Blogging a Dead Horse

john blumenthal

john blumenthal
Location
Santa Monica, California,
Birthday
January 05
Title
Your Excellency
Bio
First class kvetch. Formidable braggart. Professional comedy writer. Published 8 books, written 2 movies. Former associate editor and columnist at Playboy Magazine for 8 truly debauched years, following a short stint at Esquire. Movies include "Short Time," (major flop), and "Blue Streak" (huge hit, no idea why.) Last two novels, "What's Wrong With Dorfman?" and "Millard Fillmore, Mon Amour," (only available online now) were both huge bestsellers among the members of my immediate family.

Editor’s Pick
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 10:40AM

Do You Know Who’s in Your Wallet?

Rate: 30 Flag

Why is Alexander Hamilton on a $10 bill, while all Thomas Jefferson gets is a lousy $2 bill? Nobody ever sees $2 bills (at least I don’t), but I see $10 bills all the time. What's with that?

 

Sure, Jefferson gets a nickel too, but a nickel is five lousy cents.  Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence for Christ’s sake. Was that chopped liver? A nickel and a bill that nobody ever sees?  It’s a travesty!

 

Besides, Hamilton wasn’t even a President. Yes, he was the first Treasury Secretary (big deal), but he wasn’t even born in the United States. The rest of his resume includes having an affair with a married woman and losing a duel to Aaron Burr. So he gets the $10 bill for that? 

  

What about Lincoln? He gets a $5 bill, which he deserves. But a penny? It's an insult! Pennies only piss people off and end up in drawers. Panhandlers won't even take them. Congress should probably get rid of them, but when was the last time Congress did something useful? Besides, without pennies, how would greedy retailers keep thinking we’re too stupid to know that $5.99 is 6 bucks?

  

And why is Ulysses S. Grant on the $50 bill? Sure, he won the Civil War and he was the 18th president, but he was also a fall-down drunk, a bore and a ruthless butcher. 

 

Then there's Benjamin Franklin, who somehow got his mug on the $100 bill. Give me a break. He held no elective office. He didn’t write any great documents. He just made a kite with a key on the end of it. So what? Using that logic, how come there’s no bill with Alexander Graham Bell’s face on it? Not too many people fly kites anymore, but everybody uses a cell phone.

  

Here's where it really gets ridiculous. The large denomination bills aren’t in circulation anymore, but some Treasury Dept. dunderhead made the incomprehensible decision to put William McKinley on a $500 bill, Grover Cleveland on a $1000 bill, and Salmon P. Chase on a $10,000 bill.

 

Salmon P. Chase? Chase was Lincoln’s Treasury Secretary. He was so obnoxious Lincoln put him on the Supreme Court to get him out of his hair. What’s with that? And William McKinley? Grover Cleveland? McKinley’s claim to fame was getting shot. Cleveland was the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms and that gets him a $1000 bill. It's unconscionable.  

 

George Washington is the only one who gets a fair deal. The $1 bill and a quarter. You use the $1 bill a lot and the quarter is good for parking meters.

  

But what happened to Theodore Roosevelt, FDR (whose kisser is relegated to a lousy thin dime), Harry Truman, and IKE? Eisenhower gets a useless silver dollar that you only see in Vegas. He won World War II, folks. Now he’s getting plunked into slot machines by elderly ladies and usually losing. Same goes for the John F. Kennedy half dollar.

 

The Bureau of Printing and Engraving assures me that there are lots of $2 bills in circulation. Where? In Tibet?

 

To save Jefferson from this monstrous monetary oversight, I’m working on a petition to send to Congress. Anybody want to sign it?                        

