Volume 268 | No. 1

2003—Survey chief David Kay reports that his three-month, $300 million search for Saddam Hussein’s WMD has turned up squat. 2002—George W.[MD] Bush calls Iraq “a threat of unique urgency,” because of its WMDs. 1990—Three Texans in a Cessna come within 30 feet of clearing Mt. Washington. Their bodies are brought down on the Cog Railway. 1980—Senior members of the Reagan campaign team meet in D.C. with a representative of the Ayatollah, who offers to release U.S. hostages. 1980—Michael Myers (D-Pa.) becomes the first Rep. expelled in 120 years, for bribe-taking and conspiracy. Why only him? Who knows. 1978—With the Yankees and Red Sox tied for …

Read more

2013—In the name of fiscal discipline, Republicans shut down the government. Cost to the economy: $24 billion. 2003—With the blessings of Gov. Benson [R-$], Free Staters choose New Hampshire as their libertarian paradise. 2002—Northern Command is established to “Defend America’s Homeland”—posse comitatus be damned. 2002—George W.[MD] Bush claims he hasn’t “made up his mind we’re going to war with Iraq.” Right. Got it. 1999—Dow 36,000 is published. In real life the Dow peaks months later at 11,722, then loses 37% of its value. 1993—Caving under pressure, the IRS grants tax-free status to the “Church” of Scientology. 1973—Michael V. Paul is born! 1973—Despite his many failures …

Read more

2016—N.H.’s Attorney General reports that ex-Rep. Kyle Tasker [R-Nottingham] sold pot to five other State Reps. for medicinal purposes. 2011—U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki is smote by a drone in Yemen. Trial? We don’t need no stinkin’ trial! 2005—NY Times’s Judith Miller tells a Grand Jury that Dick “Dick” Cheney outed Valerie Plame to her. 1998—The GAO reports that Ken Starr had spent $40 million in a failed effort to nail Bill Clinton. 1962—César Chávez founds what becomes the United Farm Workers. 1956—Drunk-flying a stolen Cessna, Thomas Fitzpatrick lands on St. Nicholas St. in Manhattan, taxis to Joe’s on the corner, and orders a beer. 1954—U.S.S. …

Read more

2008—The Dow drops 777 points. 2006—Anti child-porn crusader Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) resigns after his lurid e-mails to young males leak. 2002—George W.[MD] Bush claims Iraq has WMDs, al-Qaeda terrorists, and a nuke coming soon. 1976—The Hyde Amendment gives Congress the power to make medical decisions for women. 1972—A short, bearded man in sneakers spontaneously grabs ex-Sec. of Defense Robert Strange McNamara and tries to throw him off the ferry into Vineyard Sound. 1969—The U.S. Army drops murder charges against Special Forces Col. Robert Rheault—the CIA won’t let its agents testify. “Terminate with extreme prejudice” enters the lexicon. 1957—A Soviet nuclear fuel plant blows up …

Read more

2014—Future President D.J. Trump tweets, “Every time I speak of the haters and losers I do so with great love and affection. They cannot help the fact that they were born fucked up!” 2001—To avoid further scorn in these pages, Fleet Bank removes its 18-foot tall green, illuminated sign from the middle of Pleasant Street’s sidewalk. 1964—U.C. Berkeley students protest free speech restrictions. 1960—Ted Williams takes the plate at Fenway for his last at bat. He hits his 521st home run. Most seats are empty. 1919—Ten thousand rioting whites storm the Omaha courthouse, drag out Will Brown, a Black man, and lynch him. From his …

Read more

2018—Brett Kavanaugh whines, weeps, and shouts while badgering the Senate Judiciary Committee. 2002—Donald Rumsfeld says a made-up link between al-Qaeda and Iraq is “accurate and not debatable.” 2000—Frank Wills, the guard who discovered the Watergate burglary, dies at 52, of a brain tumor, in poverty. 1994—On the Capitol steps, 350 GOP candidates led by Newt Gingrich take out a Contract on America. 1989—To show kids there are more constructive things to do than take drugs, Jeffrey Petkovitch and Peter DeBernardi climb into a barrel and go over Niagara’s Horseshoe Falls. 1986—The United Way of Cleveland holds a fundraiser, releasing 1,429,643 helium balloons. Rain and a …

Read more