Jenny Lind was a “rock star” long before the term was even coined. “The Swedish Nightingale” is judged to have been the greatest soprano singer of the 19th Century. Her nickname was as well known in her day as “The…
“When Jenny Lind Came to Town”
Author: Wayne Engle
Jesse and Adolf: The rest of the story
“Jesse Owens, the son of sharecroppers, grandson of a slave, won four gold medals in track and field at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany, exploding Adolf Hitler’s myth of ‘Aryan supremacy.’ Hitler, the most evil man in history,…
The Madison Elks building: “Git ‘er done!”
Maybe we need to invite Larry the Cable Guy to Madison to see what he could do about the Elks building impasse, which is nearing its sixth anniversary with no solution in sight. After all, Larry is always telling people…
Obamacare: Did Roberts “blink”? Or, “wink”?
You’ve got to hand it to that John Roberts. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court managed to craft a majority opinion on the burning question of whether Obamacare is constitutional, which delighted the liberals who had detested him…
Madison: A tale of two cities
(Photos by Nice Shots!) My hometown is Madison, Indiana. You could say that my city has a kind of split personality, as Midwest towns go. Make that split personality, squared. No, I’m not dumping on Madison when I say that;…
Let’s keep our buses rolling!
“Why care about Hammond’s buses?” asked the headline on an opinion piece which appeared in The Madison Courier this week. The piece was written by Morton Marcus, an independent economist, writer and speaker, and it pretty much summed up the…
‘The People’ to Lugar, Armand: You’re fired!
Sometimes people “go to the well” once too often. They “wear their welcome out.” They refuse to “quit while they’re ahead.” Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., found that out last night, when he was denied a seventh term by the voters…
“The Welfare State” and the Singing Cowboy
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made an interesting statement the other day. He said that if America goes further down the “entitlement route” than we’ve already gone, we’ll no longer be a nation which honors people’s striving for success. We’ll…
George Zimmerman being symbolically lynched
BULLETIN A “female relative” (anonymous, of course) has “come forward” in a manner of speaking to accuse George Zimmerman of having “molested her” from the time she was 6 and he was 8. It’s another one of those “I was…
Obama: “The Brother”? Or, “The Other”?
Black Americans tend to speak of one of their own as “the brother”. Thus, President Barack Hussein Obama presumably is referred to in that affectionate way by many of those blacks who support his re-election — say, oh, about 95…
“The General” ranks high among all movies
It must be the time for old, classic silent movies. “The Artist” and “Hugo” won a bushel of Oscars between them at the Academy Awards; and after many years of waiting and wanting, I finally got to view Buster Keaton’s…
“It Can’t Happen Here”? Don’t bet on it
Rioters burned and trashed downtown Athens, Greece, this past week, protesting the severe austerity measures that the country’s Parliament is being forced to take to obtain a European Union loan and avoid national bankruptcy. Protesters raised seven kinds of hell…
Old Corporal’s words of wit and wisdom
What’s an “epigram”? Well, it’s a short, pithy saying with a surprise at the end, some wit, and a kernel of truth. Like Oscar Wilde’s, “I can resist anything but temptation.” Or Will Rogers’, “I belong to no organized political…
Purity or ability? Republicans have to choose
Has Newt Gingrich stolen the Republican presidential nomination right out of Mitt Romney’s hand, just as the former Massachusetts governor seemed about to grasp the gold ring? It would seem that way at this writing, shortly after the closing of…
Will the Republicans blow presidential race?
