NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - October 29, 2008

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Set your clocks back this weekend - Saturday night!

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Barney Frank Breaks Taboo on Military Spending*
When a Congress member steps forward and courageously articulates a forbidden truth that is absolutely necessary for our survival and well-being (and by "our" I mean our species, not just our nation), he must be praised, Rewarded, and defended at all costs, without question or hesitation. This is the situation we are in with Congressman Barney Frank having just blurted out the obvious but taboo fact that the U.S. military budget must be cut. "If we are going to get the deficit under control without slashing every domestic program, this is a necessity," Frank said, proposing to cut military spending by 25 percent. Frank has already been attacked by the only presidential candidate who, during each of the three debates, suggested cutting military spending: John McCain.
http://afterdowningstreet.org/node/37179


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

-2 Rivals' Plans on Fiscal Issue Add to Deficits
Senator John McCain's tax and spending proposals would create larger annual budget deficits than those of Senator Barack Obama, analysts say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29fiscal.html?hp

-Sleepless in Tehran
THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
The collapse of oil prices should give the United States leverage with Iran, but it should be used smartly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/opinion/29friedman.html?ref=opinion

-End of the Road for Ted Stevens
Voters in Alaska should turn Senator Ted Stevens out. If they do not, the Senate must expel him.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/opinion/29wed2.html?ref=opinion

-Editorial: Curbing Speech at Quinnipiac
People who follow politics know Quinnipiac University as the home of the polling institute that bears its name. But lately it has been making a name for itself - a bad name - for a different reason.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/opinion/29wed3.html?ref=opinion

-Win or Lose, Many See Palin as Future of Party
Whether the Republican presidential ticket wins or loses on Tuesday, a group of prominent conservatives are planning to meet the next day to discuss the way forward, and whatever the outcome, Gov. Sarah Palin will be high on the agenda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29palin.html

-Young, Republican and Inspired by Palin
Of the 2,300 undergraduates at Wellesley College, 250 are on the mailing list for the campus Republicans; around 20 show up to weekly meetings. But four of them, along with eight women and three men from Harvard, packed onto a bus one recent morning and headed here to ring doorbells for the McCain-Palin campaign.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29wellesley.html

-On Campuses, McCain Supporters Are Running on a Shoestring and Conviction
Andrew Natalo, a 21-year-old junior at Pennsylvania State University, carefully prepared for the weekly Students for McCain meeting. He reserved an extra-large classroom that could seat 100 students. He invited the rival College Democrats, so the two sides could have a friendly debate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/us/politics/29youth.html


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

-How Common Is the Hatred?
I recently wrote a column about the rage that seems to be directed toward Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The source of the rage, I concluded, was a dwindling band of racial and religious diehards who have seen their best days.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/10/_i_recently_wrote_a.html

-Redneck Woman, Hell, Yeah
It's all in how you say it. Does it trip off the tongue with affection in the spirit of bonhomie? Or does it slip through a smirk of contempt, betraying an elitism that Republicans have managed to equate with having attended college and actually learned something. Or "learnt," if that makes your jeans fit better.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2008/10/redneck_woman_hell_yeah.html

-The Real Problem With Obama's Tax Plan
We've heard a lot this month about how Sen. Barack Obama's tax plans would affect Joe the Plumber -- the Ohio man who recently asked the Democratic nominee whether Obama planned to raise his taxes. Opponents of Obama seized on the incident to argue that his middle-class tax cuts are a scam. Some have even claimed that he has proposed tax increases for people with incomes as low as $32,000. Obama's supporters responded that the tax cuts are real (and noted that Joe is not a licensed plumber). The entire episode has only added to the confusion over what Obama is proposing for middle-class taxes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/28/AR2008102802955.html

-Clues in the Mist
What the Stump Speeches Really Tell Us
When you strip away the cheap lines and petty attacks from presidential campaign stump speeches, you usually find a deeper layer of . . . cheap lines and petty attacks. This rhetorical form generally is not a banquet of insight or a feast of reason. The purpose of these speeches is to excite enthusiasm in a swing state while breaking into the news cycle by exploiting your opponent's most recent campaign stumbles.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/28/AR2008102802952.html


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

-The McCain fan who wasn't mugged
By LEONARD PITTS JR.
lpitts@miamiherald.com
It smelled worse than rotting garbage in triple digit heat, but I'm not surprised some folks swallowed it anyway. Meaning the story that was a mini-sensation for about 15 minutes last week: the McCain campaign worker supposedly mugged by a black man in Pittsburgh. For those who missed it, the details are as follows. Ashley Todd, 20, claimed she was accosted by a 6'4'' black man who demanded money. When said black man saw a John McCain bumpersticker on her car, he became enraged and, in an apparent effort to make her support Barack Obama, carved a ''B'' on her cheek.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/745743.html


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

-AP Poll: Obama leads McCain in 6 of 8 swing states
Highlights of Associated Press-GfK polls of likely voters on the presidential race conducted in eight contested states: FLEXING MUSCLE Democrat Barack Obama had a solid lead in six of the eight states surveyed: Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. He and Republican John McCain were even in two others: Florida and North Carolina.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/10/29/ap_poll_obama_leads_mccain_in_6_of_8_swing_states/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news

-Ted Stevens verdict: 'A tough day for Alaska'
Republican leaders call for the convicted GOP senator to quit before the election. Back home, many are still fans. Reporting from Anchorage -- No one, it seemed, was eager to mention it: Four candidates were at the table for Tuesday's debate at Anchorage West High School, all of them running against U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, but Stevens himself was nowhere to be seen.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stevens29-2008oct29,0,1543161.story?track=rss

-How John McCain ran against himself
The maverick of days past might be deadlocked with Obama now if he hadn't let the Republican right hijack the Straight Talk Express.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/29/mccain_2000/index.html


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