Need to Do Some Gift Shopping?

I was reading the Daily Dish yesterday and was struck by one of their posts: a photo of a rubber ducky with the DEA logo on it.

It's one of the many items on sale at the Drug Enforcement Administration gift shop. Now I knew the government sold some weird things. If you're in the market for an amphibious landing craft, the government surplus site is the place for you. I almost bought one but decided I was too busy to fulfill my childhood dream of invading New Brunswick. But I began to wonder what other things you could buy from the federal government. Although I've been in a number of national monuments and historic sites, I tend to gravitate toward the books section of any gift shop and not notice what else is available. But now that I've found the site Government Gifts and Memorabilia I have begun to grasp the breadth and variety of the retail smorgasbord offered by Uncle Sam.

I always need more office supplies, but I've never been particular about brands or makes. Now I've decided these gavel pencils from the Supreme Court gift shop are a must-have:


And with the cold weather we've been having who would pass up a chance to buy U.S. Capitol afghans? Being of a less practical frame of mind, I myself have realized that my life will never be complete without a Herbert Hoover signature magnet:


One of the best-selling items in the National Archives Gift Shop is, of course, the photo of Nixon meeting Elvis:



And from the George Bush Presidential Library you can get all kinds of goodies, such as this box that seems to have been inspired by the opening sequence of The Colbert Report:



I also noticed the Bush Library gift shop sells some books, which is fine although it doesn't really reflect the Bush spirit. When Brendan Gill recalled that when he stayed at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport the only book he could find in the entire house was Jokes for the John (I am not making this up). A sample title from the books section: Indians Who Lived in Texas. Note the past tense. According to the Census over 100,000 Native Americans live in Texas, but I guess it makes for a more comfortable reading experience if you stick to the dead ones. Survivors of genocide tend to raise awkward questions.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do.