More on statues limitations
In a recent blog post about the recent agitations about Confederate statues, I cited disapprovingly the opinion of economist and gadlfly Tyler Cowen. Cowen offered a fuller explication of his position in a recent column for Bloomberg News. In it he says in part, “I wouldn’t mind having a statute of limitations for public statues…
Iconoclasm 101
About those Confederate statues, which I write about in my new column: Tyler Cowen, a critic of some influence these days, praised Baltimore’s mayor who decided to remove that city’s confederate statutes in the dead of night without warning. Wrote Cowen: his statue removal was done suddenly, without democratic input for the final decision to…
A rural future from the past?
I have been observing the population decline in Illinois’ rural parts for decades now. (See “Devoid of life” from July 14, 2011.) In the current issue of Illinois Issues magazine, Norman Walzer and Brian Harger, senior research scholar and research associate respectively at the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University provide their own perspective. It is not encouraging reading.…
A matter of perspective
Springfieldians are always trying to get above themselves. As I noted in “Seeking the scenic in central Illinois” (Aug. 19, 2010), something must be seen to be scenic, and seeing the landscape in a flat land requires the breadth of perspective that verticality affords. One of the charms promised by the Rauner-backed North Mansion Y-Block…
Wall Streeters find new ways to steal
The self-described “Geniuses of Wall Street” are being stupid. Again. In 2007, their stupid schemes and frauds crashed our economy, destroying middle-class jobs, wealth and opportunities. Far from getting punishment, however, these financial scofflaws were bailed out by their Washington enablers – so the moral lesson they learned was clear: Stupid pays. Sure enough, only…
Get back to the Senate’s original bill
Chicago has vast property wealth and the largest population by far in Illinois. But it also has a large amount of that property wealth locked up in Tax Increment Financing districts. According to figures released last week by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Chicago has more than half of the $12.4 billion in…
Letters to the Editor 8/17/17
BRAGGING ON BRANDON I thoroughly enjoyed your article on my grandson, Brandon Sheppard. (“Cleaning up,” Bruce Rushton, Aug 10). You got it right, and our family would like to thank you for capturing his accomplishments and his personality so spot on. I talked to Brandon on Thursday morning and he was very happy with the…
Editor’s note 8/17/17
After President Trump came out with his second Charlottesville statement on Monday, this one denouncing racism and the Ku Klux Klan, some listeners were ready to say it’s OK if he took 48 hours to get it right, or at least better. Sometimes presidents grow in office, said MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, citing JFK. Then on…
Celebrate baseball
On Saturday, Aug. 19, celebrate America’s pastime with an All-American Picnic. Hosted by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the all-ages event features an evening of baseball-themed crafts and activities, performances of Abbott and Costello’s celebrated comedy sketch “Who’s on First?”, opportunities for children to participate in dramatic readings of Ernest Thayer’s poem “Casey…
Working with nine presidents before this one
One reason I consider myself fortunate to have led a life in politics is that, over time, I’ve had a chance to work with nine presidents. From Lyndon Johnson through Barack Obama, I’ve talked policy, politics and, sometimes, the trivial details of daily life with them. I met JFK twice for brief conversations. I don’t…
Women of WWII
Step back in time and take in a performance of Loose Lips Sink Ships at Theatre in the Park, located within Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site. Showtime is 8 p.m. nightly Aug. 18-20 and 24-26, with complimentary preshow entertainment beginning an hour before each performance. The musical, set in a shipyard in Wisconsin’s Sturgeon…
Solar eclipse bash
On Monday, Aug. 21, avoid the chaos and the crowds in southern Illinois and #GetMooned at Danenberger Family Vineyards during the Great American Solar Eclipse. During the eclipse, the moon will pass between the earth and the sun, blocking the sun from view. Although central Illinois is several hours north of the “path of totality,”…
Knight of the living dead
When my husband comes home from a stressful day at work, he likes to play shoot-‘em-up games on his phone. He says it relaxes him. I’d like to connect and talk before he goes into his mental man cave. Also, when he’s into a game, it’s annoying even to ask what he wants for dinner.…
Darkness in the daytime
