Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

RIP Wordpad

Posted on Monday 27 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Windows has deprecated WordPad, which makes my life more difficult; David French on a German thinker, Carl Schmitt, and the friend-enemy distinction, and how it informs current American politics; Latest thoughts from Heather Cox Richardson, about the cancellation of foreign … Continue reading →

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Fury and Chaos

Posted on Sunday 26 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

An off-hand summary of what Trump’s done in his first week, apparently working to install an authoritarian police state in America; How those who think the president should solve egg prices don’t understand capitalism, and Vance admits grocery prices aren’t … Continue reading →

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Heather Cox Richardson, DEMOCRACY AWAKENING, post 3

Posted on Sunday 26 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Summary thoughts about this book. Richardson tells the story of the past century, of the previous four years (before the book was published in 2019), and of the nation’s first century, in a matter-of-fact style that expresses not so much … Continue reading →

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Heather Cox Richardson, DEMOCRACY AWAKENING, post 2

Posted on Sunday 26 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Continuing my fairly detailed summary notes of this book. The second part of this book is about the ascendance of Trump, finishing with the “Big Lie” that the 2020 election was stolen from him. The third part of the looks … Continue reading →

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Heather Cox Richardson, DEMOCRACY AWAKENING, post 1

Posted on Sunday 26 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “Notes on the State of America” (Viking, Sep 2023, xvii + 286pp, including 30p of notes and index) Heather Cox Richardson is a historian who has become well-known, in addition to several earlier books, for her newsletter called Letters … Continue reading →

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The Price of Eggs

Posted on Friday 24 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Tech-bros don’t care about the price of eggs; David Brooks on why Trump will fail; Dan Milbank on his astounding ignorance; Evangelicals have abandoned Jesus for Trump; Get ‘em while they’re young, said Hitler, says the Church. – – – … Continue reading →

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As Things Fall Apart

Posted on Thursday 23 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How Trump’s war against DEI isn’t actually about merit; How despite claims of merit, those executive orders were shoddily written; How Trump prioritizes white Christian patriarchy; Comments from Heather Cox Richardson, Paul Krugman, and Robert Reich; How conservative response to … Continue reading →

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What Our Time Will Be Remembered For

Posted on Wednesday 22 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Doing next to nothing, while the world burned. Our time will be remembered for nothing else than our inaction on climate change; David Wallace-Wells searches for a silver lining; A book I’m reading recalls similar conservative resistance to action on … Continue reading →

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Party of Hypocrites

Posted on Tuesday 21 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s pardons of the January 6th rioters was an act of contempt, and a violation of the Constitutional standards he claims to uphold; Trump and his minions show contempt for an Episcopal bishop at Washington’s National Cathedral who pled for … Continue reading →

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A New Cycle of Doom: Trump’s Second Inauguration

Posted on Monday 20 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

What I said about the inaugurations 4 and 8 years ago; About Trump’s inauguration this morning, a fact-check of his speech, and how he did not place his hand on the Bible; Paul Krugman on lies, David A. Graham on … Continue reading →

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