New Campaign Seeks To Replace Andrew Jackson On $20 Bill With Famous Women

Via The Week:

If the organizers of Women on $20s have their way, you won't be seeing Andrew Jackson's face on the $20 bill much longer. Instead of the seventh president of the United States, this new group would like to see Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, or Susan B. Anthony staring back on the $20. They're targeting this particular bill because 2020 will mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, and also because they aren't fans of Jackson and his authorization and enforcement of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, along with other controversies. Susan Ades Stone, executive director of Women on $20s, told The Washington Post that Jackson wasn't even fond of paper currency, and preferred gold and silver. "The guy would be rolling in his grave to know that every day the ATM spits out bills with his face on it," Stone said.

The group is gathering petition signatures at their website.

RUSSIA: Ruble Crashes To New Low, Apple Suspends Local Online Sales

Via USA Today:

The Russian ruble currency declined sharply against the dollar on Tuesday despite an aggressive intervention just hours earlier by Russia's Central Bank to halt the slide by hiking its benchmark interest rate to 17%. The ruble fell to a new low of 73 against the dollar on Tuesday. Initially, the ruble reacted favorably to the monetary policy move to prop up the troubled currency. It rallied for a few hours before sliding back into record-low territory. The Central Bank's rate rise — from 10.5% — was its biggest single move since 1998, Bloomberg reported. That is the same year that the Russian government defaulted on its sovereign debt. The ruble has lost about half its value since the start of the year because of a collapse in oil prices and Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine. Oil prices remained around five-year lows Tuesday as supply outstrips demand.

In response to the ruble's crash, Apple today suspended online sales in Russia.

The iPhone and iPad maker stopped sales from its Web store as Russia’s currency lost as much as 19 percent today, with a surprise interest-rate increase failing to stem a run on the currency. The ruble briefly sank beyond 80 per dollar, and bonds and stocks also tumbled, with the RTS equity gauge dropping the most since 2008. “Our online store in Russia is currently unavailable while we review pricing,” Alan Hely, a spokesman for the Cupertino, California-based company, wrote in an e-mailed statement today. “We apologize to customers for any inconvenience.”

Wealthiest Americans By State

Embiggen to read the names or go here for an interactive version.

New $100 Bill Launches Today

$3.5B worth of the redesigned $100 bill is being distributed to banks today.

The bill redesign, the first for the $100 bill since March 1996, will still have Benjamin Franklin on the front and Philadelphia's Independence Hall on the back. It will also have a number of new features that will definitely turn heads. There is a disappearing Liberty Bell in an ink well and a bright blue three-dimensional security ribbon with images that move in the opposite direction from the way the bill is being tilted. "The 3-D security ribbon is magic. It is made up of hundreds of thousands of micro-lenses in each note," said Larry Felix, the director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. "This is the most complex note the United States has ever produced." The $100 bill is the last bill to get a make-over in a process that began in 2003 with the $20 bill. The government redesigned the greenbacks with subtle colors and other security features to make it harder for counterfeiters. The $100 bill, which is the most commonly counterfeited note outside of the United States, was redesigned with even more complex security features.

Forbes Issues Updated Billionaires List

Forbes writes:

The combined wealth of the Forbes’ 2013 ranking of the richest people in America is $2 trillion, up from $1.7 trillion in 2012 and the highest ever, due in part to the strength of both the U.S. stock and real estate markets. The average net worth of a Forbes 400 member is a staggering $5 billion, the highest to date, up from $4.2 billion last year. Bill Gates retains the top spot on the Forbes 400 for the twentieth straight year, at $72 billion. Up $6 billion from 2012, Mr. Gates is once again the world’s richest person, having passed Mexico’s Carlos Slim in May. Warren Buffett, #2, is the biggest dollar gainer this year at $58.5 billion, up $12.5 billion from last year. Larry Ellison (#3), worth $41 billion, is the same as last year; he is the only one in the Top 10 who did not add to his fortune. Mark Zuckerberg was the second biggest gainer at $9.6 billion. He returns to the Top 20 (#20) at $19 billion after dropping to #36 last year, while Carl Icahn is back in the Top 20 (#18) for the first time since 2008.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's wealth increased by $6B just this year. Another interesting note: "There are 48 women on the list, including retired Army lieutenant colonel and heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune Jennifer Pritzker (#327), formerly known as James Pritzker and the first transgender billionaire." Homocon PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel ranks at #314 with $1.6B.

