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.
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
The Weekly Screed
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#690) The next Bill of Rights: A few suggestions by David Benjamin PARIS — One of the charms of a few weeks among our French friends is hearing them bellyache about the government. Not ours. Theirs! They gripe about weak leadership, legislative gridlock, a chaotic and divisive party…
Read More...FRIDAY, AUGUST 29, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#689) “… I’ll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours” by David Benjamin PARIS — Friend Steve, visiting Paris from rural Japan, posed the thesis that the Tea Party movement in the U.S. is a spent force. I replied that with southern governors…
Read More...THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#688) A cozy evening in the urban shell by David Benjamin “Paris is devine. I mean Dorothy and I got to Paris yesterday, and it really is devine. Because the French are devine.” — Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes PARIS — This city is a little like operating…
Read More...WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#687) Collateral damage in the war against Amazon by David Benjamin “Thank you for thinking of us and reaching out for a book event. Unfortunately we will have to decline as it is our company policy not to schedule events for any Amazon/CreateSpace titles. If, at some point…
Read More...WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#686) The unbearable irrelevance of reading by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Nobody reads. This is a shattering admission for a writer to make, and as of the moment, it’s a slight overstatement. Think of those two words as a mixture of prophecy and surrender — with a…
Read More...MONDAY, JULY 28, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#685) My rights are bigger than your rights by David Benjamin “In recent decisions, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court has made clear its view that corporations are people, with all the attendant rights. They are entitled to free speech… They are entitled to religious beliefs… Up…
Read More...MONDAY, JULY 21, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#684) The semantic conundrum of the war in Ukraine by David Benjamin “I haven’t got a brain… only straw.” — Scarecrow, The Wizard of Oz MADISON, Wis. — War is always more about semantics than ideas. This principle applies bleakly to the mess in eastern Ukraine, where an…
Read More...WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#683) Oink by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Thanks to the Supreme Court’s recent anti-contraception decision, in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which enshrines in American Constitutional law the novel notion that corporations are not only persons but they’re also, well… holy, we finally have a literary parallel for…
Read More...TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#682) Big Bill Benjamin — not to be mistaken for Ward Cleaver by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — My father was largely absent from my life for more than 20 years — during which, presumably, my character was being (mal)formed. As I commiserated at Dad’s funeral among my…
Read More...THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#680) What about Bob? by David Benjamin “Grosscup here.” “Hello… I’m calling for a Mr. G. Grayling Grosscup, chief executive officer of… let’s see… Gilt Edge Investment Strategies.” “Speaking.” “Oh! Well, hi there. My name is Rosalie Higby — with H.R., at Amalgamated Tanaka USA. Mr. Grosscup, as…
Read More...