Category Archives: Politics

Hiking is a Modern Invention

Posted on Sunday 13 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The idea of hiking was not a thing until relatively recently; How Trump is stifling free speech; Brief items about hurricanes and methane; Nice Brucker 6 performance by Myung-Whun Chung. – – – First, a think piece for today. About … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Human Nature, Music, Politics | Leave a comment

Tribalists, Bribes, 9/11 and Tyranny, Fear, and Cheating

Posted on Friday 11 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

So now I’m reading David Pakman’s book from last year (this one) after several months of seeing his clips on Facebook of commentary about daily politics. The first chapter aligns neatly with Heather Cox Richardson’s history of 20th century American … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Human Nature, Morality, Politics | Leave a comment

Rejecting Reality, and Truth

Posted on Thursday 10 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Salon, Troy Farah, today: Our world map is wrong. MAGA likes it that way, subtitled “Because the US rejects reality, it voted against the UN’s Correct the Map plan” Excerpts: Perhaps this resolution wasn’t as minor as it seemed at … Continue reading →

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The Battle

Posted on Wednesday 9 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Heather Cox Richardson has told this story. (See my review.) NY Times, Jonathan Kaufman, today: Blame Ronald Reagan Richardson told of a so-called “liberal consensus” arising out of the post-World War II era that was steadily attacked by conservatives, especially … Continue reading →

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Is America Literally Being Sabotaged? From Within?

Posted on Thursday 3 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Is America being sabotaged from within? Robert Reich asks his readers what gives them hope, with four options; Headlines about Haitians, Satan, a terror attack, the end of free meals for children, hiding statistics, how conservatives are realizing Dolly Parton … Continue reading →

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Self-Destruction and Magical Thinking

Posted on Wednesday 26 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Self-destruction: Of the US military, of the Kennedy Center; How MAGA’s religious freedom doesn’t apply to Muslims; Dimwits: Darline Graham, advocates for “conservative-based” science; a GOP nominee who thinks humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time; Liars, vanity projects … Continue reading →

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The War Within Human Nature for Human Survival

Posted on Saturday 22 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The growing movement of Americans who don’t think all people are created equal; Trump tries to intimidate the source of a report he doesn’t like; Under Trump, protected wild horses are being slaughtered; Trump is doing everything he can to … Continue reading →

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The Transition

Posted on Friday 21 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Fareed Zakaria responds to Ezra Klein about The Odyssey; Briefly: Trump running out of people to blame; How liberal families look pretty much like conservatives ones; The vacuousness of Darline Graham; Wojciech Kilar’s score for The Portrait of a Lady. … Continue reading →

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Stories and Reality

Posted on Tuesday 18 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Are more Americans seeing the truth behind the GOP lies?; Evidence that disputes Trump’s promises, in 11 charts; Robert Reich tells Scott Bessent who’s wrong and who’s right; Paul Krugman wonders why Trump likes North Korea, the worst government on … Continue reading →

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How the American Experiment May Not Be Working

Posted on Monday 17 August 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Adam Lee suggests abolishing the US Senate (as others have before him) America has always considered itself an experiment, on the world stage, and in fact it has developed into the most powerful nation on Earth. But has the experiment … Continue reading →

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