Category Archives: Politics

Lies Absurd, and Telling

Posted on Tuesday 10 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The latest absurd Republican lie is about cat-eating Haitians, and they don’t care whether it’s true or not, they know it will rile up their base; A Republican suggests that the Great Depression was planned; An article that quotes Republican … Continue reading →

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How Beliefs Prevail over Evidence and Reality

Posted on Sunday 8 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Democrats have fixed the economy, but many people don’t “believe” it; CBS News’ Ted Koppel visits a Wisconsin State Fair; The crowd cheers Trump’s latest word salad; How conservatives actually hate American values; And how the mainstream press in America … Continue reading →

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Cheating and Lying

Posted on Saturday 7 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

To me, all of these undermine the Conservative project as a legitimate intellectual discourse. How new local news sources are not what they appear to be; Epoch Times; my rule of thumb about reliable news sources; How the Heritage Foundation … Continue reading →

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Alternative Political Realities

Posted on Thursday 5 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I continue to find examples like these fascinating. I know they are extreme examples, and not representative of conservatives in general. But that these claims and attitudes still exist, and are widely circulated, suggests to me that, in the big … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Morality, Politics | Comments Off on Alternative Political Realities

Robert Reich, THE COMMON GOOD

Posted on Friday 30 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s another shortish book I read recently, not a memoir but a book at the intersection of politics, morality, and human nature, which is itself another theme of my reading the past two or three years. It’s by Robert Reich, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Education, Morality, Politics | Comments Off on Robert Reich, THE COMMON GOOD

Human Nature, Morality, Politics

Posted on Wednesday 28 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I think the title here is the name for the broad category of my interests. They all blend together. They connect. For today: Would conservatives ever allow a revision of the US Constitution? No matter how dysfunctional it’s become, no … Continue reading →

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Political Truths and Lies

Posted on Tuesday 27 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

A subject which never ends. My fascination with this, yet again, isn’t about politics per se, so much as trying to understand why people believe what they do, and how humanity struggles with the balance of survival vs understanding. How … Continue reading →

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DNC and Late August Goings-On

Posted on Friday 23 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Last night was the end of the Democratic National Convention, with Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech as nominee for president, and it’s been well-covered in all the news media. Most of us thought Harris did quite well, as she bridged from … Continue reading →

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Friends and Neighbors, Conformity vs. Liberty

Posted on Thursday 22 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How the Walz/Vance debate revealed two different views of America: conformity v liberty; How we depend on friends and neighbors, and Oprah’s DNC speech; How morality evolved, and religion merely captured it; Brief items about crowd sizes and looks; taking … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Culture, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Friends and Neighbors, Conformity vs. Liberty

Neopatriarchy, Tax Cuts, Conflict Entrepreneurs, and How the Nonreligious Might Save Humanity

Posted on Tuesday 20 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on odds and ends today. The Right’s “neopatricarchy” is nothing but a prioritization of tribal morality — that nothing matters than having more children; Republicans are famous for bribing voters with tax cuts; now Democrats are doing it … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Neopatriarchy, Tax Cuts, Conflict Entrepreneurs, and How the Nonreligious Might Save Humanity