Russellarbenfox
MY BLOGS
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In Medias Res
http://inmedias.blogspot.com/
Essays, notes, and fragments--personal, political, and philosophical--from the midst of things
LATEST ARTICLES ( 589 )
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A Local Test
Let us assume that the local elections in Wichita today represent a test of basic Political Science 101. Probably a bad assumption, and one that would... Read more
Posted on 02 November 2021 SOCIETY -
My Tale of Two (Actually One and One-Half) Dunes
Why only two (or one and one-half, since Villeneuve's Dune is explicitly presented as the first to two parts)? Shouldn't I include Frank Herbert's original... Read more
Posted on 24 October 2021 SOCIETY -
When Kansas Republicans Become Libertarians, Sort Of
[An article of mine in Current magazine, which is an updated approach to a column that originally ran in the Wichita Eagle and which I expanded upon here. Read more
Posted on 08 October 2021 SOCIETY -
Taking (Democratic) Control of One's Own Traffic
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic] That Charles Marohn is a friend to localist movements across the United States and beyond is indisputable. Read more
Posted on 06 September 2021 SOCIETY -
Ideology, Abortion, and Schmidt's Confusion (or Not?) Over "Choice"
On Sunday, The Wichita Eagle posted a column of mine online (it appeared in the physical paper on Tuesday) which attempted to describe--in less than 600... Read more
Posted on 19 August 2021 SOCIETY -
Fathers, Friendship, and Holding onto Your Platoon (or Not)
[Cross-posted to By Common Consent]This old Cal Grondahl cartoon, from many years ago, has been on my mind for while: It first came back to my mind as I was... Read more
Posted on 18 July 2021 SOCIETY -
Why Councilmember Brandon Johnson Matters
[Cross-posted to Wichita Story] My title is pretentious, of course; Brandon Johnson—the councilmember representing Wichita’s heavily African-American and... Read more
Posted on 15 July 2021 SOCIETY -
Why Championing American Values May Not Be Enough
[This is an expanded version of a column which appeared in The Wichita Eagle on Sunday, July 11.] When Mike Pompeo launched his "Championing American Values”... Read more
Posted on 12 July 2021 SOCIETY -
Some Comments on the Possibilities for Mormon Socialism, Or Communalism, at the...
[Cross-posted to By Common Consent]1) First things first: obviously, there isn't any real world possibility for the (re-)emergence of Mormon socialism, or... Read more
Posted on 15 June 2021 SOCIETY -
Regarding Mutualism, Cooperativism, and Other (Interstitially) Anti-Capitalist...
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]If future historians wish to find some silver lining in COVID-19, the rise in mutualism in response to the shut-downs and... Read more
Posted on 14 June 2021 SOCIETY -
What Hath Bernie (Ideologically) Wrought?
[The online magazine Current asked me to write something about Bernie Sanders, so I did. This is a slightly longer, slightly different, and more personal versio... Read more
Posted on 27 May 2021 SOCIETY -
Teaching (or Cultivating) Sustainability (or Inhabitance), Ten Years On
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic]For ten years now, I've been teaching one version or another of a class on personal simplicity and economic and... Read more
Posted on 26 May 2021 SOCIETY -
Eight Inter-Connected Observations About Complexity, Liberty, and the City of...
[Cross-posted to Wichita Story] 1) Cities are complex systems—that is, they are places where different groups of people organize, worship, trade, celebrate,... Read more
Posted on 20 May 2021 SOCIETY -
20 and 15 Years, and More
20 years ago today--May 12, 2001--I was awarded my Doctor of Philosophy in Politics from Catholic University of American in Washington, DC; I became a Ph.D. Read more
Posted on 12 May 2021 SOCIETY -
"Twas a Matter of Timing and the Timing Was Right"
Exactly one year ago--March 27, 2020--Bob Dylan dropped "Murder Most Foul," without any public announcement or preview or warning--his first work of original... Read more
Posted on 27 March 2021 SOCIETY -
Biden and (Some) Better Times for (Some Of) Wichita
[Cross-posted to Wichita Story] When President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP) a little more than a week ago, I commented to some... Read more
Posted on 22 March 2021 SOCIETY -
Grace Olmstead's Uprooted Idaho, and My Own
[Cross-posted to Front Porch Republic] Last summer my family and I drove right by Emmett, Idaho, the ancestral home of Grace Olmstead, author of the wonderful,... Read more
Posted on 16 March 2021 SOCIETY -
Century II, Home Rule, and the Problem (and Appeal) of States Pushing Cities...
[Cross-posted to Wichita Story] On Sunday the Wichita Eagle ran two guest editorials--one by me on how state governments push cities around, and one by my frien... Read more
Posted on 09 March 2021 SOCIETY -
Jazz and Me, 20 Years On
One day during the Christmas holidays, I went downstairs to where our old television with its still-working DVD/VCR set-up stands, and I pulled out an old... Read more
Posted on 07 February 2021 SOCIETY -
Excavating Socialist Thought in Mormonism: Re-reading Hugh Nibley
[This is a slightly expanded version of a review essay cross-posted to the Religious Socialism blog here; it is the companion of another essay which reviews... Read more
Posted on 28 January 2021 SOCIETY