Category Archives: Religion

Perhaps Humanity Has Hit a Conceptual Ceiling

Posted on Sunday 13 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Alternate title: America was supposed to be better than this. Perhaps MAGA is about making America *simpler* again; perhaps what we’re seeing is a rejection of the complexity of the modern world; Why is it Americans love watching crime shows? … Continue reading →

Posted in authoritarianism, Human Progress, Politics, Religion, science fiction | Leave a comment

We’re Becoming an Authoritarian, Theocratic, Police State

Posted on Friday 11 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Anne Applebaum on why dictatorships fail; David Brooks on how Americans can’t think anymore; Amanda Marcotte on Elon Musk’s and MAGA’s misogyny, via their war on empathy; Morons: A GOP Rep about how climate change is a sham because God … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Politics, Religion | Leave a comment

How Trump and MAGA illustrate Fundamental Principles

Posted on Monday 7 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How my posts about current politics, including Trump and Musk, are about illustrating fundamental principles; Trump simply doesn’t understand trade; David Brooks on how conservatives have changed; A Christian law-maker who thinks “critical thinking” includes teaching about God; Short items … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Music, Religion | Leave a comment

I read the news today, oh boy.

Posted on Sunday 30 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How mold is taken as a miracle, another example in an endless series throughout history; Short items about Trump, tariffs, and auto prices; lying about American history; how “make America healthy again” means the opposite; how a vaccine expert has … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on I read the news today, oh boy.

Security Breach; Socialism vs. Capitalism

Posted on Monday 24 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s big news is about the security breach by Pete Hegseth, and whether he or anyone else will face consequences; Heather Cox Richardson on the 15th anniversary of Obamacare; And my reflections on the motivations behind the debates between capitalism … Continue reading →

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Tribalistic Politics

Posted on Saturday 22 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Frank Bruni on why Trump keeps attacking Biden; Paul Krugman, via Adam Tooze, on how Trump has prejudices rather than ideas; Heather Cox Richardson recalls how Republicans have tried to create their own reality; Why MAGA voters want their opponents … Continue reading →

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How MAGA folks don’t actually believe in traditional American values

Posted on Tuesday 18 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Rather, they embody the essence of primitive tribalism. A Ben Shapiro host renounces the Statue of Liberty and its “stupid” poem; The disappearance of Navajo Code Talkers on government websites suggests again that MAGA is a white supremacy movement; Shameless … Continue reading →

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Back and Forth, On and Off

Posted on Thursday 6 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

CDC recalls fired workers; Tariffs are delayed again; Why would Trump want to destabilize the country? Texas would make identifying as transgender a felon; Trump blames the victims; TN names July a month of “fasting and prayer”; Miracles are happening … Continue reading →

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Richard Dawkins: THE MAGIC OF REALITY

Posted on Friday 14 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: How We Know What’s Really True Illustrated by Dave McKean (Free Press, Oct. 2011, 271pp, including 6p of index and acknowledgements) When I was organizing my nonfiction books notes and posts last December, I was surprised that I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, reality, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Richard Dawkins: THE MAGIC OF REALITY

Shades of Morality

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s crazy Gaza redevelopment plan; How conservatives use “corruption” (without evidence) as an excuse to undermine institutions they don’t like; And they would go after Wikipedia, if they could; Then a long sequence about JD Vance on Christian love, various … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Morality, Philosophy, Religion | Comments Off on Shades of Morality