NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - August 05, 2008

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

-Editorial: Guns and Poppies
In the morass that is Afghanistan, not just the Taliban are flourishing. Sotoo is opium production, which increasingly finances the group’s activities.There is no easy way to end this narcotics threat, a symptom of widerinstability. Even a wise and coordinated plan of attack would take years tobear real results. But the United States and the rest of the internationalcommunity are failing to develop one. They must work harder, smarter andmore cooperatively to rescue this narco-state.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/opinion/05tue1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin


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

-Who's Raising Race?
The Messages Loaded Into a McCain Surrogate's Words
I'm confident that Sen. Lindsey Graham and the rest of John McCain'sfront-line surrogates know full well what messages they're sending aboutBarack Obama and race. On the off chance that they -- or, more likely, someof the white voters they're trying to reach -- don't know text from subtextfrom context, here's a deconstruction.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080401824.html


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Forwarded from Susan Frishkorn
frishkorn@bellsouth.net
Go to this link for the following article:

-The Tire-Gauge Solution: No Joke
By Michael Grunwald
How out of touch is Barack Obama? He's so out of touch that he suggested that if all Americans inflated their tires properly and took their cars for regular tune-ups, they could save as much oil as new offshore drilling would produce. Gleeful Republicans have made this their daily talking point; Rush Limbaugh is having a field day; and the Republican National Committee is sending tire gauges labeled "Barack Obama's Energy Plan" to Washington reporters. But who's really out of touch? The Bush Administration estimates that expanded offshore drilling could increase oil production by 200,000 bbl. per day by 2030. We use about 20 million bbl. per day, so that would meet about 1% of our demand two decades from now. Meanwhile, efficiency experts say that keeping tires inflated can improve gas mileage 3%, and regular maintenance can add another 4%. Many drivers already follow their advice, but if everyone did, we could immediately reduce demand several percentage points. In other words: Obama is right.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/health/04aids.html


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

-Don’t Tase Me, GOP!
The St. Paul Police Department is arming itself with Tasers. Localactivists and media say that the department ordered 230 stun guns in lateFebruary — adding to the 140 already in its possession — in preparation forprotests at the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC), which St.Paul will host from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3806/

-Drill, Drill, Drill Is Working
As Sen. John McCain and the GOP leadership nationalize the drill, drill,drill message, the Republican party might conceivably be riding a summerpolitical rally. The question of offshore drilling, along with expandeddomestic energy production, has suddenly become the biggest political andeconomic wedge issue of this election. Is there a Republican tsunami in themaking?
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/drill_drill_drill_is_working.html

-GOP energy revolt presses on; Dems dismiss ‘stunt’
Energized House Republicans believe they have struck political gold withAmerican voters angered by high gas prices through their unusual revolt onthe floor, which Democrats on Monday tried to dismiss as a “political stunt.”
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-energy-revolt-presses-on-dems-dismiss-stunt-2008-08-04.html

-No PenaltyVoters don't mind negative ads. Do they care about hypocriticalones?
Last week the McCain campaign was roundly criticized, even among some of hisRepublican allies, for running several misleading ads about Barack Obama.Many voters seemed to agree: A CNN poll showed that four in 10 thoughtMcCain had attacked Obama unfairly.
http://www.slate.com/id/2196648/?from=rss

-McCain’s race problem — among whites, that is
If you had seen the reception John McCain got Friday at the National UrbanLeague convention, you wouldn't think he has a race problem — but he does.And it might surprise you to know what it is.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/08/mccains-race-pr.html


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