…characterizing Obama's plan to tax the nation's top earners at 39 percent instead of 36 percent as socialist is absurd. Dwight Eisenhower taxed top earners at 91 percent. Richard Nixon taxed them at more than 50 percent. Even Ronald Reagan didn't lower the top marginal rate to less than 50 percent until the last two years of his second term. Were these Republicans secret socialists, too?

- Andrew Romano (link)

The Sunday-before-last my sister-in-law and I ran half of the Detroit marathon.  Kevin got up early and drove us downtown.  It was cold and in the 30s.  Kevin let me borrow a jacket which kept me plenty warm after we started running.  It was kind of strange at the start with thousands of people packed together like sardines waiting for the run to start.  Several miles into the run, it hadn't really thinned out too much.  As we crossed the bridge into Canada, we actually had to walk briefly because there were so many people trying to run through one or two traffic lanes.  I passed Allison during a moment of high congestion and then didn't see her again as I dropped back to look for her.  That was just as well since it freed me to take it at my own pace instead of hers (faster).  Since it was my first long run, I didn't realize how much clothing would be left lying in the road as people discarded it.  I didn't walk any except briefly at the water stops to guzzle the liquid refreshment.  I slowed down quite a bit towards the end (a "competitive walker" even passed me at one point) and didn't really push it hard.  I finished about as fast as I expected (2:14).  By the way, the winner of the full marathon finished in front of me. :-)

Here are some photos:

Several weeks back I watched A Good Year (2006, PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review).  Starring Russell Crowe and Albert Finney, from ScreenIt:

A ruthless London bond trader finds his life upended when he inherits his uncle's French vineyard and then falls for a local restaurateur.

It was fairly bland but enjoyable enough.  I give it 3 out of 5.