Federal Judge Dismisses Suit To Remove "In God We Trust" From US Currency

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to remove "In God We Trust" from US currency.

Judge Harold Baer Jr. of the Southern District of New York ruled Monday that a suit brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation and others should be dismissed. "The Supreme Court has repeatedly assumed the motto's secular purpose and effect, and all circuit courts that have considered this issue-namely the Ninth, Fifth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuit- have found no constitutional violation in the motto's inclusion on currency," wrote Baer. "Each circuit court that has considered the issue found no Establishment Clause violation in the motto's placement on currency, finding ceremonial or secular purposes and no religious effect or endorsement." American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative legal group, filed an amicus brief in support of the motto on behalf of 41 members of Congress and approximately 90,000 Americans who wanted a dismissal.

Church Sign Of The Day

Source.

Feds Unveil New $100 Bill

It goes into circulation in October.

"We made numerous process changes to address the creasing issue and we are back in full production," said Dawn Haley, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Haley said those changes include modifying the paper feeder on printing presses to accommodate variations in the paper associated with the 3-D security ribbon. The blue security ribbon is composed of thousands of tiny lenses. Those lenses magnify the objects underneath them to make them appear to be moving in the opposite direction from the way the bill is being moved. Benjamin Franklin's portrait will remain on the $100 bill, the highest value denomination in general circulation and the most frequent target of counterfeiters.

Atheist Group Sues Congress To Remove "In God We Trust" From Currency

The Freedom From Religion Foundation has filed a lawsuit demanding that "In God We Trust" be removed from all US currency. 

The plaintiffs' claim that the motto is offensive and forces atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers and skeptics to bear a religious message they don't agree with, and are thus forced, when using U.S. currency, to make a false declaration regarding their religious views. According to Dan Barker, co-president of the Wisconsin-based FFRF, a nonprofit organization that represents atheists and agnostics, the majority of Americans believe the motto sends a religious message out to everyone who collects or uses U.S. currency.

"[In God We Trust] is indeed considered to be a religious phrase," Barker said in an interview with The Christian Post on Thursday. "The message belongs in churches, private institutions and can be shared by missionaries. But who is the 'we' representing, if not all of us trust in a God?" Barker believes that recent survey responses show one out of every five Americans is not a believer, and the motto is forcing nonbelievers to proselytize for monotheism when they travel overseas and exchange U.S. currency for local money.

This has been tried tree times before. "In God We Trust" was added to currency in 1864 during the Civil War.  In 1956 it replaced "E Pluribus Unum" as the official motto of the United States during the height of the Cold War as a slap against communism. The phrase is thought to have originated in the fourth (never sung) stanza of The Star-Spangled Banner.

REPORT: Gays Earn More, Owe Less

According to a study released yesterday by Prudential, gay people tend to make more and owe less that most Americans.

Respondents not only reported significantly higher annual incomes -- $61,500 compared with the national median of $50,054 -- but they also carried about $4,000 less in debt than the average American and had $6,000 more in household savings. They were even slightly more likely to have jobs in the first place, with an unemployment rate of 7% versus the national rate of 7.9%, Prudential found.

A combination of factors play into this, said Michele Meyer-Shipp, chief diversity officer at Prudential. To start, LGBT individuals are generally well-educated, with more than half of respondents receiving at least a bachelor's degree, and tend to live in higher-income areas, she said. "It flows down -- you have a higher level of education, access to higher paying jobs in areas where there are good salaries, and more disposable income to allocate to things like saving and retirement," Meyer-Shipp said.

Anti-gay groups already use the presumed relative affluence of the the LGBT community as "proof" that we do not suffer discrimination. This latest study will surely add to that claim.

Dollars & G-Strings

Congress is once again considering doing away with the dollar bill, an issue that comes up and is promptly shot down every few years.  Yesterday the New York Daily News went directly to the people for their opinion.

The proposal won a hearty endorsement Friday night from workers who handle bills as part of their daily grind. At Sapphire New York, a gentlemen’s club on E. 66th St., exotic dancers said ending the dollar bill would lead to better tips. “These ladies are worth five, tens, and twenties,” said a stripper who goes by the name of “Jane Alexander.” She added, “I pity any man who tries giving me a coin.” Dancer Lady Dula also endorsed the proposal, saying it would “weed out cheapskates.” “You want my attention, it begins with a five,” she said.

