Category Archives: Human Nature

Are the Best Years Behind Us? No.

Posted on Monday 29 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Yet another story on this general theme. It’s about human nature, not the actual state of the world. Vox, Bryan Walsh, today: The US is better off than it was in 1976. So why does it feel worse?, subtitled “America’s … Continue reading →

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Human Nature and American Self-Esteem

Posted on Friday 26 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Another story about a European loving his American experience, and also how Americans need this kind of validation; Brief items about Trump Derangement Syndrome, the demonization of Anthony Fauci, how Christian Nationalist candidates should conceal their agendas, and why there … Continue reading →

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Asymptotic Progress

Posted on Friday 12 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the news about adjusting climate change predictions is good news, and how science is always about increasingly approaching the truth, while never claiming (as religion does) to have found it; Trumps guts a line of oceanic defense; there’s a … Continue reading →

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More About the Contrast between Principles and Tribalism

Posted on Thursday 28 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The January 6th rioters feel entitled to reparations by the US government for the inconvenience they’ve experienced from having broken the law and been arrested; Contrasting views of Christianity in Texas; How the GOP fires people who value principles over … Continue reading →

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What Scientists Do…

Posted on Wednesday 27 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A revision to climate change predictions doesn’t discredit science, as some people would like to think; Yuval Noah Harari on the global liberal order; the stories of fascism, communism, and liberalism; redemption; and self-correcting mechanisms; Short items about Trump’s Ebola … Continue reading →

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Morality, and the Bible, Again

Posted on Wednesday 20 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the world is becoming more moral, not less; Trump’s egotistical take on religion; Trump’s laughable phone; Noting Trump’s IRS deal that somehow exempts his family from tax audits forever; And how a Christian nationalist pastor thinks America needs “less … Continue reading →

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Superficial Christianity on Full Display

Posted on Monday 18 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Things said at last weekend’s prayer rally, and how they strike me as unhinged from reality; Heather Cox Richardson’s take: a turning away from “Enlightenment values of natural rights, equality, and self-government to one that requires Americans to accept that … Continue reading →

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Cooperation Is the Key to Human Advancement

Posted on Sunday 10 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A counterpoint to zero-sum thinking from Japan, and cooperation; Tennessee shows how to rig an election; Short items on Trump, the Pope, and the Bible; now RFK Jr. is worried about jello; how a Christian conspiracy theorist now admits to … Continue reading →

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Neil deGrasse Tyson, Paul Krugman, Jesse Bering

Posted on Wednesday 6 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Neil deGrasse Tyson on aliens, and his new book; Paul Krugman explains how MAGA will kill many Americans; Jesse Bering on karma; And short items about Trump’s health, aliens, the ballroom, the upcoming cage match, and “low T”. – – … Continue reading →

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Humanity and Heartbreak?

Posted on Monday 4 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A new version of Lord of the Flies, which I think I might watch; The idea of peer review, and my professional background; Cory on Rebecca; What religious tribalists mean by “going against the grain”. – – – I’ve read … Continue reading →

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