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]
Bezos isn't willing to publish opinions that might irritate the president, but that doesn't mean he's afraid to speak truth to power:
♦️He's permitted this blistering attack on the political and economic worldview of...Billie Eilish.
♦️He's permitted this blistering attack on the political and economic worldview of...Billie Eilish.
It’s time to put Billie Eilish’s theory of property out to pasture, Richard Epstein and Max Raskin write.
"Americans are not thieves who built on stolen land." https://wapo.st/4rDYzrn
"Americans are not thieves who built on stolen land." https://wapo.st/4rDYzrn
February 5, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Bezos isn't willing to publish opinions that might irritate the president, but that doesn't mean he's afraid to speak truth to power:
♦️He's permitted this blistering attack on the political and economic worldview of...Billie Eilish.
♦️He's permitted this blistering attack on the political and economic worldview of...Billie Eilish.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
Two rescues and three deaths last week in the U.S. underscore the dangers of walking on thin ice. Here is what to know if you're ever at risk of plunging through ice.
How to Survive a Fall Through the Ice
The cardinal rule? Don’t panic. You actually have more time than you think to self-extricate or wait for help to arrive, an expert said.
nyti.ms
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Two rescues and three deaths last week in the U.S. underscore the dangers of walking on thin ice. Here is what to know if you're ever at risk of plunging through ice.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
One more comment on the Post debacle: this hurts journalism broadly. Good journalists will go do something else. The rest will be fighting for fewer jobs and everyone will earn less. Fewer people will take up the career. The damage done is to the ecosystem, as well as the paper.
February 5, 2026 at 3:11 AM
One more comment on the Post debacle: this hurts journalism broadly. Good journalists will go do something else. The rest will be fighting for fewer jobs and everyone will earn less. Fewer people will take up the career. The damage done is to the ecosystem, as well as the paper.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
This is a remarkable @nytimes.com split screen:
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
February 5, 2026 at 7:13 PM
This is a remarkable @nytimes.com split screen:
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
A huge 3,526 word + photos profile on Sen Britt who "can't stop thinking about the boy ICE detained"
But Rep Jaoquin Castro- who actually got Liam Ramos out of detention & back home- gets no interview, no pix, just 116 words inside a story. WOW.
If Susan Collins wins, she won't be up again until 2032.
And if we still have meaningful elections by then, we'll be inhabiting a cosmic timeline rather different from the one in which we're now trapped.
And if we still have meaningful elections by then, we'll be inhabiting a cosmic timeline rather different from the one in which we're now trapped.
The only thing I’m certain of is that if she survives this environment and wins again, she is effectively unbeatable and there’s no point in worrying about who runs against her anymore in the future
February 5, 2026 at 8:48 PM
If Susan Collins wins, she won't be up again until 2032.
And if we still have meaningful elections by then, we'll be inhabiting a cosmic timeline rather different from the one in which we're now trapped.
And if we still have meaningful elections by then, we'll be inhabiting a cosmic timeline rather different from the one in which we're now trapped.
And exactly as accurate.
Real Ralph Wiggum "I saw one of the babies and the baby looked at me" energy here
Trump at the Natl Prayer Breakfast on National Guard troops in DC: "They took Tren de Aragua, & honestly I don't want to say this, but they beat the crap out of them. They beat the crap out of them. They found they were doing bad things and Tren de Aragua didn't want anything to do with these guys."
February 5, 2026 at 8:39 PM
And exactly as accurate.
So...all vertically-modest 63-year-olds?
Trump at Natl Prayer Breakfst: "We prefer somebody that's a strong, powerful person w/extremely good vision that can shoot a rifle very well to a person that's extremely weak, non-muscular, can't shoot a rifle, has no idea where the hell he is. We have a military where they all look like Tom Cruise"
February 5, 2026 at 8:01 PM
So...all vertically-modest 63-year-olds?
Amen.
As both a former newspaper editor responsible for headlines and an academic producing arcane research: I understand the difficulty of getting people to pay attention to one's work.
But trying to trick one's audience into reading an article or monograph isn't cute. It's just insulting.
As both a former newspaper editor responsible for headlines and an academic producing arcane research: I understand the difficulty of getting people to pay attention to one's work.
But trying to trick one's audience into reading an article or monograph isn't cute. It's just insulting.
There isn't a sigh hard enough for these dumbass headlines. Warriors were a SOCIAL GROUP, and later a legal classification. Gender was not relevant to whether one was part of a warrior group/family/etc. You might as well write: THIS JUST IN: WOMEN EXISTED! www.the-independent.com/asia/japan/b...
Half of Japan’s samurai were women, groundbreaking exhibition at British Museum says
‘Samurai’ explores over a thousand years of Japanese history related to the elite warrior class
www.the-independent.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Amen.
