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Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 167.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Palestinian Ibrahim Abu Jayab, 24, is seen next to his computer, in his family house in Nusayrat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. A young Palestinian in a Gaza refugee camp is doing his part to get out the vote for Barack Obama. With a little help from the Internet, 24-year-old Ibrahim Abu Jayab is cold calling random American families from his parent's home imploring them to vote Obama. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

This really deserves a more creative caption.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, November 4. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1. Wyatt Earp:

Obama: "Oh God, she tastes like failure."

2. Pasadena Closet Conservative:

When this race is over, I'm getting myself fumigated for cooties.

3. Jody:

"This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed HillRod and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed HillRod just to try it
I hope Michelle don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed HillRod and I liked it
I liked it..."

Caption early, and caption often. But caption by November 4th!

Posted by Will Franklin · 29 October 2008 08:21 AM · Comments (8)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 166.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., kisses Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., at rally at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Monday, Oct. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hmm, I think they could have captioned this one much more awesomely.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, October 28. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1. Hoodlumman:

"Thanks for offering, Senator Obama but ACORN has already registered me 183 times."

2. Gasgwar:

I've had it up to here with you typical white people.

3. Jody:

Obama: "Hello, I was wondering if I could speak to you for a minute about the change I'm hoping to bring to America."
Lady: "Oh no. I'm not opening this door. I saw what happened to that plumber."

Captioning: the best thing ever. Make it happen.

Posted by Will Franklin · 22 October 2008 08:32 AM · Comments (14)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 165.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama speaks to a potential voter as he canvasses support in a neighborhood in Holland, Ohio October 12, 2008. (Jim Young/Reuters)

Knocking on doors just oozes with awesomeness.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, October 21. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1. Wyatt Earp:

Sarkozy: "Hold on a second. Angela was just about to give me her number."

2. Rob B.:

"No, I don't want to switch seats with you. Gordon has a bag of sour apple jolly randhers under the table and we don't want to share them with Spain."

3. Hoodlumman:

While the meeting progressed, Gordon quietly hoped that no one saw him struggle with getting the last of the peanut butter off the roof of his mouth.

Captioning: don't hate it because it's beautiful.

Posted by Will Franklin · 15 October 2008 09:48 AM · Comments (20)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 513 - Obama Will Raise Taxes.

Negative Taxes For The Poor, Higher Taxes For Everyone Else-

Obama is better at being all things to all people than just about any politician since perhaps Bill Clinton. He has even tried to outflank McCain on the right, with regard to taxes. 95% of Americans will get tax cuts under his plan, he claims.

The truth is that Obama will raise taxes. Some numbers:

The Tax Foundation estimates that under the Obama plan 63 million Americans, or 44% of all tax filers, would have no income tax liability and most of those would get a check from the IRS each year. The Heritage Foundation's Center for Data Analysis estimates that by 2011, under the Obama plan, an additional 10 million filers would pay zero taxes while cashing checks from the IRS.

The total annual expenditures on refundable "tax credits" would rise over the next 10 years by $647 billion to $1.054 trillion, according to the Tax Policy Center. This means that the tax-credit welfare state would soon cost four times actual cash welfare. By redefining such income payments as "tax credits," the Obama campaign also redefines them away as a tax share of GDP. Presto, the federal tax burden looks much smaller than it really is.

....

Some families with an income of $40,000 could lose up to 40 cents in vanishing credits for every additional dollar earned from working overtime or taking a new job. As public policy, this is contradictory. The tax credits are sold in the name of "making work pay," but in practice they can be a disincentive to working harder, especially if you're a lower-income couple getting raises of $1,000 or $2,000 a year. One mystery -- among many -- of the McCain campaign is why it has allowed Mr. Obama's 95% illusion to go unanswered.

The truth is that Obama wants to "spread the wealth around."

The wrong direction on so many levels.

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Big Government Big Macs.

Posted by Will Franklin · 13 October 2008 05:51 PM · Comments (1)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 164.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (R), Nicolas Sarkozy (C) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (2ndL) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are pictured on October 4, 2008. US President George W. Bush on Tuesday discussed the global economic meltdown with leaders of Britain, France and Italy, seeking consensus ahead of weekend crisis talks, the White House said. (AFP/File/Gerard Cerles)

So much fun stuff happening here, it's hard to know where to begin.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, October 14. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1. rodney dill:

"Harry! Get your hand offa my ass!"

2. Rob B.:

I said "Well, the people might get mad if we pass this bail out." Then Harry said "Oh NO! You mean we might risk a ding to our 9% approval rating?!?"

3. RT:

"Yes, I know I'm inept and full of hubris. Next question, please."

Captioning, will the fun ever begin?

Posted by Will Franklin · 8 October 2008 07:39 AM · Comments (11)

Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 512 - Big Government Big Macs.

Costs Tied To Regulations-

The Dallas Fed has a really informative piece on its website that imparts some great lessons about trade, tariffs, regulations, labor laws, and the impact of other economic and fiscal policies on simple items:

The Big Mac itself isn’t tradable, but many of its ingredients are. Transportation costs for frozen beef patties, cooking oil, special sauce, sesame-seed buns and other tradable Big Mac ingredients can create price gaps across countries. The added costs aren’t trivial. A 2001 study, for example, found that transportation raised import prices 7 percent for meat, 6 percent for dairy products and 16 percent for vegetables.

The costs imposed by tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers can contribute to price disparities between countries. Tariffs directly affect import prices but only indirectly affect import quantities through price increases’ dampening impact on consumer demand. Quotas, on the other hand, directly restrict import quantities but only indirectly affect import prices by creating artificial scarcity.

And here's a neat chart showing how Big Mac prices increasingly vary as more borders are crossed:

While trade is definitely a significant component of Big Mac prices, so are labor laws, including pro-union regulations, raising the minimum wage, and even certain OSHA requirements. Interference in the free enterprise system harms the buying power of real people.

To quickly digress from this post, have you noticed that the unemployment rate for those in their teens suddenly shot up after Democrats came in and caused the minimum wage to shoot up? It's now at one of its highest levels in many years. Or that inflation not related to energy suddenly ticked up at the same time, after remaining tame for many years?

Right now, it appears that people are misinterpreting this financial turmoil. We may end up with the most pro-labor union government since FDR, the most anti-trade government since Herbert Hoover, the most ardently high tax administration since Jimmy Carter, and the administration that is the most favorable to increased government regulation since LBJ.

Previous Trivia Tidbit: Media TOTALLY In The Tank For Obama.

Posted by Will Franklin · 2 October 2008 10:04 AM · Comments (1)

Wednesday Caption Contest: Part 163.

This week's WILLisms.com Caption Contest photograph:

The actual caption:

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, right, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., second left, and Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., left, announce a tentative deal on legislation regarding the financial crisis on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

A compelling photo. And it deserves a much better caption.

Entries will remain open until 11:59 PM, Central Standard Time, Tuesday, October 7. Submit your captions in the comments section, or email via WILLisms@gmail.com.

And... the winners:

1. rodney dill:

Palin Rider

2. Doug:

"A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man or woman using it. Remember that."

3. Mark Ducharme:

(whispering)"Yes ma'am, I'm from 'Obama inc.'. One question please. Do you like being alive?"

Captioning, it's what's for dinner. Do it!

Posted by Will Franklin · 1 October 2008 09:08 PM · Comments (15)