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Politics

Trump Comeback?

Well, Trump skated again, which means he will likely be back at us to salve his ego, which is why he became president of the USA in the first place. Ego is why he does anything and everything. We can only wonder what his childhood was like. Maybe there is one good outcome of this failure to convict Trump when...

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 SK Figler2024, Democrats, Donald Trump, elections, impeachment, Right Wing, voting2 Comments

These Times

Just Call a Liar a Liar

Why have we stopped calling liars what they are?: liars. Why have we, especially the media, come to accept and use weasel-words such as "misinformation," "disinformation," and "alternate reality?" It's like calling a felony a "misdeed." My English teachers --- at Palm Beach Elementary, Palm Beach High (now called Twin Lakes High, dang-it), and Oglethorpe University --- are probably hopping...

January 31, 2021 SK Figleralternate reality, disinformation, Karen Tumulty, lie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, media, misinformation, Oglethorpe University, Trump2 Comments

"Ah-humanity"

Deep Breathing

I haven't posted anything for about six weeks, didn't know why, not even working on the final draft of Hudson School, my next novel. Then the election came roaring down the pike, the delayed results emerged, and suddenly I can breathe again, really breathe, deeply. I didn't know I had lost---no, misplaced---the ability to open up and take it in. ...

November 10, 2020 SK Figlerbreathing, Democracy, government, Great Spirit, Hudson School, Thomas JeffersonNo Comment

"Poly-ticks"

The Rules of Partisan Politics

Regarding the current Supreme Court mess... The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg — like Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights giant, who demanded that the United States live up to its ideals — has created the fourth time in the last six decades that liberals may turn over a seat to conservatives. Aware of this possibility, some legal scholars and writers...

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020 SK FiglerClarence Thomas, Democrats, elections, Hugo Black, Lyndon Johnson, Obama, Republicans, Richard Nixon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall, Trump2 Comments

"Ah-humanity", "Poly-ticks"

What explains Trump?

Too many people try to explain Trump's actions and motivations rationally, when he has shown us for many years to be primarily if not totally irrational. The latest is Heather Cox Richardson writing on today's Bill Moyers On Democracy blog (billmoyers.com.) As I wade through the flood of news today, all of it trying to tilt the playing field toward...

September 4, 2020 SK FiglerBill Moyers, Donald Trump, Heather Cox Richardson, Republicans4 Comments

"Poly-ticks"

What Explains Trump’s “Base?”

As bizarre and lie-filled as the recent Republican Convention was, one would think that it could only do damage to the Cause of Trump. And yet 35 to 45% of our country remain rabid Trumpists. Is it simply that they are stupid? It's certainly not rational what he and they say about "evil" Democrats. Is it getting back at Democrats...

August 30, 2020 SK Figler2020 Republican Convention, Donald Trump, fear, Jim Crow laws, resentment, Tories, W.J. CashNo Comment

"Poly-ticks"

Anger in the RNC

I watched all four nights of the delightful Democratic Nominating Convention and have felt compelled to watch the first two nights of the Republican Convention. I think I won’t watch tonight, because I feel that I’ve learned what I can learn from this version of Republicanism. I had hoped to some extent to be surprised by the Republicans, but I...

August 27, 2020August 27, 2020 SK Figler2 Comments

"HUDSON SCHOOL"

Eastern Air

Figler/HUDSON/Eastern Air SK Figler Chapter ____ Eastern Air Jacob said he wanted the seat by the window. He looked out the whole time, even when all Henry could see was clouds. Mother was on Henry’s other side where people walked. Mostly she knitted and smoked and drank something with ice, but it wasn’t water. After awhile, Henry...

August 14, 2020August 22, 2020 SK FiglerEastern Air Lines, Palm Beach1 Comment

Thoughts on writing fiction, Writer's Blog

The Impact of One Word

I'm reading A Lesson Before Dying (1993), a novel by Ernest J. Gaines, and wondering why it took me so long to notice this marvelous work of fiction. Following is a short scene showing how much can be done with a single simple word. That word is "here," and the situation digs into a donation of $10 to buy a...