Takapu, I Choose You!

Oh no you don’t.

Of course we know what a high blink rate means.

It means someone is lying.

Were you aware that the Takapu is the Australasian gannet, or was that just a pleasing coincidence?

that was a very mean thing to do, defacing that adorable little Pokemon in such a vile manner. Won’t someone think of the childrens?

“The naked blind and helpless chick is fed by gurgitation by both parents; one guarding the nest while the other is out gathering food.”

Evolves into Poodinpants

I see no pants.

Generally speaking.

Of course we know what a high blink rate means.

Vertical hold is broken? A little percussive maintenance usually will reseat the tubes.

Try using Jonah’s blinks as a hand-strengthening device. Every time he blinks, clench and unclench your fists as fast as you can. (Assuming you don’t do that already, of course.) A great way to build up your hands and forearms.

This also works well with “The Simpsons.” Try doing it every time a character blinks. Most people, when they start, can only last through one act.

Y’know, Grovyle has a really awesome name for this sort of thing.

The naked blind and helpless chick is fed by gurgitation

I got a couple videos like that but they’re all in German so I can’t make out the dialogue.

Of course we know what a high blink rate means.

I’m crazier than a shithouse rat on angel dust and jenkem, and I blink incessantly. But I’m willing to suggest that maybe it’s just all of the bright hot lights in the teevee studio.

Or maybe it’s just that Jonah Goldberg is an ass hole.

that adorable little Pokemon

Funny, I don’t find Jonah “adorable” at all.

And it’s really difficult to fit him in a Pokeball.

Why does he keep glancing to the left?

Shut up libs, we patriots keep winning and Your Boy Obama keeps failing. Free speech, free markets. freedom to have guns and use them.

And it’s really difficult to fit him in a Pokeball.

TRY HARDER.

Why does he keep glancing to the left?

Obama’s penis.

If USA Freedom Power REALLY loved America™, he’d call himself USA Freedom Power Liberty Truth Justice and the American Way™.

If he did.

…a string of grotesque obscenities, family recipes, and my own alternative ending to the Lord of the Rings…

As a pull quote, it actually describes his output pretty well.

my own alternative ending to the Lord of the Rings

I’m sure it’s something that would have the revenant of Tolkien tracking Jonah down and ripping out his heart in righteous fury.

Substance McGravitas said,
August 25, 2009 at 1:09

I see no pants.

The X-Ray Specs I ordered from the ad in the back of the comic book didn’t work nearly as well for me.

The heinous truth that the human skid mark is trying to hide is that he blinks every time he lies. It is an involuntary response that he cannot control. Being a lizard man from Alpha Centauri, he does not otherwise blink.

A little percussive maintenance usually will reseat the tubes.

It is Neighborhood Cleanup day today in my part of Salt Lake City – a yearly ritual in which citizens pile unwanted stuff up at their curb and the city sends a team of strong youngsters around to take it all away in a big growly truck. The junk is allowed to accumulate for a few weeks first so there are some excellent scavenging opportunities (though I don’t pull out anything anymore because my house is already full).

This year there were lots of TV sets in the piles, presumably because of the digital transition coming up. It broke my heart to see some gorgeous old tube TVs with the roundy picture tubes and polished wood cabinets and such out there; at least somebody had the taste to snag the best examples after the first day.

And Jonah Goldberg can tonguejack my shitbox, but I’d rather he didn’t.

…err, I guess the digital transition already happened. I’m out of touch with teh TV.

It is Neighborhood Cleanup day today in my part of Salt Lake City – a yearly ritual in which citizens pile unwanted stuff up at their curb and the city sends a team of strong youngsters around to take it all away in a big growly truck.

You know, here in the effete east, that happens three times a week.

The naked blind and helpless chick is fed by gurgitation

Then what the heck happens during the regurgitation???

or, as Wikipedia asks:

Did you mean: guro station

You know, here in the effete east, that happens three times a week.

Heh.

We only have the one weekly normal garbage pickup. This event is for the stuff the garbagemen won’t take – remodeling debris is the most common large-volume item, and in the fat years the streets will look like the houses all gurged their innards all over the parking strip.

We only have the one weekly normal garbage pickup.

You have, I suspect, more square feet of domicile per person and fewer people per acre than Brooklyn. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have fewer people per acre by a factor of ten. The fact is, we could use five trash pick-ups per week.

