Category Archives: Politics

Tear-Downs and Demons

Posted on Monday 1 June 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s cancellations, which I can’t keep up with; How Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill will impact public schools; How UFOs are interpreted by the religious as demons; Preisner’s “Silence, Night & Dreams” – – – I’m not sure I’m keeping up … 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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Sunday’s Post

Posted on Monday 25 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How smartphones are implicated in the decline of fertility; How the latest Star Wars film waters down its franchise, as happens with much popular culture; Crime in LA in the lowest in decades, but voters are still very concerned about … Continue reading →

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Deep Thinkers

Posted on Saturday 23 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Hakeem Oluseyi Lucas Bean, provisionally – – – I dwell too much on MAGA (because they are an imminent threat); the very opposite of them are the deep thinkers of our time. The ones making progress in the world. Big … Continue reading →

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Primitive Morality, Stories, Politics

Posted on Friday 22 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Oklahoma and child marriage: an example of how modern morality is not (and should not be) beholden to the Bible; A Yuval Noah Harari video on how cooperation throughout human history requires common stories, e.g. religions; An economic experiment that … Continue reading →

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Settling Back Into the Middle Ages

Posted on Sunday 17 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

How the US is sliding back into the Middle Ages: demons, teleportation, religious practice; re-enchantment or cognitive limitations? Where real enchantment lies; About the prayer festival on the National Mall; The “universe” of Christianity; Two items about St. Paul. – … Continue reading →

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The World Marches On, With or Without the US

Posted on Saturday 16 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

An idea to anticipate, not react to, car accidents; How American under Trump and MAGA is moving exactly backwards in dependence on fossil fuels; Florida is whitewashing the history of slavery; Men who want women to be quiet: this idea … Continue reading →

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Categories, Scales, a Public Health Triumph, and How the So-Called Experts Have Been Right

Posted on Wednesday 13 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Conservatives like categories, especially binary ones: two examples. Including the claim that what makes a man gay is liberalism; NYT updates its Autocracy Index, 12 markers of democratic erosion; Conservative panic over falling reproduction rates seen instead as a public … Continue reading →

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Recalling American Life Before Vaccines, Including My Own

Posted on Monday 11 May 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A remembrance of America before vaccines; How the DOGE-ing of the Humanities is being reversed, fortunately; Briefly noted: Trump’s intuitive thinking is wrong about vaccines and autism; a Republican who thinks racial discrimination is a thing of the past, as … 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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