David L. Holmes reports in

Below is an exchange between Dave B. and David Holmes, with my reply first.

Holmesiana,

That your mood has palpably brightened since the election is reason enough for me to rejoice in the Democrats victory. It may surprise you that I tried to help things along by voting straight Democratic, although in the cesspool of vegetarian pro-Palestinian politics that passes for liberal democracy up here in Vermont it was like pissing into the sewage plant. Anyway, your writing is delightful enough that I am going to post it into my nearly completely unread new blog, and will send you the link once I think of it, since it has been so long that even I looked at the site I have forgotten.

Things fell apart for me, thankfully, at ARD, and I am liberated for individual consulting in water and environment internationally, or just about anywhere for that matter. I am thrilled, and the burden of not having to fight the rearguard corporate battle lifted away as I drove away last Friday, with my traditional eight boxes of effluvia.

My best regards to you, and my very best regards to your bookkeeper. You just don't understand, do you, Holmeski?

Borax

On Nov 9, 2006, at 5:45 AM, David L. Holmes wrote:

I hope things are OK with you.

Well, the elections are finally over with. And best of all, Mr. Rumsfeld is off to brighter horizons! What a pity Senators Macacawitz and Santorum lost.

Following up on my last epistle, I offer the reflections of Chris Hedges on the U.S.’s and Israel’s prospects for long term peace-creation in the Levant as an attachment. Hedges was Mid East bureau chief for the New York Times and has written several books which I own. But most interestingly, he is a fellow who had the temerity to express some doubts about the wisdom Mr. Bush’s then-brand-new Iraq adventure at a commencement address at my Alma Mater, Rockford College in IL. The outrageous behavior of the students and their parents made national news. It bordered on violent, the microphone was unplugged and he was asked to stop by the president before he finished the speech. All of this notwithstanding the fact that he’s an ordained minister, had at that time a couple of decades of first hand experience in the region under his belt, and the speech itself was pretty mild (I noticed just now that when I Googled “Chris Hedges,” that the 3rd entry -- after 2 relating to a Bill Moyers interview – is Text of the Rockford College graduation speech by Chris Hedges in the Rockford Register Star.

It was that event that made me realize that we had come to a sad and uninquiring state of affairs in the U.S. It persists to this day. I printed a copy of your hero, Tom Friedman’s, Insulting Our Troops, and Our Intelligence column from last week to share with the bookkeeper who shares space with me in this office on a part time basis. She was so outraged after the first paragraph, she refused to read further and threw the print out at me. Like the students and parents at Rockford 3 years ago, our bookkeeper has a palpable and visceral reaction to even the suggestion that our “Global War on Terror” may need some tweaking. It’s all so sad.

My best to you and your lovely bride.

Holmesini