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Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Let’s finish the job.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires

Not all heroes wear capes.

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You are here: Home / z-Retired Categories / Site Maintenance / Balloon Juice Dictionary

Balloon Juice Dictionary

by John Cole|  September 24, 20099:58 am| 381 Comments

This post is in: Site Maintenance

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We are making great progress with the dictionary, but there are still some glaring omissions. We need definitions for the following:

birthers
teabaggers
clown shoes
Black Jimmy Carter
Clap Louder
And a pony

Daydream believers
Chewbacca defense
Tinkerbell strategy

I smell a pulitzer!
KMBA
Spectering
tire gauges
He’s a Celebrity
Palling around with terrorists
I can see Russia from my house
McMeghan
Technically true, but collectively nonsense
Wingnut Event Horizon
spoof
Darrell
Wingnut Voltron
LGM
LGF
O-Dub

Kossacks
GSAVE
Known Unknowns

Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage
Schiavo
He has a book to sell
The decider

There are many others that I am sure we have missed. Have at it.

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Reader Interactions

381Comments

  1. 1.

    SGEW

    September 24, 2009 at 10:03 am

    I’m really not sure if I should be proud or profoundly embarrassed of the fact that I’m familiar with every single entry (both proposed and implemented) in the B-J dictionary.

    Also: tire rims and anthrax.

  2. 2.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 10:04 am

    birthers– Republican dead-enders who would rather believe a crazy conspiracy theory about Barack Obama being born in Kenya that accept a black Democrat as president.

    And a pony– classic childhood wish, tacked onto any other request to show that it’s ridiculous wishful thinking.

  3. 3.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2009 at 10:04 am

    I added McMegan last night.

  4. 4.

    me

    September 24, 2009 at 10:07 am

    Don’t forget Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage. She’d be upset to be omitted.

  5. 5.

    Jen R

    September 24, 2009 at 10:07 am

    I can see Russia from my house — Tina Fey’s satirical take on Sarah Palin’s foreign policy credentials. Palin’s actual summation of what qualified her to deal with Russia wasn’t much better: “They’re our next-door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.” Variations are used to mock those (usually but not always Palin herself) who don’t let their ignorance of a given subject stand in the way of offering opinions that they expect others to take seriously.

  6. 6.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 10:08 am

    I put in a “Clown Sho-es” def, but it was short, and possibly not the same and the one everyone else uses (it also got hung up in moderation)

    Reposted here, it was:

    Clown Sho-es: Someone or something that is just a total joke that is worth a chuckle maybe once, after that it just becomes boring and annoying. (Ref: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)

  7. 7.

    Max

    September 24, 2009 at 10:09 am

    birthers = low intelligence racists, see White People, Crazy

  8. 8.

    Tim F.

    September 24, 2009 at 10:09 am

    @Jen R: I will make sure that includes Krista’s epic reply.

  9. 9.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 10:12 am

    Black Jimmy Carter– what Barack Obama threatens to turn because he hasn’t solved all of the country’s problems yet.

    Chewbacca defense– attempting to win an argument by confusing the issues with completely irrelevant details. Based on a classic South Park episode.

  10. 10.

    r€nato

    September 24, 2009 at 10:12 am

    off topic, but WHY THE FUCK is Gallagher still touring?

    I don’t mean Nick Gallagher, I mean Gallagher the alleged comedian.

    The guy whose most famous shtick is smashing a watermelon with a sledgehammer. Something he’s been doing over and over and over and over and over and over again for over 20 years.

    It’s not funny anymore. Hasn’t been for a long time. Please go away.

  11. 11.

    Jen R

    September 24, 2009 at 10:12 am

    Awesome. I didn’t have a link to it.

  12. 12.

    Legalize

    September 24, 2009 at 10:12 am

    Wingnut Event Horizon – the controversial notion that the elements of teh crazy and teh stupid ubiquitous to wingnut behavior will reach a measurable or verifiable zenith whereby collective wingnuttery can be declared to have reached its “peak”.

  13. 13.

    Guster

    September 24, 2009 at 10:13 am

    The Wingularity?

    And McMegan needs words. The definition fails to capture the idiocy.

  14. 14.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 10:13 am

    This whole dictionary thing has really help me figure out some of the patois of Balloon Juice–and has given me plenty o’laughs at the same time.

    McMegan–her secret sauce is a tall skinny latte which she got by stepping over the bodies of the homeless on the way into a Starbucks while complaining on her iPhone to her glibertarian friends about how she is so underappreciated so she is going Jane Galt in her four-hundred dollar stilettos–as long as daddy continues to pay her allowance.

    God, I can’t stand her.

  15. 15.

    r€nato

    September 24, 2009 at 10:13 am

    …Noel Gallagher, not Nick Gallagher. Where’s my fucking edit button? I saw it the other day…

  16. 16.

    Noonan

    September 24, 2009 at 10:14 am

    McMegan – fact-free Atlantic blogger who predictably makes arguments that have less to do with reality and more to do with wild-ass assertions meant to lend credibility to her libertarian bona fides.

  17. 17.

    gnomedad

    September 24, 2009 at 10:15 am

    @Roger Moore:

    Black Jimmy Carter- what Barack Obama threatens to turn because he hasn’t solved all of the country’s problems yet.

    I am waiting for Obama to be called the “white Bill Clinton”. I’m not sure what it would mean, but it would be funny.

  18. 18.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 10:15 am

    moonbat (alt): Someone who writes for, or believes the things written in, the Moonie Times (AKA The Washington Times)

  19. 19.

    Punchy

    September 24, 2009 at 10:15 am

    How about some contemporary ones:

    Going (Pete) Rose: finally coming clean after lying and bullshitting and acting with faux indignation for years

    Pulling a Schultz — When somebody professes to know nothing and/or being clueless to avoid responsibility (from Sgt. Shultz from Hogan’s Heros)

  20. 20.

    bystander

    September 24, 2009 at 10:15 am

    sources for: “and a pony”

    A
    B

  21. 21.

    Mike

    September 24, 2009 at 10:16 am

    TMCP: The Man Called Patreus.

  22. 22.

    Starfish

    September 24, 2009 at 10:17 am

    teabaggers: originally a group of tax averse libertarians that decided to mail teabags to their Congressmen. This movement adopted a name that’s slang for a sex act illustrating how out of touch the movement is with young voters.

  23. 23.

    Jim

    September 24, 2009 at 10:17 am

    I’ve always been a little confused as to whether McMeghan was McCain or McArdle. Now I know.

    Should the official def include some insights into her insights, such as ‘pro-life terrorists are forced into terrorism when democracy rules against them’, or the less provocative ‘insurance premiums go up? I did not know that!’?

  24. 24.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 10:18 am

    BDS: Bush Derangement Syndrome – The accusation that person is antagonistic towards Bush administration policies for no other reason than Bush is associated with it. (Often levied at persons who push theories regarding the invalidity of the 2000 or 2004 elections) May or may not be a valid accusation

    ODS: Obama Derangement Syndrome – The accusation that person is antagonistic towards Obama administration policies for no other reason than Obama is associated with it. Created as a parallel to the earlier accusations of Bush Derangement Syndrome. (Often levied at persons who push theories regarding the invalidity President Obama’s citizenship, or religion, or desire to rule the world with his vast terrorist organization… COBRAAAAAAAA)

  25. 25.

    Zifnab

    September 24, 2009 at 10:18 am

    : The Chewbacca defense is a fictional legal strategy used in episode 27 of South Park, “Chef Aid”, which premiered on October 7, 1998, as the fourteenth episode of the second season. The aim of the argument is to deliberately confuse the jury. The concept satirized attorney Johnnie Cochran’s closing argument defending O. J. Simpson in his murder trial. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense

    Often used to mock any political statement that tries to draw together a number of conflicting positions or unrelated topics by oversimplifying or demonizing a large group or ideology.

    Example: Glenn Beck using random political jargon to misspell the word “OLIGARCHY” and label the Obama Admin. Rep. Steve King (R-GA) claiming that gay marriage is a plot to install a socialist regime because both are radical and do not make sense.

    Tinkerbell Strategy: From the Broadway adoption of the children’s story “Peter Pan”, when the fairy Tinkerbell is nearly killed, Peter Pan implores the audience to chant “I do believe in fairies” and clap their hands to restore Tinkerbell to life.

    The Tinkerbell Strategy is referred to when mocking political initiatives – typically wars – that are not going well. When a politician demands verbal political support from his constituents or a national audience, on the grounds that not offering verbal affirmation will “hurt the [war] effort”, he is said to be employing the Tinkerbell Strategy.

    KMBA: Kiss My Black Ass. A rhetorical strategy often employed by a speaker who doesn’t care if he pisses off one part of his constituency or audience.

  26. 26.

    BigSwami

    September 24, 2009 at 10:18 am

    Teabaggers (pl. n.) – Wingnut tax protesters who have somehow corrupted the notion of the Boston Tea Party into “teabagging.” Hilariously unaware of the colloquial usage of the term. Frequently sub-literate morans who lack a sense of irony. Teabagging events often act as gravity wells for the most deranged elements of the far right.

  27. 27.

    Left Coast Tom

    September 24, 2009 at 10:19 am

    PUMA- Party Unity My Ass. A movement of embittered John McCain donors posing asHillary Clinton supporters to oppose Barack Obama during the 2008 general election.

    Fixed.

  28. 28.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 10:19 am

    @Jen R:

    spelled “hoose”

  29. 29.

    cincyanon

    September 24, 2009 at 10:19 am

    Clap Louder is referring to a line from Peter Pan. “If you believe in fairies…clap your hands.” It’s a statement on how an argument or idea has left this mortal coil and is now in the realm of fantasy, and for the argument or idea to succeed one needs to double down on the Fantasy vs. Reality challenge.

  30. 30.

    Chi-city

    September 24, 2009 at 10:21 am

    How about defining “MEME”? I see it used alot.

  31. 31.

    Kevin Schuele

    September 24, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Red Dawn takes place in Colorado…fact check, bitches!

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Clap Louder– trying to make a stupid idea sound better by showing greater enthusiasm. Trying to polish a turd.

  33. 33.

    gnomedad

    September 24, 2009 at 10:23 am

    More cowbell

  34. 34.

    shpx.ohfu

    September 24, 2009 at 10:24 am

    birthers: People who feel the sun should prove that it rises in the east; the earth should prove that it is round, and Democrats should prove that they are Americans.

    teabaggers: People who were unaware of United States Constitution until 2008.

    clown shoes: But they look good on me.

    Clap Louder: The only mechanism for the success of Republican policy is public praise; conversely, the failure of any Republican policy is due only to liberal criticism. See also Tinkerbell strategy.

    He’s a Celebrity: Democrats are popular because they are vapid and shallow; Republicans are popular because they are Serious Thinkers.

  35. 35.

    cleek

    September 24, 2009 at 10:24 am

    ya know every time you post one of these threads, your server dies.

    my list from yesterday was: Also / Such As, Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage, And A Pony, and…

    the Beauchamp backyard wingnut sandbox toy tank turning radius conclusive proof that troops do not kill dogs test.

    you also need something about ConYank’s great grill replacement fundrasier.

  36. 36.

    bystander

    September 24, 2009 at 10:24 am

    I must be confused. I was under the impression that clap louder was the Tinkerbell strategy. Looking forward to the clarification.

  37. 37.

    LarryB

    September 24, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Burkean Bells – David Brooks referred to “Burkean alarm bells” warning him of the impending failure of Obama’s domestic policies. Now many of us hear Burkean bells whenever we hear conservatives saying or doing something particularly stupid.

    I don’t think this is quite right. Perhaps:
    Burkean Bells – David Brooks referred to “Burkean alarm bells” warning him of the impending failure of Obama’s domestic policies. Now mockingly, wingnuts speaking in a language only they can understand.

  38. 38.

    dmsilev

    September 24, 2009 at 10:26 am

    Wingnut Voltron is when several smaller right-wing outrage machines combine to form one giant Outrage-o-matic over some imagined slight or scandal. Michelle Malkin is usually the head (see: Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage).

    -dms

  39. 39.

    Jen R

    September 24, 2009 at 10:26 am

    @SpotWeld: Actually, the wingers tended to charge anyone who was angry about Bush’s actions with Bush Derangement Syndrome. The worse he got, the angrier we got, and the more we were supposedly afflicted with BDS and thus didn’t need to be taken seriously.

    Against the war? BDS! Think waterboarding is torture and torture is wrong? BDS! Opposed to the government being able to spy on your conversations without warrants? BDS!

  40. 40.

    GReynoldsCT00

    September 24, 2009 at 10:27 am

    The commentariat must be really busy with this one, the site is hiccuping…

    Thoroughly enjoyed the first go-round of the dictionary this morning over coffee…

  41. 41.

    cleek

    September 24, 2009 at 10:28 am

    @bystander:

    here’s the origin (as close as i can get, since the original page is gone)

  42. 42.

    gnomedad

    September 24, 2009 at 10:28 am

    I think the definition of wingularity should include a reference to its source, unless that in turn was lifted from here.

    Having said that, great job, Anne Laurie!

  43. 43.

    droog

    September 24, 2009 at 10:29 am

    Other suggestions:

    Fainting couch: For those times when clutching pearls just isn’t enough (see pearl clutching).

    [Insert your name here] plus [insert number greater than zero here]: Use this standard style signature at the end of your posts to announce how many drinks you had at the time of writing. Stolen from Dan Rather of “Dan Rather, plus three” fame.

    Speaking for myself only: (Can’t find the first BJ post where it was referenced). The primaries were bad days.

  44. 44.

    BigSwami

    September 24, 2009 at 10:29 am

    Known Unknowns (pl. n.) – Pseudo-philosophical nonsense spewed by Washington officials to make themselves look like capable administrators. Such statements, if true, would actually prove they knew nothing more than the rest of us. Coined from former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s maddeningly Carollesque press conference on Feb. 12, 2002.

  45. 45.

    John Cole

    September 24, 2009 at 10:29 am

    @bystander: It is.

    Folks- we need citations. I think Yglesias or the folks at LGM or Crooked Timber were the first to start using the Tinkerbell Strategy, and Belle Waring is the origin of the “and a pony.”

    So when you chuck up a def, put in the link to the source, bitte.

  46. 46.

    Cat Lady

    September 24, 2009 at 10:31 am

    Underpants gnomes = Republican fiscal policy.

    Twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom (aka GSAVE).

    Instead of a dictionary, maybe there should just be links to the appropriate South Park or Simpsons episode.

  47. 47.

    Tim F.

    September 24, 2009 at 10:32 am

    ixnay on the arrelday. For the love of god.

  48. 48.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 10:32 am

    @Chi-city: Meme = internet idea that gets circulated, distorted, eaten, vomited back up again, reshaped, recirculated, re-distorted, eaten up again, and regurgitated yet again until eventually, it eats itself.

  49. 49.

    Milo

    September 24, 2009 at 10:33 am

    “Slap in the face”

    “Thrown under the bus”

  50. 50.

    Tim F.

    September 24, 2009 at 10:35 am

    @droog: Speaking for myself only comes from Big Tent Democrat writing for LGM during the PUMA unpleasantness.

    Derangement Syndrome originated either with a Charles Krauthammer column or else under Clinton. I do not know which came first.

    Also, as a general policy I would prefer that people suggest definitions that make a term easier to understand rather than less. Snark is fine but at least try to make it informative.

