NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - September 03, 2008

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

-Court Backs Paterson Regarding Gay Unions
Gov. David A. Paterson was acting within his powers when he issued anexecutive order requiring government agencies to recognize same-sexmarriages performed outside the state, a court ruled on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/nyregion/03marry.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse&oref=slogin

-Bush and Lieberman Hail McCain as a Leader
President Bush's speech at the Republican National Convention seemed tohighlight how eager Senator John McCain is to usher him off the stage. [...]The brief talk, one day after Hurricane Gustav forced him to jettison hisplanned appearance here, made Mr. Bush the first sitting president not toattend his own party's political convention since Lyndon B. Johnson skippedthe Democratic convention in 1968.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/politics/03repubs.html?hp

-Palin's Start in Alaska: Not Politics as Usual
When Sarah Palin ran for mayor in 1996, Wasilla, Alaska, got its first locallesson in wedge politics.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/politics/03wasilla.html?hp

-McCain's Effort to Woo Conservatives Is Paying Off
The McCain campaign has shored up support among religious conservatives, whoviewed him as a nemesis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/politics/03conservatives.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

-Candidate McCain's Big Decision
Choosing Sarah Palin raises serious questions about John McCain'squalifications.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/opinion/03wed1.html?ref=opinion

-THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN: And Then There Was One
And Then There Was OneWith his choice of Sarah Palin, John McCain hascompleted his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president tojust another representative of big oil. [...] Given the fact that SenatorMcCain deliberately avoided voting on all eight attempts to pass a billextending the vital tax credits and production subsidies to expand our windand solar industries, and given his support for lowering the gasoline tax ina reckless giveaway that would only promote more gasoline consumption andintensify our addiction to oil, and given his desire to make moreoil-drilling, not innovation around renewable energy, the centerpiece of hisenergy policy - in an effort to mislead voters that support for drillingtoday would translate into lower prices at the pump today - McCain hasforfeited any claim to be a green candidate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/opinion/03friedman.html?ref=opinion

-Life of Her Party
by MAUREEN DOWD
Unable to stop the onslaught of wild soap opera story lines erupting fromthe Palin family, the McCain campaign offered a new mantra: "Life happens."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/opinion/03dowd.html?ref=opinion


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

-Palin has not pushed creation science as governor
As a candidate for governor, Sarah Palin called for teaching creationismalongside evolution in public schools. But after Alaska voters elected her,Palin, now Republican John McCain's presidential running mate, kept hercampaign pledge to not push the idea in the schools.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090300511.html

-A Milestone for Gays, A Boon for Massachusetts
Nonresidents' Same-Sex Weddings Bring Economic Boost
The news flashed to Kathy Arminio as an instant electronic bulletin from agay rights advocacy group: New York Gov. David A. Paterson (D) had issued adirective ordering state agencies to recognize same-sex weddings performedin other jurisdictions. Within seconds of learning about it in May,Arminio, 51, called Kim Angotti, 38, her partner of six years, with thequestion she had long wanted to ask: "Do you want to get married?"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202682.html

-Impulse, Meet Experience
The word "experience" appears 91 times in the Federalist Papers, thosedistillations of conservative sense and sensibility. Madison, Hamilton andJay said that truths are "taught" and "corroborated" by experience. Thesewriters were eager to "consult" and be "led" by experience. They spoke of"indubitable" and "unequivocal" lessons from experience, the "testimony" ofexperience and "the accumulated experience of ages." "Accumulating"experience is "the parent of wisdom" and a "guide" that "justifies,""confirms" and can "admonish." America's Founders were empiricists andstudents of history who trusted "that best oracle of wisdom, experience,"which is humanity's "least fallible guide."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202441.html

-N. Korea Said to Restore Nuclear Site
TOKYO (AP) -- North Korea has begun to reassemble its main nuclear facility,citing a delayed removal from a U.S. list of terror sponsors, Japanese mediaand Fox News reported Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Koreas-Nuclear.html?hp

-2 Journalists Are Attacked in Russia
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) -- One journalist was shot and killed and anotherwas left with a fractured skull after a beating in Russia's troubled NorthCaucasus, and police and co-workers said Wednesday the two men were likelytargeted for their work.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Russia-Journalists-Attacked.html?hp

-Aides: Palin Interviewed Late in Game
One of two finalists for vice president, Palin not interviewed by chief ofvetting process until day before she was tapped.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090203462.html?hpid=topnews

-Obama Met With Fox News Executives
At a secret meeting with Barack Obama three months ago, Fox News ChairmanRoger Ailes says, he tried to clear the air with the Democratic senator bysaying that his organization was determined to be fair but would not be "inthe tank" for Obama's campaign. [...] Obama expressed concern about theway Fox was covering him. "I just wanted to know if I'm going to get a fairshake from Fox News Channel," Ailes recalled him saying. "Senator, you'rethe one who boycotted us," Ailes says he replied. "We're not the ones whoboycotted you. Nor did we retaliate for your boycott." [...] Afterresisting invitations for months, Obama now plans to appear on BillO'Reilly's prime-time Fox program on Thursday, the night that John McCaindelivers his acceptance speech at the Republican convention here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202730.html?hpid=topnews

