Jonah Blank
@jonahblank.bsky.social
Anthropologist, author, dad. Order purely alphabetical
Pinned
Jonah Blank
@jonahblank.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana T…
The three-thousand-year-old epic Ramayana chronicles Lo…
goodreads.com
Who am I? What am I doing here?
Intro thread with links to some of my work.
My first book was "Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India"
goodreads.com/book/show/17...
[🧵 of publications]
Reposted by Jonah Blank
Four out of five doctors recommend drinking only in moderation.
The other one thinks they're just limp-dicked killjoys, and recommends an occasional binge-'til-you're-blind bender as part of a responsible health regimen.
The other one thinks they're just limp-dicked killjoys, and recommends an occasional binge-'til-you're-blind bender as part of a responsible health regimen.
Most people know that binge drinking, especially when it’s frequent, is dangerous for health. But is it still risky if you drink rarely, or not at all, for most of the year? We asked experts.
Is It OK to Binge Drink Occasionally?
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Four out of five doctors recommend drinking only in moderation.
The other one thinks they're just limp-dicked killjoys, and recommends an occasional binge-'til-you're-blind bender as part of a responsible health regimen.
The other one thinks they're just limp-dicked killjoys, and recommends an occasional binge-'til-you're-blind bender as part of a responsible health regimen.
You know all those courts that take years to rule on the deluge of Trump crimes? What, exactly, are they spending their time doing instead?
Things like this:
Things like this:
Lawsuit over Burger King's Whopper ads set back by US judge reut.rs/4iyblnR
Lawsuit over Burger King's Whopper ads set back by US judge
A federal judge dealt a setback to customers suing Burger King over advertising for its Whopper sandwiches, saying their claims were too disparate to justify certifying a nationwide class action.
reut.rs
November 27, 2025 at 2:04 AM
You know all those courts that take years to rule on the deluge of Trump crimes? What, exactly, are they spending their time doing instead?
Things like this:
Things like this:
Not mentioned in the headline (or in the story until the 6th paragraph):
♦️All of the judges who made this lawless ruling were GOP appointees.
♦️Two of the three were Trump appointees.
More accurate headline:
♦️"Republican judges permit Republicans to gerrymander freely"
♦️All of the judges who made this lawless ruling were GOP appointees.
♦️Two of the three were Trump appointees.
More accurate headline:
♦️"Republican judges permit Republicans to gerrymander freely"
North Carolina Can Use Republican-Friendly Congressional Map, Court Says
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Not mentioned in the headline (or in the story until the 6th paragraph):
♦️All of the judges who made this lawless ruling were GOP appointees.
♦️Two of the three were Trump appointees.
More accurate headline:
♦️"Republican judges permit Republicans to gerrymander freely"
♦️All of the judges who made this lawless ruling were GOP appointees.
♦️Two of the three were Trump appointees.
More accurate headline:
♦️"Republican judges permit Republicans to gerrymander freely"
Well, yes.
Also:
♦️Grab anyone on the planet and they'd probably do a better job than RJKJr.
Also:
♦️Grab anyone on the planet and they'd probably do a better job than RJKJr.
I am a little tired of being yelled at for this but apparently not tired about: heroin addiction is not RFK’s problem. He’s a sociopath. Most addicts aren’t. Honestly, walk into an NA meeting, grab the first person with a few years to be head of HHS and they’d probably do a better job than Bobby.
This is what happens when you put a privileged, 14 year heroin addict in charge of health. Duh
November 27, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Well, yes.
Also:
♦️Grab anyone on the planet and they'd probably do a better job than RJKJr.
Also:
♦️Grab anyone on the planet and they'd probably do a better job than RJKJr.
Prediction, based on my too-many decades in #journalism:
♦️Nobody involved in this-- not Nuzzi, not Lizza, not the editors at Vanity Fair, not the editors at NYT-- will experience the slightest career setback from this.
♦️Indeed: Every one of them will see career advancement.
Prove me wrong.
♦️Nobody involved in this-- not Nuzzi, not Lizza, not the editors at Vanity Fair, not the editors at NYT-- will experience the slightest career setback from this.
♦️Indeed: Every one of them will see career advancement.
Prove me wrong.
If the Nuzzi blast radius doesn't impact both the new editor of VF and the NYT profiler, then something wrong. Holy shit.
November 27, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Prediction, based on my too-many decades in #journalism:
♦️Nobody involved in this-- not Nuzzi, not Lizza, not the editors at Vanity Fair, not the editors at NYT-- will experience the slightest career setback from this.
