Upcoming Events:
Thursday, 22 August, 1 pm
Book Talk, “Why Books?”, Fitchburg Community Center, 5510 Lacy Rd., Fitchburg, Wis.
Thursday, 19 September, 6:30 pm
Book Talk, “Why Books, and Why This Book?”, Oregon Public Library, 200 N. Alpine Parkway, Oregon, Wis.
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The Weekly Screed
by David Benjamin “I copped a gig at Minton’s and one night Alfred Lions came in to dig us. He said we gassed him, but we were too far out for the people …” — Babs Gonzalez MADISON, Wis. — Since “woke” horned its way into the vernacular a few years ago, I’ve struggled…
Read More...by David Benjamin “… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. Defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants are driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification…” — George Orwell, Politics and the English…
Read More...by David Benjamin “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.” — Capt. James T. Kirk MADISON, Wis. — All through my grade-school years, a Friday afternoon tabloid called The Weekly Reader was every kid’s gateway to a golden tomorrow. In its inky newsprint pages were unveiled breathtaking technological…
Read More...by David Benjamin “Donald Trump … suggested on Fox News Thursday night that [President] Biden should respond to the invasion by personally threatening to obliterate Russia with nuclear weapons.” — Greg Sargent, Washington Post MADISON, Wis. — David Brooks, the Times’ resident touchy-feely columnist, refers to Russian president Vladimir Putin as an “identity politician,” whose…
Read More...by David Benjamin “… Strictly entre nous/ Darling, how are you?/ And how are all/ Those little dreams/ That never did come true?… ” — “Thanks for the Memory,” Leo Robin & Ralph Rainger MADISON, Wis. — Lately, I’ve been trampling on my sister’s memories. Margaret Ann Benjamin, henceforth referred to as Peg, was a…
Read More...by David Benjamin “… There’s a limbo moon above/ You will fall in limbo love…” — Chubby Checker MADISON, Wis. — According to a shocking news bulletin, there are deacons in Catholic churches from Michigan to Arizona—and God only knows where else—performing counterfeit baptisms. Over the years, this scandal has affected hundreds, perhaps thousands of…
Read More...by David Benjamin “Potential criminal defendants who are prosecuted on more recent, ‘easier’ grounds are not necessarily brought to justice on each and every instance of wrongdoing. Al Capone famously went to prison for tax evasion, not for his violent crimes.” — Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post SOMEWHERE OFF ROUTE 1, FREDERICKSBURG, Va.— They had maintained scrupulous…
Read More...by David Benjamin “One partner, typically male but not exclusively, showers the other person with attention, affection, compliments, flattery, and essentially creates this context where she feels like she’s met her soul mate…” — Chitra Raghavan, professor of psychology, John Jay College MADISON, Wis. — Apparently, one can nowadays sexually harass someone remotely by means…
Read More...by David Benjamin “You could be walking around lucky, and not even know it.” — Jay Trotter (Richard Dreyfuss) Let It Ride MADISON, Wis. — As I left a little Cape Cod movie house after my first viewing of Breaking Away, I sensed (dimly) that I’d just seen one of my favorite flicks of all…
Read More...by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — As the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates, after the biggest annual growth spurt since 1984— with an accompanying inflation uptick — there is panic on Wall Street, angst at the Federal Reserve and unrest inside the Beltway. Observing all this tsuris, I’m reminded of an obscure historic…
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