Retiring Guy's Digest

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Vocabulary lesson: gooning

Photo by Retiring Guy

Headline: The Denver Post, 8/18/2026

Lauren Penington and Katie Langford report:

Dollar Tree’s chronic understaffing and lack of security measures have made stores nationwide a “hunting ground” for sexual assaults involving what’s known as “gooning,” the act of public masturbation, a new Colorado lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit, filed last week in El Paso County, alleges a woman shopping with her child and mother was victimized in March 2025, when a man followed the family around a Dollar Tree in Colorado Springs and ejaculated on her.

According to Merriam-Webster, the first known use of "gooning" occurred in 2005.

Other coinages from the same year include:

butt-dial
mumblecore
pre-exposure prophylaxis
sexting
side piece

Other vocabulary posts:

2026
Dap. (8/2)

Dumpster fire. (8/1)

Eighty-six. (6/12)

Overshare. (6/11)

Manosphere. (4/2)

Oomph. (4/2)

Retarded. (3/31)

Noob. (3/31)

Shoegaze. (2/5)

Gonzo. (1/22)

2025

Hypergamy. (7/31)

Situationship. (7/30)

Lollygag. (5/22)

Bummer. (5/20)

TV dinner. (2/3)

March-December 2024

Deepfake. (9/1)

Life coach. (6/30)

Face-plant. (6/8)

Veggie. (4/26)

Dox/doxxing (4/11)

Edgelord. (3/23)

Dad joke. 3/4)

February 2024

Edutainment. (2/16)

Cut, as an adjective. (2/13). .

Flunky. (2/5)

Janky. (2/2)

Kiddo. (2/2)

January 2024

Bonkers. (1/31)

Heebie-jeebies. (1/31)

Nudification. (1/31)

Right-size. (1/14)

2022

Dumpster fire. (10/20/2022)

2018

Swinge. (12/18/2018)

2017

Michael Flynn vocabulary lesson. (2/14/2017)

2013

Yaw. (2/28/2013)

Trump-endorsed and tainted @HouseGOP candidate Cory Mills loses 7th CD Florida GOP primary

Top headline: The Nation, 8/13/2026

AI-generated Trump image requested from Manus 1.6 Lite

Bottom headline: Washington Post, 8/17/2026

Anna Liss-Roy reports:

Mills faces allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse, on top of campaign finance violations. He is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which said this spring it had authorized more than 20 subpoenas, collected thousands of documents and contacted dozens of witnesses to review allegations, including possible domestic violence. Mills has denied the allegations against him and has sought to portray them as politically motivated.

[snip]

President Donald Trump endorsed Mills in February, but has not posted about him since — even as he praised other House Republicans on social media. On Monday night, Trump posted endorsements of each incumbent Florida House Republican running for reelection — except for Mills. The White House did not respond to a request Monday on whether the president stands behind his endorsement of the lawmaker.

Mills finished 2nd, 13 percentage points behind the winner.

Ballotpedia

Dear Tom Tiffany, I wouldn't take that boilerplate Trump endorsement to the bank if I were you. Best, Retiring Guy. (2/16/2026)

Wisconsin 2026 elections: Moms for Liberty-endorsed Republican Gina Paulick challenges freshman Democratic Minority Leader Greta Neubauer in the 66th Assembly District

Before redistricting, the GOP gerrymandered 66th packed most of the City of Racine (population 78,000), cracking it from its suburban neighbors.

The newly redrawn district includes the southern portion of the Racine County east of the I (Interstate 94), including the south side neighborhoods of the City of Racine as well as the villages of Mount Pleasant ("Data Center City") and Elmwood Park.

The area of Racine County east of the I is now represented by 2 Assembly districts instead of a previously gerrymandered 3.

Maps and election results: Ballotpedia

In 2024, Greta Neubauer defeated David DeGroot, longtime president of the Mount Pleasant Village Board, by 8 percentage points. It was her highest profile opponent date. Moms for Liberty- endorsed Republican challenger Gina Paulick doesn't fit this category. Gina is currently serving her first term on the Mount Pleasant Village Board.

Libertarian candidate ran in 2022

Related reading:

Wisconsin Applied Population Lab, 6/18/2018

Malia Jones explains:

Two core concepts of gerrymandering were central to the arguments presented to the high court: cracking and packing. A third process, known as stacking, also crops up in gerrymandered political maps, but was not the focus of Gill v. Whitford.

Cracking and packing both refer to specific ways of drawing legislative boundaries with the outcomes of elections in mind. These two processes operate in tension with one another, but both can be implemented by a party in power seeking to maximize its electoral chances through gerrymandering.

Packing refers to the practice of drawing particular districts in such a way as to ensure that another party's candidate wins that seat by a tremendous margin. Although the opposing party is all but guaranteed the seat, packing makes surrounding districts less competitive, and thus tips the balance of power in the legislative body overall toward the ruling party.

Cracking involves drawing districts in such a way as to divide a concentration of specific types of voters across several districts such that they are a minority in each one, with practically no hope of achieving representation in any of the districts. This practice also helps make districts less competitive. [emphasis added]

Other Wisconsin 2026 election posts:

1st Assembly District. (6/11/2026)

2nd Assembly District. (6/14/2026)

3rd Assembly District. (6/15/2026)

4th Assembly District. (6/17/2026)

5th Assembly District. (6/18/2026)

6th Assembly District. (6/20/2026)

7th Assembly District. (6/21/2026)

8th Assembly District. (6/21/2026)

9th Assembly District. (6/22/2026)

10th Assembly District. (6/23/2026)

11th Assembly District. (6/23/2026)