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Are we doomed to polarization?
The reason for this dissatisfaction is clear. Polls in recent years detail a polarized nation, divided both ideologically and politically. This is, as the Pew Research Center put it recently, “a defining feature of politics today.” In the public’s eye, Washington gets most of the blame for this.

Immigrants behaving badly
The house came ready-made but the yard didn’t. Thus it was that, in addition to the picket fence and the rose trellis, my parents decided to plant a tree in the front yard. They did this because houses are supposed to have trees in the front yard, but as I look back the gesture also can be seen as planting the flag in conquered territory.

History is calling
“We the People” are faced – right now – with another of those “when in the course of human events” moments Jefferson wrote about. Not only is this a month to reconnect with our revolutionary heritage but it’s also the appropriate time for re-declaring our independence, this time from “They the Corporations.

LETTERS
It seems to me that when you remove all of the biased beliefs and canons of the Roman Catholic Church, then you can’t really call it Catholic any longer. In my opinion, as a former Catholic, allowing women to be priests is only the tip of the iceberg. Priests should be allowed to marry.

Public’s thoughts on Rauner’s economic plan
“That plan calls for a freeze on property taxes and rolling back the 2010 tax increase. It also implements a new tax on services such as advertising, legal services, and mini-storage centers. We’d like to know whether this type of plan would make you more likely, or less likely to vote for him.

SEEING GREEN
Saturday and Sunday, July 26-27, tour the fi rst green, passive house in Sangamon County featured in the 2014 GreenBuilt Home Tour.

FINGER LICKIN’ GOOD
We can’t write a better intro than contained in the press release sent out by the good folks who put on the annual Redneck Fishing Tournament in Bath, so here goes: “For a lot of people, the assumption is Asian carp probably tastes a lot like the same letters – c, a, r, p – arranged in a slightly different order.

Death before dawn
The early morning hours of July 19, 1974, were like any other in the Norfolk and Western railroad yard in Decatur. The forecast was typical for July – hot, sunny, and with a gentle breeze blowing from the northwest. At 5:03 a.m.

Troubled man contacts judge
Graves had presided over a driving under the influence case of Tyler Dixon, 30, until April of last year, when the judge recused herself after receiving a bouquet of flowers and a card from the defendant.

Dysfunction on display
The meeting of the IHPA board, which oversees the ALPLM, began with a brief discussion of plans for an ad hoc committee to discuss governance questions that have loomed large since May, when House Speaker Michael Madigan moved to divorce the institution from IHPA and make it a stand-alone agency.

Forging a new path
The Historic Preservation Fund, part of the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, hopes to turn Jackson Street in downtown Springfield from an underused shortcut of a street into a pathway linking the Illinois State Capitol with Abraham Lincoln’s house.

Wave the flag
With just one original member, the legendary hardcore punk band from California is, in at least one respect, a shadow of its former self. But what a self it is.

Vegetarian dishes for summer visitors
Since Robbie came into our lives, we’ve visited back and forth frequently. But for the last 11 months for a variety of reasons both legitimate and unavoidable, planned visits both ways have been postponed, rescheduled, postponed again and eventually cancelled.

Dismal Sex Tape
In a case of wish-fulfillment casting, Segel and Cameron Diaz are Jay and Annie, a married couple who are stuck in a rut. Like so many of us, everyday life is kicking their butts and they’ve got the stress to prove it.

Ending with a bang
On Friday, Bar None hosts a memorial music night for the late musician Ben Underwood. The life celebration starts with a potluck dinner at 7 and the concert begins at 9. A whole bunch of family, friends and musicians who miss the gregarious guy immensely and forever will be there.

PUB CRAWL
Jukebox Casanova, Ghost Hollow, Action Bastard, Nikki Keller.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Marina V
From Russia with love comes the irrepressible Marina V (short for Verenikina) dashing across the U.S. with her “C Minor to Shining Sea” summer tour in full swing.

THE CALENDAR
Books & Authors New Jim Crow Reading Group.

ART | Block party
Springfield Art Association rolls out its colorful festival Paint the Street in downtown Springfield Saturday, July 26. Anyone can purchase a six-foot by six-foot square to fill with their imagination using paint. SAA supplies the washable tempera and brushes.

NATURE | Group gardens
University of Illinois Extension will host Roots to Rooftop Tour: Community Gardens, Urban Agriculture and a Rooftop Garden on Sunday, July 27.

PHOTOGRAPHY | Creative camerawork
There’s a new gallery in town! 1227 is located at 1227 S. Pasfield Ave., behind The Pharmacy. Five local photographers Lou Fremgen, Tom Handy, James Hawker, Greg Laun and John Record, a group known as Next Friday, having met the last Friday of the month for the past year to discuss photography and their work, will present their first group showing.