Category Archives: Politics

Link and Comments: Jared Diamond on Why Nations Fail Or Succeed When Facing A Crisis

Posted on Thursday 6 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Let’s do a relatively academic item today, to avoid the day to day political issues. Though of course it’s not irrelevant to those. Noemag: Jared Diamond: Why Nations Fail Or Succeed When Facing A Crisis Jared Diamond is, of course, … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Reputable News Sources; Conservative Animus toward Obama

Posted on Tuesday 4 August 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Several interesting links from the past couple days, but let’s start with the most general, and pertinent. Current Affairs: The Truth Is Paywalled But The Lies Are Free. This makes the apt point that responsible journalism on the web is … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Coronavirus, Conservative Propaganda, Vaccines, Flat-Earthers, the view of the US from around the world

Posted on Thursday 30 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, Paul Krugman: The Cult of Selfishness Is Killing America; subtitle: The right has made irresponsible behavior a key principle. So we’re failing dismally on both the epidemiological and the economic fronts. But why? … So what was going on? … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Coronavirus, Conservative Propaganda, Vaccines, Flat-Earthers, the view of the US from around the world

Links and Comments: Wackadoodle Coronavirus Advice from the Right

Posted on Wednesday 29 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox: How Trump and his son helped make a Covid-19 conspiracy theorist go viral in a matter of hours. A quack doctor with claims about alien DNA, belief in demons, that scientists are making a vaccine to stop people from … Continue reading →

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Link and Comments: Personal Liberty and Seat Belts

Posted on Saturday 25 July 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

As I was saying: Washington Post: How mask fights echo seat belt fights: ‘The right to be splattered all over their windshields’ As transportation secretary in the Reagan administration, Elizabeth Dole pushed for mandatory seat belt laws. The idea created … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Visual Illusions and Perception of Reality; Trumpian Gnostic Madness

Posted on Tuesday 23 June 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox: Brian Resnick: “Reality” is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters. Subtitled, What the science of visual illusions can teach us about our polarized world. A long, thorough survey of various topics on one … Continue reading →

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Link and Comments: Ezra Klein on the Psychology of Coronavirus Response

Posted on Saturday 23 May 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

Vox: Why are liberals more afraid of the coronavirus than conservatives?: Covid-19 and the complex politics of fear. By Ezra Klein, co-founder and editor-at-large of Vox (and whose recent book, WHY WE’RE POLARIZED, I’ve just begun reading). Good question. You’d … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: 28 Apr 2020

Posted on Tuesday 28 April 2020 by Mark R. Kelly

One of today’s news sites links to an article about how Trump, and science-deniers in general, aren’t trying to fight science per se, but are trying to “claim the prestige of capital-s ‘Science.’”. Adam Laats at the History News Network: … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Trump vs California; Rural America vs the big cities

Posted on Saturday 19 October 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s another. Paul Krugman, Sept. 20th: Trump Declares War on California. Subtitled: “It’s a liberal state, so it must be punished.” I’m on a number of right-wing mailing lists, and I try to at least skim what they’re going on … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Fear and Playing Dirty

Posted on Thursday 17 October 2019 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items from about a month ago, both from The New York Times. Why Republicans Play Dirty. Subtitled: “They fear that if they stick to the rules, they will lose everything. Their behavior is a threat to democratic stability.” The … Continue reading →

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