As both a former newspaper editor responsible for headlines and an academic producing arcane research: I understand the difficulty of getting people to pay attention to one's work.
But trying to trick one's audience into reading an article or monograph isn't cute. It's just insulting.
As both a former newspaper editor responsible for headlines and an academic producing arcane research: I understand the difficulty of getting people to pay attention to one's work.
But trying to trick one's audience into reading an article or monograph isn't cute. It's just insulting.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
New: Susan Collins raised more from AIPAC donors last year than small donors.
We asked her campaign about it. They hung up.
Last year, we asked if she knew how many Americans the Israeli military had killed.
She replied: “I am pro-Israel.”
@minnahfarshad.bsky.social @andrewperez.bsky.social
We asked her campaign about it. They hung up.
Last year, we asked if she knew how many Americans the Israeli military had killed.
She replied: “I am pro-Israel.”
@minnahfarshad.bsky.social @andrewperez.bsky.social
Susan Collins Is Getting More Money From AIPAC Than Small Donors
As oysterman Graham Platner handily outraises Republican Susan Collins, the pro-Israel lobby collected nearly 20% of her donations for her.
zeteo.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:43 PM
New: Susan Collins raised more from AIPAC donors last year than small donors.
We asked her campaign about it. They hung up.
Last year, we asked if she knew how many Americans the Israeli military had killed.
She replied: “I am pro-Israel.”
@minnahfarshad.bsky.social @andrewperez.bsky.social
We asked her campaign about it. They hung up.
Last year, we asked if she knew how many Americans the Israeli military had killed.
She replied: “I am pro-Israel.”
@minnahfarshad.bsky.social @andrewperez.bsky.social
Next up: Signage at Ft. Sumner:
♦️"On this site, on April 12, 1861, began four years of bloody civil unpleasantness. The causes and outcome of this disturbance are vague and old-timey, but today this is a pleasant place for a picnic."
♦️"On this site, on April 12, 1861, began four years of bloody civil unpleasantness. The causes and outcome of this disturbance are vague and old-timey, but today this is a pleasant place for a picnic."
Civil rights activist Medgar Evers was shot in the back by a Klansman in 1963.
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from Evers' museum and reportedly plans to remove references that call his murderer a “racist"
Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today
Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.
mississippitoday.org
February 5, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Next up: Signage at Ft. Sumner:
♦️"On this site, on April 12, 1861, began four years of bloody civil unpleasantness. The causes and outcome of this disturbance are vague and old-timey, but today this is a pleasant place for a picnic."
♦️"On this site, on April 12, 1861, began four years of bloody civil unpleasantness. The causes and outcome of this disturbance are vague and old-timey, but today this is a pleasant place for a picnic."
In case you're unfamiliar with David Gelernter (whose explanation for his Epstein piggishness is "This is how men behave"), here's a recap:
♦️He's one of the more prominent right-wingers in academia.
♦️He was an early endorser of Trump 1.0. (Here he is in 2016)
Bad people do bad things.
♦️He's one of the more prominent right-wingers in academia.
♦️He was an early endorser of Trump 1.0. (Here he is in 2016)
Bad people do bad things.
February 5, 2026 at 6:23 PM
In case you're unfamiliar with David Gelernter (whose explanation for his Epstein piggishness is "This is how men behave"), here's a recap:
♦️He's one of the more prominent right-wingers in academia.
♦️He was an early endorser of Trump 1.0. (Here he is in 2016)
Bad people do bad things.
♦️He's one of the more prominent right-wingers in academia.
♦️He was an early endorser of Trump 1.0. (Here he is in 2016)
Bad people do bad things.
GOP Senator Schmitt:
♦️The people of Missouri are just as awful as I am.
I don't think that's true.
But he sure does.
♦️The people of Missouri are just as awful as I am.
I don't think that's true.
But he sure does.
BANNON: What are you hearing from your constituents?
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: That they want to meet mass migration with mass deportations
SEN. ERIC SCHMITT: That they want to meet mass migration with mass deportations
February 5, 2026 at 5:43 PM
GOP Senator Schmitt:
♦️The people of Missouri are just as awful as I am.
I don't think that's true.
But he sure does.
♦️The people of Missouri are just as awful as I am.
I don't think that's true.
But he sure does.
Point:
♦️Would Trump have betrayed #Ukraine so badly if @avalaina.bsky.social had given her Nobel medal to him? Sure, it's not the way life is supposed to go-- but wouldn't it have been worth the sacrifice?
Counterpoint:
♦️If she did, he'd just have pocketed the medal. And still betrayed Ukraine.