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Who is in my Wallet? Its a wind tunnel in there.
At least it's not Canadian money. You could have hockey players.
I've never seen an Eisenhower dollar coin. All the ones I've seen have either Susan B. Anthony or Sacajawea on them.
What about Old Hickory himself, Andy Jackson? He won the Battle of New Orleans AFTER the War of 1812 was officially over, ran a bunch of Seminoles out of Florida and into Oklahoma, married a woman who was already technically married to another man, had an affair with a French tart whose father-in-law had shot off part of her hand, couldn't spell worth a shut, and trashed the White House during his inaguaral balls. For this, he gets the $20 bill.
John. Don't you know. The Federal Reserve is printing money so fast they can't even keep track of whose face winds up on the bill. I have a five dollar bill with Mr. T's face on it.
Why on earth do you still have the $1 and $2 bills? Surely, they should be coins, so you could use them to park or buy a Coke. The smallest bill in my country is worth $9. And I never use them. My credit card does all my shopping. Do we even need banknotes any more?

And don't get me started on the idiocy of having bills that are the same size and colour. Who can see which president/politician is on it in the darkness of a bar?
That's not Abe Lincoln's face, that's mine. It's just so small, you can't see it. Seriously. I knew I got shafted.
@Norwonk--They're different colors now. The backs of all of them are still green, though.
Rated for the most humorous post of the day!! I don't have very many $10,000 bills in my wallet, so Salmon P. Chase was a new one on me. I do have a Sacagawea dollar and a Susan B. Anthony dollar. Nice to have a Native American and a famous woman of coins, but they're pretty scarce except in coin stores.
I know where four of those $2 bills are :) I'm surprised they don't have moth holes. My husband considered them to be lucky or something, not sure I'd go that far...

Interesting topic. Think I'll use mine to pay for doctor bills that are coming in.
Leeandra: Good point. I'll take that up with the Bureau next time I talk to them. It's a travisty!
Don't go there, John. If Congress decides to start changing our banknotes, we'll soon have Reagan ones and Sarah Palin fivers. How would a Glenn Beck tenner do you...? Maybe with Obama in the White House we'll get a Bill Ayers twenty. That would be rather fun, come to think of it.
Hey John ... Ben F. earned his place. Check out the Hellfire Club, London. Hedonistic as hell and he was a prime member; he may be my all-time hero. As to Ike winning WW-II, I thought that was George C. Scott.
Why is it that I find it oddly comforting that Jefferson died broke?
I have a 1928, Red Seal Series G, $2 bill in VG condition that has a curse that goes with it. I'll sell it to you for a Ulysses S. Grant.. Any takers?
My 11th grade history class is coming back to me now...

Cleveland wasn't the only bachelor president. The only president who never married was James Buchanan (and his bachelor state was popularly regarded at the time as evidence of his unmanliness). Cleveland entered office for the first time a bachelor, but he married Frances Folsom soon afterwards. Thomas Jefferson was technically a bachelor as well when he entered the White House. (The Martha Jefferson listed as his first lady was his daughter. Her mother, also named Martha Jefferson, had died some time before.)
Oops. I knew that, but evidently forgot. Thanks for the info. I'll make the change so I don't look like an idiot.
What is this "money" you write about? I remember long ago some sort of green paper, but my memory is not what it used to be.
Chinese money used to have (I don't know if it still does, it might) specific ethnic groups (of no one in particular) pictured on one side and places on the back. They've all been replace with an image of mao. They used to be quite pretty, seeing the peoples in their traditional dress. I'd rather our money not have presidents on it. Bring back liberty and the buffalo. Use images of nature and symbols for things like justice, equality.

http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/708268.html
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1290/700362036_70db5321bc.jpg
Dunno. I think a guy who was famous for kiting seems a good fit for a piece of currency.
Just a small correction to your rant. Grant was not a fall-down drunk. http://faculty.css.edu/mkelsey/usgrant/alcohol.html

