think I know class when I see it. Often, I feel depressed over an inner belief that I am fighting the war of words all by myself - a sadness which crops up all too often these days. But luckily I am not alone. Others have fought this battle longer than I - and the one person I am specifically alluding to here, can express himself much better than I. So - for once - I will stop my incessant chatter and refer you to my current-day hero.

I take enormous comfort from the writings of the New York Times foreign-affairs columnist Thomas L. Friedman.

Having been stationed in the Middle East for the better part of two decades, he writes with an insight and clarity, intelligence and wisdom which one would hope could be emulated by the President's close advisors.

Please click here for a link to Thomas Friedman's latest Op/Ed in the New York Times (and from there, onto additional links to earlier stories by him).