The big stuff (e.g., refrigerators) is once a week, but they won’t touch anything resembling construction debris. That, you pay highway-robbery rates to highway robbers for them to…uh…rob you of it.

…and, of course, if you did, the following will be of interest to you:

Guro Station is a subway station in Guro District in Seoul, South Korea. It serves Seoul Subway Line 1. The Gyeongin and Gyeongbu Lines separate at this station, with the former going west and the latter south. In addition, the Line 1 train service depot is located south of here, between Guro and Gasan Digital Complex Stations. However, it appears that in the near future, the present site will be sold and the depot relocated to the vicinity of Gwangmyeong Station.

no reGuroStation for you!

…Guro and Gasan Digital Complex Stations.

…wish we didn’t have to make do with crappy old analog subways.

I see no pants.

Are they under the POOP?

crappy old analog subways.

What about hi-def subways?

Also, that pikashoop reminded me of this.

Also, that pikashoop reminded me of this.

AHAHHAA!
~

the houses all gurged their innards all over the parking strip
All linkied for you.
I think it’s how they feed their young.

I think it’s how they feed their young.

What about siamese connections and plumbers’ nipples?

I think it’s how they feed their young

…maybe it’s an escape mechanism, like a sea-cucumber (when the mortgage payments get too high)

plumbers’ nipples
Urban Dictionary was of no assistance.

here you go

From wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipple_%28plumbing%29

See also: coupling, street elbow, sexual intercourse.

There once was a plumber named Whipple
Who liked the occasional tipple.
Came true his worst fear,
He said “After beer,
“I twisted the wrong kind of nipple.”

To his handicapped son said Lord Stipple
As he sculled a whole bottle of Ripple
“Your mother’s behaviour
Offended our saviour
And that’s why you have Plumbers’ Nipple”.

Apologies to Edward Gorey.

In four minutes? Four fucking minutes?

[Snoopy] Curse you Red Baron*[/Snoopy]

*Veiled PENIS reference.

I think it’s how they feed their young

…maybe it’s an escape mechanism, like a sea-cucumber (when the mortgage payments get too high)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/aa/KatamariDamacybox.jpg

They’re baby katamaris.

I shoulda known. I’ve played those games for like a zillion hours.

Feh, what a dick. Knows damn well that the blinking is the flashing neon “BULLSHIT” sign of his pathological deceitfulness that he can’t control & still has to try to make weak-ass jokes about it.

“Hah hah hah, plz to disregard the tell – I’m actually sending coded messages to Al Quaeda Freepers! LOL!”

Nice portrait of Jonah – but what in the hell’s that ugly yellow thing hovering over him?

You’re right on with that, Jim – Jonah knows he’s full of it and has to try to chuckle it off.

The funny part will be seeing him staring, Mesmer-style, as he tries not to blink too much on his subsequent TV appearances. Under those HOT, HOT studio lights.

Of course we know what a high blink rate means.

Recreational propofolol abuse?

Mild myoclonic movements are common, as with other intravenous hypnotic agents.

The funny part will be seeing him staring, Mesmer-style, as he tries not to blink too much…

Anthony Hopkins needs the competition.

I expect Hopkins to follow Olivier’s lead and spend the rest of his career playing uncaught Nazis and Jewish concentration-camp survivors.

Recreational propofolol abuse?
That would raise the possibility of pantload priapism ARRGH MY BEAUTIFUL MIND

playing uncaught Nazis and Jewish concentration-camp survivors
In the same film?

In the same film?

Think Sellers in Strangelove.

Did anyone ever see Steve Forbes blink? I always thought he looked like some sort of a freakin’ pod person with that glassy, blinkless stare. He scared me.

“The naked blind and helpless chick is fed by gurgitation by both parents; one guarding the nest while the other is out gathering food.”

I had a girlfriend like this. Didn’t work out.

In the same film?
Think Sellers in Strangelove.

Zombie Jorge Borges is even now re-writing his ‘Deutsches Requiem” as a movie script.

Amy Poehler used to a blink alot during Weekend Update. Firefox thinks the proper way to spell her name is either Amy Potholer, Amy Poetaster, Amy Potholder or Amy Potboiler. I think Mr Pantload could learn something from that. To be fair though, there are books w/ soft, chewable, pages that Mr Pantload could learn a lot from.

