Last week, I published The Week’s News Through a Psychology Lens, which other than being a poster child for my award winning tortured syntax and awkward wording, was a regular blogging feature that had been kicking around in the old noggin for awhile. However, as the following week progressed and I collected articles to use in this week’s edition, I realized I wanted to share more than just the news. I wanted to share the media I had been consuming during the week, so, viola, a new feature is born, In My Free Time. Without any further adieu, this is how I’ve been spending my free time this week.

The problem with this foray into making a links post is the same as all of the other iterations of this I’ve attempted. It is too long. We live in an era where sustained attention is a relic of a bygone era. TL;DR is a thing. Tipping my hat to all of those who will take advantage of it, I’ve linked to the sections:

  • In the News: Links to news articles that I’ve read and want to annotate for your edification and mine. Mostly mine.
  • Books and Other Media: The books I’ve been reading, the podcasts I’ve been listening to, the videos I’ve been watching. It’s all interesting… at least to me, and will make it in some form or fashion into Ye Olde Blogge.
  • The Blogs: A listing of the usual suspects, the blogs I read weekly and other blog posts usually found on the WordPress Reader.

In the News

These are some of the news stories I found important, interesting, useful, or otherwise noteworthy in the past week. I’ve got thoughts on all of them some of which, I’ll share here.

If you have thoughts on them, please share them in the comments; I’d love to hear from you.

The Israel-Hamas Conflict

We all watched in horror as the news broke that Hamas had attacked Southern Israel by land, air, and sea with over 200 dead in Israel and 256 in Gaza. It doesn’t matter who side you sympathize with, the horrors of war should never be inflicted on anyone.

Many other people way smarter than me and with way less tortured syntax have opined on the wherefores, what ifs, whatfors, and all manner of fors, fores, and ifs ands or buts. I only have two points to add to the critical mass of pontificating taking place on cable news and social media:

We’ve learned nothing from previous wars. When you create an existential threat to a people as the Israelis have done to the Palestinians, you cannot be surprised when they fight back. Hitler found out in Yugoslavia, the French in Indochina, America in Viet Nam, Putin in Ukraine.

I’m not saying the fault lies solely with the Israelis, but Palestinian land has been steadily shrinking since 1949 and pressure has been ratcheting up on Gaza specifically. My point is, it doesn’t have to be this way. The people involved can make different choices that will change the lives of the people who live there.

War is obsolete. I thought Putin’s war of opportunity in Ukraine amply demonstrated this. Modern economies and globalization make wars obsolete. We get far more out of trade than we do out of warfare. We can achieve all of our national aims and goals without ever resorting to war. All war does is flush whatever riches and resources down the toilet, kill a lot of people, and traumatize a lot more. We can do better.

Declining life expectancy

All across the developed world, life expectancy is increasing, except in the best country in the world with all of the be best freedoms and resources and things. This is a topic that I’ve been preparing a post on. Since it isn’t time sensitive, I’ve been putting it off.

The point in this article is that those without college degrees are dying far younger (75 years old on average) than those with college degrees (83 years old) and the discrepancy is getting wider. Since there are more people without college degrees than with, it drags the country’s average life expectancy down.

It points to the widening gap between the haves and the haves nots in the US. This phenomenon is part of the Turchin’s Cliodynamics work. We can’t long exist with these kinds of widening disparities. Eventually, even the Republican culture wars will not stop the red state stooges that they so ruthlessly and mercilessly exploit from actually succeeding in burning the country down.

It’s long since we should’ve done something about it.

The Far Right Winning in East Europe

The US isn’t the only country with elections in the near future or recent past and it isn’t the only country with a surging far-right anti-democratic authoritarian movement. Recently, the pro-Russian anti-West political opportunist, Robert Fico. Apparently, Fico actually posses few real beliefs other than he belongs in power. We’ve seen countries follow politicians down this road before.

If you’re like me, you’ve been seeing contradictory headlines about Polish foreign policy. One minute they are supporting Ukraine, the next they aren’t. Grain corridors, arms shipments, Ukrainian refugees all have seen contrary policy headlines over the past few months. Turns out, it is in part due to the upcoming elections there.

