As the scientists have been predicting for decades.
NY Times, 6 Jul 2023: Heat Records Are Broken Around the Globe as Earth Warms, Fast, subtitled “From north to south, temperatures are surging as greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and combine with effects from El Niño.”
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It used to be a respectable party. But even some inside it are questioning its extremists.
Three groups of items today.
Slate, 5 Jul 2023: Inside the Weekend’s Gathering of America’s Most Unhinged Right-Wing Moms, subtitled “Trump got 19 standing O’s. DeSantis got three.”
The trend in declining allegiance to formal religion goes on, and has been completely predictable. Two examples today of the general trend, which has been under way for decades.
Is this the core issue to rule them all? Since the survival of humanity seems to be in the balance?
Item’s today:
Let’s start with this, further commentary about the Supreme Court case in which no one had actually asked the designer to do a gay website. There was no standing.
Let’s begin with this, a passage by Carl Sagan from his 1980 book COSMOS Continue reading
Today:
I’m focusing on this first item today, which makes perfect sense given the understanding of human evolution and the basis of human morality in the ancestral environment, what I’ve been calling Savannah morality. Conservatism is never about basic principles that allow for adapting to changing circumstances, accommodating other people, or thinking things through to reach updated conclusions based on new evidence or changing circumstances; it’s always about basic principles to preserve the status quo, to shore up ancient verities that are never questioned, verities that made sense in the tribal environment, but which they don’t realize have become inoperative, even dangerous, in the modern global world.
Salon, Mike Lofgren, 1 Jul 2023: There’s no such thing as a conservative intellectual — only apologists for right-wing power, subtitled “From Burke to Buckley to Patrick Deneen, we’ve seen a 200-year history of defending the indefensible”
Topics today:
The big news in recent days has been results of several cases heard by the Supreme Court this term, and of course they were decided to the preferences of the conservative majority. Predictably. It’s always, to me, an indictment the entire system of law, that everyone supposedly reads the same laws and yet comes to conclusions reflecting their preconceived political biases. Always.
NY Times, Darren Walker, 30 Jun 2023: Repeal of Affirmative Action Is Only the Beginning
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Here’s a fascinating example of how different cultures think differently about the world, in this case about time and age.
CNN, 27 Jun 2023: South Koreans become younger overnight after country scraps ‘Korean age’
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Let’s see how my thesis of yesterday might inform some of today’s news.
Recent Headlines
Let’s round up some recent headlines, with minimal comments and quotes.
LA Times, LZ Granderson, 29 Jun 2023: Column: Sure, people are moving to Texas. But not for the reasons Gov. Greg Abbott claims
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