Translating Huckabee

Doing my best impression of Barbara Billingsley in Airplane: "Oh stewardess! I speak evangelical ..."

Former White House speechwriter Michael Gerson was very skilled at peppering President George W. Bush's public statements with so-called "dog whistle" language targeting evangelical Christian voters. These passing phrases and allusions wouldn't alter or confuse Bush's message to other listeners, but they would have an additional resonance for the evangelicals listening. The actual meaning of those phrases didn't much matter, what was important was that he came across as conversant in the local idiom, the insider's jargon.

To cite a famous example, when Bush said that he believed in the "wonder-working pow'r" of the American people, the message was simply that if Bush used that phrase he must know that song, so he must've sung that song, so he must've been to church, so he must be one of us. No one was supposed to, and few did, think too hard about the bizarre meaning of that statement -- which seemed to equate the American people with "the precious blood of the lamb," suggesting that we could, by rallying around our president, "be free from the burden of sin." That (heretical, arrogant, insane) implication wasn't the point of the allusion. The point was just to reassure evangelicals that he spoke their language, and was therefore on their side, without scaring off everyone else.

Unlike Bush, Mike Huckabee really is a native speaker of the evangelical idiom. He isn't just parroting phrases spelled out phonetically for him by some Wheaton-alum speechwriter, he's talking the way he naturally talks. The effect for evangelical voters is thus the same -- they are reassured he is "one of us." But the effect for everyone else is quite different, because unlike Bush's dog whistles, everyone else can hear Huckabee's allusions too and non-native speakers have a hard time making sense of what he's saying.

To take a trivial example, Huckabee has on several occasions mentioned that he reads a chapter from Proverbs* every day and that he carries his New Testament with him for this purpose. The book of Proverbs, of course, is not in the New Testament, but evangelicals are all familiar with the Pocket Testament League's tiny volumes, the size of a deck of cards, that include not just the 27 books of the New Testament but also the Psalms and Proverbs.** These editions were designed for convenience and not with the intent of dismissing the other 37 books of the Hebrew Scriptures as unimportant, although it's worth noting that most American evangelicals wouldn't notice if the prophets suddenly disappeared from their Bibles. (Evangelical reading tends to focus on Paul's Epistles, Proverbs and pselected Psalms, which is also why Huckabee earns points for his frequent citations from Proverbs but Barack Obama gets none for quoting the book of Amos, as he did yesterday.)

More potentially confusing is Huckabee's reference to "a living God." He used this phrase in the comment we looked at earlier, in which the former Arkansas governor explicitly endorses theocracy. Here again is that comment, as reported by MSNBC:

"[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that's what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards," Huckabee said.

Over at Making Light, Avram Grumer has some fun with this juxtaposition of "living God" and talk of the Constitution. Since the idea of a "living Constitution" is often railed against by social conservatives who see it as a synonym for "anything goes," Grumer wonders if this means Huckabee believes in an anything-goes God as well:

Wait, “the living god”? Wouldn’t that be some kinda wishy-washy progressive modernist God? I figured Huck for a strict constructionist God, an eye-for-an-eye guy who meant every word of Leviticus when he spake it. “Living God” implies some kind of dynamic, changing God, probably soft on crime, the kind of warm, fuzzy God from whom Words emanate with penumbrae.

In the ensuing discussion,*** Grumer writes, "I'm just amused by the fact that the adjective 'living' seems to imply diametrically opposite things when you apply it to 'God' or 'Constitution.'"

That's astute. The same could be said of the evangelical idiom "the living Word of God" as a reference to the Bible. "Living" there certainly doesn't mean all the wanton things they take it to mean in the phrase "living Constitution." But I don't want to get bogged down in the legal and legalist lit-crit, what I'm interested in here is what this phrase "living God" means.

When a Southern Baptist preacher like Mike Huckabee speaks of "the living God," what he means is that God is active, busy, involved in the world, even that God intervenes in the lives of people and the affairs of nations. That's not in itself an unusual claim for us Christian types to make. I would probably disagree with Huckabee as to the extent and content and intent of that divine involvement, as well as over our capacity for understanding it (there's that effing ineffability again), but I wouldn't object to the use of the phrase "living God." What it means, essentially, is that he is not a Deist.

I should caution, however, that I'm not entirely confident in my ability to translate Huckabee's evangelical-speak because I'm not entirely confident that he isn't using a different kind of dog whistle -- one to which my evangelical ears are not attuned.

