NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - June 26, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Faithful in pews might not be voters in November
If Christian conservatives stay on the sidelines during the fall campaign, presidential hopeful John McCain probably stays in the Senate. Christian conservatives provided much of the on-the-ground, door-to-door activity forPresident Bush's 2004 re-election in Ohio and in other swing states. Withoutthem, the less-organized and lower-profile McCain campaign is likely tostruggle to replicate Bush's success. And so far, there's been scant signthat the Republican nominee-in-waiting is making inroads among these ferventbelievers.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Christian-Ground-Game.html?scp=11&sq=gay&st=nyt

-Much Left Undone, Again, as Session Ends in Albany
Gov. David A. Paterson took one more chance this week to distance himselffrom the strategy of his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, the man he ranalongside nearly two years ago. "Trying to embarrass people, trying tointimidate people, trying to expose people in the newspapers, this has beentried before, and I think you know what the results of that are," he said ata news conference on Monday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26session.html?scp=10&sq=gay&st=nyt

-City Is Pushing for H.I.V. Tests for All in Bronx
The New York City health department plans to announce on Thursday anambitious three-year effort to give an H.I.V. test to every adult living inthe Bronx, which has a far higher death rate from AIDS than any otherborough. The campaign will begin with a push to make the voluntary testingroutine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics, where city officials saythat cumbersome consent procedures required by state law have deterreddoctors from offering the tests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26hiv.html?scp=5&sq=gay&st=nyt

-Supreme Court Rules That Individuals Have Gun Rights
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns forself-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gunrights in U.S. history. The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District ofColumbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights underthe Second Amendment. The decision went further than even the Bushadministration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Scotus-Guns.html

-Editorial: Anger and Restraint
For the law to be just, it must temper society's anger over even the mosthorrible acts with decency and restraint. The Supreme Court exemplified thatprinciple on Wednesday, striking down the death penalty for the rape of achild. While acknowledging the horror of the crime, Justice Anthony Kennedy's
majority opinion drew on widely shared standards of decency, constitutionallaw and real-world impact to explain why the Constitution forbids punishingit with death.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/opinion/26thu1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

-Why Obama Should Visit a Mosque BY ROGER COHEN
Fear-mongering about Islam is a global industry. Barack Obama has a uniquepower to break the cycle, not least by emboldening moderate Muslims todenounce terror.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/opinion/26cohen.html?ref=opinion

-Damages Cut Against Exxon in Valdez Case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday reduced what had once been a $5 billionpunitive damages award against Exxon Mobil to about $500 million. The rulingessentially concluded a legal saga that started when the Exxon Valdez, asupertanker, struck a reef and spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil intothe Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/washington/26punitive.html?hp

-City Is Pushing for H.I.V. Tests for All in Bronx
The New York City health department plans to announce on Thursday anambitious three-year effort to give an H.I.V. test to every adult living inthe Bronx, which has a far higher death rate from AIDS than any otherborough. The campaign will begin with a push to make the voluntary testingroutine in emergency rooms and storefront clinics, where city officials saythat cumbersome consent procedures required by state law have deterreddoctors from offering the tests.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26hiv.html?hp

-6-Term Congressman Loses Republican Primary in Utah
Representative Chris Cannon, one of the most conservative members ofCongress, has lost his bid for a seventh term, defeated in a Republicanprimary that focused on whether he was conservative enough for Utah's ThirdDistrict.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/washington/26cong.html

-Parties Split on How to Expand Offshore Drilling
The two political parties have settled on markedly different strategies forimproving domestic oil supplies to help lower gasoline prices. Republicanswant to end the 27-year ban on offshore drilling along much of the nation'scoastline, while Democrats want to force companies to speed up explorationin certain offshore areas that they already control. A version of theDemocratic plan may come to a vote in the House of Representatives as earlyas Thursday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/business/26offshore.html?_r=1&ei=5040&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&adxnnlx=1214482685-Y3S3SbCq5lI7vtfFkkWaZg


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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-GOP Committee Hands Schwartz Unanimous Endorsement
The D.C. Republican Committee has endorsed D.C. Council member CarolSchwartz (At Large) for both the primary and general elections, but PatrickMara, the candidate challenging Schwartz in the primary, said he's pressingahead.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062500829.html

