Category Archives: Politics

Assorted Links, early March

Posted on Friday 3 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Politics, The Crazies, Science and Culture, Religion Jeff VanderMeer (and a coauthor) on DeSantis and students in Florida; David French on cancel culture and the now two Overton Windows; Amanda Marcotte on Republican hypocrisy; MTG’s confused timeline; bills to outlaw … Continue reading →

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Leftover February Links, 2

Posted on Thursday 2 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Science, Culture, Politics A 3-D map of near space, and errors in film and TV science fiction, and a novel; 11 recent scientific breakthroughs; a Lunar time zone. When reading went silent. Ron DeSantis’ freedom crackdown, and a question about … Continue reading →

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Leftover February Links, 1

Posted on Wednesday 1 March 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Politics, Science, Culture, Religion GOP, NYT and Biden; Evolution, Aliens and Balloons; Movie Credits, Awards; He Gets Us, Indoctrination Camps, Education

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Arguing to Win, Not to Be Right

Posted on Thursday 23 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two books about how to argue; more on the “national divorce”; and items about the right-wing battle for the next century, train deregulation, a new target list of enemies, and buying your way onto bestseller lists. Here’s a review in … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off

Red and Blue and Diversity

Posted on Wednesday 22 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About a fringe notion to split the US into separate nations of red and blue states; and about the range of human nature and the value of diversity. Haven’t run this item yet; it seemed so fringe, a couple days … Continue reading →

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The Gaps Between Beliefs and Reality

Posted on Tuesday 21 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today about how Americans treat Presidents’ Day and other holidays; about more Republicans lying on their resumes; why Fox News viewers don’t care the network is lying to them; and why Putin’s fabulations about his war in Ukraine appeal … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Narrative, Philosophy, Politics | Comments Off

Political News, Ratings Forward

Posted on Sunday 19 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How Fox News prioritizes ratings above truth or principles of journalism; How Florida is seeking to replace SAT with “Christian” testing; How and why to shame Republican judges; How the far-right is ascendant on college campuses. NY Times, Michelle Goldberg, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off

Stickiness of Nonbelief

Posted on Friday 17 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How nonbelief is stickier than belief. Plus: Fox News lied! Who would have thought? And: how UFOs and CRT go together; the number of respectable Republicans. \ OnlySky, Andrew Fiala, 15 Feb 2023: What the stickiness of nonbelief says about … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Religion | Comments Off

The Myth of the Perfect Past

Posted on Thursday 16 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

When life was simple and everything you were supposed to know was contained in a single book. Also: why The Lord of the Rings is so appealing to the right; media libel laws; policing; and a lagniappe about a real … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Philosophy, Politics | Comments Off

Hypocrisy and Indoctrination

Posted on Wednesday 15 February 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

I’ve noted before how conservatives denounce “indoctrination” except when they’re the ones doing the indoctrinating. Examples include DeSantis imposing conservative values on a Florida college long known as a bastion of “free thinkers”. And examples of people believing things that … Continue reading →