Monthly Archives: December 2023

Stupid or Evil?

Posted on Friday 15 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The dictatorship theme continues. Are Trump supporters stupid or evil? A WaPo piece gives many examples of statements by them, dismissing his dictatorship intentions; then Salon’s Amanda Marcotte deconstructs them; Her take: “Regular readers know I’m Team They’re Evil, in … Continue reading →

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Picking Up Where We Left Off Yesterday…

Posted on Thursday 14 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why are many Americans thirsty for authoritarianism?; Why well-intentioned campus speech codes should be abolished; Several items on why the GOP is pursing a Biden impeachment inquiry, despite lack of evidence; How Trump is now conflating himself with God; MAGA: … Continue reading →

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Link Dump from Recent Days

Posted on Wednesday 13 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on links from the past week, in no particular order. Subjects are: Another take on why people are pessimistic about their economic futures; Trump’s dictatorship: “History shows that autocrats always tell you who they are and what they … Continue reading →

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Red and Blue, and Cancel Culture

Posted on Tuesday 12 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A succinct characterization of the different cultures of red and blue states, from Jamelle Bouie of NYT; How the kerfuffle between Congress and university presidents is an example of cancel culture from the right, who only believe in free speech … Continue reading →

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Christmas Presents and Consumerism; Beauty in the Universe

Posted on Monday 11 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Christmas presents, consumerism, and Adam Lee’s take on minimalism; The idea of ‘beauty’ in the universe, as another component of science fiction’s “consilience”; First take on the new Peter Gabriel album. Like many people as we get older, when Christmas … Continue reading →

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Two Economic Matters

Posted on Sunday 10 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Just time for a couple items tonight. How alarming statistics about shoplifting (especially by brazen gangs) aren’t actually true; How the ideal of the “free market” unhobbled by regulations is simplistic. Here’s an example where it turns out you can’t … Continue reading →

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Small-town America and Democracy; Competitive Exclusion; and How that Flat Earth Debate Worked Out

Posted on Saturday 9 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How small-town America hasn’t been good for democracy; How conflicts like Palestine/Israel might be resolved through evolutionary concept of “competitive exclusion”; Quick takes about that flat Earth debate based on scripture; how different Christians claim diametrically opposite things; and Slate’s … Continue reading →

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Dictatorship Promises; What America Actually Is; and Visions from God

Posted on Friday 8 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

A Republican critic of journalist Robert Kagan, who wrote about how a Trump dictatorship (see previous posts) would harass journalists, make Kagan’s point by threatening to harass Kagan; Maybe Trump and his followers *are* what America is; More about Mike … Continue reading →

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Trump, Fascism, and Mike Johnson’s Visions from God

Posted on Thursday 7 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Kagan sequelizes his editorial from a week ago with ideas about how to stop a Trump dictatorship; Robert Reich looks at the GOP’s death cycle, its descent into fascism; A former Prime Minister of the UK foresees what will … Continue reading →

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In Plain Sight

Posted on Wednesday 6 December 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

More on Trump’s dictatorship plans– “only on day one” — and how his fascist plans are out there in plain sight; How “pro-life” has different meanings to different people; How Russia’s crack-down on gays as “extremists” echoes values of the … Continue reading →

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