Possible honorees include, clockwise from top left, abolitionist Harriet Tubman; suffragist Susan B. Anthony; reformist First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.

In June of 2015, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew asked the public the following question:

If you could pick any deceased woman from American history to adorn the $10 bill, who would be your choice?

The riled up response he received took him by surprise. He fully expected an outpouring of opinions about which woman it should be. Particularly given that the only woman who ever appeared on the face of a United States bank note was Martha Washington in the late 19^th century, and only for an extremely brief period of time.

But what he wasn’t expecting, were the pointed questions, stinging opinions, adamant suggestions, and angry complaints surrounding not women, but the two men whose portraits are on the $10 and $20 bills.

On the $10 is Alexander Hamilton, a revered and well respected founding father, and on the $20 is President Andrew Jackson, as reviled and vilified as Hamilton is revered.

And who could have ever anticipated that the timing of the $10 bill redesign would coincide with the Broadway smash hit “Hamilton?”

The popular opinion from the public?

Eject Andrew Jackson from the $20 and put whomever you want on it, but leave the $10 bill—and Hamilton, alone.

The unexpected number of responses from the public at large were adamant that Hamilton, the architect of the American financial system, and the first Treasury Secretary should under no circumstances be removed from the $10 note. And the majority of the public was outraged and unnerved as to how the current Secretary of Treasury could forever displace the first Secretary of Treasury.

The public response was also clear about their opinion that Jackson doesn’t belong on the $20 bill at all, if not based on his opposition to national banking, then surely his abhorrent record of violence against Native Americans.

In response to the public outcry about Hamilton, the Treasury gave their assurances that Hamilton would somehow still remain on the $10 bill, more than likely as a secondary figure.

I think it will end up the other way around as usual. Hamilton will be the primary, and “some woman” will be the secondary.

The rollout of the redesigned $10 bill is expected to take place in 2020, which is also the 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment that extended the right to vote to American women.

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HARRIET TUBMAN QUOTES

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

I grew up like a neglected weed – ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it.

I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.

’Twant me, ’twas the Lord. I always told him, “I trust to you. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,” and he always did.

I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land.

Quakers almost as good as colored. They call themselves friends and you can trust them every time.

I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.

SUSAN B. ANTHONY QUOTES

I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand.

Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.

I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.

There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.

Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations… can never effect a reform.

I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows.

The older I get the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball – the further I am rolled the more I gain.

I do not consider divorce an evil by any means. It is just as much a refuge for women married to brutal men as Canada was to the slaves of brutal masters.

Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work.

Oh, if I could but live another century and see the fruition of all the work for women! There is so much yet to be done.

ROSA PARKS QUOTES

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.

Each person must live their life as a model for others.

Have you ever been hurt and the place tries to heal a bit, and you just pull the scar off of it over and over again.

The only tired I was, was tired of giving in.

I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free.

Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.

Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome.

I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.

My only concern was to get home after a hard day’s work.

Whatever my individual desires were to be free, I was not alone. There were many others who felt the same way.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT QUOTES

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Women are like teabags. You don’t know how strong they are until you put them in hot water.

You must do the things you think you cannot do.

It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.

Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

Many states are jealous of Iowa’s #1 status and question their lack of minorities: According to the 2014 United States Census Bureau, 92.1% of Iowans are white vs. the USA percent of 77.4.

In 1972, due to scheduling conflicts, the Democratic National Party innocently moved its Iowa caucus earlier than the New Hampshire primary. Since the caucus wasn’t considered to be in the same league as a primary, nobody paid much attention.

Here’s how the caucus works: There are no voting polls at all. Instead, registered Iowan voters assemble in a public place, town hall style, to review the candidates and choose who should get the primary nomination. The Republicans write their choice on a piece of paper and are counted by hand. The Democrats physically move into clusters based on the candidate they support, and the size of each group is manually tallied.

And while a caucus isn’t considered to be in the same league as a primary, Iowa’s ability to be the first state to weigh in during the presidential campaign has become the envy of most others.

The fluke change in timing in 1972 forever supplanted New Hampshire as the first contest.

