The date was August 29, 1988 when Todd Palin and Sarah Louise Heath decided to forgo the big wedding, and instead eloped to the tiny courthouse in Palmer, Alaska.  Todd said, “We had a bad fishing year that year, so we didn’t have any money.  So we decided to spend thirty-five bucks and go down to the courthouse.” Sarah and Todd had dated since high school, and reportedly used two residents of a nearby nursing home as witnesses to their nuptials.  Palin said that her earrings were a gift from her husband’s Yup’ik Eskimo mother, and the $35 wedding ring from Hawaii she bought herself. “Because with my ring, I always thought, it’s not what it’s made of, it’s what it represents.”  (more…)

Karl Rove understands the magnitude of Sarah Palin’s political potential.  He knows the effect her declaration of candidacy would have on the GOP lineup.  That’s why he’s desperately trying to get her to make a declaration of candidacy on HIS terms and not hers.  Last night, on Greta Van Susteren’s ‘On The Record’, he advised Palin to…”Grow  thicker skin.”

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Washington Monument cracks indicate earthquake damage (Photos)

(WashingtonPost)…More damage found inside the Washington Monument Wednesday, including a four-foot-long fissure in the pyramid-shaped cap at the top, indicates that the earthquake did not leave the capital region unscathed.
A one-inch wide, four-foot long crack was spotted Wednesday in the Washington Monument’s pyramidion, near the very top of the 555-foot obelisk. It looks like they are going to need grout mixing advice. (U.S. Park Police Aviation) (more…)

Tired of having your chain yanked once too often with those phony ‘feel good’ commercials?  Yeah…..me too!  The folks at People’s Cube show us what ads would look like if there really was truth in advertising.  You know….keepin’ it real. 

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Dick Cheney urged George W Bush to bomb Syria…

(TheTelegraph)…Dick Cheney urged President George W. Bush to bomb Syria in 2007, the new autobiography of the then United States vice-president reveals.

Last Friday the funeral for Petty Officer Jon Tumilson, 35, was held in his hometown of Rockford, Iowa at the Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock Community School.  Tumilson was one of the thirty-eight elite Navy SEALS that died in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan earlier this month.  He was, as they say, the tip of the spear…the first to go in and the leading edge.  Throughout the entire funeral, Tumilson’s devoted Labrador retriever, “Hawkeye”, guarded the coffin refusing to leave his master’s side. 
As the saying goes…may all of us strive to be as good as our dogs believe we are.  (more…)

The tech community tonight experienced its version of an earthquake.
(CNNMoney)…Steve Jobs has resigned as chief executive officer of Apple (AAPL). The company has promoted chief operating officer Tim Cook to the position of CEO and said that Cook will join the company’s board of directors. Jobs will become Apple’s chairman.
Here is a copy of Jobs’ resignation letter:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: (more…)

(FoxNews)...(h/t PhillyCon)…The Tea Party is mourning the death of Philadelphia cheesesteak magnate Joey Vento, who over the past few years had earned a national reputation for his outspoken views on illegal immigration and other issues.   Vento, the founder of the famed Geno’s Steaks, died Tuesday from a heart attack. He was 71.
The Independence Hall Tea Party Association released a statement describing him as a “great friend of the conservative cause and the Tea Party movement.”   “Joey Vento was, and will always be, an inspiration to the cause of freedom and liberty,” association President Teri Adams said.  (more…)

Perry Zooms to Front of Pack for 2012 GOP Nomination

(USA Today)…Just days after launching his campaign, Texas Governor Rick Perry surged into the lead of the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new Gallup poll released today.  Perry leads former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the previous front-runner, by 12 percentage points, 29%-17%. Texas Rep. Ron Paul places third with 10% support from those surveyed, followed by Rep. Michele Bachmann with 10%.
Romney maintained a fragile lead in Gallup’s polls for months and Perry’s ability to surpass him after only one full week of campaigning, at the time of the poll, shows how vulnerable Romney’s frontrunner status continues to be.  In addition, Perry’s entrance into the race has slowed Bachmann’s steady rise in the polls despite her straw poll win in Iowa. (more…)

(DailyMail)…Nancy Reagan last night lost her balance and fell as she arrived to watch a speech by Republican freshman senator and Tea Party darling Marco Rubio  The frail former First Lady was being escorted to her seat in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley, California, by Senator Rubio when she lost her footing and took a tumble.  Mrs Reagan had asked Senator Rubio to speak at her late husband’s presidential library following his election to the U.S. Senate last year.
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