The Weekly Screed

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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Siberia for naughty boys

By David Benjamin | 02/14/2020 | Comments Off on Siberia for naughty boys

  by David Benjamin “I had a doctor that gave me a letter — a very strong letter on the heels.”  — Donald John Trump MADISON, Wis. — If, around 1960, I’d been a kid in the Soviet Union, it would have been my own private Siberia. If I’d been a kid in France, Devil’s…

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Murder (not) on Fifth Avenue

By David Benjamin | 02/05/2020 | Comments Off on Murder (not) on Fifth Avenue

by David Benjamin “Well, when the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.”  — Richard Milhous Nixon NEW YORK CITY — Car 54 came to a screeching halt in the 700 block of Fifth Avenue. Officers Francis Muldoon and Gunther Toody leapt from their cruiser, drew their weapons and cautiously approached a…

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The wealth of knowledge

By David Benjamin | 01/30/2020 | Comments Off on The wealth of knowledge

by David Benjamin “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”  — H.L. Mencken MADISON, Wis. — As best I can guess, I became an elitist during a spelling bee in fourth grade…

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Y’know, it’s fake

By David Benjamin | 01/23/2020 | Comments Off on Y’know, it’s fake

Y’know, it’s fake by David Benjamin “Las Vegas is the only place I know where money really talks — it says, ‘Goodbye.’” — Frank Sinatra MADISON, Wis. —  The vignettes are haunting, and as commonplace as the little hooker leaflets strewn on the pavement along the all-night electric Strip from the Mandalay Bay to the…

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Up against the wall, Grandma!

By David Benjamin | 01/17/2020 | Comments Off on Up against the wall, Grandma!

Up against the wall, Grandma! by David Benjamin “I don’t understand why we’re spending all this money on artificial intelligence when we can get the real thing for free” — John M. Ketteringham MADISON, Wis. —  According to the latest research, it’s pretty safe to say that the current artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for facial…

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