Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Rapture, Autism, Economics, Authoritarianism

Posted on Tuesday 26 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

The predicted Rapture that did not (of course) come true; How some Christians believe autism is demonic, and (of course) why they’re wrong; Paul Krugman on why Republicans cling to “right-wing economics”; Heather Cox Richardson, excerpting her new book, on … Continue reading →

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Executions, Dictators, and the GOP’s Own Reality

Posted on Monday 25 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump and other Republicans float the execution of Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley; this is where Republicans are: executions; How wannabe dictator Trump would take NBC and other news outlets off the air; More about the GOP’s attack on truth … Continue reading →

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Two Political Items, Two Intellectual Items

Posted on Sunday 24 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT’s Michelle Goldberg on the legacy of Rupert Murdoch; Responses to conservative dismissals of climate change (with some quotes by Carl Sagan); Veritasium: How knot theory could save your life; Yuval Noah Harari on how history is the study of … Continue reading →

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Disinformation, Conservative Denial, and Conspiracy Theories

Posted on Saturday 23 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why would the GOP block research into misinformation? Hmm.; The pattern of conservative science denial: delay, deflect, downplay; CNN on how how conspiracy theories are tearing American families apart; With concluding thoughts about the idea of responsible citizenship. This is … Continue reading →

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Murdoch, Azarian, Reich, and Scientists

Posted on Friday 22 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today: The retirement of Rupert Murdoch, who became wealthy by degrading American politics and appealing to many Americans’ worst instincts; Republican hypocrisy example: John Fetterman vs. Lauren Boebert; with a classic definition: “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to … Continue reading →

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Today’s Items about Politics and Culture

Posted on Thursday 21 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Is the attempt to impeach Biden an example of tit for tat, or something else?; How attendees at the Dreamforce conference this week didn’t recognize the right-wing media depictions of San Francisco, and other cities, as ‘hellholes’. Here’s a piece … Continue reading →

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This Week’s Sciency Bits

Posted on Wednesday 20 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

False Memories and the Narrative Bias; Another piece with Lee McIntyre about misinformation vs. disinformation; And how the world’s population will likely peak by the end of this century, and then drop; And my thoughts on what the consequences would … Continue reading →

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Today’s Political Items: History and Emergency

Posted on Tuesday 19 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on the history and current state of the Republican Party, as enabled by people like Mitt Romney; Tom Nichols on the current National Emergency, brought about by the Republican Party. NY Times, Paul Krugman, 18 Sep 2023: The … Continue reading →

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Morality and Corruption

Posted on Monday 18 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How society is becoming more moral, not less; How the press covers politics; Quick takes on the Republican Party as a racket, and the laughable impeachment of the Biden family as “corrupt” by supporters of Trump and his family. OnlySky, … Continue reading →

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Flickering and Shining: Adam Lee on Red and Blue America

Posted on Sunday 17 September 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Nothing has caught my eye this weekend in the papers or on the websites to blog about. So let’s look at a couple recent essays by Adam Lee, who’s blogged for years and self-published one book collecting some of his … Continue reading →

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