I commend Salon for once again acknowledging the existence of Cindy Sheehan, after a hiatus that began about the time she challenged Nancy Pelosi for a seat in the House of Representatives. For those who tire of her message that the wars for political and military control of nations on the other side of the planet are enormously wasteful and evil fiascoes, ultimately doomed to failure, all I can say is, TOO BAD! I haven't experienced raising a child only to have that young person's life snuffed out in his prime while serving an enterprise as fundamentally perverse as the Iraq invasion and occupation, but I can acknowledge the sense of grief and betrayal connected with this event.

Rather than drown her sorrows in drugs or alcohol, Ms. Sheehan decided to take on the world of corrupt politics, with its accompanying greed, lies, and violence, confronting it head on. Now this seems crazy to people leading a comfortable life, confining their protests to signing a few on-line petitions and writing an occasional letter to Salon. Her antics are embarrassing to those whose proximal prosperity depends on their connections with a system rooted in bribery and murder. She reminds us of our hypocrisy by demonstrating a life of true commitment to the principles of justice and peace.

We need to quit giving support to moral toads like Ms. Pelosi, Senator Feinstein, and President Obama, who have not severed their connections with the transnational corporate oligarchy, in whose interests interminable conflicts are waged. Cindy Sheehan has the moral clarity of one who no longer is willing to compromise and the energy to relentlessly pursue the vision of a world of fairness and mutual respect that always has and always will guide us to a beneficial social transformation.

Unemployment is running over 15% in my area. People are desperate. Even those with employer funded programs have had to chip in after the employers stopped paying for the annual double digit premium increases. Co-pays are up, coverage is down. Everyone I have spoken with on the issue is wondering what is taking Congress so long to pass the single payer plan, or, at least, the public option. The delay is costing people their savings, their homes, and their lives. Sure, Senator Joe Liebermann is in no hurry, but he has a good health plan that is equivalent to single-payer.

For us common folk up here in the hills, the delay in getting a fair, equitable, and affordable medical insurance program is maddening. Really, this should have been done years ago. And just like the Allies at the end of World War II did not give the Nazi leadership a place at the table in redrawing the map of post-war Europe, the abusive, piratical medical insurance companies have no ethical claim to any consideration in participating in the reform of the current mess.

The problem with private fire departments that will only fight fires in subscribers' buildings is that a fire in a neighboring "uninsured" building that could easily be extinguished would not be put out, resulting in city-wide conflagrations so often recorded in Nineteenth Century municipal histories.

An infectious disease is like a fire, spreading from one diseased host to the next. It is in everyone's interest that all infected people get prompt treatment instead of spending several days disseminating pathogens as they continue to show up at school and work. No one should hold back from getting strep throat, TB, flu, or any other infectious disease treated due to incurring a financial liability. We all have a stake in having these people treated.

On a broader scale, the more people that catch their chronic conditions at an early stage, things like diabetes and arthritis, the sooner they can get the treatment they need to recover their health and remain productive citizens instead of liabilities on public welfare.

"19 box-cutter-wielding Islamofascists attacked America". This account of the 9/11 attacks has more holes in it than the colander in my kitchen cabinet. The fact that Americans accepted and still accept this concoction has given its perpetrators vast encouragement in the further distortion and misinterpretation of world events, the end being to use the awesome might of the American military as a tool for expanding transnational corporate control of resources and markets. Until a fair and full investigation of 9/11 is conducted, not to confirm the explanation put forward by the Neocon liars, as the Keane Commission was charged to do, but to find out what really happened and why, American foreign policy will continue to be perverted by this evil hoax.

In case you hadn't noticed, the health insurance industry already has nearly a decade of "reform" behind it. They went from reasonable, affordable premiums and fairly decent coverage to premiums that can only be characterized as piratical, with an attended drop in the breadth of coverage. In 1999 I had was enrolled plan with very comprehensive coverage, no co-pays, and low deductibles, all full financed by my employer. Now I have a third-tier plan with a $30 copay, for which I have to pony up $250 out of my own pocket, in addition to what my employer pays. During this same time period, the profitability of the company has skyrocketed. If this is not piracy, it's at least extremely exploitive and abusive.

The health insurance companies should have no voice in the reforms being made. When they had the opportunity to proceed without regulation, they unscrupulously fleeced that American people. I say we don't give proven thieves more chances to pick our pockets. Don't listen to that wolf in the sheep outfit.

Some here may be old enough to remember the 1950's iconic visual joke of a man in a toilet bowl with just his upper half visible, reaching for the flushing handle while speaking those immortal words. Reminds me of the post-Bush Republican Party, seeming to do anything and everything to alienate present and future voters. We need a "loyal opposition" party, but not one that represents only boors and bigots.