Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sundubuman]

Who'll get the Fiskie????

Nominations are open
past winners include Carter, Rachel Corrie, and Michael Moore....


I'm tempted to nominate a few dave's forumers......but they'll never garner the votes they deserve.....

you can follow the action here


http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=18435_Fiskie_Nominations_Now_Open&only

[Ya-ta Boy]

Are you nominating yourself?

[Hater Depot]

Why can't conservatives ever come up with good slang. I mean seriously, idiotarian? Fisk? Weak, dude.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Scooter Libby?

[sundubuman]

a little history....from Wiki...


The term idiotarian, coined by Charles Johnson, webmaster of the Little Green Footballs weblog[1] on January 5, 2002, in response to a comment on the weblog Instapundit, is an apparent hybrid of 'idiot' and the '-tarian' ending common to words denoting political ideologies such as libertarian or communitarian, and is sometimes employed in the service of ad hominem rhetorical attacks. It is perhaps better understood as a pejorative political slogan or label, which means it can be both a tool and a subject of political debate. The term was initially directed against "idiotic" behavior by figures on both the political left and right,[2] however, it has come to be associated much more strongly with its use by warbloggers, right-leaning, and libertarian bloggers in criticism of the political left.
Contents
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* 1 Origin and definitions
o 1.1 Definition in "Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto"
o 1.2 Subsequent definition cited by Johnson
* 2 Usage
o 2.1 A Left/Right/Islamist Conjunction?
o 2.2 Willful and obvious contradictions in rhetoric or analysis
o 2.3 Idiotarian of the Year
* 3 Criticisms
* 4 Alternative terms
* 5 External links
o 5.1 Links sympathetic to Charles Johnson's definition
o 5.2 6 Antipathetic links
o 5.3 Links on the convergence of apparent ideological enemies over anti-American / anti-Jewish themes

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Origin and definitions

On January 5th, 2002, Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit wrote

"What bloggers are more than anything, I think, is anti-idiot. That makes life tough for Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and the Revs. Falwell, Robertson, Jackson, & Sharpton, for reasons that transcend traditional partisanship and ideology.[3]

Responding later that day, Charles Johnson, webmaster of the Little Green Footballs weblog wrote, "That��s it exactly! I really don��t care to affiliate myself with any of the current political parties. But if there were an Anti-Idiotarian Party��, I��d be a member for life."[4]

From this early usage, the term spread through the blogosphere, and acquired several refinements and changes in its usage. Australian blogger Tim Blair, in 2002, described an "ongoing process by which the world's multiple idiocies are becoming one giant, useless force (suggested slogan: "United, Retarded, We'll Never Be Defeated!")."[5] This, and the original inspirations, were then developed by Eric S. Raymond in a widely-linked piece entitled the "Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto," which explicitly criticized political viewpoints held on both the left and right.
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Definition in "Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto"

In the background to the original version of the manifesto in 2003, Raymond wrote, "The implicit meaning of the term was clear from the beginning; it was a condemnation directed both at the dogmatic Right and the doctrinaire Left, both of which proved so preoccupied with their own parochial concerns and historical baggage that they neither anticipated the monstrous threat of Islamo-fascist terrorism nor were able to come to grips with its implications after the fact."[6] Raymond prepared five drafts with public comments on his blog, and published version 2.0 in December 2003. According to the "Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto,":

"WE DEFINE IDIOTARIANISM as the species of delusion within the moral community of mankind that gives aid and comfort to terrorists and tyrants operating outside it.

WE REJECT the idiotarianism of the Left — the moral blindness that refuses to recognize that free markets, individual liberty, and experimental science have made the West a fundamentally better place than any culture in which jihad, ��honor killings��, and female genital mutilation are daily practices approved by a stultifying religion.

WE REJECT the idiotarianism of the Right — whether it manifests as head-in-the-sand isolationism or as a a [sic] Christian-chauvinist political agenda that echoes the religious absolutism of our enemies.

