1.)     Some Americas who are disappointed with last week’s election want to leave the country without moving from where they live.     There are currently petitions from 20 different states on the White House “We the People” page asking the Obama administration to “peacefully grant their state to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own new government.”    More than 40,000 Texans have signed a petition, while almost 8,000 names are on a petition from South Carolina.     While the petitions won’t actually result in secession, the White House website promises a review if a petition receives at least 25,000 votes, and ensures it will be sent to the appropriate policy experts and issue an official response.   

2.)     As popular as she became because of her sister’s wedding, Pippa Middleton’s celebrity hasn’t added up to literary success.   “Celebrate,” her new party-planning book, sold only about 2,000 copies in its first week.    The sister of Princess Kate Middleton was paid an advance of more than $600,000 dollars to write the book.    “Celebrate” is at number 303 on the U.S. best-sellers list.    In England, it ranks at number 177 on Amazon.com’s U.K. best-sellers list, right behind “Peppa Pig’s Christmas Wish.”   

3.)     Not that we need it, but here’s more proof that the people in Washington D.C. can’t manage our money.    In a time of growing deficits and an exploding national debt, our government paid out at least $180,000 for official portraits over the past year.   The Environmental Protection Agency spent almost $40,000 on a portrait of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, while a painting of Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley will cost $41,200.    The expense is justified by claiming "these are done for future generations to see how we live now, and it’s really a tribute as well as part of a person’s legacy."