Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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Meta
Monthly Archives: November 2024
Perspectives on the World
How Republicans are suddenly optimistic about the economy; David Brooks on how Trumpism reflects shifts in America’s basic morality; How Americans believe things about the rival party, especially Democrats, that simply aren’t true; Robert Reich’s personal sources of truth; And … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology, Religion
Comments Off on Perspectives on the World
Wrecking Crews and Historical Cycles
Once again, considering current politics as the ways human nature plays out. Today’s topics: Efforts in several states to replace general education with Christian education; The reality of the “deep state,” and how they plan to survive Trump and MAGA; … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, History, Politics
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A Couple Interesting Things About Reality
After which, items about toxic masculinity and Trump, Elon Musk stifling news, and others. Let’s begin by noting a couple interesting things about reality, one from a hundred years ago, one new. AlterNet, via The Conversation, 22 Nov 2024: It’s … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Mathematics, Science
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False Realities
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts, as we’ve long heard; Historian Heather Cox Richardson dismantles claims of Trump’s “mandate”; Short items about MTG and NPR; Fox News personalities becoming America’s scientists and doctors; … Continue reading
Political Extremes and Instability
Perhaps the problem is that claims of “mandates” create political instability, and that’s what makes voters cynical about government; Especially when mandate claimers promise things they can’t possibly deliver, like Musk promising to slash the budget by $2 trillion; How … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology, The Gays
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This Much is Reality… and This Much is Fantasy
Silverberg on reality vs. fantasy; It wasn’t a landslide, thus not a mandate; OnlySky: why is fascism rising? OnlySky: how knowledge endures or disappears. Here’s a passage from a key science fiction story that addresses the nature of reality, in … Continue reading
Posted in History, science fiction
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The Anticipation of Unintended Consequences
Many are predicting that the new administration’s plans, especially concerning deportations and tariffs, will backfire and wreck the economy, or at least raise prices in ways they apparently cannot anticipate. But one guesses that the Republicans will not admit it … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Economics, Human Nature, Psychology
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Dispatches from the Real World
My latest take on the true vs the real; A piece about RFK Jr identifies the three big reasons you’re alive today: clean water, antibiotics, and vaccines; How we know RFK Jr is wrong about vaccines; How red states lead … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Science
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The Overton Window of Deviance
Amanda Marcotte on how Christians seem not bothered by the immorality of Trump or his Cabinet picks; Bret Stephens on defining deviancy down; Timothy Snyder on how Trump is actually a fascist — and how fascists use narratives; David French … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Politics
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Shocked, Just Shocked
The broad trend, perhaps, is the discomfort of tribal human beings living in multicultural liberal democracies. How some people (who weren’t paying attention) are shocked that Trump is actually setting out to do what he promised to do; How Trump … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Culture, Human Nature, Human Progress, Politics, Tribalism
Comments Off on Shocked, Just Shocked
