Jonah Blank

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]

Perfect

America’s “worst” gerrymander is not just a state with twisting districts and squiggly lines. It is a brazen effort to alter the balance of power nationwide. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Would be nice if the Establishment Press reported the, you know, news.

Average Trump scandal: many people dead after uncontroversial government program illegally cut by doge for nonexistent savings Average mamdani scandal: he’s playing BASKETBALL with his FRIENDS

A U.N.-backed inquiry is reporting that Russia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine by intentionally attacking energy infrastructure, which left millions of people without electricity and heat in freezing temperatures.

It's hard to understand how the Establishment Media can justify not reporting credible, new charges of rape against at sitting US president. As a former reporter and editor, my best guess: ♦️They're doing the usual MSM thing of pretending that news isn't newsworthy when they get scooped.

By the way: If you haven't read any of Naguib Mahfouz's work yet: Do. He's an absolute monster of modern literature. His "Cairo Trilogy" is a masterpiece. And if you're not up for three novels, you can start with his shorter, more accessible gem "The Harafish."

🙏🏼 to @zeteo.com for (unlike the legacy MSM, in this case) actually reporting the news.

When Naguib Mahfouz published "Bayn al-Qasrayn" (Palace Walk), RFK Jr was almost toilet-trained. When Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Bobby had just completed his parole following conviction for possession of heroin.

He's already got the award for Most Insane Cabinet Member. But there are several ahead of him in the battle for Most Racist. RFK Jr tries to narrow the gap:

If I were an Israeli Palestinian, I'd vote the United Arab List. But it would be a protest vote: Both Netanyahu and his main opponent have sworn not to accept the UAL into their coalitions. I'd respect the alternate approach, however: Voting for Eisenkot as lesser of two evils & rebuke to Netanyahu

Both parties that might lead Israel's next government have vowed not to partner with any Arab party. Which leaves Israeli Palestinians (1/5 of the nation) with a terrible choice: 1. Vote for one of the parties which treats them as second-class citizens; or 2. Cast an empty protest vote.

This is a rational, albeit tragic, decision by Palestinian Israelis. Rational, because Netanyahu has been the most anti-Palestinian leader in their nation's history. Tragic, because 1/5 of Israeli's populace is effectively excluded from governance. And Bibi's foe promises similar policies.

Excellent words. I'd like them far more if they ended with, "...therefore I find the DOJ attorneys in contempt, and impose the maximum penalty permitted by law." Note to Judge Reyes, and all other judges: ♦️If you have power, and refuse to use it, what's the point of all those words?

I greatly appreciate that Judge Reyes expresses the rage we're all feeling. And I greatly appreciate that she speaks in clear, non-lawyerly language But, all you lawyers out there, help me out: ♦️Has she actually imposed any penalty whatsoever? Because it sure seems like she hasn't.

Here's the thing: ♦️Good taste is absolutely free.

Even worse: Yglesias & Co. don't even want the Dems to support policies that ARE broadly popular: ♦️Halting data centers, taxing billionaires, providing decent healthcare-- solid majorities support the progressive agenda. They just hate the Dem/Liberal branding. In part, due to centrist do-nothings.

Um, sir...

First time in history that anyone has ever made this mistake. (Barring, perhaps, some real sicko out there with a weird Dorothy fetish.)

Counterpoint, as the parent of teens: ♦️When Zohran has kids, they'll find every aspect of his life-- indeed, his mere existence, and that of every adult on the planet-- to be unspeakably cringe.

His interior monologue: "Obama bad...cheesecake...not smart...cheesecake... terrorist...cheesecake...cheesecake...cheesecake..." Just kidding. He's incapable of having an interior monologue. Every thought that enters his head comes right out his mouth.

Counterpoint: ♦️He accurately conveys the exact message of his master.

The collective action by the press corps to deep-six this blockbuster House report is a true indictment of Establishment jounalism: ♦️They all got scooped by a few underpaid Congressional staffers. ♦️And now that they've been shown to be negligent, their response is, "Well, it's not really news."

