We're in a war, we're looking at a looming mortgage crisis, and I can tell you that our educational system is getting flushed down the tubes, and what does our brave congress do? Why, it decides to make the words "In God We Trust" bigger on our coins.
Responding to complaints from the Religious Right, Congress has passed legislation mandating that the phrase "In God We Trust" be moved from the edge to the back or front of the new presidential dollar coins.
President George W. Bush signed the measure into law Dec. 26. It was tucked into a $555 billion domestic spending bill after having been pushed by U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.). Brownback and other Religious Right conservatives have been complaining about the new coins since the series started last year.
Oh, yeah. That's a solution. Maybe God will like us better if put his name in bigger print on our money.
They're all demented fuckwits.
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Wasn't Brownback a presidential candidate for awhile? LOL. He falls out of the race and goes back to work to do... this?
Keep fighting the good fight, Sam.
Gyagh! I agree with you PZ. Does this sort of nonsense help these god-soaked loonies sleep better at night or something? I just don't get it.
I wanted to put "Obey your noodly master" on our money but hey,no one listens to me.
Dammnit! The "God" on the edge was so easy to rub off by giving the coin a few rubs on a rough surface.
As an Aussie, I don't have to put up with that. I'm living in the UK now, where they have Darwin on the 10 pound note.
But, what exactly are those demented fuckwits trusting god to do ?
1. Make America look foolish ? It's working.
2. Increase the power of the US currency ? It's not working.
3. Make people spend the money by sending it to religious evangelists ? Well, that's working to a disturbing degree.
4. Make everyone believe in god ? It's not working any more, I'm happy to say.
5. Alienate people of reason ? It's working.
Do you notice a pattern here?
Sen. Brownback: creationist
Pres. Bush: thinks it's OK to teach cdesign proponentsism
Any other high-ranking creationists in the Senate? I know Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is, but then...the South Dakota GOP passed a pro-creation resolution in '06.
But wait...it could get worse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r7kpTWiwrg
Actually, I think it's to "protect" us Americans from the godless, Commie, pinkos who are standing at the gates threatening to overrun our nation with socialized medicine and whatnots.
They had different quarters commemorating the different states, so why not commemorative dollar coins commemorating every single belief ever held by any American citizen, instead of forcing us to worship their god in its two aspects of mindless slavishness (the bigger-is-better "God" in the forced inclusiveness of "In God We Trust") and greedy materialism of the coin itself, which is the only god they hold in their flinty, little hearts.
Wouldn't God prevent the words "In God we Trust" from rubbing off of the coins?
These people have no faith in the non-material world, and somehow expect physics to operate on coins without operating on organisms' genomes. Shot your own feet, there, you stupid IDiots.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
"4. Make everyone believe in god ? It's not working any more, I'm happy to say."
Which I guess is why they have to make it even bigger.
Didn't Bush asked Congress to stop adding things onto the spending bills?
Anyone feel like we don't really have a say in what our country does anymore? Oh wait...
I've been rather lazy lately about crossing out the same wording on paper money.
Not now...I've got pen and wallet and I'm gettin' busy!
Since the educational system is going down the toilet, Americans won't be able to read the words, "In God We Trust" no matter how big they are. See, the two problems cancel each other out. Republicans are such geniuses the way they think ahead.
"Since the educational system is going down the toilet, Americans won't be able to read the words, "In God We Trust" no matter how big they are"
Well, in that case, we'll just keep making them bigger until they CAN read them, in much the same way that talking louder can make someone who doesn't speak a particular language suddenly understand it.
Congress again violates the separation of church and state to secure future votes from screwhead fundies. Will this bullshit ever stop?
Speaking of which, does anyone know where one can obtain a little circle-with-a-slash stamp? I seem to remember one that was made specifically of a size to cross out the "God" on our paper currency, but I've never been able to find one.
It's a minor tempest - these are dollar coins, after all. Who the hell spends those?