  51. 51.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 10:36 am

    @John Cole: Well, OK, but I’m just making up shit here. Sheesh, Cole, you sure know how to take the fun out of it by demanding citations and sources. What are you, a teacher of some sort???

    Why you tryin’ to muzzle my creativity, man?

  52. 52.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Kossacks– inhabitants of the Daily Kos (aka The Great Orange Satan).

    GSAVE– Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. Lame attempt to rebrand the War on Terror.

    Known Unknowns– things that we know we do not know, as opposed to Unknown Unknowns, things that we don’t know we don’t know. Drawn from one of Donald Rumsfeld’s gnomic statements.

  53. 53.

    mclaren

    September 24, 2009 at 10:37 am

    It might not be appropriate to rake Little Green Footballs (LGF) over the coals. That site just delinked from Powerline and appears to be slowly returning to sanity.

    Yes, yes, I know LGF was the site that had threads where you found suggestions involving using a bowie knife to cut off liberals’ heads in the manner of Daniel Pearl getting executed on video by terrorists… But John Cole said some pretty strange things prior to 2005 and nobody holds a grudge, so, I mean, c’mon.

  54. 54.

    Jim

    September 24, 2009 at 10:38 am

    ixnay on the arrelday. For the love of god.

    Well, now I just gotta know what this is.

    Two suggestions for things I’ve heard but amn’t sure of: “indeed, it is central to my point”, which I think is Goldberg, and also too Das Pantload’s blerb for his own book, “Never before has the idea been examined to seriously, or documented with such thorough research”. I tried to google it, but it didn’t come up.

  55. 55.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 10:38 am

    I thought there was a historical source for Burkean Bells. Some over-the-top vision or something somewhere in his writings perhaps.

    Something like this one:

    EDMUND BURKE ON MARIE-ANTOINETTE

    “It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution….Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded….”

    ~Edmund Burke, October 1790

  56. 56.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 10:38 am

    @Jen R: I see your point, but I wanted to keep things simple.
    There were some really out there conspiracy theories re: Bush and I can’t in all honesty say there wasn’t some nasty blogging going on that was hate for Bush simply becuase he was Bush.

    It’s certainly a definition open for further modifaction as needed.

  57. 57.

    JenJen

    September 24, 2009 at 10:38 am

    Teabagging: There is a wealth of information out there about teabaggers, but a comprehensive definition should include this classic David Shuster commentary, and of course, the photo that started it all.

  58. 58.

    GReynoldsCT00

    September 24, 2009 at 10:39 am

    @asiangrrlMN:

    I loved your “meme” definition – creativity counts!!

  59. 59.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    September 24, 2009 at 10:44 am

    Should “Jane Hamsher’s of the Left” be included? It seems to come up now and again. It serves to remind us of the checkered past of our esteemed blog HMFIC.

  60. 60.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 10:45 am

    the in the longer quote the carillons of sober conservatism peal even more wildly:

    “It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then the dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like the morning star full of life and splendor and joy. 0h, what a revolution! and what a heart must I have, to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall! Little did I dream, when she added titles of veneration to those of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, that she should ever be obliged to carry the sharp antidote against disgrace concealed in that bosom; little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor, and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult.

    But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded, and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever. Never, never more, shall we behold that generous loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified obedience, that subordination of the heart, which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom! The unbought grace of life, the cheap defense of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise is gone. It is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honor, which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which vice itself lost half its evil, by losing all its grossness.”

  61. 61.

    Matt

    September 24, 2009 at 10:45 am

    I think you need to add a definition of “Also, too.”

  62. 62.

    joes527

    September 24, 2009 at 10:46 am

    @SpotWeld: Don’t know how to put this in a dictionary, but what is really needed is:

    *DS – Whatever Derangement Syndrome. A term used to dismiss all criticism of someone because it is obviously based on personal animosity and couldn’t possibly be due to the actions or positions of the person being criticized. There is no rebuttal to an accusation of *DS, so it also serves as a marker for the end of the conversation.

  63. 63.

    Gunner

    September 24, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Crazy Jesus Lady – Peggy Noonan. May need an entry on Magic Dolphins with this one, too.

  64. 64.

    gnomedad

    September 24, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Profit!! – see underpants gnomes

  65. 65.

    Comrade Darkness

    September 24, 2009 at 10:47 am

    “You go to X with the Y you have.”

    A meme based on Donald Rumsfeld’s answer to a journalist’s question about why the military was so unprepared for a war of choice. Rumsfeld’s original statement was As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.

  66. 66.

    GReynoldsCT00

    September 24, 2009 at 10:47 am

    Rickroll: misrepresented link that’s supposed to be relevant to the discussion at hand but sends the user to that annoying music video. Can unfortunately occur before the user has had their morning coffee

  67. 67.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 10:47 am

    @GReynoldsCT00: Thanks. I may have to start my own dictionary. For now, I will try to play nicely with others (not my strongest suit).

  68. 68.

    IndieTarheel

    September 24, 2009 at 10:48 am

    Some people say: Preferred phrase of CNN’s Candy Crowley, usually uttered just before spouting the latest wingnut conspiracy theory as though it were a valid viewpoint.

  69. 69.

    EnderWiggin

    September 24, 2009 at 10:48 am

    He has a book to sell – Attack used to defame any whistle blower, insider account or opponent of one’s own worldview, if said opponent has authored a book. The fact that in general the method for spreading an idea or allegation in modern society is by first authoring a book or magazine article, and then being interviewed in the press. Useful for simply disregarding an argument, not matter how factual or valid, simply by implying a profit motive. Considered a valid attack even if the author already has substantial personal wealth.

  70. 70.

    celticdragon

    September 24, 2009 at 10:50 am

    LGF

    Former wingnut site now undergoing painful detox as founder Charles Johnson tries desperately and unsuccessfully to avoid being labeled as another “John Cole librul RINO Jihadi ACORN loving commie facist”. Specifically known for picking high profile fights with Robert Stacey McCain, Pam Gellar and other wingnut racists and white supremacists.

  71. 71.

    Wilson Heath

    September 24, 2009 at 10:50 am

    Clown Shoes: distinctly different from cement overshoes in that they don’t sink anything, even a reputation; yes, the wearer is clearly walking in the shoes of a bozo, but you can’t expect the media to notice something that’s shiny, fiery red, and in plain sight.

  72. 72.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 10:52 am

    Ticking Time Bomb: A hypothetical scenario where a huge number of lives are at risk due to an imminent danger and the only means of saving these lives is to retrieve information from an unwilling criminal (usually a terrorist). The scenario is often cited as a rationalization for torture of prisoners; though the possibility of such a situation ever occurring in reality is pretty much non-existent and the reliability of information obtained through such methods would always be questionable at best.

    24 (TV Show): A dramatic action television show on the FOX network most notable for its “real time” progression of events. (Each season covers 24 hours of time shown through 24 1-hour episodes). A common plot device is the main character’s struggle to resolve a “Ticking Time Bomb Scenario”. Often cited as justification for torture despite the fact it is fiction.

  73. 73.

    Ash Can

    September 24, 2009 at 10:52 am

    You’re asking us? Wtf?

    Oh well. I’ll give a few of ’em a go.

    I smell a Pulitzer!: A phrase that is used to refer to a particularly egregious example of journalistic incompetence.

    Tire gauges: Handy and simple vehicle maintenance tools handed out to reporters and other interested parties by Republicans during the general election campaign of 2008. The GOP did this to mock then-senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama’s supposedly simplistic suggestion, made during a campaign speech, that people keep the tires on their cars inflated to the proper pressure to help them conserve fuel. The gimmick backfired, however, when AAA, NASCAR, and other reality- and automotive-based groups and individuals confirmed that this was in fact good advice.

    Palling around with terrorists: An accusation made by then-vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin against Barack Obama, in reference to Obama’s friendly working relationship with one-time Weatherman and now education professor William Ayres on an education administration project in Chicago. This accusation was incorporated into campaign speeches made to crowds that tended to holler racist and violent epithets in response to Palin’s speeches.

    Spoof: Someone who posts an inflammatory comment in a thread not because it expresses his/her actual opinion, but for the sole purpose of goading the other commenters into flying off the handle. This tactic usually works like a charm.

  74. 74.

    Lee from NC

    September 24, 2009 at 10:53 am

    @Jim:

    Ah, you beat me to it. Doughy Pantload has some good stuff.

    “This is central to my point”-Any fact which directly contradicts your assertion can, in fact, be made to support your assertion simply by saying it is so.

  75. 75.

    Rob in Denver

    September 24, 2009 at 10:54 am

    All definitions lifted from http://ObamaConspiracy.org:

    Birfer
    “Crazy people who think Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii, USA. They Claim his Birth Certificate (COLB) is a fake, he was born in Kenya, making him ineligible to be President. Groups that fall under Birfers: PUMA, Fringe Right-wing Blogs, Conspiracy people, Bigots, Sore Losers and mentally unstable.” Urban Dictionary.

    Birther
    A derisive term for a person who believes Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii or that his birth certificate image is a forgery.

    Proofer
    Someone unwilling to admit that President Obama is ineligible, but nevertheless demands additional proof.

  76. 76.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 10:55 am

    Link for citation of “Ticking Time Bomb”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticking_time_bomb

    Link for citiation of 24: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_show

    Lick for citation of “CLown Sho-es”
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fucking%20clown%20shoes

  77. 77.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 10:55 am

    The Overton Window, and the moving thereof = Slow, incremental shifting of the political discourse until calling the sitting president Hitler is considered a reasonable thing to say. See, also, center-right nation.

    KOS link. Most likely not the first mention of it.

    Damn. Forgot the all-caps, no-see-‘um link thing.

    http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/5/9/205251/2950

  78. 78.

    Brian J

    September 24, 2009 at 10:56 am

    Where’s “It’s good news for John McCain”?

  79. 79.

    Jeff Gannon

    September 24, 2009 at 10:56 am

    Turkee – Rewards (of continued access) given to the press for asking dubya softball questions. Coined by Atrios a long time ago.

  80. 80.

    joes527

    September 24, 2009 at 10:57 am

    Cavuto Mark – the “?” at the end of some wild assertion that someone just pulled out of their ass that somehow makes it a legitimate thing to say.

  81. 81.

    Trinity

    September 24, 2009 at 10:58 am

    Ok, here is my stab at Wingnut Event Horizon as I interpret it. I could be way off.

    Wingnut Event Horizon: much like a general relativity event horizon, the wingnut event horizon is a boundary in spacetime in which events do not affect the outside observer. An example would be the wingnut response to accusations of racism and extremism related to the teabagger rallies. The Wingnut response is that the teabaggers are just “calm, but passionate, supporters of limited government”. This response is presented in spite of evidence to the contrary.

  82. 82.

    Jim

    September 24, 2009 at 10:59 am

    America’s Concern Troll: coined by Atta J. Turk of Rising Hegemon, refers to the Washington Post’s putative liberal columnist Richard “Dickie” Cohen. Among Cohen’s greatest Concerns: Al Gore should abandon the 2000 recount because Tom Delay is really mean; the invasion of Iraq and torture are justified because Dickie Cohen needed ‘therapeutic violence’ after having seen 9/11 on his teevee; Dickie’s second grade teacher told him he was funny, therefore Dickie judges Stephen Colbert to be unfunny, and simply rude.

  83. 83.

    CalD

    September 24, 2009 at 11:00 am

    I can see Russia from my house: A satirical statement that became commonly attributed to Sarah Palin — actual person being satirized — during the 2008 US Presidential campaign. This phenomenon may be characteristic of a tendency in politics (perhaps not necessary in all cases) to caricaturize one’s political opponents; see Who among us does not love NASCAR?

  84. 84.

    wonkie

    September 24, 2009 at 11:00 am

    Astroturf needs to be in the dictionary somewhere.

    I thought balloon juice was semen. I read it on the Internets.

    Here’s some more suggestions for the dictionary:

    wanker
    circle jerk
    circular firing squad
    FUBAR
    the Internets
    “Teh” as in “teh gays” and variatrions of.

  85. 85.

    GregB

    September 24, 2009 at 11:00 am

    How about objectively pro-terrorist?

    -G

  86. 86.

    williamc

    September 24, 2009 at 11:03 am

    The Black Jimmy Carter – First used as an insult to Barack Obama in January 2008 (being compared to Jimmy Carter is the worst thing that can be done to a President according to wingnut logic), the phrase has a two-fold job: to infer an aura of failure around the Obama Administration, as pop culture has rendered the Carter Presidency a failure, and to excite conservative base activists that the second coming of Reagan is at hand.

  87. 87.

    Punchy

    September 24, 2009 at 11:03 am

    Steelers — a professional football team known for winning playoff games thru a combination of lucky plays and cheap shots like spearing

    Steeley McBeam — the professional mascot for the Steelers; known for having uniquely unparalleled gay mannerisms and appearance, and having the thankless job of rooting for Ben Worthlessberger.

  88. 88.

    SGEW

    September 24, 2009 at 11:03 am

    @wrb:

    EDMUND BURKE ON MARIE-ANTOINETTE

    To which Thomas Paine famously replied:

    He is not affected by the reality of distress touching his heart, but by the showy resemblance of it striking his imagination. He pities the plumage, but forgets the dying bird.

  89. 89.

    WyldPirate

    September 24, 2009 at 11:06 am

    Here’s one:

    Commander Codpiece: derogatory nickname given to President George Bush after his landing on a US aircraft carrier on May 1, 2003 dressed in a naval flight suit to pronounce victory in the Iraq war. Bush’s flight gear caused an obvious bulge in Bush’s groin area. Due to the behavior of the beltway media over the event, it is postulated that most members the Beltway media cum in their drawers when speaking of the episode.

  90. 90.

    RedKitten

    September 24, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Christ, John, a bunch of us already gave you definitions for a many of these in the other thread, you lazy arse.

    spoof: (var. “spoof-troll”): a left-leaning commenter who assumes the persona and/or positions of an unintelligent rightwing commenter (see “fucktard”) for purposes of parody.
    Also used as a generic putdown for genuine rightwing commenters of the dimwitted talking-point-spewing variety. (see L., Paul; Makewi) “Makewi is a bad spoof.”
    Darrell: legendary right-wing Balloon-Juice commentator, known for ability to drive even the calmest individuals into a rage. Often accused opponents of being dishonest, stating “It’s who you are.” Threads with Darrell present often reached over 300 comments, due to the arguments that would ensue. Was often thought to be John Cole himself, or one of his proxies, due to John’s inexplicable refusal to ban him. Disappeared for good (we think) sometime in 2008.
    Wingnut Voltron: The act when the right wing blogosphere comes together to form a powerful and passionate opposition to important things, such as scarves in a donut commercial. Derived from the childrens’ cartoon Voltron.
    Schiavo: Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for several years, had been under a “do not resucitate” order, given by her husband, Michael. Terri’s parents argued that Terri was conscious and fought the order. Increasing media attention led to involvement by politicians and advocacy groups, particularly those involved in the pro-life movement and disability rights, including members of the Florida Legislature, the United States Congress, and the President of the United States. The sight of so many prominent Republicans inserting themselves into what John considered a private family matter was one more straw on the camel’s back, eventually leading to him leaving the Republican party.
    He has a book to sell: Derived from the right-wing tendency to dismiss any legitimate criticism from a former party member, where they claim cynically that the individual is simply trying to drum up book sales. See “Clarke, Richard A.”
    The decider: Mocking terminology for former President Bush. Originated when, under attack for not firing Donald Rumsfeld, Bush replied, “But I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.” Term is now used to mock Bush’s legendary refusal to change his mind on a course of action, regardless of how many facts were presented to him.

