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Radical fellows
We must add to that list one David Green, a 63-year-old physics professor who is running for the U.S. House in the March primary. He used the word “socialist” to describe his anticorporatist and isolationist views, which is kind of like kids who cherrybomb mailboxes calling themselves terrorists.

Editor’s note
President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, previously known as people of peace, have succumbed to the Washington mindset that military action is “doing something” while nonviolent action is doing nothing.

American Dream needs fair minimum wage
My life is a tribute to the American Dream. My business partner and I started with 300 record albums and a $20 booth at the local farmers market. That was nearly 34 years ago. Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis has grown into a multimillion-dollar company with 23 employees.

Getting ahead on the backs of others
So I was really touched when I read that, even in these hard times, one extended family with three generations active in their enterprise is hanging in there and doing well. Christy, Jim, Alice, Robbie, Ann and Nancy are their names – and with good luck and oldfashioned pluck, they have managed to build a fairly sizeable family nest egg.

LETTERS
Juried artisans teach classes and participate in solo and group exhibitions, arts sprees (indoor art fairs) and demonstrations.

Raymond Poe keeps the peace by bowing out
When Daniels announced 10 years later he’d be stepping aside, a months-long feud erupted between Reps. Tom Cross and Art Tenhouse, with the downstater Tenhouse coming out on the losing end. The fight got personal and emotional and lots of members were put in highly uncomfortable positions.

Futuristic farmers
Though the concept of planting seeds and harvesting the bounty seems simple enough, there are numerous risks to contend with: weeds, bugs, drought, flood, cold, disease and even human error. However, the 2013 Farm Progress Show in Decatur last week showcased a variety of technologies that take the guesswork out of agriculture.

GO WILD
With autumn fast approaching, it’s time to think about heading into the woods, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is here to help. Every few years, the department gathers up stuff that has been either confi scated – think fi shing rods taken from poachers – or found somewhere on public land and puts it up for sale.

SHOE LEATHER REPORTING
A gaggle of State Journal- Register journalists took to the streets Monday for the city’s annual Labor Day parade, which might explain why there were pictures, but not a story, about the festivities in the next day’s fi sh wrap. Perhaps there were too many reporters marching to actually cover the event.

A new plan for the Boys and Girls Club
The troubled organization had missed a major grant deadline, closed its main facility and hadn’t created a workable budget in two years. Legge is the third director in three years, and he says he’s committed to rebuilding the organization by fixing its finances, its facilities and its standing in the community.

Panhandlers sue city
Two Springfield panhandlers filed a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Springfield and a handful of city police officers on Tuesday, alleging the city and the officers violate panhandlers’ right to free speech by ticketing and arresting them.

Going the mile
“It’s fingertips and toes,” says Steve Morehead, a retired racer who works as a race director for the American Motorcycle Association, presiding over competitions at the top tracks in America, including the oval at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Springfield’s first hanging
Nathanial Van Noy holds the dubious double distinction of being both the first murderer in Sangamon County as well as the first person to be hanged in Springfield. But it wasn’t the murder itself that made him infamous; it was the bizarre and gruesome spectacle of his hanging, when Van Noy tried to cheat death.

How kids can make their own dough
I’ve written about make-your-own-pizza nights before. They were a Glatz tradition: Family nights that often ended with us all watching a video, and on really special occasions, make-your-own-sundaes. Initially they were just for our immediate family, but soon they expanded into almost de rigueur fare for sleepovers and slumber parties.

Closed Circuit a gripping thriller for our times
The attack that plays out during the opening credits - an open air market in downtown London is bombed – plays directly to our fears.

Rosie blooms
Few other Americana artists spent a lifetime as creative, consistent and challenging as Rosie Flores. From her early days with the Los Angeles cow-punk, rockabilly scene to a current life-defining record, her work from constant live performer to recent record producer follows the music muse.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | The Ex-Bombers
Out of Charleston, Ill. and originally from Columbia, Mo., The Ex-Bombers are doing swell with a minimalist setup of bass, drum and vocals saying all that needs to be heard. Drummer and vocalist Keri Cousins says the music is “dirtbag spy jazz or beatnik punk” and proudly adds that “our songs come from seedy and sleazy places.

PUB CRAWL
Hey Brother, Bob Littrell and Gary Fifer.

THE CALENDAR
Sat, Fishing derby, vendors, food, demos, bungee jumping and bands nightly. Williamsville Park, Williamsville, 217- 899-9825..

THE ARTS | Triple the talent
Creatives from Springfield have been working together making art, poetry and music inspired by each other’s work. You can hear and see the final pieces on Friday, Sept. 6, at Prairie Art Alliance Gallery II, located on the south side of Old Capitol Plaza.

FESTIVAL | Good for what ales you
Springfield Oyster and Beer Festival celebrates craft beer. Held Sept. 7 in the parking lot of the Inn at 835, the gathering of breweries from across the U.S. also includes tasty seafood and other eats, music by Harmony Deep and Thornhill and exhibits. Admission tickets include a tasting glass and five drink tickets.

FESTIVAL | Dining for a cause
Kidzeum of Health and Science is the beneficiary of this popular culinary and country music soirée, held this year on Saturday, Sept. 7, downtown on Adams Street. Dinner service from 5:30-7 p.m. includes savory entrees prepared onsite by the Illinois Pork Producers, mouthwatering sides from Cafe Moxo and delicious desserts provided by Eli’s Cheesecake.

THEATER | Stage phenomenon
Springfield Municipal Opera (The Muni) ends its 2013 season with the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical that made a sensational 12-year run on Broadway. This local production of Rent.