Not defending Grant, just trying to correct a misconception about his drinking.
"CHANGE is less than a dollar" - Noah Tall
is Liberace on the three dollar bill?
I have a moth and some "limited" edition credit cards with the magnetic strips worn out in my wallet. All my George's are smiling because they are hanging from Suze's left garter.
You I could help you get over your Benjamin Franklin addiction. I really could. It won't be easy, but it will solve your problem. Just send me all the 100 dollar bills you have or can find. ALL of them. Cold turkey is the only way to go. Or pastrami.
John -- Grant was a great storyteller too. His two volume autobiography was a fascinating read. Worth the investment of time if nothing else.
And now there is a proposal to put Larry Craig on a 3 dollar bill.
I hear Sarah Palin is writing the new Declaration of Independence. I wonder what she'll get her face on, besides some dude's lap.
Classic musings. I'm still going , "hmmmmmmm" as I write.
RATED
Leeandra: IKE dollars coins were issued between 1971-1978. Still in circulation
fingerlakes: Every account I've read about Grant says he was a serious imbiber. Maybe not "fall-down", but hardly a social drinker.
John - can I just officially adopt you to be my brother? That's all I want to know. I figure, we arrived at OS about the same time, I love your writing, and you make me laugh - and you're smart. You're a much better version that the real deal (sorry biological variety).

Great post. (Rated).
Brother, can you spare a dime?

:)
I have two $2 bills tucked away, when they were newly circulated in the early 80s. I always thought they might be worth something someday. Joke's on me!

Another one I hate are the Susan B coins. No one knows what they are if you unlucky enough to get one or more. You give them to a cashier and they just look at you like "what?". Sigh.
Thanks for the praise, Kate (not that I deserve any of it.) Let's talk about this adoption business sometime. I'm intrigued.
cartouche: you're very observant. It may seem that I am oddly fixated on Ben F. I don't know why. Please help me. Addiction is so hard to beat. You think maybe I should start getting interested in John Adams instead?
i think they run out of ideas--those bozos whoever they are. put me in charge and i guarantee exciting changes in your pocketbook/purse/what have you.
Entertaining post. Funny and informative. (Rated)
If they ever put "W" on any currency, you know that we're all in trouble. It will be worthless.
Andrew Jackson forced the Seminole Native Americans off thier land in Florida and made them walk the "trail of tears", and he got on the $20 bill!

-Nikki-
For some reason, I comepletely overlooked Jackson. I wish I hadn't, so thanks fro the reminder.
Who actually decides this anyway?
I predict that in the future there will be no paper money. We'll all use our credit/debit cards. Only instead of Gold, Platinum, Sapphire cards etc., they'll all be Washington, Lincoln and Jackson cards.

I predict that in the future, we'll see a blog post (we'll call them 'brants' though) strikingly similar to this one, wondering why Jimmy Carter doesn't have his own card...
mamoore: Idiots decide. So it must be Congress.
Well John, I think you're forgetting that Franklin was a wild philanderer that got a lot of French tail. That's gotta be worth a hundred bucks, right?
No, that's 100 French francs.
It is with great shame that I must admit to having little more than a debit card and a handful of licenses and certificates in my wallet. Actual cash is pretty much a memory for me.

Does that make me a bad person?
Who's in my wallet? everybody but me. Do dust bunnies count?
Franklin was not an elected guy, he was chosen to preside over the continental congress which in my opinion makes him the real first president. Nobody put an asterisk by Fords name just because he wasn't elected.
John this just cracked me up. I like the way you get so worked up. I never notice who is on the money. It's usually in and out of my hands so fast, it's just a blur. Like magic tricks. They all look alike anyways. Even Susan Anthony looked strikingly like Ernest Borgnine. R
I am wondering if there will be a BIG O on any denominations in the future... :)

Yes, adoption. Why not? Even when you pick your Presidents they marginalize you so why not choose your family...you crack me the fuck up. I want to laugh as much as possible for the rest of my days. And, when someone compliments you, proper reply is "thank you". No humility necessary among family...see how this works?
Gee, Kate. I can't comment that many times. It'll seem like I'm trying to boost the number. But thanks for the lesson in etiquette.
John - this is my official "throw in the towel" on humor. I now leave it up to the wise bunch like you and Surly.

It was supposed to be a joke - like if you adopt me, can I please boss you around like a sister? Lame I know. No need to comment. :)

I'll stick to what I do best - anything but humor - damn it's hard!

~Kicking the ground~