Author Archives: Mark R. Kelly

The Clueless Conservative War on Reality

Posted on Saturday 3 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

MAGA’s war science: Ignorance is Strength!; Trump doesn’t understand the separation of church and state; Trump doesn’t understand how trade deficits worth; Trump thinks Veterans Day should be only about veterans who won wars; Trump doesn’t understand even the Declaration … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Economics, Science | Comments Off on The Clueless Conservative War on Reality

Conservatives, Conspiracies, and Reality

Posted on Friday 2 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

White evangelicals still see Trump as ethical and honest, which to me calls into question their moral compass; Trump’s 2026 budget is more for the military and less for everything else, a typical Republican proposal; Separation of church and state … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Psychology, reality | Comments Off on Conservatives, Conspiracies, and Reality

Credulity, Innumeracy, and Alarmism

Posted on Thursday 1 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

More about Pam Bondi’s nonsensical claim that Trump has saved 258 million lives by seizing fentanyl; Has it occurred to Red States to extend tariffs to Blue States, and only buy products from other Red States? How would that work … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Mathematics | Comments Off on Credulity, Innumeracy, and Alarmism

Timothy Ferris, COMING OF AGE IN THE MILKY WAY

Posted on Thursday 1 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Morrow, 1988, 495pp, including 107pp of appendices (a glossary and a timeline history of the universe), notes, bibliography, and index) This is the first big substantial nonfiction book I’ve read in a while, especially one specifically about science. Ferris is … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Book Notes, Cosmology, Science | Comments Off on Timothy Ferris, COMING OF AGE IN THE MILKY WAY

Three Perspectives on Trump’s First 100 Days

Posted on Wednesday 30 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

NY Times summarizes Trump’s first 100 days; The Atlantic on how Trump voters like what they see; My comments about the theme of Tom Nichols’ books — people are bored with success — and the implications this has for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Politics, science fiction | Comments Off on Three Perspectives on Trump’s First 100 Days

Edward O. Wilson: LETTERS TO A YOUNG SCIENTIST

Posted on Wednesday 30 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Liveright, 2013, 244pp, including 4pp of acknowledgements and photo credits) This is one of Wilson’s later, perhaps lesser books, compared to his earlier tomes like ON HUMAN NATURE and CONSILIENCE. It’s more like THE ORIGINS OF CREATIVITY and GENESIS (both … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Science | Comments Off on Edward O. Wilson: LETTERS TO A YOUNG SCIENTIST

Trump 100

Posted on Tuesday 29 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s 100 days, with charts; Even the conservative Wall Street Journal considers Trump’s a “failed presidency”; Now the administration is looking to jail journalists; How MAGA loves public meltdowns; How Hegseth boasts of axing a program as “woke” that was … Continue reading →

Posted in authoritarianism, conservatives, Politics | Comments Off on Trump 100

Chris Mooney, THE REPUBLICAN WAR ON SCIENCE

Posted on Tuesday 29 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

(Basic Books, 2005, 342pp, including 86pp of interview credits, other credits, notes, and index.) This is journalist Mooney’s first book, from 20 years ago, and it’s especially apropos to look back at now given the hostility to and/or misunderstanding of … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, conservatives, Science | Comments Off on Chris Mooney, THE REPUBLICAN WAR ON SCIENCE

Who’s Happiest and Why?

Posted on Monday 28 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Phil Zuckerman on that World Happiness Report; A NYT article about alternatives to religion; Recalling mythos and logos; Richard Dawkins on how reality is so much more interesting than religion, And Vox on social trends that may affect religious affiliations. … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Who’s Happiest and Why?

Tribal Warpaint

Posted on Sunday 27 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How Trump doesn’t want to govern, and rejects the idea of American government as a collaboration; How the idea of consumer choice led to the idea of being gay; Trump and covid.gov rewrite the history, as authoritarians do; How Trump … Continue reading →

Posted in authoritarianism, Culture, History, Lunacy, Politics, Religion, Science | Comments Off on Tribal Warpaint