On a totally related note, isn’t it spooky that the gibberish url for national review shit is always more informative that the article? No doubt the freemasons and international jewry are involved somehow.

q=NTZkYTBmNDVhMDMzMzg4MTI0MzRjMzQ0MzIxNjhlZDY=

Indeed.

Zombie Jorge Borges

He’s a zombie? How can they tell?

“Did anyone ever see Steve Forbes blink?”

Sometimes it’s really hard for the Lizard People to control themselves and keep the human features intact. Especially the eyes. Whenever they lose their control the eyes are a dead give away. So to speak.

Sometimes it’s really hard for the Lizard People to control themselves and keep the human features intact.

Forbes totally flunked the human skin disguise. The man’s face has more nooks and crannies than a Thomas’s English Muffin. Fork split.

If Jonah is Pikachu, which pokemon is J-Lo? And more importantly, which one is Hitler? Takapu needs to have his I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I buddy.

Ha ha. He got some on his tail.

Truly “q=NTZkYTBmNDVhMDMzMzg4MTI0MzRjMzQ0MzIxNjhlZDY” is the White Rose of Liberal Fascism.

Girls & URLs: q=NTZkYTBmNDVhMDMzMzg4MTI0MzRjMzQ0MzIxNjhlZDY / Palin 2012!

On second thought, I don’t gotta catch ’em all.

Isnt Jonah supposed to be deflecting near earth asteroids with his ginormous asshattery? Who will save us?

Dear Mr. Goldberg,

I’ve seen you a few times now, and it’s obvious you are becoming more comfortable and have dropped a lot of the AHHs and UHMs you started out with, but you might ask some of our regulars for advice on how to better control your, uh, let’s just say “blink” rate. …

Defecating Asteroids? That’s even more impressive than PacMan.

Does this mean he has Space Invaders in his butt? Would that make it a Battlezone? Will he need a Defender, or just some Missile Command?

Why does he keep glancing to the left?

Why does he keep stretching his mouth sideways when he talks? Maybe it makes it easier for his parents to gurgitate him.

The man is a comic genius, though, you’ve got to admit. “I’m actually blinking Morse Code, albeit in Esperanto.” Damn, that’s so funny, it’s like something Dennis Miller might have come up with!

…my own alternative ending to the Lord of the Rings…

Gollum gets crowned King of Cheeto-land.

I’m (reference to shit in place of being funny omitted) actually, like the (reference to shit in place of being funny omitted), blinking (reference to shit in place of being funny omitted) Morse (reference to shit in place of being funny omitted) Code, (reference to shit in place of being funny omitted) albeit in (reference to shit in place of being funny omitted) Esper-(reference to shit in place of being funny omitted)-anto.

Damnit! How dare you liberals censor my Wikipedia random page button inspired comedic genius!

I’m actually blinking Morse Code, albeit in Esperanto.

It’s been so long since I pounded a key…what’s the Morse Code for ?, ?, and ??

(WP will not let you type these letters, or insert them from the Character Palette. I had to copy-and-paste them from an Esperanto document!)

AND they don’t show up in the post! FYWP! Arrrgh!!

If anybody was wondering, they were c and g with the circumflex, an u with the breve. I (I know better than to put an accent grave over that.)

What’s here? the portrait of a blinking idiot, Presenting me a schedule!

If you watch the tape today, I’m talking about the death book and the V.A. with out of my mouth ass, but I’m bl(th)inking (ab)out a string of grotesque(ly) obscen(e)ities, family recip(memori)es, and my own alternative ending to the Lord of the Ring(Flie)s with my eyes.

Babel-Fish says this is the Goldberg to English translation.

But, but … if he’s blinking morse code shouldn’t he be hooded, handcuffed and thrown in the slammer somewhere far away and soon to be forgotten? I mean – he could be morsing state secrets and stuff. Communicating with aliens or whatever.

I do remember some scary brown dude who was hooded ’cause OMG!!! he might morse to Osama bin Forgotten?

Would anyone who knows morse code and can stomach watching Jonah for a while get us a transcript of his morse code. We should check out incase he is sending secret information to the terrorrizt!

Blink to me only with thine eyes (to Jonah)

Blink to me only with thine eyes,
Whilst I endure your whine;
Or, better yet, please shutteth up,
Before I lose my mind.
Your words doth make most stomachs rise,
‘Til vomit flows like wine;
As parent birds might gurgitate sup,
For chicks, helpless, naked, blind.

