Monthly Archives: February 2022

Berlin in 1993; The Dark 21st Century; Wordle

Posted on 18 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s L&Qs&Cs, about where the 21st century is heading after the optimism of the 1990s, with a recollection about being in Berlin in 1993. Today’s endpiece, about Wordle.

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Ls&Cs: How the Right Counts on Conspiracy Theories

Posted on 17 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Links today about how conspiracy theories advantage the right, and how this implicitly acknowledges that conservatives can’t win elections based on positions, arguments, or values.

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Timothy Snyder, ON TYRANNY (2017)

Posted on 16 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century” and published in February 2017 by Tim Duggan Books. This is the third book I’ve read or reread recently with a numbered agenda, following the Zakaria book covered in previous post, and Harari’s … Continue reading →

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Fareed Zakaria, TEN LESSONS FOR A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD (2020)

Posted on 15 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s the next book with a numbered agenda up for summary (following Harari’s 21 Lessons). It came out in October 2020, with journalistic promptness just six or seven months after the beginning of the lockdown, though before vaccines became available … Continue reading →

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L&Qs&Cs: The Unfortunate Built-In Trend of American Politics

Posted on 14 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox, Ian Millhiser, 14 Feb 2022: Why Democrats can’t get a fair shake in the Supreme Court, in one chart, subtitled, “Republicans get their dream nominees, while Democrats struggle to confirm moderates.” The core issue is the familiar one that … Continue reading →

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Albany Mudflats and Bulb, and Costco

Posted on 13 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Today we went for a walk along the Berkeley bay shore, thinking to avoid traffic by setting off while that big football game everyone is talking about was playing. But we weren’t paying close attention and left about half an … Continue reading →

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L&Qs&Cs: Separation of Church and State

Posted on 12 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Pleasant day today, warm and sunny. We did a half-hour walk along Robinson to Skyline and back to Crestmont. I read 150 pages of the popular Mary Robinette Kowal novel, the one that won the big awards. Of my collected … Continue reading →

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L&Qs&Cs: Obesity; Access Queries

Posted on 11 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

A few days ago — in my Feb 8th post — I linked an article from MSNBC that showed that the major issue in the US lack of response to the covid crisis was, not trust in science, but trust … Continue reading →

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Doctor’s Visit

Posted on 10 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

On Thursday I posted a “placeholder” post just so that any of my tens of readers would know I was still alive and posting and not missing a day. Today as I write is Friday and this post will replace … Continue reading →

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Ls&Qs&Cs: Rights and Responsibilities; Authoritarian News Filters

Posted on 9 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Quotes and comments about an essay by Thomas L. Friedman about rights and responsibilities, and an article about what Fox News doesn’t cover.

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