  91. 91.

    Demo Woman

    September 24, 2009 at 11:08 am

    PALing around with Terrorists: The strategy used by Sarah because she was to ignorant to speak about issues important to the American people.

  92. 92.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 11:08 am

    Mission Accomplished: A reference to the banner hung on the USS Abraham Lincoln when it returned home after deployment during the invasion of Iraq. The event was notable for the President George W. Bush’s arrival with much fanfare via fighter jet on the ship’s carrier deck. The banner which was to celebrate the cessation of “major combat operations” became a subject of dark humor as the war continued on with rising casualties against various Iraqi insurgency forces. Often used as a refernce of the Bush administration’s apparent detachment from reality (see also Friedman Unit)

    website for citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Accomplished

  93. 93.

    dmsilev

    September 24, 2009 at 11:08 am

    @asiangrrlMN: The idea of the Overton Window long predates the blogosphere. The Wiki article on it includes a citation to a 1967 book.

    -dms

  94. 94.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 11:08 am

    The Great Head of Putin rises in the west.

    An imaginary threat

  95. 95.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 11:09 am

    The Great Head of Putin rises in the west.

    An imaginary threat

  96. 96.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 11:09 am

    The Great Head of Putin rises in the west.

    An imaginary threat

  97. 97.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Ticking-Bomb Scenario = 24-based hypothesis that if you had a hold of a terrorist who knew the exact location of a bomb that is going to kill bajillions of people in, say, 57 minutes, it would be immoral not to torture the terrorist a la Jack Bauer in order to save the lives of the eleven billionty innocent people. Never mind the fact that this scenario only happens in the movies and on the TV machine. Never mind that the terrorist is likely to give you a bunch of bullshit rather than tell you the truth. See, also, 24 plot.

    dmsilev, oh, I know (about the Overton Window). I was just applying it to the current political climate.

    The Anonymous Liberal nicely demolishes this bit of ridiculousness.

  98. 98.

    CalD

    September 24, 2009 at 11:10 am

    @Wilson Heath:

    Nice.

  99. 99.

    cincyanon

    September 24, 2009 at 11:10 am

    Okay, I think my Clap Louder definition above was pretty good but you people want more, always more.
    Here’s the original cite to my knowledge. Ted from Crooked Timber all the way back in 2003. Perhaps the first mention of the Tinkerbell Strategy and Clap Louder:
    http://crookedtimber.org/2003/09/08/think-of-a-wonderful-thought/

  100. 100.

    wonkie

    September 24, 2009 at 11:12 am

    High Broderism—whereby a centerright pundit, often Broder himself, decrees that bipartisanship is a good thing and can be achieved if only everyone would agree with the centerright pundit. For the last ten years or so High Broderism has been the shorter version of vertually every oped from David Broder.

  101. 101.

    MikeJ

    September 24, 2009 at 11:14 am

    It’s more of a Big Media Matt(which could also be an entry) thing, but what about “Green Lantern theory”?

  102. 102.

    Llelldorin

    September 24, 2009 at 11:14 am

    socialism

    As used by conservatives, a synonym for bad. An economic form that inevitably lands in moderation on Balloon Juice, because letters 3 through 8 occur in so very much spam, and have excitingly naughty effects.

  103. 103.

    Herb

    September 24, 2009 at 11:15 am

    Proposed addition:

    “kabuki theater” – a lazy American metaphor for a dramatic, but ultimately meaningless performance. Usually made by someone who has never seen an actual kabuki performance.

  104. 104.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 11:17 am

    @asiangrrlMN: And, of course, I had to screw up my edit. The comment to dmsilev should go after the AL link.

    Not my morning thus far.

  105. 105.

    MK

    September 24, 2009 at 11:17 am

    “It wasn’t a statistic–it was a hypothetical.” – Dubious quote by The Atlantic blogger Megan McArdle clarifying a statement that asserted a decrease in medical innovation if the US were to adopt a form of national health care plan due to European drug companies receiving 80% of their revenue from the US. Also see: McArdle, Megan.

    And since Darrell is in that list, should DougJ get an entry in the dictionary for his legendary trolling/spoofery as well?

  106. 106.

    tripletee

    September 24, 2009 at 11:21 am

    @RedKitten:

    Christ, John, a bunch of us already gave you definitions for a many of these in the other thread, you lazy arse.

    Was about to say the same thing. I like your definition for Darrell. I think there should also be a reference to “Darrelling” a thread – to derail a thread with a series of ad hominem attacks, off-topic diversions (see jackalope) and brazen distortions and outright lies. The perpetrator of a Darrelling is immune to all facts and reason, pathologically incapable of admitting error, and absolutely will not stop, ever, until a) they are banned, b) people wise up and stop responding, or c) the heat death of the universe (whichever comes first). They may also display an inappropriate degree of interest in Boy Scouts.

    I also like “We are all DougJ” – snide response to a widely discredited yet strangely compelling theory that almost all BJ commenters are actually personas written by John Cole and/or spoofmaster DougJ as part of a vast, shadowy conspiracy to … we don’t know what, exactly.

  107. 107.

    Demo Woman

    September 24, 2009 at 11:21 am

    @Tim F.: That was hilarious and the comment went viral in days.
    Krista now uses an alias, hmmm!

  108. 108.

    Savage Henry

    September 24, 2009 at 11:21 am

    Spectering – Named after Arlen Specter (R-PA). The act of raising “grave concerns” about a particular policy (e.g. retroactively exonerating the administration officials who authorized the Bush torture policy) but always ultimatey caving in and voting the party line anyway. This act was perfected by Specter and other “moderate” Republicans during Bush’s second term.

    He has a book to sell – a means of discrediting former adminstration or military personnel who expose criminal or unethical actions after they leave their positions. These people are saying false or misleading things “because they have a book to sell”.

  109. 109.

    Comrade Darkness

    September 24, 2009 at 11:22 am

    @wrb: Based on an actual quote by Palin where she said: “As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States, where do they go? It’s Alaska.”

    (man, she can’t structure a sentence to save her life, or even keep singular/plural agreement, can she?)

  110. 110.

    Phlip

    September 24, 2009 at 11:23 am

    Birther – A early 21st century cult led by an Eastern European Gypsy/Dentist/Lawyer/Real Estate Agent named Only Taint.

  111. 111.

    scav

    September 24, 2009 at 11:23 am

    We’re missing Qs, Xs and Zs at the very least. Don’t know if this conforms to all internet traditions, but I’ve always thought of ZOMG as something one says while feigning to clutch one’s pearls and collapsing (Alternately?) onto the fainting couch.

  112. 112.

    cincyanon

    September 24, 2009 at 11:24 am

    “President McCain” The daily/weekly habit of the media to invite John McCain on to the teevee to explain why the actual elected president is wrong.
    I’ll assume it was Atrios who first started using the phrase. He popularized it if not originated it.

  113. 113.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 11:25 am

    Southern Strategy — First used by Republican Richard Millhouse Nixon as an electoral strategy to attract former southern white voters who previous to the civil rights legislation in the 1960’s had largely voted democratic. Although the strategy paid off for the GOP during the next 40 years, it now has made the GOP the party of hateful teabagging morans (see wingnut), and caused the northeast US to likewise turn democratic thus trumping the electoral advantage enjoyed by the GOP for welcoming racist idjits into their party.

  114. 114.

    Cat Lady

    September 24, 2009 at 11:25 am

    The Good Klein – Ezra. (Bad Klein – Joe)

    Not sure of first usage, buy my guess is Atrios.

  115. 115.

    Laura W

    September 24, 2009 at 11:25 am

    This
    Used by commenters to express full agreement with someone else’s comment.
    Syn: “Ditto”, “What s/he said”, “Word”.

    You need to put in the great graphic of the pink donut with the fez or whatever it was under the United Pastry Jihad. There was a logo run off, as I recall, and none of the very creative logos were never seen again.

  116. 116.

    RedKitten

    September 24, 2009 at 11:25 am

    @Tim F.:

    @Jen R: I will make sure that includes Krista’s epic reply.

    w00t! I’ve been immortalized!

  117. 117.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2009 at 11:26 am

    I’m too busy to write any today, but we need one for “just keep walking”.

  118. 118.

    Laura W

    September 24, 2009 at 11:26 am

    @Laura W: Some day there will be edit again for FF. Christ.
    EVER.

  119. 119.

    SGEW

    September 24, 2009 at 11:27 am

    @Comrade Darkness:

    “As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States, where do they go? It’s Alaska.”

    Obligatory picture here.

  120. 120.

    Brian

    September 24, 2009 at 11:29 am

    I would add:

    “In What Respect, Charlie?” : A phrase sometimes uttered by a clueless, dim-witted individual in a futile attempt to feign knowledge and expertise. Origin: See “Sarah Palin.”

  121. 121.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2009 at 11:29 am

    We also need one for “chunky Reese Witherspoon”.

  122. 122.

    Comrade Darkness

    September 24, 2009 at 11:30 am

    @Herb: thank you for that editorial ending on that. That’s always bothered me.

  123. 123.

    tripletee

    September 24, 2009 at 11:30 am

    Love the inclusion of “hiking the Appalachian Trail,” but it could also use a reference to the similar “throwing away meth” meme from the Ted Haggard drugs-and-gay-hookers scandal.

  124. 124.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2009 at 11:31 am

    Also Bear DNA.

  125. 125.

    Brick Oven Bill

    September 24, 2009 at 11:32 am

    One for SGEW:

    The BOL Principle.

  126. 126.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 11:32 am

    @DougJ:

    This always makes me hungry, for some mysterious reason.

  127. 127.

    gnomedad

    September 24, 2009 at 11:33 am

    @IndieTarheel:

    Some people say: Preferred phrase of CNN’s Candy Crowley, usually uttered just before spouting the latest wingnut conspiracy theory as though it were a valid viewpoint.

    I thought this was W’s preferred method of setting up straw men.

  128. 128.

    wonkie

    September 24, 2009 at 11:33 am

    Wide stance?

  129. 129.

    Comrade Darkness

    September 24, 2009 at 11:35 am

    @DougJ: Oh oh. Me me.

    Just Keep Walking

    Based on a statement by Peggy Noonan, purported journalistic type, during a discussion about the release of the torture memos. Some things in life need to be mysterious. Sometimes you need to just keep walking. Used sarcastically to taunt a subject person about their inability to face reality.

  130. 130.

    Tim F.

    September 24, 2009 at 11:36 am

    @Jim:

    All right, about Darrell.

    1. I think that it is terrible policy to call out an individual commenter for ridicule.

    2. Darrell was a rightwing commenter who had inflexible opinions and an apparently inexhaustible amount of free time. Many thought that he was a troll. I disagree. He seemed sincere in his beliefs and no more disagreeable than some of our prolific leftwing commenters. That does not mean he was agreeable; it meant that we had some equally unbearable shit-throwers on the left. Fewer now, thank FSM.

    For what it’s worth I do not think Balloon Juice ever had that many trolls. Most of our now-gone rightwingers would meet you halfway if you made a sincere effort. Of the minority who qualify, the only one whom most of our current readers would know is DougJ in spoof mode.

  131. 131.

    SGEW

    September 24, 2009 at 11:37 am

    @Brick Oven Bill: Replace “[honestly introduced] sciences of biology or evolutionary theory” with “overt racism, sexism, and/or homophobia” and you’re spot on, B.O.B.

    [Additionally, you can’t have a “Law Principle.” It’s either a law or a principle.]

  132. 132.

    Sonnyb

    September 24, 2009 at 11:37 am

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewbacca_defense
    And the sacred source material:
    http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/103454

  133. 133.

    TheFountainHead

    September 24, 2009 at 11:38 am

    I’d Like to add this to the dictionary, just for old times’ sake:

    A Geraldine Ferraro – n – making blatantly racists and uncouth statements about your opponent, then accusing them of playing the race card when they point out that what you just said was, in fact, racist.

  134. 134.

    Bill Arnold

    September 24, 2009 at 11:39 am

    GSAVE- Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. Lame attempt to rebrand the War on Terror.

    And nixed by GW Bush because he didn’t want to be a “struggletime president”. (OK, I made that up. But it must be true.)

  135. 135.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 24, 2009 at 11:42 am

    @SpotWeld: Goddamn it. I missed your comment before I posted mine, obviously. Really not my day.

  136. 136.

    CalD

    September 24, 2009 at 11:43 am

    HA!

    I have just succeeded in tracking down what I believe to be the origin of the phrase “…and a pony” as commonly used in modern political blogography.

    This at least is would be first such use that I ever recall seeing:

    http://examinedlife.typepad.com/johnbelle/2004/03/if_wishes_were_.html

    God I love Google.

    (Probable h/t: I believe that I originally ran across this via a link from The Carperbagger Report but I was unable to find the article again when I searched their archives.)

  137. 137.

    Cat Lady

    September 24, 2009 at 11:44 am

    Daydream believers – fantasists in the Bush administration who were able to act out their boss’s delusion of “makin’ Murka safe” by bombing brown people to make democracy break out. Fred Kaplan of Slate wrote a book of the same name, and I assume he coined the phrase.

  138. 138.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 11:45 am

    @Tim F.:

    Here’s an idea. Why not have a separate Troll Hall of Fame (or Shame)

  139. 139.

    Comrade Darkness

    September 24, 2009 at 11:45 am

    @TheFountainHead: So, the “Michael Steele” would be a Geraldine Ferraro with an Uncle Tom half twist?

  140. 140.

    RedKitten

    September 24, 2009 at 11:45 am

    I think there should also be a reference to “Darrelling” a thread – to derail a thread with a series of ad hominem attacks, off-topic diversions (see jackalope) and brazen distortions and outright lies. The perpetrator of a Darrelling is immune to all facts and reason, pathologically incapable of admitting error, and absolutely will not stop, ever, until a) they are banned, b) people wise up and stop responding, or c) the heat death of the universe (whichever comes first). They may also display an inappropriate degree of interest in Boy Scouts.
    I also like “We are all DougJ” – snide response to a widely discredited yet strangely compelling theory that almost all BJ commenters are actually personas written by John Cole and/or spoofmaster DougJ as part of a vast, shadowy conspiracy to … we don’t know what, exactly.

    Seconded — there definitely needs to be a reference to DougJ in the “spoof” definition as well, as he is basically the grandfather of the art.

  141. 141.

    BDeevDad

    September 24, 2009 at 11:46 am

    For McMegan need to add:

    You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I have a workable political program.

    Could also be added to Glibertarian.

  142. 142.

    SGEW

    September 24, 2009 at 11:47 am

    @General Winfield Stuck: Do we count those of us who were liberal trolls here during Mr. Cole’s wingnut days?

  143. 143.

    GReynoldsCT00

    September 24, 2009 at 11:48 am

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    Why encourage them?

  144. 144.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 11:49 am

    “Backwards Letter B”: A reference to a McCain election campaign volunteer who claimed she was robbed by a black assailant and had a backwards letter “B” scratched onto her face after he noticed a McCain election sticker on her car. It later came out that the story was a total fabrication. The mark is now referenced as means of sarcastically calling someone out on imagined or non-existent victimhood imposed by the Obama admistration.

