Jetty Shack

The jetty shack is fun little bar/restaurant sown in Surfside,Texas its a fun little restaurant that serves seafood and burgers and wings. I had their friend shrimp and it was phonaminal so were there fries.

They have a pull table witch is a dollar a game and a dart board and a jukebox. Their jukebox is updated with all the latest songs.

Some times they'll have fundraisers which include crawfish boils and fishing tournaments.

Overall its a cute place

exact address-412 Parkview Rd, Freeport, TX

Pig-Out Weekends: How to Undo Overindulgence

It happens to the best of us -- the overindulgent weekend. And if your coming-attractions calendar doesn't already include at least one bachelorette bash, a big wedding, and a few summer cookouts, it soon will. So what's a person to do when these parties pop up in the middle of swimsuit season?

Go. Have a blast. Forget the diet. Just implement a before-and-after contingency plan "to help you get back on track, so that your lapse doesn't become a collapse," says British diet and fitness guru Joanna Hall.

In her new book, The Weight Loss Bible, Hall serves up a buffet of ideas perfect for getting you through a 48-hour bridal extravaganza, Labor Day weekend, or no-guilt getaway with your girlfriends -- and leaving you able to still fit into your jeans on Tuesday.

Eat less, sweat more the day before and after. "If you know you're heading for a weekend of excess," says Hall, "squeeze in a workout and eat 300 fewer calories the day before the partying begins." Same goes for the day after. But don't punish yourself by skipping a meal -- it'll just make you cranky and hungry. Limit portions or forgo a snack (a blueberry muffin or small bag of potato chips each have about 300 calories).

Curb carbs at lunch and dinner. Hall is known throughout the UK for her Carb Curfew diet, which means “no starchy carbs -- bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or cereal -- after 5 pm." And for food-filled weekends, she suggests turning the carb cutoff back to noon. Why? "Chances are your fat intake will be higher on these days, pushing up your calorie intake, and with party food, it's often easier to avoid carbs than fatty foods."

Drink up! Lots of water, that is. A boozy weekend can leave you dehydrated and too hungover to stomach your usual workout. Hall’s advice: Drink plenty of water during and after endless cocktail hours or a wild weekend. As for postparty exercise, go for a walk instead of doing a full workout, "especially if you have a sore head!"

Eat a big bowl of veggie soup. "Foods with a high water content help stave off hunger and make you feel full. Studies show that dieters who follow this advice tend to stick to their plan without feeling unsatisfied or deprived." So before you leave home, slurp up a big bowl of vegetable soup.

Shake your booty. "Sometimes you just have to go out and burn a little more energy," says Hall. But here's the good news: Dancing is one of the all-time best calorie burners. So get out there and cut yourself a big ol’ slice of rug. You'll wind up boogying away a few hundred calories before the night is through.

Get a sweet payback. Keeping your weight and BMI (body mass index) at a healthy level can make your RealAge as much as 6 years younger.

by: real age edited by: bob

Dodging traffic with Waze iPhone app

SAN FRANCISCO--We're driving through the heart of the city, cruising along at a nice clip, but just in case we hit a patch of rough traffic, I know which alternate route I can take to go faster.

That's because I've got an iPhone with Waze, a new app released Thursday that's designed to give drivers a wide range of crowdsourced road information including traffic flow, road reports, and even warnings about where the latest speed traps have been set up.

Waze gives users many different views of the road, including this one, in which users' avatars turn into a Pac-Man-type creature when going down previously undiscovered roads.(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Waze, which has been out for some time on the Android platform, is new to the iPhone, and its developers clearly think that Apple's hit phone, complete with GPS and accelerometer, is a natural device for giving drivers a way both to inform each other about what's happening on the road in real time, and to learn from others about what's ahead.
The app begins as a standard turn-by-turn directions tool and then offers a slew of other features, many of which give drivers something fun to look out for as they make their way to wherever they're going.

