My semi-hiatus continues, but I had language concerns about this Charles C. W. Cooke observation: Joe Biden Is an Asshole. Excerpt:
At Axios, Alex Thompson reports the apparently surprising news that Biden “has such a quick-trigger temper that some aides try to avoid meeting alone with him.” Among the president’s favorite admonitions are: “God dammit, how the f**k don’t you know this?!,” “Don’t f**king bullsh*t me!,” and “Get the f**k out of here!” Per Thompson, these revelations are important because, like his refusal to acknowledge his own granddaughter, they threaten to damage Biden’s “carefully cultivated image as a kindly uncle.” But that image is for cretins and sycophants. Joe Biden has never been a “kindly uncle” — or anything approaching one. For his whole life, Joe Biden has been a plodding mediocrity with a Delaware-sized chip on his shoulder. What about him, I wonder, would not lead him to shout stupidly at people? He’s a bully. Check. He’s insecure. Check. He’s senile. Check. He is hostage to his precarious record of lies. Check. His anger is as inevitable as the sunset.
All true. And don't get uppity, Republicans: on Donald Trump, CCWC notes that "in some ways, he’s an even worse" asshole.
But here's my concern: if you're gonna spell out "asshole", where's the logic in asterisking the "i" in "bullshit"?
(I'd point this out in the article comments, but there are already over 1000 of them.)