Bush's dog-whistle code-words were designed to appeal to evangelical Christian voters without scaring away everyone else. Huckabee isn't doing that -- he employs evangelical idioms without any apparent regard for how it sounds to those unfamiliar with it. But Huckabee may also be employing his own set of vague allusions to appeal to a particular subset of evangelical types without scaring away the rest of the people in the pews. Over at Daily Kos, dogemperor makes the case that Huckabee admires Bill Gothard. Huckabee has even proudly noted that he has been through Gothard's "Basic Seminar."

Gothard is not well-known outside of his particular fiefdom, but Huckabee's expressed admiration for him -- and Gothard's attendance at a Houston fundraiser for the candidate -- is deeply disturbing. You know how, say, Christopher Hitchens gets a case of the howling fantods any time he hears anyone from the religious right speak? That's how most evangelicals respond to Bill Gothard. At the fundamentalist Baptist, and very Republican****, church I grew up in Gothard's seminars were often criticized as a "cult."

It may simply be that, as a politician, Huckabee is willing to accept support from anyone who is willing to offer it. I haven't heard any reports that Huckabee's daughter has been ordered to remain single until age 30, after which she would be allowed to marry only with her father's permission (yes, that really is something the Gothardites I've encountered believe), or any other indications that the former governor is truly a Gothard devotee. So his praise of Gothard and the Basic Seminar might just be a politician's flattery -- just as his praise for the World's Worst Books after receiving Tim LaHaye's endorsement might not mean he's a full-blown prophecy maniac. But both of these instances give me pause. Huckabee talks like a run-of-the-mill evangelical, but if he's really a fan of both LaHaye and Gothard, then he may be something very different and far more troublesome.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

* Many evangelicals seem to think that the division of Proverbs into 31 chapters was divinely inspired as a sign that we should read a chapter of this book every day. That entails skipping the final chapter five months out of the year -- nothing against Lemuel, but hey, he's no Solomon, you know? Contemporary evangelical piety might be a very different thing if the book of Ecclesiastes had also been divided into 31 chapters.

** I've kept one of these pocket-sized volumes in the glove compartment of my car ever since the day I found myself unexpectedly at a hospital bedside needing, but not having with me, the 23rd Psalm, and Psalm 139, and Romans 8, and 1 Corinthians 15. It turns out it's also a good thing to keep in one's glove compartment because troopers tend to look closely at everything you're pulling out of there when they ask to see your registration and proof of insurance.

*** And thanks for the kind words and plugs.

**** Except for Cindy's mom. But we kept an eye on her.

Comments

[Apsalar]

My mother is not particular a Huckabee fan, but she's very conservative and is a little depressed about her choices this year. The other day I was on the phone with her, and read Huckabee's pro-theology statement. She said that she agreed with it. I said I knew she would agree with it, but it is a statement that kind of scares away other people who are a little less religious, or a little differently religious. She said that she thought Huckabee was speaking more to God, and less to "the world." Now, at this point in the conversation, I made a mistake. I said that Huckabee has to try to appeal to the world, since that's who will elect him. I know, I know. My mom said, "Noooooooo, you can't ever think like that." So I recovered the best I could (I wish I'd thought of the word "ineffable" here, Fred), by saying that God does what he does for his own reasons because he knows it all, etc, and that Huckabee can't do much to influence that other than to pray, but as far as the world does go, that is who he has to talk to. She seemed to accept that.

[Mark]

Lotta hate in 139, although the first part is cool. Romans 8 is incredibly evangelical, if I remember. Why not Matthew?

Do tell the story of the hospital visit.

[Dennis]

I've been traveling over the weekend so I missed Obama's quote, but my guess is Obama doesn't get points for Amos more because of the message in Amos and how it clashes with the beliefs of some that capitalism equals Christianity.

[jeh]

But remember that Mitt Romney said "Battlefield Earth" was his favorite novel--now that's scary!

I gave a Bible study at my church that heavily cited the OT minor prophets concerning social justice--but from the stares of those in the pews, I had the distinct feeling that they thought I was a raving heretic or that I had gone crazy. I guess statements like ""To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God. ... " sounds like more of that liberal nonsense to some.

[Josh]

Everyone's got one of those PTL volumes --the evangies pass 'em out at the entrances to universities in the U.S. nowadays, often characterizing them as "Bibles."

