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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Late Night Open Thread: More Lexiconning

Late Night Open Thread: More Lexiconning

by Anne Laurie|  September 30, 20092:56 am| 116 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Blogospheric Navel-Gazing

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So, here are the proposed additions to the BJLex I’ve collected since Saturday:

Banana Republican
Brooks Brothers Riot
Calvinball
FTW (add as a synonym to ‘This’)
He-Man Woman-Hater’s Club – Chris Matthews, Beltway Chapter President
Heh, Indeed
Millblogger
Moderate – someone who gets all their news from network television
Movement Conservative (Adult Diaper Division)
Poutrage
Stay Classy, ___ !
TIDOS (Treason in Defense of Slavery) Conservatives
Up or Down (Upperdown) Vote
Warpr0n
Won’t Someone Think of the Children? ! ?
Working the Refs – the process whereby prominent wingers excoriate media institutions for a supposed bias in order to keep said institutions on guard and, hopefully, force them to be more lenient on Republican ideology masquerading as legitimate analysis of daily events.
WTF

And of course the evolving dichotomies…

Conservative (1) “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” John Kenneth Galbraith
(2) People who don’t want to be informed – just affirmed.
(3a) A philosophy or system of government that is marked by stringent social and economic control, a strong, centralized government usually headed by a dictator, and often a policy of belligerent nationalism. Oh sorry, that’s the dictionary definition of Fascism.
(3b) Form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion. Oh, wait, that’s Robert O. Paxson’s definition of fascism.
(4) Anyone who believes the United States of America was placed on this Earth by the baby Jesus to bring free markets, handguns, and bibles to every dog-eating commie backwater on the planet.
(5) “Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.” John Stuart Mill.

Liberal— (1) Anyone with political leanings to the left of the John Birch Society, or any self-identified Conservative who has embraced reality, facts, or logic.
(2)”Someone unwilling to take their own side in an argument.” Robert Frost
(3) What Democrats are afraid to be.
(4) Someone who understands that magical pixie dust does not pay for Medicare, the military, and political antics. (Conservative: Someone who wonders how ‘those people’ get away with stealing all the magical pixie dust.)
(5) Those who believe that power should be exercised to enhance people’s lives. (Conservatives: Those who believe that power should be exercised to reinforce people’s prejudices.)

Further suggestions? Corrections? Links?

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Reader Interactions

116Comments

  1. 1.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    September 30, 2009 at 3:03 am

    fapfapfap

  2. 2.

    Bubblegum Tate

    September 30, 2009 at 3:03 am

    Goldberg Theorem!

  3. 3.

    RedKitten

    September 30, 2009 at 3:05 am

    A few of those are terms that probably don’t need to be in the BJ lexicon, mainly because a) they’re used widely across the internet (such as WTF), or because they’re used pretty rarely here (such as TIDOS and Working the Refs).

    But I’m a minimalist, and always prefer to edit down rather than build up, so feel free to ignore me. :)

  4. 4.

    Andy K

    September 30, 2009 at 3:14 am

    Fucking WordPress– Prayer of intervention to the most capricious member of the pantheon of internet gods.

  5. 5.

    Andy K

    September 30, 2009 at 3:17 am

    @RedKitten:

    Somebody hungry?

    Good looking kid, even without the teeth. Start him on single runners. A left winger for sure.

  6. 6.

    Dave Weeden

    September 30, 2009 at 3:21 am

    I’ll disagree with RedKitten (even though she has a cute kid), I think the BJ lexicon has taken on a life outside this site (it seems to be generating traffic on its own), and I think that the more complete it is, the more authoritative it is. Humour, mockery, and sanity are the most powerful weapons against the wingnuts. Hey, maybe someone who reads Malkin (as a for instance) will see the ‘Our Lady of Perpetual Outrage’ definition and think “hey, that’s right, she is always going crazy over nothing” and see the light as it were.

    Also, it’s the pretty rarely used terms that I don’t know, dammit.

    Also, too.

  7. 7.

    Frans

    September 30, 2009 at 3:28 am

    Bible Spice was used at Wonkette a full week before Tbogg used it.
    It’s in Google, so it’s true!

  8. 8.

    Warren Terra

    September 30, 2009 at 3:43 am

    Can you believe we’ve thus far missed Chickenhawk?

    And is there a list of tags someplace – both because some may require definition and because it’d be nice to have?

  9. 9.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 3:46 am

    Paranoia: Balloon Juice’s Favorite Game. Do you have a problem with Friend Computer’s Decision, Troubleshooter?

  10. 10.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 3:47 am

    Liberal – Now defined as not insane and not stupid enough to believe the death panel bullshit.

  11. 11.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 3:49 am

    Conservative Facists with better public relations

  12. 12.

    Xel

    September 30, 2009 at 3:51 am

    “Quashing of descent” – the theorem that proves that superior prevalence of left-wing theories or opinions must be a result of some sort of fascist tactic or intolerance.

    “JUST THE SAME” – The sagacious “centrist” position that any wingnut ideation – no matter how extreme, partisan, idiotic or prevalent even on congressional levels – is karmic retribution for the DNC’s refusal to hunt down and offer up 9/11 truthers on the altar of bipartisanship in the 2000-2008 period.