The old guard conservative ruling party is facing a stiff challenge from a more centrist party, so they fall back on an all too familiar playbook. They are stoking fears and blaming foreigners. In this case fears of Nazi Germany because older adults (a) remember World War II better and (b) are more reliable voters.

We’ve seen Hungary lose its democracy to Victor Orban. We’ve got two more on the chopping block. And, Russia is in an expansionist mood hoping to return to the glories of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact.

Hong Kong & Freedom of expression

One of my favorite news sources is the WordPress-based Hong Kong Free Press. Having lived in Southern China and visited Hong Kong frequently, I have substantial sympathies for their struggles with the oppressive Chinese mainland government there.

Hong Kong is a cautionary tale for the US. When people, especially the wealthy, value prosperity more then democracy, then support for democracy fails. The parallels to the US are important to understand.

Hong Konger enjoyed a long history, albeit not as long as white people in the US, of political freedoms and democracy, including after the British left. When the mainland government came in heavy and tried rolling back political freedoms through sham elections, Hong Kongers famously came out in large numbers to protest.

Today, political activism among everyday Hong Kongers has fallen sharply. Oppression and economic hardships have taken their toll. The lesson for us here in the US is that we cannot afford to lose our democracy. If we do, white people are not going to be willing to do what it takes to get it back. They will be satisfied with a single-party pseudo-democracy and the usual lip service to freedoms and greatness.

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Books and Other Media

I read constantly. Maybe you do, too. Unfortunately, it is a dying art. I also consume other media like news video, podcasts, and entertainment. I’ll annotate this list with the reasons I’m consuming it and what I’m getting from it.

I’d love to hear about the things you’re reading or media you’re consuming, so tell me about it in the comments!

“Enough” by Cassidy Hutchinson

I haven’t read many of the tell-all books on the Trump administration. It is a minor cottage industry and easy to exploit. I wasn’t planning on reading Cassidy Hutchinson‘s Enough, either, until I heard her interviewed by Rachel Maddow just before it was released.

It is an incredible story told from a unique vantage point. That in and of itself makes it a worthwhile read, but as I’ve read it, I’ve found myself struck by three points:

  • NARCISSISM: Not just the depth and breadth of Trump’s narcissism, but of the people he’s surrounded himself with.
  • TRUMP AS A VIRAL CONTAGION: It is incredible to me how Trump coopted otherwise reasonable people to his narcissistic delusion and feeding his narcissistic needs, including Hutchinson. The gaslighting of his staff and cabinet and resulting groupthink led to the disaster we saw on 6 January and drawing us back to it.
  • OPPORTUNISM: The incredible opportunism in the Republican Party. They are literally using Trump as a wreaking ball for our democracy just to create their own little Russian oligarchy.

The most incredible thing about the whole Hutchinson saga is that she still wants to be a Republican. She still doesn’t see it as a corruption of the whole party.

“#Sisters In Law”

I love the #Sisters in Law podcast. They are such anti-celebrities and seem genuinely surprised by their fame. They are all just professionals at the top of their field enjoying sharing their expertise.

This week’s episode, No Film in the Camera, had two segments on Trump’s cases. Given the amount of misinformation and disinformation floating around out there, I’m very cautious about where I get my information, especially about Trump. These four are a solid source. Like I said, they are professionals at the top of their game.

For example, Jill Wine-Banks, ex-head legal council for the Army and onetime secret CIA employee, shared that one reason Trump might not be charged for exposing nuclear sub secrets is because they would have to confirm the information in open court. Knowing how the average game of telephone turns out, who knows what the Russians and Chinese picked up from this episode. Knowing Trump, who knows how many other instances of this kind sloppy handling of state secrets are out there?

Another good example is their discussion of Fani Willis’ offer of plea agreements in the Georgia case. (a) It is a normal thing at this stage of a RICO case since the defense council has been able to assess the case against their clients and might could want to take a plea. (b) Once the early trial folks get steamrolled by her, other of the accused may really want to take a plea. And (c) someone already has and gotten a pretty sweet deal. Does anyone really want to risk doing time in a Georgia state prison? Other than Trump and Sydney “Release the Kracken” Powell. According to Hutchinson’s book, Mark Meadows is nostrils deep in the whole mess. He might could want to avoid some jail time.