[Praline]

Does Huckabee talk this way because he's deliberately trying to appeal to evangelicals, like Bush, or because he simply doesn't care about people who aren't? Is he being cunning, or is he just talking in a way that interests him? The thing is, assuming his phrases scare off non-fundies, there are two explanations: one, he knows, but thinks he can manage without them, or two, he's so locked in to his particular subculture that it doesn't fully occur to him that there might be broader ways to talk.

Basically, the guy's using dog-whistle phrases. Is this because he's a wannabe shepherd, or is it because he's a dog?

[ako]

Contemporary evangelical piety might be a very different thing if the book of Ecclesiastes had also been divided into 31 chapters.

This suddenly had me picturing evangelicals taking the chapter-a-day approach to the Song of Solomon.

I think that might be good for everyone.

[Ray]

Gotta love that first footnote. Apparently there are 31 flavours of Baskin-Robbins ice-cream - is there also a message there?

[Dahne]

It makes me very angry when politicians make these blatant appeals to religion. It's not just the flagrant disregard of separation of church and state; it's the treatment of this disregard as if it were something to be proud of. They step up to the podium in succession and proclaim that not only do they consider this just fine and dandy to go directly against, but they'll go against it harder and louder than the other guy.

Also, applause to Praline for delivering an excellent point with a lovely, sharp turn of phrase. Remind me to get your book.

[Praline]

Thank you! :-)

[Tonio]

I'm not entirely confident that he isn't using a different kind of dog whistle -- one to which my evangelical ears are not attuned.

My worst fear is that Huckabee's dog whistle is targeted at the hardcore theocrats, signaling that his rewriting of the Constitution according to "God's standards" wouldn't stop with abortion and gay marriage. What distinguishes a typical evangelical from the type of Christian who wants to weaken the First Amendment, such as mandatory prayer and creationism in public schools?

But remember that Mitt Romney said "Battlefield Earth" was his favorite novel--now that's scary!

Is it possible, however unlikely, that Romney isn't aware of the book's Scientology connection? I've never read Hubbard's SF, and I'm not sure about his reputation in SF fandom.

[Queequeg]

Neopente?

I can't find a definition.

Fred links here to dogemperor's post on Daily Kos about Gothard, and several times dogemperor refers to neopente groups. I'm not sure I'd get a coherent, non-snarky answer from dogemperor, so I'll ask here: What does "neopente" mean?

[scottbot_still_hears_his_master's_whistle]

Scottbot, being potentially immortal, is untroubled by human frailty, and is tackless enough to bring it up in polite discussion.

Has our Compassionate Host (TM) (no Catholic jokes, please) taken into consideration that perhaps his hearing is losing its acuity?

Not only is he playing in the noisy lanes of the Internet, but he is also growing older. And with his proven devotion to raucous music, it just might be that his dog whistle detection apparatus is no longer first rate.

Or, as is more likely to be the case, the person with this year's shiny dog whistle has no idea how to use it - as has been repeatedly demonstrated since it was Morning in America, Republicans are uninterested in competence. Criminal self-enrichment? No question. Chickenhawk military adventures? The more, the merrier. Wide stances? Only in public places, not private.

Scottbot has reached the limits of its metaphorical programming allusion module, and seems to hear the dulcet tones of the Original Programmer (TM) getting all lathered up about TAX REBATES. That's right, only the Republicans hate taxes enough to give taxpayers money back - money that doesn't actually exist in Uncle Sam's overdrawn account, but so what? Spending money is the only way to win a war against a noun. Though that noun seems to have changed its spelling in the last few days.

[scottbot_still_hears_his_master's_whistle]

Scottbot, being potentially immortal, is untroubled by human frailty, and is tackless enough to bring it up in polite discussion.

Has our Compassionate Host (TM) (no Catholic jokes, please) taken into consideration that perhaps his hearing is losing its acuity?

Not only is he playing in the noisy lanes of the Internet, but he is also growing older. And with his proven devotion to raucous music, it just might be that his dog whistle detection apparatus is no longer first rate.

Or, as is more likely to be the case, the person with this year's shiny dog whistle has no idea how to use it - as has been repeatedly demonstrated since it was Morning in America, Republicans are uninterested in competence. Criminal self-enrichment? No question. Chickenhawk military adventures? The more, the merrier. Wide stances? Only in public places, not private.

Scottbot has reached the limits of its metaphorical programming allusion module, and seems to hear the dulcet tones of the Original Programmer (TM) getting all lathered up about TAX REBATES. That's right, only the Republicans hate taxes enough to give taxpayers money back - money that doesn't actually exist in Uncle Sam's overdrawn account, but so what? Spending money is the only way to win a war against a noun. Though that noun seems to have changed its spelling in the last few days.

