
The first regulation required a royalty payment of 5,000 rupees to the Nepalese government for the privilege of mounting an expedition to find the critter. The second regulation prohibited killing a yeti except in self-defense. And finally, news or reports that hinted at the actual existence of the yeti were to be turned over to nepal’s government and not given to reporters or news outlets.
Couple the issuance of the yeti regulations with the alleged crash of an alien spaceship at Roswell, N.M., a decade earlier and it helps put into perspective other long-held Republican beliefs. Tax breaks for the wealthy and trickle-down economics pale in comparison with crazy talk about little green men and terrifying snow monsters.
See the actual yeti regulations document after the jump.
Obama Voters Want Strong Jobs Package
81%
Of people who voted for Barack Obama for president in 2008 want him to lay out a broad plan for creating jobs and hold Republicans accountable if they block the legislation, instead of proposing smaller measures that Republicans have supported, in the hopes of getting something passed in Congress, according to a new SurveyUSA/MoveOn poll.
Hagel ‘Disgusted’ by GOP
The irresponsible actions of my party, the Republican Party over this were astounding. I’d never seen anything like this in my lifetime. I was very disappointed, I was very disgusted in how this played out in Washington, this debt ceiling debate. It was an astounding lack of responsible leadership by many in the Republican Party, and I say that as a Republican … I think the Republican Party is captive to political movements that are very ideological, that are very narrow. I’ve never seen so much intolerance as I see today in American politics.
— Former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), quoted by the Financial Times, saying he is “disgusted” by the Republican party’s behavior.
Donald Trump — Book Reviewer?
Isn’t a shame: Here’s a guy who did a rotten job as vice president, nobody liked him, tremendous divisiveness, and he’s gonna make a lot of money on the book.
— Donald Trump, in a video review of Dick Cheney’s memoir, “In My Time.”
Out of Spite
We’re all talking about Sarah Palin — still.
We’ve speculated on whether she’ll run till we’re ill.
It’s no longer any fun,
Tea Partiers don’t even want her to run!
Which is why, out of spite, she probably will …
Even Tea Partiers Don’t Want Palin to Run
66%
Of Tea Party members say they don’t want Sarah Palin to run for president, while just 28% do, according to a new Fox News poll.
Job Growth Has Stalled Since Boehner’s GOP-Tea Party Took Charge
The latest jobs report out today indicates that employment has stalled, with unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent, proving yet again that the GOP tea party’s obstructionism on the economy is paying off. And since their endgame is to saddle the White House with responsibility for the poor growth their own obstructionism creates, their leader, Speaker John Boehner, was quick to blame the president for the weak numbers.
Steve Benen at Washington Monthly has nailed Speaker Boehner and his tea party bosses for first claiming credit for a good jobs report in the early spring, but now trying to blame the White House for the stalled growth ever since.