Isn’t anyoen scared that repeating the “chicks,helpless,naked” stuff will attract the wrong type of people here?

You know, like republican congressmenand senators who are all about family values?

I do remember some scary brown dude who was hooded ’cause OMG!!! he might morse to Osama bin Forgotten?

This is indeed central to Mr Goldberg’s point, and the punchline of his joke. He is reminding us that it’s all LULZ for him. He is therefore superior to those humourless dumb fuck-knuckles who believed that the Cheney administration must have had some good reason to parade Padilla around — drugged, fettered and blind-folded — and thus dreamed up the “blinking morse” rationale. Not to mention his superiority to Padilla, who was dumb enough to get arrested for excessive brownness in Bush’s America and be paraded around (d., f. and b.-f.) to remind everyone of the total non-humanity of these dangerous Islamist ex-citizens. HO HO WHAT A TOTAL LOSER.

This seems to be the purpose of Goldberg’s blog: a chance to joke about the crap that he retails, so we can admire him not only for his debating-club skills at espousing arguments in which he places no personal credence, but also for the ironic distance he maintains from them. But I’m not an expert in the exegesis of authorial intent so I could be wrong.

Minor highlight for me – Doughbob informing his readers: “I am talking […] with my mouth, but I’m blinking […] with my eyes.”

Also, I just typed this with mah fingahs.

I am talking […] with my mouth

Anatomy fail.

Blink to me only with thine eyes (to Jonah)

Most excellent.

Gollum gets crowned King of Cheeto-land.

Jonah, lovingly fondling Cheetos bag: My Preciouuuussssss….

From: http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/bps/home

“Patients with schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric disorders had twofold higher maximum resting blink rates compared to controls (p < .05 respectively). No difference was found between those with schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric disorders. The maximum blink rate during cognitive testing was also twofold higher in those with nonschizophrenic psychiatric disorders (n = 11) compared to controls (n = 16; p < .05). Within each group, maximum blink rates during quiet rest and cognitive testing did not differ, nor were there differences between groups in the duration of highfrequency blinking (greater than 40 blinks per minute) during quiet rest. In psychiatric patients, none of the medications taken at the time of EEG recording correlated with maximum blink rates.
Conclusions:

High maximum blink rates recorded by EEG may suggest the presence of a psychiatric disorder."

Who'd a thunk it?

Blink rates and mental health:

“Patients with schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric disorders had twofold higher maximum resting blink rates compared to controls (p < .05 respectively). No difference was found between those with schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric disorders. The maximum blink rate during cognitive testing was also twofold higher in those with nonschizophrenic psychiatric disorders (n = 11) compared to controls (n = 16; p < .05). Within each group, maximum blink rates during quiet rest and cognitive testing did not differ, nor were there differences between groups in the duration of highfrequency blinking (greater than 40 blinks per minute) during quiet rest. In psychiatric patients, none of the medications taken at the time of EEG recording correlated with maximum blink rates.
Conclusions:

High maximum blink rates recorded by EEG may suggest the presence of a psychiatric disorder."

From: http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/bps/home

WP eated first attempt. Then said no double posty.

I have no mouth but I must blink.

Evolves into Poodinpants

And the adult form after all the power-ups is Loaddoughnaut.

Maybe Fudgie had something in his eye? He might have been feeling the effects of Rupert’s bukkake.

Blink to me only with thine eyes…

You certainly don’t want any non-eye winking. Well, I guess it wouldn’t be different from Jonah talking. Better maybe, with more substance.

You certainly don’t want any non-eye winking.

Given who we’re talking about, what about winking jeans? http://www.neatorama.com/2009/08/22/winkers-animated-jean-art-for-your-butt/

I wonder if Jonah would consent to interpreting our Gramma’s blinking. She was frightened away from end-of-life counseling by “death panel” punditry; thus, the family relies on this sole remaining mode of communication to divine her wishes as she slips away.

Ah, Butt Winkers.

No, please, you first.

She was frightened away from end-of-life counseling by “death panel” punditry

For realz?

Damn. And here I thought I hated the teabaggers as much as I possibly could already.

I wonder if Jonah would consent to interpreting our Gramma’s blinking.

Poor Captain Pike, four hundred years in the future, canwillnot be able to even use his eyelids to communicate….

Given who we’re talking about, what about winking jeans?

I’m double recessive in my winking genes. The result is that I can’t blink, only wink.