"At the end of the day," said Di-Ann Eisnor, Waze's community geographer, Waze is "about a community of drivers helping to build this map."

And, to be sure, the map is the heart and soul of the Waze app. In the car I was in, there were three different iPhones running the application, and because of that, I was often able to see three different views of what Waze can do.

One of the most fun parts of it--and in some ways the most social--is that the app allows you to see the location of anyone else nearby who is also running Waze. And while there is no way to communicate directly with such drivers, or find out anything about them, it still feels gratifying to see them pop up on the map.

Nearly real-timeEisnor explained to me that Waze is designed to offer drivers real-time information about the roads they commute on, generally with no more than a 30-second delay. And that's because most of the information that's available is being relayed from other Waze users.

To be sure, the app will require a critical mass of users to have real utility, and it certainly isn't there yet: In about 30 minutes of driving around, we saw no more than four or five other Waze users pop up. But Eisnor argues that it won't be long before that critical mass comes. In Israel, she pointed out, more than 20 percent of smartphone users have Waze on their devices, despite the service only being available since January.

Photos: Dodging traffic with Waze iPhone app
View the full gallery

One of the features that has the most potential is one that shows you the speed of traffic on roads near where you are. That's possible because the Waze service is constantly measuring your progress, thanks to GPS, and is reporting back about your movements.

Fear not about your privacy, Eisnor said. She explained that while there are some elements of the service that may eventually be able to tell users something about others, for now, Waze is making sure that everyone has complete anonymity.

And that's probably good, since many drivers probably don't want anyone to know that they're sending out warnings about the whereabouts of police or the location of speed traps and speed cams.
But other users will no doubt be eager for such alerts, just as they might well want to get photographs showing traffic conditions just ahead of where they are.

Ultimately, the point of the application is to offer users "actionable" information. In other words, information that they can use to change a route, avoid an accident, or stay away from a potential speeding ticket.
Eisnor explained that Waze's maps come from the U.S. government and have large amounts of incomplete information. Many roads, for example, are displayed as "unconfirmed" and are depicted by lines of small, gray dots. But instead of treating that as a problem, Waze instead presents it as an opportunity for users to be the first to drive unconfirmed roads and earn points for being the first to confirm them.

Similarly, you can be the first to create a new road, one that isn't shown at all, an action that is rewarded with a nice, solid red line on the map as you drive.

Data about drivers' actions is fed back to Waze, but it's a series of local area managers--sort of like Wikipedia administrators--who do much of the local map administration. Users can get new access to the maps, and the ability to serve as local area managers by building up a large number of the points that they collect by being the first to confirm roads.
For now, Eisnor said, that's the extent of what Waze plans to do with points, but she hinted there would be something more interesting in the not-too-distant future.

Licensing the road dataThe Waze app is free, and so I wondered what the company's business model is. Eisnor said that the goal is to get the app in enough people's hands that there is a steady flow of new road data to add to the Waze database. Then, she said, the company plans to license that raw data to other companies to do with as they please and, in the process, grab as much of what it thinks is a $4 billion market as it can. But to users, such goals may well be unimportant, so long as they can continue to get the very latest information about what's ahead of them as they drive.

One flaw in the plan is that, since Waze is dependent on AT&T's network to provide access to the Internet, the service is also heavily dependent on connectivity over that network. And during my half-hour tour around San Francisco--a notorious bad AT&T city--we constantly lost the signal.
For me, losing the signal might end up being incredibly frustrating. And for that, or for any other reason a driver might become upset or angry, Waze offers the ability to change your avatar's mood. Then, anyone in your vicinity can see the new mood when they see your avatar as it drives nearby, whether you're angry, happy, sad, or something else.

Much of that is window dressing, however. The main point of the app is to give users the important, indispensable information they need when trying to commute from point A to point B, be it map data, road information, traffic updates, or the location of the police.

"When using it every day," Eisnor said, "you're providing value to other drivers and other drivers are providing value to you.
To my mind, Waze is an app that has a lot of potential and could well become a truly crucial application. But until there is a critical mass of users, it's only a fun toy.

