Category Archives: Politics

Factory Settings

Posted on Sunday 20 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

The idea of “factory settings” as describing base human nature, and how some people can transcend them; A woman wonders if religion is the only way to instill her child with “scaffolding for spirituality and morality” (answer: no); Richard Dawkins … Continue reading →

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Good Questions, Interesting Answers

Posted on Friday 18 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

David Brooks wonders, Why isn’t she running away with this? Adam Gopnik wonders why even his opponents don’t recognize the extent of Trump’s villainy; Jill Filipovic wonders why NYT softens headlines about Trump; David French wonders if Trump’s policies make … Continue reading →

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What It Means to be Fascist

Posted on Thursday 17 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich’s take in five points; AlterNet’s John Stoer’s take; How Trump can claim anything — now he’s the “father of IVF” — and his fans will believe him. Robert Reich, 17 Oct 2024: Trump’s closing argument: full-throated fascism Recalling … Continue reading →

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Out of Commission

Posted on Wednesday 16 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

More examples of Trump as the rambling, incoherent traitor; How people trust Trump on the economy because he oversimplifies things, and conservatives don’t do complexity or nuance; Thomas B. Edsall on Trump’s appeal to racists; A Florida Republican who thinks … Continue reading →

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Education and Focus

Posted on Monday 14 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Education is now the best predictor for how someone will vote; Why Trump’s supporters don’t believe his threats (they’re focused only on their particular concerns); How Trump wants to lie in real-time without being fact-checked; Paul Krugman suggests that Trump’s … Continue reading →

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The Enemy Within

Posted on Sunday 13 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump is ready to use the military against his “enemies from within”; What one immigrant thinks when he hears Trump speak; How Republicans are sure there will be cheating, and migrants will vote. Counter: why not let the whole world … Continue reading →

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Assault on and Rejection of Reality

Posted on Friday 11 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Charlie Warzel in The Atlantic on how things are much worse than a misinformation crisis; Meteorologists notice that ignorance is becoming socially acceptable — but this has always been true, as C.P. Snow noted; The Republican conspiracy theory that children … Continue reading →

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The Christian Authoritarian Agenda

Posted on Thursday 10 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Long before Project 2025, Christian conservatives have had an agenda to impose their values on everyone; How some conservatives will call any evidence about the good economy fake news; How MAGA disinformation can be deadly, but Trump’s followers would rather … Continue reading →

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Consensus Reality Is Disappearing Before Our Eyes

Posted on Wednesday 9 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

No matter how dissociated from reality something a politician says is, there are people who will believe it. People who think everything (such as Hurricanes) must happen for a reason are debating between God’s wrath and Deep State weather control; … Continue reading →

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Have There Always Been Crazies?

Posted on Monday 7 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How is it the Republican party is increasingly dominated by cranks and crackpots? Ideas from Robert Reich and Heather Cox Richardson, and examples from the debates, and about Hurricane Helene. NYT is finally paying attention to Trump’s mental decline; JD … Continue reading →

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