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Peter Kobs's definitions

Webism

1. A new word that codifies an important feature, concept or practice in the online world.
2. The Web equivalent of a "neologism," a newly coined word that may be in the process of entering common use.
3. A slang term that was invented by -- and for -- Web users without approval from any outside authority.
"Phishing" and "viral marketing" are a great examples of Webisms that eventually entered worldwide parlance.
by Peter Kobs May 17, 2009
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Take back our country

1. A rallying cry for people who think the United States has been "taken over" by anti-American socialists, foreigners, liberals, Marxists, minorities, etc.

The phrase is typically used by white male conservatives who oppose any type of change they perceive as a "threat" to their "way of life." Instead of providing a specific plan for improving the country or the government, they imply that the nation has been "kidnapped" by evil people who hate America and want to destroy freedom.

Unanswered questions: A) Who is "we"? B) Where do "we" want to take the country back to?

2. A phrase that implies our current government is somehow "illegitimate" despite the election of November 2008 when a majority of Americans voted for Obama and the current Congress.
ED: "We've got to take back our country. Otherwise those people in Washington will force our children to become Communist Muslim freedom-hating slaves of Obama. The rest of us will be forced to live in secret FEMA concentration camps. Just you wait and see!"

CINDY: "You've been watching Fox News again, haven't you?"
by Peter Kobs July 6, 2010
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New Economy

1. An imaginary economic system that will magically replace millions of jobs lost to outsourcing, downsizing and low-wage overseas competition.

2. A feel-good term used by politicians to distract attention from their own immense policy failures.

3. Something that's always "just around the corner" if we only "do the right things."
Michigan's governor said we must prepare for the New Economy by turning 400,000 unemployed auto workers into video game programmers and pastry chefs. That's the ticket!
by Peter Kobs May 3, 2010
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Pre-Abandoned

1. A building or military installation that is never intended to be used, but which must be constructed anyway for political reasons.

2. A public space that planners know will never be occupied or properly used. It gets built anyway to satisfy a planning commission or zoning board.

3. The act of constructing something useless and pointless because it is demanded by an overall "plan."
"Did you hear about those Pre-Abandoned schools in Iraq? They built them out in the desert without any electricity or air conditioning. No one will ever use them, but at least they look good on paper."
by Peter Kobs September 22, 2009
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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
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Class Morphing

1. The downward transformation of one economic class into another.

2. The gradual descent from relative prosperity to grinding poverty, usually among formerly middle-class families.
The whole city of Detroit is class morphing into a ghetto.
by Peter Kobs February 6, 2009
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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
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