That said, there's no doubt that Waze is a lot of fun, especially because you get to be part of what could well end up being a wide network of users, each of whom is willing to showcase their location at any time.
For the moment, however, seeing the occasional angry face or noticing that there are several other Waze users in your vicinity may have to suffice. But if critical mass becomes a reality, look out.

by Daniel Terdiman edited by Bob

BURBANK, Calif. – Two American journalists freed by North Korea returned home to the United States on Wednesday for a jubilant, emotional reunion with family members and friends they hadn't seen since their arrests nearly five months ago.

The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV, and former President Bill Clinton arrived at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport at dawn. Clinton met with communist leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday to secure the women's release.
Lee emerged from the jetliner first and was greeted by husband Michael Saldage and 4-year-old daughter Hanna. She hugged the girl and picked her up before all three embraced in a crushing hug as TV networks beamed the poignant moment live.

Ling embraced her husband Iain Clayton as teary family members crowded around.

"The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching days of our lives," Ling said, her voice cracking.
Thirty hours ago, Ling said, "We feared that any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp."

Then, she said, they were taken to another location.

"When we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," she said to applause. "We were shocked but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end, and now we stand here, home and free.
Clinton came down the stairs to applause. He hugged Gore, then chatted with family members.

Gore described the families of the two women as "unbelievable, passionate, involved, committed, innovative."

"Hanna's been a great girl while you were gone," he told Lee. "And Laura, your mom's been making your special soup for two days now."
He also thanked the State Department for its help in the release.

"It speaks well of our country that when two American citizens are in harm's way, that so many people will just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending," he said.
After 140 days in custody, the reporters were granted a pardon by North Korea on Tuesday, following rare talks between Clinton and the reclusive North Korea leader. They had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally.

The women, dressed in short-sleeved shirts and jeans, appeared healthy as they shook hands with Clinton before getting into the jet, exclusive APTN footage from Pyongyang showed. Clinton waved, put his hand over his heart and then saluted.

North Korean state TV showed Clinton's departure, and North Korean officials waving to the plane, but did not show images of the two journalists.

Speaking on the White House lawn just before leaving on a trip to Indiana, President Barack Obama said the administration is "extraordinarily relieved" that the pair has been set free. He said he had spoken to their families once the two were safely aboard a plane out of Pyongyang.

"The reunion we've all seen on television, I think, is a source of happiness not only for the families but also for the entire country," Obama said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Clinton will fill in Obama's national security team on what transpired during his trip as a private envoy to Pyongyang.

He reiterated that Clinton did not carry a message from Obama to Kim.

"If there wasn't a message, there certainly couldn't have been an apology," Gibbs said.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hailed the journalists' release.

"I spoke to my husband on the airplane and everything went well," she told reporters in Nairobi, Kenya. "They are extremely excited to be reunited soon when they touch down in California. It was just a good day to be able to see this happen."

Ling, a 32-year-old California native, is the younger sister of Lisa Ling, a correspondent for CNN as well as "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "National Geographic Explorer." Lee, 36, is a South Korean-born U.S. citizen.

They were arrested near the North Korean-Chinese border in March while on a reporting trip for Current TV.
The release also amounted to a successful diplomatic foray for the former president, who traveled as an unofficial envoy, with approval and coordination from the administration. He was uniquely positioned for it as the only recent president who had considered visiting North Korea while in office, and one who had sent his secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

His landmark visit to Pyongyang to free the Americans was a coup that came at a time of heightened tensions over North Korea's nuclear program.

The meeting also appeared aimed at dispelling persistent questions about the health of the authoritarian North Korean leader, who was said to be suffering from chronic diabetes and heart disease before the reported stroke. The meeting was Kim's first with a prominent Western figure since the reported stroke.

