Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2010-2013)
» Blogspot Views from Medina Road (2003-2010)-
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- More on why what’s going on is going on
- Sometimes They Really Are Out to Get You
- Reactions to the Hegseth and Trump Speeches to the Military. And Christian Music.
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- Medbed Fantasies and Trump’s Dementia
- Steven Pinker, Right-Wing Threats of Violence, and Ligeti’s Atmospheres
- The Crisis in War-Ravaged Portland, Oregon
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- What Astonishes Me
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Meta
Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly
Dan Ariely, MISBELIEF
Subtitled “What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things” (Harper, September 2023, 311pp, including 21pp of acknowledgements, references, and index.) Here’s the latest book by Dan Ariely, author of one of the earliest books I read about psychological biases and human … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Human Nature, Psychology
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Is There a Big Picture to Make Sense of All This?
Adam Lee on our current age of “stupidity” and whether or not the stupid can bring down society; The commentariat: Catherine Rampell on the naked Trump; Robert Reich on Trump’s “national emergencies”; Paul Krugman on Trump’s war on American greatness; … Continue reading
Posted in authoritarianism, Conservative Resistance, Politics
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How Trump and MAGA illustrate Fundamental Principles
How my posts about current politics, including Trump and Musk, are about illustrating fundamental principles; Trump simply doesn’t understand trade; David Brooks on how conservatives have changed; A Christian law-maker who thinks “critical thinking” includes teaching about God; Short items … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Music, Religion
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About Yesterday’s Protests
Against Trump and Musk; Anti-DEI is whitewashing the history of the Underground Railroad; Jill Lepore on Elon Musk and his retro ideas; A Vox piece about astrology that panders to believers; And about Brandolini’s Law, in which debunking misinformation takes … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology
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How Long Can Humans Live in Fantasy Worlds Before Reality Kicks In and Fights Back?
Mike Lofgren on the nonsensical cult that now rules America; Peter Wehner on how Trump is gaslighting us; Rachel Maddow points out how Peter Navarro’s go-to expert is fake; And about critical thinking; Two short items about how insurers are … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Psychology
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Unstable Moron, and His Fans
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
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“Liberation Day”
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
Posted in Human Nature, Lunacy, Politics
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This is how these things happen
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
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A Post-Pandemic Malaise?
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
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What Is the Venn Diagram Between Whitewashing and White Supremacy?
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
Posted in conservatives, Morality, Politics
Comments Off on What Is the Venn Diagram Between Whitewashing and White Supremacy?
