Afternoon Roundup- Tax Day

Ok, So, today is tax day. Do you know where your refund is? I got a refund but not a rebate. 😦 Apparently, I am wealthy now so I do not need the extra cash. This happens to a lot of New Jerseyans. The money goes out but rarely comes back. *sigh*

How are the candidates doing on taxes? Well, we know that Clinton is all up to date. Yup, 30 years of tax returns in the public domain. Obama? Hmmm, there seem to be a few years missing, like 1997-1999. I’m sure he just misplaced them on his messy desk. Happens all of the time. Ha-Ha! Remember when Hillary lost a box of Rose Law Firm billing records during her move from Arkansas and the Republicans made a federal case out of it? Ah, yes, the good old days, when you could be expected to testify before a grand jury about your missing box of billable hours. And there was no THERE there. Makes you all nostalgic, doesn’t it? I’m sure that will never happen to Obama.

McCain on the other hand is busily spending his day planning more tax cuts for corporations including what would amount to a $1.4 Billion break for Exxon. Then there are all of those offshore tax shelters and corporations where various wealthy individuals and companies have socked away *trillions* of dollars.

Speaking of money, Obama is outspending Clinton by something like 2:1 in advertising. This week, he is spending $3.3 Million on advertising in PA. I saw one of his ads when I was in PA. It was one of those rally things with hope and change yadda-yadda-yadda. All that was missing was closing his eyes and clicking his ruby slippers together three times. But hey, some people like that stuff. It rarely results in a sale but you can never be too careful. If you’ve got a few bucks sitting around and you want to purchase a second or two of a Hillary spot, see this page toot sweet.

Hillary has some new proposals for keeping manufacturing in the US. One of them includes $20 Billion in plant restructuring costs to help Detroit carmakers make the transition to more fuel efficient cars. She also plans to reward companies that keep jobs from going overseas. And here’s an odd by insightful reason for it: if you don’t have an active manufacturing base, it’s a national security risk. Yeah, because you have to outsource your defense industry needs to China, for example. Not a good thing. So, she’s thinking ahead and developing policy strategically.

Oh, and as for Bitter-gate, Mom says that it’s dying down and that Obama needs to make another gaffe to keep Pennsylvanians entertained. I was going to say that tomorrow’s debate should be good hunting grounds but he’s had time to study up in the past 6 weeks. No doubt we will be seeing a smoother presentation (preferably without the use of ‘ah’ or ‘um’, which convey a sense of hesitation to the listener.) He’s probably polished his policies to a fine sheen. We are going to see a new and improved Obama. The media has already written the congratulatory post debate scripts for him.

But what I want to see is someone ask them about things that only a true Pennsylvanian would know. So here is a little quiz for Hillary to help her prepare:

1. What do older Pennsylvanians say when they mean, “I’m going to clean my house”?
2. What do Pittsburghers call bologna?
3. What is a gum band?
4. How does one pronounce the second person plural pronoun?
5. What is Blennd?
6. What does Primanti’s in Pittsburgh put in its sandwiches?
7. What is Happy Valley famous for?
8. Explain the complex liquor laws and where you can buy a sixpack.
9. Describe the difference between Amish and Mennonite.
10. What is (was) the significance of William Penn’s hat in Philadelphia?

Bonus questions:

1. (from Dany): What is Pennsylvanian (or at least Coal Cracker) for “Turn out the lights”?
2. (from Charles Lemos): Name the two Presidents from Pennsylvania. (Hint the second only had his home there but was born elsewhere.)
3. (from Dany): Where do you find hex signs?

Ok, Hillary, just put your answers in the comments. No cheating with wiki. And all of you Pennsylvanians out there, suggest more questions.

Here are the answers, courtesy of Sarah, who thought the quiz was “too easy” (show off 😉 ):

1. “red up” as in red up the room-we’re having company (from ready up?)
2. Jumbo
3. rubber band
4. You-uns (in my town of Washington, Pa) RD: I say yinz.
5.Lemon Blennd – the drink RD: Reymer’s Lemon Blennd is a ooncentated lemon drink. Add H2O and stir.
6.slaw and fries on that Primanti Bros. sandwich in Pittsburgh
7. State College/ Penn State home
8.sixpacks can be bought at a bar, a beer distributor for a case, nothing in the supermarket or conveniance store (tho that is changing at designated stores), nothing on Sunday, liquor from a State store
9. Amish – no modern machines of any kind, Mennonite -some modern machines, like tractors, sometimes you see cars RD: I’ve seen Amish teenagers cheat at a laundrymat.
10. No building used to be able to be built in Phila taller than Wm Penn’s hat on City Hall – OK now
11. shut the lights or shut out the lights RD: alternate answers are “outten the lights” or “close da light”
12. Buchanon born here, Eisenhower lived here