Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who owns the Venetian, hosted an all-expenses-paid trip for 40 wounded soldiers from Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval this weekend.

The soldiers-turned-high rollers took a private jet to Las Vegas over the weekend for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars.

They were greeted at the airport by Wayne Newton, chilled backstage with the guys from Blue Man Group and hobnobbed with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. and paid for the trip.

[...]

[Marine Corporal Kyle] Riley, a 21-year-old from Catlett, Va., who also lost part of his left leg to an IED in Iraq, was so overwhelmed by the trip he decided with his fiancee, Alyssa Mergler, to make it their wedding weekend. They planned to wed Monday on a gold and white gondola, courtesy of Adelson, whom Mergler said insisted on having his staff handle the plans.

Riley and Mergler pose in their hotel room at the Venetian.

Damn, they look young.

Adelson and the Armed Forces Foundation, which organized the trip, say that more trips will follow. If you're planning to go to Vegas, perhaps you should consider a stop at the Venetian as a gesture of support.

Thanks to tmi3rd.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 11:14 AM | Comments (26)
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Dallas Rep. Jeb Hensarling became the latest Republican to suggest ways for the Party to get its act together before November. He follows Tom Cole's pep talk, "The NRCC Can't Help You," and Arnold Schwarzenegger's call for "re-branding" the GOP.

The eight-point prescription he offered got a semi-cool reception, but he's hoping to get consensus when Republicans reconvene after the Memorial Day break. He boiled his plan down to three central planks meant to reflect core principles that speak to the "hearts, minds, aspirations and pocketbooks of the American people."

•Pass a constitutional amendment to limit federal spending.

•Scrap the tax code, and replace it with a two-tiered flat tax that would fit on one page.

•Halt "earmarks," the special spending projects that lawmakers can insert into legislation.

Secondary ideas focus on health care, expanding domestic energy production, abortion, school choice, welfare reform and broad federal wiretapping authority to fight terror.

Are those the things you care about this year?

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:53 AM | Comments (45)
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Yesterday President Carter announced that Israel has 150 nuclear weapons. Israel has never publicly acknowledged its nuclear capabilities--including whether it even has nuclear weapons--but the former president, who has a fetish for screwing over Israel, can probably be considered a reliable source. Let's pray, for our sakes and for the sake of our allies, he knows no other national secrets.

Gateway Pundit writes, "Either Jimmy Carter is really, really stupid or he really, really hates Israel." The answer is, of course, BOTH. Carter went on to suggest that the U.S. should be providing Iran with fuel for nuclear reactors:

Speaking at the Hay Festival yesterday, Carter also suggested the US should provide nuclear power technology and fuel to Iran as a show of goodwill.

"What happens if, in three years' time, Iran has a nuclear weapon," Carter asked. "I'm not sure that is going to happen, but if it does, what do we do? They are rational people like all of us in this room. Do they want to commit suicide? I would guess not. So what we have to do is talk with them now and say to them we want to be their friends," the former US president said.

"The United States must let Iran know that we want to give them fuel and everything they need for a non-military nuclear program. Twenty-five years ago we cut off trading with Iran. We've got to resume trading to show Iran we are friends."

Except that we're not friends, President Foolish. Iran wants to stymie our foreign policy, kill our troops, and devastate our allies. Its leaders and a great majority of its populace enjoy a good stoning of a woman or a good hanging of a gay. And they like to dream about a certain genocide in particular that places them in the same company as the Slime of Humanity.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 10:12 AM | Comments (154)
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I came across this story on Powerline today. Perhaps there are other towns that could statistically match it, but Newton's sacrifice of her very finest in battle theaters around the world during WWII should never be forgotten.

Posted by: Open Blog at 08:27 AM | Comments (20)
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Tragedy of course, when anyone is murdered, especially when they are young, and the violence is particularly senseless.

A TEENAGE actor who appears in the next Harry Potter film was stabbed to death trying to protect his younger brother from an assailant outside a club in Sidcup, south-east London, early on Saturday.

Robert Knox, 18, who appears as Marcus Belby alongside Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, became the 28th teenager killed in Britain this year, and the 10th in London to die from stab wounds.

Apparently this a growing phenomena:

The latest murders bring to 14 the number of teenagers killed in the capital this year. Last year 26 were killed: 16 were attacked with knives, nine died in gun incidents and in one case the cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

I'm sure that is a typo -- obviously nobody could have died in a "gun incident" since guns are, of course, outlawed. Q.E.D., my dear chaps.

I can't help but wonder if perhaps the cause of violence isn't in the implements of destruction.

Crazy-talk, I know. Knife bans are truly the only sensible step to take.

