Crystallizing the Cold War, Part II

33. Truman was afraid of a rebirth of isolationism, which may have arguably caused him to exaggerate the Soviet threat and speak in language that suggested a rot of global holy war of the forces of good vs. evil- language that would limit the options for future policy makers as they sought to tone down their animosity.

Sometimes the whole good vs. evil thing isn't as grand a cause as it's made out to be.

34. The fear that key nations of Europe were still so vulnerable that they were in danger of being taken by Communist parties from within (let alone the Soviet meddling) spurred Truman to respond with the bold policy of the Marshall Plan, which offered a financial assistance to nations that got together to “work out a joint plan for their economic recovery”. The same amount of money was offered to the USSR if it promised to accept certain controls and work towards political reform. However, the Soviets declined.

Can you believe Stalin rejected the Marshall Plan AND another 5-year contract with Cleveland?

35. Because the sum in question (12.4 billion over 4 years) was so large, Congress initially against it. A communist coup in Czechoslovakia “finally awakened the legislators to reality”.

Congress came to the realization that ol' Carl was playing one on them from the grave. Revolution of the JERKetariat!

36. In 1948, Truman made the other fateful decision of officially recognizing Israel on May 14, 1948 mostly out of sympathy for the Holocaust survivors. This strained future relations with the Arab world.

A now a long list that was probably made far more creative than this post!

"Silent Cal" Coolidge or Attack of the Vacation Killer!

44. Vice-President-turned-President Coolidge was honest, moral, industrial, frugal, shy, and a mediocre leader.Plus, he does look quite pleasant.

45.Coolidge said that the man who builds a factory builds a temple and that the man who works there worships there.

Some factories deserve to be temples. Chocolate makes for a fine religion.

46. Coolidge perfectly suited the times because he was sympathetic with efforts to reduce taxes and let big business do their thing.

"Darn straight, Cal!"

47. The scandal of the times didn’t rub off on him because of his transparent honesty.

48. American shock about the scandals gradually dulled or wore leaving the alarming views of the wrongdoing that had occurred that excused the wrongdoers because they had “gotten away with it”.

"Scandal? Meh."

Fishy fun follows the finale of these five answers !!!

Wall Street's Big Bull Market

Even in the best years of the 20s, there were many signs of the impending crash. One of these was real estate speculation, as shown by the real estate boom in Florida in 1925. Countless lots were sold to buyers for ridiculous amounts of profit. However, this scheme ended after Florida was hit by a West Indian Hurricane.

These dolphins are eager to buy overpriced land!

The stock exchange also became a frantic gambling zone. Traders traded "hot tips" as they fueled their addiction for instant profits, inspired by the numerous rags-to-riches stories.Much like a dolphin, Shia LaBeouf can't wait to get those speedy profits! Also like a dolphin, I will never be able to take him seriously.

Washington did little to curb the wild speculators. In fact, the national debt had risen from about $1 billion in 1914 to almost $24 billion in 1921. To help deal with this problem, the Republican Congress created the Bureau of the Budget, the director of which helped the president put together an accurate budget report for Congress, which helped to prevent extravagant appropriations.A ballpark, representative of the kinds of estimates made by the president for the annual budget before the Bureau was made.

Mad that his precious fractions of his vast wealth were going to the government we was partially in charge of, Secretary of the Treasury Mellon let the tears trickle down from his eyes. Which gave him an idea. So hide yo excess-profits tax, hide yo gift tax, and hide yo surtax, 'cuz he's reducing everything up in here (granted that you hold a high income job).

Mellon was able to reduce the national debt by about $10 billion. However, some of his critics argue that he could have reduced it by even more, and that if he had absorbed more of the national income, then he could have reduced crazy-go-nuts speculation.
I didn't want to, but you made me!

Railroads

1. The railroad industry was targeted by the Elkins Act of 1903 and the Hepburn Act of 1906, and the Interstate Commerce Commission was expanded to enforce regulation.

The Elkins Act put heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates and held railroad corporations and employees responsible for discriminatory practices

So this guy will probably be blamed for that.

The Hepburn Act gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates.

ICC also stands for International Cricket Council, who set the maximum amount of steroids allowed per player, unless America's the only country that has that problem.