Blinking in Morse Code? I heard that was a technique used by American POWs during the Vietnam War.

POW. Reminds me of someone.

Funny Fudgie never noticed how much his Feeeerlass Leedeeerrrrr was blinking…

FYWP. I am not an Anonymous number, I am a free man.

She was frightened away from end-of-life counseling by “death panel” punditry
For realz?
No, not for real (yet). (This is one reason I don’t have my own blog. Sorry for being misleading.)
It’s getting time to start having this type of conversation with Dad, but he’s totally enslaved to Fox News. (At the last family gathering, Stepmom went on about joining the teabagger protests. Dad is incapable of adult discussion–didja know I am a socialist!? Not a contributor to society!?!)
Also, recently, the hospital tech I know thru his administering my outpatient stuff for a month had his mother reach the end of her life in a hospital room just down the hall (I’ve since made it outta there). I of course wasn’t privy to his family’s discussions (other than overhearing some of the nurses’ talk), but they did have to make some decisions. Pisses me off that our pundits and senators act in ways that scare people away from planning.
(I’ll better mark my flights of imagination here from now on. Sorry again.)

Now it shows up? Sorry for double copy pasta posties.

Pisses me off that our pundits and senators act in ways that scare people away from planning.

Did you know that the end-of-life planning was put in by a Republican? It’s a really decent thing to do. Listening to the debate, I think that the “death panel” people must be suppressing when they’ve had to deal with death.

I can remember my grandma’s stroke. It was clear from the beginning that it was serious. But after a day, things deteriorated, brain function wasn’t returning. My family — all six of grandma’s children and their adult children — were really exhausted by the end of the week. The decision to let grandma go off the ventilator was in one way hard, but in another way, no one objected. Grandpa said he thought it was time to “let the old girl rest.” I still think it would have been easier if she had a living will.

Medicine has progressed to keeping people’s bodies alive after sever damage, but it can’t always save the mind. Everyone’s life will end. Planning for it makes it easier for those who care about you.

Also:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/the-policyspeak-disaster_b_264043.html

I think Lakoff is a bit condescending, even if he has a point. Also, he writing really depresses me. He’s always warning us not to have mature, reasoned debate about public policy, but to instead engage in sloganeering. I think it’s the death of the age of reason. Does Lakoff think that scientists should conduct scientific debate in this manner?

On the other hand, the sloganeering has been so successful at defeating rational policy for thirty years, maybe we have to play dirty.

He’s always warning us not to have mature, reasoned debate about public policy, but to instead engage in sloganeering.

No, he’s saying they won’t engage in a debate, no matter how fair and impartial you try to make it, and they will win the public over unless we find a way (NLP, it would seem) to win the emotional fight.

The debate is secondary. After all, you don’t sell cars by talking, but by showing pretty girls and nice scenery.

*Shoots over head*

“NLP?”

Actually, not “shoots,” given all the gun-tottery these days.

*Flies over head*

And, I took a shower today, so stop right there.

they will win the public over unless we find a way (NLP, it would seem) to win the emotional fight.

Right. His point isn’t “fact don’t matter” but rather “facts alone don’t win the argument”.

Right. His point isn’t “fact don’t matter” but rather “facts alone don’t win the argument”.

Yes, and I concede that point. But I think it’s more than that. The national dialog is sound-bite limited. He wants those sound-bites will be well-chosen slogans. But if that’s all there is, it’s like feeding saccharine to humming birds.

NLP = Neurolinguistic Programming.

But if that’s all there is, it’s like feeding saccharine to humming birds.

Considering most Americans have the attention span of a hummingbird, this is a good thing.

Michael,

Think of it this way: Clenis. Blue dress. “Ah did not have sex with that woman…”

Now compare it to this:

Two consenting adults engaged in physical acts that were perfectly legal in the jurisdiction in which they were performed and no one was hurt and no one died.

Which sticks out in your head longer? because that’s what is going to win the debate.

NLP = Neurolinguistic Programming.

Thankee

I would guess then that “dog whistle” appeals to racism, etc, are examples of NLP (at the vile end of the spectrum). Maybe we need cat whistles.

Looch,

It’s a little more complex than that.

Imagine “tide”. What’s one of the first images that comes into your head?

A box of detergent, you say?

That’s NLP.

Actor:

Got it. But isn’t a dog whistle call and example of NLP? (And let’s forget the stupid “cat whistle” comment, shall we?)

