Protest more. Protest louder.
Untitled Document Let’s be blunt. It’s no longer the Sunni insurgents, Shiite militias, or al Qaeda bombers who are killing our troops in Iraq. Washington is killing them. George W. Bush and the congressional leaders of both parties are the ones who have 150,000 American men and women trapped in Iraq’s civil war. The troops…
All’s well with Caldwell?
Untitled Document Ralph Caldwell, acting chief of the Springfield Police Department, appeared before City Council members Tuesday evening to answer their questions and make his case for why he should be approved as chief — the job that has been his goal for years. The question-and-answer session was Caldwell’s first chance to speak publicly since…
Raise the roof
Untitled Document This year a few of Springfield’s Republicans and Democrats will celebrate the Fourth of July in rare bipartisan form. Could it be excitement over the Capitol’s fireworks? No. The promise of corn on the cob and watermelon slices? Probably not. Instead, says Ward 3 Ald. Frank Kunz, it’s an attempt to aid the…
A Springfield tutorial
Untitled Document Here at Illinois Times, we have a new full-time staff writer, which qualifies as a truly blessed event at our lean, mean little journalism machine. Her name is Amanda Robert, and she is just a kid, albeit an extra smart specimen of young adulthood. She asks a lot of questions and remembers the…
Shoot from the lips
Untitled Document The war of words between state Sen. Dan Kotowski, a fierce gun-control advocate, and the Illinois State Rifle Association has apparently escalated to the point that the nutballs are coming out of the woodwork. Kotowski’s staff claims to have turned over information to the Illinois State Police about 10 contacts or so from…
A tale of two parties
Untitled Document It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the summer of 1974. The Watergate hearings were in full swing. When I wasn’t working, studying, or rehearsing, I was glued to the TV, watching the sad, sordid saga unfold. I’d been married the summer before, and we were…
Homegrown tomatoes
Untitled Document There’s a lot of science behind the observation that homegrown tomatoes taste better than store-bought ones. “It’s not very hard to taste a tomato and decide whether you like or dislike the flavor,” says Jennifer Schultz Nelson, a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois Extension, “but what do you really taste? Tomato…
To Japan and back
Untitled Document One need only look at the roof of the Dana-Thomas House, with its upturned corners, to see Japan’s influence on architect Frank Lloyd Wright. “Even though [Wright] hadn’t been in Japan, he was already very aware and had been studying Japanese architecture for about 10 years before he built the Dana-Thomas House,” says…
Over the line
Untitled Document Chances are, the resignation of two judges from Project Censored won’t be included in the organization’s next list of overlooked news stories. But rest assured — there’s no conspiracy afoot. Judges Robert Jensen, a journalism professor, and Norman Solomon, a syndicated columnist, severed their ties with the national media watchdog group over its…
People’s poetry
Untitled Document ypoolceling poem #3I’ve decided and this is thefinal word on the subjectwhat is really up there onthe y pool ceiling is a fleet of ufos the big mother ship inthe center the little disks flyingin formation alongside herthis fits best on account ofthat metal really looking likeflying saucers but what I haven’tfigured out…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. APPLAUD PRESERVATION EFFORTS I enjoyed reading Amy Karhliker’s recent article “Uniquely Springfield” [June 21]. Admittedly, I am biased (my mom is one…
Pudding to jog our New Orleans memory
Untitled Document “We need Americans to come see us, meet us, and hear our stories.” The impassioned plea comes from Frank Brigtsen, James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Brigtsen’s Restaurant in New Orleans. A native New Orleanian and protégé of culinary great Paul Prudhomme, Brigtsen recently stood before a group of volunteer chefs (myself…
Brave new hay
Untitled Document On an unseasonably cold afternoon in early May, Paul Rasgorshek is making the rounds of his farm, some 3,000 acres perched in the lava-rimmed country on the edge of the Snake River, near Nampa, Idaho. Wet clouds scud out of the Owyhee Mountains, and from behind the wheel of his pickup Rasgorshek juggles…
A ganache of tweeness
Untitled Document Once you get past the stupid name, the simplistic songwriting, and the almost uniformly abysmal lyrics, Lavender Diamond is a really great band — but isn’t that like saying that George W. Bush would be a really great president if it weren’t for his policies? When does a drawback (or two or three)…
Critical condition
Untitled Document Say you had the misfortune to sever your middle and ring fingers and, because you were uninsured, you were told that it would cost $60,000 to reattach the center digit and a mere $12,000 to sew back the other. What would you do? This is the unenviable decision facing one man in Michael…
Breast cancers linked to chemical exposure
Untitled Document Is there any proof linking human breast cancer to exposure to chemicals in the environment, or do researchers think most cases of breast cancer are genetically inherited? A groundbreaking research study coordinated by the nonprofit Silent Spring Institute and recently published by the American Cancer Society found that synthetic chemicals have likely played a large…
Man talk
Untitled Document It’s a perfect night for a ballgame, and I’ve lucked into box seats only five rows behind the Sox dugout. The young couple to my left is discussing his annual night out with the boys, 10 hours’ worth, and yet he cannot recall a thing that was done or said. She’s more irked…
Variations on a theme
Untitled Document There are two great events taking place this Saturday, and I couldn’t decide which one to write about, but then it hit me like a bolt from the blue: Cover them both, man! On reaching this astounding conclusion I couldn’t help but notice not only the disparate genres of the two shows but…
Terrible teens
Untitled Document Many recent films about troubled youth remind me of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit, in which hell is other people. The biggest problem facing teens today, according to these films, is other teens. Alpha Dog (2006) is a powerful indictment of today’s youth, but its brute honesty hindered its commercial potential. Watching the…
