Leslie T. Williams, of Waterbury, as listed on the Connecticut Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry
Just when the horrors of the tragedy in Cheshire may have been starting to dim in some minds, news comes today of the brutal home invasion and murder of 62 year old MaryEllen Welsh, of New Britain.  Though many of the details are yet to emerge, the prime suspect in the case is Leslie T. Williams, originally of Waterbury. The Courant reports the charges against him:

He is scheduled to be arraigned today at Superior Court in New Britain on a single count each of criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping with a firearm, first-degree burglary, first-degree assault, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and third degree larceny.

It appears that Ms. Welsh was being treated for cancer:

Welsh, who was fighting her own bout with cancer, underwent and operation about a year ago, Carrier said. She had lost weight and had stopped working. She swam laps at the Hospital for Special Care as part of her recovery.

There will be a great deal of time in the coming days to analyze the crime and assess its impact on our public policy discussions. Today, it seems more proper to simply stand with our headed bowed in prayer for a woman whose life was brutally ended.

John McCain’s Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Mississippi State University

Meridian, Mississippi

March 31, 2008

Thank you. It’s good to be back in Meridian. As you might know, I was once a flight instructor here at the air field named for my grandfather during my long past and misspent youth. And it’s always good to be in Mississippi, which you could call my ancestral home. Generations of McCains were born and raised in Carroll County, on land that had been in our family since 1848. The last McCain to live on the property, which the family called Teoc, was my grandfather’s brother, Joe McCain. I spent a couple summers here as a young boy, and enjoyed it immensely. I had never had a permanent address because my father’s naval career required us to move frequently. But here, in the care of my very likeable Uncle Joe, I could imagine, with a little envy, what it must have been like for the McCains who came before me to be so connected to one place; to be part of a community and a landscape as well as a family.

By all accounts, the McCains of Carroll County were devoted to one another and their traditions; a lively, proud and happy family on the Mississippi Delta. Yet, many McCains left here as young men to pursue careers in what has long been our family’s chosen profession – the United States Armed Forces. My great-grandfather was the sheriff and never left. But his brother, Henry Pinkney McCain, was a major general in the Army, and organized the draft in World War One. Camp McCain in Grenada, Mississippi is named for him. My great uncle, William McCain, was known as “Wild Bill” for his “dynamic” personality – he was reputed to have ridden his horse onto his future father-in-law’s porch to ask him for his daughter’s hand. He chased Pancho Villa with General Pershing, was an artillery officer in World War One, and retired a Brigadier General. Both men are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, as are my father and grandfather. We trace my family’s martial heritage back to the Revolution. A distant ancestor served on General Washington’s staff, and it seems my ancestors fought in most wars in our nation’s history. All were soldiers – both Henry and Bill McCain were West Pointers – until my grandfather broke family tradition and entered the Naval Academy in 1902. He was succeeded there by my father, then me, and then my son.

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The White House has a bowling alley, first installed at the direction of President Harry Truman, before it was moved and then re-crafted by President Nixon.

This information should be of great dismay to Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who bowled a 37 over the weekend during a campaign stint in Altoona, Pennsylvania.  Check out the video on WFSB.

The President threw a decent first pitch to open the new ballpark in Washington D.C., tonight, the beautiful ”Nationals Park” (Photo Courtesy Yahoo).  More importantly, the Nationals won the game on a heroic walk-off home run.  Most significant, Major League Baseball is back.

Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy will appear with Democratic counterpart Nancy DiNardo Sunday at 11:00 a.m. on WFSB’s “Face the State.”

Healy and DiNardo will be discussing the Presidential race, the contests for Congress and other state political matters.

• California Yankee has a chart indicating that Hillary Clinton deserters will support John McCain in November.
•  Look West, Young Scribes
• The folks over at House Republicans have relaunched their blog, CT House Rules.  Check it out!
•  Popcorn Was Invented for Spectacles Such As These
• McCainocrats live

RNC Victory Chair Carly Fiorina