74 definition by Peter Kobs

1. A term frequently used by politicians when accused of something scandalous. It means: "I did it, but as long as there's no smoking gun I will deny it completely." Most such scandals involve illicit sex, bribery, influence peddling or misuse of public funds.

2. A worn-out public relations phrase that nobody believes anymore. Nixon's famous remark -- "I am not a crook" -- sounds positively Shakespearian in comparison.

1. An angry, sometimes violent, demonstration against health care reform at the local level.

2. A mob that turns out at a Congressional "Town Hall" meeting to oppose the President Obama's health care reform initiative. Many such mobs are organized in advance by conservative lobbying groups supported by the pharmaceutical and insurance industries.

3. A loud, boisterous act of political opposition designed to overwhelm the conversation about health care reform by using shouting and physical intimidation.

1. A version of paranoia associated with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who recently announced that health care reform will create "death lists" of people to be killed by the government.

2. Anyone who embraces the delusional, hate-filled ravings of Sarah Palin.

cf. Birther, John Birch Society, conspiracy cults

1. A new form of capitalism that emphasizes government intervention in the economy to rescue and restructure large companies that are deemed "too big to fail" because of the systemic risk they pose to the nation.

2. The opposite of Marxism, which anticipates the collapse of the entire capitalist system and the seizure of all "means of production" -- healthy companies included.

3. An economic system that prevents large, poorly managed companies from destroying the entire country.

1. Television that encourages viewers to hate, despise and fear "the enemy." George Orwell predicted the rise of Hate TV in his novel "1984." Usually found on the cable channels, Hate TV is the fastest-growing type of pseudo-news. Key characteristics include:

- Scapegoating (blaming a small group for the problems of all)
- Fear-mongering (raising the specter of impending tyranny)
- Simplistic thinking (condensing complex issues into a few hate-filled slogans)
- Truthiness (presenting rumors as established fact)
- Repetition (to give lies the ring of truth)
- Stereotyping (along racial, ethnic or religious lines)
- Assault Interviewing (attacking guests who disagree with the party line)
- Pandering (filling a studio with partisan crowds who will cheer or boo on cue)
- Thematic Aggregation ("packaging" a variety of fears, prejudices and hot-button issues under a common theme)
- Code Words (using substitutes for common racial slurs, insults, etc.)
- Multi-Media Marketing (combining TV with publishing, radio, websites, etc. to reinforce the core message)
- Narrowing (redefining the boundaries of "acceptable belief" to ostracize moderates)
- Movement Hype (promoting a specific group of people as the only "true" Americans)
- Event Manipulation (exaggerating the size, impact or diversity of a protest or political rally)

Hate TV inevitably leads to greater political polarization, up to and including acts of violence against the perceived "enemy."

1. The agonizing mental process of accepting that football season is finally over.

This serious mental disorder afflicts millions of Americans every year, usually in the second week of February. Effective therapy is not available until the following August, at the earliest.

2. A crisis in the national spirit that is mitigated (only slightly) by the arrival of March Madness -- the NCAA basketball tournament.

3. The realization that life as we know it has ended, at least for six torturously long months.

4. Proof that Arena Football will never take the place of the real thing.

A perjorative term for "Evangelical" or someone who speaks with Evangelical fervor, especially a member of the Evangelical Christian right in the United States. This relatively new slang term is sometimes used by non-Evangelical Christians, as well as non-believers, to denote a shallow or knee-jerk kind of religious thinking that promotes an "us vs. them" worldwiew.

"Gellie" or "Gelly" is derived from the third syllable of EvanGELical. The word can have both playful and offensive connotations. It is related to the word "Fundie" for fundamentalist.