http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27rich.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

How McCain Lost in Pennsylvania
By FRANK RICH
Published: April 27, 2008

ITÂ’S a nightmare. ItÂ’s the Bataan Death March. ItÂ’s mutually assured
Armageddon. “Both of them are already losing the general to John
McCain,” declared a Newsweek columnist last month, predicting that the
election “may already be over” by the time the Democrats anoint a
nominee.

Not so fast. If weÂ’ve learned any new rule in the 2008 campaign, itÂ’s
this: Once our news culture sets a story in stone, chances are it will
crumble. But first it must be recycled louder and louder 24/7, as if
sheer repetition will transmute conventional wisdom into reality.

When the Pennsylvania returns rained down Tuesday night, the narrative
became clear fast. The DemocratsÂ’ exit polls spelled disaster: Some 25
percent of the primary voters said they would defect to Mr. McCain or
not vote at all if Barack Obama were the nominee. How could the party
possibly survive this bitter, perhaps race-based civil war?

State withheld records on abused boy, suit says

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080411/NEWS01/389828802

By Diana Hefley
Herald Writer

EVERETT -- The state has illegally withheld records about how social
workers handled abuse allegations involving a young boy who nearly
starved to death last year, according to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday
against the state Department of Social and Health Services.

Shayne Abegg, now 5, was removed from his father's south Everett
apartment in 2007 after he was found severely malnourished. The boy
could barely walk and his hair was falling out when police found him.
His father, Danny Abegg, recently was sentenced to 8 years in prison for
starving Shayne. The man's girlfriend, Marilea Mitchell, also was
sentenced to 8 years behind bars.

Seattle attorney David Moody alleges that the state has failed to turn
over thousands of documents he requested under the state's public
records laws. He requested the documents in December and has received
only a fraction of the records the state has about its involvement with
Shayne, according to the lawsuit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Men charged with molestation; foster and adopted children taken by DCYF

http://www.eastbayri.com/story/291090116330398.php

Sedonio Rodriques, 57, and Raymond A. Grenier, 53, both of 26 Sampson
St., were arrested Friday, Feb. 22, after an investigation by the
Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) supplied police with
enough information for an arrest warrant, according to Bristol Police
Lt. Nick Guercia. Mr. Rodriques was charged with three counts of first
degree child molestation, one count of second degree child molestation,
and one count of attempted first degree child molestation. Mr. Grenier
was charged with three counts of first degree child molestation, one
count of second degree child molestation, and two counts of attempted
first degree child molestation.

According to Lt. Guercia, an anonymous tip to the DCYF Child Abuse and
Neglect Hotline on Nov. 30, 2007 led to an investigation of Mr. Grenier
and Mr. Rodriques. At 6:20 p.m. that day, accompanied by Bristol police,
workers from DCYF removed four children from the home — a 14-year-old
boy, a 13-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy. Lt.
Guercia said two of the children were foster children, and the other two
had been adopted by the couple.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/25/2227483.htm

Cheney camp 'behind Syrian reactor claim'

Posted April 25, 2008 1

US Vice President Dick Cheney

'Out to scupper diplomacy': Dick Cheney

US Government allegations that North Korea helped Syria build a
nuclear reactor have been greeted with scepticism because of their
timing.

Israeli jets bombed the alleged site in Syria's eastern desert last
September.

Today, after months of whispers, the White House publicly claimed that
the target of the strike was a nuclear reactor.

It said the reactor was being built with North Korean help and was not
intended for peaceful purposes.

US intelligence officials said the reactor had been close to becoming
operational when it was destroyed.

But Mike Chinoy, from the Pacific Council on International Policy,
says the claim needs to be taken in its political context, as North
Korea's denuclearisation reaches a critical stage.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/25/2227483.htm

Cheney camp 'behind Syrian reactor claim'

Posted April 25, 2008 1

US Vice President Dick Cheney

'Out to scupper diplomacy': Dick Cheney

US Government allegations that North Korea helped Syria build a nuclear
reactor have been greeted with scepticism because of their timing.

