The Statue of Liberty is one of the most famous sculptures in the world. It’s also one of the most famous gifts in the world, having been given to America by France. For well over a century, it has served as a prominent symbol of the United States. Quoting from the relevant Wikipedia page:

The statue is a figure of a classically draped woman, likely inspired by the Roman goddess of liberty Libertas. In a contrapposto pose, she holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a tabula ansata inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI (July 4, 1776, in Roman numerals), the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. With her left foot she steps on a broken chain and shackle, commemorating the national abolition of slavery following the American Civil War. After its dedication the statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, being subsequently seen as a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.

In the pedestal of the monument, a plaque with Emma Lazarus’s poem “The New Colossus” can be found. It includes this text:

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The Statue of Liberty has represented the very best that America has been, and all that it should aspire to be.

Now, French politician Raphael Glucksmann is demanding it back:

“We’re going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty,'” he told cheering supporters.

Right now, America is unworthy of this statue. One day, I hope we may be again.

Recently, while reading about one pathetic bootlicker’s attempt to create a new $250 bill featuring the hideous visage of Donald Trump, I found myself diverted toward more pleasant politics of the past. Specifically, our story today dates to around the Civil War, when the restriction barring the living from appearing on American currency was enacted. The reason for that prohibition is one Spencer Clark, the first superintendent of the National Currency Bureau.

In June 1864, the country was ready to produce its third round of fractional dollar notes. Congress decided it would honor William Clark, who famously explored the Louisiana Purchase with Meriwether Lewis between 1804 and 1806. But when Congress passed the bill to memorialize William Clark, the language of the bill only read “Clark.”

Given the opportunity presented, you may be able to guess what happened next.