  13. 13.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 3:55 am

    Who Would Jesus Bomb Once considered an expression of pure snark, now shorthand for Rightwingers eager to drop tons of bombs on other countries. For their own good, of course.

  14. 14.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 3:58 am

    Up or Down (Upperdown) Vote A brief period of time that existed during a Republican majority in Congress where legislation was decided by a simple majority vote of 50+1. Ended immediately once Democrats became the majority in Congress.

  15. 15.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 4:00 am

    Going Nuclear: A threat by Republicans during their majority control of the Senate to strip the power of the fillibuster from Democrats who wouldn’t bend over on command. Like so many things done by the Republicans, it was promptly forgotten and ignored by the media once the shoe was on the other foot and Republicans found themselves in the minority and constantly threatening to fillbuster all legislation in the Senate.

  16. 16.

    Warren Terra

    September 30, 2009 at 4:05 am

    Maybe it’s because she doesn’t get the press lately – she’s no saner, the standard of craziness just keeps rising – but we’ve no Coulter, not even her famous “invade and convert the Muslims” screed.

  17. 17.

    bago

    September 30, 2009 at 4:07 am

    Ehm, to be pedantic, a dichotomy can only have two parts.

    A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts.

    That’s what the di part is for. It’s like a dilemma. It means there are two lemmas, or solution sets to the problem. Exactly two.

    Because you said dichotomies and then presented two options, the plural on dichotomies must apply to the bolded headings, indicating that each one is a dichotomy, and yet they have more than two potential definitions, thus invalidating the di-part of dichotomy.

  18. 18.

    PPOG Penguin

    September 30, 2009 at 4:07 am

    This may be too well-known to merit an entry, but just in case…

    RINO: Republican In Name Only. Anyone identified as a Republican who has not gone along with the latest batshit insane winger meme.

  19. 19.

    bago

    September 30, 2009 at 4:10 am

    @TenguPhule: That’s cribbed from the definition of squirrels. Rats with better PR.

  20. 20.

    TenguPhule

    September 30, 2009 at 4:11 am

    That’s cribbed from the definition of squirrels. Rats with better PR.

    @bago: Obviously I didn’t want to insult the rats.

  21. 21.

    adavis

    September 30, 2009 at 4:22 am

    Fonzie is usually spelled, well, Fonzie. I would add that Gillespie’s sideburns strengthen the analogy.

    Some suggested additions:

    ACORN – imagine the possibilities!

    Empathy

    Failing Upward (especially regarding punditry)

    Loyalty

    Saint Ronnie

    I’ll leave it to the more lexicographically gifted to suggest appropriate definitions.

  22. 22.

    adavis

    September 30, 2009 at 4:25 am

    One more for now: elitist.

  23. 23.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    September 30, 2009 at 4:41 am

    Assrocket: disparaging monicker for Powerline blogger John Hindraker, perhaps best known for these definitive examples of Bush knob-polishing:

    It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can’t get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.

    and

    Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. In this regard, President Bush is an excellent model; Obama should take a lesson from his example. Bush never gets sloppy when he is speaking publicly. He chooses his words with care and precision, which is why his style sometimes seems halting. In the eight years he has been President, it is remarkable how few gaffes or verbal blunders he has committed. If Obama doesn’t raise his standards, he will exceed Bush’s total before he is inaugurated.

  24. 24.

    adavis

    September 30, 2009 at 4:41 am

    Sully- blogger Andrew Sullivan, a self-described conservative whose definition of conservatism encompasses whichever positions he supports at a given moment, regardless of how far outside contemporary conservative thought said opinions lie; e.g., gay marriage.

  25. 25.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    September 30, 2009 at 4:44 am

    One more for the lexicon: Blows Goats, as a backhanded (as in ‘cross the face) tribute to Mickey Kaus.

    (If you’re unfamiliar with this one, type Mickey Kaus blows goats into Google and settle in for some very hilarious reading.)

  26. 26.

    adavis

    September 30, 2009 at 4:53 am

    Family Values – it could take a committee to write that one.

  27. 27.

    ronin122

    September 30, 2009 at 5:00 am

    Dittohead – 1) Moron who just does what some authority figure tells him (or her but usually white males) to do, be it a politician or a radio host, so long as that person is on the hard or far right. 2) Listener of Rush Limbaugh aka El Rushbo aka Limpballs, though this definition may be redundant

    Glenn Beck – Goofball host on radio and Faux “News” who started the teabag parade. His skits include calling Hillary Clinton a bitch, pretending to poison Nancy Pelosi, and calling Pres. Obama a racist who has issues with white people. Former alcoholic and convert to Mormonism, he has a long history of being a manic idiot.

    Chucky T – Political analyist Chuck Todd from MSNBC who got schooled by Glenn Greenwald for being a typical villager idiot. Took suggested questions to ask the Pres. from people and only came up with something stupid.

    Freepers – People or other that roam the lands known as “FreeRepublic”. Far-right and libertarian, these are where wingnuts are born and bred. They honestly believe that John McCain is a socialist, and are overall close to the point of insanity. Many right wing amateur assholes found on TV either on the campaign trails or astroturf events can be traced to have an account here.