Israeli jets bombed the alleged site in Syria's eastern desert last
September.

Today, after months of whispers, the White House publicly claimed that the
target of the strike was a nuclear reactor.

It said the reactor was being built with North Korean help and was not
intended for peaceful purposes.

US intelligence officials said the reactor had been close to becoming
operational when it was destroyed.

But Mike Chinoy, from the Pacific Council on International Policy, says the
claim needs to be taken in its political context, as North Korea's
denuclearisation reaches a critical stage.

http://vehme.blogspot.com/2008/04/jimmy-carter-us-politicians-are.html

"I understand the political pressures on any candidate in the United States
of America, who's running for office as a member of Congress or senator or
governor or president. They can't possibly approve my doing anything with
which the government of Israel disagrees. So I don't criticize him or
Senator Clinton or Senator McCain for their inevitable and understandable
criticism of my actions." ~ President Jimmy Carter

US Marines deploying in Afghanistan for 1st time in years
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Marines are crossing the sands of
southern Afghanistan for the first time in years, providing a boost to a
NATO coalition that is growing but still short on manpower.

They hope to retake the 10 percent of Afghanistan the Taliban holds.

Some of the Marines that make up the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit helped
to tame a thriving insurgency in western Iraq. The newly arrived forces hope
to move into regions of Afghanistan now controlled by the Taliban.

They have also been given directions to steer clear of the region's poppy
fields so they don't risk alienating local farmers who rely on the cash crop
for their income.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/26/us-marines-deploying-in-a_n_98782.html

Staging for the GOP's attacks on Iran.

John "McSame" McCain - running like it's 2004.

(CNN) - John McCain said Friday that "it's clear who Hamas wants to be the
next president of the United States" - the second time in as many weeks that
his campaign has referenced positive remarks by Ahmed Yousef, a member of
that group, about Barack Obama.

On Friday, the presumptive Republican nominee was asked about the Hamas
leader's comments on a campaign conference call with bloggers.

"...I think it's very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of
the United States," said McCain. "So apparently has [Sandanista leader]
Danny Ortega and several others. I think that people should understand that
I will be Hamas's worst nightmare...If Senator Obama is favored by Hamas I
think people can make judgments accordingly."

A week ago, the Arizona senator's campaign sent supporters a fundraising
e-mail that said Hamas approved of Obama's foreign policy vision, and is
hoping for his victory this fall.

We saw the same tactic used by Bush-Cheney '04 against John Kerry, when the
right-wing noise machine claimed that al-Qaeda wanted Kerry to win the White
House.

Yesterday an anti-union group launched a TV ad against the Employee Free
Choice Act. In case you'd forgotten, the EFCA is the most important piece of
pro-worker, pro-union legislation under consideration in recent years.

The EFCA has three main parts. First, it requires certification of a
union once a majority of employees in a workplace have signed up for the
union. Currently, after a majority of employees have requested a union,
employers can force an election. This may sound democratic enough, but in
fact it allows employers to use their power over workers to campaign against
the union, often harassing and firing union supporters in the process.

Second, the EFCA prevents employers from dragging out negotiations on a
first union contract by creating provisions for mediation and arbitration.
Third, it strengthens penalties on employers who fire union supporters
during union drives - such firings are illegal, but the current penalties
are too small to serve as effective deterrents.

Workers need this bill. By removing opportunities for employers to bully and
intimidate workers, the Employee Free Choice Act would make union organizing
much more democratic. And since tens of millions of workers would like to be
able to join unions, a more democratic process would mean more union jobs, a
stronger middle class, and a stronger Democratic party.

First Riots in Cccccchitcago, then Denver and now NYC. Gotta love those
Terrorist Democraps all right!

Sharpton vows to 'close this city' after officer acquittals

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080426/D909P8SG0.html