Category Archives: Conservative Resistance

Link and Comments: Federal Deficits and Pandemic Relief

Posted on Thursday 23 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

One of the themes of my blog here is that reality is complex. While many if not most people (especially conservatives) cling to simple, black and white, alternatives to every issue, and think the right answer is always white, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Economics | Comments Off on Link and Comments: Federal Deficits and Pandemic Relief

About the Pandemic and Individual Liberty

Posted on Monday 20 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

There’s a point to be made about the zealots insisting on individual liberty, when they go ballistic about refusing to wear masks (example links below). Do they bristle at the intrusion on individual liberty that there are laws that prevent … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Science | Comments Off on About the Pandemic and Individual Liberty

Links and Comments: Search Engines; Responses to Disease

Posted on Sunday 19 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

I found the piece mentioned two days ago about London reforms after the Black Plague. Actually it was New York reforms after the 1860s. It’s an opinion piece in the NYT that was online four days ago, and that appeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Search Engines; Responses to Disease

Links and Comments: Wars on Science; Epistemology; Conspiracy Theories

Posted on Wednesday 27 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

A facebook friend comments: “Research” isn’t just googling to find someone saying what you want to hear. That’s confirmation bias, and cherry picking. \\ My own thought, a week ago: The big political conflicts aren’t about asking the same questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Wars on Science; Epistemology; Conspiracy Theories

Links and Comments: 28 Apr 2020

Posted on Tuesday 28 April 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

One of today’s news sites links to an article about how Trump, and science-deniers in general, aren’t trying to fight science per se, but are trying to “claim the prestige of capital-s ‘Science.’”. Adam Laats at the History News Network: … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: 28 Apr 2020

Links and Comments: Socialism, Conspiracy Theories, Religion, Rationality, Liberalism, William Barr, Republicans

Posted on Friday 20 March 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

First, a David Brooks column from back in December: I Was Once a Socialist. Then I Saw How It Worked. I was a socialist in college. I read magazines like The Nation and old issues of The New Masses. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Humanism, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Socialism, Conspiracy Theories, Religion, Rationality, Liberalism, William Barr, Republicans

Links and Comments: Secrets of Success, the 2010s, Gibson’s future, History v. Narratives

Posted on Friday 3 January 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Here are a few items from recent papers. 1) Nicholas Kristof: The Four Secrets of Success. Which are: 1. Take a class in economics and in statistics 2. Connect to a cause larger than yourself. 3. Make out. 4. Escape … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Economics, Narrative | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Secrets of Success, the 2010s, Gibson’s future, History v. Narratives

Peter Watts essay: “Understanding Sarah Palin, or, God Is In the Wattles”: Summary and Comments

Posted on Saturday 21 December 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

From the book Peter Watts Is An Angry Sentient Tumor: Revenge Fantasies and Essays (Tachyon, November 2019), a selection of posts from the blog of Peter Watts, which has been running since 2007. Watts is the noted author of high … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Conservative Resistance, Evolution, Religion | Comments Off on Peter Watts essay: “Understanding Sarah Palin, or, God Is In the Wattles”: Summary and Comments

Links and Comments: Sustainability and Rural Living

Posted on Friday 15 November 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

Problem? Or solution? Sarah Smarsh: Something Special Is Happening in Rural America. Subtitle: There is a “brain gain” afoot that suggests a national homecoming to less bustling spaces. Writing from Wichita The nation’s most populous cities, the bicoastal pillars of … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Social Progress | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Sustainability and Rural Living

Links and Comments: Suffering Death without Religion; Fox News; Fundamentalism

Posted on Tuesday 4 June 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

New York Times: Surviving the Death of My Son After the Death of My Faith, subtitled, I had lost the one thing that could have numbed my pain. By Amber Scorah. A woman leaves her religion, gets on with her … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Psychology, Religion, Ten Commandments | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Suffering Death without Religion; Fox News; Fundamentalism