Category Archives: Tribalism

When the Barbarians Are In Charge

Posted on Monday 12 October 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

A Republican *had* to use fake footage [i.e. lie] in an ad in order to attract voters; Whatever the meaning of life, people are more desperate to find it as they near death; Fill the government with barbarians, and you … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Meaning, Science, Tribalism | Comments Off

There Is Only So Much Land

Posted on Friday 25 September 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Jerry Coyne on why neither Israel nor Palestine wants a two-state solution; Fareed Zakaria claims the US and China must eventually adapt, even cooperate; Robert Reich on what he’s heard from foreign leaders about America and Trump; – – – … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Politics, Tribalism | Comments Off

Losing. Casting. Hormones. Freedom.

Posted on Friday 17 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Trump’s latest speech, about voter fraud; Responses from Brian Tyler Cohen and Robert Reich; MAGA’s outrage over the casting in The Odyssey; Briefly noted: More about Hegseth and testosterone; Trump blames Canada for wildfire smoke; Lindsey Graham’s (unqualified) sister to … Continue reading →

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The Dystopian Portrait of America Is Not True

Posted on Sunday 12 July 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

An essay on American loneliness denies the dystopian view of the nation; Gay marriage opponents revive a discredited 14-year-old junk science study; Brief items: a “Christian values” candidate with dicey behavior; restricting the public expressions of Muslims; Pete Hegseth’s pastor … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Morality, Religion, Tribalism | Comments Off

The Law vs. Tribal Priorities

Posted on Thursday 30 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

The Supremes eviscerate the Voting Rights Act, and the partisan flexibility of the law; King Charles visits while Trump claims America is not an idea but an inherited Anglo-Saxon culture; Heather Cox Richardson on the same point; Brief items about … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, conservatives, Lunacy, Politics, Tribalism | Comments Off

An Optimistic Big View

Posted on Wednesday 15 April 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Peter Leyden on how the arc of human history is toward cooperation; Once again, evidence shows that same-sex marriage is a “win for children and society”, and I suggest why this may be so; While Stephen Miller resorts to bigotry … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Human Nature, Human Progress, The Gays, Tribalism | Comments Off

Reading and Introspection

Posted on Friday 27 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Assessing American literacy, and the claim that being able to read a New York Times article puts you into the “hyper-literate educated elite”; How Trump doesn’t read, at all. How powerful tech oligarchs think introspection is dumb; The new homophobia … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Music, Politics, Psychology, Tribalism | Comments Off

Our Outlaw Nation

Posted on Wednesday 7 January 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

This popped up on Facebook, but I don’t subscribe to the magazine and can only see this much of the article. It’s about the new book by Johan Norberg, which came out in September. It’s on my TBR shelf. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, History, Human Nature, Philosophy, Tribalism | Comments Off

Trump and MAGA’s War on California

Posted on Saturday 14 June 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

News today: Trump’s parade, No Kings demonstrations, and a dress-up cop shoots Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota; Charlie Warzel on the surfeit of information and how the right can invent via AI narratives to its advantage; Similar gaslighting about Alex Padilla; … Continue reading →

Posted in authoritarianism, Politics, Religion, Tribalism | Comments Off

Outdoing Themselves Every Day

Posted on Saturday 22 February 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Musk lays off government workers overseeing his car company; Musk asks federal employees to justify their jobs or be fired; Trump issues an EO stating that only he can interpret the meanings of law; Adam Serwer on how MAGA is … Continue reading →