♦️Indeed: Every one of them will see career advancement.
Prove me wrong.
♦️Nobody involved in this-- not Nuzzi, not Lizza, not the editors at Vanity Fair, not the editors at NYT-- will experience the slightest career setback from this.
♦️Indeed: Every one of them will see career advancement.
Prove me wrong.
Rep @crockett.house.gov speaks for us all.
(And note to Dems who've set a rather different tone-- preemptively assuming the shooter's ideology before we have any information whatsoever: Just follow Rep Crockett's example).
(And note to Dems who've set a rather different tone-- preemptively assuming the shooter's ideology before we have any information whatsoever: Just follow Rep Crockett's example).
My prayers are with the National Guard members injured in today’s senseless shooting. Grateful for the officers and first responders who moved quickly. There is no place for this kind of violence in our country.
November 27, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Rep @crockett.house.gov speaks for us all.
(And note to Dems who've set a rather different tone-- preemptively assuming the shooter's ideology before we have any information whatsoever: Just follow Rep Crockett's example).
(And note to Dems who've set a rather different tone-- preemptively assuming the shooter's ideology before we have any information whatsoever: Just follow Rep Crockett's example).
1. She won't.
2. Even when she was, she wasn't.
2. Even when she was, she wasn't.
If this is true she should never work as a journalist again.
Hey, congratulations to all of Olivia Nuzzi’s horny media critic defenders. Heckuva job!
November 27, 2025 at 12:12 AM
1. She won't.
2. Even when she was, she wasn't.
2. Even when she was, she wasn't.
Pete, all Americans ARE united in condemning this attack. Do you hear anyone-- anyone whatsoever-- celebrating it?
We don't know anything about the shooter's motives. Once we do, it's unlikely anyone will be expressing sympathy.
Fox News will try to create a false narrative.
Let's not help them.
We don't know anything about the shooter's motives. Once we do, it's unlikely anyone will be expressing sympathy.
Fox News will try to create a false narrative.
Let's not help them.
Disgusted to hear of the targeted shooting of National Guard members in DC today. All Americans should unite in condemning and rejecting this violence. Sending prayers to these victims and their families, and thankful to the responders who acted so quickly.
November 27, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Pete, all Americans ARE united in condemning this attack. Do you hear anyone-- anyone whatsoever-- celebrating it?
We don't know anything about the shooter's motives. Once we do, it's unlikely anyone will be expressing sympathy.
Fox News will try to create a false narrative.
Let's not help them.
We don't know anything about the shooter's motives. Once we do, it's unlikely anyone will be expressing sympathy.
Fox News will try to create a false narrative.
Let's not help them.
National Airport (as it's called by people who actually live here) is not in Washington DC.
It's across the Potomac River, in Virginia.
There is no bullet, fired by any firearm ever created, that can reach from the site of the #DCShooting to anywhere remotely near National Airport.
So, this:
It's across the Potomac River, in Virginia.
There is no bullet, fired by any firearm ever created, that can reach from the site of the #DCShooting to anywhere remotely near National Airport.
So, this:
Flights to Washington's Ronald Reagan airport briefly paused following DC shooting, authorities say reut.rs/4onEX8K
Flights to Washington's Ronald Reagan airport briefly paused following DC shooting, authorities say
The ground stop was because of the locations of aircraft involved in responding to today’s shooting incident, according to the FAA.
reut.rs
November 27, 2025 at 12:00 AM
National Airport (as it's called by people who actually live here) is not in Washington DC.
It's across the Potomac River, in Virginia.
There is no bullet, fired by any firearm ever created, that can reach from the site of the #DCShooting to anywhere remotely near National Airport.
So, this:
It's across the Potomac River, in Virginia.
There is no bullet, fired by any firearm ever created, that can reach from the site of the #DCShooting to anywhere remotely near National Airport.
So, this:
"Was the DC shooter a dangerous psychopath? We sought the opinion of a dangerous psychopath, and she didn't know."
-The Washington Post (reworded for clarity).
-The Washington Post (reworded for clarity).
November 26, 2025 at 11:54 PM
"Was the DC shooter a dangerous psychopath? We sought the opinion of a dangerous psychopath, and she didn't know."
-The Washington Post (reworded for clarity).
-The Washington Post (reworded for clarity).
That explains Gov Morrisey's fumble.
Why have so many #journalists (including those from NYT & AP) simply parroted his statement without bothering to confirm it?