  28. 28.

    ronin122

    September 30, 2009 at 5:03 am

    Damn wordpress moderation:

    Dittohead – 1) Moron who just does what some authority figure tells him (or her but usually white males) to do, be it a politician or a radio host, so long as that person is on the hard or far right. 2) Listener of Rush Limbaugh aka El Rushbo aka Limpballs, though this definition may be redundant

    Glenn Beck – Goofball host on radio and Faux “News” who started the teabag parade. His skits include calling Hillary Clinton a bitch, pretending to poison Nancy Pelosi, and calling Pres. Obama a racist who has issues with white people. Former alcoholic and convert to Mormonism, he has a long history of being a manic idiot.

    Chucky T – Political analyist Chuck Todd from MSNBC who got schooled by Glenn Greenwald for being a typical villager idiot. Took suggested questions to ask the Pres. from people and only came up with something stupid.

    Freepers – People or other that roam the lands known as “FreeRepublic”. Far-right and libertarian, these are where wingnuts are born and bred. They honestly believe that John McCain is a sochiali5t, and are overall close to the point of insanity. Many right wing amateur assholes found on TV either on the campaign trails or astroturf events can be traced to have an account here.

    Naderite – Moonbats or otherwise disaffected lefties who vote for a man who obviously doesn’t care about anything except his own power, who took Republican money and left the Green Party to run against them. The lefty equivalent to a Paultard, but generally considered to be more sane if not more intelligent, though only due to a lack of yelling “Ralph NAAAAAAAADERRRRR!!!” all over the place and their trolling being stuck only to lefty places instead of all over (like youtube).

  29. 29.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 5:03 am

    Hey, that’s my definition of Moderate. Glad to see it’s been found useful enough for inclusion.

    .

  30. 30.

    ronin122

    September 30, 2009 at 5:09 am

    @adavis: Too tired to contribute but ACORN and St Ronnie needs to be in that dictionary. Here’s a start:

    ACORN – Wingnut obsession used partially to mask racism and partially because a gasbag obsessed over it and they must follow. (add definition of what they do) and because Obama once represented them as a lawyer every wingnut seems to think there is a deep conspiracy with ACORN and Obama and possibly Bill Ayers to do something or another, unclear frankly but usually taken to be something concerning black people taking over.

    St. Ronnie – Late President Ronald Reagan, whom most on the right consider to be a patron saint of conservatism (even though the national debt ballooned under him and he started the largest transfer of wealth from the middle to the top 2% that went on crack under Dubya). A very overrated President who was enabled by the 80s version of Conservadems, GOP candidates especially for the presidency are judged in part by their abilities to fellate the dead guy, with bonus points for doing so literally.

  31. 31.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 5:13 am

    @Comrade Baron Elmo:

    Assrocket: disparaging monicker for Powerline blogger John Hindraker …

    … derived from Hinderaker’s self-chosen designation of Hindrocket , since abandoned by Hinderaker for, well, rather obvious reasons.

    .

  32. 32.

    RedKitten

    September 30, 2009 at 5:47 am

    @Andy K:

    Somebody hungry?

    Yep. I always stay up for another half-hour after I’ve settled him during his middle-of-the-night feeding, just in case he’s not done eating or needs to be burped. It’s a lot easier to get back up while I’m still awake, rather than being woken back up only 10 minutes after falling back asleep. His sleep schedule isn’t bad right now — he usually conks out around 8 or 9pm and goes for five to six hours straight. After that, he’s up for an hour of feeding and burping, but then he never stays asleep after that for more than two hours. I settled him back in at 3:30am, and sure enough, he was awake and crying at 5:45. I just settled him back down about 10 minutes ago, and will try to venture back to bed for another bit of sleep. I should really start going to bed earlier than 11pm though, to take advantage of his six-hour sleep shift.

  33. 33.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 6:03 am

    Speaking of Hinderaker, check out this photograph of Hinderaker in full Assrocket mode.

    .

  34. 34.

    abo gato

    September 30, 2009 at 6:23 am

    Let me suggest:

    Lucky Duckies…..coined by the WSJ as people who are benefiting from things because they make so little money….aka, poor people and therefore below the interest of folks like the WSJ.

  35. 35.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 6:44 am

    Empathy: evil liberal tendency to side with the downtrodden, defend the powerless, and, most egregiously, to express concern about economic injustice.

    .

  36. 36.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 6:58 am

    Elitist: anyone with the requisite faculties of critical distinction to see the differences between a 21st Century Black American President and a 20th Century White German Mustachioed Anti-Semitic Racist Dictator.

    .

  37. 37.

    Ivan Ivanovich Renko

    September 30, 2009 at 6:58 am

    OT:

    You have got to be shittin’ me. I mean, I knew they were a bunch of evil fucks; but the level of asshattery that lets them seriously believe that anyone would pray to Obama?

    Talk about WTF????

  38. 38.

    asiangrrlMN

    September 30, 2009 at 7:07 am

    Poutrage: Managing to be both angered and whiny at the same time over some manufactured outrage. I found a citation of it from over a year ago.

    Poutrage.

    Urban Dictionary Definition of Poutrage.

    Poutrage Fatigue: The inability to react to the egregious falsehoods and flat-out batshitcrazy spewings of the rightwingnutters due to sheer volume of said craziness.