The U.S. unemployment rate is still far higher than any president wants it to be in the year he’s seeking re-election. Public unhappiness with the direction the country is heading is astronomically high. Americans are worried — REALLY worried —…
Reflections on Benji’s Christmas moon
A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine was telling me of photos he had shot, late at night here in Madison. And he made one remark that led me to say, “I think you just gave me an…
Tommy and Conchita’s magical journey
(I wrote this short story, about a young boy and girl in modern times whose fascination with the “Singing Cowboy” Gene Autry leads them down roads they never imagined, several years ago. Hope you enjoy it.) —— “Who’s Gene Autry?”…
Tribune’s favorite sport: Hating on the Mormons
American newspapers from larger cities tend to reflect their regional peculiarities, likes and dislikes, and so on. That’s true of even the New York Times and Washington Post, which are considered national news media outlets as well as ones reporting…
Another movie slurs Shakespeare, the Immortal Bard
They’ve made another movie about Shakespeare! That’s the good news. Now the bad news: Once again, as in “Shakespeare In Love,” The Bard himself plays second fiddle to someone else. In “Shakespeare In Love,” it was a 16th Century feminist…
‘Dew-ey’ need a library cat? Yes!
The Jefferson County Public Library finally has a new director, announced today. He’s Brent Stokesberry, currently at the La Porte County Library in La Porte. And he grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. Now, that last fact may seem like…
GOP will miss good chance without Rick Perry
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas came late to the ranks of Republican hopefuls for the right to face President Obama next year for president. But once in, he zoomed clear to the top of the polls. If one goes by…
My pal Gavin — and his son, the actor
Fewer and fewer Madisonians nowadays would recognize the name “Gavin Lodge” if you said it to them. But I’ll never forget him — he was my best school pal, the guy I was closest to from, oh, about the fourth…
Courthouse holds many memories for Old Corporal
Our venerable guardian, our Jefferson County Courthouse, is back up and running. And looking better than ever. The May 20, 2009 fire that destroyed the cupola and roof and heavily damaged the third floor couldn’t keep the grand old building…
Old Corporal’s poetry corner
Until about a year and a half ago, I didn’t think I could write poetry. (Who was that out there who just said, “You can’t!”?) But anyway, early last year I started gingerly trying to pen some verse, for a…
Let’s take them all to the woodshed!
OK, here’s the plan: You and me find the biggest, nastiest paddle that’s ever been made. We take it down to Washington, D.C. And then we use it to whip about 536 asses. Yep, you guessed it. I’m talking about…
Washington politicians are about to hit the ceiling
Imagine two modern, very powerful locomotives on one railroad track. They are still about 10 or 12 miles apart, but they are barreling pell-mell toward each other. Soon, if someone doesn’t pull a switch to shunt one onto a side…
White people: Are we committing racial suicide?
The Stranger within my gate, He may be true or kind, But he does not talk my talk — I cannot feel his mind. I see the face and the eyes and the mouth, But not the soul behind. “One…
The Mormons: They’re ‘coolin’ up,’ bro!
Jimmer Fredette is coming on strong, looking more and more like a high NBA draft pick. The “too slow,” “can’t play defense” (translation: Too White) jibes are growing fainter and fainter. “The Book of Mormon: The Musical” walked away with…
“White Identity”: It’s a must-read book
“We cannot have the same America, with different people.” If one had to sum up Jared Taylor’s incisive, riveting new book, “White Identity: Racial Consciousness in the 21st Century,” in one sentence, the one above in Mr. Taylor’s own words…
Israel won’t give back the West Bank
President Barack Obama offered Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu a deal that he apparently thought was a good one in a speech this week: “Let’s you give back all the land you won in the 1967 Middle East war, then…
Mr. Bojangles — and Robinson …
I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you In worn out shoes … He called himself Bojangles. But that wasn’t his real name, you see. That name seems to be lost to us, over all these years. He…
Show us the Bin Laden death pictures, Mr. President!
Barack Obama’s administration pulled off a tremendous coup Sunday when it finally rubbed out Osama Bin Laden, the evil master of the 9/11 attacks that killed 3,000 Americans 10 years ago. This piece of sub-human scum had evaded capture for…
Speaking of American English …
We have a multitude of regional accents, or even dialects, in the United States. I loved listening to all of them when I was around guys from all over the country, in the Army. But I wonder if these regional…