Introducing the new Washington dollar:
Just minted, this week.
Posted on 02/19/2007 11:10:19 AM PST by Keyes2000mt
Last year I learned an embarrassing lesson from Basil of Basil's Blog. President's Day is not a holiday, Washington's birthday is. If you don't believe me, check the US Code (5 USC 6103).
It is most appropriate that Washington's birthday be the one celebrated, because he serves as a reminder of what public service can be. For some, politics is something your whole life is centered on. The desire to be the President consumes all else, including principle, loyalty, all in a desire to have the top job.
Yet, Washington was a President who'd rather have retired than run. He was a man who could have been King of America. At the end of most successful revolutions, the man at the front emerged as the new absolute leader. Jefferson said of Washington, "The moderation and virtue of a single character probably prevented this Revolution from being closed, as most others have been, by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish."
Washington was a man who became great, not through grand successes (he had his fair share of failures and lost the majority of battles fought in the Revolutionary War) nor by desire for power. Washington earned the love and respect of his countrymen through his perseverance, virtue, and renunciation of power.
The one key issue upon which the passage of the Constitution hung was, "Will Washington support it?" If Washington had not backed the Constitution, it would not have passed. Yet, because Americans knew the type of man Washington was, they supported the effort.
Today, there are few Washingtons among us and those who are we don't recognize. Perhaps, it's because men of virtue and honor have better things to do with their lives than engage in public service. One thing is clear, Americans are hungry for leadership; for government that's honest and trustworthy. We long for people who care more about the country than they do their own ambition. It's why some people are open to Barack Obama despite his extreme views.
For most people, this weekend will be about nothing more than perhaps a mattress store sale. I think it ought to be more. It calls for reflection on our part. Examining Washington's life, we see the type of man who earned the title, "Father of his country" and compare him to those we elect today. It's worth considering what it will take for our country to elect more men of Washington's caliber and less of the current group of scoundrels that generally inhabit Capitol Hill.
FYI
Washington's Birthday: February 22
Lincoln's Birthday: February 12
We scrapped both those holidays in favor of "President's Day" and "MLK's Birthday."
Isn't it nice to know that no matter how great you are, by a simple swipe of a politically correct pen, you can be written out of the nation's memory and placed on par with William Jefferson Clinton?
Actually check the US code, it's still Washington's Birthday. Lincoln officially got burned.
There is no greater man. Period. My hero.
Cripes. Looks like they stuck more with that damn Stuart official portrait than the Houdin mask.
Incorrect. Lincoln's Birthday was never a federal holiday.
He had his own troubles with Congress. Plus ça change, and all that....
Actually, it isn't a bad looking coin, simple. however, it is slightly larger than a quarter.
The rim around the outside says "in God WE Trust"..."E pluribus unim"...and the date/mint mark incised into it.
Funny aside, I bought 10 rolls (selling them on ebay), and the teller at the credit union said "I'll be right back with your quarters". I corrected her that they were dollars.
They are selling great guns on ebay. I'm getting $30 plus $5 S/H for a $25 roll. One coin shop on the east coast paid me $40 for a roll. ($35 +$5)
....Bob
Yes, he did. Nonetheless, he is undoubtedly the most celebrated man in American history, including at that time.
I just don't like they based his likeness on the droopy bozo-haired vision of Gilbert Stuart. He has enough with the official Pres portrait and on the dollar bill. They should use the Houdin death mask.
Ditto that. First and still greatest President.
Regards.
"One thing is clear, Americans are hungry for leadership; for government that's honest and trustworthy. We long for people who care more about the country than they do their own ambition."
I thought, yeah right. They're more interested in what THEY can get for NOTHING. I.e., they've become largely communists who want less work but more payoff. Zero, if you're on welfare.
That is the very antithesis of Washington. If he was stating what was just and good today, he'd be trashed and booted out of office.
Yup, I'm VERY cynical.
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