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
Heartland carnage By David Benjamin “You must never run out on the meadow. There might be danger. Out there, we’re unprotected.” — Bambi’s mother MADISON, Wis. — If you’re a deer or a driver in Wisconsin, sooner or later, your number’s up. Archie, my grandfather was an avid motorist who managed to dodge deer on…
Read More...Our bodies, in deed By David Benjamin “Once you shift the focus of the abortion from the unborn fetus to the full-grown woman, and once you shift attention from the realm of safe medical procedures in a sterile environment to a last-ditch effort to save the life of a mangled mother, the anti-abortionists lose interest.…
Read More...The poker game: A fable By David Benjamin “Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.” — Nelson Algren DEADWOOD — The game was so big that the man called Doc was sitting in, elbow-to-elbow with…
Read More...Mick and Goofy have a backup plan By David Benjamin “If judges were just secret legislatures declaring not what the law is but what they would like it to be, the very idea of a government by the people and for the people would be at risk.” —Justice Neil Gorsuch GOOFY: Jeez, Mick, I’m worried.…
Read More...“… in the service…” By David Benjamin “We were just doing our jobs, helping our country win the war.” —Lt. Col. Richard Cole, one of the Doolittle Raiders MADISON, Wis. — Sister Caritas had no idea she was creating a monster. One day in sixth grade, she threw down a gauntlet I could not resist.…
Read More...Bob Mueller and me By David Benjamin “I think it is a mistake to believe that Trump’s supporters don’t see his lying or corruption. They do. But, to them, it is all part of the show and the lore.” —Charles M. Blow, New York Times MADISON, Wis. — This week, I was in DeForest, Wisconsin,…
Read More...“A vast symphony in stone” By David Benjamin “Someday, the fire of 2019 may fade into the history of Notre-Dame. It may take many years to repair the damage. But the great cathedral will reinvent itself…” —Michael Kimmelman, New York Times MADISON, Wis. — Much of the breathtaking majesty of Notre Dame de Paris derives…
Read More...Mick and Goofy put on a show By David Benjamin “Mickey’s a mouse. Donald’s a duck. Pluto’s a dog. What’s Goofy?” — Gordy Lachance (Wil Wheaton), in Stand By Me MICK: You look a little pale and woebegone, sir. Perhaps an hour or two on the tanning bed will perk you up. Now, where did…
Read More...Mechelle, Anita and Uncle Joe By David Benjamin “I said, ‘I don’t want to go to bed with you’ And he says, ‘Just like I hired you, I’ll fire you. Just like I made you, I’ll break you, and if you don’t do what I say then I’ll have you killed.’ … And that’s how…
Read More...“… Much more beautiful, much more beautiful…” By David Benjamin “I always hear ‘the elite, the elite.’… I have a better education than them, I’m smarter than them, I went to the best schools, they didn’t… Much more beautiful house, much more beautiful apartment, much more beautiful everything. And I’m president and they’re not, right?”…
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