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
- Busy Weekend: Quick Summary
- The Absence of Empathy
- Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 4
- Cave Man Morality and the Normalizing of Racism
- Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 3
- Bill Gates and Climate Change
- Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 2
- Survival, Revelations, Falling Standards
- Jonathan Haidt, THE HAPPINESS HYPOTHESIS, post 1
- Troubled Children, Cognitive Collapse, Cave Man Morality
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Meta
Category Archives: Politics
Political Extremes and Instability
Perhaps the problem is that claims of “mandates” create political instability, and that’s what makes voters cynical about government; Especially when mandate claimers promise things they can’t possibly deliver, like Musk promising to slash the budget by $2 trillion; How … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology, The Gays
Comments Off on Political Extremes and Instability
Dispatches from the Real World
My latest take on the true vs the real; A piece about RFK Jr identifies the three big reasons you’re alive today: clean water, antibiotics, and vaccines; How we know RFK Jr is wrong about vaccines; How red states lead … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Science
Comments Off on Dispatches from the Real World
The Overton Window of Deviance
Amanda Marcotte on how Christians seem not bothered by the immorality of Trump or his Cabinet picks; Bret Stephens on defining deviancy down; Timothy Snyder on how Trump is actually a fascist — and how fascists use narratives; David French … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Human Nature, Lunacy, Politics
Comments Off on The Overton Window of Deviance
Shocked, Just Shocked
The broad trend, perhaps, is the discomfort of tribal human beings living in multicultural liberal democracies. How some people (who weren’t paying attention) are shocked that Trump is actually setting out to do what he promised to do; How Trump … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Culture, Human Nature, Human Progress, Politics, Tribalism
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Continuing Our Studies of Human Nature…
Today’s evidence. How MAGA is a gang mentality for white men who feel powerless; Adam Gopnik considers the difference between a mob and a righteous protest; (And I wonder about the American revolutionaries); Short items about Robert Reich and overereaching … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Politics
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A Little Knowledge… Is a Dangerous Thing
Imagine that you work for a company that does any kind of specialty work, anything at all — urban planning, furniture making, aerospace design — and for some reason the company’s owner dies and his aunt inherits the entire company … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Science
Comments Off on A Little Knowledge… Is a Dangerous Thing
Politics and Psychology
Politics is as much about human psychology as about policy or ideology. Politics succeeds via simple sound-bites, “feels,” not policies or facts; It’s all about perception; How what has led evangelical Christians to follow Trump is rooted in racism; And … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Psychology, Religion
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There Is Always Long Term Progress and Short Term Retreat
An essay that proposes that the idea of progress is a myth; I disagree; Quick takes on politics, and crackpots. OK, I can’t help but follow the political news, but for today’s post I’m sinking links about that to the … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Progress, Politics, progress, Religion
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Rogue’s Gallery
A Fox News host for Secretary of Defense. Stephen Miller. Matt Gaetz for…. anything. We shouldn’t be surprised. Evidence that Russia is playing Trump; Trump’s picks for his cabinet are surprising even many Republicans; Why does it take two guys … Continue reading
This Is What Dictators Do
Many topics today. Trump plans to fire generals who are not “yes men”; RFK Jr. plans to fire scientists who do not subscribe to his anti-scientific ideology; Federal scientists anticipate firings, and the parallel with the Soviet Union and Lysenkoism; … Continue reading
Posted in conservatives, Politics, Psychology, Reviews
Comments Off on This Is What Dictators Do
