Sarah Palin finally sells her Arizona house.

Courtesy of the LA Times: 

Onetime Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has sold her gated estate in Scottsdale, Ariz., for $2.275 million. 

Built in 2001, the approximately 8,000-square-foot house came to market last December for $2.499 million and was more recently listed at $2.375 million, records show. Palin bought the house in 2011 for $1.695 million.

So she had to face reality and drop the price $224,000, but at least she finally sold the place.

Though I still think that the buyer is a sucker for paying that much.

What special features does it even have anyway?

Designed for outdoor entertaining, the property includes such backyard features as fireplaces off the covered patio and veranda, a built-in grill station and a swimming pool and spa. A water-saving synthetic lawn, a lighted sports court and a putting green are also within nearly five acres of grounds. 

Inside, living areas have a contemporary vibe with subdued hues, vaulted ceilings and wrought ironwork throughout. Formal living and dining rooms, a media/room theater, an oversized kitchen and a wine cellar are among the common areas.

A white trash road kill grill, never used basketball court, fake grass, and a home theater that you just know showed more porn than regular movies.

If it were me I would have the whole place fumigated and disinfected, especially that bacteria incubating pool, before I ever set foot in the place.

And thus ends Palin's desperate attempt to run away from Alaska and start a brand new life. Now she is stuck here, and trust me that is the LAST thing that she wanted. 

Of course the other takeaway from this is the knowledge that Palin now has some disposable cash on hand.

Even if Palin has barely made a dent in her mortgage she still stands to clear well over half a million dollars.

So the question is what will she do with that money? Something intelligent, like invest it? And can it really do much to return her to the lifestyle to which she has grown accustomed?

Probably not.

In fact she probably still needs to pay off that high priced lawyer she hired to keep Track out of jail. Not to mention all of those ongoing payments of hush money which must be getting harder and harder to maintain.

Bernie Sanders' wife explains that there will be no financial disclosure. "Why bother?"

Courtesy of Yahoo News:  

Sen. Bernie Sanders has pushed hard for transparency on U.S. trade and campaign finance, but has been far less aggressive in disclosing his own personal finances. 

Now his wife and campaign confidante, Jane O'Meara Sanders, is defending the senator's decision not to file a candidate personal finance disclosure and talking about the purchase of a new vacation home. 

Sanders and his campaign asked the Federal Election Commission for two 45-day extensions, in mid-May and late June, on filing the personal finance disclosures candidates are usually required to produce, and then decided not to file at all once he dropped out of the race and endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Jane Sanders confirmed Thursday. 

"I guess our campaign just said 'why bother'," said the wife of the Vermont independent senator who challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Jane Sanders went on to explain that there was really no new information about their finances to share anyway.

Speaking of no new financial information Jane also talked about that new house they purchased.

On another financial matter, Jane Sanders said she and her husband paid cash — $575,000 — for the four-bedroom summer house they recently bought in North Hero, Vermont, on the Lake Champlain shore. She said she sold her share of her family's long-time vacation home in Bridgton, Maine, to her brother for $150,000, added some money from her retirement account and from an advance her husband got on a book he is writing to come up with the money to buy the couple's third home. 

They also own property in Burlington, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

Oh so their share of the family vacation home only came to $150,000. Interesting.

In other, completely unrelated news Sanders is still accepting donations for "Our Revolution" which is scheduled to launch next week: 

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will address supporters on Aug. 24 to tout "Our Revolution," a new organization intended to harness the energy of his supporters and help progressive political candidates across the country.

The independent senator also wants to empower “the next generation of progressive leaders by inspiring, recruiting and supporting progressive candidates across the entire spectrum of government – from school board to U.S. Senate.”

Damn, I am getting such a feeling of deja vu here.

A failed campaign, a new house, a PAC dedicated to "changing politics in America." Hmm, where have I seen all of this before?

So does somebody actually want to buy that overpriced Palin house in Arizona?

Courtesy of Redfin:  

After 9 months on the market, the Palin family is about to say goodbye to their sunny getaway in Scottsdale, Arizona. The six-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home is now pending, meaning someone submitted an offer. Palin originally listed the estate on December 21, 2015, for $2.499 million, but dropped the price a few months later to $2.375 million. 

The gated estate sits on more than four acres of land and includes equestrian facilities, a basketball court, putting green, pool and an outdoor entertaining area with a built-in grill. Inside, there are Jacuzzi bathtubs, chef’s appliances in the kitchen, gorgeous fireplaces, a wine cellar, media room and rooftop deck complete with stunning mountain views. Palin purchased the home back in 2011 for $1.7 million, so she stands to make some money from the deal if it sells for anything near the current listing price of $2.375 million.

Okay I'm going to suggest that if somebody is actually making an offer that it is certainly not for any $2.375 million. Not for a house that has sat on the market collecting dust for nine months. 

Actually after paying off the rest of what she owes I would be surprised if Palin walked away with even a million bucks when all is said and done.

In Alaska that would easily allow most people in their fifties to live out the remainder of their days in comfort.

