Dear Marion,

Thanks for forwarding David Brooks' column on Irving Kristol.
I find David Brooks' temperament very congenial. That I know
nothing about Irving Kristol reflects badly on my cultural
parochialism. With respect to Brooks' opinions, whose columns
I do read, - the NY Times does reach Konnarock, albeit at only
56K/sec. - I almost never find myself in strong disagreement,
but I perceive in his placid urbanity a denial of the tragedy
of contemporary political history. This was the case especially
during the Bush administration when Brooks' expression of outrage
was too muted to satisfy my need for protest. The Neoconservatives
of our day are saddled with too much fascism, too much militarism,
too little environmentalism, too little respect for civil
rights, too little sensitivity to the plight of the poor and
down-trodden. In the final analysis, Brooks deploys his intelligence
and style to make his readers comfortable with the inadequacies,
with the injustice and with the cruelty of the status quo, and for
me that will never do.

We had four visitors in our back yard today. The surveillance
camera took a picture of one of them, which I attach.  More later.

Jochen