I don't know how many posters here are aware that many of Cary's letters wind up quoted, in part or in full, over at Steve Gilliard's News Blog (a great blog for politix junkies)

http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/

It's really entertaining to compare/contrast the responses between the two sites (SG's posters are often less judgemental and more supportive than those here).

If I cross-post the same response, am I plagiarising? If so, whom?

Anyway, over there a whole lot of posters were suggesting that LW do a stint in the service, or join a trade or several different ones for a few years. My .02?

Reality contact: Two things...

One: the harsh economic realities of life in almost any "creative" field -- writing, art, acting, dancing, video/film -- are that less than 1% are highly successful in economic terms (though the members of that sliver are often fabulously wealthy); somewhere around 4% can make a modest-to-fair living; and the other 95% will have to work day or night jobs to subsidize their passion.

And for that reason, there has to BE a passion. If LW hasn't already spent hours of most days writing/sketching/singing/whatever for the sheer joy of it, or because he's compelled by his inner genius (or demons) to do so, he's probably never going to be either good enough or able to work hard enough to make it in his chosen "creative" field. Better that he realize this sooner than later.

and

B: I respect all the suggestions upthread [at SG's blog; only read a few here so far, sorry] to join the service, or to work in the trades, or to temp; all good ways to stabilize his life, help him find his lodestone, and cover the rent as he does so. But nobody's yet suggested what might be the best single focus: he needs to get a job in sales. And I mean commissioned sales, not clerking -- jobs where you don't sell, you don't eat.

Two reasons for this. First, depending upon what he's selling (hey, there's always CutCo), he'll meet a whole lotta different people to talk to and learn from and get the grist for his creative mills. But even more important: if he DOES wind up wanting to do anything creative... or not, in which case even more so... knowing how to be persuasive, how to pitch ideas so that others will buy them, is a crucial skill for any career or profession. Anyone who is hoping to work for themselves AND anyone who winds up doing the corporate thing -- in short, almost any adult work -- requires the abiity to present, and to persuade.

Selling is a fundamentally different kind of communication from almost all other modes (there's a lot of overlap with teaching, and, it could be argued, with seduction, but those are other posts), and anyone deficient in those skills is disadvantaged in the market. It also demands a certain kind of personality, or at least the ability to emulate it, and if LW doesn't have it, he's going to need to develop that part of his character. A sales job will both provide that and demand that of him.

WhatEVER LW winds up wanting to do, his success will be enhanced and leveraged by a stint of selling for a living.

I wish him luck -- he'll need that too.

Or, to be more precise, not JUST the war -- not even primarily the war.

For most of us, the war is secondary -- there are lots of Dem "leaders" (one does have to use the term very loosely of course, as the dictionary definition clearly does not apply to people who don't... lead) who supported the war at the time, and a large number who still do. We don't necessarily agree with them, but we don't challenge their Dem bona fides.

What puts Lie-berman WAY beyond the pale is his unremitting, unfailing willingness to parrot Republican lies, to further their narratives, to give aid and support to an entire cabal and its underlying "philosophy" that are directly antithetical to what America itself has always, at least in terms of ideals, stood for.

This has provided the Bush administration with its veneer of "bipartisan" support when necessary, and has furthered the entire reframing of the political world around the axis of deceit promulgated by the Hannitys, the Russerts, the O'Reillys.

And that's before we even bring up the support for the toughening of bankruptcy laws at the behest of Lieberman's obvious real constituency, the banks and financial firms; the support he gave to the Alito and Roberts justice-ships; the willingness he showed to demolish Social Security, under the guise of "reform;" and his obscene willingness to allow hospitals to turn away rape victims and others in need of "morning after" contraception. (Oh yeah, let's not forget the willingness to help Lynne Cheney in trying to muzzle all those outspoken academics who are, needless to say, working to destroy America.)

Even his declared intent to run as an independent, should he (G-d willing!) lose the Democratic primary is less of an issue unto itself than it is a metaphor, a thumbnail encapsulation, of an entire career that has clearly been given over to the pursuit and maintenance of power by the powerful -- and screw the citizenry.

No, Joe. Screw you.

ps -- 6 out of 8. Just as the possters upthread said: look for the less articulate wording, and That's Our Bush!

The article referenced an enterprise to "help" youth "afflicted" by same-sex temptations called "Love in Action's Refuge" -- which could of course be referred to only by its acronym, "LIAR."

WHAT could possibly possess anyone with the slightest clue about PR to name their organization "LIAR"?! Could it be.....

SATAN?!

Hmm??