Category Archives: Culture

Status; Links and Comments: Conservative Willful Misunderstanding of Coronavirus Deaths

Posted on 11 September 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m behind on commenting on newspaper and magazine articles; it’s been almost two weeks! This is because, as I’ve detailed on Facebook (though I realize some readers of this blog might not see my Facebook posts), I’ve been busy finishing … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Benedictine Option; Pandemic Spread; Economic Stabilizers; Ed Yong; Evangelicals and Trump

Posted on 18 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

The Atlantic: The Christian Withdrawal Experiment. Subtitle: Feeling out of step with the mores of contemporary life, members of a conservative-Catholic group have built a thriving community in rural Kansas. Could their flight from mainstream society be a harbinger for … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Lunacy, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Benedictine Option; Pandemic Spread; Economic Stabilizers; Ed Yong; Evangelicals and Trump

Links and Comments: Living in History

Posted on 17 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

People have a tendency to feel pleased they are living in history, experiencing the thrill of witnessing grand, momentous events. This partly explains I think the ever-recurring belief by some that they are living in the “end times.” How special … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Recent links, August 2020

Posted on 12 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Too many recently for detailed comments. Here are a bunch. \\ CNN: Tucker Carlson upset that he’s told how to correctly pronounce Kamala Harris’ name. Why are conservatives upset by being asked to observe simple standards of decency and respect? … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Lunacy, Politics | Leave a comment

Links and Comments: Trump, Evangelicals, Persecution, Fear, Withdrawal

Posted on 9 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

The front page of today’s New York Times has an aerial photo of a house in Sioux Center, Iowa, with the words “In God We Trust” on the roof. The article, a long one, is ‘Christianity Will Have Power’ with … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Human Progress, Lunacy, Religion | Leave a comment

Link and Comments: Jared Diamond on Why Nations Fail Or Succeed When Facing A Crisis

Posted on 6 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Let’s do a relatively academic item today, to avoid the day to day political issues. Though of course it’s not irrelevant to those. Noemag: Jared Diamond: Why Nations Fail Or Succeed When Facing A Crisis Jared Diamond is, of course, … Continue reading →

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Link and Comments: Federal Deficits and Pandemic Relief

Posted on 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 | Leave a comment

Link and Quotes: Frank Bruni on the pandemic and freedom

Posted on 22 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

I saw this via Facebook, and I can’t just now find a cleaner URL: NYT: Frank Bruni, So This Is Your Idea of Freedom? He’s says more eloquently what I was trying to say a couple days ago. What does … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Science | Comments Off on Link and Quotes: Frank Bruni on the pandemic and freedom

Andrew Sullivan: Inspiration for this Blog; essay on Pandemics

Posted on 21 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

[draft] Trying to look away from all the stories about crazy protesters who object to wearing masks and who think the pandemic is all a conspiracy theory they can blame on people they don’t like… To look at long thought-pieces … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Coronavirus, Climate Change, Risk Assessment

Posted on 8 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

(updated 9jul20, 11jul20) Salon, Amanda Marcotte: Climate-change denial and the coronavirus “hoax” are the same conspiracy theory. The worldwide conspiracy is vast — so vast that most of the world’s scientists, journalists and political leaders are in on it. Somehow, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Coronavirus, Climate Change, Risk Assessment