Category Archives: Politics

More on the Latest Indictment

Posted on Thursday 3 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Goofy Republican responses to the latest indictment, about Federal employees, and to the teaching of psychology; The spectacle goes on and on, as the US experiences what some are saying is the most important legal indictment in its history: John … Continue reading →

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Conservative Morality

Posted on Wednesday 2 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Items today respond to the latest indictment of a certain former president, how his supporters respond, and me trying to wrap my mind around what his supporters think morality and law and order actually is. But I have an idea … Continue reading →

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Debates, the Political Divide, and Savannah Morality

Posted on Thursday 20 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Again, why debating is performance art and not about arriving at truth; How the political divide is mostly about hatred on the right toward the left; How all of this makes sense given understanding of basic human nature, the “Savannah” … Continue reading →

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Conservative Politics and the Flaws of Human Nature

Posted on Wednesday 19 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How linguistic anthropology and narrative psychology explain the appeal of Trump and other right-wing authoritarians; Why that everyone, not just conservatives, is pessimistic about the world, despite the evidence, is more evidence of how human nature, shaped in humanity’s ancestral … Continue reading →

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Dictatorship and the Rejection of Democracy

Posted on Tuesday 18 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Reactions to yesterday’s NYT piece about Republican plans to make Trump a dictator, abandoning the Founding Father’s idea of a democracy with a balance of powers; Climate change as precisely a subject that *should* be politicized, if politics is anything … Continue reading →

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The Current State of the World

Posted on Sunday 16 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items about the current state of the world: the economy is good; climate change is getting worse, and how conservatives won’t believe either; How Big Oil is more concerned with profits than with long-term consequences; How the Mission: Impossible … Continue reading →

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Truth or Consequences

Posted on Friday 14 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Why Republicans would want to defund the IRS, the DOJ, and the FBI; Cory Doctorow’s quick take on this theme in his latest novel; A new book about fearmongering; How conspiracy theories are driven by profit, not truth or honesty … Continue reading →

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Tenth Anniversary

Posted on Wednesday 12 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today is the tenth anniversary of this blog. It was originally called “Views from Medina Road,” from where we lived in Woodland Hills (a suburb of Los Angeles) at the time, with the view of the San Fernando Valley, and … Continue reading →

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Follow-up Links on Current Themes

Posted on Monday 10 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Let’s catch up on links from the past couple weeks that I haven’t already used, beginning with some follow-ons to topics already covered. Climate Change: Scientists have reached the “I told you so” moment; The DeSantis video: Republicans are now … Continue reading →

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Three Items by Paul Krugman

Posted on Friday 7 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

About why people don’t believe, or understand, that the economy has gotten better; Conspiracy theorists who think the government is simply faking the data about an improving economy; How ‘tech bros’ like Elon Musk are given to reflexive contrarianism and … Continue reading →

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