Free Republic

By Paul Shockley pshockley@gjfreepress.com Grand Junction, CO, Colorado While alive and featured prominently on the Internet, an incident involving former vice president candidate Sarah Palin’s motorcade in Grand Junction has run its course in the local legal system. Five people charged among a group of nine who briefly blocked Palin’s motorcade on Oct. 20 accepted plea agreements Monday. Mallory Rice, 20, Jacob Richards, 27, Jay Sandstedt, 22, Donald Flynn, 20, and Margret Aneloski, 19, one by one pleaded guilty Monday morning to charges of obstructing government operations, a class 3 misdemeanor. The District Attorney’s office dismissed misdemeanor charges of obstructing...

PRIME Minister John Howard has blasted US presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying his policy of withdrawing troops from Iraq will destabilise the entire Middle East. Senator Obama, who is aiming to be the first black American president, has vowed to withdraw US forces if elected. But first, he must secure the Democratic nomination by overcoming his chief rival, Hillary Clinton. Senator Obama has introduced a bill to remove US combat forces from Iraq by March 31 next year - but the legislation has virtually no chance of becoming law while George W Bush is president, and the presidential election is...