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And Now, 10-20 Inches
Federal Govt. Closed Tuesday
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Update III: Mayor Adrian Fenty has released a statement responding to the U.S. Mint: “We were asked to submit ideas that were ‘emblematic of the District of Columbia.’ I can think of nothing more unique and characteristic than our status as the only American citizens without full voting rights in Congress. Even after we are successful in changing that status, it will still be an important part of our history. We respectfully disagree with the Mint’s determination, but will submit an alternative inscription that best represents the city.” Back to the drawing board.
Update II: It looks like we're the first outright rejection. According to the U.S. Mint, "There occasionally have been controversial proposals that would have been rejected; however, we invariably have been able to avoid the finality of a formal rejection through our deliberations with the state before it approved its narrative submissions. We want to promote the quality of the collaborative process with the District of Columbia and with the U.S. Territories by encouraging robust and frank discussions on their quarter design narratives. Releasing examples of the United States Mint’s predecisional consultations with the states would not be conducive to this process."
Update: We're waiting to hear from the U.S. Mint if they have ever rejected a proposed design, or if the District will have the dubious pleasure of being the first. And as for the U.S. Mint's logic, well, we think it's a little shaky. Sure, D.C. residents know what "Taxation Without Representation" means in practical and political terms. But to the rest of the U.S., the phrase may well be more closely associated with the Boston Tea Party, an important event in this country's early history. Would the U.S. Mint have acted differently had this been proposed by, say, Massachusetts? And isn't the phrase a good step removed from saying "We Want the Vote" or "Please Support Voting Rights for D.C."? We think so.
Hot off the presses from the U.S. Mint:
The United States Mint has notified District of Columbia officials that their proposal to include the inscription "Taxation Without Representation" does not comply with the law that authorizes the D.C. commemorative quarter-dollar coin.Hell, we kinda figured that this is what would happen, but not necessarily this quickly.Changing how the District of Columbia (the Seat of Government of the United States) is represented in Congress is a contemporary political issue on which there presently is no national consensus and over which reasonable minds differ.
Although the United States Mint expresses no position on the merits of this issue, we have determined that the proposed inscription is clearly controversial and, therefore, inappropriate as an element of design for United States coinage.
The United States Mint has followed an established process for analyzing proposed narratives and design proposals for all the quarters in the 50 State Quarters(r) Program and will do so for the District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarter Program. The United States Mint looks forward to working with District officials to develop narratives that will lead to a quarter honoring the District of Columbia of which the entire Nation can be proud.
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Bummer. I was hoping there'd be time before the decision came down to petition them to include it. Perhaps they had an inkling there would be an outpouring of support and thus let the ax fall as quickly as possible.
Duh
I didn't know there was national consensus that we all agreed to "Live Free or Die"
And look what happened to NH...God smote their old man to oblivion.
Well, I guess we're down to "Bitch Set Me Up!"
Now for Plan B: a halfsmoke nestled between a pair of Snowballs and a napkin that says, "EAT ME." You got a problem with that, U.S. Mint?
so it can be put on license plates but not quarters?
How about:
"Washington, DC: We Hate You, Too"
"Washington, DC: Home of the Half-Smoke"
"Washington, DC: The Bitch Set Me Up"
I didn't know there was national consensus that we all agreed to "Live Free or Die"
Oh come on, that's the most bad ass state slogan by far!
I would settle for "Live and Let Die" on the DC Quarter. Any takers?
also, there have been lawsuits over "Live Free or Die" being on NH license plates yet they put that on their quarters. controversy anyone?
hypocrisy at its best.
@MSto: Pretty sure the Fed. doesn't regulate state or the District's plates design and slogan, aside from plate size.
