Category Archives: conservatives

Thanksgiving

Posted on Friday 28 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

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 | Leave a comment

Principles vs. Loyalty

Posted on Tuesday 25 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

More about the ad that advised soldiers they don’t need to carry out illegal orders, with threats against Senator Mark Kelly; The demise of DOGE, which accomplished nothing; Tom Nichols suggests the Sen. Mark Kelly should be secretary of defense; … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Morality, Politics | Leave a comment

The Retreat from the Enlightenment

Posted on Friday 21 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

The key theme of our age, at least in the US: the retreat from the aspirations of the Enlightenment, both political and scientific. Content with tribalism and intuitive superstition. Actually, these forces have probably never gone away. The difference now … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Decline, Lunacy, Politics | Comments Off on The Retreat from the Enlightenment

Greene and Pinker, and “Piggy”

Posted on Tuesday 18 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

A conversation between Brian Greene and Steven Pinker, two of the current greatest scientists/writers; Heather Cox Richardson on how Trump “cares,” and his “piggy” comments; Briefly noted items about how the GOP destroys, not builds; how the Trump administration uses … Continue reading →

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Intentional Ignorance

Posted on Thursday 13 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on Republican lies and misrepresentations about health care; Short items about a drop in US religiosity; Trump lying about falling gas prices; David French on how Trump keeps pardoning criminals as long as they’re loyal to him. – … Continue reading →

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Discipline, Lies, Ignorance, and Consensus Truth

Posted on Wednesday 12 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Robert Reich on undisciplined Democrats and regimented Republicans; Squaring that with Mike Johnson’s comments a year and a half ago; Paul Krugman on how Trump successively lies, over and over; How Trump doesn’t understand mortgages or health insurance; Wikipedia, Jimmy … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Discipline, Lies, Ignorance, and Consensus Truth

The Absence of Empathy

Posted on Friday 7 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m still working this past week on summarizing and assessing the 2006 Jonathan Haidt book THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS. I can’t quite wrap it up today, or soon, because we’re doing a quick trip down and back to LA tomorrow and … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Morality | Comments Off on The Absence of Empathy

Cave Man Morality and the Normalizing of Racism

Posted on Thursday 6 November 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Right-wing panic and hypocrisy over the election of Zohran Mamdani; While the right-wing increasingly embraces the racist views of Nick Fuentes; How the election clapped back at Trump; Robert Reich on how Trump has put America into reverse; Brief items … Continue reading →

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Moral Rot

Posted on Tuesday 28 October 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Paul Krugman on food stamps/SNAP; the common conservative belief that recipients are malingerers; and some facts about who actually gets those benefits; The Labor Department’s white supremacist posters; Short items; Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld on Trump’s disrespect, and how he’s … Continue reading →

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What People Know, and What They Want

Posted on Monday 27 October 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

What undecided voters say they are concerned about, vs. reality; Tom Tomorrow on effect and cause, within the Trump administration; An OnlySky piece by Michael Carteron about the paradox of modern life; Jerry Coyne on Charles Murray’s “God-sized hole”; My … Continue reading →

Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Politics, Religion | Comments Off on What People Know, and What They Want