Category Archives: Politics

This Week’s Political and Cultural Items

Posted on Friday 5 May 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why Republicans can no longer be called the party of “family values” How Republicans are obsessed by the woke mind virus More reasons why the US needs more immigrants, not fewer Benjamin Wallace-Wells on Tucker Carlson Jerry Coyne on another … Continue reading →

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Our New Hillside, and the usual political matters

Posted on Friday 21 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

First of all, tree trimmers have been near us for two days, trimming and potentially cutting down the eucalyptus trees on the hillside next to our house. This is welcome news because eucalyptus trees are fire-prone, and because a couple … Continue reading →

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Making the Story Go Away

Posted on Tuesday 18 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The big news today: Fox News has settled the case brought by Dominion Voting Systems. (Fox News had repeatedly implied that the 2020 election was somehow stolen via manipulation of the voting machines built by Dominion. Without an ounce of … Continue reading →

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Drag, the Abortion Pill, Blue Cities in Red States

Posted on Monday 17 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why conservatives are so upset by drag; The Comstock Law, an antiquated precedent conservatives use to justify things they don’t like, like the abortion pill; And how people are fleeing blue states for red states — but into blue cities.

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Arguing Styles, Debates, and Winning vs. Being Right

Posted on Friday 14 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve mentioned the book RESPONDING TO THE RIGHT by Nathan J. Robinson a couple times before, and today I want to summarize the gist of the book.

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The Latest Political Outrages and Shenanigans

Posted on Saturday 8 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s topics: Conservative outrage (so easily triggered) against Bud Light; Anti-democratic shenanigans in Tennessee, and the backlash; and how Tennessee places last among all states on democracy, and crushes dissent; About Republican indoctrination; MAGA’s worst week ever; How Medicare expenditures … Continue reading →

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Rules of Law, and Gods, and Politicians

Posted on Wednesday 5 April 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Topics in this post: How MAGAites think their god (Trump) is above the law, with wise insights from John Scalzi; how Republicans want the dumbest parents to control school curricula; the link between white supremacy and anti-abortion politics; how owners … Continue reading →

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Regressions

Posted on Wednesday 29 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Topics in this post: Why do “parents’ rights” only seem to involve requests to suppress and ban? The power of a single conservative snowflake. Undermining democracy. An authoritarianism quiz. Phony scandals. Banning non-existent vaccine microchips. Religion as the solution to … Continue reading →

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Negative News, Conspiracy-Minded Customers, Conservative Traditions

Posted on Thursday 23 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Three items for today. How the negativity bias in news reporting is partly a matter of demand and supply; How “the customer is always right” thinking leads Fox News and Republican congressmen to pursue outlandish conspiracy theories, because that what … Continue reading →

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How Much News Is Too Much News?

Posted on Tuesday 21 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today: that debate, my own news consuming habits, and the negativity bias. Then: more about wokeness, and the relationship between conservatism, liberalism, wokeness, and equality; and between teaching values and indoctrination. The Atlantic, Shadi Hamid, 13 Mar 2023: You’re Better … Continue reading →

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