However this is Sarah Palin we are talking about so what do we think, two years?

Yes everybody I am fine. The earth in fact did NOT swallow me up.

Safeway store on the Kenai Peninsula.

So last night, at a truly unreasonable 1:30 AM, the ground beneath my feet doth shake, waking me from my most blissful slumber.

I'm not gonna lie, even for this veteran of a hundred or more earthquakes, THAT was a serious wake up call.

According to Alaska Dispatch the quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was centered at Anchor Point which is a little over two hundred miles from Anchorage.

Anyhow besides being awakened in the middle of the damn night, the only real damage done at the Gryphen Fortress of Fearless Blogging, was that a picture fell off my daughter's wall.

However thanks for checking in on me everybody, I appreciate the concern.

Damn those Baltimore riots are so inconvenient! Especially for Bristol Palin.

Courtesy of TMZ: 

Bristol Palin's house sale would be a done deal if not for the riots in Baltimore. Wait, what? 

So get this ... Palin put her 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath, 3,200 sq ft. Alaskan home on the market last month and it sold in three days at the asking price of $549,000. Needless to say, Bristol was ecstatic. 

Fast forward to this week when the final sale docs were supposed to be delivered ... and they've been delayed. What caused the delay? Yup, the riots. 

Bummer!

Apparently Fed-Ex sent her this message:  

"As a result of local restrictions in the Baltimore, Maryland metro area, unavoidable service delays are anticipated." 

Aww, why does everything bad happen to Bristol?

And who is the hell contacts TMZ to complain about it?

Well this does answer the question that we all had as to whether Bristol sold that house or not. It looks like she did.

Hillary Clinton is more than willing to testify before the most current House Benghazi investigative committee, but for some reason they are hesitant. Hmm, I wonder why?

Swear me in Mr. Chairman.

Here is the letter that Clinton attorney David E. Kendall sent to Trey "Deliverance" Gowdy just yesterday: 

In November, I informed your staff of Secretary Clinton’s willingness to testify before the Select Committee on Benghazi. In the succeeding months, she has reiterated her willingness, and I do so again on her behalf. There is no reason to delay her appearance, or have her testify in a private interview. 

…. 

While Secretary Clinton has testified before committees in both the House and the Senate about the tragic events in Benghazi, she has made clear that she will voluntarily testify publicly again before the Select Committee and, at that time, is happy to continue to answer any questions the Select Committee may have about her email use.

So Hillary volunteered back in November to testify in front of his committee? 

Well if the Republicans are so anxious to get to the truth about Benghazi why haven't they taken her up on that?

Well it appears that there might be, and I know you will find this shocking, a political motive for the delay.

Courtesy of Politicususa:

Earlier in the day, Speaker of the House John Boehner claimed that the Benghazi investigation was going to stretch into 2016 because Hillary Clinton and President Obama are refusing to turn over “the facts.” 

The truth is that House Republicans are trying to delay Clinton’s testimony in order to use it as an issue during the 2016 presidential election.

This move is so blatant that it even has even disgusted Fox News host Greta Van Susteren:

I have no idea what the Benghazi House Committee will find or conclude, but delaying their findings and conclusion until 2016 is wrong. Don't tell me this investigation can not get finished in 2015. 

Dragging the investigation into 2016 looks political -- and worse, reports are that the Committee's report will be released right before the 2016 election. That looks awful. It sends a bad message about fairness. Perception matters -- big time!

There have already been seven investigations, 13 hearings, 50 briefings, and 25,000 pages of documents released. So clearly there is nothing new to be discovered in this latest Benghazi witch hunt.

The ONLY reason it is going on is to humiliate Hillary Clinton is some way, and it is so blatant that even Fox News is taking notice.

That's when you know you have stepped over a line.

P.S. In the hour or so since I wrote this post it has come to my attention that the House committee, just today, has sent a request for Clinton to appear before them on May 18th. 

I think it's pretty clear that this is in direct response to this letter being made public.

By the way from what I hear thee final report will STILL not be made public until 2016.

So clearly the partisan games continue.

One of my favorite quotes from Dr. House.

A little more confrontational than I like to be, however I certainly understand the sentiment.

I could not agree more.

I am just NOT a fan of camping anymore.

Every summer somebody guilts me into taking them camping, and every time I spend the entire trip wishing I was back home in my warm bed.

Summer is here again, so I know what's coming.

Now don't get me wrong, when I was younger I went camping all of the damn time.

I even spent the night on a mountain top with no tent or sleeping bag for protection.

Hell I once slept in a damn tree!

But come on, do you have any idea how much my mortgage payment is? Why would I spend all of that money and then to sleep under a swarm of mosquitoes, only to wake up with my clothes soaking wet from a surprise rainfall.

And then I have to spend the next several days trying to work the kink out of my lower back, while answering the hundreds of e-mails that arrived while I was gone.

I live only a few minutes away from great hiking trails, plenty of fishing streams, and more nature than many people see in a lifetime. And all of it is only a handful of minutes away from my very own bathroom and internet.

Now if I can only convince everybody else.