Society
Values clarification for football fans
Values clarification for football fans by David Benjamin “You can’t fine somebody for a peaceful protest. We’re not out here holding signs, saying we don’t care about the troops or we don’t care about our country or whatever. It’s a peaceful protest, and it’s something as simple as people just expressing themselves and how they…
Read MoreRoseanne as Saint Joan
Roseanne as Saint Joan by David Benjamin “Black guys counting my money! I hate it… I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.” — Trump “Look at my African-American over here! Look at him!” — Trump MADISON, Wis. — Roseanne Barr has been become,…
Read MoreHow it should be done
How it should be done by David Benjamin “Real life is slow; it takes professionals time to figure out what happened, and how it fits into context. Technology is fast. Smartphones and social networks are giving us facts about the news much faster than we can make sense of them, letting speculation and misinformation fill…
Read MoreBreaking good, eventually
Breaking good, eventually by David Benjamin “I was sure I was going to get that scholarship. My dad of course was sure I wasn’t. When I didn’t, he was real understanding, you know. He loves to do that. He loves to be understanding when I fail.” — Cyril, in Breaking Away MADISON, Wis.— Movie scenes haunt…
Read MoreWhere have all the soldiers gone…
Where have all the soldiers gone… by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Used to be, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a GI. Well, a former GI. In the bygone halcyon days of universal conscription, every male had to do his hitch, or get really creative to duck Uncle Sam. My dad, who…
Read MorePapa's thumbnail
Papa’s thumbnail by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — My grandfather’s hands fascinated me. Papa, as we called him, put in fifty years at the Milwaukee Road frog shops in Tomah. He was a machinist, repairing switches and the huge steel “frogs” that intersected rail lines. When he arrived home after his eight hours, I would…
Read MoreDeplorable
Deplorable by David Benjamin “… Under these circumstances, an ambitious policy agenda to combat climate change or battle income inequality and persistent poverty seems like a pipe dream. Repairing decaying infrastructure and improving public education will most likely also remain out of reach… ” — Eduardo Porter MADISON, Wis. — There is no analysis that…
Read MoreThe red-and-white blues (and yellow fringe)
The red-and-white blues (and yellow fringe) by David Benjamin “Speech doesn’t just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea…” — Justice Antonin Scalia MADISON, Wis. — The Stars and Stripes is easily the most battered and beleaguered flag in anybody’s history.…
Read MoreConfessions of a navel observer
Confessions of a navel observer by David Benjamin “It is hardly necessary to waste words over the so-called bikini since it is inconceivable that any girl with tact and decency would ever wear such a thing.” — Modern Girl, 1957 MADISON, Wis. — I went to Catholic school and developed a belly-button fetish. Looking back…
Read More… Real white of you
… Real white of you by David Benjamin “You’re a slave in your own country, White Man. Each year you get to keep less of the fruits of your labor; each year it gets more difficult to carry the burden the aliens have placed upon you; each year the cheap labor of aliens makes your…
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