Category Archives: Politics

Timothy Snyder, ON TYRANNY (2017)

Posted on Wednesday 16 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century” and published in February 2017 by Tim Duggan Books. This is the third book I’ve read or reread recently with a numbered agenda, following the Zakaria book covered in previous post, and Harari’s … Continue reading →

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L&Qs&Cs: The Unfortunate Built-In Trend of American Politics

Posted on Monday 14 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox, Ian Millhiser, 14 Feb 2022: Why Democrats can’t get a fair shake in the Supreme Court, in one chart, subtitled, “Republicans get their dream nominees, while Democrats struggle to confirm moderates.” The core issue is the familiar one that … Continue reading →

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L&Qs&Cs: Separation of Church and State

Posted on Saturday 12 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Pleasant day today, warm and sunny. We did a half-hour walk along Robinson to Skyline and back to Crestmont. I read 150 pages of the popular Mary Robinette Kowal novel, the one that won the big awards. Of my collected … Continue reading →

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Ls&Qs&Cs: Rights and Responsibilities; Authoritarian News Filters

Posted on Wednesday 9 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Quotes and comments about an essay by Thomas L. Friedman about rights and responsibilities, and an article about what Fox News doesn’t cover.

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Ls&Cs: How Big Lies are more easily believed than small ones; Supreme Court predictions

Posted on Sunday 6 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Two pieces about politics, but not for their political content, exactly. Plus an endpiece.

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L&Qs&Cs: Tribal Loyalty and Other Atavisms

Posted on Saturday 5 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

This is fascinating *not* because it’s political, but because it’s evidence that however much some of us think the world “progresses,” there will always be atavisms. With a Randall Munroe namecheck at the end. NYT, Jon A. Shields, 3 Feb … Continue reading →

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Ls&Cs: Breyer, Maus, Panic and Alarm

Posted on Thursday 27 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

A bunch of links, several of which I think make their points by their headlines. Concerning conservative hypocrisy about Supreme Court nominees, banning books, and other matters.

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Ls&Cs: Threats and Exaggerations

Posted on Tuesday 25 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

First, because the general subject fascinates me, here’s a response, by Samuel Goldman in The Week, to the Rauch/Wehner essay in NYT I posted about two days ago about what it is about the left that makes conservatives tolerate Trump.

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Ls&Cs: Balancing the Left and Right

Posted on Sunday 23 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, Jonathan Rauch and Peter Wehner, posted 20 Jan 2022: What’s Happening on the Left Is No Excuse for What’s Happening on the Right

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L&Qs&Cs: Wearing Us Down

Posted on Tuesday 18 January 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

We are weary of this, as I alluded a few posts ago, but that’s what they count on, I think, that the events of the past year, or past five years, will become the new normal. (I refuse to link … Continue reading →

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