    I may have invented that one. If not, I read it here. If I read it here, I hope the person who invented it will speak up. It’s a riff on Compassion Fatigue, obviously.

  39. 39.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 7:14 am

    Republican Populism:

    1. (2001) Righteous fury at any traitor who would suggest that Al Gore won more votes than George Bush;

    2. (2003) Righteous fury at any traitor who would suggest that Iraq had no WMD, no role in 9/11, and that going to war with a country that hadn’t attacked us was a bad idea;

    3. (2005) Righteous fury at any traitor who would suggest that the US committed torture;

    4. (2007) Righteous fury at any traitor who would suggest that torture should be prosecuted;

    5. (2009) Righteous fury at any traitor who would suggest that it might be possible to improve our health insurance to provide better and broader coverage;

    6. (General) Righteous fury at any traitor who would suggest that reality differs in important and significant respects from Republican propaganda.

    .

  40. 40.

    linda

    September 30, 2009 at 7:15 am

    uh, continuing on with the weirdness as demonstrated in the newsmax coup post; here’s a major w.t.f.:

    HARDIN, Mont. (CBS/AP) This is the strange story of how American Police Force, a little known company which claims to specialize in training military and security forces overseas, has seemingly taken control of a $27 million, never-used jail, and a rural Montana town’s nonexistent police force.

    After arriving in this tiny city with three Mercedes SUVs marked with the logo of a police department that has never existed, representatives of the obscure California security company said preparations were under way to take over Hardin’s jail, which has no prisoners.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/29/crimesider/entry5351491.shtml

  41. 41.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 7:22 am

    On further reflection, in definition 6 of Republican Populism, the phrase “Republican propaganda” might be better rendered as “Fox News”.

    .

  42. 42.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 7:38 am

    Heh, Indeed: snarky mocking of the Glenn Reynold’s (see Instapundit) cliche of creating blog posts that consist solely of a quote from some other right-wing website followed by the phrase “Heh, indeed.”

    .

  43. 43.

    evolutionary

    September 30, 2009 at 7:40 am

    Calvinball = A game developed by Calvin and Hobbes that is never played the same way twice. Any player may change or add a rule at ANY time and not all players need to agree with the new rule/change. The basic rules are here. Created by Bill Waterson in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.

    The term “Calvinball” is often used to described any political discussion where one or more participants (usually while while posing as “Very Serious People) “Change the Goalposts” of the discussion.

    Example #1: When George W. Bush was President and his approval rating went from 30 to 32% he was “Improving in poularity”. Since Barak Hussein Obama was elected President his approval rating dropping from 57 to 55% means “He is failing!”.

    Example #2: In the healthcare reform discussion at first a filisterbuster proof majority of 60 votes was “required” (by conventional wisdom) to pass the Democratic Party’s bill. Then the Very Serious People said more Republican votes were “required” in order for the bill to be truly bi-partisan and thus recognize the “Will of the American” People.

  44. 44.

    gnomedad

    September 30, 2009 at 7:43 am

    More cowbell!

  45. 45.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 7:43 am

    Calvinball: references a running gag from the comic strip Calvin & Hobbes, in which players of Calvinball change the rules on the spot to favor their team, to characterize GOP hypocrisy; see also IOKIYAR.

    .

  46. 46.

    Brick Oven Bill

    September 30, 2009 at 7:50 am

    Evolutionist Interruptust (n): One who mocks Christian homeschoolers, and then argues that the evolution of man ended 30,000 years ago.

    Found commonly among Ivy League graduates of independent wealth, who then move from the city to the suburbs upon having children.

  47. 47.

    gnomedad

    September 30, 2009 at 7:51 am

    Warpr0n

    Cap’n, I’m givin’ ye all she’s got! I canna change the laws o’ physics!

  48. 48.

    Seanly

    September 30, 2009 at 7:51 am

    Shouldn’t “millblogger” just use one “L”? Unless the guy is actually blogging about mills…

    Can I haz magic pixie dust? Also.

  49. 49.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 7:57 am

    Freepers: Stormfront.org is a website dedicated to neo-Nazi, neo-KKK white supremacism; Freepers, on the other hand are denizens of the website FreeRepublic.com. Freepers differ from Stormfronters only to the extent that the white hoods make their faces itchy and uncomfortable.

    .

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    September 30, 2009 at 8:02 am

    Furminator: a patented pet-grooming device which, when properly employed, will generate a quantity of fibre sufficient to weave a blanket, crochet an infant’s layette, or knit an entirely new cat.

    (Definition should ideally be illustrated with that photo of Tunch looking curiously at the Tunch-sized heap of fur next to him. Sorry, I am unable to search for it, let alone link, from the BlackBerry, but I know it’s there in the archives.)

  51. 51.

    matoko_chan

    September 30, 2009 at 8:06 am

    pointy headed intellectual — anyone with an IQ over room temperature and/or a college degree.

    mormon dead baptism— process by which deceased jews, literary elites, Founding Fathers and classic liberals can be baptized into mormonism and conservativism.
    See, Thomas Jefferson was so a conservative!