-The Religious Left? Is Nothing Sacred?!
Author: Dems Must Take Leap of Faith
All the pieces were there for a classic Washington celebrity book party:George Stephanopoulos's gorgeously appointed Georgetown home, mediaglitterati like Chris Matthews milling around, a book about politics, abunch of priests. A bunch of priests?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062503063.html

-Drawing a Line by David S. Broder
Gerrymandering hurts our democracy more than a broken campaign-financesystem.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062501944.html

-Obamacons Rising
Why so many conservatives are taking a serious look at Barack Obama. What isan "Obamacon?" The phrase surfaced in January to describe Britishconservatives entranced by Barack Obama. On March 13 the American Spectatorbroadened the term to cover all "conservative supporters" of the Democraticpresidential candidate. Their ranks, though growing, feature few famouspeople. But looming on the horizon are two big potential Obamacons: ColinPowell and Chuck Hagel. [...] The best bet is that neither of the two,both of whom supported President Bush in 2000 and 2004, will back JohnMcCain in 2008. [[...] The Obamacon syndrome is based on hostility to Bushand his administration and on revulsion over today's Republican Party.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062501942.html

-Don't Deport the Talent by George F. Will
The technology industry shows the absurdity of U.S. immigration policy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062501945.html


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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Fort Lauderdale Aquatics wins IGLA small team championship
With only nine swimmers, Fort Lauderdale Aquatics won the small-team titleat the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships last weekend atthe University of Maryland. With five women and four men, the team wasn'texpected to win. That made it all the more satisfying for FLA masters coachMarty Hendrick, whose former team, District of Columbia Aquatics Club,hosted the meet.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/other/sfl-flspparttcolly26sbjun26,0,7069203.story

-Lawsuit: Jackson Memorial barred lesbian from seeing dying partner
The family vacation cruise that Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Marie Pondand three of their four children set out to take in February 2007 wasdesigned to be a celebration of the lesbian couple's 18 years together. Butwhen Pond suffered a massive stroke onboard before the ship left port andwas rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, administrators refused to letLangbehn into the Pond's hospital room. A social worker told them they werein an "anti-gay city and state."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flrxgaysuit0626sbjun26,0,3396801.story

-Lawsuit: Jackson Memorial barred lesbian from seeing dying partner
The family vacation cruise that Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Marie Pondand three of their four children set out to take in February 2007 wasdesigned to be a celebration of the lesbian couple's 18 years together. Butwhen Pond suffered a massive stroke onboard before the ship left port andwas rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, administrators refused to letLangbehn into the Pond's hospital room. A social worker told them they werein an "anti-gay city and state."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-flrxgaysuit0626sbjun26,0,5531847.story


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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Civil liberties suffer defeat in the House
Congress is on the verge of making a bad deal to expand the executive'spower to conduct electronic spying and slam the door shut on efforts to findout how and why the government misled lawmakers and the public about theextent of its ambitious program to spy without court order. Passed by a voteof 293-129 in the House, the overhaul of the Foreign IntelligenceSurveillance Act is billed as a ''compromise.'' It is nothing of the sort. Lawmakers are caving in on the most significant aspect of the law andpractically committing the next president to accept it.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/583469.html


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CounterPunch
http://www.counterpunch.org/wise06072008.html
Go to this link for the following articles:

-An Open Letter to Certain White Women Who Are Threatening to WithholdSupport from Obama in November
Your Whiteness is Showing
This is an open letter to those white women who, despite their proclamationsof progressivism, and supposedly because of their commitment to feminism,are threatening to withhold support from Barack Obama in November. You knowwho you are. I know that it's probably a bad time for this. Yourdisappointment at the electoral defeat of Senator Hillary Clinton is fresh,the sting is new, and the anger that animates many of you -- who rightlypoint out that the media was often sexist in its treatment of the Senator --is raw, pure and justified. That said, and despite the awkward timing, Ineed to ask you a few questions, and I hope you will take them in the spiritof solidarity with which they are genuinely intended. But before thequestions, a statement if you don't mind, or indeed, even if (as I suspect),you will mind it quite abit. http://www.counterpunch.org/wise06072008.html


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Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Non-Dogmatic, Diverse and Politically Relevant
The second major report on the U.S. religious landscape finds that mostAmericans do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation. Thisopenness to other religious viewpoints is in line with the nation's greatdiversity of affiliation, belief and practice as documented in a survey ofmore than 35,000 Americans. Read more

