Monthly Archives: August 2025

Greed, and Heaven

Posted on Thursday 28 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Thom Hartmann on the motivation of Republicans: Greed; Brief items about Trump as dictator; why Trump talks about heaven; Robert Reich on how to respond to Trump’s lies about “crime wave” (point out Trump’s violations); the suspended postal shipments to … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature | Comments Off on Greed, and Heaven

The Disappearance of Linus

Posted on Wednesday 27 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Distracted the past couple days by the disappearance of Linus. I mentioned this on Facebook last night. Maybe he’ll come back. Click for much larger image. I posted this on Facebook, yesterday the 26th. Our beloved Linus, who appeared exactly … Continue reading →

Posted in authoritarianism, Human Nature, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on The Disappearance of Linus

Conservative Motivations and Magical Thinking

Posted on Monday 25 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Recalling how conservative motivations echo Hutson’s 7 laws of magical thinking; Examples of banning flag burning, removing the rainbow crosswalk in Orland, and French Gallic culture; Hemant Mehta examines why the Jehovah’s Witnesses have relaxed their prohibition against higher education; … Continue reading →

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Frightened Conservatives’ Paranoid Fantasies

Posted on Sunday 24 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Tribal thinking: Jan 6 rioters: good, pardoned; prosecutors following law and order: bad, fired; Troops for Chicago, New York, Baltimore? It’s the revolt of the rubes; With a US map showing the concentrations of blue and red; How Gavin Newsom … Continue reading →

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Working Definitions, and Examples

Posted on Saturday 23 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Reviewing basic definitions of evil, sin, morality, woke, and fake news, with examples: The Trump admin and MAGA would like to take over all the big cities; How the far-right agenda is entering the mainstream; Do Republicans actually believe in … Continue reading →

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Secular Values, and Reality as Evil

Posted on Friday 22 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Two thematic follow-ups to yesterday’s post. OnlySky, Bruce Ledewitz, 20 Aug 2025: Can people thrive in a secular society?, subtitled “Are secular values the cause of our malaise?” Yesterday’s post extended a theme on this blog concerning a range or … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmology, Meaning, Philosophy, Physics, Science | Comments Off on Secular Values, and Reality as Evil

Everything Old and Simple; Conservatives, the Conceptual Ceiling, and Cognitive Dissonance

Posted on Thursday 21 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Conceptual ceiling and conservatives; Thoughts about how humanity might survive, via deliberate cognitive dissonance: “One mindset to maintain the tribe and ensure near-term survival; another to solve problems that threaten long-term survival.” Which one is right? Both are, in different … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Everything Old and Simple; Conservatives, the Conceptual Ceiling, and Cognitive Dissonance

Liberal and Conservative Goals

Posted on Wednesday 20 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Why conservatives inculcate young thinkers, and liberals don’t (need to); Christian pastors in Kentucky want to shield children from LGBTQ books; why not shield them from the Bible? Which influence is worse? It depends on your goals, which are driven … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Liberal and Conservative Goals

Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler: FAIL-SAFE

Posted on Wednesday 20 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(First published 1962. Edition show here: HarperCollins/Ecco, trade paperback, 1999, 286pp.) Here’s another book that begs categorization; is it really science fiction? I’ve grouped this book with two previously discussed, Pat Frank’s ALAS, BABYLON and Nevil Shute’s ON THE BEACH, … Continue reading →

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Further Reports on the Current Crisis

Posted on Tuesday 19 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich on groveling and inept and unprincipled people; Heather Cox Richardson on our idiot-child president; By wanting to banish mail-in ballots nationwide, Trump attacks states’ rights, a conservative principle for centuries; On the same theme, Thomas B. Edsall looks … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Further Reports on the Current Crisis