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Wednesday Caption Contest (THURSDAY EDITION): Part 159.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Revellers pose in tomato pulp during the annual "Tomatina" (tomato fight) in the Mediterranean village of Bunol, near Valencia, August 27, 2008. The origin of the tomato fight is disputed - everyone in Bunol seems to have a favourite story - but most agree it started around 1940, in the early years of the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. REUTERS/Heino Kalis (SPAIN)

Hmm, somehow I think there's more to this.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, September 2. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1. Maggie Mama:

We've got to hide or risk becoming the brunt of Geico's advertisements.

2. Rob B.:

"Bigfoot's protest of INS officers was to raise awareness of unfair "meat traps" and "beef jerky comercials" used to capture undocumented residents in the US."

3. Dennis:

Hiding: So easy a Sasquatch could do it.

Captioning knocked that speech right out of the park. Expect a bounce from this among independent women voters.

Posted by Will Franklin · 28 August 2008 09:20 AM · Comments (14)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 158.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

A man in an ape costume is seen outside a hotel where a media conference is held announcing the claim that a deceased bigfoot or sasquatch creature has been found in Georgia on Friday, Aug. 15, 2008, in Palo Alto, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

So... what is the reason?

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, August 26. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1 (GOLD). Hoodlumman:

Always the perfectionist, George spent 18 minutes getting every grain of sand off of Ms. Treanor's back.

2 (SILVER). Justin B:

Bush explains what he did to Jenna after her margarita escapade at Chuy's.

3 (BRONZE). rodney dill:

"Well as Rumsy would say, you go to the Olympics with the team you have..."

Honorable Mention (No Medal). Zsa Zsa:

Hindsight is 20/20.

Captioning : Jamaica in the 100 meter sprint :: Not Captioning : Mexico in the 100 meter sprint.

Posted by Will Franklin · 20 August 2008 09:05 AM · Comments (8)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 157.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

President Bush gestures toward the back of Misty May Treanor as he visits the practice of the U.S. beach volleyball team the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China Saturday, Aug. 9, 2008. At right is Treanor's teammate Kerri Walsh. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

So... yeah.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, August 19. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1 (GOLD). Michael:

Walmart opens their first Supercenter in down town Moscow.

2 (SILVER). Nathan Hale:

Junior League members who had been participating in a charity event abandon it en masse after a passerby said "12-hour sale at Nordstrom."

3 (BRONZE). Wyatt Earp:

Russian women race for this weekend's "world premiere" of The Matrix.

Captioning : Michael Phelps :: Not Captioning : Marion Jones.

Posted by Will Franklin · 13 August 2008 07:49 AM · Comments (17)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 509 - Obama's Tax Rates.

Obama Will Raise My Taxes. Yours, Too-

Obama's proposed tax rates:

As the chart shows, Obama’s give-and-take tax policy results in marginal tax rates of 34 percent to 39 percent in the $31,000 to $45,000 income range for this family. That’s an increase of 13 percentage points or more from the current rates.

What accounts for the higher rates? First, Obama expands the maximum child and dependent care credit for families with one young child from $1,050 to $1,500 and phases down the credit over a longer income range, from $30,000 to $58,000. Throughout this income range, the credit is phasing out at a rate of $30 per $1,000 of income, thus raising the effective tax rate by 3 percentage points. Obama also makes certain credits refundable, which introduces a tax penalty of 10 percent or 15 percent, depending on the income bracket.

While Obama has publicly embraced a tax rate of 40 percent for couples earning over $350,000, his tax policies would result in a staggering 45 percent effective marginal rate in the $110,000 to $120,000 income range for this family. That is 11 percentage points higher than under current law.

This doesn't include, as far as I can tell, the additional burden of removing the cap on Social Security taxes, either. That will hit higher income folks right in the gut.

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Media In The Tank For Obama.

Posted by Will Franklin · 11 August 2008 05:11 PM · Comments (0)

Wednesday Caption Contest (THURSDAY EDITION): Part 156.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Women run in a high heel race at Red Square in Moscow, Saturday, July 19, 2008. Participants of the high heel run were challenged to race in stilettos of at least 9 cm (3.54 inches) tall. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Those Russians.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, August 12. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1 (GOLD). Wyatt Earp:

Bush: Whaddya say we make our own "crime scene?"

2 (SILVER). ZsaZsa:

The Dems. are fighting back after the National Enquire leak of John Edwards and his alleged affair. Poor Mrs Bush must be heartbroken about this picture!

3 (BRONZE). Dennis:

Yes ma'am I am FDR....

Captioning: more worthwhile than anything else, ever.

Posted by Will Franklin · 7 August 2008 08:59 PM · Comments (10)