WE ARE MEMBERS OF A CIVILIZATION, and we hold that civilization to be worth defending. We have not sought war, but we will fight it to the end. We will fight for our civilization in our thoughts, in our words, and in our deeds."[7]

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Subsequent definition cited by Johnson

The FAQ at Little Green Footballs[8] links to this definition at Samizdata:

"Idiotarian noun. A term of abuse for an advocate of what are deemed to be irrationalist and subjectivist values that have very little reference to the workings of the real world. Idiotarians are often socialist (quintessentially Noam Chomsky), but can also be paleo-libertarian or paleo-conservative. The defining phrase of idiotarianism is "it is all the fault of the United States": this is usually applied to geopolitics but is sometimes encountered with regard to cultural issues, economic issues, environmental issues, the weather, socks lost in the laundry etc. The term is obviously highly partisan but is in quite widespread use by many blogs. However it is not a term used exclusively by the neo-conservative 'right wing' and many well left of centre or libertarian blogs have used it describe the more surrealist wings of their particular branch of political thought.[9]

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Usage

Western media figures with a perceived multilateralist, pacifist or isolationist geopolitical stance, therefore, are just one set of targets. Figures characterized as "idiotarian" by warbloggers include Michael Moore, Bill Maher, Al Franken, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Rachel Corrie and Jimmy Carter on the political left and Justin Raimondo, Pat Buchanan, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Roy Moore, Lew Rockwell and Eric Margolis on the political right, as well as folks like Lyndon LaRouche.

The figures named here hold wildly incompatible social and economic philosophies (e.g., anarchism, socialism, liberalism, progressivism, paleoconservatism, Christian fundamentalism, libertarianism and paleolibertarianism), but all hold the common quality of being perceived as unfriendly or questionably friendly to liberty, and to some extent as reliant on repetition of discredited dogma rather than reason.

The term thus bears a distinct flavour of rationalist libertarianism, though it is not confined to that group by any means or even universally accepted within that political persuasion.
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A Left/Right/Islamist Conjunction?

Tim Blair's quote was referencing an interview with Lyndon LaRouche, and was based on a belief that he was seeing growing commonalities of agenda and talking points between the anti-globalist and/or anti-American left, the isolationist and/or theological right, and what is sometimes called Islamofascism. An alliance between leftist radicals, Islamists, and the extreme right can be called a "red-green-brown" alliance. This concept remains a part of the term's core usage, at least with respect to issues surrounding the Global War on Terror and the United States.

Others dispute the existence of a conjunction, noting that the only thing holding these groups together is a common set of targets. In the words of Wikipedia contributor 'TBox': "They are united in their belief that the Thesis is fundamentally flawed, and divided in their search for a plausible Antithesis."
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Willful and obvious contradictions in rhetoric or analysis

While many targets of the term could be fairly characterized as opponents of the Iraq War, some fans of the "Idiotarian" label deny its status as a pejorative political slogan. They argue instead for its acceptance as an epistemological category with cross-partisan applications, as per Prof. Reynolds' January 2002 trigger quote. As noted above, some see the common ground as hostility to values held dear by rationalist libertarians or those with related leanings.

Others have used the term to paint opponents as demagogues along the lines of H. L. Mencken's dictum that a demagogue is "one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots." Claims one prominent "anti-Idiotarian":

An recent example might be: UK Claire Short's claim, (that) despite the oil for food scandal and child abuse, the appointment of Libyan Human Rights experts; "the UN is the only institution with the moral authority" to coordinate - response to the Tsunami...

Another avers that:

Those that notice the contradictory nature of the "Idiotarian" type of ideologies may be reminded of Doublethink, "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them," courtesy of George Orwell in his grounding-breaking book 1984

There is an aspect to this usage of the term that suggests idiotarianism goes beyond stupidity, or unconscious/ unconfronted conflicts (cognitive dissonance); and centers around the willful advocation of "idiotarian" ideas. Such usage does raise more frequent charges of "idiotarian" as a simple pejorative political slogan.
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Idiotarian of the Year

Little Green Footballs polls its readers to award an annual "Fiskie" award for the Idiotarian of the Year.

* Little Green Footballs names Rachel Corrie "Idiotarian of the Year"
* Little Green Footballs names Jimmy Carter "Idiotarian of the Year"
* Little Green Footballs names Michael Moore "Idiotarian of the Year"