Why have so many #journalists (including those from NYT & AP) simply parroted his statement without bothering to confirm it?
Update: West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey initially announced on X that both Guard members had died.
But 20 minutes later he said he was receiving "conflicting reports" about the Guard members' condition.
But 20 minutes later he said he was receiving "conflicting reports" about the Guard members' condition.
Two National Guard members injured in shooting near White House
Police said a suspect is in custody and the investigation is ongoing.
www.axios.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:29 PM
That explains Gov Morrisey's fumble.
Why have so many #journalists (including those from NYT & AP) simply parroted his statement without bothering to confirm it?
Why have so many #journalists (including those from NYT & AP) simply parroted his statement without bothering to confirm it?
Per West Virginia governor: Reports of casualties are unconfirmed.
November 26, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Per West Virginia governor: Reports of casualties are unconfirmed.
Reminder:
♦️The Nobel committee gave this right-wing politician the Peace Prize as a consolation prize to Donald Trump. And she essentially said so in her acceptance speech.
Maduro is a corrupt autocrat.
Simply opposing him doesn't make one a hero.
(Same for Trump).
♦️The Nobel committee gave this right-wing politician the Peace Prize as a consolation prize to Donald Trump. And she essentially said so in her acceptance speech.
Maduro is a corrupt autocrat.
Simply opposing him doesn't make one a hero.
(Same for Trump).
As the Trump administration weighs using force to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, former diplomats and even some prominent critics of Maduro worry that his political opponents in Venezuela are promoting exaggerated claims and falsehoods to justify a U.S. intervention.
Venezuela’s Nobel Peace Prize Winner Pushes False Claims About Maduro
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado faces criticism that she is exaggerating threats posed by Venezuela’s leader to justify U.S. force to overthrow him.
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reminder:
♦️The Nobel committee gave this right-wing politician the Peace Prize as a consolation prize to Donald Trump. And she essentially said so in her acceptance speech.
Maduro is a corrupt autocrat.
Simply opposing him doesn't make one a hero.
(Same for Trump).
♦️The Nobel committee gave this right-wing politician the Peace Prize as a consolation prize to Donald Trump. And she essentially said so in her acceptance speech.
Maduro is a corrupt autocrat.
Simply opposing him doesn't make one a hero.
(Same for Trump).
No, NYT. Georgia's case against Trump's (blatant) election interference was NOT "dismissed by a judge."
The decision was made by a prosecutor.
A Republican prosecutor.
Who refused to pursue the case started by Fani Willis.
It says so right in your story.
Which your editor clearly hasn't read.
The decision was made by a prosecutor.
A Republican prosecutor.
Who refused to pursue the case started by Fani Willis.
It says so right in your story.
Which your editor clearly hasn't read.
Breaking News: The last pending criminal prosecution against President Trump was dismissed by a judge in Georgia, effectively ending efforts to hold Trump criminally responsible for attempts to overturn the 2020 election. trib.al/EnJu57H
November 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
No, NYT. Georgia's case against Trump's (blatant) election interference was NOT "dismissed by a judge."
The decision was made by a prosecutor.
A Republican prosecutor.
Who refused to pursue the case started by Fani Willis.
It says so right in your story.
Which your editor clearly hasn't read.
The decision was made by a prosecutor.
A Republican prosecutor.
Who refused to pursue the case started by Fani Willis.
It says so right in your story.
Which your editor clearly hasn't read.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
🔴 Brand new comic now up on @boingboing.net
-
Billionaire Hollingsworth Hound explains who's to blame for the housing crisis.
It's... PATO AFORTUNADO!
"The poor migratory duck who's rich in luck"
-
boingboing.net/2025/11/26/t...
-
Billionaire Hollingsworth Hound explains who's to blame for the housing crisis.
It's... PATO AFORTUNADO!
"The poor migratory duck who's rich in luck"
-
boingboing.net/2025/11/26/t...
Tom the Dancing Bug: Hollingsworth Hound presents the real reason for the housing crisis
Please join the team that makes it possible for your friendly neighborhood comic strip Tom the Dancing Bug to exist in this world! And be the first on your block…
boingboing.net
November 26, 2025 at 2:37 PM
🔴 Brand new comic now up on @boingboing.net
-
Billionaire Hollingsworth Hound explains who's to blame for the housing crisis.
It's... PATO AFORTUNADO!
"The poor migratory duck who's rich in luck"
-
boingboing.net/2025/11/26/t...
