CHENEY THREATENS RUSSIA

We don't need Dick Cheney stirring up trouble with Russia over its recent action in Georgia to protect civilians who would rather be Russian than Georgian. Cheney was in Lake Como today denouncing the Russians and saying that NATO would not allow Russia to get away with its actions.

Roger Runnigen reports today in Bloomberg:

"Vice President Dick Cheney increased U.S. pressure on Russia, saying its attack on Georgia last month and ``bullying'' of other former Soviet states risk a confrontation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."

Fortunately it appears that other European statesmen are taking a calmer and saner approach, eschewing the military option so favored by war mongers like Cheney in favor of a less dangerous diplomatic approach.

Writes Runnigen:

"The Georgia crisis ``can only be solved politically and not with warships,'' French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters today after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Avignon, France. France brokered the cease-fire that ended the five-day war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia, though Russian troops remain inside Georgian territory in defiance of Western calls to pull out."

Runnigen reports on more of Cheney's militaristic threats and bluster:

"Cheney accused Russia of ``bullying others'' while using its oil wealth to fuel its own economic progress.
"``They cannot presume to gather up all the benefits of commerce, consultation and global prestige, while engaging in brute force, threats or other forms of intimidation against sovereign countries.'' "

Cheney is dangerous. Americans still must suffer more than four months of him before his term is up. Let's hope he does not start another war during this time.

RICE VISITS LIBYA, U.S. HAS "NO PERMANENT ENEMIES"

The BBC reports today that Condoleeza Rice is visiting Libya, the first American high official to do so in some 50 years.

Rice makes the inane comment that "America has no permanent enemies." But America should not have any "enemies." Then the U.S. need not worry whether they are permanent or only temporary. Americans should not view Iran as an "enemy." Iran has done nothing to the U.S. in terms of dropping bombs or killing Americans. The same for North Korea, Syria or a fortiori Venezuela. True Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has called George W. Bush "Satan" and similar names. But U.S. foreign policy should not characterize Venezuela as the "enemy" because Chavez insulted our great leader.

BBC Radio also reported that Gazprom, the Russian gas behemoth, had recently tried to enter into an exclusive agreement with Libya and Qaddafi to develop Libyan oil and gas fields.

The desire to keep open channels to Libyan oil might explain why Condoleeza Rice is so anxious to visit Libya and offer tokens of friendship.

REPUBLICAN "VALUES" ARE MEAN, SELFISH, VINDICTIVE

BBC Radio had a report today from St. Paul and the Republican Convention. The BBC reporter was asking delegates why they are in fact Republicans. Most of them answered that it was the values of the party, such as family values, including marriage, anti-abortion, one man, one woman, and the sort. But there were other "values" as well: a strong military, self reliance, low taxes. Unspoken were still others : anti-immigrant, anti-Social Security, anti-government.

Speaking of immigration policy, the Republican Platform includes items like being against states granting undocumented workers a drivers license. Also included a provision against amnesty, a wish for more speedy and effective deportations and a English-as-the-official-language plank.

All in all, the "values' enunciated by the Republicans are not my values. That's why I am a Democrat.

Republicans like to make much about family values but then these turn out to be discrimination against those who have non-traditional families. They talk about the sanctity of life from the moment of conception, but yet have no qualms dropping bombs on the "enemy" that kill hundreds of children. They believe the family is sacred yet they are quick to deport the father of an immigrant family because he came here looking for a better life for his family, thus breaking up that family and separating parents from children.

Republicans believe in dismantling Social Security Retirement Income program because they say each person should be in charge of his own retirement savings. But what happens to the people who wind up without any personal savings? No answer from Republican values for this one.

Republicans say there is too much government, yet there are intractable problems of society that only government can handle. Like helping people caught in a natural disaster such as a hurricane. Or regulating food safety. Or building infrastructure. Or providing retirement income based on a person's working history and contributions.

No, Republican "values" are not my values. Rather they reflect who Republicans are and what they stand for: extremist views, mean, vindictive, petty and militaristic.

