Category Archives: History

The Expansion of Human Morality, the Relativity of Good and Evil

Posted on Friday 14 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Further thoughts on the evolutionary forces behind the expansion of human morality; Thought while reading Stephen King’s THE STAND; And further thoughts about human morality, and how conservative and progressive stances have been appropriate at different times; Heather Digby Parton … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, History, Human Nature, Human Progress, Psychology | Leave a comment

Yuval Noah Harari: UNSTOPPABLE US, Vol. 3

Posted on Wednesday 12 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “How Enemies Become Friends” (Bright Matter Books, February 2026, xxi + 181pp) Here is the third of Harari’s world’s-history-for-children books, taking a 30,000-foot view of the big changes over the millennia of human history. Each book has four chapters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Culture, History | Leave a comment

Little House on the Prairie, and Presumptions

Posted on Thursday 6 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

About the new Little House on the Prairie; Short items: GOP melts down over Abdul El-Sayed; Trump is learning to be embarrassed; MSM covers heat events without mentioning climate change; Heritage Foundation thinks Fauci proves we should ignore experts; an … Continue reading →

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All Stories Change

Posted on Monday 3 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Before it was called the Civil War, it was called the Slaveholders’ Rebellion, until apologists got the name changed; Trump and rewriting American history; Perhaps knowing less makes you happier; Religious folks who see data centers as signs of the … Continue reading →

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Science Fiction and Horror: New Thoughts

Posted on Friday 31 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

There is an overlap between science fiction and horror I just realized today; On its 250th anniversary, America looks backward and forward; Brief items about Head Start, Trump the Mafia Boss, Anthony Fauci’s mortal sin (challenging Trump), the new pro-teen … Continue reading →

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Religion, Mythology, Reality

Posted on Tuesday 28 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Sure, teach the Bible in school, alongside Greek mythology; How Anthony Fauci was an early MAGA success at tearing things down; Heather Cox Richardson on how the Trump administration is trying to rewrite American history; Jim Palmer on religious ideas … Continue reading →

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The Drive to Preserve an Idealistic Past, Which Will Inevitably Fail

Posted on Saturday 18 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

We probably don’t realize how often conservatives are successful at rewriting the past; How the military is resistant to change; Right-wing figures resist commonsense health advice about wildfire smoke; People of faith discover that AI tells them what they want … Continue reading →

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Kurt Andersen: FANTASYLAND

Posted on Tuesday 14 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History (Random House, 2017, 462pp, including 22pp acknowledgements and index) Here is a book by a writer who doesn’t generally write this type of book. Andersen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Andersen) writes mostly novels and TV, and … Continue reading →

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Religious Presumption and Denial of Reality

Posted on Thursday 9 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Dale Partridge wants the white race to again subdue and enslave the Africans; Red Joseph thinks gays are impossible; Recalling Howard Zinn, who told the history conservatives would deny; Will conservative historians 50 years from now erase MAGA, as an … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Racism, Religion | Comments Off on Religious Presumption and Denial of Reality

Is Consensus History Possible?

Posted on Monday 8 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The Atlantic’s Yoni Applebaum on the idea of consensus history; A review of Steven Spielberg’s film history; How conservatives don’t understand how California voting works, and imagine conspiracies; Ennio Morricone, Marco Polo, and Canzone di Mai-Li. Activity today. – – … Continue reading →

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