NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST December 09, 2008

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Hopefully!!!! We're back. If we don't show up with Ray's List, you'll know it isn't for lack of trying.

Best,
Ray and Michael

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Forwarded from Sharon Goldenburg

-New Rule Lifts Ban on Firearms in National Parks
The Bush administration has issued a new rule allowing concealed weapons in national parks. People will soon be able to carry concealed, loaded guns in most national parks and wildlife refuges. The Bush administration said Friday it is overturning a 25-year-old federal rule that severely restricts loaded guns in national parks.
http://www.truthout.org/120708E


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

-Washington Takes Risks With Its Auto Bailout Plans
The realignment of the auto industry described by Barack Obama sounds perilously close to a word no one in his camp wants to say: nationalization.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/economy/09nationalize.html?hp


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

-FBI Arrests Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
FBI agents this morning arrested Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (D) and his chief of staff on conspiracy and bribery charges, including allegations that the governor was seeking to benefit financially from his appointment of a successor to the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. The arrest of Blagojevich and his top aide, John Harris, capped a lengthy investigation into public corruption at the highest levels of state government.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/09/AR2008120900987.html

-A Vote for Senator Caroline
On the question of Caroline Kennedy for Senate, my head says no, on balance. My heart says yes! Yes! Right now, as you might guess from the hedging on the former and the exclamation points on the latter, my heart is winning.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803294.html

-A Whitewash for Blackwater?
The federal manslaughter indictment of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards in the horrific massacre of more than a dozen Iraqi civilians in Baghdad may look like an exercise in accountability, but it's probably the exact opposite -- a whitewash that absolves the government and corporate officials who should bear ultimate responsibility.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803297.html

-Obama's Military Bridge Builder
In naming retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki as veterans affairs secretary, President-elect Barack Obama made what may be the most politically and morally significant choice of his transition.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120803293.html


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

-Jeb Bush doesn't need to be a senator. But the Senate could use Jeb Bush.
When the former Florida governor spoke at the National Review Institute's "Conservative Summit" in January 2007, many in the audience came to the same conclusion: If his surname hadn't been Bush, he would have had an inside track to the 2008 presidential nomination. 2006 had been a punishing year for Republicans coast to coast - but not in Florida, where candidates proudly identifying themselves as "Jeb Bush Republicans" had held their own.
Bush left office with a 60 percent approval rating.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MGM0ZGVkNmUxMDBmZWZmMTcwZmQ1OGRjYmI2OWEwYjU=#more

-Outside Pressure Grows for GM to Oust Wagoner
General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner is coming under increasing pressure from outside the company to resign as part of any broad bailout of the auto maker by the federal government. On Sunday, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), a supporter of emergency loans for Detroit, suggested Mr. Wagoner should go if the government follows through and provides billions of dollars to help the auto giant restructure and return to profitability.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122868452234486231.html

-Chris Matthews, Please Run For U.S. Senate
Move Over, Palin -- He'd Be Another Blessing For Journalists
This is an open letter to Chris Matthews, the often outspoken and always unpredictable MSNBC anchor: I sure hope you follow through with the tease that you are weighing a run for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in two years.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/05/business/marketwatch/main4649450.shtml?source=RSS&attr=HOME_4649450


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