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+ I looked at our 10-day forecast and saw 60s and 70s and even 80s. This is ridiculous. I don't live in North Carolina. I live in Central NY. I know some people really like this weather but I really misssed winter this year and now I am not at all ready for summer weather in March. I also don't like it that Glacier National Park will have no glaciers within 20 years. We really need to wake up and do something about this. Climate Change will have catastrophic consequences and they are coming sooner than most people think.

+ Terror, Trauma, and the Endless Afghan War

by Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan -- We may never know what drove a U.S. Army staff sergeant to head out into the Afghan night and allegedly murder at least 16 civilians in their homes, among them nine children and three women. The attack has been called tragic, which it surely is. But when Afghans attack U.S. forces, they are called “terrorists.” That is, perhaps, the inconsistency at the core of U.S. policy, that democracy can be delivered through the barrel of a gun, that terrorism can be fought by terrorizing a nation.

+ TruthDig offers "At Last, Some Decency on Wall Street" by Robert Scheer -- TD says: By the time you read this, the PR hacks of Goldman Sachs will be vigorously pressing their efforts to destroy the reputation of whistle-blower Greg Smith.

+ TruthDig offers "A Letter From Uganda on #Kony2012" by Sara Weschler reporting from Uganda on the Internet Phenomenon Targeting Joseph Kony -- There is an evil man somewhere in Africa waging a brutal war for absolutely no reason. The biggest problem is that no one knows about him. But if “we” spread the word and pressure the U.S. for military assistance, then by the end of this year “we” can capture Kony and end this horror. Where do I even begin?

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+ updated at 1:10pm ESDT on Tuesday, April 26, 2011

+ I love Baseball and particularly the Red Sox.  I waited along with the rest of New England for a team to finally win a World Series. 1918 was a long time ago.  I was a fan when they won the American League pennant in 1967 but lost the World Series in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals.  Then, in 1975, they lost in 7 games to the Cincinnati Reds.  And the same thing happened in 1986, this time to the Mets. But then, finally, in 2004, the miracle happened.  They lost the first 3 games in the American League Championship Series to the Yankees.  But then won the next 4.  They went on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series. It had been 86 years.  It was a long wait for New England and all Sox fans.  Then, in 2007, the Sox won another World Series.

This year, the experts predicted a banner season for the Sox as they strengthened their batting line-up with some high salary talent and continue to have a strong pitching staff.  But it didn't start out the way the experts predicted.  They lost their first 6 games in Texas and Cleveland.  The Yankees came to town and the Red Sox showed some life, taking 2 out of 3.  But then came 3 more losses. 2 and 10! 

But now, Red Sox Nation is full of hope once again because our heroes have won 8 out of the last 9 including the last 5 in a row.  10 and 11.  Go Sox!

+ TruthDig offers "The Corporate State Wins Again" by Chris Hedges.  It begins: "When did our democracy die? When did it irrevocably transform itself into a lifeless farce and absurd political theater? When did the press, labor, universities and the Democratic Party—which once made piecemeal and incremental reform possible—wither and atrophy? When did reform through electoral politics become a form of magical thinking? When did the dead hand of the corporate state become unassailable?" Read it all.