Pardoning Ling and Lee and having Clinton serving as their emissary served both North Korea's need to continue maintaining that the two women had committed a crime and the Obama administration's desire not to expend diplomatic capital winning their freedom, said Daniel Sneider, associate director of research at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

"Nobody wanted this to be a distraction from the more substantially difficult issues we have with North Korea," he said. "There was a desire by the administration to resolve this quietly and from the very beginning they didn't allow it to become a huge public issue."
Discussions about normalizing ties with North Korea went dead when George W. Bush took office in 2001 with a hard-line policy on Pyongyang. The Obama administration has expressed a willingness to hold bilateral talks — but only within the framework of the six-nation disarmament talks in place since 2003.

North Korea announced earlier this year it was abandoning the talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S. The regime also launched a long-range rocket, conducted a nuclear test, test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and restarted its atomic program in defiance of international criticism and the U.N. Security Council.

by.ROBERT JABLON edited by.Bob

bankrupt

Battling for a desert hockey team
Maybe this is the comeuppance for planting a hockey team in the desert. In May, the Phoenix Coyotes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with up to $500 million in debts and less than $100 million in assets.
After that, a hockey-worthy fight broke out between the two potential new owners: Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion, and Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls. While Reinsdorf said he would keep the club in its adopted home, Balsillie wanted to move it back to Canada. (The Coyotes started as the Winnipeg Jets before moving to Glendale, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, in 1996.)

In mid-June, however, the bankruptcy judge ruled against Balsillie's $213 million bid and said the team would be auctioned off in August to anyone willing to keep the club in Arizona. But the bickering between the two sides continues.
Whoever wins, they're scoring a team that averaged fewer than 11,000 fans at each game during the 2008-2009 seasons. That left the stadium almost half empty at home games.

The president's suit maker needs a bailout
Not even having ultra-dapper President Obama as a customer could help Hartmarx. The Chicago-based clothing maker declared bankruptcy in January, just after the president wore its suits for his inauguration and election night attire.

The company listed between $100 million and $500 million in assets and liabilities, and noted in its filing a "substantial decline in discretionary apparel purchases by consumers and by the company's retail customers."
Established in 1872, Hartmarx makes business, casual and golf clothes for its own brands -- including Hart Schaffner Marx, Palm Beach and Racquet Club -- and has exclusive rights to market under other luxury brands -- including Tommy Hilfiger, Burberry men's tailored clothing, Ted Baker, Pierre Cardin and Perry Ellis.

Currently, the brands look to survive under the guidance of British equity firm Emerisque, which bid $128.4 million for Hartmarx.

Six Flags waves the white flag
The economy has been quite the thrill ride for Six Flags. The New York City-based amusement-park operator went belly-up in June, unable to spin off $2.4 billion in debt -- even on the Tilt-A-Whirl.
But never fear: The chain's 20 parks, which stretch from Montreal to Mexico City, will remain open. The Chapter 11 filing is "strictly a financial restructuring" of the company's debt, said President and CEO Mark Shapiro in a statement.

The parks attracted 25 million visitors in 2008, and the company made $275 million. "Six Flags has been a favorite family destination for almost a half century. Our financial reorganization will best position our parks to entertain millions of guests for another 50 years," Shapiro added.

Fancy soap-maker can't hold water
When you're afraid you might lose your job, triple-milled soap, $18 body lotion and aromatherapy spa treatments tend to become less of a priority. The domestic portion of Crabtree & Evelyn filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July with between $10 million and $50 million in assets -- and just as much in debts.

The Woodstock, Conn., company was founded in 1973 and built its brand on natural products that feature herbs, fruits and fresh flowers. But as consumers watched Wall Street spiral lower, they reigned in spending on consumer luxuries. Crabtree & Evelyn's 126 stores, mostly sprinkled in malls throughout the country, have seen a sharp sales pullback.
The real-estate portfolio of the company will go under the microscope as part of its bankruptcy filing, but for now, the stores remain open. Crabtree & Evelyn also operates a Web site, which is unaffected by the filing, and distributes products to thousands of wholesalers.
Crabtree & Evelyn is owned by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad, a Malaysian company that is publicly traded there and invests in a grab-bag of industries, including manufacturing, real estate and retail.