    Wingnut Apocalypse— the point where the curve of Charles Johnson’s increasing sanity intersects with the curve of Michelle Malkin’s decreasing sanity– this event will theoretically cause a tear in the fabric of Wingnut Reality and the conservative movement will be sucked back into the 8th Buckeroo Banzai dimension with the rest of the red ‘lectroids.

    Did you know Glenn Beck is a Mormon? standard response to any of my rightwing friends attempts to defend Glenn Beck. Based on the traditional antipathy of evangelical christians for mormons.
    See also beckers, becktards, becked.

  52. 52.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:07 am

    TorturePr0n: entertainment that fetishizes torture as patriotic, effective, and desirable; see 24.

    WarPr0n: entertainment that fetishizes war as patriotic, effective, and desirable; see William Kristol, Neocons.

    .

  53. 53.

    Mike

    September 30, 2009 at 8:07 am

    abo gato, lucky duckies are people who are “lucky” enough to be poor enough to not have to pay federal income taxes. From WSJ.

  54. 54.

    r€nato

    September 30, 2009 at 8:09 am

    fauxrage

  55. 55.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:13 am

    @Seanly:

    Shouldn’t “millblogger” just use one “L”?

    Yep.

    MilBlog: Shorthand for Military Blog, a blog that focuses on military and/or security policy, usually — though, significantly, not always — run by someone with military experience or scolarship.

    .

  56. 56.

    Molly

    September 30, 2009 at 8:14 am

    The Intertubes. Someone more witty than me can do justice to a definition, but it’s from Ted Stevens’ inanity. Always makes me smile when I see someone use it.

  57. 57.

    LTC

    September 30, 2009 at 8:16 am

    SAw this in the SF Chronicle

    “Couch potato conservatives – who I brand that because they don’t do their homework, just haul off and say nutty things, and have no interest in or understanding of policy analysis”

    I added to the end of that…or truth!

    Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?blogid=95&entry_id=48542#ixzz0SY3TDNRA

  58. 58.

    LTC

    September 30, 2009 at 8:19 am

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?blogid=95&entry_id=48542#ixzz0SY3TDNRA

    Couch potato conservatives – who I brand that because they don’t do their homework, just haul off and say nutty things, and have no interest in or understanding of policy analysis

    or the truth!

  59. 59.

    r€nato

    September 30, 2009 at 8:23 am

    @Molly:

    if we’re going to include “Intertubes”, I propose that the definition also note variants, such as, “Intertr0nz” and “interwebs”.

  60. 60.

    matoko_chan

    September 30, 2009 at 8:23 am

    should be “baptized posthumeously into mormonism or cornservatism.”

    for BrickOvenBill….

    Intelligent Design Theory— a crude strategy designed to cloak Young Earth Creationism in science speak, in a vain attempt to make it less goofy to anyone with an IQ over room temperature and/or a college degree.. See, pointy headed intellectuals, democrats.

  61. 61.

    The next-to-last samurai

    September 30, 2009 at 8:24 am

    I agree with Krista. That lexicon can already stand to be pruned by 20 per cent (a good rule for anything one writes, by the way).

  62. 62.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:24 am

    The Intertubes: mocking reference to Senator Ted Stevens (R-AL) who once betrayed is technological ignorance by stating, “The Internet is not something that you just dump something on – it’s not a big dumptruck. It’s a series of tubes.”

    .

  63. 63.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:27 am

    Correction:

    The Intertubes: mocking reference to Senator Ted Stevens (R-AL) who once betrayed his technological ignorance by stating, “The Internet is not something that you just dump something on – it’s not a big truck. It’s a, it’s a series of tubes.”

    .

  64. 64.

    Comrade Scrutinizer

    September 30, 2009 at 8:34 am

    Chalk up another “What Krista said.” There’s a lot of stuff there that has already been well-covered by Urban Dictionary. A site-specific jargon dictionary is more useful.

  65. 65.

    BruceK

    September 30, 2009 at 8:37 am

    Proposed addendum to Chewbacca Defense:

    Not to be confused with the Chewbacca Gambit, in which otherwise proper actions are discouraged by threats of violence, generally thinly veiled. (eg: White places Black in check, probable mate in five; Black’s friend mentions that Black is liable to rip White’s arms off; Black checkmates White in three.)

  66. 66.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:38 am

    Editing, please: Once upon a time, Balloon-Juice had an editing feature, now abandoned, that allowed commenters to edit their posts to correct typos, etc., for a 4 minute window after posting. “Editing, please?”, or variations such as “Please to return editing?”, have since become a common refrain from BJ commenters — a lot better known for their thoughtfulness, wit, and snarkiness, than for their manual dexterity — upon realizing that their beautiful gems of prose are marred by an ugly typo.

    .

  67. 67.

    donovong

    September 30, 2009 at 8:39 am

    Let’s just be sure to give proper credit for the original “He Man Woman Haters Club” to the “Our Gang” serials! Go Spanky!

    Sorry, but I grew up with those guys on the teevee every day at 4:00.

  68. 68.

    arguingwithsignposts

    September 30, 2009 at 8:42 am

    @JGabriel:

    Correction, Stevens is R-AK (alaska, not alabama)

  69. 69.

