Bloodbaths, Blunders, and Blowback

Elites in the media and academia are trying to describe a world only they think exists.

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President Joe Biden speaks at Stupak Community Center on March 19, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Biden delivered remarks on making affordable housing more available for American families. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)

Hi, 

I’m writing from the parking lot of a La Quinta Inn in Aberdeen, Maryland. I’m headed north to deal with some family business from my mom’s estate tomorrow morning. I pulled over to write you this note and smoke a cigar in the process, or maybe vice versa. 

Such is the weirdness of the life I have chosen. If you told me 20 years ago that I’d be writing the last G-File before I turned 55 in the shadow of a hotel in a sketchy part of Aberdeen, Maryland, I might have made different choices. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I didn’t make those choices. I’m just noting that life isn’t planned, it’s lived. 

In case you didn’t know, I often park behind hotels like this, not just because you meet the most interesting people, but because there’s always one side of the building where you can easily park that provides shade, which I require to craft these epistles.

Speaking of said epistle, I’m going to write it like I’m living on a desert island in the South Pacific, spending my idle time constructing a replica of this very La Quinta Inn out of discarded plastic bottles and other detritus, flotsam, and jetsam that wash up on the beach. In other words, I will stitch it together as stuff comes to me. When I’m done, if it looks like a G-File—or a La Quinta Inn—great. If it doesn’t, my apologies in advance. Some days the tide brings you Happy Meal toys, sometimes it brings fully laden diapers. 

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Comments (306)
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  1. Dustin.M.Adams11

    Ahhh Jonah, “Death and Membership Fees” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

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    Jeff V

    Quintessential G-File: juvenile, irreverent humor that makes me laugh--at the same time so effectively putting to words the sentiments I struggle to express.

    Thanks, Jonah.

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  3. David Leon Wilkinson

    Media overreaction?

    Here's a serious analysis of his remarks, instead of Jonah's attempt to stay, albeit half heartedly, in the National Review "anti-anti-Trump" line.


    https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/trump-j6-convicts-are-unbelievable?utm_campaign=email-post&r=e1e0y&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

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    Greg Hurley

    👏

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  5. Michael.Mcchesney

    I have long refused to use the term "undocumented" to describe illegal immigrants because that term reminds me too much of Newspeak. To call a migrant undocumented makes it sound like they lost their wallet and have no way to demonstrate their right to be in this country. However, the reason they can't prove they have a right to be in this country isn't that they lack documentation; it's that they lack the right to be in this country. That said, while some people who enter this country illegally are thugs, thieves, and murderers (not to mention potential terrorists), the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants are just seeking a better life for themselves and their families. But with millions of people crossing the border illegally, it is extremely difficult to identify and exclude or arrest the thugs, thieves, and murderers (not to mention potential terrorists).

    I see things this way. If Democrats believe enforcing our immigration laws would be unjust, they are actually saying they believe our immigration laws are unjust. If that is the case, if that Democrat is a member of or running for Congress, they should feel obligated to propose a change to our immigration laws that would make them just. If they believe it should be legal for any person who can reach the Mexican border to cross that border and become a legal resident of the United States, they should say so.

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  6. Randall Briggs

    Back in the Before Times, we self-satisfied Republicans noted that the ignorant (like young people) and poorly educated (like Blacks and Latinos) were the natural constituents of the Democratic Party.

    Now the well-informed and well-educated are fleeing the Republican Party of Trump.

    It's interesting. Jonah describes that phenomenon as young people, Blacks, and Latino gravitating toward the Republican Party. Yes, he does it in the process of debunking elite media and academia. But it's still interesting.

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    Julie from Texas

    "Biden’s not actually too old! Trump’s a monster!" Actually, Biden IS too old, and Trump IS a monster. Sadly, these are our choices. Rather than get too depressed about that, I think I'll invest more time in my microcosm and cultivate the joys there.

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    1. Rrisch123

      Julie, I agree. And so did Candide.

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  8. Austin from Atlanta

    I encountered a TD commenter just a couple days ago who seemed sincerely convinced that the only people who call it "illegal immigration" are racists, which caused me to wonder if he knew any illegal immigrants as they also use this near universally accepted word in my experience.

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  9. Austin from Atlanta

    As someone with babies at home, I'm glad to add "fully laden diapers" to my verbal repertoire.

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      Sara.Bush

      A German word used to describe a soiled or dirty diaper is (and this is phonetic, since I don’t know any German9 language) is “fulmachen”, or, “to make full”.

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  10. Austin from Atlanta

    Happy birthday, Jonah! Hope it is a great day. You bring an immense amount of clarity, value, insight, and humor to many, many people. Cheers to you.

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