Category Archives: Culture

Panic and Alarm (and Why This Is About Science Fiction)

Posted on Thursday 27 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon: I lost my dad to Fox News: How a generation was captured by thrashing hysteria Sad case study of a man whose father disappeared into the paranoid, outraged worldview of Fox News. Like certain kinds of religious extremists, Fox … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Science, science fiction | Comments Off

A Better World

Posted on Sunday 23 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Jerry Coyne links this item at Prospect by Daniel Dennet: If I ruled the world. His prescription for a better world: educate the children. I would like my first step on ascending to the dictatorship to be decreeing high quality, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion | Comments Off

Conservative values

Posted on Thursday 13 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s long been my impression that conservatives, especially of the extreme Tea Party variety, are motivated largely by fear – of the unknown, of the ‘other’ (people unlike themselves), of the implications of rational engagement with the real world. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Thinking | Comments Off

Answers for Creationists

Posted on Thursday 6 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Today both Phil Plait at Slate and Mike D on his blog respond to the Buzzfeed listsicle of 22 messages from Creationists who held up questions to those who ‘believe’ in evolution. (‘Believe’ is not the right word; as Plait … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Science, Thinking | Comments Off

The Narcissism of Today’s Homophobia

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

[Reposted from Facebook a couple evenings ago] The Narcissism of Today’s Homophobia Insightful deconstruction of the motives behind homophobes like Bizzle (who put out an anti-gay version of Macklemore’s “Same Love”, the controversial Best Song nominee that was performed at … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, The Gays | Comments Off

Five Reasons Why Secular Humanism Is Winning

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Despite the anguishing of right-wingnuts over science and gays, the trend in society is apparently away from fundamentalism. http://civitashumana.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/5-reasons-secular-humanism-is-winning/. To summarize: 1, the current generation is more secular than ever 2, religion has become less fundamental 3, modern scientific research … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture, Religion | Comments Off

Link Dump: Sites and Resources

Posted on Saturday 25 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

I’m going through a whole bunch of links that I’ve bookmarked over the past couple years — some of which I should link as ‘resources’ in my right sidebar, perhaps — but for now will note in this post. Sites: … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture, Evolution, Lunacy, Psychology, Religion, Science, The Gays | Comments Off

Are Some Folks Beyond Rational Thinking?

Posted on Friday 24 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

A classic post from Alternet that popped up in my Fb feed today for some reason — Human Stupidity Is Destroying the World. Do you believe in angels? Forty-five percent of Americans do. In fact, roughly 48 percent – Republicans … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Evolution, Lunacy, Science, Thinking | Comments Off

A-Unicornist

Posted on Monday 20 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

There are dozens or hundreds of blogs on the web to reflect any interest, and there is only so much time in the day to keep up on any set of them. So my bookmarked list of sites to check … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Culture, Religion | Comments Off

Homosexuality and Morality

Posted on Thursday 16 January 2014 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate’s Nathaniel Frank explores the reasoning of the Oklahoma judge who, for now, struck down the state’s gay marriage ban. Last para: What courts really mean — or should mean — in barring “moral disapproval” as the basis for laws … Continue reading →