Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Unstable Moron, and His Fans

Posted on Friday 4 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Heather Cox Richardson on reactions to Trump’s tariffs, including Canada’s reaction and how Republicans hope this will somehow all work out; Jonathan Chait on how Trump has already botched his plan by suggested he might negotiate; Aside about my motivation … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on Unstable Moron, and His Fans

“Liberation Day”

Posted on Thursday 3 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s “Liberation Day” of tariffs for virtually every country around the world — except for Russia! — might well wreck both America’s, and the world’s, economy; With Paul Krugman’s expose of their “formula”; A reminder from Robert Reich, from 2018, … Continue reading →

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This is how these things happen

Posted on Wednesday 2 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT’s M. Gessen on how the police state has arrived; A WaPo reporter goes looking for the “corrosive ideology” Trump thinks is in the Smithsonian; The next Project 2025 goal is to restore the ideal heterosexual family, and diminish everyone … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, authoritarianism, Economics, Politics | Comments Off on This is how these things happen

A Post-Pandemic Malaise?

Posted on Tuesday 1 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Thoughts about whether the pandemic has led to autocracy around the world; How that, and inequality, have left Americans in a sour economic mood; A graphic illustrating how those who want to privatize everything think everything is about making money; … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Human Nature, Politics | Comments Off on A Post-Pandemic Malaise?

What Is the Venn Diagram Between Whitewashing and White Supremacy?

Posted on Monday 31 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Signalgate and white mediocrity; How we are seeing tribal impulses eroding the high ideals designed to overcome them; How the Trump administration is indifferent to refugees… except for whites from South Africa; Jill Lawrence at The Bulwark about Trump’s bid … Continue reading →

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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.

Adolescence of Boys, and of the Species

Posted on Saturday 29 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

For once we happened to watch a much-discussed current show only a week after it debuted (instead of months later or years later). This is the Netflix show Adolescence (Wikipedia link). It’s four hour-long episodes, about a 13-year-old boy in … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, Psychology | Comments Off on Adolescence of Boys, and of the Species

The Reality of the World Will Fight Back

Posted on Friday 28 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How the current administration deals in “alternative facts”; With a reminder of some central themes of this blog; Now the Smithsonian Institution is targeted for “improper ideology,” which seems to mean that the prejudices and stereotypes of decades ago are … Continue reading →

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Of Course We Knew, or Should Have Known, This Was Coming

Posted on Thursday 27 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Frank Bruni on the fiasco of Trump’s cabinet; The Guardian’s Emma Brockes calls them “a bunch of pathetic sleazebags”; And the stunning hypocrisy of this scandal compared to Hillary Clinton’s emails; Short items on the new Lavender Scare, how a … Continue reading →

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Fewer and Fewer Are Mincing Words

Posted on Wednesday 26 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Tom Nichols on the recent crisis; Paul Krugman concludes Trump’s people are both incompetent and evil; Even Fox News blames incompetence; Europe reacts to insults; Children with measles are getting sick from overdoses of Vitamin D, per JFK Jr.’s advice; … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on Fewer and Fewer Are Mincing Words