    Link for citation: http://kdka.com/local/attack.McCain.Bloomfield.2.847628.html

  145. 145.

    DougJ

    September 24, 2009 at 11:49 am

    @CD

    Sounds good.

    I’ll some of these in later unless John or Tim or Ann-Laurie gets to it first.

  146. 146.

    Napoleon

    September 24, 2009 at 11:49 am

    @MikeJ:

    That is a good one and I would add Josh Marshells’ Bitch Slap Theory.

  147. 147.

    Bobby Thomson

    September 24, 2009 at 11:50 am

    WATB was actually coined by Atrios, not the Sadlys, to describe John Harris, who worked for the Kaplan Daily before forming Politico.

  148. 148.

    RWB

    September 24, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Blogger Ethics Panel — Something that needs to be called whenever a mainstream media source is caught in a conflict of interest or other ethically suspect situation.

    (I hadn’t seen this one defined yet–but I haven’t read all the comments yet because I’m too lazy.)

  149. 149.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 11:51 am

    @asiangrrlMN: Eh, no worries. We’re on the same page. I would just point out the ticking time bomb senario existed well before 24, the Fox show just popularlized it in the modern political commentary.

  150. 150.

    CynDee

    September 24, 2009 at 11:51 am

    Hey! It’s time to EAT.

    How about a Recipe page, with a contest for naming the cuisine of this community.

    It’s really hard to sort back through the archives if you failed to copy some great dish or quirky menu or great food suggestion/technique.

  151. 151.

    Joey Maloney

    September 24, 2009 at 11:52 am

    You know, the BJ dictionary is rapidly reaching the point where it deserves its own site, presented as a snapshot of a particular subculture at a particular time. Something like The New Hacker’s Dictionary.

  152. 152.

    TheFountainHead

    September 24, 2009 at 11:54 am

    @Comrade Darkness: Yeah, something like that. Even though the Clenis himself did it first with the Jesse Jackson kerfuffle, I think Geraldine did it with so much less tact, it’s worth remembering her for.

  153. 153.

    TheFountainHead

    September 24, 2009 at 11:54 am

    @Comrade Darkness: Yeah, something like that. Even though the Clenis himself did it first with the Jesse Jackson kerfuffle, I think Geraldine did it with so much less tact, it’s worth remembering her for.

  154. 154.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 11:54 am

    @Joey Maloney: Yeah, Balloon Juice is kinda awesome that way.

  155. 155.

    Da Bomb

    September 24, 2009 at 11:54 am

    @Roger Moore: You should also add that Kossacks also perpetually start their hair on fire. And they incorrectly predicted that Edwards was the next President.

  156. 156.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 11:55 am

    BIRDZILLA– CUCKOO mascot TROL now LOST. MAYBE DOUGJ KNOWS WHERE. pLEASE COME home!

  157. 157.

    itsbenj

    September 24, 2009 at 11:55 am

    I think there also needs to be a definition for ‘This is good news for John McCain!’

  158. 158.

    BDeevDad

    September 24, 2009 at 11:56 am

    @CynDee: Beer recipes and beer/wine recommendations as well.

  159. 159.

    Napoleon

    September 24, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Bitch-Slap Theory of Electoral Politics;

    http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/003295.php

    The Green Lantern Theory of Geopolitics

    http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2006/07/10/the_green_lantern_theory_of_ge/

    How about also the Stupid Party?

  160. 160.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 11:58 am

    @SGEW:

    Absolutely.

  161. 161.

    wasabi gasp

    September 24, 2009 at 11:58 am

    That One
    Terrorist Fist Jab

  162. 162.

    nadezhda

    September 24, 2009 at 11:58 am

    @Bill Arnold:

    You’re close Re the history of GSAVE — the renaming of the Global War on Terror (GWOT — also should be an entry?) was proposed by the Pentagon in early 2004, since they’d figured out that dealing with terrorists was going to be something like 10% military and 90% other stuff like intel and police work. And GWOT was counter-productive because it encouraged garden-variety Muslims to think the US was waging a global crusade against Islam.

    The new term was nixed at the White House. Dubbya thought of himself as a “war president”, and that’s how he sold himself in the 2004 election. And he attacked Kerry mercilessly for not taking the GWOT seriously — thinking it was “just” a matter of police work, etc.

    Of course, the MSM conveniently forgot that Bush’s own Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs Chairman wanted out of the GWOT business. And now, with the phasing out of the GWOT terminology by the Obama Admin, it’s as if what the Bush Pentagon wanted to do 5 years ago had never happened.

    Le sigh.

  163. 163.

    Brachiator

    September 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm

    Suggested edit for PUMA

    It might read better as amended:

    PUMA- Party Unity My Ass. A movement of embittered Hillary Clinton supporters who opposed to oppose Barack Obama during the 2008 general election.

  164. 164.

    Gaffa

    September 24, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    Nobody else has tried Schiavo yet, but as reading John’s posts during that time is what turned me into a Balloon Juice regular (OK, regular lurker, but still)…

    Schiavo — the moment of insanity that drove John to sanity. In particular, the cruel grandstanding of national GOP figures into diagnosing a woman’s disabilities on the national stage using medical knowledge even less keenly honed then their skills at evolution or WMD detection.

  165. 165.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck:

    @SGEW:

    It could be era separated as BS (pun intended) and AS,

    or Before Schiavo and After Schiavo

  166. 166.

    bystander

    September 24, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Not sure how folks are getting hyperlinks to display in a different color from text. Comment #20 has embedded links (A and B) for “and a pony,” but you have to mouse over to see it. Belle Waring’s cite is “A.”

  167. 167.

    eyelessgame

    September 24, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    I am disappointed that Cole’s Law is, wrongly, not defined as “thinly sliced cabbage”. But otherwise, what a wonderful dictionary.

  168. 168.

    BDeevDad

    September 24, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Can we officially add Chuck Norris to the 101st Chairborne

  169. 169.

    Legalize

    September 24, 2009 at 12:09 pm

    Has a definition of “all internet traditions” or the like been entered? This might require a seminar actually. I’d suggest that it is merely a derivative of something like

    I’ve been to lots of Teabagger events, and I don’t recall seeing any overtly racist behavior or statements.

    Isn’t such identical to:

    I’m familiar with all internet traditions, and I don’t recall seeing this “shorter” concept anywhere ….

    Obviously the above statements are only examples and were heavily paraphrased. Does one “define” such concepts, per se?

  170. 170.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    Old Europe — Bush Sec Def Donald Rumsfeld dissing our long term western allies because they wouldn’t go along with Iraq War disaster.

  171. 171.

    MikeJ

    September 24, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    Not sure how folks are getting hyperlinks to display in a different color from text.

    The site seems to think that everything in all caps is an acronym, and might have a definition attached, and so styles it differently from plain text and blows away the styling of hyperlinks. The is true even if the all caps word is one character long.

  172. 172.

    Peter J

    September 24, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    OT, but, any chance that the balloon juice image will be clickable and not just the “Consistently wrong since 2002.” text? The image is a bigger target and it would make it faster and easier to get to the front page…

  173. 173.

    wasabi gasp

    September 24, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    @wasabi gasp: BTW, I didn’t write definitions for those because I’m sure someone else can do better. (eg. That One: hopelessly audacious black guy who ate old man’s lunch.)

  174. 174.

    joe from Lowell

    September 24, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    Tinkerbell Strategy, aka, Clap Louder Strategy:

    The belief that the success of failure of military missions depends upon the willingness of the domestic media, political leadership, and populace to laud the missions’ success in public discourse. A reference to the stage version of the Disney film “Peter Pan,” in which a fairy named Tinkerbell drinks poison, and is in danger of dying, until the actor playing Peter Pan urges the audience to clap for Tinkerbell in order to save her. The audience is exhorted to “Clap Louder!” or Tinkerbell will die, just as the public and press are exhorted to “Clap Louder!” for the war, or it will be lost.

  175. 175.

    Rosali

    September 24, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    Few Bad Apples: Low-level subordinates who are set up to take the fall for the illegal/immoral policies implemented by their superiors.

  176. 176.

    scav

    September 24, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Shoes: (2) Sometimes objects to be hurled with great delight at targets of disdain. Need not be Clown Shoes.

  177. 177.

    Peter J

    September 24, 2009 at 12:19 pm

    Old Europe—Bush Sec Def Donald Rumsfeld dissing our long term western allies because they wouldn’t go along with Iraq War disaster.

    I got one.

    Poland – Should never be forgotten.

    (And don’t add anything else. No explanation. Just that it shouldn’t be forgotten. ;))

  178. 178.

    cincyanon

    September 24, 2009 at 12:22 pm

    Is SCLM (So-Called Liberal Media) in the dictionary?
    I’ll assume IOKIYAR is.

  179. 179.

    RedKitten

    September 24, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    @General Winfield Stuck: Awww…BIRDZILLA. I miss that crazy fucker — I still have a bookmark of all of his Balloon Juice comments. It’s beautiful in its incoherency.

  180. 180.

    Tom

    September 24, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    I can see Russia from my house: The foreign policy experience of the first sportscaster to almost become second in command.

  181. 181.

    tripletee

    September 24, 2009 at 12:28 pm

    @Tim F.:

    I think that it is terrible policy to call out an individual commenter for ridicule

    In principle I agree, but c’mon, man – this is Darrell we’re talking about. It would seem dishonest not to include him. But you probably can’t help it, it’s just who you are

    Really, he’s a legend for good reason. And he’d probably be pleased at the attention.

  182. 182.

    jeffreyw

    September 24, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Haven’t seen Goracle yet.

    Gore + oracle=right wing put down of Clinton’s VP, used to mock the notion that the earth is warming.

  183. 183.

    Zifnab

    September 24, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    @DougJ:

    “chunky Reese Witherspoon”

    That’s like a marriage of “Hollyweird liberal sex freaks” and “Michael Moore is fat”.

  184. 184.

    shoutingattherain

    September 24, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    @bystander:

    Funniest rendition of ponies evar:

    http://thepoorman.net/2008/11/04/ponies-too-cheap-to-meter/

    I miss The Editors. Where have they gone?

  185. 185.

    Brachiator

    September 24, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    I can see Russia from my house

    Inane non sequitur that ironically confirms that the speaker has absolutely no knowledge about a subject. Inspired by Sarah Palin’s first attempt to demonstrate a grasp of foreign policy: “You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.”

    Palin’s statement inspired the famous Krista Rejoinder: “And when I look out my window I can see the moon. Doesn’t make me a fucking astronaut now, does it?”

  186. 186.

    Kenneth Fair

    September 24, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    Nooners – Former Reagan speechwriter and Wall Street Journal opinion columnist Peggy Noonan. See Crazy Jesus Dolphin Lady.

    Crazy Jesus Dolphin Lady – Nickname for former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, based on a column she wrote for the Wall Street Journal about the Elian Gonzalez affair. Sometimes also “Magic Dolphin Lady.” See Nooners.

  187. 187.

    Kenneth Fair

    September 24, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    Nooners – Former Reagan speechwriter and Wall Street Journal opinion columnist Peggy Noonan. See Crazy Jesus Dolphin Lady.

    Crazy Jesus Dolphin Lady – Nickname for former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan, based on a column she wrote for the Wall Street Journal about the Elian Gonzalez affair. Sometimes also “Magic Dolphin Lady.” See Nooners.

  188. 188.

    Mike G

    September 24, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    “Support the Troops”

    A demand for unquestioning approval of US military action regardles of the circumstance. The bogus premise is that if you fail to support the political action that involved the deployment of American military forces, then you must hate individual soldiers or the US military in general.

  189. 189.

    kgc16

    September 24, 2009 at 12:37 pm

    Sorry if this has already been mentioned, but it’s one of my favorites:

    It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  190. 190.

    Brick Oven Bill

    September 24, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    ‘GBS’

    Acronym for ‘Glenn Beck Sucks’. Used to discredit the Values and Principles espoused by commentator Glenn Beck by use of personal attack, thereby avoiding honest debate.

    The use of this acronym reduces keystrokes, caloric expenditure, and consumption of food, resulting in a net reduction in carbon dioxide production, and a cleaner environment.

  191. 191.

    Ash Can

    September 24, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    @RedKitten: BIRDZILLA was fabulous. I recall one wonderful thread that featured a particularly loony BIRDZILLA attack, followed soon after by a commenter saying that his/her cat had just eaten BIRDZILLA, followed in turn by someone commenting that s/he’d hate to have to clean that litterbox… Good times.

  192. 192.

    scav

    September 24, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    ‘f course, this whole exercise, while a giggle, is a bit in itself a definition of Blogospheric Navel-Gazing

  193. 193.

    JK

    September 24, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    @Tim F.:

    Speaking for myself only comes from Big Tent Democrat writing for LGM during the PUMA unpleasantness.

    I thought it came from Big Tent Democrat writing for Talkleft.

  194. 194.

    Tim F.

    September 24, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    @JK: oops.

  195. 195.

    Ash Can

    September 24, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    I think BOB is angling for a definition of his own. Sorry, BOB. You saw what Tim F. had to say about that.

  196. 196.

    intaglio

    September 24, 2009 at 12:44 pm

    MoDo: Maureen Dowd

    Nooners: Peggy Noonan

  197. 197.

    tripletee

    September 24, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Well-played, sir.

    John/Tim/whoever – could you remove the references to Makewi/Paul L in the spoof definition? I was just being an asshole when
    I wrote that; didn’t figure it would be used (or at least not in its entirety).

  198. 198.

    freelancer

    September 24, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    Chunky Reese Witherspoon: Would be college conquest of New York Times’ Conservative columnist Ross Douthat. He describes their encounter with words like ‘masticating’ and considers it ‘successful’ even though he implies a total loss of interest when she mentions that she’s currently taking Birth Control. Source here.

    Generally referenced because this classless WTF moment acts as a microcosm of Douthat’s general thinking, writing style, and conservativism.

  199. 199.

    CalD

    September 24, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    GSAVE = Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. A more reasoned alternative to the term “Global War on Terror” that nevertheless met found little favor among G.W. Bush Administration officials outside the military.

  200. 200.

    MK

    September 24, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    @Brick Oven Bill:

    Brick Oven Bill – Balloon Juice commenter that is a resident expert on oil shale, pizza baking, forced biodiversity programs, and the attractiveness of females at Glenn Beck’s “9/12” and “Tea Party” gatherings. Allegedly traumatized by watching lesbians fighting at a Chinese restaurant and contemplated a new band called “Iron Teabag”. Rumored to be a spoof but evidence has been inconclusive thus far.

  201. 201.

    Comrade Dread

    September 24, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    birthers: any one who believes that Barrack Obama presidency is the successful culmination of a grand conspiracy to undermind the Constitution, which was started in the 60’s by his parents, the State of Hawaii, the government of Kenya, the media, the Democratic party, and (most likely) George Soros. See also: lunatic

  202. 202.

    KG

    September 24, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Peak Wingnut Theory = a theory which holds there is a maximum point of political crazy among wingnuts. The theory holds that at some point, the crazy must recede and sanity return.

    Wingularity = a theory holding that the insanity from the far right and those controlling the Republican Party will continue to grow exponentially until it reaches an unsustainable weight and collapses upon itself. This is also known as the Purity Spiral, wherein the density of wingnut increases compared to mainstream conservatives to the point of pure wingnut. As the ratio rises, this creates a phenomenon wherein no logic or sanity can penetrate or escape the Wingularity.

