To play hand-in-cap required three people; two players and a referee. The game began with all three putting forfeit money into a cap, with ownership of this kitty to be decided by the outcome of the game. Each of the two players would then offer up an item he thought the other guy might want. The referee would inspect the items and assign a monetary value to the difference between the worth of the two things, thereby more or less equalizing the transaction. He who offered the lesser-valued item also had to pony up with the amount decreed by the referee.Eventually, "hand-in-cap" (or "hand i'cap" or "handicap") came to refer not just to the barter game, but to any action that worked to make a contest more equitable. In the original game, the owner of the less valuable item put up pocket money to make both sides of the proposed transaction more balanced. In sports, it worked the other way: the strong (faster horse [1754] or faster runner) was brought down to meet the weak.
Once this appraisal was completed, the two players would reach into their pockets to either draw out loose change or not, depending on whether they were happy with the proposed swap. (This change did not become part of the transaction over and above the appraisal fee; it was merely symbolic). If both drew out coins, the exchange was effected, and the referee took the forfeit money for himself. If neither drew out coins, the referee again took the forfeit money, though the exchange was no made. But if only one drew out coins, he was entitled to the forfeit money, even though the again the exchange was not made.
LolwutThus, "handicapping" became a term for leveling out the playing field by making stronger contestants bear a penalty. From here, it went from an "imposed impediment" to just an "impediment" [1883] or a "physical limitation" [1915].
Analyzing the reports, a top DC insider said the driver's account had been independently corroborated by investigators who believe the couple spent the night together at the hotel.
On-site hotel surveillance video camera footage may provide indisputable evidence.
"Investigators are attempting to obtain a tape from the hotel (that) shows Vera and Barack together," the DC insider confided.
"If the tape surfaces, it will explode the scandal."
Obama sex tape soon to look like this?
Vera Baker
Some people feed their lawn and garden better than they feed their kids. One of the beneficiaries of that phenomenon is Scott's Miracle Grow Company (Symbol SMG, $49.40). This company is projecting $3.13 for 2010 earnings and $3.54 for 2011. The price is up 45% in the last 12 months. The Scott company has a return on equity of 29.5%. 
Of course Seth Meyers and the other late night "comedians" do not mean those papers. He means only the papers that would protect our borders and the lives and pockets of law abiding Americans.
The welfare state has turned "show me your papers" into standard policy ever since the New Deal. The welfare state propoganda machine known as "late night comedians" have voiced no objection. Indeed, for the past year and half, they have even forgotten that a man named "Hitler" ever existed. It has become "hate speech" even to draw comparisons between Obama's statist policies and the failed totalitarian regimes of the past.
But now that one state demands basic "papers" to protect its citizens against foreigners who would overwhelm the very welfare systems created by the left, the late night propagandists suddenly rediscover Hitler.
The very notion of comedians becoming the number one weapon in the hands of a statist regime is unsettling. We are being told that if we oppose Obama's policies of increased government control and increased statism, we will be singled out for character assassination.
Late night comedians and their coastal audiences are the equivalent of the "two minutes hate" from George Orwell's 1984. Crowds are gathered. Enemies are identified. Instead of anger, the audience is encouraged to laugh at this evening's enemy of the state, no matter how uninspired the joke. Slowly, but surely, the viewers at home learn to keep silent for fear of being laughed at themselves.
As the ratings for the evening news decline, and as sales and advertising revenue plummet for all major newspapers, the welfare state has one weapon left - the late night comedian and his obedient audience.
