Peter Kobs's definitions

Prisoner of the Present

1. A person whose entire worldview is shaped by current events, stumbling along from one crisis to another.
2. Someone without a historical perspective or hope for the future.
3. The mindset that causes "knee-jerk" reactions to almost any kind of social or economic change.
4. A state of perpetual panic about "the world today."

Larry says the U.S. economy will never recover no matter what happens in Washington -- he's a typical Prisoner of the Present.

by Peter Kobs June 4, 2009

Chain of Lies

1. An e-mail chain containing defammatory or false information that is spread far and wide by partisan believers in an attempt to paint a negative image of the opposition.

2. The act of forwarding sensationalistic, untrue reports without checking their veracity.

3. How lies go viral on the Internet.

4. A modern-day illustration of Mark Twain's adage: "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."

You know that story about supposed "FEMA concentration camps" in the desert? It's just part of that Chain of Lies started by that militia group in Texas.

by Peter Kobs August 21, 2009

Dunk Flunk

1. What happens when an over-confident basketball player tries to make a spectacular flying "dunk" but fails to score.

2. The kind of show-boating that enrages college coaches.

3. An embarrassing act of athletic incompetence.

Coach: "We would'a won that game if Hakeem hadn't tried that ridiculous dunk flunk in the second period. Arrrggghhh!"

Athletic Director: "I think I'm going to be sick now."

by Peter Kobs March 26, 2010

Brees Bomb

1. A lightning-fast, incredibly accurate pass from Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints.

2. The weapon that propelled the Saints to victory in Superbowl XLIV.

The Colts thought they had the game sewn up in the first half until the Saints started pummeling them with a flury of Brees Bombs. By the end of the fourth quarter, the vaunted air war was over and New Orleans had won by 14 points. Who dat!

by Peter Kobs February 8, 2010

GD2

This acronym stands for "Great Depression #2." It's shorthand for the seemingly imminent collapse of the global economic system starting in late 2008 and continuing into 2009. Some professional economists, as well as ordinary working people, are fearful that the spiralling financial meltdown will lead to a decade-long repeat of the 1930s, complete with bread lines, soup kitchens, radical uprisings and the possibility of global violence. "Happy times are here again!"

"The collapse of AIG is just one more sign that GD2 is here, my friends."

by Peter Kobs December 22, 2008

Paygo

1. Shorthand for "pay as you go." This zippy little term was used by President Obama in February 2010 to describe his new approach to federal spending and fiscal discipline.

2. The opposite of "buy now, pay later."

3. An idea whose time has not yet come, at least not on Capitol Hill.

"Let's invest $58 billion in a new Highway to Nowhere up there in Alaska. It'll stimulate the economy for sure!"

"No way, buddy. We're on the Paygo plan now."

by Peter Kobs February 14, 2010

House Heckler

1. A politician who openly heckles, threatens or attacks the President of the United States on the House Floor during a joint session of Congress.

2. Any person who brazenly violates the code of civility and decorum of the U.S. House of Representatives, especially elected officials.

3. Rep. Joe Brown of South Carolina, who yelled "You lie!" at our first African-American President during his speech on health care to Congress on Sept. 9, 2009. (Brown's contention that the proposed health care reform bill would somehow insure illegal aliens was later deemed false on both FactCheck.org and Politifact.org.)

"Did you ever meet Joe Brown? He's that infamous House Heckler who called Obama a liar on the floor of Congress during a speech by the President."

by Peter Kobs September 10, 2009