There have also been lawsuits in favor of it (see: motorcyclists not required to wear helmets in NH...ahh such a Libertarian haven)
@MSto: The Federales don't and probably can't regulate what is put on a state's or district's plates. That kind of explains the whole proposed "Confederate Pride" plates in Florida and the "Free Tibet" ones here in VA. DoT probably only regulates plate dimensions
Before everyone freaks out, we need to remember this is just fiat money. When we move to the Amero there will be plenty of space on the new bills and coins to make a statement about the consent of the governed.
Excuse the duplicate
Whatevs. No probs as I understand that you are trying to knock Monkey down from top of the totem pole or banana tree or seedy panda shaving midget peep hole booth.
The thing is that as much as you may think it's a great idea to use a quarter to protest what you see as an injustice, personally I'm glad we don't have quarters from South Carolina arguing that life begins at conception or quarters from Virginia suggesting the temperature and vitality of the hands from which we will take their guns.
So let's just accept that they're going to put on a panda and move on.
So let's just accept that they're going to put on a panda and move on.
Make it a shaved panda exercising his Second Amendment rights and you gotta deal.
DCist should ban quarters in protest.
Did someone mention shaved pandas?
This had to be a record for the Mint to reject a quarter design. Pretty impressive. Now DC Vote will complain, some more designs sans license plate mottos will be submitted, and the world will go about its business.
Wouldn't it be cool if we submitted a totally blank quarter as a protest?
I suggest we use the coin to educate tourists on how to use the Metro.
Something like, "Stand on the Right, Walk on the Left."
Although the mint might get sued if tourists hurt themselves walking on escalators, so maybe just "Stand on the Right."
it's time we revert to putting ben's on the quarter. anything, please god, that isn't federal in nature.
if it's a picture of the monument, i'm gonna barf.
They should make the DC quarter worth 20¢ out of protest.
Or something like that.
They'll still say "In God We Trust," right? Reasonable minds all agree about that.
cminus - that's a genius idea.
Has anyone actually seen the Mint's " established process for analyzing proposed narratives and design proposals for all the quarters in the 50 State Quarters(r) Program"? Seems to me that it would likely only apply to, (insert Lewis Black "her-HERP!" here) states.
I like the walk on the left, stand on the right...really thats ingenious. On a serious note the quarter is no place for this protest. Keep the protest in the streets, get people interested in other ways. And how many of you moved here knowing full well you were going to get taxed without reps in congress and still moved here? Lifers have a legit arguement, transplants dont. I knew the situation but still moved here, do you honestly believe the one DC vote will actually make a difference in the legislation that gets passed, are you dreaming of the chance to be the tiebreaker or deciding vote...it wont happen....lets move on.
Big L, nice to see you appreciate and believe in representative government.
How about we design the back of the quarter so that it looks exactly like the front, only with a banner beneath Washington's head that reads "ceci n est pas une quarter?"
That'll really mess with the tourists.
How about...
"excuse me, is that your bag?" with a big ugly purse in the center.
optional: have that big ugly purse be taking up an entire seat during rush hour.
Land of the free, huh?
Excuse me, but does national consensus even matter? We're talking about verifiable fact. D.C. citizens do not have a right to vote, yet they are obligated to pay a Federal income tax. Exactly where is the controversy here?
Now if the quarter said, "Taxation without Representation," and "Give us the vote, Bitches!"
then, you'd have a controversy.
True: 100% of DC citizens pay federal taxes without having representation.
Fales: 100% of US citizens trust in God.
True: 100% of DC citizens pay federal taxes without having representation.
False: 100% of US citizens trust in God.
Screw the U.S. Let's see what Canada will do for us.
Balls.... I "fale".
Oh, and damn right about the national conscensus. I can't recall getting asked if I wanted Old Man Mountain on New Hampshire's quarter.
In all seriousness, what now? Is there a backup submission plan or are we going to be totally gully and say "suck it Mint. How dare you lump us with PR anyhow."?
Honestly. A statement of fact is too controversial to engrave on our quarter. Screw them.
Good for the U.S. Mint. I could never stomach the "Taxation Without Representation" slogan.
