Category Archives: Politics

Links and Comments: Make-Believe worlds and Donald Trump and his supporters

Posted on Wednesday 14 October 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

As evidence for my thoughts, in this post Notes for the Book: Magical Thinking, Cognitive Dissonance, Group-Thinking, about how many people live in a kind of make-believe world, for reasons of group solidarity, and despite the inevitable cognitive dissonance with … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Make-Believe worlds and Donald Trump and his supporters

Links and Comments: Abortion, and Mayor Pete

Posted on Tuesday 13 October 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a transcript of a portion of an interview with Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who ran for the Democratic nomination for president earlier this year. This transcript has been floating around for months, and when … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Abortion, and Mayor Pete

Links and Comments: Cognitive Dissonance and Fox News

Posted on Tuesday 6 October 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

As if on cue, following my past few posts, here’s a NY Times columnist today on Why Fox News Is Still in a Coronavirus Bubble. Subtitle: “Humans will do figure eights to make facts suit their fictions. Laura Ingraham and … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Republican denial of coronavirus; Trump’s narcissism; Cults and cognitive dissonance

Posted on Monday 5 October 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Washington Post: The GOP’s coronavirus denialism finally catches up with its leaders, by traditionally conservative writer Max Boot. He responds to a tweet, by a Republican. “Does anyone else find it odd,” she wrote Friday, “that no prominent Democrats have … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Republican denial of coronavirus; Trump’s narcissism; Cults and cognitive dissonance

Links and Comments: The Debate; Trump and Christians; No Back to Normal

Posted on Sunday 4 October 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

So much to keep up with! The debate last Tuesday. NYT Editorial: A Debate That Can’t Be Ignored. Subtitle: “Americans need to face the man who is their president.” The debate was excruciating to watch for anyone who loves this … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: The Debate; Trump and Christians; No Back to Normal

Links and Comments: America’s Reputation; Facebook; Cognitive Dissonance

Posted on Wednesday 30 September 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times, 25 Sept.: I Feel Sorry for Americans’: A Baffled World Watches the U.S.. Subtitle: “From Myanmar to Canada, people are asking: How did a superpower allow itself to be felled by a virus? And why won’t the president … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Technology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: America’s Reputation; Facebook; Cognitive Dissonance

Links and Comments: Trump’s would-be theocratic regime; the perfidy of Fox News

Posted on Thursday 24 September 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

How is it Republicans and Christians see no problem with this? Patheos.com: Leading SCOTUS Candidate Amy Coney Barrett Claims Bible Precedes Constitution. [Later edit: well of course the Bible literally precedes the Constitution in the sense that it came first, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Trump’s would-be theocratic regime; the perfidy of Fox News

Lots of Links, Two Lists, and a Few Comments: Republican Delusion and Denial

Posted on Sunday 20 September 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Sean McElwee at Rolling Stone, Six Studies That Show Everything Republicans Believe is Wrong Subtitle: “It’s time for the right wing to stop lying about the minimum wage, taxes, global warming and more” The great 20th-century economist John Maynard Keynes … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off on Lots of Links, Two Lists, and a Few Comments: Republican Delusion and Denial

Links and Comments: Speaking Fox; Ideology and Lies; Fear and Paranoia

Posted on Thursday 17 September 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s difficult to get away from the current crisis, and threat. The Atlantic, Megan Garber: Do You Speak Fox?. Subtitle: How Donald Trump’s favorite news source became a language Political theorists, over the years, have looked for metaphors to describe … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Speaking Fox; Ideology and Lies; Fear and Paranoia

Links and Comments: A Proposition; Why So Many Still Support Trump

Posted on Tuesday 15 September 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Decades ago, from reading reviews of books and movies I had read and seen, I formulated a proposition that runs something like this: There is no work of art (book, film, painting, song) so universally admired that someone, somewhere, will … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: A Proposition; Why So Many Still Support Trump