-
Billionaire Hollingsworth Hound explains who's to blame for the housing crisis.
It's... PATO AFORTUNADO!
"The poor migratory duck who's rich in luck"
-
boingboing.net/2025/11/26/t...
Reposted by Jonah Blank
The Trump administration has joined the war on HIV/AIDS, on the side of HIV/AIDS.
SCOOP: The Trump administration has instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. funds to commemorate World AIDS Day — because the observance was started by the World Health Organization.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Trump Administration Cancels U.S. Observance of World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The Trump administration has joined the war on HIV/AIDS, on the side of HIV/AIDS.
Usha Vance's decision to forgo a wedding ring is both sensible and insane:
♦️Sensible: Anyone married to JD Vance would obviously be a little ashamed of it.
♦️Insane: It's not like we don't know.
But telling us that it's because she...does dishes?
MAYBE it would interfere with her butter-churning...
♦️Sensible: Anyone married to JD Vance would obviously be a little ashamed of it.
♦️Insane: It's not like we don't know.
But telling us that it's because she...does dishes?
MAYBE it would interfere with her butter-churning...
The excuse for Usha Vance's missing wedding ring is bizarre and preposterous. Look, she doesn't do dishes, so why pretend otherwise?
But this bullshit claim tells us a lot about how JD Vance is trying to humble his wife in public.
www.salon.com/2025/11/26/u...
But this bullshit claim tells us a lot about how JD Vance is trying to humble his wife in public.
www.salon.com/2025/11/26/u...
Usha Vance doesn’t do dishes — so why the wedding ring excuse?
The second lady's staff runs the kitchen at the VP's residence
www.salon.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Usha Vance's decision to forgo a wedding ring is both sensible and insane:
♦️Sensible: Anyone married to JD Vance would obviously be a little ashamed of it.
♦️Insane: It's not like we don't know.
But telling us that it's because she...does dishes?
MAYBE it would interfere with her butter-churning...
♦️Sensible: Anyone married to JD Vance would obviously be a little ashamed of it.
♦️Insane: It's not like we don't know.
But telling us that it's because she...does dishes?
MAYBE it would interfere with her butter-churning...
If I were president, and I wanted to strong-arm Hollywood into producing a movie to suit my own personal tastes, with the collateral effect of giving a notorious sexual harasser some work:
1. I wouldn't do it.
2. And particularly not for "Rush Hour 4."
1. I wouldn't do it.
2. And particularly not for "Rush Hour 4."
I teased this last night in What I’m Hearing but now confirmed: Paramount WILL release Rush Hour 4 after prodding from Trump on behalf of Brett Ratner. Distribution deal. Producer Tarak Ben Ammar is lining up financing. Get ready for the dumbest possible state-controlled media.
November 26, 2025 at 4:28 AM
If I were president, and I wanted to strong-arm Hollywood into producing a movie to suit my own personal tastes, with the collateral effect of giving a notorious sexual harasser some work:
1. I wouldn't do it.
2. And particularly not for "Rush Hour 4."
1. I wouldn't do it.
2. And particularly not for "Rush Hour 4."
Generic off-brand Thanksgiving dinner items touted by generic off-brand Trump sycophant.
Hassett: "On one of the Sunday shows, the anchor criticized the fact Walmart said the Thanksgiving dinner is cheaper by about $10. Then he said, 'Oh yeah, but they substituted generic stuff,' as if having a generic something is a crime for ordinary folks! It shows how out of touch these people are."
November 26, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Generic off-brand Thanksgiving dinner items touted by generic off-brand Trump sycophant.
Good.
Bowser's shameful toadying to Trump was an insult to her constituents.
If she'd run, she would have been humiliated.
Maybe Trump will give her an ambassadorship?
Bowser's shameful toadying to Trump was an insult to her constituents.
If she'd run, she would have been humiliated.
Maybe Trump will give her an ambassadorship?
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is turning down a bid for a fourth term in office, setting the stage for a wide-open race to replace her next year. (via @wamu.org)
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says she won't run for reelection
Bowser is turning down a bid for a fourth term in office, setting the stage for a wide-open race to replace her next year.
n.pr
November 26, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Good.
Bowser's shameful toadying to Trump was an insult to her constituents.
If she'd run, she would have been humiliated.
Maybe Trump will give her an ambassadorship?
Bowser's shameful toadying to Trump was an insult to her constituents.
If she'd run, she would have been humiliated.