You're all wrong, the DC slogan is controversial precisely because we are, in fact, represented.
There can be only one redesign, and it must involve putting Louie Gohmert on the DC quarter.
guest 33,
Where did I state I didnt believe in a representative government? D.C. has a delegate yeah they dont get to vote on important things like appropriations but those votes are all strictly party line, do you really beieve adding one more democrat vote for yes and one repub in utah voting no is going to make a difference? The District has been this way for 200+ years and you moved to the district knowing full well when you got here what the situation was. This is the way it is and the way it should always be. I moved here, I knew what I was getting in to...there was no representative for D.C. As to the quarter arguement there were clear guidelines given to the District in what they could submit but they said fuck it were going with a protest slogan...they deserved to be denied.
Am I correct in inferring that Big L would have advised the colonists simply to return to England?
No you would be incorrect
Keep your quarters, I want CHANGE.
No you would be incorrect
Yes, Big L would have advised the colonists to stay where they were and let their betters do the decision-making. After all, given the extent of the "rotten burroughs" system in Britain at the time, it's not as if giving the colonies seats in parliament would have changed the outcome of the Stamp Act...
maybe I was not clear on the issue, D.C. has no representative at the moment, they have never had one. If the district can get the constitution changed then by all means do it. What I am saying is this, the quarter is not the place for a protest, they were given guidlines of what they could have, they ignored it, they deserved to be denied, in fact having a person on the quarter was against the rules but they submitted that as well, so really genious leadership. Put something everyone can recognize and leave the protesting off the quarter. It would really look stupid say 10 years down the road and D.C. has representation. I really could care less if D.C. has a representative but the quarter is not the place to protest it. And so Farty are you saying a revolution should take place over the quarter and D.C.'s lack of representation?
maybe I was not clear on the issue, D.C. has no representative at the moment, they have never had one. If the district can get the constitution changed then by all means do it. What I am saying is this, the quarter is not the place for a protest, they were given guidlines of what they could have, they ignored it, they deserved to be denied, in fact having a person on the quarter was against the rules but they submitted that as well, so really genious leadership. Put something everyone can recognize and leave the protesting off the quarter. It would really look stupid say 10 years down the road and D.C. has representation. I really could care less if D.C. has a representative but the quarter is not the place to protest it. And so Farty are you saying a revolution should take place over the quarter and D.C.'s lack of representation?
Don't the Montana coins say "No Jews Allowed"?
cminus,
A+ plus for originality but not the arguement I was going with, I also am confused, am I your "better". Sorry for the double post
in fact having a person on the quarter was against the rules but they submitted that as well, so really genious leadership.
Really? Having a person on the quarter was disallowed? I didn't see that on the official rules from the Mint, and apparently neither did Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Alabama, Missouri, California, or Hawaii.
(And that's just the ones with recognizable specific people; if people are totally banned then Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming are also in trouble. Then there's South Dakota, with its rendition of a famous statue of historical figures, and Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, which also chose to display statues of people, albeit not specific historical ones.)
But, hey, what do the U.S. Mint and sixteen states know when compared with a pseudonymous guy on the internet who can't spell the word "genius" correctly?
It's obvious to me what should be on the DC quarter.
If not that then how about this?
Funny I thought genius did look misspelled but I am glad we have grammar police to be on the lookout for that. And I think this pretty much spells it out for you doesnt it dumbass:
Regarding designs for the quarters' reverse, Public Law 105-124 specifies that "no portrait of a living person shall be included in any design," prohibits any "head and shoulder portrait or bust of any person, living or dead," and gives the Secretary of the Treasury final approval of each design, with the direction that he "shall not select any frivolous or inappropriate design."
Heres the link:
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/50sq_program/index.cfm?action=faq_50sq
but I guess because I didnt spell genius right that means what, I cant read like you?
I think Big L is just trying to break into the Top 50.
