Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

An Actual Reason to be Against Education

Posted on Monday 10 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich warns that universities will be the next target; Amanda Marcotte wonders why Pete Hegseth’s paranoia would ban “Enola Gay”. Robert Reich’s first post today echoes my topic yesterday. But let’s ask again: is this only about federal control … Continue reading →

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Why Are Conservatives Against Education?

Posted on Sunday 9 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Two pieces about the Department of Education; Trump’s contradictions are a feature, not a bug? Musk doesn’t understand government (it’s not a business); Trump doesn’t criticize Putin because he’s planning his own invasion? Tom Nichols on the Pentagon’s DEI panic; … Continue reading →

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A MAGA Feed, and DST

Posted on Saturday 8 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

A MAGA feed; A solution to the Daylight Saving Time debate. – – – For today, I want to examine this piece closely. The polarization of American society may mean that the two sides disagree, but perhaps also that they … Continue reading →

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Tyson & Walker, TO INFINITY AND BEYOND

Posted on Saturday 8 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lindsey Nyx Walker Subtitled “A Journey of Cosmic Discovery” (National Geographic, Sep. 2023, 319pp, including 16pp acknowledgements, further reading, illustrations credits, and index.) This is literally a heavier-than-usual book that is nevertheless a light-weight read (even … Continue reading →

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Simplicity and Idiocy

Posted on Friday 7 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

American idiocy; War images flagged for removal in Pentagon DEI purge; Why are conservatives obsessed with the debunked link between vaccines and autism? Trump and Musk are ungoverning; I admit that I follow a Facebook group called America’s Cultural Decline … Continue reading →

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Tom Nichols, OUR OWN WORST ENEMY

Posted on Friday 7 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “The Assault From Within on Modern Democracy” (Oxford, August 2021, xvii + 245pp, including 25pp notes and index) Here’s the last of several books about current issues that I read in December and January. I read this one because … Continue reading →

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Back and Forth, On and Off

Posted on Thursday 6 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

CDC recalls fired workers; Tariffs are delayed again; Why would Trump want to destabilize the country? Texas would make identifying as transgender a felon; Trump blames the victims; TN names July a month of “fasting and prayer”; Miracles are happening … Continue reading →

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Annalee Newitz, STORIES ARE WEAPONS

Posted on Thursday 6 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “Psychological Warfare and the American Mind” (Norton, June 2024, xxv + 246pp, including 42pp of acknowledgements, notes, and notes.) Here’s a book that offers a different spin on the ideas of misinformation, fake news, and narratives, than earlier books … Continue reading →

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Many Lies, No Coherent Plan

Posted on Wednesday 5 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Commentaries and fact-checks about Trump’s speech to Congress last night. Dana Milbank on how Trump has set the country back 100 years; Fred Kaplan on Trump’s unhinged plans for the rest of the world; And Heather Digby Parton and David … Continue reading →

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Stepping Outward, from Tariffs to Globalization

Posted on Tuesday 4 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Rationales for tariffs against Canada and Mexico: perhaps Trump just hates Canadian decency, how his rationales keep changing, and in any case they’re foolish; With my thoughts about two possible motivations; How Trump is losing the 21st century: by alienating … Continue reading →

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