Now isn't this just great? My last blog was about that very
same insane inscription on our coins, but now they have the
freaking gaul to want it bigger! Was I overheard, or is there a fundie spy amongst us passing our blogs on to the
rabid religionists. What in blazes are we going to do to
stop this onslaught of the crazed morons to force their
insanity down our throats? Should we just charge everything
we purchase, even down to less than a dollar just to avoid
having to handle coins with that crazed inscription? How
about we just barter, trading a tire for chickens and not
using coinage at all? Knowing the moronic fundies, they'll
probably hang a tag with that freaking motto on every thing
they barter. So we might conceivably get a chicken with a
tag around it's scrawny neck reading "In god They Trusted!
What a infuriating situation, not being able to stop them
in their tracks with something that will once and for all
impress upon them the derangement of their miserable lives.
We're going to home school starting next year. I just don't see a quality product being delivered. And this is from a parent whose child is in a Math & Science Magnet Middle School that pipelines directly into Martin Luther King Magnet HS which is, supposedly, one of the Top-25 public High Schools in the United States.
And while some will say "go to private schools" I'll point out I went to a private school and they suffer from the same problems and results which is an educational program based on the needs of an mid-20th Century need -- training factory workers and middle managers to follow read instructions, blueprints, procedures and obey authority.
Then we get into the whole "warehousing" children of the same age thing which tends to retard social development. Another issue is that it takes 7 hours for a school to teach two-and-a-half hours of material. And they, despite meaning to, don't do it in a very uniform or comprehensive manner...
Anyway, like I said, we're done. Non-collegiate education in America is stuck in the 50's.
How has this crap escaped an establishment clause challenge??
I want it to read "in cthulhu we trust" WTF? Who do I sue?
Forget these stupid dollar coins. Dubloons for everyone!
http://blip.tv/file/520347
Is there any law which prevents Americans from modifying coins so that it has whatever slogan they want?
PZ, will you marry me? Oh wait, I'm already married. And my husband says the same thing. Still, it's nice to read it from someone else, too. :-)
Why not "Goddamn Money."
Marcus @21,
How has this crap escaped an establishment clause challenge??
It hasn't escaped establishment clause challenge. Unfortunately, it has survived the challenge, beginning with Aronow v. United States, 432 F.2d 242 (9th Cir. 1970). The courts have held that the invocation of a deity is purely "ceremonial", and hence not really religious at all. What can I say? I wasn't on the court at the time.
One might well ask, then, whether (assuming the courts' interpretation to be correct) there would be any objection to replacing "God" with "Zeus" or "Odin" as the deity in question.
(And actually, if the happy day ever arrives on which the 9th circuit's finding of fact in Aronow -- i.e., that the reference to "God" is devoid of any real meaning -- is correct, I would be perfectly content to leave things as they are. Ceremonies, so long as rendered harmless, can often be pretty.)
PZ- (add forked tongue icon)
Go to your grocery store checkout & buy a folder of postage stamps in the packet titled "pollination". See the birds& bees& butterfly panel that breaks up into four stamps. Now, LOL with a few puckish re-designs on the topic and invite your irreverent blog family artists to submit some samples here. Then send the "winners" as a suggestion to the Postal Service.
I'm sure no network would post the winner before 10 PM.
"Wozzat yer trustin' in?"
Have you guys heard about House Resolution 888, currently in committee? Proposed by a bunch of the usual Religious Right suspects, it's basically a factually suspect dominionist diatribe affirming that we are a Christian nation.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/1/4/24725/53989/Front_Page/Think_…
I've alreay written to my Congressman and emailed Rep. Henry Waxman here:
http://oversight.house.gov/contact/
Sorry if this is old news. Scary.
Sen. Brownshirt wants "God" on our coinage?
Christ. Moneychangers. Temple.
'nuff said
Well at least Brownback and the rest of the fuckwits (thanks, PZ, for the appropriate adjective) didn't dishonor the 2007 batch.
A big No Cheezburgers to Brownback from Washington, Adams, Jefferson & Madison who exist on coin with the bullshit on the rim. Live with it Brownback, you hypocritical moron.
Please don't remind me how my tax money could otherwise be used to ensure children have appropriate medical care (maintaining health as opposed to going to emergency)
"All demented fuckwits."
Hmmm. Pot, meet kettle, perhaps?
