Geekosaur: Yes, that's precisely it. If you accept a definition of "political" that means anything with government, how do you describe what Rove did to the US Attorneys? I believe that what Rove did was wrong, and the only way to say it is that he politicized it, which implies that it wasn't political before.
And, you know, it wasn't.
DDB@59: "This concept of a piece of the government which is somehow "not political" does not compute in American culture. If somebody is chosen, appointed, and paid by the government, he's part of the government, and that's political. If he can be fired by the government, even more so."
This just isn't consistent with the standard understanding of the word "political."
Is the fire department political? Is the registrar of deeds political? Is the Government Printing Office political?
These things can be affected by politics, sure, but so can anything. You can create a special meaning of the word political that tautologically means having to do with government, but it's not the common meaning of that word in American English. I think that usage clouds the issue and doesn't help the discourse.
You say it doesn't compute in American culture, but I doubt that most Americans think of fire departments as political.
Seeing "... it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." in the Remonstance, and realizing it's a Biblical reference (Hebrews 10:31) finally explained the ending of Robert Chambers' "In the Court of the Dragon" to me.
Rob Rusick @13: I've long planned to write a story about the Three Laws of Golemics, all written Talmud-style:
Is it ever permitted that a golem shall hurt a man? Never, says R. Abreazzar. But what if it should be an order from a man, asks R. Temu? Even so.
And so on.
Some dictate (and then transcribe or have the work transcribed by someone else).
Which SF author was it who wrote by lying on the couch with his eyes closed, beaming his prose telepathically to his wife in the next room, who typed it up?
F&SF pays 6-9 cents a word. My interpretation of Gordon's comment is that stories coming from the workshop would get the low end of that.
FWIW, Gordon has said that he'll pay "beginner's rates" for stories purchased from the workshop.
While I think Patrick is in general right that playing up this angle is a mistake, I think that even without the promise, aspiring writers will wrap themselves around the possibility. (Anne Lamott has a trenchant and true chapter on workshops in Bird by Bird which talks about this very phenomenon.) Also, the workshop as described is online, which I think will ameliorate the risk of breathless vomiting that Patrick darkly warns us about.
I've subscribed to F&SF on and off over the years, and my usual experience is that I've loved about 25% of the stories. (I've also submitted about half a dozen stories to them without success, for whatever interest that holds.)
I'm certainly curious about the workshop - by all accounts Gardner is a brilliant instructor. But I don't really see the advantage of the workshop as a pathway to publication; it's not like F&SF doesn't accept unsolicited manuscripts.
Late to the conversation here, but Making Lighters should definitely read the standalone Girl Genius story "Fan Fiction" by Shaenon K. Garrity.
Whatever happened to this?
Is Dr Chu the first Nobel Prize-winner to be made a Cabinet member in the USA?
Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 (shared with Le Duc Tho) and continued serving as Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford until 1977.
And for Patrick's original post: word.
How about:
Gone gone
Michaëlle's breath
Arise the monarch
Elizabeth
?
... for some value of "done," of course; I have no doubt there will be further twists.
Have the Bloc Quebecois ever been in the majority before?
I also note that New England has voted out its last Republican member of the house - a solid swath of blue from Madawaska to Danbury. And New York has only three Republican House members left - incredible!h
I'd like to thank the one man most responsible for this victory. So, thanks, Bush.
ABC just called the Presidency for Obama. Woo hoo!
Pollster is estimating the final Texas numbers as McCain 50%, Obama 47%. That's damn close.
I also note that Himes is currently up over Shays 65%-35% with 28% precincts in.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 11 |
| 2008 | 53 |
| 2007 | 51 |
| 2006 | 78 |
| 2005 | 2 |
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