COMMENTS ABOUT SARAH PALIN WERE SEXIST IN RETROSPECT BUT CHILDREN NEED PARENTING

I remarked several posts ago on why I thought it was improbable and desperate for John McCain to choose Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee. I wondered about how Palin could do this with five children.

I recognize this comment now as sexist and inappropriate.

However, I still do believe that parents have an obligation to be parents to their children. So I would fault both Sarah Palin and her husband in the event they both took jobs that took away their parenting role to their children.

I think Sarah Palin has just as much right as her husband or any man to take a job and pursue a career. But there must be someone in Palin's family who can be a parent. In view of Sarah's choice to hold political office, Todd, Sarah's husband, needs to commit himself to be the parent at home raising the children, and especially to take care of the four-month old who has Down syndrome.

GEORGIA & SAAKASHVILI START WAR, THEN GET BILLION DOLLARS FROM U.S. FOR RECONSTRUCTION

Now the United States rewards Georgia and Saakashvili by giving grants for reconstruction of infrastructure so Georgia can rebuild what was destroyed in the two-week war with Russia. What lessons should we learn from this?

For Georgia the lesson is clear: start a war of aggression against those in South Ossetia and Abhkazia who want independence. Send in the army, the tanks, the soldiers. Fire missiles and artillery at the civilian population to force them to give up claims of independence. Kill hundreds of civilians. Then claim victimhood after Russia enters the fighting and kicks your ass. Receive a reward from the U.S., get one billion from George Bush, Dick Cheney and Condoleeza Rice in American money.

Something is wrong with the above story line.

77% REPUBLICAN DELEGATES WANT TAX REDUCTIONS OVER UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

I mentioned the NY Times/CBS poll in an earlier post today. One other point stands out.

The poll asked, which is most important to you: that the government provide adequate health insurance for everyone or that taxes be lowered. A whopping 77% of Republican delegates choose lower taxes. That is shameful! To put reduction of taxes in front of universal health care means that these Republicans don't give a damn about those who cannot afford health care premiums. Let them go to the emergency room! That's the Republican response and it's mean and incredibly selfish.

To be fair, only 53% of Republican voters choose tax reductions over providing universal health coverage, but it is still a majority of Republicans who think this way. How can anyone vote Republican when they would put personal profit over allowing everyone to have adequate health care?

POLL FINDS 63% REPUBLICAN VOTERS APPROVE GEORGE BUSH'S PRESIDENCY

Yesterday's The New York Times carried the a report written by Jackie Calmes and Megan Thee on the results of the latest NYTimes/CBS poll.

Democrats should focus on the poll's results because they clearly show that many if not most Republicans are extremists in their views towards the most important questions facing the electorate.

For example, 79% of Republican convention delegates approve of the way that George W. handles his job as president. But how about Republican voters? Some 63% approve George Bush. I find this amazing and at the same time troubling. How could anyone approve Bush or his management of the White House? This means that most Republicans approve George Bush's use of waterboarding and torture, his predilection for extraordinary rendition, his denial of Constitutional rights, his locking up prisoners without trial or charge, without benefit of counsel, without access to the federal courts. And how about Bush's sexing up the evidence to justify the War in Iraq? How can anyone, even a Republican, approve these un-American ways, practices and values?

Yet these same Republicans are nothing if not consistent. As to the war in Iraq, 70% of Republican voters approve taking military action in Iraq. Republican delegates approve 80%. Do these guys every read the papers? Do they really believe the Bush bull that Iraq is and was the center of the "war on terror?" Even though Saddam had nothing to do with bin Laden and even though Saddam was more secularist than Islamist, people like Dick Cheney still try to claim a connection. Like Dick Cheney, these Republicans must get all their news from FOX. Together with their energy mantra, Drill, drill, drill," they also seem to shout, like John McCain, their militaristic "Bomb, bomb, bomb," in response to the world's problems.

ATTACK SARAH PALIN AS ANOTHER MEAN REPUBLICAN EXTREMIST

This is my third post today on Sarah Palin. But I want to bring to your attention a perceptive blog by George Lakoff on The Huffington Post today.

