Donald Rumsfeld update!

This is beyond nuts.

In a good way.


Time: Why Is Donald Rumsfeld on This Package of Spicy Peanuts?
By Catherine Mayer

There are, in this salty tale of frolics, politics and peanuts, a number of what Donald Rumsfeld might call known knowns. These are things we know that we know -- such as how a photograph of a young Rumsfeld, a chopstick balanced on his protruding upper lip as he gazes at a giggling Geisha, came to decorate packets of U.K. snack food manufacturer Tyrrell's Spicy Coated Peanuts. "All our packs feature imagery which aims to be rather entertaining, quirky and just a bit different from the norm of popping a slice of cheese and an onion on the front of a pack," emails Oliver Rudgard, Tyrrell's Marketing Director. "We thought this image was in line with our brand's light-hearted and slightly eccentric view on life."

The story is rich with known unknowns, too. For example, we know that the former White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense did not know that his more than slightly eccentric portrait was being used this way until TIME informed his people.

And here's another Rumsfeldian known unknown: few Britons ripping open a packet of the wasabi-flavored treats would recognize the anonymous man unwittingly pressed into service to promote the product. There's no caption to the photograph on the packaging. "We chose it because we loved the picture," confirms Rudgard. "The fact that Donald Rumsfeld was featured was merely coincidental." Indeed, the packaging was an unknown unknown. British consumers didn't know they didn't know the story behind it.

Coincidence ensured that this unknown unknown and the known unknowns became known knowns. An eagle-eyed TIME staffer picked up a few groceries in a convenience store during a recent holiday in the north of England. He spotted the photograph and felt sure it belonged to a set taken by the photographer David Hume Kennerly during President Gerald Ford's 1974 visit to Japan. Kennerly, duly contacted, confirmed a further known unknown. Like Rumsfeld, he had no idea that the image had found a new and salty-fingered audience.

Read more?

What's in your pouch?

Left to right: Hawaiian Tropic Anti-Oxidant Sunblock SPF 50, Crabtree & Evelyn Summer Hill Hand Therapy (travel size), Lola's Universal Colorless Powder, Lola Lip Service Treatment in Pure, Guerlain Meteorites Illuminating & Mattifying Pressed Powder, Sue Devitt Bronzing Eyeshadow Trio.

Bloomberg: Study Shows Obama Watering Down Regulations More Than Bush

From Bloomberg:

President Barack Obama, criticized by Republicans for slowing job growth by over regulating, has weakened proposed rules at a greater rate than President George W. Bush, according to a new study.

The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs changed 76 percent of agency rules submitted for review under Obama, compared with 64 percent under his Republican predecessor, according to the study from the Center for Progressive Reform. Obama also has ignored requirements that he disclose documents exchanged between OIRA and federal agencies, the report said.

“We are disappointed because we thought President Obama had great potential,” Rena Steinzor, president of the center, a Washington-based research group that supports health and environmental rules, said in an interview. “He promised us he would be transparent, but he is just as bad as Bush.”

The scope of government regulation has emerged as a major issue in the 2012 presidential race and on Capitol Hill. Republican presidential candidates have accused Obama of stifling job creation by imposing rules on business, and House Republicans have vowed to rein in proposed regulations on everything from the environment to health care to banking.

Read the entire article here!

Updates:
President Obama to join former Presidents Bush and Clinton at AIDS panel (Considering he's not doing much, wonder what he has to say?)

Bush advised Bachmann to "lose the gloves" (Shows that GWB is the sort of guy who stays true to himself, and would advise others to do the same!)

Beauty addict.

I'm such a beauty junkie. Call me vain or shallow or both, but make-up and face creams and body lotions bring an inner peace to my soul like no gorgeous hunk can. It's such a nitwit thing to say but I can't help myself!



It's not too much, is it?

p.s.
Check out this link. It's George P. Bush on Fox & Friends! GREAT interview!!!!

Glamour Magazine to honor Laura Bush, Bush Twins

Update:
Obama omits God from Thanksgiving message
George W. Bush Library Will Include World Trade Center Steel
Mrs. Laura Bush,the Twins and Condi Rice @ the red carpet for Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year awards

I love seeing Jenna Bush on the Today Show! So cute! I think it's great someone out there is showing some appreciation for all the hard work and selfless service the Bush ladies do. I just love 'em all. And I think it's awesome that Condi Rice is the one who's going to present them the award!