Call this the latest attempt by dubya and friends to keep the dollar strong. The dollar may be slipping against the Canadian dollar and the Euro but it will be strengthened with the might of big sky daddy to hold it up. I feel secure in my future now.
"They're all demented fuckwits."
Spot on.
nobody said nothing
Carlie (#17), that's what sharpies are for.
Righto - now I KNOW the US has been taken over by a bunch of radical subversive humourists. And here was I, actually believing anything I read about Christian Fundies on the blogs was true. Silly, silly me.
Now that I got the joke, could the US PLEASE switch back to normal?
Does god really love us, or does he just love our money?
Because if God wanted "In God we Trust" bigger, it would be on our money.
My debit card just says Visa. Thank God!
Yes, Senator Brownback, size does matter. Just like your wife said.
All this toadying just makes me angrier!
@Mrs Tilton
The courts have held that the invocation of a deity is purely "ceremonial", and hence not really religious at all.
Oh, wow. I bet they wouldn't change it to "in the tooth fairy we trust" - just as ceremonial but maybe too long...
((sigh))
By "escaped" I meant "survive" - I'm horrified to hear that someone challenged it and lost. That's insane. Can you imagine what'd happen if it said "Allah" on the money?
See, the word "God" is magic, and will protect all the bleevers that touch the money, and curse all that are stiff-necked and refuse to believe. And to answer an earlier question, God does just love our money. That's why he wants us to send it to televangelists. So they can forward it to him.
Considering the paucity of combined mental horsepower in government at the moment, I am sort of glad they do stuff like this rather than getting all ambitious and trying to think up important stuff to do. I can't imagine how that would turn out.
I kind of liked the various Thomas Jefferson heads on the nickels. Filthy Deist that he was, it's only historical ignorance/revisionism that doesn't get him kicked off money completely.
"In God We Trust."
The 50's slogan that will never die, thanks to the never-ending supply of conformist assholes our country breeds like maggots.
I know at least one person (Corey) suffered through the state of the union address, where Bush took a rather aggressive tone for a lame duck, over congress ear marking bills with legislation that had nothing to do with the bill. And what does he then do instantly afterwards? The mind continues to boggle over how such a vile creature ever got elected twice.
As for Brownback, he was (and probably still is) supported by a group of bloggers who called heliocentrism an "atheist doctrine." He and his supporters are genuinely our of touch with reality, with about as much content in their thought as 'Nobody'.
It's enough to make one pessimistic about not only our gov't, but humanity as a whole that these men are elected to public office.
What exactly are you supposed to trust god with anyhow....to hold your wallet? To look after your hot new missus while you're away on a business trip? To not ditch your 747 on your trans-Atlantic flight? To not kill your firstborn son ( oh, wait, perhaps you shouldn't trust the bastard with that one). I mean "trust" is a fairly broad stroke of the brush in anyone's book.
But I guess it would have to be a coin the size of an elephant to carry the words : "In God we have a shiftless, humourles,bum of an entity who's hobbies include smiting, sending of plagues and letting his only child die an uneccesary death just to prove a point. We will trust in this thing even though for centuries now he hasn't sent any proof of his existence and expects us to be blind sheeple. And he allows televangelists, which, quite frankly, aren't even a good joke anymore".
"Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."
If all the money says "God" on it, then it has to go to the church! Brilliant!
Nobody @31,
Pot, meet kettle, perhaps?
No. But thanks for playing. As a consolation prize, here are some shiny objects that will keep you occupied for hours on end.
Michael @45,
Brownback ... was ... supported by a group of bloggers who called heliocentrism an "atheist doctrine." He and his supporters are genuinely our of touch with reality
That second sentence is certainly correct, but I'm pretty sure the "godless heliocentrism" blog is a joke.
"In God We Thrust" is too wordy. It would be simpler and bigger letters to just put "GOD", after all, that is what money means today.
Since Reagan/Bush and now Bush II, the proper slogan in general should be "God Help Us" as a cry of despair.
Bernarda @49,
something like this, then?
You called it PZ they are all bunch of demented fuckwits, but they keep getting re-elected over and over again.