    Omnes Omnibus

    September 30, 2009 at 8:44 am

    @JGabriel: If you change it to “self-righteous fury”, it will be perfect.

  70. 70.

    Skepticat

    September 30, 2009 at 8:47 am

    Please consider adding:

    Tenther
    Those under the delusion that the tenth amendment to the Constitution, which concerns states’ rights, makes almost everything done by the federal government unconstitutional. May also be considered to reflect the fact that many of them are using less than a tenth of their supposed intelligence to deal with these issues.

    Also:
    black helicopters
    C Street
    K Street
    Oh, snap.
    Mittens/Willard/Mitt the twit
    librul media
    blue dogs
    yellow dogs

    Re: Terry Schiavo. It was not the DNR order that her parents fought, it was her husband’s attempt to have her feeding tube removed.

  71. 71.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:51 am

    arguingwithsignposts:

    Correction, Stevens is R-AK (alaska, not alabama)

    Thank you. That gives me the opportunity, in the form of a needed correction, to add to the definition.

    The Intertubes: mocking reference to Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) who once betrayed his technological ignorance by stating, “The Internet is not something that you just dump something on – it’s not a big truck. It’s a, it’s a series of tubes.”

    This statement followed a rambling discourse from Stevens arguing that telecomms should have the right to shape internet traffic on the basis that commercial enterprises and their customers are piggybacking on free internet bandwidth, notably ignoring that internet access is already sold to consumers in tiered levels of bandwidth.

    .

  72. 72.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 8:52 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If you change it to “self-righteous fury”, it will be perfect.

    Then it would no longer be snarky, merely blunt.

    .

  73. 73.

    Fleem

    September 30, 2009 at 8:55 am

    I thought it was fauxtrage.

    For the pun.

  74. 74.

    Robin G.

    September 30, 2009 at 8:59 am

    where’s “mock-blocking”?

  75. 75.

    cminus

    September 30, 2009 at 9:00 am

    Should “Shut up, that’s why” include the Simpsons reference? Also, should “Lucky Duckies” include a reference to the “Tom the Dancing Bug” comics with Lucky Ducky and Hollingsworth Hound?

  76. 76.

    jibeaux

    September 30, 2009 at 9:01 am

    @Xel:

    I think you’re going for “quashing of dissent” unless it’s a reference to people trying to stop you from falling, or something….

    I still like Red State Trike Force, but I will accept that there is no momentum there to add it.

  77. 77.

    Persia

    September 30, 2009 at 9:07 am

    @Comrade Baron Elmo: I still think the biggest reason I am pissed at Edwards over the affair is that it vindicated Mickey Kaus on any level.

  78. 78.

    dadanarchist

    September 30, 2009 at 9:26 am

    What Digby Said – this might need a def though its more an Atrios thing…

  79. 79.

    Betsy

    September 30, 2009 at 9:33 am

    Green Shoots: Non-ironically, the term used by pundits and financial specialists to describe indicators that the economy might be recovering, no matter how tiny and tenuous said indicators may be.
    Ironically, the term used to describe indicators of massive, continuing economic problems, such as unemployment.

  80. 80.

    tc

    September 30, 2009 at 9:43 am

    A few more suggestions:

    – Granite countertops

    – the “internets” – from the 2004 presidential debates, when George Bush assured us that he knows what’s going on out there in the “internets.”

    – Jamil Hussein

    – Col. Mustard, the nickname for Cornell Law instructor William Jacobson, who took the lead in the charge against Obama’s mustard tastes and interpreted the howling laughter at him as “leftist rage.”

  81. 81.

    GranFalloon

    September 30, 2009 at 9:47 am

    One of my own design, FWIW – something I notice frequently, though perhaps my definition is inartfully drafted.

    Radiot Silence

    Noun.

    The period of time between the announcement of some major policy decision by democratic leadership that neither (a) is outright librul, e.g., involves kowtowing to Muslims, socializing healthcare, blessing gay marriage, or burning a flag, or (b) relates to a previously-heavily discussed topic on Limbaugh or Beck, and the time at which Limbaugh and/or Beck comes on the air. Distinguished by the notable paucity of commentary in comment fields, on blogs, and the like, as the wingnuts wait patiently to learn what their position on said topic should (and will) be.

  82. 82.

    Steeplejack

    September 30, 2009 at 9:49 am

    @RedKitten:

    Sort of agree with RedKitten here. Some of the terms I have seen proposed for the lexicon I have rarely seen here, or they leave me thinking, “What the f–?!” E.g., “TIDOS (Treason in Defense of Slavery) Conservatives.” Don’t think I’ve ever seen that one anywhere. (But I lead a sheltered life and don’t get out much.) And it certainly doesn’t come up on Balloon Juice enough to require a lexicon entry.

    I think there is a danger of the lexicon sliding into Jokes for the John territory, becoming weighed down with one-off quips and (strained) joke terms that really don’t have wide currency here. IMO, of course.

  83. 83.

    Michael

    September 30, 2009 at 9:56 am

    Cheeto Dust – this is the base ingredient for the ammunition of the 101st Chairborne Rangers and the Keyboard Kommando Regiment (of which the Red State Strike Force belongs).

    ooo-RAH – the sound made by a Chairborne Ranger as he sallies forth into battle, ready to argue an opponent to the point of annoyance, or at least until his mother, brother, soon to be ex-wife or sister-in-law tells him to haul his fat, pasty ass out of the basement to take out the trash and look for work.

