Yusef’s award-winning photojournalism has inspired a whole new generation of photographers to listen to the silence of the lawn signs.

And in places like Hardwick, the silence is deafening. Especially after Uncle Jim “ the U.S. House’s approval of the New England Wilderness Act of 2006.” Talk about an October surprise.

VDB-reader Terry stumbled across this stunning tableau last week, and added only arrows and insets before passing the otherwise undoctored photo on to us here at HQ:

To take the appropriate questions once again, in turn: Isn’t Jim Douglas just a gosh-golly mushy middle-of-the-road Republican with a taste for handshaking, and a fairly genial, avuncular personality?

Isn’t Jim just a guy sort of like me with a moderately pro-business bent that — even if it won’t help an awful lot over the next two years — won’t hurt anyone all that much either?

In a word, no.