Update: Dead Career Sketch offers up the following PSA for Brits who want to learn to defend themselves. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 07:32 PM | Comments (82)
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The first rocket-assisted landing on Mars since 1976.

"A signal has been detected from Phoenix indicating that the lander is on the surface of Mars."

It's a shame we as a society, hell, as a world, have lost so much interest in what is truly our only salvation as a species. We should have colonies established on the moon by now.

And most distressing of all: My garage still has no flying car parked in it.

Update. Just in case any of you morons are too drunk to be able to type www.nasa.gov.

UPDATE II: Phoenix images.

The first two are part a conceptual series by Phoenix, exploring the existential nature of a digital machine in an analog universe.

Also, Phoenix has discovered life on Mars, and it is aggressive. I think most of us at AoS will be just fine with our new overlords though. more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 04:16 PM | Comments (86)
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$175. Would you try it?

The burger, created by chef and co-owner Kevin O'Connell, seeks to justify its price with a Kobe beef patty, lots of black truffles, seared foie gras, aged Gruyere cheese, wild mushrooms and flecks of gold leaf on a brioche bun.

The eatery sells 20 or 25 per month in the fine dining room upstairs versus hundreds of $4 burgers each day at the diner counter downstairs, Tierney said.

They recently raised their price from $150 in order to retain Pocket Change's title.

That last link goes to a video where the interviewer is just a wee bit of a breathtaking dick.

What do you guys think about the flakes of gold leaf on the food? I'm thinkin' gimmicky, but good. What could it hurt?

Posted by: LauraW at 03:03 PM | Comments (50)
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Nostradamus goes out on a limb here and makes a real shocker prediction.

Barack Obama said on Saturday Americans would start changing the kinds of cars they drive if gasoline prices continue to climb and said he owned a hybrid vehicle, though he doesn't drive it much...

The whole hybrid thing is very very gay too. When my 10 year old VW diesel can get well over 50 mpg (calculated real life driving conditions) and not require expensive battery swaps every few years, I'd have to be a fucking idiot to buy a hybrid. The TCO value just isn't there for the Hybrid, and the diesel less volatile in a crash and doesn't require rescue crews to have special gear or treat the car in any special manner trying to extract me from it.

Posted by: Purple Avenger at 11:08 AM | Comments (55)
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Three up, three down. A star surrounded by the leaves.

The leadership position, Command Sergeant Major, is the senior enlisted advisor to the commanding officer and carries with it certain ceremonial functions such as caring for the unit's colors. Additionally, they serve as monitors for, and advocates of, the enlisted men in the command. This position exists in units of battalion size and larger.

On this Memorial Day, I ask that you join me in remembering CSM James D. Blankenbecler, United States Army.

CSM Blankenbecler gave all he had to give on October 1, 2003, in Samarra, Iraq. Almost 5 years ago. He left behind a wife and three children.

The most heartbreaking letter I have ever read in my life is this one, from his daughter Jessica, a child who shares the name of my eldest. It is very hard to read. So be ready for that. She lost her daddy, but in her pain, her terrible loss, she honored him so well. Far better than I. Her letter is a sweet testament to the man who was her father, the father she loved. The dad she lost.

There is a human cost to this. And some bear it far more than we do. More than me. We must remember this, remember to offer our kindness, our courtesy and gratitude to those who bear this burden, those who serve and those who love those that do. And especially, to the families and their beloved who have lost so much.

That is what Memorial Day is.

CSM Blankenbecler achieved the rank of E-9. Some of us do not know what that means. It means he was a commander of men, and women, a battalion or more. Over a thousand soldiers.

This man stood and accounted for them. He guided their service. He mentored them. And at that awful moment, he was right there with them.

CSM Blankenbecler was killed by RPG fire, following a roadside IED attack, on October 1, 2003.

We do pay dearly for this fight. But the ones who love them pay more, far more. For the rest of their lives, they must carry a burden we do not.

And so we would do well to remember them today, and tomorrow. To honor their gift. To respect their service. We owe them that much. More really, but at least this.

I know many of you morons have loved ones who are in, who give, or who gave. God bless them and you. Here's the guy I'm callin tomorrow to say thank you to. My pop, the big eared goof on the left. USN, Korea 1950, Purple Heart. more...

Posted by: Dave in Texas at 09:25 AM | Comments (34)
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Senator Clinton has a letter in today's Daily Mail in which she tries to "set the record straight" about the Bobby Kennedy remark and explain why she hasn't dropped out of the contest.

I am running because I believe staying in this race will help unite the Democratic Party. I believe that if Sen. Obama and I both make our case - and all Democrats have the chance to make their voices heard - in the end, everyone will be more likely to rally around the nominee.

Dayum, lady, that's some serious shit you're smoking.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 08:59 AM | Comments (21)
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