OK, i know I shouldn't, but: 1. Where would the money come from? Congress hasn't appropriated it, and Don sure ain't paying from his own wallet. 2. It's worth one MILLION bucks per (fictional) fraudulent vote? 3. Clearly, even HE doesn't believe his bluff will be called. 4. Oh, why bother.

During his short-lived 2020 presidential run, Sen Tim Scott portrayed himself as the kinder, gentler version of a Republican. And many Establishment pundits bought it. His record never backed that up. And neither does this:

Note to every GOP candidate: ♦️Please use this-- from Trump's top economic advisor-- as your closing campaign pitch.

Also disgusting: ♦️The fact that the Establishment Media is treating this as a non-story. They got scooped by some House staffers, so there's nothing newsworthy here. Anything the NYT doesn't break is, by definition, Not Fit to Print.™

As a recovering journalist: ♦️It's not the media that has a liberal bias: It's facts. Establishment media (NYT, etc) genuinely tries to report the news fairly-- but they're absolutely terrified of being called partisan. So they twist themselves in knots to avoid stating true facts clearly.

Yesterday was the Marine Corps Marathon. And unless somebody stops Trump's plan to steal East Potomac Park for another gilded golf-course, it will be the last time the USMC 26.2 (or any other race) will use this beautiful public area as its anchor.

Your honor, many items cost $1.99. And the CEO is only an O6.

Or, in normal language: -4 days. Which means that Trump's pointless attack on Iran will begin on Nov 8 rather than Nov 4. Because he's incapable of thinking five minutes ahead.

Jesse Ventura to Piker: "Here's what pisses me off -- I did 2 tours, 17 months. So did my brother. Southeast Asia. That was at the same time Donald Trump was running and hiding like the coward he is. Why didn't he join us in the Vietnam War? I've heard him talk. He said he should be a general!"

Question for those who know the nuts and bolts of campaign fundraising: ♦️Are campaigns obligated to report donor phone/email to FEC? Once phone/email is with campaigns, it will be sold to anyone willing to pay. If ActBlue is legally able to withhold such info, it must do so-- or risk donor flight.

The reason for all this spam & scam is simple: There's no penalty. Every campaign sells its donor list because: Why not? Every campaign buys donor lists because 1 out of 10,000 spam texts = 1 donation. The only solution: -No Dem campaign does business with anyone buying or selling donor info.

To each and every text, I type "stop." Then I block the sender. Then I label each text as spam. It does absolutely no good whatsoever. I'm sorry if you consider me a fair-weather friend to the Dems. The two dozen Dem candidates to whom I've contributed this cycle don't: They keep asking for more.

Too true. The flood decreases after each election cycle, but never goes away. And comes right back every two years.

The opposite: Work conditions aren't great, & pay is lower than private sector. As for "Why would anyone do this?": -Good question. In my case, I was able to engineer $9 Billion for humanitarian aid in South Asia. But a lot of staffers are in it for power trip, or post-government $$ as lobbyists.

I'd disagree: -It's the Member who is elected, and the Member who has to take responsibility for everything published in his or her name. The same is true of legislation: It's all drafted by staff-- and has to be. Same for every letter that goes out under a Member's name. That's what staff is for.

As former Congressional staff: ✅ Nearly every op-ed published under the byline of any Member of Congress was drafted by a staffer. Some Members participate in the editing or revision, others are barely aware of what goes out in their names. I think I know which camp Mitch is in.

Smug Centrist Take, yesterday: -Far-right parties are doing well in other countries: Dems need to meet right-wing voters "where they are." Smug Centrist Take, today: -Far-right parties got spanked in Brazil, Serbia and Hungary: Dems need to ignore what's happening in other countries.

Is math "as much an expression of the human spirit as music and literature"? I'm not a mathematician, but I don't buy it. The author isn't describing math, but philosophy. There is no "proof" for philosophy, music, literature or any other expression of humanity. The human spirit defies all proof.

How much should non-mathematicians care that AI has now made math obsolete? A few centuries ago, universities had professors of arithmetic. Now we have calculators. No loss. Here's an easy metric: ♦️Questions with definitive answers can be left to robots. Everything else needs a human.

I spent a week in Delhi, watching an extraordinary protest movement unfold. Here's what I saw, and what I think it means for India, and the world. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/26/o...