Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

American Narratives

Posted on Saturday 14 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Infrastructure note; Robert Reich on America’s four stories; Heather Cox Richardson on how Trump has no apparent plan for governance. Infrastructure note. I’ve installed an initial set of theme pages under the “NF Reviews” menu item above, which appear as … Continue reading →

Posted in Narrative, Politics, Website Issues | Comments Off on American Narratives

Pretty to Think So

Posted on Friday 13 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

One of my running themes — here on this blog, in the reviews I’ve written of SF novels and stories in recent years, in my essay for Gary Westfahl awaiting publication, and in my book if I manage to write … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, science fiction | Comments Off on Pretty to Think So

Or for Worse

Posted on Thursday 12 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

We took both our cars into the indie BMW shop we’ve been going to, for routine maintenance. In my case, I needed my car to be ship-shape before driving down to LA in a couple weeks. \ Infrastructure note. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Nature, Politics, Website Issues | Comments Off on Or for Worse

Human Rights, and Those Who Would Restrict Them

Posted on Wednesday 11 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been 76 years since the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in America, conservatives prevent or keep trying to reverse many of those rights; Example of their latest bugaboo: transgenders; How Trump’s cabinet picks would please Putin, whose … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Economics, progress | Comments Off on Human Rights, and Those Who Would Restrict Them

What If We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know?

Posted on Tuesday 10 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Plato’s cave and what we don’t know, or don’t know that we don’t know; David Gerrold on “woke” and why I think citing “woke” (or religion) dismisses one from any serious conversation; Short items about how a third of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Social Progress | Comments Off on What If We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know?

Institutions, Tribes, and Faith

Posted on Monday 9 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman’s last NYT column, in part about what has changed in the past 25 years, including the collapse of trust in the elites; Helen Lewis echoes Fareed Zakaria yesterday: the mainstream media is part of the “elite” system that … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Epistemology, Religion, Science, Social Progress | Comments Off on Institutions, Tribes, and Faith

Institutions and Indoctrination

Posted on Sunday 8 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s neighborhood cookies party. Fareed Zakaria how democracy depends on its institutions; The Trump administration will indoctrinate Federal employees with MAGA training; A West Virginia mayor reject a Pagan float in a Christmas Parade; How Trump is stocking his cabinet … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal history, Politics | Comments Off on Institutions and Indoctrination

Economics vs. Intuition and Common Sense

Posted on Saturday 7 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I missed posting yesterday because there was a Locus Foundation meeting (via Zoom) that began at 3pm my time and ran until 5:30pm, right through my blogging hour. At 5:30 it was time to get ready for dinner with my … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | Comments Off on Economics vs. Intuition and Common Sense

Advance Warnings

Posted on Thursday 5 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Tsunami Alert! Robert Reich on Donald Trump’s cabinet of sycophants and charlatans; Threats against those who defy the “Gospel of Trump”; Heather Cox Richardson look back on the history of business vs the government; How the right perceives the murder … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Morality, Politics | Comments Off on Advance Warnings

Politics as Aspects of Human Nature

Posted on Wednesday 4 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

An early post on this blog quoted Robert Reich about how most progressives live in cities and on the coasts, and most regressives live in rural areas far removed from ports and cities. It’s a widely noted pattern. “Our problem … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Politics as Aspects of Human Nature