Category Archives: Culture

The Roots of All This is an Unchanging Human Nature in a Changing World

Posted on Monday 10 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Heather Cox Richardson explains why the right to vote, not the Second Amendment, is the key to maintaining our rights; Robert Reich wonders where the lawlessness of the Trump regime will end; Paul Krugman sees the end of Pax Americana; … 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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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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For Certain Values of Great

Posted on Sunday 19 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

From Facebook, a few days ago. The science fiction writer Robert Charles Wilson attempts to summarize the current condition in a single sentence. Facebook, Robert Charles Wilson, 11 Jan 2025: via David Gerrold. The concentration of wealth is driving novel … Continue reading →

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Cynics, Conspiracies, and the Oligarchy

Posted on Friday 17 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

RFK Jr. is a cynic, not a skeptic; Conservatives would rather punish California than deal with the climate crisis; Paul Krugman on how Trump has no plans, only yes-men; Why the decline of DEI is a worry; Peter Thiel now … Continue reading →

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MAGA Delusions About Health

Posted on Tuesday 14 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Just finished a book write-up, so a relatively short post today about current events. MAGA delusions about health; How Republican policies will make things worse, and how they don’t realize this. If it’s Tuesday, there’s a Science Section of the … Continue reading →

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The California Fires and What They Reveal

Posted on Sunday 12 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

The despicable Donald Trump ignorantly criticizes California politicians, rather than offering any sympathy for the victims of the recent fires; How well-intentioned policies from decades ago are partly responsible for the fires; How humans might be doomed by their own … Continue reading →

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A New Jack Smith Rule

Posted on Wednesday 8 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

The southern California wildfires, and Will Rogers Ranch; How conservatives blame people they don’t like for everything; Perhaps I should create a new “Jack Smith” rule to dismiss claims by conservatives, since they always seem to be wrong; Lagniappes about … Continue reading →

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End of Year Summaries

Posted on Sunday 29 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David Brooks’ favorite essays include one about how Trump’s people have no clue about how to fix complex problems, and one about why people believe *true* things; Two pieces from The Atlantic about 77 facts from 2024, and important breakthroughs … Continue reading →

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The Drones! The Drones!

Posted on Monday 16 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

First let’s finish the second Robert Reich item we began yesterday. Then the drones. Robert Reich, 13 Dec 2024: America’s four stories (Part 2)

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