Back in the heady days of protesting "Bush's Wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan, Cindy Sheehan frequently drew the attention of Salon writers as she continued to harass "The President" over his misguided and destructive policies. Then she committed the unforgivable sin of running against Bush-enabler and protector Nancy Pelosi for a seat in Congress. She became an instant "unperson" on Salon, thereby demonstrating that Salon indeed has the power to shift the limelight on to or away from personalities of political note.

Do all of us long-suffering Salon readers a favor now and consign Ms. Palin to the same kind of oblivion, which she deserves infinitely more than Ms. Sheehan. While Ms. Palin's ignorant and irrational gaffes provide us with some comic relief from time-to-time, the empty space between her ears does not really warrant the coverage it gets on these web pages. She is ultimately an embarrassment to her Party, her Nation, and the whole human species. We would all be much more edified if instead of giving Ms. Palin regular coverage, you would occasionally buttonhole a random passer-by on the street and publish an interview covering his of her opinions on current issues. Even the most pathetic homeless tramp would doubtless be better informed and provide a more coherent and rational view of what needs to be done than the former governor of Alaska.

They just don't share the vision of the Founders that the best government is a republic guaranteeing specific enumerated rights to citizens. They don't think that the "lower echelon" of citizenry has anything to contribute to governance other than tax revenues and their bodies to be sacrificed in wars to establish economic and military hegemony. Their understanding of freedom is the same as Hitler's: the ability to pursue policy objectives by any means deemed necessary, without the constraints of international agreements or military weakness. They see the infinite expansion of authority and power as the natural consequence of its exercise. For these people, the dominance in wealth and power they enjoy and the self-importance thus conferred upon them are reward unto themselves. Their activity throughout American history has tended toward the creation of an Empire.

Republicans (and here I do NOT refer exclusively to members of the Republican Party)understand that the technological and, especially, the social innovations of America come not from the ruling elite, but from the common people. They therefore understand that the rights guaranteed absolutely in the U.S. Constitution not only enhance the enjoyment of life, but insure that social experimentation is able to continue untrammeled, with the more successful results then available for general adoption to the benefit of the vast majority. Few seem to be aware of the intensely practical aspects of liberty, which make it not just a kind of extra benefit, but an essential part of the engine of change allowing social adaptation to evolving circumstances.

It is the responsibility of Americans to choose candidates for public office who understand and support civil liberties as essential to the fulfillment of America's social heritage and to reject those who justify the infringement of liberties on grounds of "security", a position which historically has lead to political instability and violence.

In my remote hinterland community there is close to unanimous support for the public option. Any politician who condemns people in this community to the agony of dealing with private insurance companies after having held out the life preserver of hope for a public option is going to find his or her ass canned by the voters. Is anyone really listening in DC, or do they just spend all their time inhaling each other's farts?

Yes, the government needs to fund a crash program to build a Time Machine, so agents of the Obama Administration's Department of Justice can go back to Nuremberg, Germany, in late 1945. There they will find the leaders of Nazi Germany under indictment for various crimes against humanity, war crimes, etc. In order to justify Attorney General Holder's approach to the torture prosecution issue, the Nazi big brass needs to be liberated and given free transport to South America or anywhere else they would like to go. After all, for the most part they didn't shoot or torture anyone. Instead, devote all the energy and resources of the Allied Tribunal to identifying, prosecuting, and punishing the people who actually did the shooting and torturing. Prosecute and imprison German war veterans and concentration camp guards, but let Goering, Kaltenbrunner, Keitel, Ribbentrop, and Streicher go free.

That way the Attorney General's approach to the torture issue will not conflict with legal precedent, as it apparently does at this time.