Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

The Fringe Is Becoming Mainstream

Posted on Friday 15 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump threatens to attack Mexico, ho hum; South Koreans think electric fans are deadly; A GOP rep claims evidence of “interdimensional beings”; Hegseth’s pastor claims “gay marriage doesn’t exist” because he doesn’t like it; Lance Wallnau thinks his god wants … Continue reading →

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Why Totalitarians Prefer Crackpots and Fools, as We Are Seeing Under Trump

Posted on Thursday 14 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Lesson for today, from Paul Krugman, from Hannah Arendt: “Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.” … Continue reading →

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Nostalgia Bias, and Christian Intolerance and Hypocrisy

Posted on Wednesday 13 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s worldview is stuck in 1989; Thinking the 1990s were better than today is nostalgia bias; D.C. is not the hellscape Trump claims it is (of course); More about that annoying busybody who opposes gay marriage and has nothing better … Continue reading →

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Music as Language

Posted on Tuesday 12 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

John McWhorter on Bruce Springsteen, and my own takes; About modern music. I mentioned that I had a couple thoughts about music recently. The first is inspired by this piece: NY Times, John McWhorter, 7 Aug 2025: Springsteen Isn’t Who … Continue reading →

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Short-Term Thinking As the Problem, As I’ve Been Saying

Posted on Monday 11 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Ben Rhodes at NYT on the perils of short-term thinking; A Facebook comment about intellectual loneliness; And how Trump is lying about crime in DC in order to, what? distract from the Epstein crisis? Or show random totalitarian power? – … Continue reading →

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Nevil Shute: ON THE BEACH

Posted on Monday 11 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(First published 1957. Edition here: Vintage International, trade paperback, February 2010, 312pp) And here’s the next in a group of apocalyptic novels I read in June, following Butler’s PARABLE OF THE SOWER and Frank’s ALAS, BABYLON (review review here.) This is … Continue reading →

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MAGA and Cultural Stagnation

Posted on Sunday 10 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Long piece by Mike Lofgren at Salon about how we got from the 1960s to here; how we’re in an era of stagnation; My brief thoughts about how this might apply to science fiction; Tim Callahan at Skeptic spells out … Continue reading →

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Trump the Bully Seems to Be What Many People Want

Posted on Saturday 9 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

David Remnick of The New Yorker on Trump the Bully; Heather Cox Richardson on Trump promises not kept; Trump’s escalating racist attacks on Black Americans; How Fox News feeds anti-immigrant propaganda to its audience; Trump’s gold kitsch White House; More … Continue reading →

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No Policies, No Principles, Just “Deals”

Posted on Friday 8 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

And Threats. And Extortion. And Lies. A quote from Bertrand Russell; Trump wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize, while making wars worse and threatening countries around the world; Heather Cox Richardson on the motives behind the idea of changing … Continue reading →

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The Real Government Plots Against Reality

Posted on Thursday 7 August 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Government plots to suppress vaccines, and the effects of climate change; With my speculation about conservative motivations; Heather Cox Richardson on how, despite concerns for the budget, conservatives are willing to spend millions and millions to deport people they don’t … Continue reading →

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