Category Archives: Politics

A Core Theme: The Mismatch of Human Nature

Posted on Sunday 21 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

One of the emerging themes on this blog over the years is the idea that human nature evolved over millions of years to enable survival in an ancestral environment that most people no longer live in. In my own reading … Continue reading →

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More Cautionary Traits

Posted on Saturday 20 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How the right sees enemies everywhere; How Trump depicts immigrants as monsters; Remember what Charlie Kirk said about Simone Biles? Brief items; NYT’s Ross Douthat tries to explain the conservative principles behind the Kimmel suspension. – – –   Perhaps … Continue reading →

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How Transgenders Trigger Conservatives

Posted on Friday 19 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Two truths of Trumpists: nothing is ever their fault, their obsession with contamination; Heritage wants to designate trans people as terrorists; Republicans seem to have no principles except protecting the tribe: once they defended free speech, now, not so much; … Continue reading →

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And Now It’s Jimmy Kimmel

Posted on Thursday 18 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Jimmy Kimmel pulled off air for comments about Charlie Kirk; With comments by Adam Serwer and Zack Beauchamp; And how a huge business deal is behind this; NYT in 1939 describing how Joseph Goebbels did the same thing. – – … Continue reading →

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MAGA and the Charlie Kirk Cult

Posted on Wednesday 17 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Apparently “leftist” means not demonizing gays and transgender people, as Christians do; How Charlie Kirk’s discourse favored conflict, not informed debate; Some MAGA guy wants to perhaps kill 500,000 people in response to Charlie Kirk’s murder; And Karoline Leavitt thinks … Continue reading →

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Delusional, or Lying

Posted on Tuesday 16 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

The DOJ deletes a study showing that most domestic violence is from the right; Trump et al knew this, but still pursue vengeance against the left; The attorney general thinks hate speech is not covered by free speech; The vice … Continue reading →

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Splits, Hypocrisy, and Bad-Faith Arguments

Posted on Monday 15 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Firing people who quoted Charlie Kirk; Items from JM about an arrest for “mocking” Charlie Kirk, how Kirk’s killer was “brainwashed” by college; how MTG wants to break up he US; how smart people don’t like Trump; Trump claims 300 … Continue reading →

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So Many Villains

Posted on Sunday 14 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

More to the transgender-roommate story? Media Matters summarizes the situation up to a couple days ago; Despite the right’s affirmation of free speech, they are compiling lists of people critical of Charlie Kirk, and getting them fired; How SF/F writer … Continue reading →

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How the Right Is Crazy Desperate to Connect Charlie Kirk’s Killer to Things They Don’t Like

Posted on Saturday 13 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

It’s been quite a display of shameless motivated thinking the past two days. Many people see what they want to see, but conservatives are especially prone to this. (That’s why they’re so easily fooled by Trump, about everything.) A better … Continue reading →

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Kneejerk Accusations

Posted on Friday 12 September 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

While yesterday there was much invective on the right against the left because the victim of Charlie Kirk’s assassination was a well-known MAGA figure. So the left must have done it! That’s their thinking. Vox, Eric Levitz, 11 Sep 2025: … Continue reading →

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