[John Ballard]

I'm glad you didn't publish this before today. I aim to steal the whole thing for my blog and leading up to the King holiday I was avoiding election stuff because it tends to be inflammatory.
Well that's over now...so gimme the matches. This is one of your better pieces.

[scottbot_hates_javascript]

Scottbot would like to apologize for the double post - Scottbot, being paranoid, doesn't actually use Javascript in daily browsing - and when Typepad did its usual gagging about that fact, Scottbot hit Stop faster than you can say Start (a Microsoft in-joke - only Billy G would think turning off a PC by hitting Start is an example of smart programmers at work).

Then, after turning on Javascript, Scottbot logically submitted again. However, in typical fashion, hitting Stop seems to have been sufficient for the robot check to have not worked as intended, meaning that Scottbot has not only evaded the anti-bot detectors, but now Scottbot looks like an idiot - as if a highly buffed Scottbot ever needed any help with that.

Sorry for the confusion.

[Karen]

This post makes me grateful that Numbers doesn't have 31 chapters. I'd hate to see how the fundies used all the smiting references.

Count me as another one who never heard of Gothard, and I grew up in a Baptist town in East Texas. That was the 70's, though, and lots of things have been introduced since then. Heck, back then evangelicals actually wanted their daughters to go to college. Purity was nice, but having your kids pay for their own upkeep was considerably nicer.

[Jesurgislac]

Tonio: I've never read Hubbard's SF, and I'm not sure about his reputation in SF fandom.

There was a joke at cons a while ago that Hubbard was the only bad science-fiction writer who had founded a religion to get people to buy his books.

[Lila]

At the risk of feeding the troll:

Scott, there's a big difference between endorsing the ideal of justice found in religious writings, and altering the Constitution to fit one group's interpretation of those writings. See, for example, Gandhi's opinion of the Gospels.

[Karen]

I read the Kos links, and I think "neopente" is neopentecostal.

[Lila]

p.s. But then again, Scott, it appears there is better ammunition out there for your argument:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/?last_story=/opinion/greenwald/2008/01/21/obama/

This comes a lot closer to resembling what Huckabee is doing.

[Tonio]

Doing my best impression of Barbara Billingsley in Airplane: "Oh stewardess! I speak evangelical ..."

One of my all-time favorite movies. Would any of you like to write an evangelical parody of the jive-dude scenes?

These passing phrases and allusions wouldn't alter or confuse Bush's message to other listeners, but they would have an additional resonance for the evangelicals listening. The actual meaning of those phrases didn't much matter, what was important was that he came across as conversant in the local idiom, the insider's jargon.

Given the Bush Administration's record of weakening the church/state separation, Gerson's dog whistling has sinister implications for me. Instead of appearing conversant in the general idiom of evangelism, Bush appeared to be covertly signaling the religious right that he was going to implement some of their agenda. Fred, do you agree with that sinister implication, or do you think the intent was more benign?

Regarding Psalms and Proverbs being bundled with the New Testament, I remember the Gideons distributing this type of stripped-down Bible in the 1970s.

[Chuck]

Tonio: Is it possible, however unlikely, that Romney isn't aware of the book's Scientology connection? I've never read Hubbard's SF, and I'm not sure about his reputation in SF fandom.

As Jesu noted, yeah: As a writer, Hubbard made an excellent cult leader.

[Queequeg]

Thanks, Karen. Neopente = neopentecostal.

I wish dogemperor wouldn't sling around insider-baseball terms like "neopente." If he wants to broaden his message to outsiders, he should use the full term "neopentecostal" and then explain what's "neo" about it. If anyone here cares to explain that, I'd appreciate it.

[Tonio]

The Origin of Scientology - apparently most of this has been confirmed by other writers who were there that night.

[patter]

Sounds like The Huckster is running out of money. More's the pity.

But what I really want to know is what happened to Cindy's mom? Did they finally run her out? Or, since it's Baptist and girls can't play, did they just sideline her and ignore her?

[Karen]

I agree Queequeg. I really, deeply hate having to translate writer's idiosyncracies. I work as a regulatory lawyer, which means I get to spend hours each day trying to guess the meaning of acronyms. I'm good at it, but geez. I shouldn't have to do that.

