Category Archives: Religion

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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Changing the Subject

Posted on Wednesday 2 October 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

About last night’s Vice Presidential debate, and how Vance kept changing the subject; How Vance’s contempt for climate change science belies his purported concern for children, and reflects this recent Cory Doctorow column about marshmallow longtermism; How Vance’s conversion to … Continue reading →

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The Real Trump Mystery, and My Explanation

Posted on Friday 27 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Thomas B. Edsall on The Real Trump Mystery, and how base human nature explains this; Fareed Zakaria on how Trump’s economic ideas would stunt growth and spur inflation; Because Trump doesn’t understand money; Short items about Roseanne Barr accusing Democrats … Continue reading →

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Francis Collins on Facts (!)

Posted on Tuesday 24 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Francis Collins on how facts don’t care how you feel; Short pieces on Trump and golf; how brain damage is linked to religious fundamentalism; how Carlson and Vance are smart guys who play dumb; about Trump’s Truth Social posts; how … Continue reading →

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Distrust of Science and of Public Schools

Posted on Sunday 15 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Thomas B. Edsall on the roots of MAGA’s distrust of science; Hemant Mehta on evangelicals and public schools. NY Times, guest essay by Thomas B. Edsall, 11 Sep 2024: MAGA vs. Science Is No Contest [Gift Link] I’ve mentioned before … Continue reading →

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Plot Armor

Posted on Friday 6 September 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Beginning with this unusual topic. Not about Trump per se; more a general principle of story-telling. And faith. OnlySky, Dale McGowan, 6 Sep 2024: For the Trump faithful, it comes down to plot armor, subtitled “It’s no surprise that Trump … Continue reading →

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Friends and Neighbors, Conformity vs. Liberty

Posted on Thursday 22 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

How the Walz/Vance debate revealed two different views of America: conformity v liberty; How we depend on friends and neighbors, and Oprah’s DNC speech; How morality evolved, and religion merely captured it; Brief items about crowd sizes and looks; taking … Continue reading →

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Neopatriarchy, Tax Cuts, Conflict Entrepreneurs, and How the Nonreligious Might Save Humanity

Posted on Tuesday 20 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Catching up on odds and ends today. The Right’s “neopatricarchy” is nothing but a prioritization of tribal morality — that nothing matters than having more children; Republicans are famous for bribing voters with tax cuts; now Democrats are doing it … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Religion | Comments Off on Neopatriarchy, Tax Cuts, Conflict Entrepreneurs, and How the Nonreligious Might Save Humanity

Tara Westover: EDUCATED: A MEMOIR

Posted on Monday 19 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

And here’s a third memoir I read recently, inspired by that NYT list — though in this case, the book didn’t place on the final list, though it was nominated by a couple of the 500 contributors who revealed their … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, Religion | Comments Off on Tara Westover: EDUCATED: A MEMOIR