US Constitution for sale

Originally published at: US Constitution for sale | Boing Boing

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Honestly I can’t think of a better way to illustrate how our system works than handing over the U.S. Constitution to the highest bidder. Well done.

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I think it’s funny that the other famous foundational document, the Declaration of Independence, wasn’t handed over at all. It was supposed to go to King George, right? But after all that ceremonial signing and everything we didn’t bother to mail it to him. Not even a copy.

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What else is new?

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This is going to prove a real conundrum for the right-wing billionaires no doubt salivating at the opportunity. On the one hand, they’d be paying pocket change to wave around an original printing instead of the pocket Constitution their marks do. On the other hand, that’s $15-20 million going to a foundation “which is dedicated to furthering the understanding of our democracy and how the acts of all citizens can make a difference”, a cause they can’t really countenance.

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Harrison Ford That Belongs In A Museum GIF

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You know, that movie was fun but in retrospect it kinda bothers me that Indy adopted the “that belongs in a museum!” attitude to the point where he was willing to fight and kill the private collectors and their minions, when he himself illegally pillaged and destroyed countless archaeological sites over his career for fun and profit. Selling the looted ashes of a Manchurian emperor to a gangster in exchange for a diamond is just one example of his shady dealings. He also stole a golden idol from a tribe of locals who were still actively worshiping it. He was as crooked as anyone in that regard, and a colossal hypocrite.

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Who is this George Wafhington? And what’s a Prefident?

Fake document I tell ‘ya! Buyer beware.

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I almost think its actually something they wouldn’t really want - it’s of course rare and important so rich guy could brag about that, but it’s also a document enshrining rights to the common man which is like the last thing any of those guys and their friends give a shit about, and it’s not like they’d derive joy from reading it or something. Most likely the buyer would hope on selling it later for even more money would be my guess.

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I, perfonally, would be pleafed to purchafe it!

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Fucker borne every minute!

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Dude… those were nazis trying to take over the world, not some random collectors, tho. I think most people are aware that that’s not how archeology actually works, too.

But yes, I’m sorry, but this DOES belong in a museum. It’s a key part of our national heritage.

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Not criticizing him for killing Nazis. But if you’ve seen the film in question those weren’t the folks he was yelling “that belongs in a museum!” to.

Also, I don’t disagree that the constitution belongs in a museum. It’s just a bit hypocritical coming from that guy specifically.

I thought the reference was relevant and funny.

Damn, how I miss mirth, and whimsy…

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It’s been a while… but the point still stands… It probably DID belong in a museum, in the home country of the place it came, not in some rich assholes house…

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I hope Curious George wasn’t involved…

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I’d prefer that it stay with Mrs Goldman. She is worthy.

DOROTHY TAPPER GOLDMAN

Trustee since 2007

“Dorothy Tapper Goldman is president of the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation, which has funded annually a Guggenheim Fellowship in Constitutional Studies since 2007. She holds an M.S. degree in Education from the Massachusetts College of Art and a B.S. degree in the same field from Tufts University. She has served as a tenured professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, where she taught in the departments of Interior Design and Architecture. Ms. Goldman is an avid collector of rare and important printed Americana, from the Revolutionary era through the framing of the Constitution, as well as fine Chinese porcelain, furniture, paintings, sculpture, and Native American baskets. She holds many private and society memberships, including in The American Antiquarian Society, The American Philosophical Society, The Grolier Club, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Asia Society, and The Jewish Theological Seminary. In addition, she is a board member of The Manuscript Society, the Vice President and a member of the board of The Supreme Court Historical Society, and a former board member of the National Constitution Center. Since 2003, Ms. Goldman has served as chair of the library advisory board of the Jewish Theological Seminary. As her own exposure to and fascination with the magnificent and varied collection at the library deepened, she became more and more determined to find a way to share these amazing Judaic resources with the public. After a great deal of discussion, the board of trustees, under her direction, initiated a touring exhibition program that showcased the library’s treasures in facsimile, thereby allowing wider access to its resources without risk of loss or damage to the actual priceless articles. These remarkably successful exhibitions and her establishment of a lending program with the Metropolitan Museum of Art have been the hallmarks of her board chairmanship at JTS.”

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Indy had a problematic relationship with monkeys and the men who raised them.

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I’d rather it to go to the smithsonian or the national archive. The wealthy shouldn’t hoard public documents.

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The original is already there for all to gaze upon.

Free.

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