An extensive photo set depicting placards from recent Tea Party demonstrations has been uploaded to Flickr user Pargon's photostream -- and kudos are due to Pargon for coining the term "Teabonics," ---describing the tortured spelling and grammar often found on display at such events.

Teabaggers do seem to have a difficult time with the English language. But, hey, don't we all occasionally? For instance, given today's ever-changing kaleidoscopic network jargon, I'm not so sure but that Pargon might be a "Flickr usr" -- and, instead of being "uploaded," I suppose those images might have been "Flickd" or some damned thing like that.

In fact, after the whole Twitter thing hit, with all its "tweets" and "tweople" and "twitterati," I sort of gave up in despair. There is a point at which language innovation starts to seem a bit ... well, overeager. (For instance, among gay men, I always thought of the "bear" movement as a very good thing. That woodsy, Jeremiah Johnson look always did a hell of a lot more for me than the clean-shaven, fashion-forward, coiffed appearance that is so typical. But, at some time in the '90s, the gays' instinct for inclusive nomenclature came into play, and suddenly we had "cubs," "otters," "wolves" and all number of other woodland creatures in play. Cute, but come on. Who could keep track?)

The trouble is that words such as "socialism," "language" and "they're" are not new. They've been around for generations. Yet these and equally venerable terms are the ones that teabaggers seem to have such trouble with. If you were going to express your fervent political opinions on a placard and exercise your democratic free-speech rights by waving it around at a rally, wouldn't you at least proofread it first? And pay some attention to its design? If I wanted anybody to take me seriously, I would. Especially if I were making a big deal about how much I prefer the English language to all others.

I thought the photoset was going to be a hoot -- but, after awhile, it just started to seem depressing. It's entertaining to make fun of the bewildered community. But these people have been manipulated and lied to for so long that they are now on the verge of treason in support of the status quo that deceived them in the first place.

Isn't there some way to help them?