They Fight Crime!

He's the libertarian/magician/comedian co-host of Showtime's Bullshit. She's his newborn infant daughter. Together… they fight crime!

Well, OK, not quite yet. But apparently Penn Jillette (whom Nick Gillespie interviewed in our December ish) has named his daughter Moxie CrimeFighter Jillette, which is pretty badass. I'd always been partial to "Antigone" as a girl's name, but hadn't given any thought to the fantastic potential of the middle name. "Antigone Ninja Sanchez" has a certain ring to it. (Hat tip: Boing Boing.)

Comments

[free form]

That's just dumb. She will hate him.

[tomWright]

Actually, since 'Moxie' is also a term for coffee, she would get along better with cops if she were named something like Moxie donutShop Jillette, or maybe Moxie cinnamonKruller Jullette, or maybe,,,OK, I'll stop now.

Tom

[phocion]

I try to convince people that libertarians aren't freaks. Penn isn't helping.

[Evan Williams]

Moxie has a nice ring to it. Sounds kinda like Maxine, but more sleek. And how many people in your life, besides your family, know your middle name? Especially if it's goofy and you keep it on the DL. This isn't as bad as freeform makes it out to be. It's surely not even remotely close to some of the shit like Shackawandalita, or people who sell their kids' naming rights to Pepsi.

[kmw]

Baby boomers and their god damn baby naming habits.... They don't seem to realize they're ruining another person's life by pulling this bullshit.

This isn't exactly a big boost for the pro MJ crowd. (I.E. what the hell is he smoking?! Cheap/dumb joke, I know.)

[drf]

our labrador was named "Antigone". the vet was never able to pronounce it properly. and someone once asked if the dog was named for the "civil war battle".

hey - we could have an offical names list a la denmark.... with all the suicide there, they don't need dumb names to ruin their kids' lives...

[thoreau]

I want to ensure that my kids turn out libertarian. I'm trying to decide between "Smurfy the Druid" and "Ferret-Friend the Sharp-shooter."

Fortunately, my wife will probably insist on normal names like "Melissa" or "Richard." Not to mention that the adoption agencies would probably freak over my preferred names.

[Jason Ligon]

Careful, thoreau. You are flirting with a Green Party destiny there ...

[thoreau]

Green Party? For Smurfy?

Blue Party I could see. But Green Party? ;->

[joe]

I had a boss who wanted his kids to grow up to be major league ballplayers, so he was going to name them "Moose" and "Mudpup."

[ranger]

From the article:
"We chose her middle name because when she's pulled over for speeding she can say, `But officer, we're on the same side,'" Jillette explained. "`My middle name is CrimeFighter.'"

Hard to argue with his reasoning!

[The Owner's Manual]

If children had the power to name their parents in return, this kind of shit would stop.

[kmw]

If children had the power to name their parents in return, this kind of shit would stop.

Parents forget that the day will come when it is they who will be the dependant, and their kids the guardian.

[Eddy]

Moxie? At least her middle name isn't ?.

[Eddy]

I want to ensure that my kids turn out libertarian. I'm trying to decide between "Smurfy the Druid" and "Ferret-Friend the Sharp-shooter."

Now I'm thinking that whole island thing wasn't entirely in jest. What is going on over there good Doctor?

[thoreau]

Now I'm thinking that whole island thing wasn't entirely in jest. What is going on over there good Doctor?

I'd really love to explain, but the Panther just developed opposable thumbs and the lock on the cage is...oh shit!!!!!!

[Panther Man]

Physicists taste good!

[Jeff]

I predict that Moxie will beat the crap out of every Tyler and Jordan that pick on her.
Bring back naming kids after virtues. I want to see kids named Cantakerous and Intolerance.

[Stevo Darkly]

I'm thinking of legally changing my middle name to "Danger."

"Danger is my middle name. No, really."

[Jim (Call me Jimmy and I'll cl]

Hey, it's no worse IMO than being named James or William, and having to go through life being called "Jimmy" or "Billy" by relatives. Ugh...

[Ersatz Datura]

Moxie's a cute name. It's not like you use your middle name much anyway. It should be unique. Half the girls I know have 'Marie' as their middle name. What's the fun of that?

[Lowdog]

Stevo, you kill me.

Or should I start calling you "Danger"?

[Happy Jack]

Uh, joe, your not making a good case for the intelligence of planners (or bosses, for that matter).

I mean, how many major leaguers, let alone Hall of Famers, are named "Moose" or "Mudpup"?

[Happy Jack]

of course, I'm not either, using "your" instead of "you're"

[Jon H]

The problem with Jillette's reasoning is that cops will love dragging her into the station and telling their colleagues "Hey, lookit me! I got Moxie!"

[Stevo "Danger" Darkly]

Or should I start calling you "Danger"?