By the way, excuse me while I put on my grammar police hat: the contraction "doesn't" generally requires an apostrophe. So does "Here's" although "here is" is preferred when writing . . . oh beejus, are you protesting apostrophes or something?
Also also, I think Benjamin Banneker and Duke Ellington are both dead and the proposed designs did not include busts of either, so I fail to see how they violate the rules.
Public Law 105-124 specifies that "no portrait of a living person shall be included in any design," prohibits any "head and shoulder portrait or bust of any person, living or dead,"
So, if we submitted a picture of someone who was not living, and not just a head and shoulder portrait or bust -- like, say, Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) standing with his surveying tools, or Duke Ellington (1899-1974) seated at his piano -- we'd be breaking what law, exactly?
but I guess because I didnt spell genius right that means what, I cant read like you?
No, quite obviously you can read.
Your reading comprehension sucks ass, though.
So, if we submitted a picture of someone who was not living, and not just a head and shoulder portrait or bust -- like, say, Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) standing with his surveying tools, or Duke Ellington (1899-1974) seated at his piano -- we'd be breaking what law, exactly?
It would not be breaking a law but it would look like shit because it would be tiny. And this is so off topic now it is dumb. My point is and was the protest slogan on our official quarter is dumb and against the the law. So whos reading comprehension sucks?
gives the Secretary of the Treasury final approval of each design, with the direction that he "shall not select any frivolous or inappropriate design."
I need to apologize, Banneker and Ellington would be fine for representation of the District on its quarter, my beef is the protest slogan. I also apologize for my language as well.
Flame wars are fun! Yay!
I think that Fenty should suggest putting a likeness of la borinqueña up there to cover the whole "we're the only American citizens without full voting rights in Congress. Perhaps the only fully taxpaying polity, or, you know, the only ones who speak English or whatnot. Either that or make a pitch to get the rest of the territories on quarters. What I wouldn't give to see Daddy Yankee on the obverse of George Washington. Oh wait...that damned PL 105-124!
Censorship is alive and well.
Let's drag this thing out 'till after November, and try our hand again.
Alternately, let's submit a design that makes it clear that we're not allowed to speak for ourselves, while at the same time making it clear that the feds, who occupy and micromanage us, like us in the back of the bus.
Something like an image of an attractive racially-ambiguous family that just happens to be wearing gags made of the stars and stripes, and maybe with the Washington Monument in the background.
Damn, I'm pissed.
"Censorship is alive and well."
Wait, you guys are getting this worked up over the fucking Mint?! Have you guys seen the other coins? With only a very few exceptions, they are the most banal design-by-committee crap that has ever graced a round piece of metal. These coins are supposed to have all the artistic and intellectual merit of a license plate. That's the whole point.
To start feeling oppressed by the U.S. Mint is just looking for a reason to be aggrieved.
You think this is controversial, you should have heard the noise when Texas tried to get their coin to have the slogan, "We shoot at Presidents. And at people who shoot at Presidents."
Big L:
Actually, prior to 1800 DC residents did vote - in MD or VA. So saying DC residents never had the vote ain't quite true.
@Reid
"To start feeling oppressed by the U.S. Mint is just looking for a reason to be aggrieved."
No, it's not.
Follow me for a second- That the US Mint would be the mouth of that censoring body actually makes it much worse, given that the Mint is not supposed to be partisan (and this clearly is a partisan issue) and that the DC quarter produced by Mint will both be more ubiquitous and have a longer shelf-life than whatever license-plate design we currently use.
Hillman,
I ran into a lifelong D.C. resident at dinner and he educated me on the subject and he brought this up. They had to vote for the people running in those states and told me D.C. didnt even get to vote for president until 1963. Crazy. My beef remains with a protest slogan on the official quarter.
Rez,
How is it censoring if the rules apply to all states and the District, why do you feel D.C. can buck the rules and not have to comply like every other state did?