Filene's Basement dresses down
This bargain basement may have passed on a few too many deals to its customers. Filene's Basement filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May with assets of up to $100 million and liabilities of as much as five times that amount.

The company said the credit crunch coupled with consumers pulling back made its debt burden unmanageable.
Fellow discount retailer Syms agreed to pay $65 million for the company, which was actually founded in a Boston basement in 1909. Syms bought 23 of the retailer's 25 store leases as well as its inventory -- which includes everything from Seven jeans to Prada merchandise. The stores will continue to operate under the Filene's Basement name.

Extended Stay need a refresh
During a recession, travelers seem to be more willing to bunk up with buddies to save a buck. The long-term hotel operator, Extended Stay, filed for Chapter 11 in June, buckling under a debt load totaling $7.6 billion at the end of 2008, according to court documents.
The hotel chain, meanwhile, showed assets of only $7.1 billion at the end of 2008 with sales of $1 billion for the year. And revenues tumbled further as the recession dug in deeper: The first five months of 2009 saw revenue per available room crater by 23.2% compared to the same period the year prior.

The hotel chain is popular among business travelers who have to work away from home for more than a night, offering apartment-like conditions with fully equipped kitchen, expanded work space, wireless Internet, onsite guest laundry facilities, and pet-friendly rooms.
During the bankruptcy process, the hotel chain -- which has more than 680 properties under a handful of regional names such as Extended Stay America, Homestead Studio Suites, Studio PLUS and Crossland -- will all remain open and in operation.

Eddie Bauer packs up - again
The Washington-based clothing retailer, which is known for its mom jeans and rugged outdoor gear, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June.

This is the company's second spin through the courts. Its previous owner, Speigel Catalog, which bought the company in 1988, had filed for Chapter 11 in 2003. When Spiegel emerged in 2005, Eddie Bauer was spun off and became a stand-alone company for the first time since it was first acquired, by General Mills, in 1971.

"Unfortunately, a crushing debt burden left from the Spiegel bankruptcy combined with the severe, prolonged recession have left us with no choice but to look for ways to restructure the company's balance sheet," said President and CEO Neil Fiske in a statement.

When Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy, it claimed between $100 million and $500 million in assets, but just as much in liabilities. Eddie Bauer intends to sell the majority of its assets to CCMP Capital for $202 million, though bidding is still open.

CCMP has agreed to keep the majority of the company's 371 stores open, as well as its catalogue and Web site operations. Gift cards, however, will only be honored until Sept. 1 or the company sells its assets -- whichever comes first.

Crunch Gym feels the burn
New York City-based Crunch gym began as a basement aerobics studio in the East Village in 1989 -- one without locker rooms or air conditioning. Over the past 20 years, it has grown in popularity -- largely on a reputation for creative classes, such Hip-Hop Aerobics and Co-Ed Action Wrestling -- to 28 locations around the country.

But in May the company filed for bankruptcy, citing unmanageable lease contracts. In bankruptcy records, the gym's parent company, AGT Crunch Acquisitions, said it had at least $500 million in assets and liabilities. The company has since entered into a purchase agreement with New Evolution Fitness Co., whose founder also started 24-Hour Fitness.

The company has closed two gyms -- one in New York and another in San Francisco. A third gym was shut down, but replaced with another new gym around the corner.

Crunch plans to exit bankruptcy by the end of the summer.

Pilgrim's Pride has hurt pride
Surging corn and grain prices coupled with softening demand pushed Pilgrim's Pride to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December to address "short-term liquidity challenges."

The company filed for bankruptcy with $3.75 billion in assets and $2.72 billion in debts. The company said it had sales of $8.5 billion in 2008, but also faced an oversupplied and underpriced chicken market.
Pilgrim's itself slaughters and sends to market 45 million birds each week for a total of 9 billion pounds of poultry each year. It also produces 42 million dozen table eggs per year.

