Hail, hail Freedonia

By David Benjamin | 04/02/2018

Hail, hail Freedonia! by David Benjamin “The last man nearly ruined this country./ He didn’t know what to do with it./ If you think this country’s bad off now,/ Just wait ’til I get through with it!” — Rufus T. Firefly PARIS — The latest burst of palace intrigue in the Trump White House sent…

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Brevity is the soul of politics

By David Benjamin | 06/22/2017 |

Brevity is the soul of politics by David Benjamin “Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There’s nothing to do but stand there and take it.” — Lyndon Johnson MADISON, Wis. — Herbert Hoover sealed his political fate when he said, “Prosperity is just around the corner.” His problem? Verbosity. In politics you…

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Knock yourself out, Mom

By David Benjamin | 02/14/2017

Knock yourself out, Mom by David Benjamin “Each team will have six to nine players on the field, instead of 11; the field will be far smaller; kickoffs and punts will be eliminated; and players will start each play in a crouching position instead of in a three-point stance.” — New York Times, 31 Jan.…

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Trays, entitlement and the little brown bag

By David Benjamin | 03/13/2014

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2014 The Weekly Screed (#667) Trays, entitlement and the little brown bag by David Benjamin MADISON, Wis. — Representative Paul Ryan’s frequent outbursts of pseudo-sociological insight are little noted nor long-remembered in the greater scheme of American rhetoric. But they tend to make me lose my cool and go all high-school. This…

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