Category: words mean things (Page 9 of 223)

Since I’ve been gone from words mean things, I’ve been banned from two right-wing weblogs: Dean Esmay and Mrs. du Toit.

In some ways I’m sad about this. Going on those sites and calling them on their outrageous statements was a sort of “Fight Club”-esque therapy for me, and I don’t have that anymore. (The links above are to the specific threads where I was finally banned, after they ran out of right-wing talking points to bludgeon me with.) But they’ve proved themselves to be such hate-filled ideologues that maybe it’s best to leave them to congratulate each other on their superior moral fiber and rock-solid patriotism.

One of the things that began to get my goat was the epithet “moonbat” (also “barking moonbat” and “raving moonbat” and others) for anyone to the left of Bill O’Reilly. The Dean Esmay thread where I was finally banned, in fact, dealt with that very subject.

So I’ve decided to coin my own term for those xenophobic, warmongering, violence-addicted, reactionary, Bush-worshipping, anti-gay members of the rabid right currently dominating political discourse in this country: crapweasels. A common specific would be “neocon crapweasel.”

I feel this word exactly captures both their motives and the effect they have on anyone with an ounce of common sense within their shouting distance. And as a word person from way back, I’m pleased with it. I’ve even made it a category on this new site, so you can get my crapweasel updates whenever you want.

Feel free to use “crapweasel” as you see fit.

Boy, just when you decide to take a break, all kinds of stuff pops up (San Francisco, Mel Gibson, Rod Paige (! fire his ass), Average Joe 2, etc. etc.) that is eminently worth writing about. Well, such is life.

Andy suggested that I have a notify list for people who want to know when (if?) I get started again. So if you’d like to be on the list, e-mail me. Thanks.

In the meantime, I’m moving to a new web host, clearing my head, and making some changes to ‘words mean things.’ Not big things. Preview: tweaked design, categories, no comments. And hopefully less self-censorship.

This has been percolating for a while. I’ve decided to take a break from writing this site. For how long, I don’t know. My reasons are complex, and I don’t know that even I understand them well enough to explain. All I can say is, it’s just not fun at this point.

I want to thank everyone sincerely who comes by here to read my insane ramblings. You all mean more to me than I can express. I’m hoping that if I take some time off, I can come back with the enthusiasm and ideas that seem to be lacking now.

I’d love it if you’d patronize the people on my links list, and I’m going to be updating and tweaking it in the next few days – it’s been a while since I’ve done that.

Be good. I’ll see you soon, I hope.

Nick Lachey (of Nick & Jessica “fame”) played Tom Jones on “American Dreams” tonight. Thankfully and amazingly, the universe did not wink out of existence. Yet.

Bush’s National Guard service, or lack of same, has been quite the topic on the political internet lately. I must say it’s been fun watching Scott McClellan squirm under the gaze of the wakened-from-slumber White House press corps. Right wingers are fond of saying, “They shouldn’t have released *any* records. It’ll never be enough to satisfy them. NEVER!”

Well unfortunately, the opposite is also true. No matter how many inconsistencies, torn and blacked-out documents, and conflicting testimonies come out of this, it will never be enough to convince Bush loyalists (or even undecideds) that anything important happened.

I understand why the Dems latched onto this. With an actual war veteran as a candidate, they thought exposing Bush’s lackadaisical service record would make a huge dent in his main selling point these days – his “regular guy” image. But the problem is, most people already know Bush was a pampered kid who got a lot of breaks, and they don’t care. The only thing remaining that might *possibly* make a dent is drugs, and that’s virtually impossible to prove.

So everyone’s running around like chickens with their heads cut off. And with so much in the here-and-now to hammer Bush on, I think they should stop running.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I offer this Adam Green cartoon to commemorate my wildly ambivalent feelings toward this “holiday.” (Many thanks to David for sending the cartoon to me initially, setting in motion my insane fanboy relationship with Green’s work.)

Ever since Howard Dean’s spectacular flameout, I’ve been looking for a candidate I can support wholeheartedly. Well, I think I’ve found one. And his platform is pretty good, too.

Congratulations to Phyllis Lyon, 79, and Dell Martin, 82, long-time gay rights activists who have been together for 51 years (!). They were married yesterday in San Francisco, after city officials issued 95 marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of state law.

There’s so much to say, but it’s all already been said. I wonder if they’re registered anywhere?

It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Sen. Zell Miller (D-Georgia). But in his latest rant, a combination sermon and Limbaugh-esque namecalling fest, he manages to:

-declare his support for Judge Roy “10 Commandments” Moore of Alabama
-extensively quote the Old Testament on the Senate floor
-claim there is no concept of separation of church and state in the Constitution
-blast the idea of gay marriage
-advocate that Kid Rock be tarred and feathered
-compare the “culture of far left America” with running over a skunk

Memo to Zell Miller: Bite my shiny metal ass.

I have been called Amish in the past for my refusal to have call waiting on my phone line. I know it’s unusual not to have it, but I hate it when you’re talking to someone and another call comes in, and you can almost hear the gears turn in their head – are you more important, or is the new call more important?

I still feel that way. But since I work at home and get lots of nuisance calls during the day, I’ve finally added Caller ID to the line. And I have to say I’m enjoying it. It takes call screening to a whole new level. Plus, I can add people from the call list to the phone’s memory easily.

I know, this is like listening to someone at the turn of the century describe with wonder their new “horseless carriage.” Just call me Amish Reformed.