Fitzmas: Difference between revisions
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#REDIRECT [[Patrick Fitzgerald]] |
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[[Image:Merryfitzmas s.jpg|right|framed|"Merry Fitzmas"]] |
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'''Fitzmas''' is a word coined by some [[American liberalism|liberal]] [[United States|American]] [[blog]]gers in the atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, primarily among [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], which preceded the announcement of results of [[Patrick Fitzgerald]]'s investigation of the [[Plame affair]]. The word "Fitzmas" is a [[portmanteau]] of Fitzgerald's name and "[[Christmas]]" as well as a rough rearrangement of the sounds in "[[mitzva]]s" or acts of kindness. |
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On [[October 28]], [[2005]] Fitzgerald announced at a press conference, that the [[grand jury]] had [[indictment|indicted]] [[Lewis Libby]], who was then the [[Chief of Staff]] and [[Assistant for National Security Affairs]] to [[Dick Cheney]], [[Vice President of the United States]] (Libby also served as Assistant to the [[President of the United States|President]]). |
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On [[November 18]], [[2005]], Fitzgerald announced in court filings that the investigation was continuing and would involve a second grand jury, a possible sign of future charges. Furthermore, on December 7, 2005, Fitzgerald presented evidence to the second grand jury. Many in the media had speculated that the investigation was finished by looking at Fitzgerald's body language during his press conference on October 28, 2005 despite the fact that he never said anything of the sort. |
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Many [[parody|parodies]] of traditional [[Christmas]] songs were written and posted around the [[blogosphere]], especially on the [[progressivism|progressive]] websites [[Democratic Underground]] and [[Daily Kos]]. There are also several versions of "[http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5016450#5016512 'Twas the Night Before Fitzmas]" (based, of course, on the classic Christmas poem "[[A Visit From St. Nicholas]]"). [http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/19/103211/60][http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/18/232317/79] As the term gained popularity, [[T-shirt]]s with "Merry Fitzmas!" designs were produced and offered for sale. [http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=13031&op=articles] Games such as "Fitzmas Bingo"[http://www.backupbrain.com/fitzmas/] and [[Karl Rove]] [[piñata]]s were also created. [http://rove.pinata.democracynaction.com/] |
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The first known use of the term "Fitzmas" was on [[October 6]], [[2005]] at 8:24 AM by 2Millionth Web Log [http://2millionthweblog.blogspot.com/2005/10/night-before-fitzmas-or-visit-from.html], followed by SpiralHawk on Democratic Underground at 12:56 PM. [http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4988201] It soon became sufficiently widespread to draw derisive attention from a columnist for the [[Conservatism|conservative]] magazine ''[[National Review]]''. [http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Comment/ByronYork/102005.html] Its use spread beyond the [[Internet]], as it was used on various media outlets, including ''[[The Al Franken Show]]'', ''[[The Mike Malloy Show]]'', ''[[The Rachel Maddow Show]]'' and ''[[Morning Sedition]]'' of [[Air America Radio]], [[Bernie Ward|''The Bernie Ward Show'']] (with a reading of one version of "The Night Before Fitzmas"), ''[[The Ed Schultz Show]]'', ''[[The Stephanie Miller Show]]'', and, on [[October 25]], [[2005]], by [[Sean Hannity]] on [[FOX News]] and [[Rush Limbaugh]] on his radio program. |
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The term has also now appeared in numerous mainstream media sources such as [[The Washington Post]], [[The Wall Street Journal]], and [[The Guardian]]. |
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In less than 30 days since the term's coinage, it had grown from zero search results to over one million. By the beginning of [[November 2005|November]], the word "Fitzmas" drew more than 1 million hits on the [[Google]] search engine, and more than 750,000 hits on [[Yahoo!]]. However, as of April 2006, hits for the term were under 300,000 on Google [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=fitzmas&btnG=Google+Search] and under 100,000 on Yahoo! [http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=fitzmas&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8]. These hits fluctuate occasionally in response to news reports spiking interest in the story. |
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==Derivative terms== |
