Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Ideology and Fertility

Posted on Thursday 20 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Testing provisional conclusions. Is this just about primitive tribal priorities for survival, in a world that doesn’t actually need more children? Or something else? The Atlantic, Olga Khazan, today: Another Big Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives, subtitled “People on the … Continue reading →

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Wiping out databases; sycophants; misogyny; revenge; Waymo

Posted on Wednesday 19 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

This is not a surprise. This is what authoritarian regimes do to hide their mismanagement and irresponsibility. The Guardian, yesterday: Trump 2.0 has deleted or altered nearly 400 US datasets, endangering public health, education and more Why? Short answer is … Continue reading →

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Stories and Reality

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Some people (whom we call conservatives) won’t ‘believe’ any kind of evidence that disputes their stories. The New Republic, yesterday: At Long Last, Americans Are Starting to See the Truth About the GOP, subtitled “A businessman can set this country … Continue reading →

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How the American Experiment May Not Be Working

Posted on Monday 17 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Adam Lee suggests abolishing the US Senate (as others have before him) America has always considered itself an experiment, on the world stage, and in fact it has developed into the most powerful nation on Earth. But has the experiment … Continue reading →

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Caro Claire Burke, YESTERYEAR

Posted on Monday 17 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

(Knopf, April 2026, 391pp) I read the bestselling novel YESTERYEAR, by Caro Claire Burke, three weekends ago, on a trip to LA to spend time with family on the occasion of a 1st birthday and a new house, and it … Continue reading →

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Fantasy Lands

Posted on Sunday 16 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Andrew O’Hehir on how few people understand the differences between socialism, capitalism, and all those other isms, as even MAGA embraces socialist ideas; Mark Joseph Stern on the origin of originalist ideas about the US Constitution; Jamelle Boudie on how … Continue reading →

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David Brin’s Phases of the American Civil War

Posted on Saturday 15 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Still under the weather, for a week now. I’m behind updating sfadb. I spent some time this afternoon refining yesterday’s post. For now, not entirely irrelevant: Brin has long portrayed American history as the same kind of transition between modes … Continue reading →

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The Expansion of Human Morality, the Relativity of Good and Evil

Posted on Friday 14 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Further thoughts on the evolutionary forces behind the expansion of human morality; Thought while reading Stephen King’s THE STAND; And further thoughts about human morality, and how conservative and progressive stances have been appropriate at different times; Heather Digby Parton … Continue reading →

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The Deep History Key to the American Political Divide

Posted on Thursday 13 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Kurt Andersen on America’s soft breakup; How the divide goes back ultimately to the Agricultural Revolution. – – – First up, a NYT Op-ed NY Times, Kurt Andersen, 9 Aug 2026: Has America Already Undergone a Soft Breakup?

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MAGA Art Slop; Ignoring the Data

Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

MAGA taste in art, and a new exhibit in Washington DC; More Republican destruction: the US Census, and monitoring the Arctic; Maybe they don’t believe they’re lying, they just don’t know the difference between lies and truth; Robert Reich on … Continue reading →

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