That if the Bush machine had thrown Bush's successor Rick Perry under the bus so that McClellan's mother, Carole Strayhorn, would have had a serious shot at the governor's mansion in 2006, this book never sees the light of day.

Regardless, McClellan's no hero. He's getting slammed, but his ass isn't really on the line, let's be honest. Scotty-boy is just confirming what most of us already knew. He's collected his payday and if he's smart with his money probably won't have to work again unless he wants to. It doesn't take a brave person to say "I told you so" a couple of years after the fact.

If we're considering shorter works, then I'd like to throw the Rankin-Bass produced stop-motion specials into the mix. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is only the beginning; much better are Rudolph's Shiny New Year and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.

Rankin-Bass also ventured into feature territory. I'm not sure if The Secret Life of Santa Claus is still in print. We have a VHS copy that's pretty old. Mad Monster Party was released on DVD a few years ago and has Boris Karloff in what had to be one of his last roles, voicing the leader of the World Council of Monsters who is planning to retire and give the reins of the organization to his nerdy nephew Felix. Weird, both of them, but also goofy--especially Mad Monster Party.

I'm also very partial to VeggieTales, but that violates the "no CGI" rule.

Which leaves a short list of Richardson, Sebelius, Napolitano and Schweitzer. Probably in that order, I'd guess.

On the Republican side, I'm guessing McCain will also go outside the Senate. I'm also guessing that his choice will be dictated by the theocon right--I'm betting on Huckabee.

Maybe Salon should do a story on it?

My wife had severe-and I do mean severe-phobia of needles. To the point where she'd nearly pass out if she had blood taken. Time and EMDR have taken care of a lot of the phobia. She dislikes needles still, and always will, but the improvement has been dramatic.

And for yourself, LW, work on the issues you need to work on and then find a loving partner to give your virginity to. There's no deadline. I was 24 when I had sex for the first time. No issues or trauma, in my case--it just took that long to find the right person for me. IMHO, it will be even more important for you to wait until you find just the right person.

Good luck, and God bless.

The issue of minority, specifically black, presence in front of and behind the camera has been an issue dear to Spike Lee's heart for as long as I can remember, and it's a legitimate issue, I think. My problem with Lee and others is that they are going about it in the wrong way. Spike Lee needs to take a long hard look at minority membership in the Writer's Guild of America, in which African-Americans and all minorities are drastically underrepresented.

Good writers write what they know. If Spike Lee wants a WWII with strong black characters (hey, I might not mind seeing that movie, myself), then he needs to nurture and encourage African-Americans to get into screenwriting, where it all begins for movies or t.v.

But you never hear that particular issue addressed.

(to use a metaphor Mr. Shapiro is fond of)...I think that McCain will allow Joe Lieberman's and Bobby Jindal's names to be floated to play lip-service to principles of ideological and ethnic diversity that the Republican Party and its base care nothing about.

In the end, McCain will be forced to take a running mate approved by the Christian Right--probably Mike Huckabee.

I've never been, myself, but my wonderful curmudgeon of a high school Latin teacher, Mr. Radecki, took great delight in telling his students (especially the male ones) what kinds of graffiti one can find on the public walls in the ruins of Pompeii. That stuff was scatalogical enough so that it was watered down in the retelling; Mr. Radecki didn't want to lose his job. Snarky anonymous posts in public have been around probably almost as long as writing itself has. The internet is just a new medium for the same old stuff.

@ crumley I can't provide a link, but I have seen Harlan Ellison, a friend of Sturgeon's, use the 96% version of Sturgeon's Law in multiple essays, especially the columns he wrote in the late '60s and early '70s (collected as The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat). Given that their friendship lasted until Sturgeon's death in, I believe, the late '80s, I would assume this is the correct version.

Whether one says 90% or 96, the citation is correct in spirit here.

I've already decided my son will start learning a second language at some point, as early as possible.

I took German in high school and college, and though I'm rusty through lack of use my knowledge of German culture and history has served me well in my writing; likewise, though I remember very little Latin grammar, three years of it in high school made me a Roman history buff for life. In both cases, I feel I've reaped intangible benefits from learning languages other than English.

And yes, you can open yourself up for advancement--I know a man, recently retired as a corporate executive, who spent his career in Mexico and later Turkey in marketing. A big reason for the success he enjoyed in his career was the fact that he was willing to learn Spanish and Turkish, and about their cultures as well. Not everyone can become a high-flying corporate exec, but a little learning never hurt anyone.