Word: jerk
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Smith says she has noticed a "knee-jerk reaction against immigrant issues," which might impair the measure's progress...
...their products are safe, citing studies showing lasting hazardous effects of genetically altered plants on the environment. And while some of the alarm surrounding modified foods may be overblown, as the biotech companies allege, consumers' deep-seated fears are not easily allayed. "Lots of people have a visceral, knee-jerk reaction to the idea of eating a rewired plant," says TIME science writer Jeffrey Kluger. "It's not uncommon to have second thoughts about eating a tomato that's been injected with flounder genes to make it more cold-resistant...
...have come to New York to see if Trump, the umpteenth person to form a presidential exploratory committee this year, is as big a jerk as he sometimes seems to be. Not that being a jerk automatically disqualifies a person from becoming a candidate these days: anyone with airfare and a website can jump in. But he's the first real estate developer with a skyscraper-size ego to run, a man famous for prompting Marla Maples' tabloid headline BEST SEX I'VE EVER HAD, and for refusing to shake hands for fear of germs. As he shakes mine...
With an answer like that, how big a jerk can he be? But what about the vision thing? Every candidate needs one. He's for tax cuts, against affirmative action and pro-choice; he fears that if we outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns and thinks campaign finance is a complicated issue but simple enough for him. He can afford to think that. "I'm prepared to spend what it takes, $20 million to $40 million," he declares, "and then I won't be beholden to anyone." Does he really have the cash, having gone neck deep into debt...
...into history. Arthur Godfrey, the hugely popular star of 1950s radio, was the target of a 1953 Freberg cut, never before released but included in the boxed set. Godfrey may be all but forgotten, but Freberg's gag about his obsequious sidekick, who answers every comment with a knee-jerk, "That's right, Arthur," sums up a century of show-biz sycophancy...