Lakoff believes that Democrats misunderstand the whole electoral process when they stress issues and world realities. The election is not about objective realities but about voters' perceptions of code words. In other words, the Democrats must frame the issues in terms of voters' perceptions.

Writes Lakoff:

"Election campaigns matter because who gets elected can change reality. But election campaigns are primarily about the realities of voters' minds, which depend on how the candidates and the external realities are cognitively framed. They can be framed honestly or deceptively, effectively or clumsily. And they are always framed from the perspective of a worldview."

So it is not about Palin's supposed lack of experience or knowledge of foreign affairs, but about how voters perceive her. Lakoff believes that it is important for Democrats to correctly and accurately frame Palin as just another Republican extremist meany. Palin is just another Bush/Cheney clone who thinks everything can be solved at the barrel of a gun. Someone who wants to privatise Social Security because she chooses not to see people in need who need Social Security retirement income to just get by. Someone who thinks that the hospital emergency room is the answer to people who cannot afford health insurance.

Palin is a Republican mean extremist who would gladly deprive people of food stamps at the same time she gives upper incomes a tax break. Someone in the mold of Bush/Cheney who thinks that campaigners for civil rights are just uncivil troublemakers. Or like Phil Graham, McCain's economic advisor, who thinks those who complain about the economy and the housing crisis are whiners.

Talk about mean and extremist. Can anyone better fit the description than Sarah Palin?

SECOND POST ON SARAH PALIN TODAY - WE DON'T KNOW HER OPINIONS ON MAJOR ISSUES

I posted today about Sarah Palin's lack of qualifications to be vice president. Some may think my criticisms unfair and sexist, but I had the same qualms about George W. and look what happened. The electorate chose someone "likeable" (Bush that bully!) over competent and knowledgeable Al Gore. I guess it is possible that the electorate will find Palin acceptable and deserving to be elected, but I certainly do not, not at this time. And I fear the same disaster in foreign and domestic policy, the same melt down, the same disregard for Constitutional protections if Palin gets in as what happened when Americans elected Bush and Cheney.

The electorate needs to know Palin's opinions. Does anyone know how she feels about Iran? Or about Russia? (No it is not enough to say that Palin is governor of Alaska which is the state nearest to Russia). How would she get American troops out of Iraq? What is her attitude towards Palestinians? Towards Israel and its new settlements?

And on the domestic front, what are her plans for Social Security? Does she want to privatize it the way that McCain and Bush propose? And what about domestic eavesdropping without FISA court approval? And what does she think about immigration and ICE's treatment of immigrants caught up in those dreadful raids?

Does she believe in waterboarding or other "enhanced interrogation methods?" How does she feel about depriving Guantanamo prisoners of Constitutional rights such as habeas corpus or the right to counsel? Does she believe in the use of force as the main tool for American diplomacy? Does she agree with Bush and Cheney that military force makes right? Does she approve of the Bush doctrine on pre-emptive war?

These are some of the things no one knows yet about Sarah Palin.

I don't think that people whether male or female are going to vote for her without knowing where she stands. So far, she seems not to have expressed many opinions other than drill for more oil.

I still think this selection of Palin shows how desperate McCain must be about winning the forthcoming election.

MC CAIN MUST BE DESPERATE TO PICK SARAH PALIN

Steve Clemons writing in his blog The Washington Note has an interesting post on Sarah Palin. Steve thinks that Palin can do damage to Obama and that she should not be underestimated. I left a note on his blog and here it is:

"Hi Steve, I cannot believe women are going to find Sarah Palin attractive and dynamic enough to vote for her. What is her vita? That she was a governor of Alaska! Is she capable of becoming president? Does anyone really think she is! And how about her five kids all under 17?

"Sure Palin is articulate and bright, but to run for vice president is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?

"McCain must be desperate.

"As for Obama and Biden, of course they should treat up with respect, avoid being condescending or disrespectful."