Category Archives: Religion

Items about the 20% and the 1%

Posted on Sunday 27 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Vivek Ramaswamy’s simplistic 10 “truths” includes one about the primacy of the nuclear family (compare my post two days ago); E.J. Dionne Jr. about how Republicans are focused on three different “yesterdays,” all since the 1980s, and not the future; … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Politics, Religion | Comments Off

The Obsolete Ideal of the Nuclear Family?

Posted on Saturday 26 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two pieces about how the idealistic nuclear family beloved by conservatives has been an aberration in human history and is perhaps no longer suited for the modern world; Pondering the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and Cain and Abel; Items about Trump and … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Religion | Comments Off

Freedom, Liberty, and Religion

Posted on Wednesday 23 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Liberty and freedom, vs. conformity to religion; More on how some Christians now think Jesus was too “woke”; How Republicans politicians lie, because it works: their “distorted reality insulates right-wing media consumers from contradictions and challenges to their beliefs”; And … Continue reading →

Posted in Morality, Religion | Comments Off

Jocks In, Academics Out

Posted on Thursday 17 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

How that college in Florida is transforming itself to focusing on jocks, rather than academics; How at least one commentator thinks Trump is doomed and will go to jail, while I’m not so sure; Then several items about conservatives’ explicit … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Politics, Religion | Comments Off

Why I Hate Pop Concerts

Posted on Monday 14 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s lead article is about those of us who dislike attending pop concerts, even of singers and bands we otherwise admire and adore; Then, about PragerU; the “lost boys” on the American Right; and Lukianoff & Haidt’s book about Coddling, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Music, Politics, Religion | Comments Off

The Slow Death of Lawns in Deserts

Posted on Sunday 13 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Major item today about the slow death of lawns in deserts, especially in the US southwest; Then a few quick items, about the decline of Christianity, and Scientology’s psychological torture; And a musical piece by Ludovico Einaudi. – – – … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Music, Religion | Comments Off

America’s Dominance and Decline

Posted on Sunday 6 August 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Just one substantial item today, compared to the several posted yesterday. If America is so great by some economic and military standards, why is our quality of life, compared to so many other countries around the world, so poor? Concluding … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Human Progress, Religion | Comments Off

The Small Town Song and Human Morality, and other topics

Posted on Monday 31 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

More thoughts about that Small Town song, in that it reflects one stage (stage 3 of 6, actually) in a hierarchy of human morality; Facebook posts about religious claims, and Brian Cox’s take on the UFO hearings; And Republican plans … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Lunacy, Morality, Religion | Comments Off

Demographic Shifts

Posted on Tuesday 25 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Issues with the increasing number of old people in the US; Issues with the fragmentation of evangelical churches. Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams, 23 Jul 2023: Live long and flounder: An aging expert on the looming crisis of our longer lifespans, … Continue reading →

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A Predictable Trend; Ideas about Patriotism

Posted on Tuesday 4 July 2023 by Mark R. Kelly

Two items about the decades-long trend of the decline (even) in the US of allegiance to organized religion, and how this fits into the theme of primitive v. mature moralities; Heather Cox Richardson reflects on the stages of American independence; … Continue reading →