He supported the invasion of Vietnam as a youth; he supported the invasion of Iraq as an adult. Almost every paragraph contains some example of brown-nosing the people in power for his personal gain.

Lines like "He has submitted to masters like Wolfowitz and Cheney because he respects them, just as a Zen novitiate submits to a meditation master or a young violinist reveres the prodigious talent of her teacher" make me feel quite ill.

Do you not understand that Cheney and Wolfowitz are not masters or prodigies but incompetent and evil people who are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of true innocents?

Seems like there are a few vocal individuals who don't like this strip. Well, there are thousands of us who do and just simply haven't bothered to comment.

Some of Tom Tomorrow's cartoons have stuck with me for years...

(Also: someone wrote: "Perhaps America’s internal tension could diminish if we stay focused on those areas where we AGREE". That's a great idea -- but I can't come up with one issue of any significance whatsoever where I agree with the Conservatives. War? Civil liberties? Science? Balanced budgets? Israel? Pollution? Global warming? Birth control? Religion in the schools?)

"He and his friends really like this Ultimate Fighting Championship show on TV."

[...]

"I asked him if he ever watched the news or read the papers and he said, "No, I figure that if I need to know something, someone will tell me.""

This poor man has paid a price that no one should ever pay -- however, considering the casualty ratio between Iraqis and Americans is greater than 10 to 1, the chances are that he has caused an injury at least as bad as this one to someone else.

Perhaps the articles are hiding information, perhaps he's now questioning the war and the deaths and mutilations that he has certainly caused.

But it doesn't appear as if he has considered the consequences of his actions on others, even after the terrible results that ensued -- it seems as if his commitment to violence and lack of personal responsibility is unchanged.

"It's so facile to judge Ty and the others. It's hardly even sporting. you've got hindsight."

You're saying that Ty never, ever has to think about the consequences of his actions? I mean, he should have the advantage of hindsight now, it is today, the damage is done.... and yet he has (apparently -- we all know newspaper articles don't portray the whole truth) not reconsidered his commitment to violence.

For every Ty, there are ten Abus in Iraq who are just as bad off -- except that they have no access to medical care or even things we take for granted like reliable access to clean water or electricity. They didn't volunteer to go away and kill people, without making any attempt to find out why -- war came to them.

Thanks for the shout-out, david sugarman!

In fencing, not every attack has to be at a decisively different point from a previous strike.

Keep it up -- they're weakening!

...in 2003!

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29893

"'Well, You Try To Reconstruct Iraq,' Says U.S. Defensive Dept.

[...]

""Well, it looks like you American people have figured it all out, then," the statement read in part. "There's no need for the old government to do anything, because the citizens know just how to handle this whole reconstruction-of-Iraq thing. Well, go ahead! If it's so simple, and if you're so smart, then what's stopping you? Come on.""

I do love your work -- but this part of your advice, Cary, is crazy talk.

I've worked in finance and I know many people who have worked in law. There is no room there for a 50-year old trading assistant or a 50-year old legal intern. Of course, this exposes the intellectual poverty of those fields -- in a better world, the perspective of a smart 50-year old would be extremely valuable in either field -- but it doesn't change the practical truth.

Sure, there are jobs around the edges, like accounting (but that isn't really finance) or paralegal (but that takes more study and doesn't really pay that much better than the writer is making now).

Just as well, these fields are both filled with antisocial personalities with poorly developed ethical systems. (I only ended up in finance for a few years since I have a math degree... and yes, I am apologizing.)

To the musician: cultivate your strengths and see how to create another career. Try to make a little better money out of the things you already do. And avoid get-rich-quick schemes almost every time.

And the best of luck to you. I'm a musician with a day job and I don't get to play very much music at all. You deserved better from your skill. I hope you get even undeserved success in your future endeavours.

...because you get a lot of entertainment and a chance to control your own destiny.

Roulette or the crackpipe of the slots might have only a few percent rake but each turn takes just a few seconds -- you can put an awful lot of money into a one-armed bandit in the time that it takes to run horses round a track.

And you actually have to think a little when you bet on a horse. Pulling a lever requires no cogitation at all.