-The Gloomiest Generation
Today, in their early 40s to early 60s, baby boomers are more prosperousthan any other age group. Their tastes still rule the world. Yet a Pewsurvey finds that this privileged and pampered generation is the mostdownbeat in America. Read more

-Mapping World Opinion
An interactive feature developed by the Associated Press allows users tocheck out key findings about views of America and the coming U.S. electionin countries around the world from the recently released 2008 Pew GlobalAttitudes survey. Read more

-Assessing Globalization: Benefits and Drawbacks of Trade and IntegrationEnthusiasm for economic globalization has waned considerably over the lastfew years in many wealthy nations, but survey research suggests that mostaverage citizens around the world embrace the idea of a globalized world,albeit cautiously. Read more

-Gavels and Gags: State Legislatures Adjourn
Many states conclude their sessions with traditions that are funny, bizarreand even poignant. With half of state legislatures concluding in the pasttwo months, and several more to adjourn within a few weeks, the celebrationsare in full swing. Read more

-Government's Response to Floods Faulted
As the floods in the Midwest continued to devastate parts of that region,public interest in the story increased moderately last week, but stillremained significantly lower than interest in the massive floods that struckthe region in 1993.Read more

-A Spouse and a President Get Their Media Close-ups
A key narrative in last week's campaign focused not on Barack Obama and JohnMcCain themselves, but on two people whose public roles reflect crucialchallenges facing the candidates-Michelle Obama and George Bush. Read more

-Just 49% of Republicans say there is evidence of global warming.
Check back every weekday for another number in the news. Read more


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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Obama's 50 State Strategy
If everything goes according to the campaign's plan, Barack Obama should winall of the states John Kerry carried in 2004, plus a few that haven't beenseriously challenged by a Democratic candidate in years.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/obamas_50_state_strategy.html

-Poll Position: How you (and the candidates) should judge the numbers.
June polls of a horserace that ends in November aren't "reliablypredictive," as the survey experts say. So why are Republicans so ballisticabout new surveys, including Newsweek's, that show Sen. Barack Obama with abig lead?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/143258

-A new Condi, but who cares?
Rice's new philosophy on foreign policy could have come from a Democrat, butBush probably isn't listening. You've come a long way, baby. In 2000,Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice published an essay in Foreign Affairs,"Promoting the National Interest." Back then, Rice was a Stanford professorand presidential candidate George W. Bush's senior foreign policy advisor,and the Washington establishment hung on her every word.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-brooks26-2008jun26,0,7479331.column?track=rss

-Decision 2008: Obama camp carefully woos black voters
Strategists seek ways to draw African-Americans to polls while appealing toblue collars, whites. As they ponder a political map that has spelleddefeat for Democrats in the past two presidential elections, Barack Obama'scampaign strategists are quietly laying plans to draw blacks to the polls inunprecedented numbers by capitalizing on the excitement over the prospect ofelecting the nation's first black president.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080626/POLITICS01/806260317&imw=Y

-GUANTANAMO BAY: McCain fights GOP over detainee move
GOP senators clashed with McCain, their presidential nominee, over where toput Guantánamo detainees in an emerging, classic ''Not In My Backyard''brouhaha. In a Senate-wide appeal, both Republican senators from Kansasurged fellow lawmakers in a letter Wednesday to abandon a bipartisan idea ofmoving Guantánamo detainees to Fort Leavenworth, the Army base in theirstate that houses the military's largest prison.
http://www.miamiherald.com/campaign08/story/583266.html

-A winning strategy for McCain
THE TRENDS are troubling for John McCain. Polls show growing support forBarack Obama, for Democrats generally, and for change. And since Obama brokehis public financing pledge he'll have much more money than McCain foradvertising.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/26/a_winning_strategy_for_mccain/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Today%27s+paper+A+to+Z

-Senate Expected To Pass Wiretap Bill
Critics Argue The Bill Lets Bush Off Hook For Warrantless Wiretapping
The Senate signaled an end Wednesday to months of rancorous debate oversurveillance legislation that would protect from civil lawsuits thetelecommunications companies that helped the government wiretap American lines.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/25/national/main4210816.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._4210816

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