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A derivative term, "Fitzween" [http://wideawakecafe.blogspot.com/2005/10/no-fitzmas-today.html], treats the Libby indictment as more of a [[Halloween]] than Christmas, evoking the image of the lesser treats received by children on the earlier holiday, and alluding to the possibility that larger presents may still come later (because Fitzgerald announced that his investigation was continuing). "Fitzween" may also have been employed by bloggers because of the time of year during which Fitzgerald announced Libby's indictment: on October 28, a few days before Halloween. |
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A few related turn of phrases have appeared. |
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The term "Treason's Greetings" as sported on some merchandise is a play on the holiday phrase "Season's Greetings" commonly found on many holiday greeting cards, combining the concept of the holiday season and the implication of treasonous crimes being investigated by Fitzgerald. |
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In the aftermath of the indictment against Libby, some expressed their disappointment that no one else had (yet) been indicted by calling the event "Fizzlemas". [http://peacepuppy.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/28/173436/83] |
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As the events have progressed and the possibility of the investigation continuing for months, more holiday variants on "Fitzmas" have been spotted on Democratic Underground and on ''[[Bernie Ward|The Bernie Ward Show]]'', including "Fitzgiving", "Fitzentine Day", "The Fitz of July", "St. Fitzpatrick Day", "Fitzident's Day", "Fitzer" (complete with "Fitzer Bunnies" and "Fitzer Eggs"), "Fitzanukkah", "Fitz Hashanah","Eid-ul-Fitzr", "Yom Fitzpur", "Fitztille Day" in France, "Fitzo de Mayo" in Mexico and "Fitzing Day" in the UK and Canada. |
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Merry Fitzmas May 13, 2006 |
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==Merchandise== |
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A flurry of merchandise for purchase has appeared to take advantage of this term (and its derivatives), including holiday cards, slogan t-shirts, christmas tree ornaments, and even [[piñata]]s.[http://rove.pinata.democracynaction.com/] [[Americablog]] is selling t-shirts via [[Cafepress]] that read "Treason's Greetings".[http://www.cafepress.com/americablog/939012] Democracynaction.com has also purchased Google [[Adwords]] text ads based on the term "Fitzmas" in order to sell their merchandise. |
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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051306W.shtml |
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== External links == |
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*[http://www.zippyvideos.com/5834013691920836/merry_fitzmas/ "Merry Fitzmas Video"] |
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*[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-franken/happy-fitznukkah-everybo_b_9721.html "Happy Fitznukkah, Everybody!"] - Al Franken - October 28, 2005 |
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*[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0510290097oct29,1,1195707.story?coll=chi-news-hed "Bloggers weigh in on Plame, Libby indictment, `Fitzmas'"] - Frank James - Chicago Tribune - October 29, 2005 |
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*[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002604.html "Language Log: The First 'Fitzmas'"] - Benjamin Zimmer - October 30, 2005 (origin and spread of the term) |
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*[http://www.suntimes.com/output/steyn/cst-edt-steyn30.html "Don't expect a joyride from Scooter, Dems"] - Mark Steyn - Chicago Sun-Times - October 30, 2005 |
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*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,1605228,00.html "Bush is in ethical meltdown but all the liberals can do is gloat"] - Gary Younge - The Guardian - October 31, 2005 |
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*[http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=9996 "Coal for Moonbats"] - [[Human Events|Human Events Online]] - October 31, 2005 |
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*[http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/jonahgoldberg/2005/11/02/173920.html "The Grinch Who Stole Fitzmas"] - Jonah Goldberg - TownHall.com - November 2, 2005 |
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*[http://www.anncoulter.org/cgi-local/printer_friendly.cgi?article=85 "Democrats Stick Fork in Own Heads"] - Ann Coulter - AnnCoulter.com - November 3, 2005 |
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[[Category:Plame affair]] |
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[[Category:Internet memes]] |
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Latest revision as of 02:38, 17 December 2008
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