Monthly Archives: September 2023

This Week’s Sciency Bits

Posted on 20 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

False Memories and the Narrative Bias; Another piece with Lee McIntyre about misinformation vs. disinformation; And how the world’s population will likely peak by the end of this century, and then drop; And my thoughts on what the consequences would … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Science, Social Progress | Leave a comment

Today’s Political Items: History and Emergency

Posted on 19 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on the history and current state of the Republican Party, as enabled by people like Mitt Romney; Tom Nichols on the current National Emergency, brought about by the Republican Party. NY Times, Paul Krugman, 18 Sep 2023: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics | Leave a comment

Morality and Corruption

Posted on 18 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How society is becoming more moral, not less; How the press covers politics; Quick takes on the Republican Party as a racket, and the laughable impeachment of the Biden family as “corrupt” by supporters of Trump and his family. OnlySky, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Morality, Politics | Leave a comment

Flickering and Shining: Adam Lee on Red and Blue America

Posted on 17 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Nothing has caught my eye this weekend in the papers or on the websites to blog about. So let’s look at a couple recent essays by Adam Lee, who’s blogged for years and self-published one book collecting some of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Social Progress | Leave a comment

Planning, and Semesters

Posted on 16 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

When you’re retired, not working or going to school or driven by any particular schedule, as I’ve been more or less for a decade now, you tend to mark the passage of time by the holidays or vacations or family … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history, Psychology | Leave a comment

Why Some Religions Seek Atheist Approval

Posted on 15 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Greta Christina on how some religious believers, oddly, seek an atheist seal of approval. It makes a weird sort of sense. Greta Christina, AlterNet, 14 Sep 2023: Opinion | Why religious believers are so desperate for the atheist seal of … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Religion | Leave a comment

Conspiracy Theories from Apollo 11 to Today

Posted on 14 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Looking at today’s Phil Plait column at Scientific American, about his responses to a 2001 Fox TV program that claimed the Apollo 11 Moon landing was a hoax; The history since then about so many other conspiracy theories; And how … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

Another Day of Examples of Beliefs vs. Reality

Posted on 13 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another example of conservatives retelling history, from PragerU; How those with beliefs in subjective truths are more prone to conspiracy theories; How China is now using AI to sow disinformation to gullible Americans, and wondering how long it will be … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, History, Psychology | Leave a comment

No Evidence vs. Evidence

Posted on 12 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items today. How Republicans are determined to impeach President Biden, despite lack of any evidence of his committing any crime (in striking contrast for former president Trump); How many people think crime is worse than ever, and the economy … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | Leave a comment

Odds and Ends from Recent Weeks

Posted on 11 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today I’m catching up on numerous items from recent weeks that I want to note even though I haven’t had time to thoroughly read or comment about them. A couple of them, at least, I will revisit, because I need … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Meaning, Politics, Psychology | Leave a comment