[damnedyankee]

Of course, Hucakbee violated the separation between Church and State and tried to legislate morality with his citation, but Obama wasn't. It's OK if you're a progressive. God Demands Tax Hikes, dammit. Jesus died for the IRS.

Amazingly, there's a good point buried in here, but alas, it's overwhelmed by Scott's obsessive need to be... um, Scott.

Oh, woe.

[Jos]

God Demands Tax Hikes, dammit. Jesus died for the IRS.

I think that would be obvious to anyone. I admit I am... rather hazy on my Gospels, but didn't Jesus have kind words for tax collectors while there were so many more 'deserving' candidates around?

[Amanda]

Fred links here to dogemperor's post on Daily Kos about Gothard, and several times dogemperor refers to neopente groups. I'm not sure I'd get a coherent, non-snarky answer from dogemperor, so I'll ask here: What does "neopente" mean?

I wish dogemperor wouldn't sling around insider-baseball terms like "neopente." If he wants to broaden his message to outsiders, he should use the full term "neopentecostal" and then explain what's "neo" about it. If anyone here cares to explain that, I'd appreciate it.

Dogemporor is a walkaway from hardcore dominionist groups. (If you're not familiar with the term dominionist, it's a catch-all for the Christian groups who want the political power to create a Christian nation.) She's passionate when it comes to exposing the links between people and these groups because she's lived through the kind of hell they'd want to inflict on everyone else.

I've never known her to reply in a snarky manner when politely asked to clarify a term or point. She does tend to write with the expectation that you have some familiarity with the background, as opposed to explaining every term, every time. It's a weakness when you're reading her for the first time, but, when you regularly read or write about this movement it becomes normal. Every field has its language.

Pentecostalism is distinguished by the belief in the personal experience of God through the "baptism of the spirit" which is usually characterized by speaking in tongues. This goes back to the early 20th century. In the 60s & 70s this became common again, leading to the Neopentes.

Neopentecostal groups also often share "name it and claim it" theology (If you pray hard enough (and give enough to Church), you will become wealthy), and a strong belief in possession and exorcism. They are usually Evangelical. They usually believe that the bible is the unerring Word of God.

[Spalanzani]

"Neopente = neopentecostal."

For some reason I thought 'neopente' was a misspelling of 'nepenthe'. Now it all makes much more sense...

[Tonio]

For some reason I thought 'neopente' was a misspelling of 'nepenthe'...

I feel so much better after reading that, but now I can't remember reading this thread.

[Jesurgislac]

For some reason I thought 'neopente' was a misspelling of 'nepenthe'.

So did I. God, we're a bunch of druggies, aren't we?

(Not that I've ever tried nepenthe *adds hastily* but I'm told it's an absolutely fantastic painkiller. ;-)

[Tonio]

(Not that I've ever tried nepenthe *adds hastily* but I'm told it's an absolutely fantastic painkiller. ;-)

You mean it's real? I thought it was a made-up plot device in the Greek myths.

[Abelardus]

... pselected Psalms ...

That's always a welcome play on words. Only too bad that a quotation from Amos -- do you know what chapter/verse Obama quoted? -- got swept aside.

[Dash]

Praline: Does Huckabee talk this way because he's deliberately trying to appeal to evangelicals, like Bush, or because he simply doesn't care about people who aren't?

My guess: right now, Huckabee is going for the evangelical vote--he doesn't have to worry too much about "the world" at this point. Evangelicals have long felt that the powerful were ignoring them while being careful to include everyone else. (Example: when The Passion of the Christ came out, a common reply I heard among evangelicals to claims of anti-semitism was, "Well, Hollywood has long used the name of Jesus as its most common swear-word, and no one has bothered to worry about it offending people like me, so....") At this point, all the Republicans are appealing to the evangelical vote--they're a big chunk of the base--but Huckabee is making himself distinctive by talking to them in such a way as to suggest that he doesn't care if those worldly folk out there understand him or not. That's a pretty powerful appeal. It also appeals to a basic evangelical virtue: standing up publicly for your faith and ignoring what "the world" thinks. That in this case it's a matter of using language that doesn't communicate to the broader audience doesn't seem to matter.

The average person, though, probably isn't going to think much about a phrase like "the living God," since he'll think he knows what the phrase means: just plain old "God." "Living" presumably will be taken by nonevangelicals as meaning something like "for real," without any of the theological detail, or perhaps merely as an added element of the title, sort of like "Jesus" versus "the Lord Jesus."

