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
Antisocial media By David Benjamin “Your ad isn’t approved because it doesn’t comply with our Advertising Policies. your ad was stopped because it was determined to be related to politics or an issue of national importance.” — Facebook MADISON, Wis. — Recently, Facebook encouraged me to “boost” one of my “Weekly Screeds.” A half-hour later,…
Read More...The sandwich with a thousand faces By David Benjamin “Maybe we shouldn’t be eating a hamburger for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” — Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez MADISON, Wis. — There are Congresspersons warning us lately that the embryonic and nebulous Green New Deal portends the abolition of the hamburger. This threat stands alongside such fanciful right-wing…
Read More...“It’s not a secret!” (but we’re not telling) By David Benjamin “Why do people hide things? Why do people keep secrets? Because they have something to hide.” — Andrew D. Goldstein, lead prosecutor, Office of the Special Counsel BARCELONA — I tried. Honest. Last Tuesday morning, dispatched by my EE Times editor, I shlepped to…
Read More...The caravan of the living dead by David Benjamin “This is the part in the movie where that guy says, “Zombies? What zombies?” just before they eat his brains. I don’t want to be that guy.” — Holly Black (Two senior staffers overheard in a White House toilet.) STEVE: (Indicating a video on his phone)…
Read More...The roar of the greasepaint… by David Benjamin “Today we instinctively recoil at the sight of performers in the burnt-cork makeup and clownlike greasepaint that turned their skin pitch-black and their lips and eyes into giant cartoon features. But the foundation of American comedy, song, and dance was laid down by white and black minstrel…
Read More...The Elmer Gantry of Jamaica Estates by David Benjamin “… if he is interested in assuring the public that he can see beyond his narrow politicking on immigration to tackle truly urgent problems, here’s a starter list…” — New York Times editorial, 4 Feb. ‘19 MADISON, Wis. — Wait, wait. Stop right there! Just before…
Read More...A Commodious White House by David Benjamin “This man was not naturally wicked, but, on the contrary, as guileless as any man that ever lived. His great simplicity, however, together with his cowardice, missed the better life and then was led on into lustful and cruel habits.” — Cassius Dio MADISON, Wis. — There are…
Read More...“If true…” by David Benjamin “ ‘One [option] is, try to figure out right this minute what the truth is, when you have no way of knowing. Or two, and both social media and cable news are a little bit at war with this: Wait a minute.’” — Richard Tofel, president, ProPublica MADISON, Wis. —…
Read More...This is harder than we thought by David Benjamin “I’m an obsolete design. T-X is faster, more powerful and more intelligent. It’s a far more effective killing machine.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines LAS VEGAS — This is the first year of the of the retreat of the heretofore unstoppable robo-car.…
Read More...The flight over Phoenix by David Benjamin “… They patch her up with masking tape With paper clips and strings And still she flies, she never dies Methusaleh with wings…” — “The Gooney Bird Song” MADISON, Wis. — I fell in love with the Douglas DC-3 Dakota — military designation: C-47 Skytrain, nickname: Gooney Bird…
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