Gift horses

Published 12:01 am Sunday, February 13, 2011

Gift horse

Dibs on “Mars Attacks”: Public officials, as part of their job as representatives of their governments, get all manner of gifts while in office. Gov. Chris Gregoire, D-Mini Storage, is no different, having received mementos as diverse as a vase from China’s president, a copy

of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” and a DVD of the 1996 sci-fi spoof “Mars Attacks!”

If you want to know just how bad the state’s financial crisis could get, watch after the legislative session ends to see whether all of this ends up on eBay.

Can I deduct my iPhone as an office expense? A new app for Android and iPhones allows some taxpayers to file basic tax returns using their phone. With a few taps and clicks and by snapping a photo of your W-2 form, you can finish your return in minutes.

And, if you want to strengthen your claim of poverty for the IRS, send in a snapshot of yourself with your pockets turned inside-out.

Don’t know much about history: On this day in 1960, France exploded its first atomic bomb in the Sahara Desert.

French scientists, who had dubbed the bomb with the French word for “sacred,” announced the blast with a two-word cable: “Sacre blew.”

–Jon Bauer, Herald staff