Day: January 4, 2013

Click through for a larger version to see why it's funny.

Michael Castle: Unsuspecting godfather of the $1 trillion coin solution The story starts in 1995, when Rep. Michael Castle, then the Republican at-large representative for Delaware, took over as head of the House Financial Services subcommittee on domestic and international monetary policy. Issues of coinage were part of that subcommittee’s jurisdiction, and so Castle — who tells me that he personally has never collected coins or previously hadn’t had much interest in coin issues — started working with coin collectors and others to draft legislation on the topic. Castle’s biggest accomplishment in the role was the 50-state quarter program, which involved issuing 50 differently designed quarters in the order the states were admitted to the Union (it isn’t a coincidence that Castle’s home state of Delaware was the first admitted). But he also drafted a bill, the Commemorative Coin Authorization and Reform Act of 1995, that included this provision:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury may mint and issue platinum coins in such quantity and of such variety as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

"It's a little bit like being the head caretaker of the cemetery. There are a lot of people under you, but nobody listens." -- Rep. Hal Rodgers (R-KY), quoted by the New York Times, describing House Speaker John Boehner's leadership.

It really is the most sensible - and legal! - way out of the debt ceiling nonsense. Sign the petition. Atrios added that putting Reagan on it would be a hoot.  I whole heartedly agree.

Some people say we should eat vegetables, some say we should eat broken glass. Democrats believe in a balanced diet of veggies and glass. — @drgrist via TweetDeck via dkos