Category Archives: Religion

So Are We to Live in an Authoritarian Oligarchy?

Posted on Friday 20 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The un-elected Elon Musk seems to be running the country this week; How the Drone Panic reveals a need to believe, in *something*. So not only is our incipient administration authoritarian, it’s authoritarian and being run by an oligarch! NY … Continue reading →

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Institutions, Tribes, and Faith

Posted on Monday 9 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman’s last NYT column, in part about what has changed in the past 25 years, including the collapse of trust in the elites; Helen Lewis echoes Fareed Zakaria yesterday: the mainstream media is part of the “elite” system that … Continue reading →

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People Would Rather Believe Than Know

Posted on Monday 2 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How conservatives distrust science because it does not accommodate “moral and religious values”, thus missing the point of science; Mark Lilla on the allure of ignorance; Dinesh D’Souza admits 2000 Mules was flawed; Heather Cox Richardson on how government institutions … Continue reading →

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Perspectives on the World

Posted on Saturday 30 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How Republicans are suddenly optimistic about the economy; David Brooks on how Trumpism reflects shifts in America’s basic morality; How Americans believe things about the rival party, especially Democrats, that simply aren’t true; Robert Reich’s personal sources of truth; And … Continue reading →

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False Realities

Posted on Monday 25 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts, as we’ve long heard; Historian Heather Cox Richardson dismantles claims of Trump’s “mandate”; Short items about MTG and NPR; Fox News personalities becoming America’s scientists and doctors; … Continue reading →

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Here’s a New One: Terrain Theory

Posted on Sunday 17 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Busy day today so just one item. We’ve had the flat-earthers, the chem-trailers, the vaccine deniers, and now there are those who deny the germ theory of disease. Boing Boing, Jennifer Sandlin, 10 Nov 2024: Germ theory denial is dangerous … Continue reading →

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Politics and Psychology

Posted on Friday 15 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Politics is as much about human psychology as about policy or ideology. Politics succeeds via simple sound-bites, “feels,” not policies or facts; It’s all about perception; How what has led evangelical Christians to follow Trump is rooted in racism; And … Continue reading →

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There Is Always Long Term Progress and Short Term Retreat

Posted on Thursday 14 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An essay that proposes that the idea of progress is a myth; I disagree; Quick takes on politics, and crackpots. OK, I can’t help but follow the political news, but for today’s post I’m sinking links about that to the … Continue reading →

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How Much Is There Left to Say?

Posted on Sunday 3 November 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David French: There will always be a Trump; David Frum: No one has an alibi; Facts, if anyone cares, about the economy under Biden and Trump (On 17 points: Biden advantage 11, Trump advantage 5, and 1 unclear); How Musk’s … Continue reading →

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And So Here We Are

Posted on Wednesday 30 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s closing argument is vulgarity; How Trump is unable to produce evidence of voter fraud; Similarly, how a far-right social media personality is unable to substantiate his calumny against James Carville; Shorter items: How Trump pardons only those loyal to … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on And So Here We Are