    Wingnut Event Horizon = the point at which one approaches so close to the Wingularity that it begins to distort said person’s world view so much that the insanity of wingnuts begins to sound reasonable.

    The first two definitions are taken from my blog (which has been criminally inactive due to real life getting in the way).

  203. 203.

    wrb

    September 24, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    @SGEW:

    Cool.

    I hadn’t come across that bit of Paine.

    Sums it up nicely.

    For me, “Burkean Bells” has evoked the google-eyed romantization of wealth and class that the least bit of picking turns up within the hard noses of the highly rational and logical right.

  204. 204.

    MK

    September 24, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    @Ash Can:

    That doesn’t mean we can’t make up definitions in the thread for fun, does it?

  205. 205.

    thomas Levenson

    September 24, 2009 at 12:53 pm

    As proposed on my own blog. “Forget the Frog” needs a place in this dictionary. An instant classic IMHO. See this.

    My proposed definition: epithet to describe yet another massive wingnut fail in confrontation with the liberal bias of reality.

  206. 206.

    Ted the Slacker

    September 24, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Few more ideas:

    1. Wanker of the Day.
    2. Happy Falafel Day.
    3. Keffiyah-gate.
    4. Poutrage.
    5. Caribou Barbie, Bible Spice, and the Snowbillies.

    And that’s before getting into the Sadly, No vault – Fixing the Internet was a regular favorite, never better than when it involved Tailpipe Porn. Just google the fucker if you don’t believe me.

    Also this:

    http://kotaku.com/381802/two-brothers-meditating-upon-questions-of-pac+man

    As a definition for ROFLMAO.

  207. 207.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    @Tom:

    Don’t knock those sportscasters. The wingers are very fond of the first sportscaster to be elected president, so they’ll see it as one more reason Sarah FAILin’ should be at the top of the ticket.

  208. 208.

    Xanthippas

    September 24, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    That list is just effing genius. Complete genius.

  209. 209.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    September 24, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    Okay, one problem with the dictionary. I see an entry for Cole’s Law, but you didn’t include the second entry for that: thinly sliced cabbage with dressing.

  210. 210.

    CalD

    September 24, 2009 at 1:00 pm

    How about this for teabagger:

    Teabagger (n)

    A singularly appropriate, albeit inadvertently self-parodying label adopted by a group of people eager to conclusively demonstrate their own cluelessness.

    Or is that too generalized?

  211. 211.

    droog

    September 24, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    @Tim F.

    I knew that! I meant I can’t find the original BJ post where it became part of the slang. There’s too much stuff from the primaries and I can’t muster going through it all.

  212. 212.

    slag

    September 24, 2009 at 1:07 pm

    Wingnut Event Horizon: http://pandagon.net/index.php/site/comments/not_because_youre_a_person_of_faith_but_because_youre_a_person_of_stupid/site/comments#135031?

    Also, I agree with whoever said the better term to use for this reference is Glossary and not Dictionary.

  213. 213.

    John T

    September 24, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    Scrolling through the dictionary, I see that I already know the definition of just about every entry. This makes me realize I spend WAY too much time on the internet.

    *unplugs computer for about 5 minutes*

  214. 214.

    Punchy

    September 24, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Question — Is Candy Crowley her nickname, or her real name? From the looks of things, I’m guessing the former.

  215. 215.

    jeffreyw

    September 24, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    @eyelessgame:

    slicedc abbage?

  216. 216.

    John T

    September 24, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Oh, I see that asterisks have the same effect as the bold tag. This is an internet tradition of which I was previously unaware.

  217. 217.

    camchuck

    September 24, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    Whitey Tape: The non-existent video evidence of Michelle Obama saying “Whitey!!!!!” that would have proven the Obamas are racist and unfit for the White House. A creation of the PUMA movement, it was used as a desperate attempt to derail the Obama nomination. Proof that wishing real hard don’t make it so. Prototypical example of a political movement pinning their hopes on an fabricated smear.
    See Wonkette, Yglesias

  218. 218.

    LongHairedWeirdo

    September 24, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    More serious problem with the dictionary:

    Terri Schiavo was *not* put under a “stop giving medical treatment” order by her *husband*. This is crucially important, and I’ll ask you to think very carefully about what this says about the Schiavo situation, and the amount of misinformation spread about it.

    Her husband, as guardian, had the *right* to refuse all further medical treatment for her, but chose not to. Instead, he went to the court, and asked the court to act on Terri’s behalf.

    This gave her birth family a chance to present evidence and witnesses that Terri would continue medical treatment. Michael also had witnesses brought in to explain statements made by Terri to the effect that she would refuse, at this time.

    The court found the birth family’s witnesses to be unreliable, and found them to be giving self-serving explanations for changing stories between deposition and testimony. The judge saw them, and saw their faces, and heard them speak, and did not find them believable. This is part of the job of a judge – just because someone says it doesn’t mean it’s credible.

    On the other hand, the witnesses Michael presented were not self-serving, and willingly admitted to information that undercut their claims. In short, they seemed to be people who were interested in helping the court find the truth, and their testimony was that Terri wouldn’t have wanted to be kept alive “with tubes and stuff”.

    The court ruled that there was clear and convincing evidence that, if Terri could speak for herself, she would refuse further medical treatment. The court ordered her guardian to discontinue medical treatment.

    This is not spelled out in the original decision, but *is* spelled out in a later appeals court decision.

    Michael Schiavo did not order his wife’s medical treatment stopped, other than insofar as he, as guardian, carried out the orders of the court. And he took the path that gave her birth family the maximum ability to have their voice heard, rather than using his power as guardian to force the issue. Think about this: they didn’t have to prove she wanted to be kept alive – they only had to cast enough doubt on his evidence for the court to rule that it was not clear and convincing, which is a very high standard (it’s the highest civil standard, IIRC).

    And what did he get in return? It’s something to think about when you remember the adage that no good deed goes unpunished.

    Whenever I think that there’s an absence of leadership on part of the Right, this is one of the things that sticks out most. The Right was willing to believe that over a dozen judges ignored errors in the law and ignored the civil rights of a helpless woman. The Right was willing to believe that Michael Schiavo was a terrible man. They were explicitly unwilling to stand up and try to stop the vilification of the legal system or of Michael Schiavo.

  219. 219.

    nadezhda

    September 24, 2009 at 1:25 pm

    Here’s a proposed revision of “shrill” that includes a cross-ref to a new entry, Order of the Shrill (coming soon)

    Shrill — Telling the unpopular truth. Someone who is dubbed shrill is the polar opposite of a Serious Person. To be shrill is to make accurate analyses or predictions which are ignored or rejected because the shrill one has been so driven to exasperation by the mendacity or idiocy of opponents that the shrill one fails to phrase things as delicately as the Villagers and Serious People require. The socially acceptable Village response to shrillness is Pearl-Clutching. Noted examples of shrill people include Howard Dean, Al Gore, and Paul Krugman (aka The Shrill One), though even members in good standing of the Serious People have been known to be driven to shrillness by the sheer incompetence of the Bush Administration. The correct usage takes the form of “Paul Krugman is shrill.” It should be noted, however, that Michael Moore is not shrill, but rather, Michael Moore is fat. By 2008, being dubbed “shrill” had become a badge of honor in many corners (not exclusively on the left) of the blogosphere. Ironically, one of the earliest wielders of “shrill” as a term of abuse (Sully on Krugman) has become one of the shrillest of the shrill. See also Order of the Shrill.

  220. 220.

    grumpy realist

    September 24, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    Suggest we might want to add “hoocodanode?” and MMI (Muddled Metaphor Index) from Calculated Risk. (god I miss Tanta.)

  221. 221.

    Dork

    September 24, 2009 at 1:30 pm

    Sandbox modeling — An effort to gauge the accuracy and success of an ungodly complex, multi-faceted military maneuver by testing out said theory with GI Joe figures and plastic army men in son’s sandbox.

  222. 222.

    nadezhda

    September 24, 2009 at 1:30 pm

    Proposed new entry

    Order of the Shrill — Founded in 2004 and continually updated by UC Berkeley economist Brad DeLong and friends, the Ancient and Hermetic Order of the Shrill has a rich history. The Order of the Shrill acknowledges those who have “joined the ranks of the highly critical who have been driven into shrill unholy madness by the mendacity, malevolence, incompetence, and disconnection from reality of George W. Bush and his administration.” Since January 2009, the shrill are also driven into unholy madness by the intellectually dishonest and incoherent clown show that has become the GOP, its “leaders” (Limbaugh, Beck, Bachman, Steele, et al), apologists and useful idiots (Faux News, the Kaplan Daily, freshwater economists, global warning denialists, et al), and assorted teabaggers, birthers, and other variety of wingnut. As the Shrillblog has documented, even such Serious People as David Frum have on occasion been welcomed into the ranks of the shrill. At the instigation of The Editors, a Lovecraftian initiation was devised for full induction into the mysteries of the Order, ending with the immortal words: Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Krugman R’lyeh wagn’nagl fhtagn! Aaaaiiiiii!!!!

  223. 223.

    IndyLib

    September 24, 2009 at 1:33 pm

    I put this in yesterday’s open thread, but it must have been inadvertently overlooked.

    “Reality has a well known liberal bias.” – Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, 4/29/2006

    Truthiness is what you want the facts to be, as opposed to what the facts are. What feels like the right answer as opposed to what reality will support – Stephen Colbert
    October 17, 2005 The Colbert Report

  224. 224.

    Little Dreamer

    September 24, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    @Tim F.:

    ixnay on the arrelday. For the love of god.

    LMAO! Let’s not go there, good idea.

    I think someone needs to add “Go Cheney yourself“.

    It’s so nice that we’ll have directions at the ready for those who might come back to reality after they realize their wingnut friends have jumped a shark too far.

  225. 225.

    eyelessgame

    September 24, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    @jeffreyw:

    Sliced cabbage?

    Remove apostrophe and space from “Cole’s law”. I am a bad person.

  226. 226.

    IndyLib

    September 24, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    @IndyLib:
    Links for Colbert quotes.

    Truthiness
    Reality has a liberal bias.

  227. 227.

    farmette

    September 24, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    “Excellent news for John McCain”

    def; slang: When an event, news or outcome tends to favor a Democratic effort or individual, MSM and general right wing pundits and purveyors will declare that it is really good news for the republican party as a whole. This declaration ultimately results in John McCain, and other republican/right wing notables, appearing on Sunday morning news show to further elucidate and at the same time, obfuscate the issue.

  228. 228.

    SadOldVet

    September 24, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    From my ‘Unabridged Dictionary of RepublicanSpeak’:

    Elitist – an intelligent, educated, knowledgeable person who prefers to make decisions and policies based upon science and facts, as opposed to religious dogma and beliefs

    Arrogant – uppity n*gg*r (Have you ever heard a white presidential candidate referred to as ‘arrogant’?)

    Partisan legislation – when democrats only give republicans 99% of what they want

    Compromise – when democrats completely submit to republicans

    Fair & Balanced – fair to republicans balanced with hatred of democrats

  229. 229.

    Ash Can

    September 24, 2009 at 1:40 pm

    Looking at the long term, it might be a good idea to have an entry for Orly Taitz, for when her 15 + too-damned-many minutes of fame are finally up and she’s relegated to the dustbin of blog history. Since she’s still spewing insanity (and the dutiful media are reporting on it), however, I have no idea what would be the best, most concise citation for her.

  230. 230.

    Comrade Darkness

    September 24, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    @John T: It’s an old usenet tradition. At least. It’s from the ascii era, when you could not bold or underline or italicize, but wanted the meaning to come across in what you were writing. First instance turns it on, second turns it off. One gets pretty used to it after a short while. Underscore is italic, as well. dash dash does something as well. hang on.

    –testing dash dash–

  231. 231.

    Shell

    September 24, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    How about ‘eliminationists’?

  232. 232.

    Rommie

    September 24, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    TMI/Too Much Information. It’s referenced in the Starbusts entry.

    I’ll leave someone with a better imagination or knows a good link to define it.

  233. 233.

    G Newman

    September 24, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Two more to add:

    Paultards – Cultish followers of Rep. Ron Paul (D-TX), during his 2008 race for the GOP nomination for the Presidency; a conjunction of “Paul” and “Retard.”

    Jomentum – Conjunction of “Joe” and “momentum”, used by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in his Oklahoma primary defeat in his 2004 race for the Democratic nomination for Presidency. Lieberman thought his newly coined word was cool, but it only showed how awkward and out of touch he was.

  234. 234.

    G Newman

    September 24, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    Three more to add:

    Paultards – Cultish followers of Rep. Ron Paul (D-TX), during his 2008 race for the GOP nomination for the Presidency; a conjunction of “Paul” and “Retard.”

    Jomentum – Conjunction of “Joe” and “momentum”, used by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in his Oklahoma primary defeat in his 2004 race for the Democratic nomination for Presidency. Lieberman thought his newly coined word was cool, but it only showed how awkward and out of touch he was.

    The Reality-Based Community – A response to an anonymous Bush Administration source, who at the height of their power after their 2004 victory in the Presidential election, referred to themselves as being so powerful that they “created their own reality,” while reporters — members of the lowly reality-based community — could only write about it. Bloggers responded by designating themselves as being proud of the Reality-Based Community.

  235. 235.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Do we want to put a definition of “open thread”.
    We use the term often and a newbie to the blog might not know what to make of the term?

  236. 236.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    Dog whistle– a statement whose true meaning is only supposed to be heard by people who agree with the speaker, much as a dog whistle is so high pitched that people can’t hear it. Frequently used by Republicans attempting to prove their wingnut bona fides without looking bad to saner voters.

    Wingnut– contraction of right wing nut. Used to refer to the crazy people on the right wing of the Republican party. C.f. moonbat.

  237. 237.

    G Newman

    September 24, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    Three more to add:

    Paultards – Cultish followers of Rep. Ron Paul (D-TX), during his 2008 race for the GOP nomination for the Presidency; a conjunction of “Paul” and “Retard.”

    Jomentum – Conjunction of “Joe” and “momentum”, used by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in his Oklahoma primary defeat in his 2004 race for the Democratic nomination for Presidency. Lieberman thought his newly coined word was cool, but it only showed how awkward and out of touch he was.

    The Reality-Based Community – A response to an anonymous Bush Administration source, who at the height of their power after their 2004 victory in the Presidential election, referred to themselves as being so powerful that they “created their own reality,” while reporters — members of the lowly reality-based community — could only write about it. Bloggers responded by designating themselves as being proud of the Reality-Based Community.

  238. 238.

    gnomedad

    September 24, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    @SpotWeld:
    open thread n. a self-inflicted denial-of-service attack.

  239. 239.

    aarrgghh

    September 24, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    birther:

    someone who believes, with great melodrama, anything and everything, no matter how ludicrous, put before him that accuses the first black president of treason, and who will never believe a single fact, no matter how palpable, that attests to his membership in the country club called america.

  240. 240.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 2:21 pm

    I suggest that as a corollary to “Even the New Republic…” one could also express the same sentiment with “Even liberal feminist Camille Paglia…” It could be a variant of the same idea…

    I mean seriously, does anyone link to Paglia except conservatives and people who are mocking her?

  241. 241.

    MikeJ

    September 24, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    dash dash does something as well. hang on.

