Category Archives: Politics

LQCs: Narratives and Reality, about San Francisco, Convoluted Conspiracy Theories, and the Invasion of Ukraine

Posted on Sunday 6 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

How narratives overtake reality.

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LQCs: Back in Time, to a Perfect Past

Posted on Thursday 3 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been a couple days since President Biden’s State of the Union address — in which he spoke forcefully about many things, but avoided topics that would strain attention spans, e.g. climate change — and I’ve been fascinated since then … Continue reading →

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LQCs: Ukraine, CPAC, and Cognitive Decline

Posted on Tuesday 1 March 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Links today, with quote and comments, about conservative reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the priorities of CPAC and cognitive decline, and the idea of separating red states from blue cities.

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Media Literacy; Endpieces

Posted on Sunday 27 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Trying to find something to discuss today besides the latest war news and the latest right-wing conspiracy thinking. Just one linked item today, I think, then some endpiece items. (Graphic by Robert Reich.)

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LQCs: Conspiracy Theories and Authoritarians, One More Time

Posted on Saturday 26 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Links and comments today about the US Right’s continued taste for authoritarians and conspiracy theories.

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Ls&Qs&Cs: Living in History, Alas

Posted on Friday 25 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

We are now witnessing war in Europe, 60 years after World War II ended and the historians and prognosticators thought it would never happen again. But nothing, I think, will never happen again. There will always be despots and authoritarians … Continue reading →

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Ls&Cs: How People Think, or Not

Posted on Wednesday 23 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

I continue to be fascinated about how people think, or don’t think, and how they draw or maintain conclusions about the world around them. The particular things believed aren’t the point, exactly.

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Ls&Cs: Trust, Doom, Errors, Science Fiction

Posted on Monday 21 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Issues today from the NYT letters page, about trust in government and humanity’s doom, and about theological errors. With an endpiece about science fiction reviewing…

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SF and politics; Trek; Retconning; More on Wordle

Posted on Saturday 19 February 2022 by Mark R. Kelly

Coincident to yesterday’s post is this essay today in Salon. Salon, Kyle Galindez, 19 Feb 2022: Why can’t sci-fi and fantasy imagine alternatives to capitalism or feudalism?, subtitled, “The limitless imagination of genre novelists hits a roadblock when it comes … Continue reading →

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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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