Category Archives: Religion

How Trump and MAGA illustrate Fundamental Principles

Posted on Monday 7 April 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How my posts about current politics, including Trump and Musk, are about illustrating fundamental principles; Trump simply doesn’t understand trade; David Brooks on how conservatives have changed; A Christian law-maker who thinks “critical thinking” includes teaching about God; Short items … Continue reading →

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I read the news today, oh boy.

Posted on Sunday 30 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

How mold is taken as a miracle, another example in an endless series throughout history; Short items about Trump, tariffs, and auto prices; lying about American history; how “make America healthy again” means the opposite; how a vaccine expert has … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on I read the news today, oh boy.

Security Breach; Socialism vs. Capitalism

Posted on Monday 24 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Today’s big news is about the security breach by Pete Hegseth, and whether he or anyone else will face consequences; Heather Cox Richardson on the 15th anniversary of Obamacare; And my reflections on the motivations behind the debates between capitalism … Continue reading →

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Tribalistic Politics

Posted on Saturday 22 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Frank Bruni on why Trump keeps attacking Biden; Paul Krugman, via Adam Tooze, on how Trump has prejudices rather than ideas; Heather Cox Richardson recalls how Republicans have tried to create their own reality; Why MAGA voters want their opponents … Continue reading →

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How MAGA folks don’t actually believe in traditional American values

Posted on Tuesday 18 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Rather, they embody the essence of primitive tribalism. A Ben Shapiro host renounces the Statue of Liberty and its “stupid” poem; The disappearance of Navajo Code Talkers on government websites suggests again that MAGA is a white supremacy movement; Shameless … Continue reading →

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Back and Forth, On and Off

Posted on Thursday 6 March 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

CDC recalls fired workers; Tariffs are delayed again; Why would Trump want to destabilize the country? Texas would make identifying as transgender a felon; Trump blames the victims; TN names July a month of “fasting and prayer”; Miracles are happening … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Culture, Religion | Comments Off on Back and Forth, On and Off

Richard Dawkins: THE MAGIC OF REALITY

Posted on Friday 14 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: How We Know What’s Really True Illustrated by Dave McKean (Free Press, Oct. 2011, 271pp, including 6p of index and acknowledgements) When I was organizing my nonfiction books notes and posts last December, I was surprised that I had … Continue reading →

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Shades of Morality

Posted on Wednesday 5 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s crazy Gaza redevelopment plan; How conservatives use “corruption” (without evidence) as an excuse to undermine institutions they don’t like; And they would go after Wikipedia, if they could; Then a long sequence about JD Vance on Christian love, various … Continue reading →

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The Price of Eggs

Posted on Friday 24 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Tech-bros don’t care about the price of eggs; David Brooks on why Trump will fail; Dan Milbank on his astounding ignorance; Evangelicals have abandoned Jesus for Trump; Get ‘em while they’re young, said Hitler, says the Church. – – – … Continue reading →

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Faith, Consolation, Reality

Posted on Saturday 4 January 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

A couple weeks ago I noted, without any kind of deep analysis, a David Brooks essay about his experience of faith, and how it involved random emotional feelings of transcendence and nothing about perceiving the actual nature of reality. OnlySky, … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Religion | Comments Off on Faith, Consolation, Reality