It's too bad my real last name isn't "Darkly," because "Stevo Danger Darkly" as my full name would totally rock.

Hey, how come nobody names their son "Tarzan"? It's derived from a literary classic (at least as respectable as the soap operas from which a lot of kids' names are drawn), has a certain romantic dashing quality to it, is distinctive, and it's not the kind of name that other kids would make fun of. (And if they did, the boy could just learn to yell, "Kreegah! Tarzan bundolo -- Tarzan kills!" like in the comic books.)

[Stevo Darkly]

The problem with Jillette's reasoning is that cops will love dragging her into the station and telling their colleagues "Hey, lookit me! I got Moxie!"

LOL!

Plus, when she goes to dances, her partners would always be flipping her upside down and stuff so people could see her panties.

"You certainly showed a lot of Moxie on that dance floor!"

[kevrob]

Getting named after an old soft drink must activate Silverstein's Conjecture : she'll have to get tough or die!

It could be worse. Penn could have varied the spelling, changed the middle name, and made his offspring's namesake a goofy Canadian band.

Kevin

[Pro Libertate]

Say, Julian, "Antigone" is a really good libertarian name. I'm a little rusty on my Sophocles, but didn't Antigone stand up for natural rights against the absolute authority of the state (conveniently located in the person of her brother)? Of course, the right she was fighting for (to bury the dead) must not exist today, since it isn't specifically protected in the Bill of Rights, right? 🙂

[Pro Libertate]

Incidentally, the reason Penn named his daughter "Moxie" is obvious: it's so he can go around saying that he "has Moxie".

Penn & Teller '08!

[Mo]

The thing about giving your kid "Danger" as his middle name is that he'll likely love you (and do lots of idiotic things to live up to the name) as a child. Then in high school, he'll hate you (par for the course) for giving him the idiotic name and will be the subject of much taunting. And then in college and beyond, he'll be flinging woo like nobody's business thanks to the cool middle name. "Action" is another good middle name.

Oh and Stevo, in the previous thread where you said I'll be leaving CA. I'll be moving out to lovely South Bend, IN to finish my studies. I should be passing through St. Louis in the first week of Aug.

[tsiroth]

In highschool I knew a guy named Lincoln Allen West, which was already a cool name, but even cooler was that his initials were LAW.

How about "Hellraiser" for a middle name?

For some entertainment, check out "Baby's Named a Bad, Bad Thing: A Primer on Parent Cruelty"
at http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/index.html

[thoreau]

Mo-

What are you studying?

[Douglas Fletcher]

Moxie? One of those words like broad or gal, nobody's going to know what the hell it means in 20 years, unless they watch a lot of old movies.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

And I thought Zappa was a nut for naming his kids Moon Unit and Dweezle. And he DIDN'T do drugs?!?

[Douglas Fletcher]

Nutty as the name is, I believe that Moon Unit was actually named after Keith Moon, one of Zappa's buddies. I don't know what a Dweezle is though.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Learn something new.. that's pretty cool, actually. Moon was a god on the drums.

[dagny]

I try to convince people that libertarians aren't freaks. Penn isn't helping.

If you're trying to say your group is normal, don't look to a magician to prove your point. Won't work. I know, my father is one. And he named me Dagny.

[smacky]

Here's a problem with naming a kid "Danger": if he turns out to be a pasty, pimply-faced fat nerd who programs computers all day. The object of much taunting? Maybe not for fans of "Napoleon Dynamite"....

Actually, it's spelled "Dweezil" (Zappa).

[smacky]

Dagny is a cool name. Even better, IMHO: Cagney.

[B.P.]

You folks are burying the lede here -- Penn Jillette is having sex! Or maybe it's just another one of his stunts to lead us to believe he's doing so.

[Ken Shultz]

Knievel Reagan Shultz

[Stevo Darkly]

Mo: Oh and Stevo, in the previous thread where you said I'll be leaving CA. I'll be moving out to lovely South Bend, IN to finish my studies. I should be passing through St. Louis in the first week of Aug.

Duly noted, and cool! By then I should have an e-mail address I can share with you (and others). There's a small chance I might be at a lake in Tennessee at that time, but otherwise that period has potential as a get-together for HitRunners who live in, near, or visit St. Louis.

[Alvin Tostig]

Speaking of unusual names:

I had a son today! And he shall be "Levon."

And he shall be a good man.

And he shall be Levon, in tradition with the family plan. And he shall be Levon, and he shall be a good man.

He shall be Levon.

And he'll name his child Jesus ... 'cause he likes the name. And he'll send him to the finest schools in town.

[Mr. Sue]

I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

[Douglas Fletcher]

He shall be Levon

I'm trying to figure out which song was dumber, "Levon" or "A horse with no name." Hmm...