♦️Would Trump have betrayed #Ukraine so badly if @avalaina.bsky.social had given her Nobel medal to him? Sure, it's not the way life is supposed to go-- but wouldn't it have been worth the sacrifice?
Counterpoint:
♦️If she did, he'd just have pocketed the medal. And still betrayed Ukraine.
I am a Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. I have a question.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
February 5, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Point:
♦️Would Trump have betrayed #Ukraine so badly if @avalaina.bsky.social had given her Nobel medal to him? Sure, it's not the way life is supposed to go-- but wouldn't it have been worth the sacrifice?
Counterpoint:
♦️If she did, he'd just have pocketed the medal. And still betrayed Ukraine.
♦️Would Trump have betrayed #Ukraine so badly if @avalaina.bsky.social had given her Nobel medal to him? Sure, it's not the way life is supposed to go-- but wouldn't it have been worth the sacrifice?
Counterpoint:
♦️If she did, he'd just have pocketed the medal. And still betrayed Ukraine.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
@wyden.senate.gov's record of warning that there is deep and constitutionally-serious dirt being done by the intelligence agencies in secret is unblemished. The vaguer he is, the filthier the dirt is. This is the vaguest I've ever seen him
Ron Wyden Only Talks Like This When The Spies Do Something *Real* Bad
No, I don't know what they did. But I have a lot of experience with the senator
www.forever-wars.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:10 PM
@wyden.senate.gov's record of warning that there is deep and constitutionally-serious dirt being done by the intelligence agencies in secret is unblemished. The vaguer he is, the filthier the dirt is. This is the vaguest I've ever seen him
Point:
♦️If you hack a parking space out of frozen snow-crete, it's yours: Somebody else shouldn't be able to just slide in and steal the fruit of your labor.
Counterpoint:
♦️There is no counterpoint.
♦️If you hack a parking space out of frozen snow-crete, it's yours: Somebody else shouldn't be able to just slide in and steal the fruit of your labor.
Counterpoint:
♦️There is no counterpoint.
Calling dibs on the parking spot you shoveled after a blizzard tends to be a respected tradition in northern cities, where people save spots with household items, like chairs and garbage bins. But a spate of recent confrontations is a reminder of just how precious a spot can be.
All’s Fair in the Snow Parking Wars
Calling dibs on the parking spot you shoveled after a blizzard tends to be a respected tradition in northern cities, but a spate of confrontations is a reminder of just how precious a spot can be.
nyti.ms
February 5, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Point:
♦️If you hack a parking space out of frozen snow-crete, it's yours: Somebody else shouldn't be able to just slide in and steal the fruit of your labor.
Counterpoint:
♦️There is no counterpoint.
♦️If you hack a parking space out of frozen snow-crete, it's yours: Somebody else shouldn't be able to just slide in and steal the fruit of your labor.
Counterpoint:
♦️There is no counterpoint.
Trump is demanding $10 BILLION US taxpayer-dollars. That is: About 10x the amount he's already grifted while in office.
And the decision rests solely with his personal servant Pam Bondi. Who will definitely approve.
The only way this won't happen is if enough GOP Senators stand up.
Will they?
And the decision rests solely with his personal servant Pam Bondi. Who will definitely approve.
The only way this won't happen is if enough GOP Senators stand up.
Will they?
GALLEGO: You have no independence to make a decision whether the president deserves $10 billion?
BESSENT: Again, that is a DOJ matter
G: So the DOJ will entirely make that decision? You have no say?
B: Correct
G: So would you just have to write the check if you were told to write it?
B: Correct
BESSENT: Again, that is a DOJ matter
G: So the DOJ will entirely make that decision? You have no say?
B: Correct
G: So would you just have to write the check if you were told to write it?
B: Correct
February 5, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Trump is demanding $10 BILLION US taxpayer-dollars. That is: About 10x the amount he's already grifted while in office.
And the decision rests solely with his personal servant Pam Bondi. Who will definitely approve.
The only way this won't happen is if enough GOP Senators stand up.
Will they?
And the decision rests solely with his personal servant Pam Bondi. Who will definitely approve.
The only way this won't happen is if enough GOP Senators stand up.
Will they?
He looks (Bluesky can correct me if I'm wrong) like Rep Jonathan Jackson (IL-1).
If so, he's a Democrat-- and the son of Rev Jesse Jackson.
...Which would explain why he's the only person in the room to display any familiarity with the message of the faith most of the speakers claim to follow.
If so, he's a Democrat-- and the son of Rev Jesse Jackson.
...Which would explain why he's the only person in the room to display any familiarity with the message of the faith most of the speakers claim to follow.
wow -- with Trump standing behind him, a man (not sure who he is) offers this prayer: "We pray that he would be mindful of the poor and that he would be invested in the alleviation of suffering happening in the families preparing to bury their loved ones in Minneapolis."
