Corrections to the blogosphere, the consensus, and the world

Showing posts with label cynicism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cynicism. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Truth or Dare

Two medals I bid on unsuccessfully, representing the very American bombast-takedown combination. 
First, a patriotic token from 1837 or 1857, with the inscription
"Millions for defence - not one cent for tribute"

against an obverse of Liberty,


And second, a realistic reappraisal dated 1863;


"Millions for contractors -


Not one cent for the widows".

Copperhead copper, anti-Lincoln pro-slavery propaganda, but so good. And so currently applicable.

The Millions for Defence quote is linked by Wikipedia to a report on a diplomatic brouhaha between France and America caused, or at least protracted, by Talleyrand's demands for bribes.  Interesting.  But the slogan obviously lived on. In a time when a million dollars meant something.










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