Sketchnoting

Since the Pchum Ben holdiay started her in the benevolent Kingdom of Cambodia, I’ve been taking an online sketchnoting course through Doug Neill‘s Verbal to Visual website. Sketchnoting is combining sketches with notes, duh. Literally, you draw some concepts, icons, figures, and diagrams to augment your notes. You also consider other graphic concepts like fonts and layout and how they impact your messaging.

Since human beings are visual thinkers and learners (Spoiler: There is no such thing as types of learners or left brain right brain), we remember images better than anything else. By incorporating imagery and graphic design into our notes, we create a more memorable product.

It also helps develop abstract thinking skills and making cross curricular connections. I’ve been using it with my sixth graders to help them summarize things we’ve learned during the week. I’ll keep you up-to-date on my progress through the course and school year.

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The Blogs

Here’s a listing of the blogs I usually read and some I found interesting from the WordPress Reader feature with a bit of annotation.

If you have a blog post that you’d like to share in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!

The Regulars

There are blogs that I keep up with every week. They are people I enjoy interacting with and reading what they write. More than likely, they will appear here regularly.

OF CABBAGES AND KINGS: BobCabKings‘ publishes everything from daily interesting news items in his feature, Scrapings of the Day to the Song of the Day to the Photo of the Day to quotes and poetry. I wouldn’t have near the exposure to cool and interesting things around the Internet if it weren’t for Cabbages and Kings.

FAIR AND UNBALANCED: Burr Deming publishes a weekly rundown of all that is best and brightest on the Interwebs with some pithy annotations and insights over on his blog, Fair and Unbalanced. Always a worthy read, especially for a lazy Sunday morning tracking down the news. This week’s post is no exception.

MOCK PAPER SCISSORS: In addition to being the best source of snarky, sarcasticky, and, occasionally, profaney, news commentary on the Interwebs, Mock Paper Scissors publishes some funny memes and cute animal pictures without which I would never see them. Nothing describes the current iteration of the Republican Party and the state of our politics, than this meme.

CASSANDRA’S GRANDSON: Ten Bears publishes a daily run down of climate-focused news articles. While it is never a fun read because rapidly approaching disaster, it is a good motivator for staying in the endless fight against the self-absorbed 10% so the planet can continue to support human life. Otherwise, his blog is a constant source of a unique, sometimes quirky, take on the day’s events.

MIKE’S BLOG ROUND UP: While MBRU isn’t a blog, per se, it is a daily collection of smaller blogs that is well worth reading. That it occasionally features one of my own offerings is just gravy like grandma used to make. It’s over on the smart brevity liberal news site, Crooks and Liars.

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Frequently Read

MIRRORING THE WORLD: Here’s a gem from my side of the world on Mirroring the World. TaurusInGemini lives in Taiwan and brings us interesting articles translated from Chinese from around the world. This one is an interesting allegory of Taiwan’s political situation using the Ten Little Pigs and their government’s pork policy (the meat, not the legislation).

AMERICAN LIBERAL TIMES: From the heart and soul of John Limings comes the latest iteration of his political blog, American Liberal Times and this take on the chaos the Republicans are casting in the House and the influence of Russia on the Freedom Caucus.

CLAYTOONZ: I get over to Clay Jones‘ blog, Claytoonz, as often as I can, and you should, too. He offers an extensive and personal annotation of his political cartoons, and today’s on Trump’s disclosure of nuclear sub secrets is well worth the click. Honest, that’s no click bait.

IN SANER THOUGHTS: Lobotero shares his always insightful and informed thoughts on the days’ news on his blog, In Saner Thoughts. His insights into the Republican politics in his native Mississippi is well worth the read (Spoiler: it is race) is well worth the read.

CARSON’S EDUCATION BLOG: I admit that I’m a sucker for anything involving Karl Popper, so Carson’s post, Assessing Truth Claims with Karl Popper’s Falsification Principle as a Catalyst, on his blog, Carson’s Education Blog. Popper’s Falsification Principle is the cornerstone of experimentation and is counter to human cognitive instinct. Thinking is hard, so we evolved to avoid it. Carson makes some interesting points about applying Popper to everyday life, making. ita worthy read.

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Image Attribution