bear pit n.— «In an Australian first, politicians will be able to breastfeed their babies in NSW Parliament, under landmark rules. The controversial move is sure to ruffle the feathers of some male MPs who dominate Parliament’s lower...
blood and treasure n.— «As a discussion of the Iraq War grows longer (and more heated), it becomes more and more likely that someone will invoke the phrase “blood and treasure.” This olde-tyme expression, popular with Jefferson and Monroe...
deliteracy n.— «The very purpose of this series is to combat what I call the ‘deliteracy’ of current and common culture, i.e.- the active dumbing down of art and discourse. Nowadays, many magazines that used to interview people of...
triangulator n.— «Your husband, President Clinton, who is arguably the most effective Democratic politician in a generation, was often referred to as a “triangulator,” a practitioner of what was termed the third way of...
fetcher bill n.— «politicians routinely submit legislative bills that would take money from various persons or groups, and then withdraw them once (constitutionally protected) payments are made. These bills go by different names. In...
catfish amendment n.— «The exact day the first North Carolina politician hooked his thumbs in his suspenders and referred to a “catfish amendment” is probably lost to history.…The term refers to a proposed change on a...