Mark R. Kelly
» Founder in 1997 and site-runner for 20 years of Locus Online (Hugo Award winner in 2002). Founder in 2012 and still site-runner of sfadb.com (Science Fiction Awards Database). Retired in 2012 after 30 years as a software engineer for a certain rocket engine factory.
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» Previous Views from Medina Road (2010-2013)
» Blogspot Views from Medina Road (2003-2010)-
Recent Posts
- Getting the Joke
- The Retreat from the Enlightenment
- Now It’s Calls for Execution
- What Meaning Means, and if AI Gods Provide That
- Greene and Pinker, and “Piggy”
- Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
- Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 6
- Six Seven and Human Nature
- Richard Dawkins, THE GOD DELUSION, post 5
- Status on a Gloomy Day; Why Anyone Should Care
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Meta
Category Archives: Politics
Getting the Joke
Family in town this weekend, a pre-Thanksgiving get-together to avoid busier plans next weekend. Michael and Honey and baby here; trips to Alameda and Foster City and Berkeley; I put 100 miles on my car in three days, driving back … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Morality, Politics
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The Retreat from the Enlightenment
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
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Now It’s Calls for Execution
Several Democrats advise the military that they don’t have to follow illegal orders; Trump orders their trials for sedition, punishable by death; More about Trump and Piggy; And more about Trump and the Crown Prince; Items about the CDC reinstating … Continue reading
Posted in Lunacy, Music, Politics
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What Meaning Means, and if AI Gods Provide That
What the search for meaning actually means; How AI apps fulfill religious needs; Reasons why math scores are falling; Short items about Nick Fuentes, people fired for criticizing Charlie Kirk, Trump and the Saudi crown prince, and RFK Jr.’s miasma … Continue reading
Posted in authoritarianism, Meaning, Politics
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MAGA Doesn’t Understand What Makes America Great
Nicholas Kristof on the three fundamental ingredients of America’s greatness that Trump and MAGA are undoing. Short items about Elon Musk, D&D, and racism; Christian presumption about church and state; how easily Nick Fuentes has been endorsed by many Republicans; … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, History, Politics
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Conservative Principles vs. Reality
Paul Krugman on the decline and fall of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and how it’s always been a fraud; Heather Cox Richardson on how the ideology of MAGA is smashing against reality; Short items about Republicans destroying the safety net, … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Social Progress
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Discipline, Lies, Ignorance, and Consensus Truth
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
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Cruelty, Nonsense, and Reality-Checks
Paul Krugman says Trump knew full well how his Great Gatsby-themed party looked just as millions of Americans were about to lose federal food assistance — the cruelty is the point; Short items about church/state separation; how “God’s authority” is … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Psychology
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Cave Man Morality and the Normalizing of Racism
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
Posted in conservatives, Politics, Religion
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Bill Gates and Climate Change
There has been much consternation over a piece published by Bill Gates last week, about climate change. NY Times, David Gelles, 28 Oct 2025: Bill Gates Says Climate Change ‘Will Not Lead to Humanity’s Demise’, subtitled “In a memo, the … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology, Science
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