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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Category Archives: Politics
So Are We to Live in an Authoritarian Oligarchy?
The un-elected Elon Musk seems to be running the country this week; How the Drone Panic reveals a need to believe, in *something*. So not only is our incipient administration authoritarian, it’s authoritarian and being run by an oligarch! NY … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology, Religion, Supernatural
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Psychological Underpinnings
The drone panic is about human psychology; So is the fear of vaccines. – – – Once again, the drone panic is not about drones. NY Times, Zeynep Tufekci, 19 Dec 2024: How to Make the Drone Panic So … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology
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The Drones! The Drones!
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) VI. The Democrats’ Reluctance to Tell the Truth about the Rot at the Top The Democrats’ … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Politics
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Fear, Outrage, and Paranoia
I’ve been curious, but have never been sufficiently tempted, to watch or listen to right-wing media for any period of time. These two pieces confirm my impression that most of its content is about fear and outrage. Fear of a … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, History, Lunacy, Politics
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American Narratives
Infrastructure note; Robert Reich on America’s four stories; Heather Cox Richardson on how Trump has no apparent plan for governance. Infrastructure note. I’ve installed an initial set of theme pages under the “NF Reviews” menu item above, which appear as … Continue reading
Posted in Narrative, Politics, Website Issues
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Pretty to Think So
One of my running themes — here on this blog, in the reviews I’ve written of SF novels and stories in recent years, in my essay for Gary Westfahl awaiting publication, and in my book if I manage to write … Continue reading
Or for Worse
We took both our cars into the indie BMW shop we’ve been going to, for routine maintenance. In my case, I needed my car to be ship-shape before driving down to LA in a couple weeks. \ Infrastructure note. In … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Nature, Politics, Website Issues
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What If We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know?
Plato’s cave and what we don’t know, or don’t know that we don’t know; David Gerrold on “woke” and why I think citing “woke” (or religion) dismisses one from any serious conversation; Short items about how a third of the … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Social Progress
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Institutions and Indoctrination
Today’s neighborhood cookies party. Fareed Zakaria how democracy depends on its institutions; The Trump administration will indoctrinate Federal employees with MAGA training; A West Virginia mayor reject a Pagan float in a Christmas Parade; How Trump is stocking his cabinet … Continue reading
Posted in Personal history, Politics
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Economics vs. Intuition and Common Sense
I missed posting yesterday because there was a Locus Foundation meeting (via Zoom) that began at 3pm my time and ran until 5:30pm, right through my blogging hour. At 5:30 it was time to get ready for dinner with my … Continue reading