Maybe Trump will give her an ambassadorship?
Your "plan" gives them land they haven't even conquered yet.
You lets them stop fighting-- and still keep on invading.
You lets them stop fighting-- and still keep on invading.
REPORTER: What kind of concessions are the Russians going to have to make?
TRUMP: The big concession is they stop fighting and they don't take any more land
TRUMP: The big concession is they stop fighting and they don't take any more land
November 26, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Your "plan" gives them land they haven't even conquered yet.
You lets them stop fighting-- and still keep on invading.
You lets them stop fighting-- and still keep on invading.
They don't need to.
♦️As a participant in SignalGate, Witkoff participated in Top Secret/Codeword discussions on an unclassified phone-- while in Russia and other non-allied nations.
♦️As a participant in SignalGate, Witkoff participated in Top Secret/Codeword discussions on an unclassified phone-- while in Russia and other non-allied nations.
How many foreign intelligence services have hacked into Witkoff's accounts and devices? How many schemes are underway to influence him?
This is really wild stuff tbh
November 26, 2025 at 1:14 AM
They don't need to.
♦️As a participant in SignalGate, Witkoff participated in Top Secret/Codeword discussions on an unclassified phone-- while in Russia and other non-allied nations.
♦️As a participant in SignalGate, Witkoff participated in Top Secret/Codeword discussions on an unclassified phone-- while in Russia and other non-allied nations.
So:
♦️Politeness (by passengers): Important.
♦️Peanuts (by airlines): Important.
♦️Making sure the planes don't crash: If we have time.
♦️Politeness (by passengers): Important.
♦️Peanuts (by airlines): Important.
♦️Making sure the planes don't crash: If we have time.
Sean Duffy, the U.S. transportation secretary, has been urging people for the past week to dress and comport themselves better as a way of restoring “civility” to air travel. On Tuesday, he added another item to his list of concerns: the quality of the snacks handed out on commercial flights.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Wants Healthier In-Flight Snack Options
Sean Duffy, who has been promoting greater decorum among air travelers, said he would like to see choices besides salty pretzels and buttery cookies.
nyti.ms
November 26, 2025 at 1:12 AM
So:
♦️Politeness (by passengers): Important.
♦️Peanuts (by airlines): Important.
♦️Making sure the planes don't crash: If we have time.
♦️Politeness (by passengers): Important.
♦️Peanuts (by airlines): Important.
♦️Making sure the planes don't crash: If we have time.
OK, Vlad, here's how we do it:
♦️First, give me your wish-list. Shoot for the stars-- demand territories you haven't even conquered yet!
♦️Second, I present this as MY plan.
♦️Third, you tell Trump that he's driving a hard bargain-- but he's just too big and strong and virile for you to say no.
♦️First, give me your wish-list. Shoot for the stars-- demand territories you haven't even conquered yet!
♦️Second, I present this as MY plan.
♦️Third, you tell Trump that he's driving a hard bargain-- but he's just too big and strong and virile for you to say no.
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 26, 2025 at 1:10 AM
OK, Vlad, here's how we do it:
♦️First, give me your wish-list. Shoot for the stars-- demand territories you haven't even conquered yet!
♦️Second, I present this as MY plan.
♦️Third, you tell Trump that he's driving a hard bargain-- but he's just too big and strong and virile for you to say no.
♦️First, give me your wish-list. Shoot for the stars-- demand territories you haven't even conquered yet!
♦️Second, I present this as MY plan.
♦️Third, you tell Trump that he's driving a hard bargain-- but he's just too big and strong and virile for you to say no.
1. That is actually the way ALL private health insurance-- including Obamacare-- currently works.
2. And that's why so many of Markwayne's constituents rely on Obamacare subsidies.
2a (Which Markwayne is trying to eliminate)
2. And that's why so many of Markwayne's constituents rely on Obamacare subsidies.
2a (Which Markwayne is trying to eliminate)
Markwayne Mullin on healthcare: "What the president would like to do is say, hey, if you take care of yourself -- you don't smoke, you don't dip, you're not drinking, you're not overweight, you're working out -- then you should pay less than the guy that obviously is not taking care of himself."
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
1. That is actually the way ALL private health insurance-- including Obamacare-- currently works.
2. And that's why so many of Markwayne's constituents rely on Obamacare subsidies.
2a (Which Markwayne is trying to eliminate)
2. And that's why so many of Markwayne's constituents rely on Obamacare subsidies.
2a (Which Markwayne is trying to eliminate)