So, Legal told us to not even try to explain things depicted in the graphic above, since they were all components of the morning media production.

Here is what was approved: without implying either endorsement or disapproval, they reflect an appearance by Congresswoman AOC (upper left) and VP Harris (right) on the RuPaul Drag Race television program. We were informed the latter is part of the kick-off for the new Presidential campaign demonstrating unity or something. We are permitted only to say it leaves us feeling some other way.

Below that are images of a United States coin we used to call “a Quarter.” We confess we had not seen one in a while, and it only showed up in change for a ten-spot for a transaction at the Post Office, a represent. The Congress apparently decided to support a movement away from physical currency into all digital financial transactions and back in 2020 passed a bill to authorize massive changes to circulating coinage. There was some other stuff going on at the time, and we did not notice the innovation in the increasing irrelevance.

The law was intended to honor all sorts of causes and people of which and whom we were not particularly aware. The one that was handed to us by the Post Office yesterday had the familar profile of some guy named “George Washington” on one side, but on the other was not the eagle we are familiar with, but a nice image of former Rep. Pasty Mink, who represented Hawaii in the period after it became a state. She was a good public servant, and some of our kids were born in the islands she presented.

But we were still surprised to see her on a coin. She is honored for some educational accomplishment, we are uncertain exactly what that is, since everything else in that field seems to be a state of chaos similar to everything else on the slide above.

So, there was not matter requiring research, that also revealed the same twenty-five cent coin can be purchased on e-Bay for $1.75.

Digital, we assume.

We won’t go into the strange looking new pennies. When we last paid attention to them, they were made of copper, a useful metal for all sorts of stuff. A quick look this morning indicates that a pre-1982 is worth about 2.4 cents. That is why they were changed to something less coppery, and melting the old ones made illegal. That is also why there is a growing industry in ripping out the new charging stations for the electric cars we are supposed to purchase to save the planet.

Yeah, we know. But getting a quick glimpse of some of the background to the stuff going on is at least useful in helping to appreciate the depth of the illogical stuff we are supposed to accept as completely normal. What is startling to geezers is that some think it is true.

Like what happened yesterday at Union Station, the Metro stop closest to the US Senate. We used to go there when we were credentialed staff for the 104th Congress across the plaza. It used to be a major train hub when those were a means of transportation. There were a bunch of big marble monuments there, suitable for the Senators and citizens to view on their way to govern the most successful nation on the planet.

The lower images reflect some of the morning messaging. That was about the current visit of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that is all mixed in the coverage of Drag Show campaign kick-offs. This happened just on the other side of the Potomac.

There was some rational protest about his address to Congress. Some congresspeople held little signs accusing him of “genocide,” a position with which we disagree, but was done in a manner in accordance with their rights and law. That wasn’t true outside, where the monuments were spray-painted with cheery orange paint and the flag many of us served was burned on the pavement, accelerated with lighter fluid for added impact.

Splash waved his tablet. “Hamas supported an attack on Israel that killed 1,300 people and took hostages. The Israelis responded dramatically. By way of contract, the 9/11 attacks in New York killed a little more than twice that, and we have- so far- responded by spending $8 Trillion bucks in wars that have killed 900,000.” The letters and figures glowed over the picnic table as he waved the device wildly.

I looked at them when I successfully got home. There was a quarter, bright and shiny- that did not feature George Washington, but a Hawaiian lady. I will have to look up the coin to recall exactly which one. She apparently was a champion of something called “education,” which we think was spelled correctly.

The three pennies were put in a plant-jar to help their growth.

Dimes? There were two in the little pile. The design on them is unchanged and FDR is still smiling. The silver content is long gone, though. Apparently it costs too much.

Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra

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