My bookkeeper (wife) just came down and interrupted my diary reading.

She's finished, and double-checked, our taxes for this year.

Remember, last summer/fall, that wonderful "tax rebate" that Wubya and his fellow republicans gave all of us taxpaying Americans?

We were apparently two of the few who read the fine print. That this was not really a tax rebate, but a $600 "prepayment" on our 2001 taxes.

In other words, a 7-8 month interest-free loan that would have to be repaid by 15 April.

So the wife banked it. And it sat there all this time, collecting a pittance of interest. Now comes the calculations of our increased tax debt, to cover this "generosity" from Wubya et al.

$598.26.

That's right. The net benefit to us from this great largesse of Bush's is exactly $1.74. One dollar and seventy-four cents.

He will receive all the gratitude from us that he is due. Trust me.

We intend to support the Americon economy by spending all of this. Tomorrow. On two cups of coffee and one donut at the auction (we'll have to kick in a little of our own to cover the sales tax, but hey, it's the least we can do for our local governments).