That year, Jimmy Carter, after winning Iowa, won the presidency. The Republican response was to immediately move their Iowa caucus earlier as well.

There you have it—Numero Uno status for Iowa.

And until both parties make a fundamental change in their rules, Iowa will continue to remain first out of the gate.

Additionally, in 1972, New Hampshire took legal steps to protect its “first primary in the nation” status by passing a law that gives its secretary of state the power to change the date to precede any other primary by one week. A genius political move on their part.

Even though both the Democrats and the Republicans have it in their rules that Iowa goes first, it’s not legally binding. But if a state holds their primaries earlier than Iowa, the number of delegates the state can send to the national convention is reduced, a punishment wielded by both parties as a huge disincentive. No state wants to cut back on delegates.

The 2016 National Conventions: Republicans will meet in Cleveland, Ohio from July 18-21, and Democrats will meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from July 26-28.

Two days after a knife attack in a London subway left a 56-year-old man seriously injured, all attention has been on the reaction of a bystander who shouted to the Muslim attacker: “You ain’t no Muslim, bruv.”

Ms. Tashfeen Malik, with a degree in pharmacology, could have taken advantage of the “American Dream.” But that wasn’t why she came here. Malik’s sole purpose for coming to the U.S. was to destroy the American dream.

And Malik took advantage of a relatively easy way into the U.S.

She was granted a K-1 visa, also known as a “90-day-fiance’ visa,” which has long been considered a questionable and often fraudulent way for foreigners to gain entry into the U.S.

Everyone, including the FBI, is investigating the “why.” The answer to the “why” is simple: Radical Islam believes that Muslims are destined to rule the world and that the West must be confronted and dealt with.

“The two killers were radicals for a long time,” the FBI was quoted as saying yesterday.

So you tell me. Their families were unaware that they were radicalized?

Tashfeen Malik’s mother lived with them. She never noticed the arsenal of weapons in the couple’s two-bedroom townhouse?

Where was Malik’s mother when Malik and Farook donned black masks and tactical gear, grabbed tons of weapons, and ran out to kill 14 people and wound 21 others?

According to news reports, Malik’s mother was in the townhouse watching the couple’s 6-month-old daughter.

Now most of what Trump has to say has me shaking my head in wonderment. But I have to agree with him when he says “We are now at war.”

And here is what I have to say to all Muslims living in the United States:

You need to stand up for Americans and the American dream or go to some other country where you like the people and/or their government better.

If Muslims can’t be proactive and do the right thing, you are simply and frankly Un-American.

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

I was going to title this blog “Bush Got Trumped,” but let’s be real here, Jeb has pretty much become a bush-league player. Pun intended.

One measly ex-Governor? No—that’s not Trump’s style. In all his trumped up glory, the Donald has taken on the entire Republican Party.

Some say that Trump is running to ensure the presidential win for Hillary. He’s acting as her apprentice so to speak. The theory is it’s a win-win for Trump. He gets the Republican nomination and is a hero. Hillary becomes the first woman President of the United States and the Donald? Well, he’s a hero.

I don’t buy that theory. Because that’s not how Trump rolls. He actually believes he can win this “thing.”

Now, I don’t believe that Trump will become the 45^th President of the United States. But I do believe that a Trump nomination could possibly undo many of the gains Republicans have made in the recent State and local elections. And then there goes the Republican majority in the Senate.

According to a Wikipedia page on the 1964 Congressional elections, Lyndon Johnson’s landslide victory over Barry Goldwater allowed his Democratic Party to gain a net of 36 seats from the Republican Party, giving them a two-thirds majority in the House. This was the largest House majority held by either party since 1936.

Many of the highest-ranking and wealthiest Republicans want Trump out. But who needs to publicly bicker and scrap with the insult-spewing Donald?

We all know that Trump loves to belittle and berate his critics 24/7. That’s been his game plan since day one, and it seems to be working well for him.

And let’s be honest, it doesn’t look like Trump is getting fired anytime soon.

I wasn’t a fan of Trump’s reality game show The Apprentice, but this is one reality show I’m not going to miss.