They are Women of the Year because: “They are giving a voice to women who otherwise might not have one. They personify the belief that every woman’s life has potential.”
—former Secretary of State and 2008 Woman of the Year Condoleezza Rice

Glamour.Com: When Laura Bush left the White House in 2009, she could have quietly retreated to her Texas ranch. Her twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, could have launched lucrative careers or slipped back into private life. Instead, with little fanfare, this trio have become hugely powerful advocates on behalf of women, children and the world’s neediest. “We haven’t seen anything like this before,” says First Lady historian Myra Gutin. “They’re using their celebrity and credibility as a springboard for lasting good.”

It all starts with Mrs. Bush. “In Afghanistan she’s like Mother Teresa—a saint to women,” says political consultant Mary Matalin. Since 2001, when the then First Lady preempted her husband’s radio address to warn about the Taliban’s oppression of Afghan women, she’s been a driving force behind girls’ schools and women’s empowerment programs there. And building on her groundbreaking breast cancer work in the Middle East in 2006, Mrs. Bush just started the $75 million Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign to offer cervical cancer care and breast cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa.

As for her 30-year-old daughters, “the apples didn’t fall far from the tree,” says Today’s Matt Lauer, who works with Jenna, a contributor to the show. Both on air and off, Jenna has promoted AIDS awareness and has helped raise more than half a million dollars for women’s and children’s health programs at UNICEF. Barbara, meanwhile, quit a museum job in 2008 to found the ambitious Global Health Corps, which dispatches young professionals to work in clinics in poor communities—from Rwanda to Newark, New Jersey—and then spread their work to other countries. “It’s addictive to be in a field where you can change lives,” Barbara says. Her daughters’ path leaves Mrs. Bush awestruck. “I’ve always been proud of them,” she says, “but I never would have predicted what they’ve chosen.” Former President George W. Bush beams, “They are all strong, compassionate and loving people.” And the world has noticed: “What these three are accomplishing for global health and development is fabulous,” says Helene Gayle, M.D., president of the antipoverty group CARE. “They are quite a team.”

Crabtree & Evelyn Jojoba Oil Triple Milled Soap

I love this soap. It reminds me of the freshness of the ocean! The packaging is darling too- the little painted picture on the box reminds me of water nymphs and mermaids.



Let me start with the scent- it's very fresh, very breezy. According to Crabtree & Evelyn's website, the scent is made up of green herbs, citrus and lavender. So if you're into clean scents with a hint of floral and fruity goodness, you'll love this. Too bad the scent doesn't last forever! It smells so good it would make hippies want to take a shower!



This is a very moisturizing soap and it works into a rich, creamy lather. I love how it makes my skin feel so fresh and smooth! As you can see from the photos, it's pretty thick. Definitely not for travel. But at least it lasts a while. Get it here!

American Thinker: George W Bush Did NOT Overspend

From The American Thinker: The ideas that federal spending exploded under George W. Bush, that "Bush's wars" account for our spending explosion, that Reaganism died with Reagan, and that we are on a spending binge that started decades ago are all nonsense.

Our current spending binge is a very recent phenomenon with a very specific starting point: the year Democrats started writing budgets (or continuing resolutions), compounded by Barack Obama's inauguration.

...In 2007, total spending was 19.6% of GDP, a level nearly matching that of 1996, and comfortably below the average level of spending from 1960 through 2000: 20.3% of GDP. And that relatively low level of spending in 2007 included War-on-Terror spending. Without the WOT, a reaction to being attacked on our soil, federal spending in 2007 was just 18.4% of GDP -- a level not experienced at any time between 1967 and 1999, and nearly matching the post-1966 low of 18.1% in 2001.

There is something else special about 2007. That was the last fiscal year in which the federal budget was written by a Republican-controlled Congress.

More insight here!

Crabtree & Evelyn Summer Hill Hand Cream

I am so in love with Crabtree & Evelyn. They have good quality products and I adore their packaging. I'm such a package-whore. Like if you really want me to buy something, just make it look pretty. Summer Hill Hand Therapy comes in a simple but clean and elegant tube... so when I first laid my eyes on it, I knew I had to have it! I've been using this for some time now and I'm happy to say that nothing can beat its creamy splendor.



There's a bigger size, but right now I'm using the travel-size version 'cause I'm always out a lot.

The one pictured above is smaller in size, but it's the one I bring with me to work because the tube is thinner than the original size. I think it's great they come in two sizes because I can just slip this into my purse and leave the bigger one at home. Now there are various hand creams from Crabtree & Evelyn but Summer Hill is my favorite scent. It has this beautiful, somewhat powdery, floral scent that makes me think of a bright, blooming garden nestled in between the fading pages of a Jane Austen novel. (Say what?)




The cream itself is a wonder. It's non-greasy and feels soft and moisturizing. It easily absorbs into your skin so you don't need to worry about sticky, goopy hands. This is definitely on my "repurchase" list.

More after the jump!