Just when you think an argument has been thoroughly exhausted, Joan throws logic and reason in the face of unmitigated frippery. Today’s post is a ripe example of that singular skill.
No snipping; it must be read and appreciated in full.

Provided by Peter the Wise.

Part One here, part two published yesterday. Well worth a read, especially for young folks.

Good googledy moogledies’ Patti took on the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn in a 12 round bout. A real barn burner of a match, Patti was the clear winner by decision… and she didn’t have to resort to low blows or kidney shots to win, just clear, reasoned thinking.

I kind of miss boxing.

If the Wizard of Oz had given me resolve while he was passing out brains and hearts I’d be able to comment on some tightly secured blogs.

The path of least resistance is no where near the highway of one blog I love, written by a highly witty woman who makes me laugh. I get as far as one proxy to view the post, but when trying to comment results in another blocked page, meaning another proxy run… frustrated defeat is declared. Hey, I’m not in the army and the blog is not an enemy outpost. I’m just trying to read and comment on something worthy of a clickover from my Reader. (Apparently I just invented the word ‘clickover’, since spell check doesn’t recognize it.)

I’m only posting this so said witty blogger will see it and know that I love them, even if I don’t comment much ever.

Whether stifling dissent or simply filling their coffers, the city of Philadelphia has begun to charge bloggers $300 a year for a business license. A bill will be introduced in September that would reform the ‘privilege’ business tax, but it will still require bloggers to pay, and since most personal blogs don’t make any money, Philadelphia would be charging people for a hobby.

PAY UP: Got a blog that makes no money? The city wants $300, thank you very much.
by Valerie Rubinsky
For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic, a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she’s made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.

In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.

“The real kick in the pants is that I don’t even have a full-time job, so for the city to tell me to pony up $300 for a business privilege license, pay wage tax, business privilege tax, net profits tax on a handful of money is outrageous,” Bess says.

It would be one thing if Bess’ website were, well, an actual business, or if the amount of money the city wanted didn’t outpace her earnings six-fold. Sure, the city has its rules; and yes, cash-strapped cities can’t very well ignore potential sources of income. But at the same time, there must be some room for discretion and common sense.

When Bess pressed her case to officials with the city’s now-closed tax amnesty program, she says, “I was told to hire an accountant.”

She’s not alone. After dutifully reporting even the smallest profits on their tax filings this year, a number — though no one knows exactly what that number is — of Philadelphia bloggers were dispatched letters informing them that they owe $300 for a privilege license, plus taxes on any profits they made.

Even if, as with Sean Barry, that profit is $11 over two years.

Barry’s music-oriented blog, Circle of Fits, is hosted on Blogspot; as of this writing, its home page has two ads on it, but because he gets only a fraction of the already low ad revenue — the rest goes to Blogspot — it’s far from lucrative.

“Personally, I don’t think Circle of Fits is a business,” says Barry. “It might be someday if I start selling coffee mugs, key chains or locks of my hair to my fans. I don’t think blogs should be taxed unless they are making an immense profit.”

The city disagrees. Even though small-time bloggers aren’t exactly raking in the dough, the city requires privilege licenses for any business engaged in any “activity for profit,” says tax attorney Michael Mandale of Center City law firm Mandale Kaufmann. This applies “whether or not they earned a profit during the preceding year,” he adds.

Mannino says the city doesn’t keep track of how many bloggers and small-website owners are affected. But bloggers aren’t the only ones upset with the city’s tax structure. In June, City Council members Bill Green and Maria Quiñones-Sánchez unveiled a proposal to reform the city’s business privilege tax in an effort to make Philly a more attractive place for small businesses. If their bill passes, bloggers will still have to get a privilege license if their sites are designed to make money, but they would no longer have to pay taxes on their first $100,000 in profit. (If bloggers don’t want to fork over $300 for a lifetime license, Green suggests they take the city’s $50-a-year plan.)

Their bill will be officially introduced in September. “There’s a lot of support and interest in this idea,” Green says.

Perhaps, but it doesn’t change the fact that the city wants some people to pay more in taxes than they earn. “I definitely don’t want to see people paying more in taxes and fees than what [we] earn,” says Bess. “But I do think the city needs to establish a minimal amount of money that they won’t tax, whether you’re a bike messenger, microblogger or a freelance typist.”

~City Paper

Who’s next?

Link posts have fallen off for most of the blogs on my reader. I used to do at least one a week, but jumped the rut at some point and the habit died an unremarked death.

Mind Numbed Robot has reminded us how much fun they can be by incorporating their entire blogroll into a three part story featuring bloggers. It’s inspired. It’s the robot.

Here’s Robo-Love Experiment #3; parts 1 and 2 are linked from it.

Damn, how long has it been since I used the ‘blogosphere’ category? As remarked to a friend yesterday, I have my head up my own ass so far it’s not funny.

… but how many of us offer a solution?

Post of the month.

Tammi is back in the warm embrace of the blogosphere and can now be found at http://tammistrail.blogspot.com. No world, she’s now on the trail.

LeeAnn has moved house as well, to some cool new digs. She now lives at http://lookababywolf.com!