February 5, 2026 at 4:24 PM
He looks (Bluesky can correct me if I'm wrong) like Rep Jonathan Jackson (IL-1).
If so, he's a Democrat-- and the son of Rev Jesse Jackson.
...Which would explain why he's the only person in the room to display any familiarity with the message of the faith most of the speakers claim to follow.
If so, he's a Democrat-- and the son of Rev Jesse Jackson.
...Which would explain why he's the only person in the room to display any familiarity with the message of the faith most of the speakers claim to follow.
He meant "waiters."
I swear this clip is not edited. Trump pivots from downplaying the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti ("two people out of tens of thousands and you get bad publicity") to in the very next breath claiming "we've been very tough on the waters," leaving Tom Llamas baffled ("the waters?")
February 5, 2026 at 4:15 PM
He meant "waiters."
As usual, @theonion.com covered this story decades ahead of the rest of the crowd:
theonion.com/man-knows-un...
theonion.com/man-knows-un...
February 5, 2026 at 3:54 PM
As usual, @theonion.com covered this story decades ahead of the rest of the crowd:
theonion.com/man-knows-un...
theonion.com/man-knows-un...
As a DC-area resident:
♦️Tren de Aragua doesn't exist in DC. There isn't even a very large Venezuelan community here. He's confusing us with somewhere else.
♦️National Guard has occupied our city for half a year. It's annoying, but they have NOT been beating people up. He's confusing them with ICE.
♦️Tren de Aragua doesn't exist in DC. There isn't even a very large Venezuelan community here. He's confusing us with somewhere else.
♦️National Guard has occupied our city for half a year. It's annoying, but they have NOT been beating people up. He's confusing them with ICE.
Trump at the Natl Prayer Breakfast on National Guard troops in DC: "They took Tren de Aragua, & honestly I don't want to say this, but they beat the crap out of them. They beat the crap out of them. They found they were doing bad things and Tren de Aragua didn't want anything to do with these guys."
February 5, 2026 at 2:49 PM
As a DC-area resident:
♦️Tren de Aragua doesn't exist in DC. There isn't even a very large Venezuelan community here. He's confusing us with somewhere else.
♦️National Guard has occupied our city for half a year. It's annoying, but they have NOT been beating people up. He's confusing them with ICE.
♦️Tren de Aragua doesn't exist in DC. There isn't even a very large Venezuelan community here. He's confusing us with somewhere else.
♦️National Guard has occupied our city for half a year. It's annoying, but they have NOT been beating people up. He's confusing them with ICE.
Reposted by Jonah Blank
Jesus wept.
Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast: "One of my favorite people, President Bukele ... he operates rather large prisons. Very strong prisons."
February 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Jesus wept.
Fun fact, of note for the occasion at which he's speaking:
♦️Jesus never shot a rifle.
♦️Jesus never shot a rifle.
Trump at Natl Prayer Breakfst: "We prefer somebody that's a strong, powerful person w/extremely good vision that can shoot a rifle very well to a person that's extremely weak, non-muscular, can't shoot a rifle, has no idea where the hell he is. We have a military where they all look like Tom Cruise"
February 5, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Fun fact, of note for the occasion at which he's speaking:
♦️Jesus never shot a rifle.
♦️Jesus never shot a rifle.
So, I was talking with my two best buddies, Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate, you stiffs here probably don't know them. Anyway, Ponty comes to me, tears streaming down his big, strong face, he says, "Sir..."
Trump at Natl Prayer Breakfast: "Between us & them, we have 68% of world's oil. I know that doesn't mean too much to people of great religion. I was just talking to great leader from El Salvador & he said, 'Man that was some attack! I've never seen anything like that.' That was a hell of an attack"
February 5, 2026 at 2:31 PM
So, I was talking with my two best buddies, Judas Iscariot and Pontius Pilate, you stiffs here probably don't know them. Anyway, Ponty comes to me, tears streaming down his big, strong face, he says, "Sir..."
Trump Was Right About One Thing.
Trump: "I went over to Davos. They invited me. And when I left they said, 'That may have been the stupidest invitation we ever gave to somebody.'"
February 5, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Trump Was Right About One Thing.
Trump doesn't know it, of course, but St Peter's name literally means "Rocky."
Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast: "We hit 'em. And we want to hit 'em right, sir, and we want to hit them from the top! East, west, north, south. Sir, they won't know what the hell! And we'll knock them out. We did it politically correct. Five years."
February 5, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Trump doesn't know it, of course, but St Peter's name literally means "Rocky."