What can us little people do, if anything, to help move the cause forward? i think it is a great idea for our quarter, even though i am a bit upset my 'rat' idea did not get very far....
I still say a Marion Barry/goatse mashup pretty much sums up everything we love about DC.
But tastefully done, of course.
In my opinion, since the coins are the official coins of the United STATES, then participation in the program should be limited to the 50 States. YES, screw the dysfunctional District of Columbia, PR and the U.S. Territories.
High praise be to the U.S. Mint for rejecting this transparently political attempt on the part of this worthless city government. It's a wonder DC was even able to come up with one design, astounding that they submitted three, all equally deserving of flat out rejection.
As for the DC Statehood issue in general, Congress should retrocede DC back to the People's Republic of Maryland as a new congressional district and add a congressional seat to Utah. This solution would maintain a balance in both Houses of Congress while providing the District's residents their much desired representation, with which they'd probably elect a crackhead like Marion Barry to Congress. Lovely.
And yes.... In God We Trust.
Heads: Chocolate City
Tails: taxation with representation
Hwonder, the territories were included at the same time DC was.
Monkey,
Congratulations, your comments made the front page of Gothamist this morning in regard to NYC Subway v. Metro.
http://gothamist.com/2008/02/27/nyc_vs_dc.php
well at least it was fromt page this morning.
@Big L
"D.C. can buck the rules and not have to comply like every other state did?"
We're not bucking the rules- the rules demonstrably are not being equally applied. What rule, again, did our suggested motto break? That it's controversial? Please, it's a motto that's commonly accepted as a right by 99.9% of US citizens across 99.999% of the contiguous US, and has been throughout the history of our Republic.
The motto is not controversial- our unique existence as non-voting citizens in the District is controversial, and this is just another way we are being treated differently. This decision expands our disparate treatment from lack of representation into censoring our ability to allude to our disenfranchised status on a twenty-five cent piece.
If you read the guidlines I posted from the U.S. Mint I would interpret the slogan to be frivolous thus rendering it unacceptable. Like I said I have no problem with people wanting representation and there is nothing wrong with the slogan by itself but it is being used as a form of protest. I would venture and I am making an assumption but most people outside of D.C. do not have high opinions of the city in most part because congress and the prez are in our backyards and when they see our quarter with a protest on it it will not help further the cause but only hinder it.
You think the matter is "frivolous" and that raising it in this public way will
"hinder" "the cause"? Wow.
I think the perfect design for the D.C. quarter-dollar would be Uncle Sam ramming it up the ass of the Country.
D.C. is not a state. It's a place for a bunch of crooked politicians, who screw us all out of our hard earned money, to hang out. If you live there, it's your own fault. Move.
looks like we've got a fair bit of nutter comments in this thread as it goes along. i'll make sure to pass the news along to all the super-rich people in barry farms that their worries are over! they can get representation by up-and-moving out of DC. get ready for the mass exodus people!
Big L - Thanks for the heads up. Can't wait to send that link to my foster mother. Maybe then she'll unchain me from this urinal.
Wow! Getting quoted in a blog! This must be what the Tallest Midget in the World Feels like.
Rez,
Frivolous is the term they use in the guidelines and my objection to raising it in a public way on a quarter would alienate D.C. and the cause. If you want people in Kansas to be behind you dont look stupid by putting a protest slogan on your quarter.
Again, Wow.
On one hand, we should shut up, because not doing so makes us look stupid. Did you work on Kerry's campaign? Just curious...
On the other hand, I'm not sure that Kansas gave $.02 about what we thought when they chose this design:
www.usmint.gov/images/mint_programs/50sq_program/states/KS_winner.gif
DC: Separate and unequal since 1801; where America commemorates and preserves past societal injustices by continuing to impose them anew on the daily lives of some few of their countrymen trapped in this small and anachronistic corner of today’s society.
It would have to be very small font, tho...