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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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2010-2013)
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- The Future is Coal Mining? Really?
- And Now We Have Linus
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- “An arbitrary, corrupt, mendacious, and utterly incompetent king”
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- In a Sense, It’s All About Tribal Conformity
- Daughter of Dispatches from Reality
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Meta
Category Archives: Conservative Resistance
Today’s Examples of Tribal Antics
Sometimes the antics of the tribalists are on the front page of the New York Times, two days in a row. Though that shouldn’t be surprising, given that they’re half the population. Today’s topics: Trump’s latest attacks against Harris; How … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Music, Politics
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Things Change, Necessarily
Seen in passing on Facebook today: Understand science, and you’ll understand religion. (In particular, I’d say, cognitive sciences, and human evolution.) \ Today’s topics: How Republicans accuse Democrats of being anti-family, while voting against programs to help families; How about … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, longtermism, Religion
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Tribal Antics, Racism, Misogyny
Thought for the day. It occurs to me that — at the risk of tossing out another simplistic dichotomy — the OT is pure tribal morality, while the NT, parts of it anyway (Jesus, maybe, though not Paul), presents a … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion
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Doing Your Own Research; Body Doubles; Intellectual Laziness
How “doing your own research” results in absurd conspiracies about Biden body doubles; Hemant Mehta tries to parse Candace Owens’ vast conspiracy theories; And how objections to the Olympics opening ceremony are all about intellectual laziness. The problem is, on … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Lunacy
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Far, Far Better Thing?
So this is the week that President Joe Biden, under fire by everyone since his lame debate performance last month (which I wrote about here), stepped down from his candidacy for a second term as president. This is virtually unprecedented … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, progress
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Never Mind Policy or Principles, Conservatives Need Only Stories
Politics and the Narrative Drive converge in items today. Robert Reich about how the GOP is courting unions; How J.D. Vance emphasizes his personal story rather than conservative principles; How Republicans cling to the myth of migrant crime; And how … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Narrative, Politics, Religion
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We tell ourselves stories in order to live
Yes, recalling Joan Didion, captured here. I’m not the only one who suspects this is true. Facebook, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, friends-only post, 16 Jul 2024: I have spent… …a lot of time trying to figure out exactly what is inspiring the … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Nature, Politics
Comments Off on We tell ourselves stories in order to live
Stories, and Change
Miscellaneous items today, including a few from a couple weeks ago. Oklahoma, insisting the Bible be taught as an historical document, seems intent on mis-educating its children and ill-preparing them for life in the 21st century; How conservative attacks against … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Religion, Social Progress
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So we cheated and we lied and we tested
Trump’s dementia; The Heritage Foundation’s threat of violence unless they get their way; And a graphic from Fb: “If you don’t scream, I won’t hurt you”; Trump disavows Project 2025; And a song by Crosby, Stills & Nash. Continuing from … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Music, Politics
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The Supposed God-Shaped Hole, and Others
Via Jerry Coyne, a long piece at Quillette by Matt Johnson: Liberalism and the West’s ‘Crisis of Meaning’, subtitled “Many liberals are strangely eager to concede that liberal societies are morally and spiritually bankrupt without religion to give life meaning.” … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Religion, Tribalism
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