According to the latest assessment, switching to dollar coins would save the feds about $4.4B over the next 30 years.

Church Sign Of The Day

Source.

Chikin Billionaires Among World's Richest

30 Richest DJs In The World

Via Celebrity Net Worth:

If you are a fan of electronic music, you will probably recognize the names on this list but we think you’ll be very surprised and impressed at just how rich and highly paid the top DJs are. These DJs put out their own albums and produce songs for other mainstream artists like Madonna and Britney Spears, but their main bread and butter still comes from private shows. If you’re one of the top ranked DJs in the world, you can earn hundreds of thousands and possibly even millions for a single concert depending on the date and location. A private birthday party at a Saudi Prince’s palace in Dubai or one Vegas New Years Eve show can earn a top DJ more money than most people will earn in a lifetime.

I don't know what it says about me that at even in my clubbing dotage, I recognize and probably have tracks by all but a handful of these guys. And Tiesto at the top? A few good ones from him, but his style is so recognizable that all his tracks begin to sound the same. Also, as far as I know, there's not one gay DJ on that list. (Tipped by JMG reader Michael)

Canada Kills The Penny

But when will America do this?

Canada will withdraw the penny from circulation this year, saving taxpayers about C$11 million ($11 million) annually and forcing retailers to round prices to the nearest nickel, the government announced in its budget today. The Royal Canadian Mint, which has produced 35 billion pennies since it began production in 1908, will cease distribution this fall due to the coin’s low purchasing power. Production and handling cost for the one-cent coin are a C$150- million drag on the economy, according to a 2006 study by Desjardins, a Levis, Quebec-based financial institution.

Turn In Your Francs

The ten-year window to exchange Francs for Euros ends today.

Canadian Quarter Celebrates Gay Marriage

They're meant to be keepsakes rather than legal tender, but how cool is this? Artist Gary Taxali talks about his collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mint:

The coin that Taxali is most proud of is the wedding-themed coin, featuring two intertwining rings that represent a gender-neutral marriage. “I live in a country where gender is irrelevant and the coin has to represent that,” says Taxali. “I thought it would be a nice thing to represent that and to show two rings; is one a man and one a woman? Two men? Two women? It doesn’t matter what they are, they represent the union of two people. “The Royal Mint really liked that idea because it represents the spirit of our nation and also, I think that it’s empowering to somebody and hopefully this calling will send a powerful message that we’re all the same and a wedding is a wedding. I think this is probably the first piece of currency in the world, paid by a federal government that is pro-wedding regardless of gender and that makes me really happy.”

Even though the launch was just last week, the Royal Mint is already sold out of the first run. But they are taking future orders for the "wedding gift set" of coins. I predict these will be huge.

Delivered From Homosexuality

Forbes Issues 2011 Billionaires List

Forbes Magazine has issued this year's list of the world's richest people. The number of billionaires grew by 199 in 2010.

Mexico's Carlos Slim expanded his lead as the world's richest man, adding $20.5 billion to his net worth in the past year, for a total fortune of $74 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, now co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is second with a total worth of $56 billion. Despite Apple's leaps in value the past year, CEO Steve Jobs is still only No. 110 on the list, worth a comparatively more modest $8.3 billion. By February, Apple had grown to be worth $100 billion more than Microsoft. Eight of the world's billionaires this year are 30 years old or younger, and half of them got rich off of popular social networking site Facebook.

Tea Party kingpins David and Charles Koch are tied at #18, with a combined net worth of $44B. GOProud backer Peter Thiel lands this year at #833.

Sarah Palin Increases Income By 100X

Since quitting her job as Alaska governor, Sarah Palin's income has increased 100-fold to an estimated $12M annually. At least.

Since leaving office at the end of July 2009, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee has brought in at least 100 times her old salary – a haul now estimated at more than $12 million -- through television and book deals and a heavy schedule of speaking appearances worth five and six figures. That conservative estimate is based on publicly available records and news accounts. The actual number is probably much higher, but is hard to quantify because Palin does not publicize her earnings. She reputedly got a $7 million deal for her first book, with the bulk of that money due after her resignation as governor, and will earn about $250,000 per episode, according to the web site The Daily Beast, for each of eight episodes of a reality show about Alaska for the The Learning Channel. She has managed to keep a lid on reliable figures for her earnings from a multi-year contract with Fox News and a second book deal with HarperCollins.

A single speaking appearance earns Palin at least $100,000.