“For some people, it is a life-changing event,” said Dr. John C. Martin, associate professor of astronomy-physics at University of Illinois Springfield, regarding the upcoming solar eclipse at approximately 1:20 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21. “I’ve been warned that once you experience a totality you’re going to want to start traveling to see more, because…
Historical eclipse tidbits
• Fifteen total eclipses have been recorded somewhere in the continental United States in the last 150 years. One that was visible as a partial eclipse in this area happened on Feb. 26, 1979. • Following the total solar eclipse of March 7, 1970, the American Association of Ophthalmology reported that 145 cases of burned…
Eclipse events
Danenberger Family Vineyards: “Soleil Noir – Solar Eclipse Bash” featuring six bands, food, souvenir wine glass and safety glasses. Begins 12 p.m., tickets available at dfv.yapsody.com/event/index/112861/soleil-noir-solar-eclipse-bash-dfv Carbondale-area events Moonstock Music FestivalWatch Ozzy Osbourne perform “Bark at the Moon” when he headlines this four-day music festival at Walker’s Bluff Vineyard in Carterville, Illinois, near Carbondale Solar Eclipse…
It’s hard to build heaven in Illinois
Can one ever really form a true utopia – and will it actually survive? Randall J. Soland of Springfield explores six utopias formed in Illinois between 1839 and 1942, in an interesting, well-researched book, Utopian Communities of Illinois – Heaven on the Prairie. Six groups of people attempted their own “heaven on the prairie”: the…
Blaze brings out the best
Just two days after a massive fire lit the sky for miles, Classic Country Cars in Staunton was back in business. Approximately 100 firefighters from more than a dozen departments helped battle the blaze at the landmark antique car dealership alongside Interstate 55 between Springfield and St. Louis. Nearly 150 vehicles housed in a storage…
Vigil at city hall
On Sunday, Aug. 13, less than 24 hours after a “Unite the Right Rally” in Charlottesville, Virginia, exploded into violence resulting in one death and multiple injuries, more than 300 Springfield citizens gathered at the fountain outside of city hall for a vigil and rally to honor the casualties. The mood was somber but hopeful…
Museums close in city
Two museums have closed in as many weeks in Springfield. Late last month, the Korean National War Museum closed in downtown. Just two weeks later, the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum, a fixture on South Seventh Street since 1962, shut its doors. The GAR museum, which contains Civil War era artifacts, shut down…
CATHOUSES NEEDED
Do you like pets with sharp teeth and claws that hate you? Run when you come near? Refuse to come inside and sit quietly by a cozy fire come winter? Hiss and yowl at members of their own species and fight with each other for silly reasons? If so, drop plans for acquiring a Komodo…
BACKPACK GENEROSITY
Aaron’s Sales and Lease stores from across central Illinois have donated 350 backpacks to schools across the region this year, continuing a decade-long company tradition. The backpacks are filled with school supplies such as notebooks, pocket folders, pencils, pencil boxes, erasers, scissors, crayons, rulers and glue sticks, with the understanding that the schools will then…
Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky one of year’s best
It would be easy to dismiss Stephen Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky as a countrified Ocean’s Eleven. It does revolve around a heist; it does involve a ragtag group of misfits; it does contain its fair share of narrative switchbacks, and it does have the director’s trademark brand of sly humor. But these are only surface similarities,…
Sounds fair enough
We’re closing in on the final days of the 2017 Illinois State Fair, and from all reports, all has gone fairly well. Soon the dust will clear, the flies will fly away, and our entertainment scene will return to normal as the memories of fun times carry us through until next year. As always, there…
The Lucky Losers
Heads up, folks! Here comes the best from the west, as Cathy Lemons (vocals) and Phil Berkowitz (vocals, harmonica) bring The Lucky Losers in from San Francisco by way of a Midwest tour. Known as the top male/female-fronted blues band from the Bay Area, the duo is joined by a killer (as they say) band…
vermont report 2017 #4
vermont report 2017 #4 my daughter is a loonfar out in the lakeher head disappearshow many secondsten–eleven–twelve– then it bobs up somewhere else ©2017 Jacqueline Jackson
Vegetables a la Beef
I’ve long been a big fan of chef, writer and TV celebrity Anthony Bourdain. His bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, led to his career in television hosting the Food Network’s “A Cook’s Tour,” Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” and “The Layover,” and CNN’s “Parts Unknown.” I vividly remember a 2013 episode of…