  84. 84.

    Michael

    September 30, 2009 at 10:03 am

    Shut Up and Govern – a little used phrase that occasionally popped up in the 2005-2007 period, uttered by disaffected soon-to-be-former GOPers who were sick of hearing about how every incompetence was somehow the fault of liberals.

  85. 85.

    Nutella

    September 30, 2009 at 10:09 am

    @Steeplejack:

    I suggest that a way to determine that is to have the webmistress provide a program to search for the term through all comments and posts and remove any term that has appeared only a few times.

    Term to add: kabuki

  86. 86.

    The Golux

    September 30, 2009 at 10:17 am

    Conservatives: Those who believe that the obscene wealth of the obscenely wealthy is insufficiently obscene.

  87. 87.

    Egilsson

    September 30, 2009 at 10:18 am

    This is good news for McCain!

  88. 88.

    dm

    September 30, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Perhaps one for “Leave X aloooone”?

  89. 89.

    nick

    September 30, 2009 at 10:37 am

    Have you considered splitting the lexicon pages by starting letters? This would remove server memory usage in the long run and wouldn’t just spam an enormous page if you want to look something up…

  90. 90.

    nick

    September 30, 2009 at 10:38 am

    Bah, “remove” = “reduce” in that previous post.

  91. 91.

    Michael

    September 30, 2009 at 10:38 am

    Oh my God – I just thought of more uses for Cheeto dust, since the application of Cheeto dust makes conservatism look like it works better.

    It is a corollary to “Clap Louder”. Apply some Cheeto dust, and every Conservative ineptitude looks like a triumph.

  92. 92.

    J. A. Baker

    September 30, 2009 at 10:57 am

    Let’s not forget the various derangement syndromes:

    – Bush Derangement Syndrome
    – Obama Derangement Syndrome
    – Palin Derangement Syndrome
    – [Insert controversial politician here] Derangement Syndrome

  93. 93.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 11:03 am

    J. A. Baker:

    Let’s not forget the various derangement syndromes: – Bush Derangement Syndrome – Obama Derangement Syndrome – Palin Derangement Syndrome …

    There’s a critical distinction to be made there. BDS was attributed to Bush’s critics. ODS is attributed to Obama’s critics.

    But PDS is attributed to Palin herself.

    .

  94. 94.

    JGabriel

    September 30, 2009 at 11:09 am

    The Precedent: Derogatory right-wing nickname for Obama. No, we don’t get it either. As Obama himself said, in a different context, “It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.”

    .

  95. 95.

    Anna Granfors

    September 30, 2009 at 11:20 am

    Here’s another for the evolving TRIchotomies:

    Corporatist: approximately 90% of the politicians in the legislative, deliberative, and executive bodies on both national and, increasingly, local levels. They masquerade as “Democrats” or “Republicans”, but this distinction is largely if not wholly unimportant. Useful in maintaining illusion of “democracy” via a form of kabuki whose affect seems solely to render a predominance of the populace either angry, confused, or both; either will do for the intended purpose of making them inactive and ineffective.

    (Editor’s note: I would suggest that We The People either reclaim the words “Democrat” and “Republican”, or better, just trash ’em and come up with new ones. Or new old ones, like “progressives” and “knownothings”.)

  96. 96.

    Dr.BDH

    September 30, 2009 at 11:20 am

    William B. Fuckley = deceased conservative publisher who brought us NRO’s Doughy Pantload, K.Lo, and The Derbs. Current address: Hell, Lowest Level (per Gore Vidal).

  97. 97.

    Anna Granfors

    September 30, 2009 at 11:43 am

    Addendum to #95: See Durbin, Dick: “…(the banks) frankly own the place…”

  98. 98.

    Zoogz

    September 30, 2009 at 11:49 am

    Chalk up another “What Krista said.” There’s a lot of stuff there that has already been well-covered by Urban Dictionary. A site-specific jargon dictionary is more useful.

    Disagree; while Urban Dictionary is nice, it’s also NSFW and blocked by some servers, which renders it useless for some browsers.

  99. 99.

    Midnight Marauder

    September 30, 2009 at 11:59 am

    I posted this in one of the open threads last night, but I feel like even though it’s extremely recent, it still would fit nicely in the ever evolving Lexicon.

    ***********************************
    After watching that video of Robert Gibbs destroying that silly question today about Michael Steel criticizing the President for the whole Olympics thing, I move that “Maybe it’s Madrid?” somehow be incorporated into the Lexicon for how easily and brutally Republican fauxrage/poutrage can be ridiculed for those smart enough to think for themselves.

    Clearly, this is not a prominent trait amongst members of The Village.

  100. 100.

    Molly

    September 30, 2009 at 12:05 pm

    Proposal….some of these definitions are in Urban Dictionary, true. But we’re doing Balloon Juice lexicon. There’s certain things that have made themselves part of our vocabulary, such as “intertubes,” or “IMHO,” that it’s worth adding them, even though the definitions exist elsewhere.

    IMHO.

