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)
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Recent Posts
- Ethnic Cleansing and Collective Effervescence
- Where We Are, Here at the End of 2025
- Return from Holiday Trip
- Good News, Two Ways
- Steady Encroachment
- Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 6
- Government Suppression, and Dr. Noc
- Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 5
- An Antebellum Constitution, Christianity, and Christmas
- Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 4
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Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly
The Trembling Present
Are we on the verge of societal collapse in the US, back into totalitarianism or feudalism, or will this current era pass? Ilhan Omar on Trump’s naked bigotry; Robert Reich on Trump’s mental decline, and the relaxing of inhibitions in … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Politics
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Steven Pinker, THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE, post 6
Subtitled “Why Violence Has Declined” (Viking, Oct. 2011, xxvii + 802pp, including 106pp of notes, references, and index.) Summary: Chapter 8 concerns five forces that drive violence: Predation, Dominance, Revenge, Sadism, and Ideology. Humans are not innately aggressive, except … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Steven Pinker
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The Fog of War, Hurricanes, and Cave Man Mentality
JD Vance’s caveman rage against a lesbian stepmom; Heather Cox Richardson about Trump’s decline in mental acuity, and Sen. Mark Kelly on Pete Hegseth; Zack Beauchamp on how Trump is advancing the white nationalist worldview; Hegseth’s misunderstanding of the metaphor … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Politics, Religion
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Steven Pinker, THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE, post 5
Subtitled “Why Violence Has Declined” (Viking, Oct. 2011, xxvii + 802pp, including 106pp of notes, references, and index.) Summaries: Chapter 6, “The New Peace,” consider three types of organized violence: among groups citing “ancient hatreds,” ethnic cleansing, and terrorism. These … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Steven Pinker
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The Human Struggle to Overcome Tribalism and Superstition
Revisiting Steven Pinker, and how the human race has struggled to escape tribalism and superstition (and violence) by way of progressive policies that conservatives to this day still resist; Adam Lee on the continued secularization of American society; How Christianity … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Steven Pinker, THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE, post 4
Subtitled “Why Violence Has Declined” (Viking, Oct. 2011, xxvii + 802pp, including 106pp of notes, references, and index.) Here, a full eight years after I began, I’ll finish posting my outline and notes on Steven Pinker’s 2011 book. This is … Continue reading
Posted in Book Notes, Social Progress, Steven Pinker
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The Limitations of Human Cognition
Anti-Vaxxers and how it’s not about evidence; Paul Krugman on Trump’s incoherent war on drugs; Short takes on how Trump is elevating Sen. Mark Kelly; how Maga’s idea of Christianity implies a “cold-hearted Jesus”; and why a Bible-based essay on … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Nature, Psychology
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Because It’s There, and Because We Can
Big Think, Ethan Siegel, 28 Nov 2025: Ask Ethan: What’s the point of exploring the Universe?, subtitled “There are so many problems, all across planet Earth, that harm and threaten humanity. Why invest in researching the Universe?” (My first comment, … Continue reading
Posted in Astronomy, Conservative Resistance, Cosmology, Science
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Incoherence
Trump presumes to close Venezuelan airspace, as part of his campaign against drug smugglers, while pardoning a former Honduran president sentenced to prison for drug smuggling; About the new Connie Willis Daily website; The global decline in murder; Short takes … Continue reading
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving with an Asian family; A Facebook graphic about hospitals and who gets the money; Carl Sagan on Who Speaks for Earth? Recalling quotes by E.O. Wilson and Robert A. Heinlein; Don D’Ammassa on humanity’s death spiral; NYT articles on … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Narrative, Personal history, Politics
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