-Southern Baptists and their Gender Double-Standard
Now that Southern Baptist leaders are embracing the idea of a woman leadingthis nation, will they rethink their rejection of the idea of a womanleading their congregations? Probably not. In an online interview withChristianity Today's Sarah Pulliam, the SBC's Richard Land -- who said he is"ecstatic" about the selection of Sarah Palin as Republican candidate forvice president -- threw holy water on any notion that a woman he considersqualified to lead the free world can lead him in prayer and worship. "Theonly restrictions we find in Scripture are, that for whatever reason womenare not to be in charge of a marriage and women are not to be in charge of achurch," explained Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention'sEthics & Religious Liberty Commission. "That has nothing to do withgovernor, or senator or the House of Representatives, or president, or vicepresident."
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/undergod/2008/09/southern_baptists_and_their_ge.html

-Dollar Gains Strength Against Euro As European Economies Shrink
The dollar on Tuesday rose to the highest level against the euro in almostseven months as crude oil fell and traders speculated that the FederalReserve's monetary policy would help the U.S. economy outperform Europe'sand Asia's.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090202624.html?hpid=sec-business

-Report Describes Careless Handling of U.S. Secrets: Gonzales Says He DoesNot Recall
Former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales told investigators that he couldnot recall whether he took home notes regarding the government's mostsensitive national security program and that he did not know they containedclassified information, despite his own markings that they were "topsecret -- eyes only," according to a Justice Department report releasedyesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090201029.html?hpid=sec-nation


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

-A lower legal drinking age? Health experts, college presidents debate
Both sides offer studies that support keeping or lowering the legal drinkingage from 21 to 18. GORDIE BAILEY JR. had been in college only one monthbefore he overdosed on alcohol. Urged on by members of a frat house he wasintent on joining, the 18-year-old drank until he passed out, was dumpedonto a couch and was found dead the next morning. The 2004 incident at theUniversity of Colorado was one of the approximately 1,700 alcohol-relateddeaths that occur among college students each year in the United States.They include traffic accidents, falls, suffocation, drowning and alcoholpoisoning. Hundreds of thousands of other students commit crimes, becomecrime victims, fail classes, make poor sexual decisions or sicken themselvesby drinking too much alcohol. In a survey published last year by theAmerican college Health Assn., just over one-third of college studentsadmitted they had binged on alcohol at least once in the previous twoweeks -- a number that appears to be rising.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/la-he-drinking1-2008sep01,0,7761047.story

-Study: US workers can expect skimpy base salary raises next year; biggerbumps in merit pay
U.S. workers can expect skimpy raises in their base salaries next year, buttop performers may still fatten their paychecks with merit compensation. Astudy released Tuesday by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consultingfirm, found base pay will rise by 3.8 percent in 2009, marking the seventhconsecutive year of flat growth.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-merit-pay-bumps,0,829502.story

-Former Fla. professor released after 5 years, awaits 2nd trial
A former Florida professor once accused of being a leading Palestinianterrorist has been released for the first time in more than five years.Immigration authorities released Sami Al-Arian on Tuesday. They were holdinghim for refusing to testify before a grand jury about a cluster of Muslimorganizations in northern Virginia.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-903flaprofessor,0,6996742.story


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

-Finding the cure abroad
Is ''medical tourism'' -- Americans' going abroad for cheaper treatments --good or bad? The answer is ''yes.'' It's both. But one thing is for sure:Medical tourism is here to stay. A new study by the Deloitte consulting firmforecasts that the number of Americans going abroad for care, 750,000 lastyear, will explode to 10 million by 2012.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/669563.html

-An evolving GOP approach to family values?
Dan Quayle struck a nerve in 1992 when he went after the TV series "MurphyBrown" by saying its depiction of a single mother was irresponsible and seta bad example for America. The Republican vice president said the fictionalcharacter was "mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child aloneand calling it just another 'lifestyle choice.'"
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/story/669788.html


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

-McCain's Obama-Palin Comparison Falls Short
Republican presidential candidate John McCain says his vice presidentialpick, Sarah Palin, was already an experienced government official while hisDemocratic rival, Barack Obama, was working as a community organizer.
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/cvn_mccain_fact_check/2008/09/02/127065.html

-Palin: average isn't good enough
She's not qualified to be president, and in picking her, McCain shows thathe has little respect for the presidency. So let us ask the question thatshould be on the mind of every thinking person in the world at this moment:If John McCain becomes the 44th president of the United States, what are theodds that a blood clot or falling object will make Sarah Palin the 45th?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-harris3-2008sep03,0,5745350.story

-Obama can't sway the black GOP faithful
There is nothing unusual about Republican Clarence McKee's criticism ofDemocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080902/NEWS/809020210/1105/NEWS&title=Obama_can_t_sway_the_black_GOP_faithful