    Three bangs (was it three? Two?) also does something I think, since they’re stripped out.

    !!!Don’t know what they do though!!!

  242. 242.

    nadezhda

    September 24, 2009 at 2:45 pm

    Heck of a job [insert name] — Adapted from “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job,” GW Bush’s immortal praise of grossly incompetent FEMA administrator Michael Brown’s disastrous performance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Used sarcastically to comment on Republican hackery, whether due to a person’s lack of qualifications (e.g. Bush Admin practice of hiring political cronies, wingnuts or fundies), corruption (especially of the military-homeland security-industrial complex variety), or ideological hostility to a government any larger than can be “drowned in a bathtub,” in the words of Movement Conservative and anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist.

  243. 243.

    EL

    September 24, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    @Cat Lady:

    Underpants gnomes = Republican fiscal policy.

    I’ve never known the origin of this one, or exactly what it means. But I’d really like to know…

    More information? Please?

  244. 244.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage– Nickname given to conservative commentator Michelle Malkin for her ability to express violent outrage over the most trivial event.

  245. 245.

    AnneS

    September 24, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    Courtesy TBogg — Princess Jesus Boobies, former Miss California Carrie Prejean.

  246. 246.

    Jeff Gannon

    September 24, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    Lucky Duckies – people “lucky” enough to have an income low enough (or, no income) to pay zero income taxes. From the WSJ.

  247. 247.

    Mike

    September 24, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    Lucky Duckies – people “lucky” enough to have an income low enough (or, no income) to pay zero income taxes. From the WSJ.

  248. 248.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 2:51 pm

    Flying Monkeys (n) – A term used to describe Michelle Malkin’s band of idiot followers. Upon the piercing screech of their queen, Flying Monkeys embark upon a campaign to smear, harass and otherwise intimidate anyone who has raised the ire of Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage. Marked by extreme paranoia and a feckless, venomous stupidity. (See also: Granite Countertops, Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage)

  249. 249.

    ericblair

    September 24, 2009 at 2:54 pm

    @grumpy realist: Suggest we might want to add “hoocodanode?” and MMI (Muddled Metaphor Index) from Calculated Risk. (god I miss Tanta.)

    Hoocodanode (who could have knowed): The protestation by high-level officials that no one could have predicted the consequences of certain major decisions, despite documented evidence of many knowledgeable, well-researched people and organizations that did exactly that: e.g. 9/11, Iraq War, and global financial crisis. Originally attributed to Condoleezza Rice, but in wide usage throughout the Bush Administration.

  250. 250.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    I suggest possibly collating the Balloon Juice dictionary with the Encyclopedia of Decency.

    There’s some good stuff in there.

  251. 251.

    AkaDad

    September 24, 2009 at 2:56 pm

    Also from the ‘Unabridged Dictionary of RepublicanSpeak’:

    Civility – calling for the deaths of Liberals without using profanity

  252. 252.

    IndieTarheel

    September 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm

    @gnomedad: You may be correct – I came to the game late.

  253. 253.

    Roger Moore

    September 24, 2009 at 3:04 pm

    @EL:

    The “Underpants Gnomes” refers to yet another South Park episode, in which a group of gnomes run around stealing people’s underwear. It turns out that they have plan that goes:

    1) Steal underpants
    2) ???
    3) Profit

    This general theme has been recycled endlessly as an example of either wishful thinking or lack of adequate planning. So the argument is that Republican fiscal policy goes something like:

    1) Lower taxes
    2) ???
    3) Higher revenues

    This is similar to the classic Sidney Harris cartoon in which the central step on a blackboard full of equations is “Then a miracle occurs”, and a commentator says “I think you should be more explicit here in step two”.

  254. 254.

    SGEW

    September 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    @EL: re: underpants gnomes.

    Origin is this South Park episode (summary here).

    The business plan is:

    1. Collect Underpants
    2. ?
    3. Profit.

    Relevance to Republican fiscal policy is self explanatory.

    [ETA: Should’ve known someone would beat me to it.]

  255. 255.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm

    Another possibility is the FJM Treatment.

    Though that has been more the province of FJM and ginandtacos.

  256. 256.

    Mike

    September 24, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    teabaggers: (n) Moranic peasants.

  257. 257.

    BDeevDad

    September 24, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    Fuck you <>

    For use when said wingnut explains away white wing extremists by blaming the victim or the group which they are most prejudiced against.

    As in Fuck You Debbie, the guy who shot up the Holocaust Museum did not do it because of Muslims or tolerance of Islam.

  258. 258.

    Jay in Oregon

    September 24, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    Technically true, but collectively nonsense:

    A quotation from a Megan McArdle article at The Atlantic where she attempts to refute part of Matt Taibbi’s Goldman Sachs article by arguing that although his facts are correct, the conclusion he draws from them is faulty.

    Now used sarcastically to dismiss a person’s argument without attempting to address the facts.

    from:
    http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/07/matt_taibbi_gets_his_sarah_pal.php

  259. 259.

    EL

    September 24, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    @Comrade Dread:

    birthers: any one who believes that Barrack Obama presidency is the successful culmination of a grand conspiracy to undermind the Constitution, which was started in the 60’s by his parents, the State of Hawaii, the government of Kenya, the media, the Democratic party, and (most likely) George Soros. See also: lunatic

    Ding, ding, ding, a winner! I vote for this one!

  260. 260.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    September 24, 2009 at 4:01 pm

    @Roger Moore: Thanks for pointing out that “wingnut” itself hasn’t got an entry yet.

    That one could take pages, but your concise definition is good.

  261. 261.

    sidereal

    September 24, 2009 at 4:43 pm

    History’s Greatest Monster
    1) Josef Vissarionovich Stalin, of Georgia
    2) James Earl Carter, of Georgia

    Dirty Fucking Hippies – Mythical drugged out peacenik vegetarians who stagger out every night from their lair in Woodstock to haunt the dreams of conservatives. Associating or agreeing with them in any way is a career ending move inside the Beltway. Example: “I knew the Iraq war was a foolish mission that would kill thousands of American soldiers and tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, but I pretended it was a good idea because I didn’t want anyone to think I was a Dirty Fucking Hippy” – Joe Klein.

  262. 262.

    freelancer

    September 24, 2009 at 4:49 pm

    Balloon-Juice.com Error 404: “Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn’t here.”

  263. 263.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Oh, and it is not unique to Balloon Juice, but shouldn’t “Randroid” be added as well.

    Randroid (n) – Devoted follower of Ayn Rand. The Randroid has a tendency to compare and analogize real world events to the make-believe events of Ayn Rand’s unreadable glibertarian fantasies, “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead “. Frequently heard ritualistically chanting “the market” as the answer to any and every question, denouncing their enemies as “parasites” and threatening to “Go Galt” at, well, some time to be determined later.

  264. 264.

    BDeevDad

    September 24, 2009 at 5:19 pm

    Does someone have a good definition for You Betcha. I’m having trouble with the snark.

  265. 265.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    Alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems. – Homer Simpson

  266. 266.

    SpotWeld

    September 24, 2009 at 5:28 pm

    Snark: Intentionally sarcastic and hopefully witty commentary on a given subject often in reply to a previous comment. May be meant as mocking critisim or as a friendly jibe. May or may not be a boojum.

  267. 267.

    Punchy

    September 24, 2009 at 5:33 pm

    Shouldn’t we have a FSM ref, for the newbies?

    FSM — Flying Spaghetti Monster, the creator of the Universe and owner of a noodley appendage (clearly a male, natch)

  268. 268.

    freelancer

    September 24, 2009 at 5:35 pm

    Balloon-juice.com: The house from “Money Pit” of WordPress built websites.

  269. 269.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    September 24, 2009 at 6:00 pm

    @BDeevDad: Oh you betcha it’s just something that Sarah Palin said a lot. In place of “yes” or “sure”. It’s a classic Midwesterner thing.

    I’m surprised that people aren’t mentioning Tina Fey more in the explanations for these Palin things, I’m sure her using “Also” in her sketches was a big part of what made that stick across the blogosphere, also.

  270. 270.

    NickM

    September 24, 2009 at 6:03 pm

    “teh” – a word used to evoke the overheated rants found on many winger comment threads, where outrage overcomes the ability to spell three-letter words correctly. E.g. rants about “teh gay”

  271. 271.

    MikeJ

    September 24, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    @freelancer: Mr. Blandings builds his website.

  272. 272.

    Sasha

    September 24, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    QFT – Quoted For Truth. Follows quoted material to indicate wholehearted agreement with same. Essentially synonymous with “This”.

  273. 273.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    September 24, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    THNAD is for Thandners and oh, are they sad, oh! The big one, you see, has the smaller one’s shadow. The shadow the small Thnadner has should be his. I don’t understand it, but that’s how it is. A terrible mix-up in shadows, gee wiz!

    FLOOB is for Floob-Boober-Bab-Boober-Bubs, who bounce in the water like blubbery tubs. They’re no good to eat. You can’t cook ’em like steaks. But they’re handy for crossing small oceans and lakes.

  274. 274.

    Comrade Jake

    September 24, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    @BDeevDad:

    YouBetcha: beauty pageant won by Sarah Palin, as in, Miss “YouBetcha!”

  275. 275.

    Deborah

    September 24, 2009 at 6:10 pm

    *Also.* When added to any blog post, transforms the preceding sentiment into a Palin imitation.

    Example: The second law of thermodynamics states that you can only break even at absolute zero. Also.

  276. 276.

    Funkhauser

    September 24, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    The Order of the Shrill comes from a novel that Delong read, but I’m not sure which one it was. Help?

  277. 277.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    September 24, 2009 at 6:15 pm

    @Shell: How about ‘eliminationists’?

    Right wing Republicans having a vowel movement?

  278. 278.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    We’re also missing a lot of Glenn Reynolds-isms, which have been re-appropriated/mocked.

    – Indeed.
    – Heh.
    – They’re not X – they’re just Y (from Reynolds’ “They’re not anti-war, they’re just on the other side.”)
    – Heh Indoozle.

  279. 279.

    General Winfield Stuck

    September 24, 2009 at 6:19 pm

    @freelancer:

    Two Weeks

  280. 280.

    joeyess

    September 24, 2009 at 6:20 pm

    Thanks, John. This has been a hoot! It provided me with a wonderful description for this song.

    I’m a DFH from waaaaaay back.

  281. 281.

    Armin

    September 24, 2009 at 6:21 pm

    Longtime lurker…Am I the only one that thought “Clap Louder” was a Citizen Kane reference? (Spoiler Alert!) I thought it was a shout out to the scene where Kane is alone in clapping loudly after his wife’s epic fail opera performance. Then he pens his newspapers glowing review of the show and performance for the next days paper.

    Guess I need to bone up on Peter Pan for Jacko and Balloon Juice lingo.

  282. 282.

    Soylent Green

    September 24, 2009 at 6:22 pm

    The Decider as a mocking sobriquet for GWB is more properly rendered as The Deciderer.

  283. 283.

    Brian

    September 24, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    Of course, including “I Am Aware of All Internet Traditions” in this dictionary means that being aware of the fact that someone once claimed to be “Aware of All Internet Traditions” is itself a new Internet Tradition, of which internet users must now be aware in order to accurately claim to be “Aware of All Internet Traditions.”

    I wonder if the person who once claimed to be “Aware of All Internet Traditons” is aware of this new Internet Tradition.

  284. 284.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    September 24, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    Don’t forget Crazy Jesus Lady: an unflattering sobriquet for Peggy Noonan. (Though right-wing blogger The Anchoress is definitely giving Peggy a run for her money on the crazy and the Jesus.)

  285. 285.

    MikeJ

    September 24, 2009 at 6:24 pm

    @Bill E Pilgrim: What a spazz.

  286. 286.

    Bobby Thomson

    September 24, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    @NickM:

    You misspelled teh ghey.

  287. 287.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    September 24, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    BTW, not to take anything away from the fun of doing this new dictionary but there has been this one for about a hundred years:

    http://www.dkosopedia.com/wiki/Kossary

    Okay, maybe four of five years. It’s got a whole bunch of the terms here in it, i.e. Friedman Unit, Freeper, Wingnut, all of the acronyms, and so on. Not the unique to BJ stuff of course, but the blogosphere-wide ones. Could help in populating this one anyway.

  288. 288.

    matoko_chan

    September 24, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    teabaggers: n, pl
    1. People you could meet at a Klan rally, only carrying symbolic teabags instead of pitchforks, torches, and nooses. Homogeneously white, angry and older inspite of fervent false claims of bipartisanship.
    2. See Urban Dictionary: teabagger.

    my personal favorites–

    4) a person who is unaware that they have said or done something foolish, childlike, noobish, lame, or inconvenient. 5) also see “fagbag”, “lamer”, “noob”

    Conservative republicans who protest against income taxes by rubbing their nutsacks in each other’s faces.

  289. 289.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    September 24, 2009 at 6:28 pm

    I wonder if the person who once claimed to be “Aware of All Internet Traditions” is aware of this new Internet Tradition.

    I like to think that he’s not only stopped posting on blogs out of pure shame (being on the receiving end of one of the left wingosphere’s all-time finest smackdowns), but has thrown out his computer and had the phone lines stripped out.

  290. 290.

    Demo Woman

    September 24, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    OT Did you vote for Little Bitsy?

  291. 291.

    Bill E Pilgrim

    September 24, 2009 at 6:30 pm

    @MikeJ: Hey that was my first favorite book. Still is in the top ten I’d say.

  292. 292.

    Jason

    September 24, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    birthers: a. pron. “burturs” interdisciplinary eyelash fetishists
    b. a school of political science known for challenging the theory of “plausible deniability” with a more advanced state of patter known as “quantum deniability,” in which the simple utterance of rhetorical questions becomes a radical form of proof, as the answer can only exist in the context of a vast conspiracy that seeks to destroy the question – making it impossible to judge the power of the implication against the truth of the denial.
    c. proponents of a rare form of government in which all politicians are impeached before they are elected. see: Gitmo logic, O RLY?

  293. 293.

    shoutingattherain

    September 24, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    @Comrade Baron Elmo:

    Don’t forget Crazy Jesus Lady: an unflattering sobriquet for Peggy Noonan.

    Also: Our Lady of the Dolphins

  294. 294.

    Bobby Thomson

    September 24, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    @camchuck: If you look through archives, you’ll see that John actually found and posted the Whitey Tape.

  295. 295.

    matoko_chan

    September 24, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    teabaggers: n, pl
    1. People you could meet at a Klan rally, only carrying symbolic teabags instead of pitchforks, torches, and nooses. Homogeneously white, republican, angry and older inspite of fervent false claims of bipartisanship.
    2. See Urban Dictionary: teabagger.

    my personal favorites–

    4) a person who is unaware that they have said or done something foolish, childlike, noobish, lame, or inconvenient. 5) also see “fagbag”, “lamer”, “noob”

    Conservative republicans who protest against income taxes by rubbing their nutsacks in each other’s faces.

  296. 296.

    freelancer

    September 24, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    C’mon, my entry for Chunky Reese Witherspoon is kind of dry, revise please. I’m not feeling it.

    @freelancer:

  297. 297.

    bellatrys

    September 24, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    Birther – q.v. Bircher. (Or, alternately, “updated-for-21st-century version of Bircher”)

  298. 298.

