Category Archives: conservatives

The Deep State, or, Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 3

Posted on Saturday 11 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve said the last two posts that I would quote the passages of Rauch’s book in which he describes what he considers to be the components of the “reality-based community.” And how it struck me that some of these components … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 2

Posted on Friday 10 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Yesterday I gave a general overview of this book, and made a few specific comments. Today I’m going to read through my notes again, and highlight some more specific comments, and maybe quotes. Like this summary, at the end. The … Continue reading →

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Jonathan Rauch, THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE, part 1

Posted on Thursday 9 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “A Defense of Truth”. Brookings, 2021. 266pp of text, plus notes and index, total 305pp. This is one of two books I’ve read recently, following the Lee McIntyre book that I posted about two days ago, that dovetail in … Continue reading →

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Conservative Epistemology

Posted on Monday 6 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The core belief that explains extremism on the right; Peter Wehner on how Republicans have chosen nihilism; My wondering what the deep explanation is for what’s happened on the right; Short items about GOP tax cheats, Trump’s latest outrageous lies, … Continue reading →

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Media, Mystics, and Two Key Republican Obsessions

Posted on Friday 3 November 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two curious items from Facebook, about learning new media, and scientists as “mystics”; Three items, one by Paul Krugman, about the Republicans’ naked obsession with benefiting the ultra-wealthy; Three items, or maybe four, about Republican obsession with other people’s sex … Continue reading →

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Dysfunctional American Politics and Speculation About Root Causes

Posted on Sunday 22 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on the decline of Pax Americana; New Republic on why the Republicans are dysfunctional: they have no policy ideas or purpose; NYT’s Jamelle Bouie on how the Republican Party got Southernized; And a note about Jonathan Rauch’s The … Continue reading →

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Politics and Education

Posted on Friday 20 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items about Jim Jordan; Two items about education. —— A couple more items about Jim Jordan (currently still trying to get elected to Speaker of the House). Salon, Amanda Marcotte, 19 Oct 2023: Jim Jordan’s curious rise: A tale … Continue reading →

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San Francisco, according to The New Yorker

Posted on Tuesday 17 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A long New Yorker essay about San Francisco, which acknowledges the minuses and the plusses; An ethereal track by Enya: “Exile”. – – – Another piece about San Francisco, a long piece in The New Yorker. Reading it now. Is … Continue reading →

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UBI, Shopping, and San Francisco

Posted on Monday 16 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Another take on the idea of “universal basic income”; About conservative supermarket shopping habits; San Francisco’s ranking among world cities. Another take on the idea of “universal basic income,” the counter-intuitive (and anathema to conservatives) notion than the government simply … Continue reading →

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MAGAs and Ukraine; Trust in Science

Posted on Tuesday 3 October 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on why MAGA supports Putin rather than Ukraine; An essay on why Americans increasingly distrust science; And in tribute the late Larry Kramer, the greatest track I heard when he introduced me to the rock band U2. NY … Continue reading →

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