[Dash]

While I'm in the comment thread, I got a copy of your book, Praline, and am looking forward to reading it. I saw, with some envy, that cjmr took off Saturday to do so. I wasn't able to, because I had big, tottering stacks of work to deal with. I had big, tottering stacks of work to deal with because life stinks. I know life stinks, because God said so (Job 14:1: "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble"). God said it, I believe it, that settles it, and that is why I haven't read your book yet.

OTOH, the pleasure is yet ahead of me.

[Praline]

Thank you Dash! Hope you enjoy it. :-) And hope the tottering stacks of work prove not too dreadful.

[Tonio]

(Example: when The Passion of the Christ came out, a common reply I heard among evangelicals to claims of anti-semitism was, "Well, Hollywood has long used the name of Jesus as its most common swear-word, and no one has bothered to worry about it offending people like me, so....")

If they looked at the situation more dispassionately, they

The average person, though, probably isn't going to think much about a phrase like "the living God," since he'll think he knows what the phrase means: just plain old "God."

I had assumed that most Christians used it that way. I had also assumed that some of them were thumbing their noses at things like Time's "Is God Dead?" cover from the 1960s.

[Tonio]

Oops! The sentence should read thusly...

If they looked at the situation more dispassionately, they may have concluded that Hollywood regarded the practice as a PG-rated alternative to words more generally regarded as vulgar, instead of as a deliberate attempt to slam religion.

[Xanthippas]

I didn't realize the phrase "living God" wasn't well understood by most people. I haven't been to church in a long time, but I know exactly what he means by the phrase; it was very popular in the Southern Baptist churches I attended. I certainly don't think it has any connection to the "living Constitution" language that conservatives are so irritated by.

[cjmr]

I had assumed that most Christians used it that way. I had also assumed that some of them were thumbing their noses at things like Time's "Is God Dead?" cover from the 1960s.

I certainly had no clue what he meant--but I assumed it was something evangelical-ish.

If they looked at the situation more dispassionately, they may have concluded that Hollywood regarded the practice as a PG-rated alternative to words more generally regarded as vulgar, instead of as a deliberate attempt to slam religion.

I'd actually rather have my kids hear movie characters using vulgarities like 'shit' than saying 'Jesus!'

[Lauren]

I prefer my movie characters to swear in Chinese.

(I finished Praline's book over the weekend, too.)
:)

[Abelardus]

I prefer my movie characters to swear in Chinese.

I'm trying to make personal use "Commonwealth" vulgarities like Oh, bugger or Sodding machine ... Only the erudite will know the true depths of the phrases.

[Tonio]

I'm trying to make personal use "Commonwealth" vulgarities like Oh, bugger or Sodding machine ... Only the erudite will know the true depths of the phrases.

Remember the "Virgin Shaglantic" ad campaign? I was told by a British acquaintance that the joke was much more vulgar in her country than most Americans suspected. When I read the Superman comic "True Brit", I tried to hear the words in my head with the correct accents.

[Dash]

If they looked at the situation more dispassionately, they may have concluded that Hollywood regarded the practice as a PG-rated alternative to words more generally regarded as vulgar, instead of as a deliberate attempt to slam religion.

I think that's kind of the point. They have an understandable objection to someone using the name of their God--a name they regard as extremely holy--as a "less objectionable" alternative to biological references.

One can see their point: try to imagine someone regularly using the name of someone close to you--say, your mother's or child's name--as their commonplace swear word. I suspect that would come close to how they feel about it.

[Karen]

1. Would someone please post a link to a source for Praline's book? I'd love to read an entire book of her writing.

2. Brit cuss words: My husband was an exchange student in Truro, Nova Scotia. His host parents were expat Brits from York and Edinburgh. He had adopted "bloody" as a mild invective, only to learn that "bloody" was to a Brit a little worse that "shit." He adapted by simply using Spanish swear-words and using "bloody" again when he returned.

[McJulie]

For some reason I thought 'neopente' was a misspelling of 'nepenthe'.

So did I. God, we're a bunch of druggies, aren't we?

Druggies? No, Poe fans!

[Jesurgislac]

Tonio: You mean it's real? I thought it was a made-up plot device in the Greek myths.

How erudite. Nepenthe is opium dissolved in fortified wine.

[McJulie]

One of the links from the DailyKos article is to this site detailing the links between Huckabee and Gothard. What struck me as creepily hilarious was the fact that apparently being a Gothard devotee not only means you have to have a large family, it also means you have to dress them identically. It's like they watched The Sound of Music one too many times.