Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

Undermining and Discrediting

More about Trump’s firing of the head of Bureau of Labor Statistics, with responses at Slate, from David Brin, The Atlantic, PolitiFact, Heather Cox Richardson, and Robert Reich; How Trump is now extorting UCLA; How Trump had references to his … Continue reading

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Creeping Totalitarianism

Trump fires the messenger of bad news about his economy, while Paul Krugman anticipates cooked books; The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down; And Amanda Marcotte on the idea of religious proselytizing in the workplace. – – –   … Continue reading

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All Things Pass, America Too, It Seems

The Atlantic’s Ross Andersen on how every scientific empire comes to end, with historical precedents; E.J. Dionne Jr. about the drop in murder rate, speculating why; Quick bits about religion as a mental disorder, how praying for the intervention of … Continue reading

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The Outright Denial of the Scientific Consensus About Climate Change

Trump’s EPA now denies the worldwide scientific consensus about climate change; The history of Trump’s fake history; How Trump wins by suing institutions for absurd amounts and settling for relatively trivial amounts; How Europe took Trump for a ride; Robert … Continue reading

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TV, Juan Crow, Facts and Nonexistent Things, Alfred Schnittke

Trump trusts only TV; Heather Cox Richardson on how Republicans are digging into positions that are contradicted by facts; How the Trump administration’s “Juan Crow” echoes “John Crow”; More nonexistent things that can be banned; Short items about disabling hurricane … Continue reading

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Proselytism, Manifest Destiny, Arvo Pärt

Let Federal employees proselytize! Heather Cox Richardson on manifest destiny; Arvo Pärt. – – –   As with that notion about regulating AI to be non-woke, have they thought this one through? Washington Post, 28 Jul 2025: Trump administration urges … Continue reading

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More Items from the Authoritarian Playbook

About the conservative agenda concerning colleges, and education; Charlie Kirk thinks you don’t need college; just watch YouTube videos, especially his own online courses; Education Secretary Linda McMahon admits her political motivations for dismantling her department; Brief items about a … Continue reading

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Conservative Thinking Means Whitewashing the Past

A take-down of David Brooks, as an example of a conservative white-washing and distorting American history; How National Park gift shops are removing books about that same history for the same reasons; A religious rant bout Obama and Russia, and … Continue reading

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How Can AI Tell the Truth? Whose Truth?

More about AI, and how (from Steven Levy) there’s no such thing as a bias-free AI; Speculation on what a MAGA ideologically correct AI would be; Following up on Harari: how would an AI handle inconsistencies among, and within, religious … Continue reading

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“American” Intelligence?

Trump wants AI to be not “woke”; how will he enforce that? And he doesn’t like the word “artificial”; A reel by Yuval Noah Harari about a realistic threat of AI; Heather Cox Richardson on the various deflections Republicans are … Continue reading

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