But I think that our side has a greater challenge in mastering NLP.

Let me use a military analogy (not an expert in military strategy, this is just an analogy that comes to mind).

There are advancing forces moving against a adversary engaged in a fighting retreat. The retreating forces have to manage against outright panic and flight, but other than that they have fairly simple tactical goals, i.e., burn, blow up or somehow destroy anything that could be used by their advancing foe.

The advancing forces have a more challenging task. They want to move as quickly as possible, preserve what is of value while preventing their foe from regrouping and becoming capable of an organized counter-offensive.

Conservatives are fighting while in retreat. As such, they deploy NLP without any regard to facts, they don’t have to. Throw shit out there, see what sticks, burn the fucker down.

Liberals (progressives, what have you) must try and figure out how to use NLP while adhering to some semblance of the truth. Harder, I think to win the emotional battle while delivering on what is being promised.

Or am I adding too many conditions to our side? Maybe Al Davis was right.

Concrete examples help. When I think of the effective use of NLP/Framing/Metaphor in the service of Liberal ideas and policies I think of Will Rogers. Down to Earth without dumbing things down, optimistic, cheerful, funny, able to collapse an amazing amount of complexity into simple anecdotes that clearly illustrate core concepts in what Lakoff would call “values-based language”. Sure, it all seems corny now, but Rogers’ was definitely FDR’s ace in the hole when it came to selling New Deal policy to the public.

A box of detergent, you say?

Someone’s been reading his Drew Weston. 🙂

BTW, if you go in for the whole NLP/CogLing branch (and god knows its been like crack to me for years now) be sure to check out From Molecule to Metaphor: A Neural Theory of Language by Jerome Feldman. Hoooo-doggie!

And to clarify: I am not disagreeing. I think the NLP communication strategy is an intriguing idea that needs to be pushed upward into the ideaosphere. Lakoff’s article addresses a great deal of frustrations I have had that mostly center around the concept of, “Why can’t these morons see that they benefit from this (fill in blank) policy?”

And yes, Will Rogers. He never seemed all that corny to me, though.

Years ago I casually noodled through some Benjamin Whorf (and probably missed more than I got out of it as a result of said casual noodling). Is Feldman accessible to us non-linguist types?

Is Feldman accessible to us non-linguist types?

I’m not a linguist but I have read quite a few CogSci/Linguists books so its a little hard to gauge how accessible it would be so someone who’s coming to the table for the first time. He does a pretty good job of summarizing the concepts that he introduces, though. If I were just starting down this road, I’d go with Metaphors We Live By— a fun and interesting intro to the key concepts, written for a general audience.

Looch,

There’s a great book by Geoffrey Nunberg that describes how the right co-opted the English language, and what liberals need to do to reclaim it.

Shifts in language take a long time, because you either spend gobs of money co-opting a word (Tide is an example) or you have to make it effectively part of the language on its own with adoption.

A good example of this phenomenon is “problematic,” which once meant “academic” or “given” (“The fact that the sun rises in order for daylight to appear is problematic.”) but warped to “a big problem”.

Sure, it all seems corny now, but Rogers’ was definitely FDR’s ace in the hole when it came to selling New Deal policy to the public.

Bill Clinton was pretty good at this as well.

not selling FDR’s policies, but making the abstract concrete.

Thanks for the reading recommendations, I need something that helps me understand the cultural cognitive dissonance that I have been watching since November, 1980.

And one other thought, concerning the Pantload (and others like him).

Jonah might actually be very good at reducing the abstract to the concrete (albeit “concrete” in the service of very specific and non-democratic interests). I sense he doesn’t really comprehend what he is doing (in any sense, moral or otherwise) but he knows it’s what he is supposed to do.

I can’t say I have developed any deeply thoughtful analysis here, but to me it does help explain the double-helix, reverse Immelman turns of logic he employs to get to the place he knows he must arrive.

We laugh. We cry.

But he gets his check and the next bag of Cheetos.

Thanks again for the reading suggestions and NLP enlightenment.

I sense he doesn’t really comprehend what he is doing (in any sense, moral or otherwise) but he knows it’s what he is supposed to do.

I get the same sense of Pavlovian inevitability from Jonah as well.

There are precious few on the right, I think, who say “OK, today’s talking point is X. Let me go justify to myself how to work that into a poutrageous post.”

Most just go…”If I move this comma here…”