Books
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Jan Swoboda, Political Navigator For Former State Representative Lary Swoboda, Dies At 82
Upon hearing the news that Janice Swoboda, 82, of Luxemburg, had died, one of the first thoughts that came to mind was that a very unique couple was together again. She was married to former State Representative Lary Swoboda. who served for 24 years in Madison. He died at the age of 73 in 2012.… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Farewell, Ted Kennedy” Reprint From 8/30/09
It has been a week of memories, melancholy, and musings about the past. It was one of those weeks when I needed to seek out time alone to reflect on the news and images flooding the airwaves in the aftermath of Senator Ted Kennedy’s death. The absolute necessity of solitude—on long walks or while sitting… Continue reading
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Book Journey Through History
Every summer, since the mid-1990s, I have selected a topic to read and explore. One year, it was Catherine the Great, then Russian history, and another year, Mao Zedong consumed my attention. This year, I am not sure which direction to head. So, over the past couple of weeks, I have spent time on the… Continue reading
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Chaos In The Republic: What President McKinley’s Assassination Revealed About A Fractured America
Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley situates the assassination of President William McKinley within a nation deeply divided by the forces of industrial capitalism. I probably did not need to pull another book from the shelves this weekend, but I was in the mood for something different, so the slim volume of just over 200 pages fell… Continue reading
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Exhaustion From Hypermasculinity In (Ted Bell) Books
I was reading a book in the parking area at the Middleton Post Office this afternoon as James ran some boxes in for mailing. I was 300 pages into Ted Bell’s second Alex Hawke book, Assassin, and abruptly closed it and threw it in the back seat. I had come close to calling it a… Continue reading
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Wisconsin-Born Legendary “Voice Of Agriculture”, Orion Samuelson, Dies At 91
Legendary WGN Radio farm broadcaster Orion Samuelson passed away Monday at the age of 91. Known as the “Voice of Agriculture,” his life is most worthy of recalling. Samuelson was born on a dairy farm in Ontario, Wisconsin, where a leg disease left him for a time nearly crippled as a teenager. He would take classes for six… Continue reading
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Redgranite Library Funding Shortage Rightly Rankles Locals
Concerns over budget cuts at the Redgranite Library in Waushara County have created much conversation and disgust in recent weeks, Library board members voiced their concerns over the unexplained and deep $11,000 cut, nearly 21% of last year’s funding amount. It need not be explained to my readers that the library is an essential resource… Continue reading
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Stuart Kaminsky: Inspector Rostnikov Series Has Characters Striving For Moral, Ethical, Humane Outcomes
This week, the last two books in the Inspector Rostnikov series by Stuart Kaminsky arrived from Amazon. As I took them from the package, I wondered what suspense they would hold. Over the next few months, they will land in my hands, and then there will be no more to anticipate. I was crowdsourcing in… Continue reading
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Letter From Home: “Turning Pages In The Sun” 2/15/26
There’s a particular kind of joy that arrives the moment winter finally loosens its grip. That is what happened this weekend in places around Wisconsin. It’s not loud or dramatic. It’s quiet, like the soft sound of a book page turning. Sitting for the first time this year at the table and chairs on our… Continue reading
Caffeinated Politics 