Hope Idiotic | Part 23
David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel

Hope Idiotic | Part 23

He burst through the apartment door like a savage. It was just past one in the morning, and Michelle was in bed asleep. He started to kick his shoes off, but he noticed that she hadn’t closed the closet doors. He hated it when she left the closet doors open during the night. He pulled the folding doors to close but something was on the sliding track preventing him from closing the closet. Lou thrashed and thrashed them again. When he realized what was blocking the doors—some of Michelle’s shoes that had been pulled out—he kicked at them and a heel or two slammed against the wall of the closet as the door path became clear. “Fucking shoes!” he shouted. “To hell!”

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What’s an Mp3 Again?
David Himmel, Poetry David Himmel David Himmel, Poetry David Himmel

What’s an Mp3 Again?

We had finished lunch at Arby’s.
Then took me to his place, which was his parents’.
A lovely home decorated in northeastern Americana
heavy on the light houses. 

His bedroom looked like the bedroom of a twenty-year-old
who lived with his parents
and attended a university a fifteen-minute drive away.
Ten minutes longer than his commute to high school.

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Hope Idiotic | Part 22
David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel

Hope Idiotic | Part 22

This was Lou’s cue. All he had to say was, ‘We’d love to’ and the waitress would say she’d be right back. She’d tell the owner/celebrity chef to get ready with the champagne. The manager would put his finger on the appropriate light switches. Lou would tell Michelle how much he loved her and how he wanted to start their life together right away. He’d get on his knee. The lights would change. All of the other patrons would become silent the moment they realized what was happening. He’d reach into the side pocket of his blazer and pull out the ring box. Michelle would start crying.

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What I Learned from The Crucible
MT Cozzola MT Cozzola MT Cozzola MT Cozzola

What I Learned from The Crucible

I was recently terrified by the question, “Are the Woke are the new Puritans?” How do I answer that? I mean, as a white, middle-aged woman—

…No wait, I’m not sure I should say that. I don't mean to use age as a value judgment or attempt to apologetically contextualize myself or her. Let me rephrase.

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Hope Idiotic | Part 21
David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel David Himmel, Fiction David Himmel

Hope Idiotic | Part 21

At that moment, Lou had $8,500 to his name. Give or take the few bucks from his unemployment checks that would be left after trying to pay his credit card bills. Looking at the statement, it felt good having all of that money staring back at him. He didn’t want to ever spend it. But it was already as good as gone.

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Obama Scolds the Woke
Sheri Reda Sheri Reda Sheri Reda Sheri Reda

Obama Scolds the Woke

it looks like our beloved past-president has come out of retirement / hiding / wealth-making / whatever he’s doing with his fancy foundation, at a time when the nation is abandoning allies, abandoning core principles, abandoning the Constitution . . . to criticize THE WOKE for being judgmental.

What the hell do you say to that? OK, Boomer?

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Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of November 3, 2019
David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of November 3, 2019

Those Purdue students protesting that CVS in West Lafayette, Indiana really need something better to do with their weeknights. One cashier’s idiocy for not knowing Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory is not a cause worth fighting for. Hit the books. Or get drunk at Harry’s Chocolate Shop. Or better yet, drown yourself in the Wabash River.

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Dark Flowers: An Excerpt
J.L. Thurston, Fiction Jenni Thurston J.L. Thurston, Fiction Jenni Thurston

Dark Flowers: An Excerpt

When Dahlia is informed she must learn to use her newly discovered powers, she isn’t sure if she should be elated or terrified. Having just murdered a few high school bullies, attending Sterling Manor could mean the start of a new life or the end of one.

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Hope Idiotic | Part 20
Fiction, David Himmel David Himmel Fiction, David Himmel David Himmel

Hope Idiotic | Part 20

Lou stared at her. That five hundred was the most money he’d made doing what he loved in a long, long time. Winning — just performing — was the best he’d felt in just as long. Michelle wasn’t letting him enjoy it. Was she really jealous of his win? And while he could have given her the full five hundred bucks to help pay for the trip, it wouldn’t have made much difference — not with what the whole thing cost anyway. Besides, he’d thought about treating himself to a new blazer and a pair of jeans since he hadn’t bought himself any new clothes in two years. He also thought he’d take Michelle out for a really nice evening, like the one where he would propose to her. This is bullshit, he thought as they engaged in a stare-down. He should have said something, but instead, he shrugged his shoulders in defeat and mumbled, “Fine.” Then he left to wander the ship’s decks drinking a glass of scotch until he had calmed down and figured Michelle had fallen asleep.

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Validation by Exaggerating Harm is Straight Out of the Propagandist Playbook
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

Validation by Exaggerating Harm is Straight Out of the Propagandist Playbook

Take Donald Trump for example. His language choices are intentionally hyperbolic. He routinely elevates perceived enemies into traitors to the State and rants on and on about witch hunts and lynchings. The Left takes the bait and wastes time arguing the semantics of his grievances (“Witch Hunts are against women!”) and the Right buys into the faux seriousness of them and responds in outrage.

It doesn’t help that the Left elevates his discourse as assault and his rhetoric as violence. These concepts are simply ridiculous and even the dumbest of his supporters can see that.

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True Love Exists
J.L. Thurston Jenni Thurston J.L. Thurston Jenni Thurston

True Love Exists

True love exists. It can exist in many forms. It can enter our lives when we are young, or it can wait until we’re seasoned. True love can be discovered, or it can suddenly awaken. I don’t believe everyone experiences it. I wish we all did. I don’t know why some are able to feel it and others can’t. I only know that I am one of the lucky few who have it, and I will hold onto it forever.

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