"By the end of the 20th century, more than 250,000 cases of HIV/AIDS were associated, either directly or indirectly, with the use of unsterile syringes by injection drug users. Still, the federal government refuses to lift its ban on funding for life-saving needle exchange programs.(5) More than one-third of all AIDS cases - and more than one-half of those among women and children - are linked to injection drug use. Despite numerous government studies showing that needle exchange programs reduce risky injection behavior without increasing illegal drug use, such programs remain underfunded, underavailable, and illegal in many states and localities."

Imagine my surprise. Me, a registered Democrat having already cast my absentee ballot for Obama/Biden gets a letter from Sarah the Annointed.

First off, it's dated "Wednesday Morning" which is a little vague, and unecessary. So I'm immediately suspicious.

She writes, "From small towns to big cities across America, I see people ....who ask only for the opportunity to work hard, raise their families and live their lives as they see fit."

Sarah forgets that people are really wanting better health care, better schools for their kids, and a helluva lot less money spent on warfare in Iraq.

Then she goes on, "We Republicans reject the Democrats' fearful and pessimistic mentality".

Sarah forgets that Republicans are masters at promoting fear and pessimism and Republican economics and Iraq have given rise to the feeling that Republicans are, indeed, the cause of much of the fear and pessimism today.

Moving on, Sarah repeats the timeworn Republican blather: "When we are able to get our message past the liberal mainstream media filter".

Sarah, talk radio, Fox News and the WSJ Editorials are almost 100% Republican bias so please don't dredge up the "liberal media" crap.

And she adds: "Please help provide the resources we need to battle back against the Democrats and their same old tired-and-failed policies of the past".

Sarah must be referring the the policies of the GOP which has been the majority Party for most of Bush's term and in Congress under Clinton.

As we can see on a Bay Area Map, El Cerrito occupies a strategic area relative to nearby communities. There are no distinct borders separating the many Bay Area towns, except San Quentin. They have a rather well-defined (and protected) border, but I digress.

So the Mayor of El Cerrito has to be a diplomat, constantly dealing with encroachment threats from neighboring towns, juridictional disputes over fire protection and law enfortcement and transportation issues caused by one of the most insane commuting environments in this world, and possibly most other worlds.

Pollution is not a small matter either. Do you know that on most days a fart originating in San Francisco will eventually find its way to the El Cerrito area? There are 700,000 well-fed folks in SF so you can see the magnitude of that problem and that is one that Sarah has not dealt with, I'll bet.

So the Mayor of El Cerrito has to deal with a population and related issues at least the equal of anything in Alaska, except that it doesn't snow in El Cerrito.

If my math works, that $257. represents a 0.09% tax increase under Obama's plan.

Bob the Banker switching to a different brand of peanut butter will more than make up the loss.

This may seem like peanuts (sorry about the pun)but the full benefit of this will be realized when these monetary challenges are presented to sixth-graders resulting in an entire generation of tax-savvy adults.

Thus fulfilling Obama's pledge to improve education for the children.

The Palin line about the Bush Administration irrelevancy and the McCain campaign's constant references to Ayers and the Weather Underground is priceless.

Do these tragic people ever look at themselves?

Your post is insulting.

If you want to see biased manipulation by the "media" continue watching Fox News.

Obama's election will put an end to the Republican mismanagement and Constitutional abuses that have occurred over the past seven+ years.

That is guaranteed, and that is something that McCain and Palin are powerless to change.

The Republicans are sowing the seeds to ensure that they will be a minority party for the forseeable future.

So, let them spew lies and hate. Let Alaska pay for Sarah's kids' travel, and let the RNC buy her wardrobe.

Meanwhile Obama moves ahead with a possible landslide victory.

McCain is campaigning over a foundation of Bush Administration failures and downright malfeaseance. The icing on the cake is Palin, who just recently mislead third-graders by telling them that "the vice president runs the Senate and presides over Senate deliberations", as if the VP has Senate duties beside breaking tie votes.

Is the GOP infected with a new strain of virus that attacks the reasoning power of the brain?

said "I thank God I was not born a Republican".

When you think about that, you have to admire the simple truth that it reveals, and that it offers an explanation for some of the questions posed by Keillor.

Why would someone vote for Bush? According to Mencken, the decision to vote for Bush is not one derived from logical, unbiased thought but rather just the opposite.

My personal belief and much of this is based upon my acquaintance with Republicans. They're nice people but they want simple, direct answers to problems. Nuance is perceived as weakness.

Conservative churches are their university. The world was created in six days. We all (black, white, red, yellow) descended from a white couple known as Adam and Eve and all evil grew from Eve eating an apple.

Sarah is a Biblical name so Sarah Palin must be wise and honorable.

She answered a third-grader's question about the VPs duties incorrectly.

Palin should retake the Civics exam.

Inbreeding manifests itself in many ways and Marcia's condition is not a rarity, especially in small, isolated communities.

Actual brain weights have been tracked where inbreeding occurs and the results show a 28.5% brain loss in that general population sample.