“Nation” Proves Problematic, yet Compelling
Incendiary, problematic and arresting, Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation is the hot-button film of the moment, an unflinching look at the vagaries of slavery and its echoes through the generations. Focusing on a slave rebellion of 1831 led by the radical slave Nat Turner, the movie employs a slow-burn approach as we see…
The youth vote
In this week’s Dyspepsiana, I take up the question of election-rigging. Which got me to thinking . . . . The principle—that those subject to the state’s laws ought to be able to shape those laws through the vote—applies even more compellingly to citizens under 18. Among other sins the over-18s commit against the next…
Former Springfield man arrested in Missouri
A former Springfield man whose criminal history was detailed in a 2005 Illinois Times story has been arrested in Missouri. Police in Monroe City, about 25 miles west of Hannibal, arrested Michael Redpath on Thursday on suspicion of failure to register as a sex offender and unlawfully being within 500 feet of a park with…
Girl of murdered dad in state custody
Sidney Watkins, the nine-year-old girl whose father was murdered by her maternal grandmother in 2008, is in the custody of child protective authorities in Massachusetts following the arrest of her mother on Thursday. Jennifer Watkins was arrested by Norwood police on a warrant out of Cass County, where she is wanted for refusing to allow…
Jennifer Watkins arrested
Jennifer Watkins, who has refused to allow visits between her daughter and the girl’s paternal grandparents after the girl’s father was murdered, was arrested today in Massachusetts. Watkins has refused to allow Sidney, her daughter, to visit with the girl’s grandparents despite a Cass County Circuit Court order. A spokesman for the Norwood Police Department…
Men in power
Donald Trump has run for the presidency before. He ran in 1968 disguised as George Wallace and again in 1996 as Patrick Buchanan. He also ran in 1992, as my excerpted column from Oct. 29 of that year recalls. Perot’s defeat – by a Clinton – did not still the authoritarian impulse among our countrymen,…
Donnie is a Trumpist, not a populist
To many hard-working people, this is a time of economic uncertainty. Thus, it is important to point out that America’s superrich are intentionally and brazenly knocking down the middle class and poor to further enrich themselves. They are aided by clueless, corrupt politicians who don’t care about the future of ordinary Americans or of America…
The transformation is almost complete
Since his inauguration, Gov. Bruce Rauner has consciously aped Washington, D.C.’s notoriously noxious battle to “win” the daily media spin cycle. Rauner has a set base of talking points based on tried and true poll-tested topics, and he rarely, if ever, deviates. While Chicago suffered through its most violent summer in decades, the governor routinely…
Letters to the Editor 9/29/16
CLINTON ISN’T CLEAN What to do with radioactive waste has long been the Achilles heel of nuclear energy. Plans for storing all waste in Nevada seemed good by all the states except Nevada. The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository site has been canceled. Now the waste sits mainly at the plants in “temporary” storage. The…
Editor’s note 9/29/16
If you haven’t voted yet, it’s time to get to the poll and make your voice heard. There are great candidates on the ballot in every category. The super-enthused electorate, happy not angry, has already turned out in record numbers, knowing that even if their favorite candidate doesn’t win, this will still be the best…
How will LGBT issues affect the election?
