Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

The Arrogance of the Devout

Posted on Saturday 27 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Texas inserts Bible readings into public school instruction, only some of them related to literary works; Adam Roberts reviews Disclosure Day, with insights similar to my own; Gubbins: Dismal turn-out for Trump’s rally; right-wing paranoia about Dems. – – – … Continue reading →

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Human Nature and American Self-Esteem

Posted on Friday 26 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Another story about a European loving his American experience, and also how Americans need this kind of validation; Brief items about Trump Derangement Syndrome, the demonization of Anthony Fauci, how Christian Nationalist candidates should conceal their agendas, and why there … Continue reading →

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Assessing Disclosure Day

Posted on Thursday 25 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

National Review is offended by the film’s presumption to redefine “the Judeo-Christian ethic that formerly ruled Hollywood — making it a global, cultural superpower…”; Vox on how faith and UFOs go hand in hand; Slate on how Spielberg’s films are … Continue reading →

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As Others See Us

Posted on Wednesday 24 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How World Cup tourists are impressed by the US; And an earlier piece about tourists were impressed by San Francisco, in both cases despite right-wing apocalyptic propaganda; Amanda Marcotte on why MAGA buys Trump’s reflecting pool hoax; Hegseth reverses the … Continue reading →

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William MacAskill, WHAT WE OWE THE FUTURE

Posted on Tuesday 23 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

(Basic Books, August 2022, 333pp, including 83pp of acknowledgements, appendices, figure credits and data sources, notes, and index) This book, which I read shortly after its publication in 2022, is by a young Oxford philosopher who is at the center … Continue reading →

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Trump’s Self-Created Crises

Posted on Monday 22 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich on four messes that Trump created; Items about Hegseth undoing military progress; Tim Barton cites a quotation that doesn’t exist; the news spy chief fires intel experts; Trump’s preoccupation with the number 22; Nancy Mace thinks transgenic means … Continue reading →

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Neil deGrasse Tyson, TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER

Posted on Sunday 21 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Perspectives on Your First Alien Encounter (Simon & Schuster/Simon Six, May 2026, 226pp, including 28pp of acknowledgements, notes, index, and image credits) This latest by Tyson is irreverent and casual, even lightweight, in the way Tyson’s books often are, … Continue reading →

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Disclosure Day, Initial Take

Posted on Saturday 20 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

First reaction to Disclosure Day, with a link to David Brin’s reaction; then noting the film’s religious themes, its appeal to empathy, and its allusions to past Spielberg films; How the reflecting pool fiasco is emblematic of Trump’s strategy: hire … Continue reading →

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Memories of Green

Posted on Thursday 18 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s surrender; Trump can’t sell his lies in Versailles; Why people see scientists as oddballs; Vangelis’s “Memories of Green.” – – – Some of us have memories of the before time. Before all this. The Bulwark, Jonathan V. Last, today: … Continue reading →

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Reflecting Pool Fiasco

Posted on Wednesday 17 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the reflecting pool fiasco is emblematic of Trump’s manner of government; Facebook’s AMV about how the reflecting pool is a miniature Anthropocene; Why Trump keeps talking about voter fraud: he has specific ideas about the kind of people who … Continue reading →

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