eth • i • cist n (ca 1890): a specialist in explaining actions unencumbered by improvement. Not to be confused with a moralist.

cat • a • lyst n (1902): an agent that causes significant disruption, then slips out the back door.

pro • pa • gan • dist n (1718):a marketing strategist with a cause.

cy • nic n (1547)an independent spirit who believes that human conduct is motivated entirely by self-interest.

cap • i • ta • list n (1854): a person who, for lack of a better alternative, trusts in an economic system controlled by individual idiots rather than one controlled by a government of idiots.

ro • man • tic n (1650) marked by the appeal of what is adventurous, mysterious and self-aggrandizing.

prag • ma • tist n (1864): one who hopes for the best and expects the worst.

ide • a • list n (1701): a flounderer who believes things can be better, even though they stay the same.

fool n (1548): a retainer kept in great households to provide entertainment.

A lifelong Southern Californian, Nathan Callahan was born in Hollywood, raised in the glow of Rocketdyne and transplanted to the OC in the halcyon days of John Schmitz.

Callahan is a clairvoyant, a traitor, a reverend and, according to ex-Orange County, California Congressman and U.S. presidential candidate Bob Dornan, a cowardly pseudonym for a Marxist who manages campaigns for U.S. congressional candidates. Dornan, as you may already know, is delusional.

In 1988, Callahan teamed with Will Swaim — current Editor of the OC Weekly — to publish The County, a short-lived zine of leftist political and social commentary that nowadays can be found in the University of California, Irvine Library archives.

After working as a political consultant, Callahan co-wrote and edited "Shut Up, Fag!": Quotations from the Files of Congressman Bob Dornan with William Payton in 1994. With its unsettling title and contemptible subject matter, the book became a B-list cult success. TV and radio interviews followed.

Callahan was on the OC Weekly's staff for its premier issue in 1995 and was recognized by The New York Times for helping break through Orange County's conservative media stranglehold.

Suburban Manners: An Irreverent View of Politics, Wealth and Culture in Orange County, California and Interviews are Callahan's latest published works. He can be heard on Weekly Signals, a KUCI talk radio show he co-hosts with Mike Kaspar on Tuesday mornings from 8:00 until 9:00. Callahan also collaborates with Bob Aul on the darkly humorous comic strip Pet President.