It seems to me that most of the grounds used by most of the squawkers are historical and conservative: that word doesn't exist, never has, and I don't like it.

We seem to be in total agreement, jheem - how boring!! Whether we like it or not, words are coined and the acid test is whether they pass into the language or not (and, to some extent, how long they remain in use, I s'pose)
Trouble is, folk salute some pretty weird flags that get run up the flagpole.