-A stark choice on abortion
DURING a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania last March, Senator Barack Obamawas asked about teenagers and sexually transmitted diseases. He repliedthat "the most important prevention is education," including "informationabout contraception." Then he added: "Look, I've got two daughters - 9 yearsold and 6 years old. I'm going to teach them first of all about values andmorals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16."
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/03/a_stark_choice_on_abortion/?rss_id=Boston+Globe+--+Jeff+Jacoby+columns

-Tim Rutten: Palin's privacy versus her public stance
She, her husband and daughter got to make private decisions privately. Buther public views would deny that same right to other Americans. Howsensitive is Sen. John McCain's campaign about his presumptive running mate,Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin? Well, there's the fact that they appear unwillingto let her be alone with the media. God forbid anyone should ask about herviews on, say, global warming -- she doesn't believe that human activity hasanything to do with it. Perhaps they don't want anyone to hear her explainwhy she opposes hate-crime laws?
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rutten3-2008sep03,0,2319099.column?track=rss

-'Third-rate sexist' makes confession
I'm in trouble already. On a national television talk show I referred toAlaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain's choice to be his running mate,as a nice "young lady" who is probably not the best choice.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-oped0903pagesep03,0,1067203.column


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CONSERVATIVE ANDREW SULLIVAN QUOTES AN ALASKAN FROM WASILIA..
SARAH PALIN'S HOMETOWN.

-A Shameless Plug
If you want to read a deeper discussion that helps explain why the GOP isnow in a public mental breakdown, I remain proud of my 2006 book, "TheConservative Soul," which was widely scorned and reviled by the right whenit wasn't outright ignored. If you want to know why a once decent,honorable, if erratic figure like John McCain came to pick a total unknownwith a Down Syndrome baby as his replacement as war-president, you have tounderstand the immense importance of the Christianist base. McCain isn'tone of them, however much he tries to re-tell his life-story to make it so.They know it, he knows it, and he needed a religious running mate. He mighthave succeeded with Pawlenty, who is a solid pick that a mature andresponsible campaign would have selected in a heartbeat. Instead - partlyout of insane cynicism (did he really believe Hillary's voters would switchover to vote for Palin?), partly out of a shallow liking for a shallowreading of Palin's record, and partly out of pure negligence - he pickedPalin, barely knowing her. And so religious fundamentalism, as it alwayswill, swamps the frontal cortex required for effective governance and givesus this reality show disgrace as serious politics. Has America really cometo this? Yes it has. The debate over whether the Republican party is nowunfit for public office at a national level is now resolved. The longer,deeper explaination for this is in my book. One day, we will revive realconservatism. Right now, we have to ensure that this insane circusmasquerading as a serious political party is defeated.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/an-wasillan-on.html


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The Daily Dish
by Andrew Sullivan

-This was posted in the comments section on the Washington Independent byAlaskan and a Wasillan, Anne .Kilkenny, someone who has followed Sarah Palinvery, very closely - with too many city council meetings under her belt -not to say her piece. ...Kilkenny: Her experience is as mayor of a citywith a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years asgovernor of a state with about 670,000 residents. During her mayoraladministration most of the actual work of running this small city was turnedover to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator byparty power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble overprecipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign. Sarahcampaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years asMayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. Duringthose same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reducedprogressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxedeven food. ...Sullivan: The debate over whether the Republican party isnow unfit for public office at a national level is now resolved. The longer,deeper explaination for this is in my book. One day, we will revive realconservatism. Right now, we have to ensure that this insane circusmasquerading as a serious political party is defeated.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/an-wasillan-on.html


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McCain Doesn't Get It: Women are NOT that stupid
by Barbra Streisand
Maybe he was sick of the lack of media attention.maybe he had enough of thelate night talk show hosts poking fun at his age.maybe he realized thatbelonging to a party that has been associated with rich, white men was notgoing to connect with voters in this historical election year. Or maybe hewas just ready to take back some of the spotlight that has shined sobrightly on Barack Obama and the Democrats since the beginning of theDemocratic convention. Desperation can motivate people to make some prettycynical and hypocritical decisions. Whatever the reason, John McCain's HailMary-- in the form of Vice Presidential pick Governor Sarah Palin--sent avery clear message to America about how he views female voters. Women, hethinks, will vote another woman into office regardless of the candidate'svalues, experience and political positions. No one can dispute that thisdecision was micro-targeted to the small percentage of Independent andDemocratic women residing in the Rocky Mountain West, who strongly supportedHillary Clinton in the primary and still find themselves undecided as wemove into the general election. Unfortunately, what John McCain failed torealize is that after eight long and destructive years of George W. Bush,Dick Cheney and their cronies, American voters will not fall prey topolitical ploys once again.
http://www.barbrastreisand.com/index.php?page=statements&n_id=828


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Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/

-The Gay Political Scientist
A national survey of political scientists has found that many gay andlesbian scholars in the profession report that they have faceddiscrimination of various types, but many more have not or don't know.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/03/polisci

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