  101. 101.

    raptusregaliter

    September 30, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    I sooooooo wanted to write the Bill Kristol entry, but I can settle for this:

    The Weekly Standard: One of Rupert Murdoch’s corporately-funded welfare cases that loses about a million dollars a year, “TWS” is the neocon echo chamber wherein founder/editor Bill “Always Wrong” Kristol entertains those in the reality-based world with his always-wrong viewpoints and predictions. Kristol wanted to name his vanity project “The American Standard,” but this christening was scuttled when our intrepid opinionator was informed that American Standard is, in fact, the famous brand name of a mass-produced toilet.

  102. 102.

    Soylent Green

    September 30, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    We are all Georgians now. Lame attempt by candidate McCain to paint his opponent as weak on defense by portraying as an existential threat a brief internal conflict in a country most Americans never heard of (“Ma, fetch my shotgun, the Rooskies have invaded Joja.”) May be more broadly applied to any nuanced Republican foreign-relations measure consisting entirely of waving your dick in the air, e.g. “Bring ’em on.”

  103. 103.

    daryljfontaine

    September 30, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    It doesn’t need to be added to the lexicon, but I’m coining a term now:

    Moron Lobby – term used to mock those Second Amendment adherents who have co-opted the Greek phrase molon labe as a tough-guy anti-government stance to “preserve their right to keep stockpile and bear brandish firearms” to the exclusion of all other concerns, even those of public safety.

    D

  104. 104.

    Bubblegum Tate

    September 30, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    Yea or nay on adding Underpants Gnome Model to the lexicon?

  105. 105.

    Molly

    September 30, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Another one, “Chief Fluffer.”

    I’m still a newbie, so some of these I remember having to think about for a moment….then giggle over.

  106. 106.

    Quaker in a Basement

    September 30, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    Objection!!

    The invention of the moniker “Doughy Pantload” is attributed to The Editors in the definition, but the linked article at the Poor Man Institute links onward to the real originator, Norbizness.

    Credit where it is due, please!

  107. 107.

    Quaker in a Basement

    September 30, 2009 at 1:17 pm

    Suggest the following additions:

    Cockheaded manwhore – in reference to Talon Daily News “journalist” Jeff Gannon/James Guckert who gained entrance to several Bush press conferences to ask comically slanted softball questions; bloggers discovered that Guckert ran a web-based male escort service.

    Commander Bunnypants – perhaps as an addition to the Commander Codpiece entry.

  108. 108.

    slippy

    September 30, 2009 at 4:48 pm

    Dean Scream, the- Also known as the “I Have a Scream” speech. Needs a definition.

    I have one:

    Dean Scream, the, aka “I Have a Scream” 1). Dr. Howard Dean’s enthusiastic bellow during the 2004 Democratic primaries, over-amplified both literally and figuratively by a press apparatus bent on demonizing an outsider to the Village groupthink who was threatening to gain too much popular support. 2). Any minor technical or verbal gaffe run ad infinitum and ad nauseum by a compliant press apparatus in order to make a popular political figure appear like a bug-eyed maniac when his or her ideas become more widely accepted than is comfortable to the status quo.

  109. 109.

    Sloegin

    September 30, 2009 at 5:58 pm

    Torture

    1. the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty.

    2. liberal; a crime against humanity

    3. conservative; a family value

  110. 110.

    Robert Waldmann

    September 30, 2009 at 8:32 pm

    A definition of “Kabuki” would be useful. Today I used the word with someone who is fairly web savvy (had a nice blog which is now dormant) and he said “cosa” (that is “what”). OK we were in Rome and he is Italian, but I thind a def of the web meaning of “Kabuki” would be useful. The Italian translation is “teatrino politico.” I have no idea what the Japanese translation is (except that I’m sure it isn’t “kabuki” which, in Japan, probably refers to, you know, kabuki)

  111. 111.

    4jkb4ia

    September 30, 2009 at 11:44 pm

    Up or Down(Upperdown) Vote: the opportunity to vote on something without it being squashed by filibuster. Used as talking point by Republicans when trying to push the “nuclear option” which would disallow the filibuster for judicial nominees in 2005. Currently used to point out Republican hypocrisy.

  112. 112.

    4jkb4ia

    September 30, 2009 at 11:46 pm

    Kabuki: the attempt by politicians to make voters believe they are really working to support something when they were going to kill it all along.

  113. 113.

    4jkb4ia

    September 30, 2009 at 11:48 pm

    Calvinball: a game made up by Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes where the rules are whatever Calvin wants them to be at any given time. Application to current Republican Party obvious.

  114. 114.

    4jkb4ia

    September 30, 2009 at 11:52 pm

    Stay Classy, ___!: A widespread Internet meme used when ____ has passed the bounds of civility or common decency.

  115. 115.

    4jkb4ia

    September 30, 2009 at 11:55 pm

    Poutrage: Passing off personal pique that things are not exactly as you want them as legitimate outrage which should be shared by all right-thinking people.

  116. 116.

    Geoduck

    October 1, 2009 at 7:21 am

    Nitpick about “Hiking the Appalachian Trail”: It was someone on Sanford’s staff that floated this, not Sanford himself. This is because Sanford was out of contact down in South America at the time, which was the problem.

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