The Biggest Thing Conservatives Believe That Is Wrong

Posted on Tuesday 20 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

That there was a golden age.

NY Times, Adam Mastroianni, 20 Jun 2023: Your Brain Has Tricked You Into Thinking Everything Is Worse

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The Understanding of Human Nature, and Its Relationship to Science Fiction

Posted on Monday 19 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a draft of another essay trying to summarize my take on science fiction and my provisional conclusions on the topics I’ve been reading about over the past couple decades.

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The Broadest Possible Terms

Posted on Sunday 18 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Let’s return to yesterday’s item from OnlySky, which strikes me as a way to expand one of my key themes. In fact, perhaps we can build one of my hierarchies to begin with the most basic conception of what science fiction is, and then step by step expand on that scope. [[ revised 19jun23 ]]

Begin at the most basic.

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Today’s Links

Posted on Saturday 17 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Only time today for a few quick links, which I may or may not expand upon in future posts.

OnlySky: The methadone of the people, subtitled “As long as the human condition is characterized by suffering, the vulnerable will seek solutions”

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The Assertions of Ideologues; Common Enemies

Posted on Friday 16 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • How the Republicans’ budget plan ignores the record of history;
  • How conservatives don’t mind Muslims as long as they’re all against LGBTQ rights;
  • Another review of the book about a conservative “regime change” for the “common good” — a Christian common good, that is.

Heather Cox Richardson explains how the Republican’s 2024 budget plan is built upon false premises, and an ignorance of history.

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Today’s Examples of Tribal Loyalty

Posted on Thursday 15 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Examples today of:

  • Defunding the IRS, mostly to benefit the wealthy;
  • Tax cuts, benefiting mostly the wealthy;
  • A party of law & order anxious to pardon its member for crimes against law & order;
  • Defenses of Trump that are a master-class of irrational thinking;
  • Why long-term threats like climate change are dismissed.

Is there a common theme here?

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Catheter Biopsy, Again, and Hospital Cafeteria

Posted on Wednesday 14 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • The second anniversary of my heart transplant
  • Two different catheter procedures to check the health of my heart
  • The hospital cafeteria, endowed by Williams of Williams and Sonoma

Today I had an appointment at CMPC for the procedure I was scheduled to have done a week ago, but which was derailed by some emergency in the catheter lab, as I wrote about here.

This marked the second anniversary of my heart transplant. I wrote about having the same procedure done a year ago, on the first anniversary, but see now I got some details confused.

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Small-town values vs. Big-city values, and a Conservative Notion of the “Common Good”

Posted on Tuesday 13 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • How big-city values, not small-town values, are better suited for governing the nation;
  • Recalling Robert Reich’s take on urban vs. rural;
  • Heather Cox Richardson on the potential end of a long Republican era;
  • A review of a book by an author who wants to impose conservative rule on the nation for the “common good”.

Why are small town values exalted by politicians? Most Americans are in big cities, where the issues of the 21st century are taking place.

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Donald Trump, Owen Gingerich, Heather Cox Richardson

Posted on Monday 12 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • A neuroscientist on why Trump loyalists are unbreakable;
  • Why the astronomer Owen Gingerich saw God in the Cosmos;
  • How Heather Cox Richardson dismantles the Republican charges that the DOJ is “weaponized” to take down Donald Trump.

So why does a megalomaniac would-be dictator like Trump have so many fans? (Especially so many who consider themselves Christians?) I’m always open to explanations, though I have plenty of provisional ones.

AlterNet, Bobby Azarian, 12 Jun 2023: Opinion | Why loyalty to Donald Trump is often unbreakable: neuroscientist

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The Breakdown of American Law and Order, by Republicans

Posted on Sunday 11 June 2023 by Mark R. Kelly
  • Several items today about the indictment against Trump for his mishandling of top secret documents, how his fans still support him, and how this affects America’s reputation around the world.

Snopes, 9 Jun 2023: Yes, Trump Said ‘No One Will Be Above the Law’ Regarding Protection of Classified Information, subtitled “This genuine remark from the future president came during an August 2016 campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.”

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