The Pittsburg, Tex.-based company will continue operating its 39 chicken and prepared-food plants throughout the bankruptcy process, and further layoffs are not expected for its 41,000 employees. (Eight plants had been previously idled.)

Pilgrim's Pride is hoping to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year.

Bloom is off celeb florist
As Wall Street spiraled, so did corporate budgets for flower arrangements. Saundra Parks makes lush floral arrangements at her Manhattan floral boutique, The Daily Blossom. But she filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, citing estimated assets under $50,000 and estimated liabilities between $100,000 to $500,000.

The luxe florist designs arrangements for corporations and celebrities -- Eddie Murphy and Maya Angelou are rumored to have been clients -- and Parks says that she has seen clients come back along with the green shoots of the economic recovery.

No relief for Debt Relief USA
Debt Relief USA, also called No Debt USA, couldn't seem to help itself. The debt-consolidation company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June with $5 million in total liabilities and only $4.65 million in assets. Not only has the company filed for Chapter 11, it has completely shut down, leaving customers out of luck.

"One of the unfortunate consequences is that you are left without the service you have paid for," its Web site now reads, directing current clients to reach out to their own attorneys.
The company site also reported that it faces investigations from the Federal Trade Commission and by the Attorneys General of several states.

Recession hits newspapers
The recession has cut into advertiser budgets, pulling vital dollars from an industry already being squeezed. The owner of the LA Times and the Chicago Tribune -- the Tribune Co. -- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of 2008.

The bankruptcy filling was intended to lighten the company's debt load, which Tribune said it has been carrying since it went private at the end of 2007. Tribune has offered no timeline for its exit from bankruptcy, but it is operating normally during the process.

Among scores of other struggling media companies, the Sun-Times Media Group, which operates 59 newspapers throughout the country, filed for Chapter 11 protection at the end of March. The media group cites a drastic fall off in print revenue sales, a weak economy, and a tax burden wracked up by previous management as factors in the downfall.

The Sun-Times Media Group has been slashing costs, but operations continue as the company looks for a buyer.

Vallejo, Calif.: Like state, like city
The town on San Pablo Bay just north of San Francisco filed bankruptcy as plunging property taxes crippled the town's coffers and left the city unable to make-good on union labor contracts.
A bit more than a year ago, the town of Vallejo, Calif., filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, and the city is still working to negotiate with labor unions, in particular the fire and police departments. Vallejo had to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy -- not Chapter 11, as corporations do -- because it does not have the option to restructure its debt, as corporations do with a Chapter 11 filing.
A revolving door of city leaders hasn't helped the town manage the negotiations, and there is no timeline for when Vallejo expects to exit bankruptcy.

Home to just shy of 120,000 people, Vallejo was established in 1844 as a shipping center, but the Mare Island Naval Shipyard was shut down in 1996. The town is also home to one of Six Flags more successful theme parks, Discovery Kingdom.

Lear hits the brakes
There is no demand for car seats when there is no demand for cars. And car sales are at rock bottom right now. So Lear Corp., which manufactures car seats and electronics, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July with $1.3 billion with of assets and a whopping $4.5 billion in debt.
The Southfield, Mich.-based company employs 80,000 people at 210 facilities in 36 countries. However, only the North American branches of the corporation went belly up. Recently, Lear has raked in 2/3 of its revenue from outside North America.

The auto-parts supplier was founded in 1917 in Detroit, Mich., as American Metal Products and went public in 1994. The company posted net sales of $13.6 billion in 2008, but according to its most recent SEC filings, Lear is projecting sales to sink to $9.1 billion in 2009.
Lear is just one of 21 auto suppliers that have filed for bankruptcy in 2009, according to Original Equipment Suppliers Association. And two of the Big Three -- General Motors and Chrysler -- are going through bankruptcy proceedings of their own.