Johnson was interviewed by the University of Illinois News Bureau. In 2004, gay marriage was used as a wedge issue to drive voters to the polls. Twelve years later, gay marriage is legal and the LGBT movement is surging. What does that say about the state of gay rights in 2016? We’ve come to a…
World’s largest photography event
Spend your Saturday morning shooting and sharing photos of historic central Illinois during the Ninth Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. The Springfield walk will be lead by Robert Fox, a local photographer with more than 65 years of photography experience. All walkers are to meet at the Lincoln Family Statue on the southwest corner…
Solar energy at work
See solar energy hard at work in Springfield during the 10th annual Illinois Solar Tour, hosted by the Illinois Energy Association. The free, open-house-style event takes place on Saturday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and enables attendees to take an up-close-and-personal look at the ways in which their residential and commercial neighbors…
Historical medieval battle
See a different type of historical reenactment this weekend. Witness medieval fighters from around the world compete in full-contact medieval steel combat during the Battle of the Nations on Saturday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m., at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. Created in 2010, the World Championship of Historical Medieval Battle’s “Battle of the Nations” is…
Thinking outside the boobs
I’m a man who likes to girl-watch. I do this from behind very dark glasses, yet I still elicit scowls from women. Recently, I was at a help desk, and I availed myself of the view down the receptionist’s top. She quickly covered up with a scarf. I’m puzzled, because there’s no way she could’ve…
Water wars
Grubs. Just when Craig Hall figured he’d heard it all, fans at a recent Glenwood High School football game recognized him as a South Sangamon Water Commission trustee and complained about a gridiron grub infestation. “Grubs on the field because – of course – of the water,” Hall recalls. “I had four people say that.…
Why voters are so angry
Voters are angry, and they’re ready to tear down the institutions of government. That was the message this week from former Gov. Jim Edgar and Christopher Kennedy, scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, at a luncheon held in Springfield this week by the Better Government Association. Although coming from different sides of the political spectrum,…
From green to well-being
Joe Terrell’s story starts not with a light bulb turning on above his head, but rather with one going out. It was the late ’90s, and Terrell owned a Denny’s restaurant franchise in Mokena, Illinois. When one of the light bulbs at the restaurant failed, Terrell wanted to replace it with a compact fluorescent light…
Wanna drive drunk? Borrow a Bentley
Drunken drivers with prior convictions for driving under the influence might consider driving expensive cars, given a recent ruling by an Illinois appellate court. “That’s, essentially, the policy that’s being espoused by the Fifth District (Appellate Court),” said David Robinson, a state appellate prosecutor who came out on the losing end of a case in…
OH DEER
You have to hand it to Zara’s Collision Center when it comes to the best use of Bambi in ad campaigns. Each fall, as local deer prepare to get stupid and start wandering on roadways, especially after dark, Zara’s comes up with the cleverest billboards this side of the ever-changing chalkboard outside the Grab-A-Java on…
SPRINGFIELD DEL SOL
The sun seems to be rising on solar power. As environmental regulations put the squeeze on coal power, the energy market seems poised to move toward more “distributed generation” like residential wind and solar installations. Meanwhile, prices for solar panels have dropped considerably since the technology’s inception. While lower panel prices are somewhat bad news…
Inspiring Queen avoids pitfalls
Taking a break from traditional sports-based films (Miracle, Million Dollar Arm, McFarland USA), Disney and co-producer ESPN bring us a movie focusing on competition of a different sort with Queen of Katwe, a fact-based account of one young girl’s struggles to not only make it in the world of competitive chess but to free herself…
Folk fall findings
As we welcome October 2016 to the world, the weather couldn’t be any nicer. The music ain’t bad either, with the folkies finding fall familiar. Friday gives us Dana Cooper and Sally Barris at the Paris-Belle House Concert series in Williamsville (parisbelleconcerts@outlook.com). Dana and Sally, both residents of the Nashville, Tenn., community of hard-working musicians,…
Wonky Tonk
Raised in Kentucky with side trips to Denmark and Montana, this one-woman band of gypsies landed in Cincinnati where she established herself as a potent force in the local kinda-country scene. Based out of Covington, Ky., she now travels across the Midwest and beyond, touring to let the world know about the world of wonky…
great grandson poem #1
great grandson poem #1 far from any city lights here in thecentral nevada high desert countrythe almost cold breeze blows throughopen porch windows and you burrow deeper into the comforter the farm’sguardian cock crows imperiously butit’s still dark you lie seeing a black skystudded with stars you rememberthat word from a childhood ditty –a cow,…
Not your mother’s sauerkraut
It’s smelly, spicy, scary-looking and quite possibly the world’s healthiest food. It hisses and foams when you open its jar. It is revered by Koreans and reviled by many Americans. Kimchi – you either love it or hate it. I’ve long been a lover of kimchi, though in my early days it was a social…