    Warren Terra

    September 24, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    OK, so I apologize if this is long. I went through this thread and tried to find every word or phrase that I could that didn’t seem to already be in the dictionary and that seemed even remotely reasonable. If yours isn’t there, I apologize; if its any consolation, it’s more likely that I overlooked it than that I decided it was unworthy of including. Because I can cheat, I’ve snuck in a couple extra of my own and from yesterday’s open thread. I haven’t included any of the definitions, hyperlinks, or explanatory text from when people proposed these, because it would have become (more) cumbersome; you can always try searching on the page.
    In any case, for your convenience, a fairly complete list of words proposed to still need definitions is below. I’ve broken it into chunks: A-F, G-M, N-S, and T-Z. The first of these follows:

    (username) +n
    Agent Flowbee
    Arugula
    Astroturf
    Backwards Letter B (see also “Backwards Letter O”)
    Bad Apples
    BDS
    Bear DNA
    Beauchamp
    Big Media Matt
    Birfer (see Birther)
    Birther (see Birfer)
    Bitch Slap Theory
    B-Rock “The Islamic Shock” Hussein Superallah Obama X
    Broderism
    Celebrity
    Center-Right Nation
    Cheetos (or Cheeto-stained)
    Chuck Norris
    Chunky Reese Witherspoon
    Circle Jerk
    Circular Firing Squad
    Crazy Dolphin Lady
    Daydream Believer
    Dog Whistle
    Drill, Baby, Drill
    Elitist
    Fainting Couch
    Fair And Balanced
    Falafel
    Faux News
    Flying Monkeys
    FUBAR

  299. 299.

    Warren Terra

    September 24, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    And the second chunk of terms proposed as still needing definition:

    Good Klein, The
    Goracle
    Great Head Of Putin
    Green Lantern Theory, The
    Has A Book To Sell
    Heckuva Job
    Heh, Indeed
    History’s Greatest Monster
    Holy Joe
    I For One Greet My New (adjective) Overlords
    In What Respect, Charlie?
    Incompetence Dodge, The
    Intarwebz (see Tubes, Intertubes, Internets, etcetera)
    Internets (see Tubes, Intertubes, Intarwebz, etcetera)
    Intertubes (see Tubes, Intarwebz, etcetera)
    Irresponsible Not To Speculate
    Joementum
    Just Keep Walking (see Keep On Walking, Walk On By)
    Kabuki
    Keep On Walking (see Just Keep Walking, Walk On By)
    Keyboard Kommando
    KMBA
    Lucky Duckies
    Meme
    Meme
    Meth Mouth
    Moonie Times

  300. 300.

    Sly

    September 24, 2009 at 6:43 pm

    Might not be the appropriate venue, but…

    I thoroughly insist some new, pithy, internet meme be made out of this recent gem.

  301. 301.

    Warren Terra

    September 24, 2009 at 6:45 pm

    And the third chunk of terms proposed as still needing definition:

    New Europe
    Nobel Peace Prize In Medicine (for those of you who really remember your Schiavo)
    Nooners
    Objectively Pro-Terrorist
    Objectivism
    ODS
    Old Europe
    Our Lady Of Perpetual Outrage
    Palin Nicknames (Snowbilly, Moosellini, Quitta From Wassilla, Wassilla Wonder, Wissilla Wingnut, Sparkles, Caribou Barbie, Bible Spice, Iquitarod)
    Pam Ad
    Paultard
    Poland (not to be forgotten)
    President McCain
    Preznit
    Profit!! (see Underpants Gnomes)
    Proofer (apparently a concern troll version of Birther, from a comment)
    PUMA (revised to include Ratfnckers)
    Randroid
    Ratfncker
    Reality-Based
    Red State Trike Farce
    Rickroll
    Sandbox
    Schiavo
    Snark
    Some People Say
    Southern Strategy
    Speaking For Myself Only
    Steeley McBeam
    Support The Troops

  302. 302.

    Warren Terra

    September 24, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    And the fourth and last chunk of terms proposed as still needing definition:

    TAP
    Technically true, but collectively nonsense
    Teh
    Terrorist Fist Jab
    Ticking Time Bomb
    Troll
    Troofer (see Truther)
    Truther (see Troofer)
    Tubes (see Intertubes, Intarwebz, Internets, etcetera)
    Turkee
    Tuzla Tigress
    Tweety
    Twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom
    Underpants Gnomes (see Profit!!)
    Walk On By (see Keep On Walking, Just Keep Walking)
    Wanker
    We Are All Georgians
    Whitey Tape (it’s in there, but it oddly lacks a link to the one John “found”)
    Wingnut Event Horizon
    You Betcha

  303. 303.

    matoko_chan

    September 24, 2009 at 6:56 pm

    AllahPundit–
    Onetime New York lawyer and elite photo-shop satirist who was subsequently pithed and neutered by Michelle Malkin and chained to Wingnut Fart Reservation #6 aka Hot Air.

    Captain Stupid– Ed Morrissey aka Captain Ed.

  304. 304.

    cincyanon

    September 24, 2009 at 6:56 pm

    Oh, and here’s one that seems obvious to most but considering the worldwide readership of BJ it may not be.
    WV = West Virginia

  305. 305.

    Calouste

    September 24, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    @wrb:

    Starbursts! In 1790!

    (Ok, I realize that in that time people wrote with a bit more formal deference to royalty and the upper class than they do these days.)

  306. 306.

    CalD

    September 24, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    @Sly:

    Also, as it turns, out when you drop a frog in warm water and gradually raise the temperature they do in fact jump out when it becomes uncomfortably warm.

  307. 307.

    Calouste

    September 24, 2009 at 7:09 pm

    Why do people think wanker needs an entry? It’s a common British and Australian insult that is making it’s way into the American lexicon.

    (Although it wasn’t 20 years ago. Peggy Bundy’s maiden name in Married with Children is Wanker.)

  308. 308.

    Hatmandu

    September 24, 2009 at 7:16 pm

    I know there are a lot of worthy bloggers out there, but as many of these came from the ‘somewhat popular blogger’, Tbogg himself, I personally believe he deserves his own entry. Demonic Conservative Ridicule Machine, indeed.

  309. 309.

    sven

    September 24, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    Big Thread,
    might have been said…

    has anyone already suggested
    “The Underpants Gnomes Theory of..”

    from Urban Dictionary

    The Underpants Gnomes Theory:

    In the aptly titled South Park episode ‘Gnomes’ mythical munchkins explain their cunning business plan to a group of students. The plan;

    Phase 1: Steal Underpants
    Phase 2: ?????
    Phase 3: $$$Profits$$$

    Often applied to arguments where the connection between means and ends is simply glossed over.
    (choose any example)

    The Underpants Gnomes Theory of the Iraq War:

    Phase 1: Invade Iraq
    Phase 2: ????
    Phase 3: Democracy flowers throughout the Middleast

    The Underpants Gnomes Theory of the Iraq War(ii):

    Phase 1: Invade Iraq
    Phase 2: ????
    Phase 3: Defeat Al Qaeda

    The Underpants Gnomes Theory of Conservative Health Care Reform:

    Phase 1: Tax cuts
    Phase 2: ?????
    Phase 3: Universal Health Care

    (further examples from the Iraq War and Tax Cuts could go on endlessly)

  310. 310.

    DonkeyKong

    September 24, 2009 at 7:19 pm

    Technically true, but collectively nonsense= Razzle dazzle, razzle dazzle, razzle dazzle, razzle dazzle…………………GALT!

  311. 311.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    “They’re not X, They’re Just Y” – Phrase appropriated from Glibertarian robot fetishist Glenn Reynolds. In 2002, Reynolds, in typical coy and gutless fashion, implied anti-war protesters were traitors, suggesting that “They’re not anti-war, they’re just on the other side.” Has been re-appropriated in the Obama era to criticize wingnuts who make statements about Obama that would have been attacked by self-same wingnuts as traitorous if uttered by liberals about Bush. See href=”https://balloon-juice.com/?p=25216″ here and href=”https://balloon-juice.com/?p=25883″ here

  312. 312.

    Warren Terra

    September 24, 2009 at 7:23 pm

    Why do people think wanker needs an entry? It’s a common British and Australian insult that is making it’s way into the American lexicon.

    In the blogosphere the term has been popularized largely through its extensive use by blogging monolith Atrios, and he uses the term in a particular way that’s evolved over time and isn’t necessarily the same as the more generic Commonwealth meaning, with which I am also familiar. Equally disrespectful, but more precise in its meaning, if you see what I mean. Not that I’m able to express it well.

  313. 313.

    monkeyboy

    September 24, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    and a pony should probably reference digging for a pony and vice versa.

    Digging for a pony – an unreasonably optimistic attempt to argue that a bad situation will lead to a good outcome. From a favorite joke of Ronald Reagan. (Time 1981)

    he told an old joke about the ever-hopeful little boy who finds himself standing amid a pile of horse manure on Christmas morning. The punch line: “There must be a pony in here someplace.”

    . While Reagan found this joke inspiring current usage of the phrase implies the digger may be deluded or dishonest.

  314. 314.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    September 24, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    You might want to consider for And a Pony –

    During the Obama 2008 campaign for President, a variant phrase to express magical thinking, based on an image of the President in an Atlanta alternative newspaper, was And [I want] a Unicorn and Skittles.

    Other popular variants used in office meetings include And [I want] a Caribbean Island.

  315. 315.

    sven

    September 24, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    Underpants Gnomes (cont.)

    can also be applied to slippery slope fallacy

    The Underpants Gnomes Theory of Afghanistan:

    Phase 1: Withdraw U.S. Troops from Afghanistan
    Phase 2: ?????
    Phase 3: American women are forced to wear burqhas…

  316. 316.

    Santiago

    September 24, 2009 at 7:31 pm

    Re Tunch def: Should read Rubenesques not Rubinesque

  317. 317.

    CS Lewis Jr

    September 24, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    Might be nice to mention that “moonbat” is a corruption of the last name of British journalist and activist George Monbiot.

  318. 318.

    Mike G

    September 24, 2009 at 7:35 pm

    Shooting the Watermelon
    A ridiculous investigation to ‘prove’ a complete absurdity.

    As popularized by rightard nutcase congressman Dan Burton, who shot at a watermelon in his backyard in front of reporters which somehow proved that Vince Foster did not commit suicide but was murdered by the Clintons.
    Can also apply to birthers pointing out obscure details of Obama’s Hawaiian birth certificate insisting these ‘prove’ it is fraudulent.

  319. 319.

    dadanarchist

    September 24, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    @CS Lewis Jr: Might be nice to mention that “moonbat” is a corruption of the last name of British journalist and activist George Monbiot.

    I thought it derived from Jerry Brown, aka “Governor Moonbeam.”

  320. 320.

    R-Jud

    September 24, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    @CS Lewis Jr: Nice handle. “Eagles are bald/ So am I / If yer from Europe / You can suck my dick.”

  321. 321.

    matoko_chan

    September 24, 2009 at 7:54 pm

    Mormon baptism— claiming some deceased Jew, founding father, or literary elite was RELLY a closet conservative.

  322. 322.

    jenniebee

    September 24, 2009 at 7:59 pm

    11 – “going to 11” or “this one goes to 11” is a reference to an amplifier in Spinal Tap

  323. 323.

    BDeevDad

    September 24, 2009 at 8:02 pm

    Not a Real American: Anyone living in a city with a population greater than 100,000.

    or

    Anyone that is not white, Christian and Conservative.

  324. 324.

    LoveMonkey

    September 24, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    antisemitic — disagrees with poster on any point related to Middle East

  325. 325.

    vaara

    September 24, 2009 at 8:08 pm

    Glennuendo – The act of drawing a darkly ominous inference from an opponent’s failure to discuss a political issue. Inspired by Perfesser Instacracker, of course, and coined by moi, chez Atrios, in 2003ish.

  326. 326.

    LoveMonkey

    September 24, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    ruining this blog — criticized poster on any grounds, with or without justification

  327. 327.

    EL

    September 24, 2009 at 8:14 pm

    “it would be irresponsible not to speculate”

    An excuse to slip in a lame ass defamatory accusation without actually accusing your opponent of something. Oh, and and opening yourself to a libel suit or widespread scorn for the stupidity of the accusation.

  328. 328.

    LoveMonkey

    September 24, 2009 at 8:21 pm

    we are fucked — the poster adds gloss to his rant by declaring that the American Experiment has failed, or will soon fail, thanks to the deficits pointed out in the current post.

  329. 329.

    Booger

    September 24, 2009 at 8:27 pm

    THIS is why the internet was created.

  330. 330.

    Pockmark Notorious

    September 24, 2009 at 8:28 pm

    Wingnut Event Horizon – An event that is always happening, yet never ever happens. Occasionally, a wingnut will say/write/blog/publish/fart something so ridiculous, so close minded, so full of hate and scorn, yet free from thought and consideration, that anyone hearing it will be forced to conclude that said wingnut will never be taken seriously/be linked to/have a Time article written about him again. However, like a sick twisted perversion of the actual horizon, no matter how far you walk away from the Wingnut Event Horizon, they’re no further away.

  331. 331.

    wonkie

    September 24, 2009 at 8:31 pm

    Wanker: a person, usually a Beltway insider, who presumes to present himself or herself as a thoughtful, insightful opinion leader, but who instead spews misinformation, disinformation, or out of date Beltway insider shibboleths.

  332. 332.

    wonkie

    September 24, 2009 at 8:43 pm

    Circlular firing squad: a group of generally like minded politicians who engage in a public display of disagreement over an issue or incident resulting in a loss of credibility for all of tghem

    Circlejerk: a group of likeminded pundits, politicians, or other public figure engage in a public display of selfcongratulatory behavior, usually to promote a policy that hasn’t got much support outside of the circle of jerks

    Some people say–phrased used by our librul media personalities to give themsleves plausible deniability while pushing rightwing memes or Beltway assumptions

    Snark–a combination of sarcasism and sneering

    Librul–snarky reference to Bush’s fake Texas accent, by extention a sneer at wingnuts in general

  333. 333.

    bago

    September 24, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    Can I point out again that unless you provide a guide on diction for the terms, what you have is a glossary, not a dictionary.

    A gloss is a note on the side of a page providing further understanding of the primary content.

    It’s the Balloon-Juice Glossary.

  334. 334.

    Warren Terra

    September 24, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    @ Bago, #332
    John Cole has asserted that it’s neither, but instead a lexicon.

  335. 335.

    evolutionary

    September 24, 2009 at 9:10 pm

    Meme = a replicating idea which is capable of evolution at it spreads. On the intertubez of the wingnut world it is a crazy idea which quickly evolves and becomes a totally insane story as it changes asymptotically towards the axis of wingularity.

    Coined by Richard Dawkins in his book “The Selfish Gene” as a name for a self replicating idea that was similar to the word gene.

  336. 336.

    Sasha

    September 24, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    Recommended modification to “And a pony”:

    And a pony- A classic childhood wish. Tacked onto a prediction or request to indicate that it is actually fantastic and/or wishful thinking. Origin is a Belle Waring post titled “If Wishes Were Horses, Beggars Would Ride—A Pony!”, which in turn was inspired by a Calvin & Hobbes strip.

  337. 337.

    Sasha

    September 24, 2009 at 9:17 pm

    ‘Murica. (Includes alternate spellings such as Merika, Murrica) So-called “Real America”, as pronounced by ‘Muricans.