Lear has already obtained $500 million in financing for the bankruptcy proceedings and so is hoping to complete its reorganization in 60 days. During the bankruptcy proceedings, Lear expects to see business continue as usual.

Palin's Resigination

Palin, who was the Republican vice presidential nominee last year, remains popular among many conservatives and is able to draw large, enthusiastic crowds across the country. But she has high unfavorable ratings among independents and Democrats. A recent CNN poll found that 43 percent of Americans view her unfavorably. Many political analysts expect her to run for president in 2012, and they see her resignation as a way to free up time to prepare for that campaign. Palin can also focus on marketing her upcoming book and making high-priced speeches, supplementing her personal resources, which she says have been badly depleted by legal fees in battling ethics charges in Alaska.
She remains an enigma within the GOP establishment, seen as unpredictable and too much of a maverick, resistant to making overtures to important conservative constituencies, and lacking knowledge of major issues that face the country, such as international affairs, urban problems, and race relations.

But in a message to supporters on her Facebook page Saturday, she said, "I've never thought I needed a title before one's name to forge progress in America," adding that she is looking forward to promoting "our values of less government intervention, greater energy independence, stronger national security, and much-needed fiscal restraint. I hope you will join me. Now is the time to rebuild and help our nation achieve greatness."

In her rambling announcement Friday, made at her waterfront home in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin said, "As I thought about this announcement that I would not seek re-election, I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks: They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions. I'm not going to put Alaskans through that. I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That's not how I'm wired. I'm not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual."
Palin, 45, said she was spending too much time and too much taxpayer money fighting unfounded ethics allegations. Some of her allies say she also is weary of battling the Alaska Legislature to push through her agenda. She also attacked the "mainstream media," saying they tried to humiliate her and attacked her family. One recent media furor that particularly angered her was when late-night talk-show host David Letterman made raunchy comments about one of her daughters.
Condemning the "MSM" is often good politics on the Republican right, where the media are seen as hopelessly biased against conservatives. But GOP strategists say Palin went too far, seeming to say that she could no longer abide criticism from the media—and from her political opponents on the left. Prominent Republicans wondered how she would do in the hothouse environment of a campaign if she ran for president and how she would stand up to the harsh treatment every president eventually gets once in office.

Conservative columnist George Will said on ABC's This Week yesterday that the reason for Palin's resignation "that rings most hollow is she doesn't want to put Alaska through the terror of being a lame-duck governor. If she is just weary of it, one can understand that. Still, she made a contract with [voters] to serve out her term, and she said, in her own words, she now is a quitter."
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the GOP presidential nomination last year and is considered a possible candidate again in 2012, said, "The challenge that she's going to have is that there will be people who will say, 'Look, if they chased you out of this, it won't get any easier at other levels.' " Huckabee added: "It could be a brilliant strategy. The point is, we don't know."
Karl Rove, the chief political strategist for George W. Bush in his 2000 and 2004 campaigns, told Fox News yesterday he was "a little perplexed" by Palin's announcement. "It's a risky strategy," Rove said. "The media, if she wants to run for president, is going to be following her for the next 3½ years. Effective strategies in politics are ones that are so clear and obvious that people can grasp .... It's not clear what she's doing and why."

Written by:Kenneth T. Walsh Edited by: Bob

Vegans

Vegans are crazy about there tofu.. check this out
DENVER - Kelly Coffman-Lee wanted to tell the world about her love of tofu by picking the letters for her car's license plate.

But her tofu fondness ran into a snafu at the Division of Motor Vehicles, which blocked her plan because they thought the combination of letters could be interpreted as profane. Her suggestion for the plate on her Suzuki: "ILVTOFU."

Department of Revenue spokesman Mark Couch said the letters could be misinterpreted.

Coffman-Lee, 38, said tofu is a staple of her family's diet because they are vegan and that the DMV misinterpreted her message. Now check out this video

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