The Weekly Screed

The soiling of the American flag… again

By David Benjamin | 04/23/2020 | Comments Off on The soiling of the American flag… again

by David Benjamin “… The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free… The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever… No part of the flag should ever be used…

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There is no God but God… except for you-know-who

By David Benjamin | 04/16/2020 | Comments Off on There is no God but God… except for you-know-who

by David Benjamin “To say no to President Trump would be saying no to God, and I won’t do that.” — Rev. Paula White MADISON, Wis. — Ever since Donald Trump landed ego-first on the Resolute desk like a 250-pound sack of Yukon Gold potatoes, I’ve been mystified — not by his supporters, fans, cronies…

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Absence makes the heart grow fonder, dude

By David Benjamin | 04/09/2020 | Comments Off on Absence makes the heart grow fonder, dude

by David Benjamin “By April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”  — Trump MADISON, Wis. — Yo, Big Don. I hope you don’t mind me calling you that, But hey, it fits. I mean, big? You’re larger than life, yo. And you are the Don! So, anyhow,…

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“Why don’t we pass the time…”

By David Benjamin | 03/31/2020 | Comments Off on “Why don’t we pass the time…”

by David Benjamin “Only the Pontiacs, Nashes and cellar-dwelling La Salles are in financial condition to buy any minor league players to improve their clubs at this time.”  — Jack Kerouac MADISON, Wis. — I learned baseball solitaire from Dick Albright, my first best friend in high school. He invented a game played with a…

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“Won’t ya let me take you on a sea cruise?”

By David Benjamin | 03/25/2020 | Comments Off on “Won’t ya let me take you on a sea cruise?”

by David Benjamin “No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’ If that’s the exchange, I’m all in.”  — Texas Lieutenant Gov. Daniel Patrick WASHINGTON, D.C.…

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Princess Leia for a Day

By David Benjamin | 03/19/2020 | Comments Off on Princess Leia for a Day

by David Benjamin “We should also put an end to the airlines’ pursuit of smaller and smaller seats, which are not only uncomfortable and even physically harmful, but also foster in-flight rage and make the job of flight attendants nigh unbearable.”  — Tim Wu. New York Times,  16 March 2020 Ed Bastian CEO Delta Airlines…

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Covid 19, Trump 0

By David Benjamin | 03/12/2020 | Comments Off on Covid 19, Trump 0

by David Benjamin “Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. Coronavirus. They’re politicizing it. And this is their new hoax.”  — Donald Trump WASHINGTON, 4 November 2020 — In the wake of President Donald Trump’s crushing defeat yesterday, pundits and analysts are speculating cautiously that Trump’s “base” of rabidly loyal followers might been been decisively…

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The purple prose of Farrow

By David Benjamin | 03/05/2020 | Comments Off on The purple prose of Farrow

by David Benjamin ““I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox.”  — Woody Allen PARIS — Ronan Farrow has spent his life striving to spit out the silver spoon he was born with. When he does one of his cool and princely TV interviews, you can —…

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The foreign despondent

By David Benjamin | 02/28/2020 | Comments Off on The foreign despondent

by David Benjamin “First there was a single truck driver. in Genoa, then another, a friend of his, who went up to Milan… We have a printer in Genoa, he hands bundled papers off to three or four friends, and they spread it out among their friends. One takes ten, another takes twenty. And from…

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The Wayback Machine and the Manchurian Zombie

By David Benjamin | 02/21/2020 | Comments Off on The Wayback Machine and the Manchurian Zombie

by David Benjamin “Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me that you built a time machine… out of a DeLorean?” — Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly), Back to the Future MADISON, Wis. — Ever since I watched Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux fighting off the Morlocks sometime during the 80th century in George Pal’s…

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