August 6, 2026

I hadn't used my "deeply" tag since last May.

It's a deeply bloggy tag, so it makes me want to do a post collecting recent iterations of "deeply." The first time I used it — in "Deeply... it's such a poser word" — I had a 12-point list. That was back in 2014. Let's see what "deeply" has been doing lately.

1. "The Once-Shameless President Is Deeply Embarrassed/As Donald Trump faces one humiliation after another, he is attacking those he blames" by Jonathan Lemire in The Atlantic, published today. Gift link. "But how Trump will respond next to this ongoing embarrassment remains unknown. He’s made the war deeply personal. Will he now bail on the stalled war entirely, leaving Iran more empowered in the region? Will he follow through on his threats to dramatically escalate the conflict, perhaps even to strike civilian infrastructure and energy sites? Or will he channel his rage against Americans who point out his mistakes?"

2. "UN rips ‘deeply troubling’ Iran for executing at least 56 people since start of war: ‘Has no place in our world'" — published today in The New York Post. "Several people were executed in the last two weeks alone, including a 19-year-old charged with 'enmity against god' for allegedly partaking in January’s protests. Two others arrested during the protests were also executed. And in July, two people were executed out of a group of 12 convicted of 'corruption on Earth' and 'enmity against God' over connections to four police killed in January."

3. "Ken Jennings Says He Cares 'More Deeply' About Trans Rights Than Any Other Issue" (Them, August 3, 2026). "Ken Jennings... recently got into a relatively minor back-and-forth on Bluesky with people who claimed his subscriptions to the New York Times were supporting an anti-transgender media organization.... Would I subscribe to the New York Times? No. Would I unfriend someone who did? Not necessarily.... Do I do the crossword puzzle? Yes, because nothing else quiets the anxiety I feel about living in our current reality quite like trying to find a five-letter word for boredom. Ah, 'ennui,' my old friend."

4. "The Woody Guthrie story you’ve probably never heard is deeply Jewish/A documentary recasts the folk singer’s legacy through the influence of his mother-in-law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt" (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, August 3, 2026). "The film ['Dust Bowls and Jewish Souls: Another Side of Woody Guthrie'] makes the case that Guthrie’s extended Jewish family was not incidental but integral in his artistic and personal evolution. It is a story that stretches from Oklahoma to Coney Island to the Yiddish literary world, and from the folk revival’s Jewish impresarios to one remarkable immigrant woman whose influence has largely gone unrecognized."

5. "Neil Shubin on Trusted Science in a ‘Deeply Partisan Age’/An eminent fossil hunter takes the reins at the National Academy of Sciences in a turbulent moment for American researchers" (NYT, June 2026). "As an institution, we are — by charter and design and history — nonpartisan. But we are in a deeply partisan age. Just by doing our work, we will be viewed in a partisan light no matter what. So our job is to double down on the science. We need to be a trusted source of data."

6. "'I Deeply Believe Dogs Have Superpowers and Secrets’/Prompted by a fierce attachment to his own pet, Paul Yoon wrote a harrowing yet hopeful novel, set during wartime, told from a canine perspective" (NYT, August 2, 2026). "Like his finest literary forebears who have written from a dog’s perspective — Virginia Woolf ('Flush'), John Berger ('King: A Street Story'), Jack London ('Call of the Wild') — Yoon pulls it off without being treacly or condescending.... It helps that Etna can understand everything that’s said by people around him. This was partly a practical choice, as Yoon explains: 'I wanted to create a bridge for the reader to experience this world and this journey.' But, he added, 'I deeply believe dogs have superpowers and secrets.'"

7. "The Deeply Human, Complexly Queer Animated Animals of 'Bouchra'" (autostraddle, August 3, 2026). "In Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki’s bold film Bouchra, an NYC‑based lesbian filmmaker... tries to process her relationship with her Moroccan mother through a semi‑autobiographical meta‑fictional drama stemming from a coming‑out letter she sent nine years prior.... It’s told via anthropomorphic animals in a hyperrealized backdrop.... [E]ntirely animated in Blender, Bouchra’s experimental animal‑filled approach takes some getting used to."

18 comments:

baghdadbob said...

Those invocations of "deeply" are profoundly shallow.

mezzrow said...

It's hard to tell from a distance when someone is drowning.
Deep River (Remastered) - Paul Robeson

Howard said...

Nothing is more superficial than claims of depth. True depth involves bone crushing pressure and intolerable heat.

baghdadbob said...

"Truly, Madly, Deeply"
--- Savage Garden

Howard said...

Fierce Is another classic grade inflation word deployed by weak progressives.

RideSpaceMountain said...

"Fiercely" heterosexual Corey Booker

J L Oliver said...

That’s some deep excrement, man!

Dave Begley said...

Yeah. That song. Truly, Madly, Deeply.

Howard said...

I think it's cute how people who take themselves deeply seriously think that Donald Trump somehow has the capability of being or feeling embarrassed.

Peachy+2 said...

Ann Althouse- Agree with your assessment of the vapid use of "deeply"

Enigma said...

Garnering "deeply" citations? I literally agree 110%.

Peachy+2 said...

Atlantic (D) - Mind Reading Powers - Deeply.

Iman said...

The Left, and their media operatives, are deeply fucked.

tcrosse said...

Bigly deeply.

Lazarus said...

"Truly. Madly. Deeply." Was also a movie. Sort of a British remake of "Ghost."

They say "deeply" because saying "profoundly" is a sign that one is trying to impress and probably lying.

Lazarus said...

"Ken Jennings... recently got into a relatively minor back-and-forth on Bluesky with people who claimed his subscriptions to the New York Times were supporting an anti-transgender media organization"

Subscriptions? Or contributions?

It's a bad time for magazines but "them" is a great title for a magazine, sort of like "The East Village Other."

Andre said...

Another important word is in your first example: Humiliation. This exact word is being constantly used in the form of, “Trump is humiliated that X is going wrong.” Many times on things that even if true, would not be called humiliating. It is rampant on Reddit. I believe the use of this word is evidence of AI use in writing political-pulp aimed at the President. One use feeds the next in the AI ouroboros. It effectively signals an article not fully written (if really at all) by a human. It’s like a tick. That, or a secret memo went out telling everyone to use the word when talking about Trump.

Anthony said...

""As an institution, we are — by charter and design and history — nonpartisan. (Ha! ed.) But we are in a deeply partisan age. Just by doing our work, we will be viewed in a partisan light no matter what. So our job is to double down on the science. We need to be a trusted source of data.""

You guys already blew that and it's your own fault. Trouble is, you're too dumb to even know it.

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