Russellarbenfox

LATEST ARTICLES ( 589 )

• On Constitutions, Democracy, Fascism, and Biden's Big Plea

  

  "It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire [extreme MAGA] philosophy that underpins [it]….it’s like semi-fascism."Biden did not say those words in his “Soul of the... Read more

  Posted on 02 September 2022 SOCIETY

• A Random Thought on Mikey Kaus

  

  A few days ago Robert Farley, of Lawyers, Guns Money, posted the latest entry in his wonderful "Oral History of the Blogosphere" project, this one focusing... Read more

  Posted on 19 August 2022 SOCIETY

• Seven Theses on Kansas, "Popularism," and Value Them Both

  

  Well, my predictions from yesterday were wrong (mostly; I was still right about Kris Kobach getting the Republican Attorney General nomination). Read more

  Posted on 03 August 2022 SOCIETY

• Three Predictions Regarding the Abortion Amendment Vote in Kansas Today

  

  These four images are just a sampling of the yard signs which have sprouted everywhere in my west Wichita neighborhood over the past couple of months; a complet... Read more

  Posted on 02 August 2022 SOCIETY

• Why I Have a Pro-Choice Sign in My Front Yard (Even Though I Don't Call Myself...

  

  [The publication Current asked me to write up my thoughts about abortion; I ended up writing nearly 3000 words. A much, much shortened version of the essay belo... Read more

  Posted on 28 June 2022 SOCIETY

• 80 Macca Years, 80 Favorite Macca Songs

  

  Today, Sir Paul McCartney turns 80 years old. A few publications and websites, in honor of this milestone, are listing, or asking other artists to list, 80 out... Read more

  Posted on 18 June 2022 SOCIETY

• Diversity, Race, and Radical Hospitality in a Bible-based Community

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic] A month ago, on May 16, just two days after a racist lunatic murdered 10 black Americans in Buffalo, NY, perhaps 100... Read more

  Posted on 14 June 2022 SOCIETY

• On Medicaid Misinformation and Missed Opportunities

  

  [When my own west Wichita representative in the Kansas House, Dan Hawkins, laid out some misleading and vaguely paranoid claims about Governor Laura Kelly's pus... Read more

  Posted on 24 May 2022 SOCIETY

• Michael Austin, Vardis Fisher, and the Death of the Mormo-American

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent] Michael Austin, a fellow blogger and old friend, wrote an essay nearly 30 years ago that accomplished what most of us... Read more

  Posted on 30 April 2022 SOCIETY

• Three Reasons Why Evan McMullin Might Not Be Greg Orman

  

  [This is an expanded, more contexualized version of a piece which appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune this weekend.]What does Evan McMullin's independent race... Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2022 SOCIETY

• Hoping to Take Home Rule Seriously

  

  Many Kansas Republicans likely guffawed in disbelief when Governor Laura Kelly recently insisted "I am a major local-control advocate" and that she was opposed... Read more

  Posted on 10 April 2022 SOCIETY

• Localism, Intentionality, and Utopia (Socialist Or Otherwise)

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]There is an accusation which has been flung over the decades (if not centuries) at practically every sort of intentional... Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2022 SOCIETY

• On Simplicity, Transparency, and Educational Trust in Topeka

  

  [A shorter version of this essay appeared in the Wichita Eagle here.]There are several different ways to talk about the "Parent's Bill of Rights and Academic... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2022 SOCIETY

• The Potential Of, and the Problems With, Wichita’s (More) Partisan Future

  

  [Cross-posted to Wichita Story] (From left to right: Mayor Brandon Whipple; Mike Hoheisel, councilmember for Wichita District 3; Maggie Ballard, councilmember... Read more

  Posted on 13 January 2022 SOCIETY

• The Ten Best Movies I Saw in 2021

  

  As always, these are my choices among all the movies I saw in 2021, not my choices among the all movies released in 2021.Three of the films I'm ranking as... Read more

  Posted on 30 December 2021 SOCIETY

• The Ten Best Books I Read in 2021

  

  As always, these are my choices among all the books I read in 2021, not my choices among the books published in 2021.While I'm no scholar of St. Read more

  Posted on 30 December 2021 SOCIETY

• The Place (and Place-ness) of Occupy, Ten Years On

  

  [Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]Before 2021 comes to a close, let's remember the many tributes, found in many year-end wrap-ups written just about... Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2021 SOCIETY

• The Osmonds' Christmas, and Ours

  

  [Cross-posted to By Common Consent] The Osmond Christmas Album came out 45 years ago today, on December 18, 1976. I'm talking the original double-LP, of... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2021 SOCIETY

• Getting Get Back

  

  I spent a good chunk of Thanksgiving weekend watching Peter Jackson's superb and somewhat overwhelming Get Back, along with--according to my students... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2021 SOCIETY

• Test Results (the Annoyingly Regular Crow-Eating Post)

  

  So, nearly everything I suggested was likely yesterday was proven wrong by late last night. So the Political Science 101 model failed the test, right?Yes and no. Read more

  Posted on 03 November 2021 SOCIETY