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)
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- The Real Government Plots Against Reality
- Mendacity, Stupidity, or Both; and Arvo Pärt
- Their Make-Believe World
- Economics and Flipping the Board
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Meta
Category Archives: Politics
All Things Pass, America Too, It Seems
The Atlantic’s Ross Andersen on how every scientific empire comes to end, with historical precedents; E.J. Dionne Jr. about the drop in murder rate, speculating why; Quick bits about religion as a mental disorder, how praying for the intervention of … Continue reading
The Outright Denial of the Scientific Consensus About Climate Change
Trump’s EPA now denies the worldwide scientific consensus about climate change; The history of Trump’s fake history; How Trump wins by suing institutions for absurd amounts and settling for relatively trivial amounts; How Europe took Trump for a ride; Robert … Continue reading
Posted in authoritarianism, Politics, Science
Comments Off on The Outright Denial of the Scientific Consensus About Climate Change
TV, Juan Crow, Facts and Nonexistent Things, Alfred Schnittke
Trump trusts only TV; Heather Cox Richardson on how Republicans are digging into positions that are contradicted by facts; How the Trump administration’s “Juan Crow” echoes “John Crow”; More nonexistent things that can be banned; Short items about disabling hurricane … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Music, Politics, Psychology
Comments Off on TV, Juan Crow, Facts and Nonexistent Things, Alfred Schnittke
More Items from the Authoritarian Playbook
About the conservative agenda concerning colleges, and education; Charlie Kirk thinks you don’t need college; just watch YouTube videos, especially his own online courses; Education Secretary Linda McMahon admits her political motivations for dismantling her department; Brief items about a … Continue reading
Posted in authoritarianism, Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Education, Politics, Religion
Comments Off on More Items from the Authoritarian Playbook
Conservative Thinking Means Whitewashing the Past
A take-down of David Brooks, as an example of a conservative white-washing and distorting American history; How National Park gift shops are removing books about that same history for the same reasons; A religious rant bout Obama and Russia, and … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Politics, Religion
Comments Off on Conservative Thinking Means Whitewashing the Past
I visit you in another dream
How conspiracy theorists think most people agree with them; How Trump’s administration is purging climate data; How JD Vance thinks some Americans are more worthy citizens than others; Paul Krugman on ICE and New York City; Three items from JMG: … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Politics, Psychology
Comments Off on I visit you in another dream
It’s Always About the Gap Between Ideology and Religion, and Reality
And whether humanity can “grow up” and thrive by living in reality and not fantasy. Infrastructure note about More tags; Paul Krugman on why the right would see AI as “communist” — because it’s reality-based; (Aside: another arc of history … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Politics
Comments Off on It’s Always About the Gap Between Ideology and Religion, and Reality
Sciency Things, and Presidential Pettiness
Tom Nichols on presidential pettiness; How the Trump administration is using a strength of science to discredit it; Ethan Siegel on what we’ve learned for 35 years of the Hubble Space Telescope; A breakthrough in a grand unified theory of … Continue reading
Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Psychology, Religion, Science
Comments Off on Sciency Things, and Presidential Pettiness
Stories, Traditions, and Science
Why does MAGA hate science? Why do right-wing folks think Democratic policies have failed? And Paul Krugman on the top 10 political websites on Substack. – – – A significant essay, for my concerns. Salon, Kirk Swearingen, 19 Jul 2025: … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Politics, Science
Comments Off on Stories, Traditions, and Science
Only Certain People Count
Today’s news about Stephen Colbert; Conservatives have finally managed to cut funding to PBS and NPR; David Brooks on Trump winning the race to the bottom; Sure enough, EPA is firing hundreds of scientific experts; Fareed Zakaria on how Obama … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
Comments Off on Only Certain People Count