  338. 338.

    ed_finnerty

    September 24, 2009 at 9:21 pm

    don’t know if these qualify but I like them

    – the stupid it burns

    and,

    the order of the shrill

    also, I think a lot of these are attributable to Duncan Black but not attributed

    (my $0.02)

  339. 339.

    Nicole

    September 24, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    Could someone who is better at this stuff than I am post a picture of Matthews next to a picture of Tweety Bird under the Tweety entry? That would be teh awesome.

    “Teh” could use an entry, I guess.

  340. 340.

    Prairie Logic

    September 24, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage:

    Has to be a reference to one of the Michelles…

    Michelle Malkin… Michelle Bachmann

  341. 341.

    evolutionary

    September 24, 2009 at 9:30 pm

    Intertubes = the internet, from an incoherent description by former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens (R) at a senatorial committee hearing about net neutrality. musical version.

  342. 342.

    Sasha

    September 24, 2009 at 9:31 pm

    Kristol Ball. Nickname for professional Serious Person Bill Kristol. Ironically monikered for his near-perfect ability to incorrectly predict events, to the point that left-leaning bloggers frequently joke that any prognostication from the Kristol Ball indicates that the opposite result will certainly occur. Son of Irving Kristol and a beneficiary of Neocon Nepotism and Wingnut Welfare.

  343. 343.

    Tim F.

    September 24, 2009 at 9:38 pm

    @evolutionary: I took your def and left out the snark. I have nothing against snark in general, but I want to keep the information to noise ratio in these definitions as high as possible.

  344. 344.

    Sasha

    September 24, 2009 at 9:45 pm

    Suggested revision to Neocon Nepotism:

    Neocon Nepotism– Career advancement, influence, and/or prestige of notable neoconservatives due less to their achievements and more to a fortunate choice of parentage. Notable examples include John Podhoretz (son of Norman); Bill Kristol (son of Irving); Jonah Goldberg (son of Lucianne); Frederick, Robert and Kimberly Kagan (sons and daughter-in-law of Donald); and George W. Bush (son of George H. W). Curiously, those involved in neocon nepotism are frequently opposed to affirmative action on the grounds that “It subverts meritocracy.” Neocon nepotism is usually contingent upon loyalty to the present party dogma, as exemplified by Christopher Buckley who was compelled to leave the National Review (founded by his father, William F. Buckley) after endorsing Barack Obama for president.

  345. 345.

    bcinaz

    September 24, 2009 at 9:55 pm

    Birther – conspiracy theorist who may or may not believe Obama was born in Kenya, Indonesia, or Hawaii, however, does not believe Hawaii is a State in the United States of America, ergo, no matter where Obama was born, he is not a natural citizen.

  346. 346.

    matoko_chan

    September 24, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    FTW– For The Win.
    When applied to anything RW, sarcastic as hell.

  347. 347.

    Sasha

    September 24, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    Green Lantern Theory. The Green Lantern Theory states that the main impediment preventing a goal from being achieved is a lack of willpower. Coined by Matt Yglesias to describe the thinking of Iraq hawks and neoconservative geopolitics, it has also been used to describe a similar mindset in other areas such as financial regulation. Conveniently, the theory cannot be disproved as any setback, military or otherwise, can simply be blamed on a lack of will, necessitating a redoubled effort with greater resolve. The name comes from the DC Comics character Green Lantern whose power ring can produce almost any effect imaginable so long as the wielder has sufficient power of will to call it into being.

  348. 348.

    wlrube

    September 24, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    birther — an individual who believes that (a) the presidency of Barack Obama was planned before he was even born as part of a diabolical, decades-long plot by his parents, the Kenyan (or Indonesian) government, and/or various liberal/socialist/NWO interests intent on destroying the United States; and that (b) this plot did not involve ensuring that Obama’s birth would take place in the United States

  349. 349.

    Lloyd

    September 24, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    I was gonna say you should add “Lucky Duckies”, but it seems Wikipedia has it covered pretty well already!

  350. 350.

    4jkb4ia

    September 24, 2009 at 11:54 pm

    Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage: Michelle Malkin. I think this is also a Tboggism.

  351. 351.

    sven

    September 24, 2009 at 11:59 pm

    Good one Sasha!
    I remember the first time I heard Matt mention the Green Lantern Theory of IR; the image of Richard Perle as Green Lantern made me giggle all day…

  352. 352.

    The Truffle

    September 24, 2009 at 11:59 pm

    Another synonym for chickenhawks/101st Fighting Keyboardists: Screen Berets.

    Teabaggers: Uptight dittoheads too fixated on whacking off to studmuffins like Hannity and Beck to realize the X-rated origins of the term.

  353. 353.

    BethanyAnne

    September 25, 2009 at 1:37 am

    @asiangrrlMN: Memes don’t exist. (tell all your friends)

  354. 354.

    maxcat07

    September 25, 2009 at 2:44 am

    Anyone get “Anchor Baby”, aka Michelle Malkin?

  355. 355.

    Ecks

    September 25, 2009 at 4:00 am

    Apparently “Tweety” originated with one of his staffers (whatever the news room equivalent of an assistant is) who reported that his preferred hair dye is canary yellow. It actually really fits when you look at his mop too.

    Can’t remember where I read this, but it somehow stuck with me.

  356. 356.

    Ecks

    September 25, 2009 at 4:05 am

    Also, is it worth noting that in an act of meta-irony, LGM has the byline “we are aware of all internet traditions.”

  357. 357.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 8:12 am

    Death Panel – Wingnut interpretation of a provision in the health care reform bill (HR 3200, Sec. 1233) authorizing Medicare to pay for private, individual end-of-life consultations with one’s own doctor, wherein senior citizens will be compelled by law to appear before a “panel” of “beaurocrats” arbitrarily selected and appointed by the President and justify their continued existence. Coined by Sarah Palin on her Twitter feed: “The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.”

    Thugs – Imaginary persons who, under the direction and control of the President, apparently go about the country threatening and inflicting physical harm upon ordinary people who oppose the President or his policies. See also “jackbooted thugs,” “Obama brownshirts.”

    Joe the Plumber – a.k.a. Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, an unemployed, undereducated Everyman who became an overnight celebrity after being mentioned repeatedly in the third Presidential debate. Mr. Wurzelbacher became the avatar for the McCain/Palin campaign’s idea of “ordinary Americans” or “real Americans” and an unofficial “mascot” of the Republican ticket. See also: Joe Sixpack.

    Joe Sixpack – A hypothetical person, allegedly representing (and rhetorically standing-in for) typical, average, working-class Americans, i.e., whatever the speaker believes that such people believe and want. Referred to often in speeches by the Republican presidential ticket and its supporters in 2008.

  358. 358.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 8:16 am

    B. Hussein Obama – Sobriquet for then-candidate Barack Obama adopted and used by Ann Coulter and others once it became clear that he, and not Hillary Clinton, would be the Democratic nominee in 2008 and they needed to give wingnuts a reason to hate and fear the then-largely-unknown senator about whom they knew very little. Used to emphasize Obama’s Muslim-sounding middle name which happened to match the name of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whom wingnuts believe was the third most evil person in history (after Hitler and Bill Clinton, not necessarily in that order).

  359. 359.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 8:22 am

    Punch-me face – Reference to Glenn Beck’s countenance.

    Lonesome Rhodes – A nickname for Glenn Beck used by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.

    Faux News – Nickname for the Fox News Channel, which everyone but its most loyal viewers knows is actually the propaganda arm of the RNC. See also: Fixed News, Fox Noise, etc.

    Dittoheads – Avid listeners of Rush Limbaugh’s radio program who essentially believe everything he says, and repeat/redistribute it to everyone they know.

  360. 360.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 8:34 am

    Libtards – Epithet used by wingnuts to refer to essentially everyone who does not share their beliefs, worldview, etc. See also: liberal loons, loony left, moonbats, lefties, etc.

    Bipartisanship – Out-of-power Republican term for Democrats giving Republicans everything they want in proposed legislation.

  361. 361.

    Gunga Dean

    September 25, 2009 at 10:42 am

    No help here but Thank You!!

    Def 2 of “Cole’s Law” made laugh out load and spit out my coffee.

    “2. Thinly sliced cabbage.”

  362. 362.

    funluvn

    September 25, 2009 at 10:55 am

    Evolution: God’s gift to liberals; used to make wingnut heads explode when trying to defend creationism. (See Chewbacca defense)

  363. 363.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 11:25 am

    “No one is asking the tough questions.” – Meme adopted by wingnuts to satisfy themselves as to why a particular Democratic politician, candidate or president has not yet admitted to being the evil socialist radical they all know he is. Also useful for attacking the MSM/SCLM for “not asking” said person about said evil intentions. See also: “He hasn’t answered the tough questions.”

    “He hasn’t answered the tough questions.” – Meme adopted by wingnuts to excuse themselves for not knowing anything about a Democratic politician, his positions, proposals, policies, ideas, background, etc. See also: “We don’ t know anything about this guy”; “He hasn’t explained …”; “Who is the real Barack Obama?”

  364. 364.

    shiks

    September 25, 2009 at 11:36 am

    From Digby

    Hissy Fit

    Fainting Couch

    Fiscal Scold

    Pearl Clutching

  365. 365.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 11:36 am

    Facts – Wingnut term for anything and everything Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Orly Taitz, Fox News, WorldNetDaily, Newsmax, NRO, Redstate.com, or the rest of the right-wing media/blogosphere says.

  366. 366.

    Libby

    September 25, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    So many comments I may have missed it, but I haven’t seen any reference to +3, the Dan rather ref for BWI (Blogging while intoxicated).

    I’m also surprised the Balloon Juicers haven’t adopted the MichelleMalkinMath that’s become a popular hashtag at Twitter. Definition being something like, the mathematical theory that the attendance at any wingnut gathering must be multiplied by a factor of no less than 340% while any liberal gathering must be underestimated by the same degree. Can also be applied in any instance where wingnut gaming of links, e.g. continuously linking to each other using unsourced assertation, is equated to actual reach as proof of their majority status.

  367. 367.

    Adam C

    September 25, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    Wingnut Event Horizon: demarcates the point beyond which core wingnut beliefs are so far removed from reality that they can no longer affect nor be affected by it. A key identifying feature is that these concepts are readily accessible to wingnuts (and their observers) and yet incoherent to ordinary members of society. Examples might include discussion of “FEMA camps” and whether or not the Obama family will receive H1N1 vaccinations.

    Care should be taken with the WEH; concerted wingnut effort has been known to successfully yank questions once thought to be reality-proof (“Where’s the birth certificate?”) into the lexicon of mainstream media where they are able to affect reality.

  368. 368.

    Libby

    September 25, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    Oh duh. Just realized I missed the +drink ref because it was spelled out. Feel as dumb as a birther now…

  369. 369.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    teh stupid – blanket term for wingnuttery, teabaggery, and related phenomena where they generate statements, slogans, memes and talking points that are especially ignorant, illogical, detached from reality, wholly made-up nonsense, or otherwise indicative of an underdeveloped intellect.

    czar – (1) media-created shorthand for wordy, complicated official titles of advisers hired by a President to oversee and advise him on certain specific areas of government and public policy. (2) monarchic, totalitarian ruler of pre-Soviet Russia, e.g., Nicholas II. (3) unprecedented and unacceptable totalitarian power-grab used by the Obama administration to establish Communist dictatorship and destroy America from within.

  370. 370.

    MJ

    September 25, 2009 at 1:43 pm

    As an infrequent commentator, may I humbly suggest adding the following phases to the BJ lexicon:

    N-Dimensional chess: the claim that a seemingly regressive move by the Obama administration is part of a brilliant, hidden scheme by the zen master president that is undetectable to friends and foes alike, who are “merely playing checkers”. See the Bob Herbert’s editorial at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/opinion/10herbert.html?ref=opinion

    Obama = Boosh: Hyperbolic reference by liberal blog commentators frustrated with the Obama administration’s retention of some of GWB’s policies on civil liberties (see an unending number of blog entries by Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com, DailyKos, Firedoglake).

  371. 371.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    ACORN – Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now; a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocate for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues, which no one had ever heard of two years ago but is now apparently a giant, evil, corrupt, all-powerful force responsible for anything and everything that is wrong with America and that must be stopped before it destroys the country.

  372. 372.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 1:48 pm

    ACORN – (1) Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now; a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocate for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues, which no one had ever heard of two years ago but is now apparently a giant, evil, corrupt, all-powerful force responsible for anything and everything that is wrong with America and that must be stopped before it destroys the country. (2) Wingnut code for the “n” word.

  373. 373.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    wingnut fail – said to occur where wingnuts make public statements, usually loudly and in a hasty, careless and/or panicked fashion, that later turn out to be wrong, unwarranted, gross exaggerations, disproven, uncovered as lies, freaking out over nothing, or otherwise fail to have their desired effect. See also: birther fail.

  374. 374.

    truth

    September 25, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    Fourthbranch: Term for Cheney’s mistaken belief that as Vice President he was exempt from laws regarding the Executive Branch of government; hence Darth Cheney truly believed he was the “Fourth Branch” of government.

  375. 375.

    matoko_chan

    September 25, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    beclowned- traditional republican posture

  376. 376.

    Casual Observer

    September 25, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    Crowdsourced

    A blogosphere-developed research technique in which document analysis or research is opened the public.

    Moneybomb

    An activist fundraising technique developed within the blogosphere, usually for political purposes. The moneybomb is characterized as an intensive but short period of fundraising across multiple websites over a span of 24 or 48 hours.

  377. 377.

    Graf Zeppelin

    September 25, 2009 at 9:47 pm

    The American People – subject of any sentence in which a Republican politician or right-wing pundit expresses his own or his party’s view, opinion, policy position, belief, etc.

  378. 378.

    jon

    September 25, 2009 at 11:15 pm

    Fireballs and Golfclaps: a political gathering in which the participants feel empowered though outsiders only see stupidity in action

    Example: That Tea Party coverage was all over Fox, but to me it was nothing but a bunch of Fireballs and Golfclaps.

    Origin: that crazy youtube with the kids actually living out their Dungeons and Dragons fantasy, ending with the participants’ applause.

  379. 379.

    jon

    September 25, 2009 at 11:19 pm

    Damnit! I screwed up, and actually found the video in question. It’s here and it’s Lightning Bolts and Golfclaps, not Fireballs.

    Still, same meaning.

  380. 380.

    ignatov

    September 26, 2009 at 11:00 am

    It’s my understanding that the “Caribou Barbie” moniker should be attributed to Stephanie Miller.

    http://101thingsaboutsarahpalin.com/2008/10/13/2-radio-talk-show-host-stephanie-miller-dubbed-sarah-palin-%E2%80%9Ccaribou-barbie%E2%80%9D%E2%80%94and-the-name-has-stuck/

  381. 381.

    daphnechyprious

    September 26, 2009 at 7:42 pm

    apologies for any redundancies, since I haven’t (yet) read other comments:

    from the blogosphere
    working the refs:

    Journamalism:

    Republican Noise Machine

    my own suggestions
    Lord of the Lies: Cheney, also title of Cheney’s forthcoming memoir

    religioso: phony, pompous, ultra-right Christianity based politics person

    ACORNization (or the ACORN factor): pumping up a minor scandal way beyond all proportion through deception and lies, then blaming other media for not covering the faux story enough or on your terms. Through this process does the scandal become the coverage itself.

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5/29  We’re Back, Baby
7/21  Merging!

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