But the important question is, if you cross it out, will it still work in a vending machine? That's just about the only thing I use cash for these days.
It kinda makes sense, seems that our "GOD" has become rather inflated and is losing some of it's luster as of late. We need a lot more "GOD" to buy less and less stuff.
I suggest an alternative slogan to put on our money:
"He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!"
If they were being truthful it should read "In god we Trust, all others must bring proof".
I wonder if you could grind "In God We Trust" off a coin with a Dremel?
Hmm... I got one for Christmas...
When it comes to money, Bush wants everything bigger. Clinton's last budget was 1.8 trill, Bush's small government last budget is coming in at almost twice that - 3 trill.
Truer words were never spoken.
thats seriously fucked up. sometimes i think i might leave the states (my new home) and go back across the sea
So...what are we going to DO about it?
This makes my head hurt.
K @60
...I don't know, how much does it cost to own a congressman?
They're surprisingly cheap. I'm always amazed, when I see the campaign donor lists, how relatively little it takes to purchase the most appalling legislation.
Well, I'm actually glad this happened - it is now unquestionable that the Reactionary Wrong sees the words "In God We Trust" as a fundie bludgeon of religion to beat others down with. I'd say that puts it square in the sights of an "Establishment Clause" Supreme Court Case.
And I'm happy boycotting the coins with William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor - they all sucked anyway, right?
it should say
"GOD IS ON OUR SIDE",
just so everyone would know then
re #65: No, it should say "GOD IS ON THE OTHER SIDE" on both sides of the coin. That'll keep 'em busy for a while.
If you don't have large letters on your coins, then the terrorists have already won.
Damn atheists, always killing each other and starting trouble. Now with "In God We Trust" in bigger font, smack dab in the middle, atheists will think twice about acting against god and his children. That'll put them in their place.
*sigh*
FUCK them. I realize that with the No Child Left Behind Act and the move toward creationism that future generations are going to be borderline retarded, but the issue will be that they can't read, not that they have bad eyesight.
Originally money (notes and coins) was based on its equal value in gold. One could exchange the exact quantity of gold quivalent to the facial value of money.
So on dollars was printed or stamped: "in gold we trust".
When money stopped being garanteed by gold "they" had to find a new sentence and simply withdrew the "L" turning it to "in god we trust" tadaaa...
Now, one might consider the semiotical, philosophical, freudian yet political aspects of this withdrawal as taking the "L" out of gold turns it into god.
So wherever you see this "in god we trust" (bloody everywhere) you'll know what, in fact, it subholds.
Next step might be "in oil we trust"...
Well, that does it. Now that they've stamped "GOD" in even bigger letters on the money, we have no choice but to accelerate the secret program to push the world to a cashless society. I'm thinking the means of "money" transfer ought to be something convenient, something difficult to lose or be stolen, to help alleviate the problems caused by cash. Maybe a microchip? Oh, that would be good. Implanted on the back of the hand, so it would be easy to swipe at the market. But then there are amputees to worry about, so maybe there ought to be one on the forehead, too, just to be on the safe side. That's it. One on the hand, one on the forehead. And we need a catchy name for the system, something like Best Electronic Automated Salary Transfer.
Wait, what?
To those of you who find this as equally stupid as I do, you may also get a laugh out of:
http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/funny-pictures-co…
LOL, Carlie!
> "They're All Demented Fuckwits."
Calling the Religious Right Conservatives Demented Fuckwits is an insult to all Demented Fuckwits.
;-)
I tried to stop myself before adding that the microchip implants would be called the Miniaturized Automated Receipt Keepers.
:)
I've got a Dremel at home. I think I'm going to start grinding off "In God We Trust" from all the money that passes through my hands (which isn't much, just saying).
Oh, good grief.
When I put on these glasses I found, I can clearly see " THIS IS YOUR GOD " written on all the money!
i think they actually believe...that increasing the size of "in god we trust" will make the money worth more, that the reason the currecny has been going down is because they decreased the size of "in god we trust"
*sigh*
deluded gits...
they should just REMOVE THE FUCKING THING! honestly, the cold war is over...and people are taking it WAY too seriously...