I thought I'd posted this MONTH ago (and hell, I might have) but a reader sent it to me recently and ased that I post it, so here goes:

 Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten

comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like
this…

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing
The fifth would pay $1
The sixth would pay $3
The seventh would pay $7
The eighth would pay $12
The ninth would pay $18
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the
arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. “Since you
are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your
daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the
first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what
about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that
everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that
from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end
up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill
by a h higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the
tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he
suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to
drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their
savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He
pointed to the tenth man,”but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too.
It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”
“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back, when I
got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get
anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down
and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they
discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of
them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our
tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will
naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much,
attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In
fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat
friendlier.

the video is nice but the audio is AWESOME!

and two football related quotes:

“No background knowledge. Limited research. Present something lame and call it forward-thinking. Employ copious quantities of hyperbole and pseudo-esoterica. — Nike reminds me of the time-honored tradition of bullshitting your way through an essay test.” — Rick Pearson

“Most design sucks, most art sucks, most music sucks, most movies suck, most food sucks, most books suck, most TV sucks. Hell, most people suck. That’s part of why good things are so special.” — Paul Lukas

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

Vice President Joe Biden had his “oops” moment Wednesday speaking in a 49er-crazed San Francisco when he told a crowd at a city political fundraiser that “the Giants are on their way to the Super Bowl.”

 

Good thing the Jets aren't still playing.  He'd be wowing them in Winnipeg!

from Connor Friedersdorf

Obama-Endorsed #OWS Occupier Arrested on Lynching Charge

Wonder where he keeps his Peace Prize?

‘Main Street USA will be Closed for the Duration of the President’s Time There.’

because I use versions of it in my class - from the SC debates:

One last thing…I believe every American of every background has been endowed by their Creator with the right to pursue happiness, and if that makes liberals unhappy, I’m going to continue to find ways to help poor people learn how to get a job, learn to get a better job and learn some day to own the job.

Bottom line: Capitalism is not racist, nor is the defense of capitalism racist. Conservatives needn’t be ashamed of offering the world a job instead of a government handout.

This week remineded me - it's been YEARS since I've run ... really run ... in the snow.  It messes with your mechanics.  Shortens your stride, eats into whatever efficiency you might have, wrecks havoc with your thighs (stabilizers).  But it was fun.

Time?  Don't ask.  Runs like this are about completion and survival.

Bonus:  I LOVE it when the itunes randomominizer throws in a Beach Boys tune while it's 20 degrees into a 10 mph wind.

Only 10 more days.  In February the "minimum" starts climbing slowly from the 0 degress it currenlty takes.  I've not skipped any runs due to cold this season but have stayed inside a few times due to high winds.

The Illinois attorney general is planning to sue Westwood College, a for-profit institution with four campuses in the Chicago area, saying that it has misled students about its criminal justice program in ways that have left the students facing serious debts without employment prospects.

I wonder what the Chicago City Colleges, with their 7% graduation rate are telling incoming students?

Side note: I recenlty brushed up against a full time position.  I have 5 preps this quarter, the max for us part-timers.  Neccesity ALMOST got me a 6th prep and a full time slot.  Woulda coulda mighta been sweet.  Alas, it didn't happen.