Category Archives: Culture

Dealing with Inevitable Change

Posted on Tuesday 5 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How to deal with long-term population decline; Astrology, sigh; A Christian phone network to block reality; Long essay about how Paul, not Jesus, founded Christianity, as many of us already understand; Short items about Republican censorship, lies, the tests for … Continue reading →

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Anthropology as another perspective on the world

Posted on Saturday 2 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How anthropology informs an understanding of the world; Short items on Trump’s latest science purge, defenses of white supremacy, Trump’s lie about the some YMCA, and Trump’s sons getting rich off government contracts – – – Well, to the degree … Continue reading →

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Is Islam the Best Alternative to Modernity?

Posted on Friday 1 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

What Trump’s latest attempted assassin reveals about modern American life; How right-wing influencers are now praising Islam, as an alternative to liberal modernity; – – – Trying to get a handle on the latest would-be presidential assassin. Slate, Luke Winkie, … Continue reading →

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Twilight of the Gods?

Posted on Tuesday 28 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Pondering how to live in a era without religious assumptions; A related theme in Arthur C. Clarke’s The Songs of Distant Earth; Timothy Snyder on superpower suicide; distrust of the current administration; confused thoughts about racism from the right; And … Continue reading →

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Change For the Better, vs. Sunk Cost

Posted on Friday 24 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

John McWhorter: Don’t pronounce the T in ‘often’; How an American living abroad realizes the problems with America; Why we’re stuck with a religious calendar. – – – My favorite pet peeve. NY Times, John McWhorter, yesterday: What’s Better Left … Continue reading →

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What Western Civilization is Actually About

Posted on Saturday 14 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Francis Fukuyama, responding to Marco Rubio, on how Western Civilization is more about the Enlightenment than religious faith; And Boston Globe via Steven Pinker on that Tennessee congressman’s anti-Muslim screed; Briefly noted items about Trump’s shoe tests and their Soviet … Continue reading →

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Does Western Civilization Depend on Christian Monotheism?

Posted on Thursday 19 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Challenging David Brooks, the retiring NYT columnist, and his idea of building a humanist culture, from Bruce Ledewitz and Robert Reich; Brooks’ problem, claims Ledewitz, is that Brooks can’t let go of religion; “the past collapsed for a reason”; And … Continue reading →

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Shermer, Zakaria, Clinton, Bruckner

Posted on Saturday 31 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Michael Shermer on UFOs; Fareed Zakaria on civilizational erasure; Hillary Rodman Clinton on MAGA’s war on empathy; And Bruckner 4. – – – Michael Shermer has a new book out called TRUTH, which re-visits topics and themes from his earlier … Continue reading →

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Our Outlaw Nation

Posted on Wednesday 7 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

This popped up on Facebook, but I don’t subscribe to the magazine and can only see this much of the article. It’s about the new book by Johan Norberg, which came out in September. It’s on my TBR shelf. The … Continue reading →

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A Return to the Original Mission: Impossible Presumption

Posted on Monday 5 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Conservatives want to see media — now CBS — that tells them what they already believe; How Trump has made fools out of his populist supporters; How the “Donroe Doctrine” is now in effect; And how all of this reflects … Continue reading →

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